Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

He took a fine-tipped brush from the pen holder and wrote a few lines on a small piece of paper. He wrote slowly, pressing each character lightly. After finishing, he folded the paper into a narrow strip and tucked it into his sleeve.

In the afternoon, Zhang Sanlang invited Sun Jizu to the household registration office. He pushed the miscellaneous ration book over and pointed to Zhao Sanyou's name.

Sun Jizu looked down and was filled with questions, completely baffled.

Zhang Sanlang flipped back a few pages of the book, landing on the entries for "night patrol allowances." Sun Jizu looked at it, his expression first showing confusion, then turning serious.

Although he was not very literate, he was not stupid.

Zhang Sanlang said solemnly, "The extra allowance for night patrols always comes from the county granary and is not included in the miscellaneous allowance. Any such unusual circumstances are all under the pretext of Feng Jian's tenure in the Household Department."

Sun Jizu stared at those few lines of text, his lips pressed into a thin line, his one arm resting on the edge of the table. "These people are Feng Jianyang's men, or the people who handle his secret affairs."

Zhang Sanlang nodded slowly. "Tao Yashi used it four or five times during his three years in office. Zhou Quan used it two or three times during his tenure. But I've never seen it since I arrived at the Household Department."

Zhang Sanlang took back the miscellaneous ration book. "There are only three people in the yamen who know this category and still put it on the books. It was handled by Clerk Tao and Clerk Zhou, so there shouldn't be any problem. At most, they just didn't check it thoroughly."

Sun Jizu leaned back in his chair, his face visibly darkening. "I'm going to talk to Xiao Zhao."

"No!" Zhang Sanlang pressed down on the book. "Besides him, there are three other people still listed in the bow manual. Besides, this is just my deduction from the miscellaneous supplies book; I can't be sure if there are any others."

"Therefore, Magistrate Sun, your task is to keep an eye on these four men. If a large number of bandits attack, do not assign them key positions. Do not alert them, and you can even use them if necessary."

After thinking for a moment, Sun Jizu understood, nodded, and turned to leave.

The next day, Zhou Quan returned from Leize County.

In the afternoon, he went to the household office, his face showing some dissatisfaction, and began to mutter to Zhang Sanlang, "The magistrate, right in front of me, put Chief Clerk Feng in charge of contacting the local gentry and collecting donations for the autumn sacrifice. He said that this year should be respectable, and that he should be in charge, with me as his deputy."

"I don't know what Your Excellency is thinking. I, Zhou Quan, am only a clerk in the Ministry of Rites..."

Zhang Sanlang's eyes flashed, and he quickly interrupted Zhou Quan's complaint, "Did Clerk Feng agree?"

"How could he refuse?" Zhou Quan placed the red paper on the table. "The magistrate spoke so eloquently, saying he was an old hand in the county government and knew all the local gentry and elders. I was listening to him, and I almost felt exhausted just listening to him."

"Your Excellency is going to hold a grand event this time. All the well-known gentry in Juancheng will be visited. This will take at least ten days to half a month. When they return, they will also need to reconcile accounts with you. All donations must be recorded in the household accounts. Your Excellency has specifically instructed us to do so."

Zhang Sanlang nodded, unfolded the roll of red paper, and looked at it. It was the schedule for the autumn festival.

The list was written in great detail.

The autumn festival is scheduled for August 12th, which is still a month away.

The altar will be set up starting on the eighth day of the next month, monks and Taoists will be invited to chant scriptures on the ninth day, local gentry will offer incense on the tenth day, the government offices will observe a fast on the eleventh day, and the main ceremony will be held on the twelfth day.

Feng Jian was to visit all the local gentry within July, going door-to-door to finalize the donation agreement.

On the tenth day of the lunar month, he would also accompany the local gentry to offer incense at the City God Temple, and he would be in front of everyone the whole time.

If Feng Jian wanted to meet and speak privately with Master Wang before the autumn sacrifice, his only chance was to go to the Wang family under the pretext of "urging donations".

But Li Hang had already instructed that the donation accounts should be recorded in the household register.

Every time Feng Jian visited a family, he had to report the number of visits to Zhang Sanlang on the same day.

If he stayed at the Wang family's house for even half an hour longer, Zhang Sanlang would find out.

This was a trap Li Hang had set for him, a trap drawn by a calculated scheme. The trap was just the right size, enough to keep him busy but also enough to prevent him from doing anything unnecessary.

Moreover, given Feng Jian's shrewdness, he would likely take advantage of the autumn sacrifice...

Yes, scholars are indeed cunning.

That's really mean!

He glanced at it and closed the book. "Did Clerk Feng ask you anything?"

"I asked. I asked if the Prefect had anything on his mind lately. I said how would I know? I'm just someone in charge of the rites." Zhou Quan chuckled twice, then stopped laughing. "Shouli, do you know anything about the inside story?"

Zhang Sanlang looked at him, pondered for a moment, and then became serious. "Brother Zhou, given our friendship, I have two pieces of advice for you. First, the Prefect has his reasons for holding such a grand autumn sacrifice, and you will understand later."

"Brother Zhou's time in the Department of Rites is ultimately short, while Clerk Feng has been in charge of the Department of Rites for ten years. This year's autumn sacrifice will require additional donations, so it would be better for him to step in."

"Secondly, now that Brother Zhou has been promoted to the position of clerk in the rites department, you will be in charge of making decisions on everything from the autumn and winter sacrifices, the imperial examination documents, and the interactions with local gentry."

"This year, follow Clerk Feng around and see how he handles affairs, how he socializes, and how he contacts the gentry in various villages. Next year, you can make your own decisions."

After listening to him, Zhou Quan's lips slowly curled up. "Brother Zhang, that's a nice thing to say. Are you worried that I'll mess things up and make Magistrate Ming look bad?"

Zhang Sanlang smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, you're mistaken. I'm worried that when you sit in the position of clerk in the rites department in the future, you won't even know how to arrange the offerings or the seating arrangement for the autumn sacrifice, and people will laugh at you for being a mere figurehead."

"Clerk Feng has been running the ceremonial office for ten years, and he knows all the connections and relationships inside and outside. It's more useful for you to follow him around than to go through old files."

Zhou Quan stroked his beard. "What you say is true. Alright, I'll listen to you. This year at the autumn festival, I'll follow Clerk Feng. If he points east, I won't go west; if he makes me run errands, I'll never sit and drink tea."

"Hmph! From next year onwards, I, Zhou Quan, will have to take charge of the wedding ceremony myself..."

Zhang Sanlang picked up his teacup and raised it towards him, saying, "That's good."

Once Zhou Quan had his worries resolved, he chuckled and said that Zhou An had been officially adopted into his family and had become his heir.

He became more and more excited as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, forcing Zhang Sanlang to lean back in his chair to avoid his sharp edge.

It wasn't until about half an hour later, when Duan Peng, the head of the ceremonial office, came to find him, that he reluctantly took his leave.

Zhou Quan walked to the door, then turned around, one hand gripping the door frame, his face flushed. "Shouli, once this busy period is over, I'll save up some more money and throw a big party. You absolutely have to come."

Zhang Sanlang leaned back in his chair and waved to him, "Definitely, definitely."

Zhou Quan chuckled, "Then it's settled. We'll bring County Magistrate Sun along, and Wu Erlang too, no one can be missing."

He held up two fingers and gestured, "I'm going to throw a whole day of banquets so the entire Yaqian Lane will know that Zhou Quan has a son now!"

Duan Peng called out from outside the door, and Zhou Quan loosened the doorframe, his laughter echoing down the corridor.

Zhang Sanlang breathed a sigh of relief, spread out a new sheet of paper, and wrote a letter to his second brother, Zhang Yong.

He didn't write about the rebellion of the remnants of the previous dynasty, but only wrote about everyday things as usual: happy Mei'er has gained weight, Qing Ge'er has grown taller, and they have recognized Zhang Si Niang and Zhang Wu Lang.

Finally, he added at the end of the letter: "Brother, be careful in Tanzhou."