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

Xi Mei gently patted him on the head, "You can't even beat Bao Ge'er, who are you going to beat up?"

Qingge rubbed his head, muttering unconvinced, "I can beat him up when I grow up."

Zhang Sanlang flicked his forehead. "I don't need to wait for you to grow up. Dad will do it himself."

Qing-ge rubbed his forehead and grinned.

happy Meier collected the dishes and went to the stove to wash them.

Zhang Sanlang sat at the low table, tapping his fingers lightly twice on the surface.

The ten taels of silver that Kong You'an had sent were still tucked in his pocket, hard as a board.

Silver is a good thing, but having only silver is not enough.

The walls were low, the doors thin, the windows snapped easily, and even dogs couldn't be stopped through the gaps in the courtyard wall.

He stood up and left the east wing.

In the courtyard of the back house, Carpenter He was sitting on a stool eating a flatbread, while Mrs. He was mending clothes beside him. Hammers, saws, and chisels were scattered all over the ground, and sawdust was swept out from the threshold and piled up in the corner.

Zhang Sanlang knocked on the door frame.

Carpenter He looked up, still chewing on a biscuit, and said, "Officer of Posting? Come in and sit down."

Zhang Sanlang went inside and sat down on the bench.

"Brother He, there's a job I'd like to ask you to do."

Carpenter He placed the pancake on his lap, wiped his mouth, and asked, "What kind of work?"

"Raise the height of the four courtyard walls by one foot. Use broken porcelain shards to reinforce the tops of the walls. Strengthen the door of the east wing, replace it with a new bolt, and add an iron latch. Add two horizontal beams to the window frames so that they can be locked from the inside. The courtyard gate should also be replaced with a thicker hardwood door."

After hearing this, Carpenter He did not immediately respond.

He picked up the hammer, weighed it in his hand, and then put it down. "Zhang Tiesi, who are you trying to protect yourself from?"

Zhang Sanlang picked up his teacup and took a sip. "To guard against thieves. The walls of this courtyard are low; it won't be difficult to climb over. During the day, I go to the yamen, and it's just the two children at home."

Carpenter He glanced at him. "Raise the four walls by one foot and insert broken porcelain shards into the ceiling; the materials will cost five hundred cash. Replacing the doors with new hardwood will be more expensive, three hundred cash. Door bolts, iron latches, window slats—all added up, it'll be about one string of cash."

Zhang Sanlang was surprised. "Only one string of cash? How much is Brother He's wage?"

Carpenter He grinned sheepishly. "It's just for the materials. We're neighbors, why would I charge for labor?"

Zhang Sanlang looked at him and said, "Brother He, how could I accept this?"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Carpenter He patted his knee. "You're repairing the courtyard wall, raising all four sides. My house is in the backyard, so a higher wall is a good thing for me. Logically, I should contribute some of the cost. It's me who should feel bad that you're paying for the materials."

Zhang Sanlang pulled two strings of coins from his satchel and handed them over. "Brother He, this is 1,500 coins. One string for supplies, and the extra 500 coins can be used to buy some wine. It's kind of you not to charge me for my work, but I can't let you work for free."

Carpenter He stared at the two strings of coins, hesitated for a moment, and was about to refuse when He Liu's eyes lit up and she rushed over, grabbing the strings of coins.

"Zhang Si, you're too kind. Giving so much for repairing a courtyard wall? My husband is clumsy and doesn't deserve this much for doing rough work. This money can be used to buy better materials, and we'll return any surplus to you."

She was being polite, but her hand had already slipped the money into her pocket, and she even pressed it down as if afraid it would fall out.

He the carpenter glanced at her, his lips moved but he didn't dare to say anything.

Zhang Sanlang smiled as he watched. "Sister-in-law He, please accept this. Brother He's cooking is excellent; this amount of money isn't much."

He Liu's face lit up with a smile. "Don't worry, Zhang Tiesi, my husband will make sure you do this job perfectly. The walls need to be raised, the doors need to be replaced with thicker ones, and I'll go to the riverbank tomorrow to collect the broken porcelain shards, especially the sharp ones."

She turned and glared at Carpenter He. "What are you still standing there for? The post office gave us so much money. We should settle the cost of the materials tonight so we can prepare the goods first thing tomorrow morning."

Carpenter He muttered in response, "Officer, when replacing the courtyard gate with thicker boards, should we add a concealed bolt?"

"A hidden latch?"

"It involves adding two horizontal wooden bars to the back of the door, inserting them into the wall at both ends. You can't see it from the outside, but once they're inserted from the inside, it's impossible to pry it open."

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment, then said, "Add it."

Carpenter He nodded, but before he could speak, Madam He Liu chimed in, "Add! Of course we'll add! The posting department paid for it, so they have to do their best. My husband knows about the concealed bolts; the posting department doesn't need to worry about that."

As she spoke, she pushed the carpenter, "Go and measure the dimensions and calculate the materials quickly. I'll go boil some water and make tea. Zhang Tiesi, please sit for a while longer."

Zhang Sanlang stood up. "I won't sit down. I have to go to the yamen early tomorrow morning."

He Liu saw him to the door, her smile lasting until Zhang Sanlang entered the east wing. Only then did she close the door and turn back to He the carpenter, muttering, "This clerk is certainly generous."

Carpenter He didn't reply, but squatted down and gathered the tools scattered on the ground.

Carpenter He squatted at the door of the east wing, holding a wooden folding ruler in his hand, and measured the thickness of the door frame.

Back in front of their house, Qingge ran out, holding a cricket cage in his hand. "Dad! Grandpa Sun's cricket chirped!"

The crickets fluttered their wings in the bamboo cage, making a chirping sound.

Zhang Sanlang squatted down, looked at the cage, and said, "happy Mei'er, you take Qing Ge'er with you, I need to go out for a while."

happy Mei took the cricket cage, took Qing Ge'er's hand, and said, "Don't worry, Dad."

Zhang Sanlang turned around and went back into the house, where he rummaged through the wooden box and counted the money bag.

He the carpenter spent 1500 coins, leaving only a few dozen coins at home. He needed to quickly exchange the silver for cash.

He carefully pocketed the silver ingots and left the old house.

Zhang Sanlang turned into the alley next to Song Ji Grocery Store.

Deep in the alley, there was a money exchange shop. The storefront was small, with only two black lacquered door panels removed, revealing a counter that was about half a person's height.

This is neither a gold or silver shop nor a money exchange agency; it's just a private money exchange broker specializing in discreet exchange transactions. The only advantage is that it's anonymous.

Behind the counter sat a thin, fifties-old man, wearing an old turban, his fingers stained with ink. He was writing something in an account book, and when he heard footsteps, he looked up. "Sir, would you like to exchange silver or copper coins?"

Zhang Sanlang placed the silver ingot on the counter.

The old man picked up the silver ingot, first weighed it in his hand, then examined its purity closely. He took a pair of scissors and cut off a small piece, about the size of a mung bean, from the edge of the ingot, placing it on a balance scale and weighing it. He then picked up the piece of silver, placed it in his palm, and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger.

"Good quality, ten taels of pure silver. At today's market price, one tael is worth one string of cash. After deducting two-tenths for surcharge, I'll give you nine strings and two hundred cash."

Zhang Sanlang glanced at him. "The fuel consumption has increased. Last month it was one and a half minutes."

The old man raised his eyelids and sized up Zhang Sanlang. "Are you from the yamen, sir?"

"Official in Charge of Personnel Affairs".

The old man's expression relaxed. "My apologies. Last month it was one and a half cents, but this month the price of silver has fallen, so the surcharge has naturally increased. Therefore, I will charge you one and a half cents. Please take good care of my shop's business in the future."

"Okay. Exchange two ounces first."

The old man picked up the scissors, cut off a small piece from the silver ingot, weighed it on the scale, and it weighed one tael and eight mace. He then cut off another small piece, making it a full two taels.

The remaining eight taels of silver were placed on the corner of the counter and pushed back to Zhang Sanlang. "Two taels, with a loss of one and a half cents, are exchanged for one string of cash and nine hundred and forty cash."

He turned around and took out a wooden box from under the counter, unlocked it, counted out copper coins, strung them into two strings with hemp rope, and placed them on the counter.

Zhang Sanlang picked up the string of coins and put it into his satchel.

He carefully put away the remaining eight-tael silver ingot, then turned and left the exchange shop with his satchel on his shoulder.