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

By the time the mule cart turned into Kujing Lane, the sun was already setting.

Old Huang sat on the cart shaft, holding the reins with one hand and gently tapping the gray mule's ear with the whip in the other, occasionally urging it on.

Two laborers followed behind the cart, each holding onto one side of the side panel to prevent the charcoal basket from tipping over in the narrow alley.

The cart came to a stop at the gate of the courtyard. Old Huang jumped off the cart and shouted at the top of his lungs toward the half-closed gate, "Is anyone home? The county government has sent some rewards!"

The courtyard gate creaked open.

happy Mei peeked out and saw a mule cart parked at the door, packed full of things. She paused for a moment.

Qingge'er crawled out from under her arm and blurted out, "Sister, look! The county government has brought things for Father!"

Aunt Sun was squatting by the well washing clothes when she heard the noise. She stood up and walked over while wiping her hands on her apron.

She glanced at the contents of the mule cart and suddenly laughed: "Oh, rice, cloth, charcoal, and wine—everything's there. Zhang Sanlang got a promotion, and the yamen even prepared New Year's goods for him?"

happy Mei'er had already come to her senses. She took two steps forward and thanked Old Huang for his hard work, saying, "Grandpa, are these all for my father?"

Old Huang nodded with a smile: "Exactly. Zhang Shisheng was promoted to the position of head of the household office. As is customary, the yamen provides rewards for new officials. Clerk Tao approved new rice, fine hemp, and official wine, while Clerk Yan added two extra baskets of charcoal."

"Oh, and I also brought over the two reams of paper, one stick of ink, and a jar of Baihuachun tea that Clerk Feng sent. Three out of the four chief clerks in the county yamen have given me gifts!"

Qingge ran around the mule cart once, then came back and tugged at his sister's sleeve, asking repeatedly, "Sister, how long will this rice last? Will it last until the New Year?"

At this moment, Mother He also came over, sniffed the sack of new rice, and then picked up a basket of silver bone charcoal and turned it over to look at it. "This charcoal is good. It burns without smoke. Tell your father that this charcoal is just right for you and your brother to keep warm in the house."

Old Sun was pushing his wheelbarrow back from the dock when he happened to catch a mule cart parked at the gate of his courtyard.

Before he could even unload his things from his car, Qingge pulled him over to show them off.

Old Sun peeked over the mule cart and then got to work: "Move the charcoal baskets down and put them under the eaves, stack them against the wall, so they don't get damp."

"Put the rice bag in the corner of the kitchen wall, these two jars of wine should be placed in a cool place, and bring the cloth inside, don't pile it up in the yard." As he spoke, he leaned the wheelbarrow against the wall and bent down to move the charcoal basket.

Old Huang and his two laborers also lent a hand, and the items were quickly put away properly.

Old Sun patted the charcoal ash off his hands and went to unload the empty oil cans and tofu boards from his truck, muttering that the new rice smelled so good and that he would ask Granny He to cook a pot of new rice porridge for the whole courtyard to try.

happy Mei brought out three bowls of tea and handed them to Old Huang and the laborer. The three of them took the water and drank it down.

Old Huang wiped his mouth and placed the bowl on the cart shaft: "The livestock are waiting to be fed in the yard, so I can't delay any longer. If Zhang Qianxing needs anything delivered in the future, just let me know."

After saying that, he jumped onto the cart shaft and drove the mule cart back the way he came.

Aunt Sun patted the rice bag and looked at Ximei and her brother with a smile: "Your dad got a promotion, and your mouths are benefiting too. This new rice makes a thick layer of rice oil. I'll teach you how to make rice oil another day; it's more nourishing than porridge."

Qing-ge'er squatted beside the charcoal basket, picked up a piece of silver bone charcoal with two fingers, held it up to his eyes and looked at it from all angles, then leaned closer to smell the dry charcoal aroma, "Sister, can we burn a pot tonight? Just a small pot."

"Burn it when Father comes back. You can put it back for now." happy Mei'er didn't even look up.

Qingge put the charcoal back in the basket, patted the charcoal ash off his hands, stood up and ran to touch the rice bag again.

happy Mei glanced behind him and added, "Don't poke the rice sack with your hand."

"Oh," Qingge'er responded, pulling his hand back from the rice bag and running back to squat beside the charcoal basket.

Zhang Sanlang had just finished compiling the tax collection ledgers for the household registration office and was preparing to leave work when Wu Dutou strode over from the other end of the corridor, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Zhang Qianxing, County Lieutenant Xu requests your presence. It's about Feng Bazi."

Zhang Sanlang followed Wu Dutou through the main hall and into the county magistrate's office.

Xu Kai was standing in front of the desk flipping through a file when he heard footsteps. He looked up, his thin face expressionless. He simply put the file back on the desk and gestured for Zhang Sanlang to sit down. "Kong Yashi, release Feng Bazi."

Zhang Sanlang's eyebrows twitched.

Xu Kai picked up a document from the prison on the table, speaking in a flat tone as if he were reading official business unrelated to himself: "Send him over this morning, and he'll be released at noon."

"The reason given by the interrogation room is that Feng the Scarface attacked you twice. The first time no one witnessed it, and the second time, when Wu the Constable arrived, he had already stopped. Therefore, it can only be considered an attempted fight."

Regarding the smuggled salt incident, he confessed that he picked it up at the dock early in the morning and threw it under the stove because he thought it looked bad. He did not intend to frame it.

"He stuck to this claim, and the prison rejected my transfer documents because the evidence was unclear. The law states that murderers are executed and those who injure are punished. He didn't even tear your clothes, so he cannot be convicted and should not be detained."

Xu Kai pushed the document in front of Zhang Sanlang, gesturing for him to read it himself. "Kong Youan is using the law to his advantage. He knows it was Feng Bazi who did it, but he also knows my evidence is insufficient."

"As long as Scarface Feng insists it was a coincidence, it's not enough to convict him under current laws. Once the case reaches the interrogation room, he'll have to be released. You're the victim, so you need to know this."

Zhang Sanlang read through the document from beginning to end.

Two of the pages still had fresh ink stains, the ink reflecting light, and when you turned the pages, you could smell the soapberry scent unique to the torture chamber.

He closed the document and placed it back on the table. "In the case handled by Clerk Kong, the only way to convict Scarface Feng is to implicate him in court. Scarface Feng has been making a living at the docks for over a decade; he would never risk his life to tell the truth."

Zhang Sanlang stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Kai, and said, "County Lieutenant Xu, you've gone to great lengths for this matter. The fact that you were able to catch and release Scarface Feng is not because you weren't diligent, but because once a case reaches the interrogation room, it can only be handled according to the rules of the interrogation room."

"It's best to leave it at that. Fortunately, Commander Wu intervened last night, and I wasn't seriously injured. From now on, I'll take the main street at night and not give them a chance."

Xu Kai nodded. "You should work diligently in the Household Registration Office. The real job of the Household Registration Office is to collect land taxes from each village after the inventory is completed. I know about Feng Bazi's matter. From now on, the archers will pay more attention to Kujing Lane during night patrols."

Seeing that Xu Kai had no intention of continuing the conversation, Zhang Sanlang quickly took his leave.

Wu Dutou followed Zhang Sanlang out, and only when they reached the entrance of the corridor did he lower his voice and say, "These past few nights, when I patrol the streets, I've made a detour around Kujing Lane. Don't worry, as long as I'm on duty, those guys won't dare to approach the old house again."

"Thank you for your help, Brother Wu. If you hadn't been on patrol last night, I'm afraid I would have been bedridden for several more days. I'll treat you to drinks another day when I have a day off." Zhang Sanlang bowed and said goodbye at the corner, then turned and walked towards the house.

Dusk was gradually settling at the end of the corridor.