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

With her hair disheveled, Xi Mei grabbed Bao Ge'er by the collar with one hand and a fire poker with the other, shouting, "Let my brother go!"

Bao Ge'er was half a head taller than her, and she made him stumble and fall as she grabbed him. Seeing that he was at a disadvantage, Gui Ge'er turned around and tried to pull Xi Mei'er's hair, but Xi Mei'er bit his hand and made him let go with a scream.

Zhang Sanlang pushed aside the fighting children and grabbed Tian Ge'er, who was riding on Qing Ge'er's back, and lifted him up. He was still cursing, but when he turned around and saw it was him, the color drained from his face.

The courtyard finally quieted down.

Zhang Sanlang glanced around, his gaze fixing on the three children. Then he walked over to Qing Ge'er, squatted down, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "What happened?"

Xi Mei'er's hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn, and her eyes were red but she wasn't crying. "The three of them blocked the courtyard gate, cursing Qing Ge'er for killing his mother. Qing Ge'er replied, and they pounced on him and beat him. He also said..."

"What did you say?" Zhang Sanlang stood up.

Bao Ge shrank his neck.

Qingge'er got up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and looked up at Zhang Sanlang.

The five-year-old child had no tears in his eyes, only grievance and a prematurely learned stubbornness. "They said that Grandpa invited the clan elders to kick us out. They also said that we would be outsiders from now on, no longer considered part of this family."

The courtyard was quiet. The evening breeze blew in from the gate, causing a few broken tiles on the ground to flip over.

Zhang Sanlang took Qingge'er's hand, then Ximei'er's hand, and walked towards the main room.

Zhang's father sat at the lower end of the table, while the two old men sat at the upper end.

One had completely white hair and beard, holding a dove-shaped walking stick. The other had gray hair, twirling two walnuts in his hand; these were the clan elders, the eldest uncle and the ninth uncle.

Zhang Sanlang bowed, but seeing there was nowhere to sit, he had to stand at the door. Two children stood behind him, with happy Mei still clutching a fire poker in her hand.

"Sanlang is back," Zhang's father said. "We invited my eldest great-uncle and ninth great-uncle here today to be witnesses. As the old saying goes, a tree grows big and branches out, and people grow up and the family splits up."

"The eldest son has taken over the shop, and the fourth son's expenses at the state school are high. You work in the yamen, and your stipend is already meager, plus you have to supplement the family income. If the family is divided, you won't have to pay taxes to the household anymore. It's a good thing for your third branch of the family too..."

Every word looked as if it had been pulled from an abacus.

After Zhang's father finished explaining the division of the family property, his eldest uncle and ninth uncle nodded slightly, about to say a few polite words.

Zhang Sanlang lowered his eyelids and sighed, "Father is right, and I dare not refuse your request to divide the family property. But I'm afraid this was suggested by my fourth brother, right? Indeed, the provincial examinations will be held next year."

He turned to Zhang Shouzhi, his tone earnest, like an older brother genuinely concerned for his younger brother.

"Third brother, think about it. Even if we separate the family, I, your third brother, will still bear the surname Zhang. When your classmates ask where your elder brother works at the prefectural school, what will you answer? 'A lowly clerk in the county government!'"

"Does dividing the family property mean I'm no longer your elder brother? The family tree still lists us. If the examiners find out your family has officials in charge of official duties during the exams, tsk, fourth brother, do you think this division will even work?"

The teacup in Zhang Shouzhi's hand clattered on the table.

Zhang's father's face changed from white to green, and then from green to purple.

He suddenly stood up. "Then sever ties! Sever them today!"

The eldest great-uncle and the ninth great-uncle stood up at the same time, one calling out "Shiqing" and the other calling out "Sanlang".

The room was completely silent.

Zhang's mother paused for a moment while moving the prayer beads in her hand, then continued. She never looked up.

Zhang Sanlang looked at his father with a face full of surprise. "Father really loves Fourth Brother. With a single stroke on the family genealogy, Zhang Shouli was removed from the family. He was kicked out of the Zhang family with his two children and started his own household. Fourth Brother's family records show that his relatives for three generations are clean and honest, all of them are law-abiding citizens."

"Without his lowly elder brother, my fourth brother, which examiner could possibly find fault with him? Father's thinking is thorough, brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! My fourth brother's future is of utmost importance; I cannot let my own position hinder him."

The great-uncle frowned and gently tapped his staff on the ground.

"Shiqing, dividing the family is normal, but severing ties is going too far, isn't it? Sanlang is still your flesh and blood. It's easy to make a mark on the family tree, but what happens after that? Will that make you look good?"

Ninth Uncle placed the walnuts on the table, his cloudy old eyes glancing at Zhang's father and then at Zhang Sanlang.

"Your father was just saying things in anger, Sanlang, you should say a few nice words. How can a father and son hold a grudge overnight? Your uncles and great-uncles made this decision. Dividing the family is fine, but severing ties is not. If word gets out, will our Zhang family still be able to live in Juancheng?"

Zhang Sanlang seemed to want to laugh, but he held it back.

He didn't need to say anything more; Zhang's father, for the sake of Silang's future, certainly wouldn't listen to advice.

Sure enough, Zhang's father took a deep breath and said, "Uncle, Ninth Uncle. The Zhang family started by carrying loads to Juancheng to escape the disaster, and it wasn't until my grandfather took over that this shop was set up. For five generations, not a single person has become a proper scholar."

He looked at Zhang Shouzhi, his gaze almost burning with intensity.

That wasn't compassion; it was more like a gamble.

"Si Lang is truly promising. The prefectural school teacher himself praised him, saying he will surely pass the provincial examination next year. In this peaceful and prosperous era, with the success of the imperial examinations, the Zhang family will be able to advance even further."

He turned back and said, "I'd be willing to break my bones for this. What's a severance of ties with the son of a lowly clerk? Please have my uncles and aunts bear witness. We'll write the severance document today."

The great-uncle's lips moved, but in the end he couldn't say anything more.

The old man sighed and gestured for Zhang Shouzhi to fetch the brush and ink.

Zhang Shouzhi responded and quickly brought over a brush, ink, and a stack of plain paper from the bedroom, placing them on the table.

My great-uncle picked up his brush and dipped it in ink.

The pen tip hovered on the paper for a moment before falling.

He wrote slowly, each word as if carefully considered before falling to the ground.

When he wrote, "From this day forward, Zhang Shouli and his children have no further kinship ties with Zhang Shiqing's family, and their names are removed from the family genealogy," his pen stopped again.

He looked up at Zhang Sanlang, who had a cold smile on his lips, and then at Zhang's father, who had no expression.

The great-uncle sighed and continued writing.

After finishing writing the letter severing ties with his family, he put down his pen, blew away the ink, and pushed the paper toward Zhang Sanlang.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at the words on the paper but did not reach out to take it. "My great-uncle wrote legal documents in his early years, so writing a document severing ties is naturally fair and impartial. However, there is something I would like to ask about first."

Mr. Zhang frowned.

Zhang Sanlang's tone suddenly changed, "All these years I've lived at home, I've handed over my monthly stipend in full, and I haven't saved a single penny of my own money. With this severance of kinship document signed, where will the three of us, father and sons, live tomorrow?"

"What are we supposed to eat and drink? Father, do you expect me to take the two kids to sleep in the city gate tunnels and starve? Please forgive me for not daring to sign this letter of severance."

Zhang's father's lips moved.

The eldest great-uncle and the ninth great-uncle exchanged a glance.

Zhang's mother paused for a moment while fiddling with the prayer beads, then continued.

A moment later, Zhang Shouren suddenly stood up and laughed, "Father, what do you think about that old house in the east of the city...? It's not like my third brother won't have a place to stay. Transferring the old house to him would be a way to fulfill our father-son relationship."