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

He turned to Zhou Qing, his gaze like a knife. "This county town is tiny; you can run away, but you can't hide. From now on, every day you sell fruit in the market, I'll have my stall smashed. Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Zhou Qing's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Chen Youde turned and stepped out of the courtyard gate, then got into the carriage.

The coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage sped out of Kujing Lane.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at Zhou Qing and his wife. "Close the gate. Don't open it again if the Chen family comes. Send someone to the county office to call me."

Zhou Qing nodded.

After whispering for a while, Zhang Sanlang left the main room, pushed open the door of the east wing, and went inside.

happy Mei sat at the low table, holding a needle and thread in her hand, the needle hovering in mid-air.

Qingge'er lay on her lap, his face buried in her chest, his little hands clutching the hem of her clothes, grinning like a monkey.

"Father," Ximei looked up, "Is everything alright outside?"

"It's alright. Add two more servings of meat tonight." Zhang Sanlang took out the food from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Qingge'er cheered and climbed out of Ximei'er's arms. He walked to the bedside, pulled a silver ingot from under his pillow, and presented it to Zhang Sanlang like a treasure. "Father, here you go. My sister said this is a good thing!"

The silver ingot, weighing about ten taels, rolled on the table. It was the same one that Chen Youde had left on the stone table in the courtyard.

Zhang Sanlang frowned. "Where did this come from?"

"Aunt Zhou brought it in just now," Xi Mei'er continued. "She said it was given to Father by Master Chen as compensation, and it would be a waste not to accept it. If Father doesn't accept it, he won't appreciate your kindness."

Zhang Sanlang looked at the silver ingot, sighed, and still put it in his pocket, "Qing-ge'er."

"Um?"

"Go to the kitchen and bring me the porridge your sister made. Dad's hungry, let's eat."

Qing-ge responded and ran out.

happy Mei stood up, took away the sewing basket on the table, and made room for it.

Zhang Sanlang sat down at the low table, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes. The silver ingot was tucked into his pocket; it was hard and painful against his chest.

Chen Youde is a scoundrel, but money is definitely a good thing.

Given his status, he couldn't do anything to the other party for the time being, so he had no choice but to swallow his anger, accept the money, and settle the matter.

However, Zhang Sanlang never dreamed that the tree could not remain still while the wind continued to blow!

The next day around noon, Old Zhao rushed into the house, his face filled with panic. "Zhang Qianxing, Ma Dashou is in trouble. Last night, some thugs ambushed him and beat him severely. He's already dying!"

Zhang Sanlang was startled and jumped up, dropping his pen onto the table, where ink splattered onto the book, spreading into a thick black blot.

Without even asking for leave, he started walking out, shouting, "Where is he?"

"She's still at his house. Two girls are watching over her, crying their eyes out." Old Zhao jogged after him, panting. "I'm off today, and I was thinking of going to see if his daughter had come back, but when I got to the door I heard..."

Zhang Sanlang didn't stop walking. "Have you called a doctor yet?"

"They did. The village's barefoot doctor went to see him, shook his head, and left. He said the injury was too severe and couldn't be saved."

Zhang Sanlang didn't ask any more questions and strode towards the back gate of the county government office.

Several servants on duty in the corridor moved aside when they saw his expression.

After leaving the back gate of the county government office, the two rented a donkey cart at the donkey and horse market at the street corner. The donkey owner was a thin old man. After inquiring that they were going to Chenjiazhuang, he quoted a fare of fifty copper coins.

Old Zhao thought it was too expensive and wanted to bargain, but Zhang Sanlang waved his hand, counted out fifty coins from his sleeve, and handed them over.

Although the donkey cart was not fast, it was still better than walking, and the two arrived at Chenjiazhuang in less than half an hour.

Ma Dashou lay on the earthen bed, his face pale, his head covered in scabs, and a tattered quilt covering him.

The two girls knelt by the kang (a heated brick bed), the older one being twelve or thirteen years old, and the younger one being about the same age as Ximei. They hugged each other and cried, their tears soaking a large area of ​​their clothes.

When Ma Dashou saw Zhang Sanlang, his eyes lit up, his lips moved, and the voice seemed to be squeezed out from his throat, "Zhang... Zhang Qian..."

Zhang Sanlang squatted down. "Uncle Ma, do you know who did this?"

Ma Dashou shook his head, raised his hand, and pointed tremblingly at the two maids, then at Zhang Sanlang, his finger hovering in the air as if waiting for something.

The two maids looked up, their faces streaked with tears, and timidly gazed at Zhang Sanlang.

Even if he was slow-witted, he understood what Old Man Ma meant. He glanced at Old Zhao, who, as expected, avoided eye contact and turned his face away.

Zhang Sanlang looked into Ma Dashou's eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke, "You want me to take care of them?"

Tears streamed down Ma Dashou's face, cutting into the wrinkles of his cheeks.

He nodded, his hand still raised in the air, unwilling to put it down.

Zhang Sanlang reached out and grasped Ma Dashou's calloused hand. "Don't worry, I'll find a way to take care of the two of them."

Ma Dashou's lips twitched, as if he were smiling.

In less than fifteen minutes, his hand slowly loosened, his eyes were still open, but the light had gradually faded.

The two maids rushed over, their heart-wrenching cries echoing from the house and reverberating through the alley.

Zhang Sanlang squatted by the kang (a heated brick bed), and Ma Dashou's hand was already cold. He gently put that hand back under the quilt, stood up, and glanced at the two maids.

The older one held the younger one tightly, their shoulders heaving, and gradually their voices became hoarse from crying.

He couldn't bear to look, so he turned and left the house.

Old Zhao squatted outside the threshold, his hands supporting his knees, his head down, and his shoulders hunched.

Zhang Sanlang walked up to him. "Old Zhao, did you come looking for me, Ma Boto?"

Old Zhao raised his head, his face turning red and then white.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally nodded. "Yes. Old Ma was knocked unconscious last night, and Qiao'er came to find me this morning. When I rushed over, he told me what his last wishes were."

Old Zhao's voice trailed off, "Madam Ma passed away two years ago, and there are really no relatives or friends we can entrust her with..."

Zhang Sanlang looked at him. "Why didn't I entrust it to you?"

Old Zhao gave a wry smile, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and said, "Zhang Qianxing, you don't know my family. My mother takes medicine all year round, my wife is also in poor health, and we have three children, the eldest is only thirteen, and the youngest is still in my arms."

"I'm struggling to make ends meet, how can I support two more people? Old Ma knows I'm in a difficult situation. He said you're a good person with a government job, and if the two children come to your house, just give them some food, consider it as buying two maids."

Zhang Sanlang glared at him fiercely, then leaned helplessly against the doorframe, looking at the earthen wall in the courtyard. A few withered grasses grew on the top of the wall, swaying in the wind.

Old Zhao stood up, patted the dirt off his knees, and said, "These two girls aren't Ma Dashou's biological daughters. Their original surname is Lin, and they're from the same village as me. Their father is called Lin Laogui, an honest man, but he's afraid of his mother."

"Old Lady Lin is formidable; she's notoriously shrewish in the village, capable of driving people to their deaths by her tirade. When Old Lady Lin's wife gave birth to two girls in a row, Old Lady Lin became furious and started making veiled attacks all the time."

"They say raising a hen will at least lay eggs, but raising a wife will only result in giving birth to a money-losing child." Lin's wife couldn't stand it and argued with her mother-in-law several times, the arguments escalating. One time, Lin's mother-in-law's insults became so vile that Lin's wife, in despair, attempted suicide by drowning.

Zhang Sanlang frowned as he listened.