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

"As for those murder cases, Feng the Scarface has been on the run and has not been caught. The state authorities consider the testimonies of Qian Laohei and Donkey Three to be insufficient to be accepted, and therefore will not adopt them. The cases are to be closed within a specified period and will not be retried."

Zhang Sanlang had actually had a premonition.

The Kong family had been officials for three generations, operating in the local area for decades. Although they couldn't be said to have connections everywhere, they had informants throughout the county government and even many acquaintances in the prefecture.

It's likely that Kong Youan already knew things were going badly when Donkey Three escaped from prison, and used that time to arrange for his transfer to another prison.

The old fox had already made plans for all sorts of ordinary transactions.

Assassins like Feng Bazi, thugs like Donkey Three, traders like Qian Laohei, and clansmen like Kong Jiulang became scapegoats one after another.

Once the scandal breaks, they'll try to get people out of trouble if they can, and if not, they'll be discarded without hesitation. Even someone like Chen Youde, who has been a collaborator for many years, couldn't bring him down!

Sure enough, the officials were as slippery as oil.

There are at least three or four more slippery individuals like Kong You'an in the Zhencheng County government!

Zhang Sanlang pushed the management document forward. "Regarding the conversion of the Chen family mansion into an almshouse, the household registration department has already drafted the regulations, and the rice and grain will be allocated from the rent from the official land. Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Qing have already gone to handle the affairs today."

Registrar Gu's face had regained its usual calm. The anger brought on by the official document was suppressed in his heart. He only glanced at Xu Kai, and the two looked at each other for a moment before looking away.

Thirteen shops were rented or sold one after another, and most of the goods were also sold.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Sanlang turned to the last page of the account book and wrote down 1,273 strings of cash in the total column. He put down his pen, closed the account book, and walked towards Gu Yansheng's signing room.

Gu Yansheng flipped through the account books, nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and simply placed the account books on the corner of the table. "What about the three warehouses?"

"No one has inquired yet." Zhang Sanlang stood in front of the table. "Shop, warehouse, mules and horses, starting price 120 strings of cash, it's been listed for half a month and no one has come to inquire, which is quite strange."

Gu Yansheng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled meaningfully. "I understand. You may go about your business."

Zhang Sanlang left the signing room and hesitated for a moment in the corridor.

The three warehouses, along with their shops, storage facilities, and mules, had a very low starting price; he had originally estimated the bid would reach around two hundred strings of cash. But surprisingly, no one showed any interest!

He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Back in the household office, Wang Tiesi approached and said, "Zhang Qianxing, Feng Yashi sent someone to say that he would like to ask you to come over."

Zhang Sanlang put down the account book and walked towards the clerk's office.

Feng Jian sat behind his desk and, seeing Zhang Sanlang enter, gestured with his chin towards the two newly arrived clerks in the clerk's office. The two men, sensing the situation, picked up their teapots and left.

The door closed.

Feng Jian pointed to the chair, "Sit."

Zhang Sanlang sat down.

Feng Jian picked up his teacup and looked at Zhang Sanlang. "You've had your ads posted at the three warehouses for half a month, and nobody's asked about them?"

"no."

Feng Jian smiled.

The smile wasn't deep; the corners of his mouth twitched upwards, as if he were saying something unspoken, "That's good that no one's asking. The Chen family's things have already been divided up."

Zhang Sanlang's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Feng Jian leaned back in his chair. "Zhang Qianxing, now that you're in charge of the household affairs, this matter can't be kept from you any longer. Tell me honestly, who do you think bought those thirteen shops and their goods?"

"Everyone above the rank of Registrar Gu, County Lieutenant Xu, Clerk Tao, Assistant Magistrate Sun, Assistant Magistrate Zhou, Assistant Magistrate Li, and so on, will be allocated a share. Those with more money can buy, and those with less money can rent."

"Although we didn't discuss these things together, we all had a tacit understanding and it was decided long ago. You handled the contracts, didn't you know that?"

Zhang Sanlang was stunned for a moment.

During this period, he handled the Chen family's assets, processing more than a dozen transfers. The buyers of the shops and goods were all unfamiliar faces, so he didn't think much of it.

Now that Feng Jian said it, he finally realized that those unfamiliar faces were just front men representing the heads of various departments.

Zhang Sanlang let out a long breath, then suddenly realized what had happened at the docks: "Those three warehouses?"

Sure enough, Feng Jian picked up his teacup, blew on the tea foam, and casually said, "The warehouse is naturally reserved for us."

"we?"

"You, me, Yan Yasi, and He Lantou," Feng Jian put down his teacup, "each of you contribute twenty strings of cash, making a total of sixty strings. I will contribute sixty strings, making a total of one hundred and twenty strings."

Zhang Sanlang watched as the corner of his mouth twitched. "Clerk Feng, when was this decided?"

Feng Jian smiled. "It was decided the day the Chen family's property was confiscated. Why do you think Registrar Gu put you in charge of the investigation? It's not because you're good at keeping accounts, and you also have a share. Otherwise, why would a mere clerk like you get thirty strings of cash as a reward?"

Zhang Sanlang was speechless for a moment.

Feng Jian pulled a piece of paper from under the table and pushed it over. The paper had four lines of text written on it: Feng Jian 50%, Yan Shizhong 15%, He Lantou 15%, Zhang Shouli 15%, and Qian Laohei 0.5%.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at the name on the paper, then paused, "Qian Laohei? Isn't he serving time in the county jail?"

Feng Jian smiled slightly, "He understands the ins and outs of the docks. It's better to let him manage the warehouses than to hire outsiders. As for the service station, Chief Clerk Yan has made arrangements so that he can come out to work during the day and be locked up at night."

"Give him a monthly allowance, which is considered a stipend for his duties, plus a small share of the profits. Although it's not much, he won't dare to misbehave once he gets it. With hope in his eyes, who would want to go back to jail?"

Zhang Sanlang finally understood. He looked at the paper with some hesitation. "Clerk Feng, this matter..."

"You don't want to?" Feng Jian looked at him, a smile still on his lips, but a sharp glint flashed in his eyes for a moment.

Zhang Sanlang quickly shook his head, a smile plastered on his face, "What are you saying, Clerk Feng? You're flattering me; how could I possibly refuse!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Jian's smile returned, becoming more genuine. "That's good. You're a smart man after all. I'll cover your share of the principal; we'll use the twenty strings of cash that Registrar Gu gave you before."

"A wise person knows when to yield. I don't need to spell it out for you. In a county government office, it's not enough to just be good at your job, nor is it enough to just be good at currying favor. You have to know how to distinguish between the two."

He narrowed his eyes and his expression became more serious. "You've handled the investigation, rental, and monetization, working hard for so many days. Twenty strings of cash for shares isn't much."

Zhang Sanlang nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, Clerk Feng! But there's something I still don't understand. Everyone above the rank of Assistant Magistrate is entitled to a share, so why aren't the County Magistrate and the County Assistant Magistrate included?"

Feng Jian paused for a moment, then put down his teacup. He looked at Zhang Sanlang with a mixture of scrutiny and approval in his eyes. "You dare to ask."

He leaned back in his chair to find a more comfortable position. "Magistrate Shen and Assistant Magistrate Sun's terms will expire next year. They are temporary officials; they'll leave once their terms are over. What's the point of having these properties? They can't take them with them. It's better to take the cash."