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

He pulled a note from the corner of the desk and placed it on the table. "Cash is too heavy, so I've already prepared the silver. Magistrate Shen's share is five hundred taels, and the county clerk's share is three hundred taels. We'll divide it from the money from the sale of the shops and goods."

Zhang Sanlang looked at the note; the handwriting was neat and there was no red seal on it.

Eight hundred taels of silver is eight hundred strings of cash.

All the shops and goods under Chen Youde's name totaled 1,393 strings of cash.

The eight hundred strings of cash were divided between the two masters, leaving five hundred and ninety-three strings of cash.

Feng Jian had already noticed Zhang Sanlang's expression. "After the conversion, there are still 600 strings of cash left, and more than 500 strings of cash left from the Chen family's confiscation. Together, we can send 1,000 strings of cash to the prefecture as official funds for the prefectural government."

"Once the prefecture receives this thousand strings of cash, it will be quick to approve the county's official documents and judgments. Otherwise, why do you think the prefectural government's reply is so fast? If, as you say, only 30% is sent to the prefecture, I'm afraid there might not be a reply even after the New Year."

Zhang Sanlang's face flushed slightly. He cursed inwardly, but could only force a smile on his face.

Feng Jian laughed heartily, "It's already quite good that 1,300 strings of cash have been allocated to the county government's public funds. In addition, with 580 mu of official land, we can still harvest 400 to 500 shi of grain into the county granary every year."

"Registrar Gu is satisfied, County Lieutenant Xu is satisfied, and all the clerks and assistants are satisfied." He paused, "And you, Zhang Sanlang, are satisfied too, right?"

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Zhang Sanlang's forehead. He cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Clerk Feng."

Feng Jian waved his hand, and knowing his place, he turned and left the office.

The sunlight in the corridor was blindingly bright, shining on the blue brick floor.

He narrowed his eyes and walked towards the household.

When the Chen family fell, everyone in the county government was affected.

The county magistrate and his assistant took the cash and will leave the following year.

Each landlord took over the property and collected rent and dividends every year.

He, along with Feng Jian, Yan Shizhong, and He Lantou, took over the warehouse, which was then managed by Qian Laohei.

black!

That's outrageous!

Even more ruthless than Qian Laohei!

He remembered what Tao Cheng had said.

Give some of the profits to the subordinates, so they will have hope.

So that some of the profits could be shared with those who weren't involved in the case, and they wouldn't be envious.

So that's the real meaning.

The servants received tens or hundreds of coins, which was just a small amount of money to keep them quiet.

The real lion's share was divided among the heads of each department.

Whether he liked it or not, Zhang Sanlang got a small share, which meant he had officially joined the circle.

His pen fell to the ground, and he began to write on the register.

The handwriting was neat and tidy, just like usual.

The sunlight was just right outside the window, and the sound of the janitor sweeping the yard could be heard from inside. The broom swished across the ground with a soft, rustling sound.

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Sanlang returned from his shift, sat down at his desk, and emptied the money bag from his arms onto the table.

Copper coins, loose silver, and receipts from the county granary were piled up in a small heap.

He counted and calculated, and it came to about sixty strings of cash.

This doesn't even include the twenty strings of cash given by Clerk Feng, or the cost of the dock and warehouse!

He recalled that when he moved a few months ago, he only had a few dozen coins left in his pocket, and shook his head with a wry smile.

The next day, Zhou Qing and his wife officially returned to move.

The mule cart had been parked all morning, filled with jars and cans.

Zhou Chenshi stood in the courtyard for a long time, holding an old wooden box. She was looking at the door of the main house, where the paper-cut window decorations she had pasted last year were still pasted on the lintel, but they had long since faded and the corners of the paper were curling up.

Zhou Qing carried the last box onto the car, turned around and called out, and only then did she come to her senses. She curtsied to Zhang Sanlang and got into the car.

The mule cart creaked and groaned as it drove away.

When Zhang Sanlang returned from his shift, the main room was already empty.

The main building has three rooms, facing south.

In the middle was a bright and spacious hall with an eight-immortal table, two round-backed chairs, and a long table against the wall. Originally, Zhou's father's memorial tablet was placed on the table, but now it was empty.

The east room is the master bedroom, with a large kang (heated brick bed) covered with straw. Zhou Chenshi moved the bedding away, leaving only a bare kang, which could comfortably accommodate four or five people.

The west room was also a bedroom, but it didn't have a heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed). There was a large wooden bed by the window, which Zhou Qing and his wife used to store their fruit baskets and other miscellaneous items.

Zhang Sanlang looked around and went back to the east wing to call Qing Ge'er over.

Qingge'er skipped into the main room, circled around it, and looked up at him, asking, "Dad, are we going to live here from now on?"

"Yes. The two of us will stay in the west room."

Qingge ran into the west room, rolled around on the bed a couple of times, and then jumped out again. "Where do Sister Qiao'er and the others live?"

Zhang Sanlang stood in the courtyard for a moment, then called out to the east wing, "happy Mei'er, Qiao'er, Xiu'er, come here."

Three girls came out from the east wing in response.

Zhang Sanlang pointed to the west room of the main house, "Ximei, you, Qiao'er, and Xiu'er will stay in the east room. There's a heated kang there, and you girls won't be able to stand the cold when it gets cold. Qing'er and I will stay in the west room."

happy Mei'er was taken aback for a moment. "Dad, aren't you cold?"

Qing-ge puffed out his chest. "I'm a boy! Grandpa Sun said, 'A silly boy sleeps on a cold kang (heated brick bed) because he's got a strong temper!'"

Before he could finish speaking, happy Mei glared at him, and he instinctively shrank back, turned around, and ran away.

Lin Qiao'er pulled her younger sister into the west room first, looked around the room, and then went to make the beds. Then she went to the east wing to fetch Zhang Sanlang and Qing Ge'er's bedding and made them up.

Then he helped Ximei tidy her bedding on the kang in the east room.

After a short while, Lin Xiuer climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), rolled around on the quilt, and rolled into Lin Qiaoer's arms, giggling.

Lin Qiao'er gently patted her head, "Stop fooling around, it's not laid out yet."

In the west room, Qingge'er had already taken off his shoes and was doing somersaults on the bed.

The bed creaked and groaned as he tossed and turned, his hair soon a tangled mess, his face flushed with exhaustion. Zhang Sanlang sat down on the edge of the bed, and Qingge rolled over to his side. "Dad, this bed is so much bigger than the one in the east wing."

Zhang Sanlang lifted him up. "Stop flipping around. If the bed board breaks, you'll be sleeping on the floor tonight?"

Qingge sat obediently, his two little feet swinging restlessly back and forth.

After Ximei and the other two finished tidying up their bedding, none of them were idle. Ximei wiped the octagonal table and the long table, while the Lin sisters moved their belongings over piece by piece.

Ah-Yun and He's mother also came out to help. With many people and little stuff, they finished tidying up in less than half an hour.

Slight sweat beaded on Zhang Sanlang's forehead. He sat down at the octagonal table and poured himself a bowl of water.

Qingge ran out of the west room, climbed onto a chair, and lay on the table watching his sister sew shoe soles.

When the needle goes in, he looks at it from this side; when the needle comes out, he looks at it from the other side.

happy Mei'er got annoyed by his staring, so she waved the needle in front of him and said, "If you keep looking, I'll prick you."

Qingge shrank his neck, slid off the chair, and ran to the backyard to play with Huzi.

Lin Xiuer peeked out from the east room, looked at the main room, and then shrank back inside.

After a while, she peeked out again, holding a paper butterfly in her hand, which A-Yun had taught her to fold. She held up the paper butterfly and waved it at Zhang Sanlang, "Uncle Zhang, isn't it pretty?"

Zhang Sanlang glanced at it and exclaimed, "Beautiful! Is our Xiu'er so skillful with her hands?"

Lin Xiuer grinned, ran back to the east room, and stuck the paper butterfly on the window frame.

The window paper had a hole, and a paper butterfly was stuck next to the hole. When the wind blew, its wings fluttered as if it wanted to fly away.