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

Qing-ge chuckled, "Sister said money is a good thing!"

Just as the father and son finished setting up the money box, Old Sun came from the gatehouse to the backyard, still holding a straw rope in his hand. He was stunned when he saw the backyard piled with things.

The old man grinned, bent down, picked up a basket of dried fruit, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and without saying a word, carried it to the room where the He family usually kept finished carpentry work.

Brothers Afang and Azheng came from the west wing.

A-Fang picked up a jar of wine, and A-Zheng carried two bolts of cloth, following behind Old Sun.

As Sun's wife came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, her eyes widened when she saw what was in the backyard.

She happily bent down, picked up a basket of cured meat, and turned to carry it to the kitchen.

Since Zhang Sanlang moved into the main house, he worried that Ximei'er would have trouble cooking, so he discussed with Aunt Sun and her daughter about cooking together. They were naturally very happy to agree, and gradually abandoned the small stove under the east wing corridor.

A-Yun followed behind her, carrying two large bags of fine tea, and walked briskly to the main room.

People went in and out, and after half an hour they still hadn't finished moving everything.

Zhang Sanlang rolled up his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

happy Mei hurriedly went to serve him tea, but A Yun had already brewed loose tea and brought the pot over to distribute it to everyone.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at the rice, flour, and cloth piled up under the eaves, then turned around and took out two bags of rice, one bag of flour, two reams of paper, and a packet of tea.

He first went up to Old Sun and handed him the rice and noodles, saying, "Uncle Sun, it's New Year's, take these home and eat them."

Old Sun didn't stand on ceremony and grinned as he accepted the gift. "Sanlang, you're very lucky!"

Zhang Sanlang then walked up to the Fang brothers and handed them the tea leaves and two reams of paper. "Fang, I know you love tea. This is loose-leaf tea from Xuanzhou, please try it. The paper is for Zheng."

A-Fang was stunned for a moment, "Uncle Zhang, how can this be? You've helped us brothers so much..."

Zhang Sanlang shoved the things into his hands. "Take it. It's New Year's, don't refuse."

A-Fang took it, his voice a little hoarse, "Uncle Zhang, thank you."

A-Zheng stood to the side, holding the two reams of paper in his hands, and silently bowed to Zhang Sanlang.

Zhang Sanlang patted him on the shoulder, turned around and pulled out a bolt of white ramie cloth from the pile of fabrics, handing it to Sister Sun. "This cloth is soft; it's suitable for you and your daughter to make two outfits."

Aunt Sun grinned from ear to ear, "Zhang Qianxing, how could I accept this? Since you moved back, Ayun and I have received so much care from you!"

Zhang Sanlang smiled slightly, "I'm usually busy at the county office. If it weren't for you all taking care of Ximei and Qingge, how could I be at ease while I'm out here?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Sun smiled and held the cloth to her chest, said a few more polite words, and turned to go back to the east wing.

A-Yun stood to the side, holding a teapot and smiling shyly at Zhang Sanlang.

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment, then pulled out a piece of light blue silk from the pile of cloth and handed it to her.

A-Yun paused for a moment, then subconsciously took it and touched it before looking up at him.

Zhang Sanlang glanced at her and said, "This fabric is perfect for making the outer layer of a ruyao (a type of traditional Chinese jacket), and the color suits you too."

A-Yun lowered her head and hugged the plain silk to her chest. "Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

The sound was very soft.

When Aunt Sun returned from the east wing, she saw the scene and her lips twitched.

There wasn't much left, and the whole thing was moved in the time it takes to eat a meal.

Since the kitchen was shared, Zhang Sanlang didn't distribute rice or noodles to them anymore. Sun's wife and daughter did the work, while the brothers A Fang and A Zheng contributed oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. He provided the rice and noodles, and after the meal was prepared, they went back to their respective rooms to eat.

Zhang Sanlang turned and went back to the main room. happy Mei was putting things into the newly made kang cabinet, and Qing Ge was squatting next to her helping to pass them.

Lin Xiuer sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), a piece of candied fruit in her mouth, her eyes still swollen, but she had stopped crying. She carried some valuables and snacks from the ground onto the kang.

Seeing that the children were well-behaved, Zhang Sanlang felt a sense of satisfaction. He sat down at the table in the main room and picked up a cup of hot tea to sip.

happy Mei stuffed the last bolt of plain silk into the cabinet, closed the lid, clapped her hands, and walked over. "Father, where should we put these things in the main room?"

Zhang Sanlang pointed to the corner of the wall, "Let's leave it piled up for now. We'll clean it up tomorrow."

Qingge climbed onto the chair, rested his chin on the edge of the table, and asked with bright eyes, "Dad, are we rich now?"

Zhang Sanlang glanced at him. "A little bit."

Qing Ge'er chuckled foolishly.

Xi Mei patted him gently on the head. "Even if we have money, we can't spend it recklessly. We have to use it sparingly; we have a long life ahead of us."

Qingge shrank his neck, slid off the chair, ran to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed a handful of dried dates from the basket, and stuffed them into Lin Xiuer's hands. "Sister Xiuer, let's play cat's cradle."

Lin Xiuer took the date and pouted, "You don't even know how to flip it."

"I can!" Qingge pulled a red string from his sleeve, which he had taken from Ximei's sewing basket. He wrapped the string around his finger twice, clumsily stretched it out, and made a crooked frame.

Lin Xiuer glanced at it, stuffed the dates into her pocket, stretched out both hands, hooked the two forks in the middle of the rope, and flipped it outwards. The rope spun in the air and fell down to become a square net.

Qingge'er was stunned. "How did you translate that?"

Lin Xiuer didn't say anything, but took the rope off her hand and handed it to him, "Watch carefully."

She slowed down her movements, hooking, flipping, and pulling, and in three quick motions, she flipped it into a different shape.

Qingge tried to imitate her, but he hooked the rope in the wrong place, and it got tangled up and stuck on his finger. He tried to shake it off but couldn't, and he stamped his feet in frustration.

Lin Xiuer laughed, untied the rope from his hands, and stretched it out again. "How can you be so clumsy!"

Qing-ge'er was unconvinced and said, "Let's try again."

This time he wasn't in a hurry. He stared at Lin Xiuer's fingers, following their movements step by step. After some wobbling and twisting, he finally found it. Holding up the deformed rope, he grinned, "Sister Xiuer, look, it's done!"

Lin Xiuer glanced at it and immediately curled her lip, "Ugly."

Qingge'er wasn't annoyed. He flipped over again, and the rope became even more tangled, getting stuck on his fingers and he couldn't untangle it.

He ran to Ximei with both hands outstretched, "Sister, help me untie this!"

happy Mei was helping A Yun in the kitchen, not even looking up. "Who told you to take the rope from my sewing basket?"

Upon hearing this, Qingge hid his hands behind his back and ran back sheepishly.

Zhang Sanlang sat at the table and flipped through the account book again. The dividend of forty-five strings of cash, plus the New Year's goods worth about twenty strings of cash, totaled sixty-five strings of cash.

Adding what I had saved up before, and the rewards I received a few days ago, I still have fifty-four strings of cash left after deducting daily expenses.

He picked up a pen and wrote a line on the paper.

There are a total of ninety-nine strings of cash.

As for the rent and land rent, those few coins are nothing to him now.

Dinner was prepared by Aunt Sun and her daughter, and A-Yun helped carry a portion to the table in the main room. The rice was a mixture of rice and millet, a kind of mixed rice dish, mostly white with a little yellow, and the aroma was irresistible.

Zhang Sanlang couldn't resist taking a sniff first.

In his time, food was plentiful, which was undoubtedly a great blessing. It's just a slight pity that high yields inevitably affected the taste; where else could one find such a rich, fragrant rice aroma?

I can eat two big bowls of food even without eating vegetables!

The dishes were simple: a plate of stir-fried cabbage stalks with cured pork, a plate of plain stir-fried cabbage, and a bowl of pickled vegetables with tofu. This reminded Zhang Sanlang of a scene, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.