The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

The handover procedures between the old and new county magistrates are complicated and cannot be resolved with just a few words. It takes at least half a month and at most one or two months.

The core contents of the handover mainly include household registration and taxes, criminal and civil case files, warehouses and official property, and written archives.

The Yellow Book is used to verify population and land data to prevent hidden households from evading taxes, while the money and grain account book is used to check tax silver and granary inventory. The former county magistrate needs to settle the overdue or over-collected amounts before leaving office.

The accounts of grain in government warehouses and silver vaults must be checked on site, and the deeds of public property such as county schools, post stations, and government fields must be handed over together.

Correspondence, lawsuits and memorials all need to be marked with processing progress.

Only after these handovers are made clear, and both parties sign the "Handover Book" and report it to the government office for filing, can the official seal be handed over, and a handover ceremony be held under the witness of local gentry and nobles, and the official office be officially taken.

Zhang Ping'an went to the county government office today and started by sorting out the yellow book.

Of course, he certainly couldn't read all of these by himself, so he just went through the process and opened the yellow books, account books and various case files and documents from previous years.

We have to wait for Green Bean Eyes and his men to arrive before we can officially start work.

After arriving at the yamen, County Magistrate Lu was very cooperative.

Without saying a word, he ordered people to open the warehouse and transferred some people from the household department.

"Sir Zhang, these people in the household office usually deal with case files and money. They are all experts in accounting. If you can use them, feel free to send them at your disposal!" County Magistrate Lu said with a smile.

Zhang Ping'an looked at the other person's smiling face and could see a sense of relief in it, as if the man was eager to push the hot potato of Ci County to himself.

But no matter what, the other party's cooperation reduced a lot of work resistance, and he was still very grateful.

Zhang Pingan bowed and thanked him: "Thank you for troubling Master Lu!"

Magistrate Lu waved his hand, acting like a kind elder, and said with a smile, "We are all colleagues, why are you being so polite? I am already an old man, and after I hand over the task to you, there will be nothing left for me to do. I can then return to my hometown in Shan County to enjoy my retirement."

"Speaking of which, Lord Lu is only in his forties, yet he still possesses the courage of Lian Po. Why doesn't he seek an official position?" Zhang Ping'an asked with a smile.

Most scholars have a desire to become an official. He remembered that County Magistrate Lu passed the imperial examination when he was over 30 years old. After two years of waiting, he was sent to Ci County to be the county magistrate. He never moved during that time.

In other words, he only served as a county magistrate for six years, and then resigned and retired. This style of behavior is actually not in line with the current mainstream.

County Magistrate Lu was also frank, stroking his beard and saying self-deprecatingly, "I'm old, I don't have that in mind anymore. I was born in a farming and scholarly family in Shan County, Lingnan. My family is quite wealthy there. We have many officials who have been exiled and demoted. They all praise the north for being so good and calling us an uncivilized land. Over time, this has led to generations of people in our area wanting to escape north whenever they have a bit of talent. Everyone believes in the saying, 'Books contain golden houses and beautiful women.'"

At this point, County Magistrate Lu shook his head and said, "Alas, my father saw that I had some talent for studying, so he devoted all our family's efforts to supporting me. I stayed up late every day to study hard, not daring to stop for a single day. I finally passed the imperial examination when I was in my thirties, and then waited another two years to be promoted to a county magistrate. I thought my future was bright and open, but who knows what the position of a county magistrate will be like. I ask myself if what I have done is worthy of the conscience of heaven and earth and my belly full of poetry and books. I work hard every day and can't sleep at night. When I went home to visit my family three years ago, I already looked older than my eldest brother. Now I'm 40 and I really don't want to toss around anymore. I just want to live a few years of comfortable life in peace and contentment, and live as long as I can!"

"This..." Zhang Ping'an felt a little sympathetic when he heard this. Isn't it like working like a beast of burden all his life without a rest and without enjoying anything?

But I also admire them a little. There are so few officials who can remember their original aspirations. It's like panning for gold in the sand!

After County Magistrate Lu finished speaking, he didn't wait for Zhang Ping'an to say anything else. He brushed off his clothes, stood up, and said happily with his hands behind his back: "I have endured hardships for most of my life, and it's time for me to enjoy a few years. Master Zhang, you can take your time. I'm leaving now!"

Zhang Ping stood still and looked at the back of County Magistrate Lu. After a while, he turned around and returned to Jiaku Pavilion.

In addition to the yellow books from recent years, there are also old books that were previously sealed, as well as various account books.

A unique old smell of books hit me in the face, but fortunately it was well kept and the person who cleaned it was probably diligent, so there wasn't much dust.

Zhang Ping'an ordered people to arrange them one by one according to the year.

Then he looked through the case files and counted all the government property.

Time passed quickly and soon it was noon.

It's time for lunch.

A yamen runner came over and asked, "Sir, would you like to go to the back hall to eat, or should I bring it to you?"

Zhang Pingan stretched himself and said, "Send it to me!"

When the yamen runners brought lunch over, Zhang Ping'an hadn't taken a few bites when someone came to the door and announced, "Master Zhang, your legal advisor has arrived!"

"Oh?" Zhang Pingan perked up when he heard that. He stood up and said, "Let them in!"

"Hey!" The bailiff responded and ran out quickly to call for help.

After a while, Green Bean Eyes and Hua Wanli came in behind the yamen runners, followed by a dozen people.

As soon as Green Bean Eyes approached, he bowed and saluted, saying loudly: "I pay my respects to Master Zhang!"

Zhang Ping'an's eyelids twitched when he heard this. It turns out this guy is quite an actor!

However, since there were still yamen runners present, he could only cooperate and said, "No need for formalities. You all must have come all the way here, thank you for your hard work. Let's go to the back yamen for lunch first!"

"I am happy to share your worries," Green Bean Eyes said loudly, his tone so sincere that he almost swore to the sky.

Now even Hua Wanli couldn't hold it anymore and twitched his lips.

After stepping forward and bowing, he said, "Master Zhang, we had lunch on the way and have just instructed the accompanying servants to go to the post house to settle down first. The rest of the people who followed are Brother Ge's confidants, and they are first-rate accountants. Why don't we get straight to the point? According to the division of labor we agreed on earlier, Brother Ge will be responsible for the yellow book account books, and I will be responsible for the criminal and civil case files and government property."

Zhang Ping'an was not one to drag his feet, so he simply said, "Okay, then let's get to work first, and I'll reward you in the evening!"

After the yamen runners left, everyone filed into the warehouse.

Green Bean Eyes then chuckled and stroked his chin, saying, "You know what, this job is quite interesting. It turns out being a legal advisor is not bad after all!"

"This is not fun," Zhang Pingan rolled his eyes and said unhappily.

Green Bean Eyes waved his hands: "I know, I know. Although I am not very good at studying, I still know the difference between the important and the unimportant. My father is very supportive of my coming here this time. He lets me learn more and gain some experience from you!"

After saying that, he pointed to the dozen or so accountants who followed him and said, "These people are all elders in our family. They are absolutely trustworthy and have first-class abacus. Whether it's the open accounts or the hidden accounts, as long as there is a problem, they will not escape their scrutiny. You can use them as you please!"

"Thank you very much," Zhang Ping'an bowed. There was no need for many words between good brothers.

Zhang Ping'an pointed out the various categories of yellow books and years to the accountants one by one, and finally said, "Report any problems immediately! Strive for speed and accuracy!"