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

"I understand." Those who can follow Green Bean Eyes are all very smart. They don't say much. They take out the abacus they carry with them and start to work.

They often went to various branches to check the various accounts of the imperial merchants. The amounts were large and complicated, so these things from the county government were no problem for them.

After arranging these, Zhang Ping'an took Hua Wanli to look at the criminal case files and official property registers.

Hua Wanli was a man of action. After sitting down, he started reading without a word.

Green Bean Eyes had brought someone with him and was relatively free. He crossed his legs and drank tea. "Ping An, there are always problems in handovers, especially in today's world. If there is really a problem, what are you going to do?"

Zhang Pingan pondered and said, "It depends on whether it's a big problem or a small one. I can handle small problems, but I can't handle big ones. I won't clean up their messes!"

After saying this, he thought of something and continued, "I think Magistrate Lu of Ci County is a good person and quite old, but that County Magistrate is not easy to deal with!"

"I see, it's just a local bully." The green-eyed man gave me an understanding look, then laughed and rubbed his hands, saying, "It's quite exciting, fighting a local bully with wits!"

"Well, the external identities of both of you are the legal advisors I hired. Brother Hua is mainly responsible for internal affairs and accounts. As for you, starting from tomorrow, you will follow me to socialize and visit the county magistrate, county lieutenant, chief clerk and various local gentry. The first is to get to know them and show a good attitude. The second is to find out some information and find out the distribution of power in the county. If we want to carry out our official duties smoothly here in the future, we still need their support for the time being," said Zhang Pingan.

"Okay, I'm good at socializing," said Green Eyes with a smile, looking energetic and not showing any sign of fatigue from the journey.

Before dinner time, half of the yellow books and account books had been counted.

An accountant came forward to report: "Master Zhang, Sixth Young Master, I've been responsible for checking the yellow books and account books from the first year of Jingcheng to the present day. I haven't found any problems, but..."

At this point, the accountant hesitated.

Zhang Pingan said in a deep voice: "If you have anything to say, just say it!"

"It's just that the tax revenue seems a little too low," the accountant said. "Ci County has a dock, a saltworks, and a shipyard. When I entered the city, I saw that the population was quite large, trade was thriving, and there were many vendors. The tax revenue shouldn't be so low. It's even less than what I had back home. This isn't normal!"

"I had a rough idea of ​​what you said when I looked through it this morning, but as the saying goes, to catch a thief, you must seize the stolen goods. Empty words cannot convince people. There must be factual evidence," Zhang Pingan said calmly.

If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. It would be abnormal if there were no problems at all.

Green Bean was used to this kind of thing and said leisurely, "There's generally nothing wrong with the accounts in recent years. We have to trace it back to the source, at least twenty years ago. Don't worry, there will be a result by tomorrow night at the latest!"

When it was time to leave the court, everyone returned to the inn to rest.

Zhang Ping'an ordered people to make local specialties.

Green Bean Eyes ate so much that he nodded repeatedly, praising the food endlessly. Finally, he held his stomach and sighed, "No wonder the ancients said that food and sex are human nature. They are right. This Ci County is a great place!"

"Foodie!" Hua Wanli commented mercilessly.

Everyone was tired and went to bed early in the evening.

The next day, the county government office was closed, so Zhang Ping'an took Green Bean Eyes and Chibao to visit County Magistrate Yu. After all, he was the second in command in the county, and according to the order of seniority, he should go to Yu's house first.

The rest of the people continued to go to the cabinet warehouse to reconcile the accounts.

The Yu family's house is not far from the county government office in the east of the city. From the outside, there is nothing unusual about it and it is not much different from the surrounding houses.

After entering, you will find a different world.

Every brick and tile shows luxury.

Even many of the ornaments on the garden rockery and corridors were shipped from overseas.

Even Green Bean Eyes was jealous and whispered to Zhang Pingan in his ear: "Tsk tsk tsk, it seems that County Magistrate Yu has been corrupt. His annual salary as a county magistrate is less than 100 taels of silver, but I see that those ornaments alone are worth more than 100 taels!"

"Don't talk nonsense," Zhang Pingan interrupted in a low voice.

The two of them sat in the flower hall for a while before County Magistrate Yu arrived. Before he even came close, he bowed from a distance and said, "It is truly an honor for this humble official to have received a visit from Lord Zhang. I hope you will forgive me for not welcoming you in person."

After saying that, he kicked the butler and scolded him, "You have no manners. When Master Zhang arrived, you didn't even bother to serve him a pot of good tea. How could this Biluochun tea please Master?"

Zhang Pingan: ...Who is this Yin Yang!

He remained calm and composed: "I don't understand tea, nor can I taste it. Even the best tea is useless to me!"

After the two sides practiced Tai Chi for a while, Zhang Pingan pretended to stand up and say goodbye.

Yu County Magistrate naturally tried his best to keep the guest. "Master Zhang, it's not easy for you to come here, so you should have a simple meal at my house. If I go back hungry, people will say I don't know etiquette!"

After some pushing and pulling, Zhang Pingan reluctantly took Green Bean Eyes to stay for dinner.

There was also a beautiful singer singing and playing at the table, and maids helping to serve the food.

But I didn't see any of County Magistrate Yu's family members.

Zhang Pingan looked around and said with a smile, "It's a day off today, how come I don't see your son here? I heard that the eldest son is in the Inspection Office, the second son is in the Salt Factory, and the third son is in the Household Department. They are all doing very well and are pillars of the country. I was thinking of getting to know them!"

Yu County Magistrate narrowed his eyes and smiled, waving his hand: "Sons are grown up and no longer under their father's control. They are all out! I will definitely let them visit Master Zhang another day!"

The words were flawless.

The meal consisted of alternating hot and cold dishes, and a variety of precious dishes. The standard of hospitality was comparable to that of Minister Qian of the Yue family.

I'm afraid it will cost more than ten taels of silver.

After both sides had a good chat and eaten their fill, Zhang Pingan came out with his green eyes.

"What do you think?" Zhang Ping'an asked while sitting in the carriage.

Don't be fooled by the man with green eyes who usually smiles and looks unattractive, he seems heartless, but he grew up in a wealthy merchant's family with complicated family relationships. In fact, he has a very smart mind and is very good at observing people's words and expressions.

He is good at both business and interpersonal relationships.

"I see that this person is very arrogant. He doesn't show any restraint at all in front of you, the new county magistrate," said the man with green eyes lazily, and his words hit the nail on the head.

The two did not return to the inn, but went directly to the yamen.

By the time the office was almost closed in the evening, the accountants had finished reviewing the account books in their hands, and there were quite a lot of problems.

The accountant in charge rubbed his sore eyes, combed his hair, and stood up, saying, "Master Zhang, Young Master, the others and I have checked the Yellow Book, the Fish Scale Atlas, and the account books for nearly thirty years. We've found that about 50% of the county's farmland is currently hidden, and the whereabouts of about 60% of the tax revenue is also unknown. I've marked the specific problematic areas. Please review them!"

"So many?" Zhang Pingan frowned.

Hua Wanli also stretched, rubbed his wrist, stood up and said, "I've basically finished sorting it out here, and I'm just waiting to go to the scene to take inventory tomorrow."