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

The county magistrates of Yu County and Hu County, which are adjacent to Ci County, were directly stripped of their official hats and exiled to Lingnan because they were involved in the Gong family's corruption and treason case!

The imperial court did not send another county magistrate to take over, but directly merged Yu County and Hu County into Ci County, which was governed by Zhang Ping'an.

In this way, this is also the largest and most populous county in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which is equivalent to increasing the power in Zhang Pingan's hands in disguise.

Lieutenant General Zhou hinted, "The imperial court will vigorously develop Ci County in the future!"

In addition to Zhang Ping'an, my eldest brother-in-law and Xiao Yifei were also said to have been promoted.

My eldest brother-in-law is now a small boss with some power in the Five Cities Military Department, and he is becoming more and more steady and low-key.

Xiao Yifei mentioned the promotion in passing in his letter, otherwise Zhang Pingan would not have known about it.

When Mrs. Xu learned about this, she praised: "Daya is so lucky! Sanlang is becoming more and more capable!"

Zhang said, "A good blacksmith must be strong himself. Although all this is earned by Sanlang himself, it is not easy for Daya to manage the whole family at home. It is because of her good help that Sanlang has such a bright future!"

"Grandma is right. A harmonious family is the foundation of everything. Without my eldest sister's silent support, my eldest brother-in-law wouldn't be able to work hard to make a career outside. This marriage between the two of them is really the right one. Their personalities match well together," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

At this point, Xu said with some sadness: "It was your second aunt who suggested this marriage. Back then, it was thanks to her help and attention. Alas, I wonder how she is doing now!"

This topic is too heavy. Everyone knows that the situation in the north is not good right now, so people usually don’t mention things about relatives and friends in the north easily. After all, no matter how much they say, it won’t help!

That’s all I have to say today.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Everyone has their own destiny," Mrs. Xu paused before continuing, "Now that you all have good futures, just take care of your own little piece of land. No one can predict what will happen in the future."

Yingniang smiled and agreed gently, "Yes, we are living a life of wonder now!"

Zhang Ping'an thought back to the past and it seemed like just yesterday. It was true that the flowers were the same year after year, but the people were different.

After several counties were merged together, Zhang Pingan immediately became busy.

Merging together and governing on behalf of others have completely different meanings.

So the first thing is the household registration issue, and the second is the taxation issue, which must be dealt with immediately and a specific set of regulations must be sorted out.

It is already late July, and the autumn harvest will be here in a few days. After the harvest, taxes will be collected immediately, so time is very tight.

Fang Ziqi and Chen Jianqiu, as the legal advisors, were also busy like tops.

You also have to place people you trust in important positions to adjust the relationships and conflicts among your subordinates.

Zhang Ping'an worked in the yamen until late at night every day. When he came back from the yamen at night, he was so tired that he didn't even want to say a word.

The others had already gone to rest, only Zhang Laoer and two servants were still waiting in the side hall.

"Dad, why aren't you sleeping yet?" Zhang Ping'an was a little tired. After a moment of hesitation, he asked in surprise.

"I want to talk to you about something about the experimental field. I saw you were busy during the day and didn't want to disturb you at work, so I waited for you in the back hall. You must be tired, so have a midnight snack first," Zhang Laoer replied with a bit of heartache in his eyes.

The two servants were specially kept to serve, and upon hearing the words, they immediately went to bring out the warm midnight snack.

"Okay, then I'll listen while I eat," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

"Hey," Zhang Laoer responded and sat next to his son.

After Zhang Pingan had taken a few bites, he slowly said, "Son, it's almost time for the harvest. I know you've been very busy lately, but if you're free, you'd better take the time to visit the experimental fields. Although there are field officials recording the progress every day, it's still different from seeing it with your own eyes. The crops in the experimental fields are growing very well this time. This is the first time in all my years of farming that I've grown such full rice. The grains are big, dense, and heavy. It makes me happy just looking at them!"

I think it's best not to sell it, but to save it for seeds. This seed is definitely much better than ordinary seeds. For ordinary people, even if the yield increases by 20 to 30 kilograms per mu, it can mean a few more full meals. It might even be life-saving food."

"Dad, I have been following this matter. Food is the foundation of the country. I have always cared about the experimental fields. However, the household registration is indeed necessary without me. It has a time limit and cannot be delayed. So it has been delayed for a few days. I plan to go and see it as soon as the household registration is completed, which will probably be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," Zhang Pingan replied after wiping his mouth.

After saying this, he smiled helplessly: "Dad, I really can't do anything right now. I wish I could split myself into three pieces. But I have remembered the important things in my mind and I won't delay!"

"Dad knows you've worked hard," Zhang Laoer said distressedly, "If I had known being an official was so tiring, I would have let you do something else. Now that the two counties have been merged, the entire burden falls on you!"

"Shh!" Zhang Pingan quickly shushed him when he heard this and made a gesture to silence him.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Laoer was puzzled.

"Dad, there are people here now. Be careful with your words, lest someone with ulterior motives hear you. But I understand what you mean. I will go there in the next two days, so don't worry!" Zhang Ping'an explained.

The court must have its own reasons for merging the two countries.

Zhang Ping'an guessed that this might be the work of Lord Zhou, and it was also a disguised way of promoting himself.

After all, he is still young and has not even experienced the assessment every three years. If he rashly promotes his rank, other colleagues will not accept it.

That's why we took this roundabout way to merge the other two counties.

Besides, Lieutenant General Zhou has placed spies around him, so it wouldn't hurt to be more careful.

But these cannot be explained too clearly to Zhang Laoer, otherwise they will definitely be nervous and worried.

Thinking about the mess at the experimental field, Zhang Pingan wondered what kind of surprise Su Erleng would bring him.

Every time he looked at the records submitted by Tian Guan recently, the results were encouraging.

After he has settled the household registration issue, he will go to the experimental field to take a look in person.

After the father and son chatted for a while, they went back to their rooms to rest.

The next day came in a flash.

When Zhang Ping'an arrived at the yamen, Chen Jianqiu and Fang Ziqi had already arrived and were busy. Both of them had big dark circles and heavy bags under their eyes, and it was obvious that they had not had enough rest recently.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an coming, Fang Ziqi smiled and greeted him, then bowed and reported: "Sir, the household registration of the three counties can be finalized today. The autumn harvest will be coming soon. Will the tax collection follow the previous years' practice of each county, or will our county government re-arrange personnel to collect taxes in various places?"

Zhang Ping'an had already considered this matter. He said in a deep voice, "The counties have just been merged this year, and things are complicated. For the time being, tax collection will still follow the usual practices of previous years. However, people from our county government office must accompany us. We should select some capable and useful people. This time, we will not only accompany us to collect taxes, but also to investigate the details of the other two counties to prevent the county magistrates and the chief clerks from colluding to deceive the higher-ups!"

"I understand!" Fang Ziqi nodded.

"Well," Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and then gave a few more instructions, "Tell everyone under you not to cause trouble when you go to the other two counties. No matter what happens, don't conflict with the county magistrate. Right now, everything should focus on the autumn harvest and tax collection. Other matters can be discussed after the autumn harvest.

"Fifth brother-in-law, Jianqiu, I've seen all your contributions during this period. If I have the chance, I'll definitely promote you two first. You should also pay more attention to your words and actions and don't give others a handle!"

When Zhang Ping'an said this, Fang Ziqi's eyes lit up. He originally thought that he would have to stay in the position of legal advisor for three to five years, but he didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to be promoted so soon.

Apart from anything else, at least the head of a sixth house should be able to make it. With this foundation, it would not be difficult to move up to the position of chief clerk, registrar or county magistrate.

In today's terms, after all, the legal advisor was not on the official staff. He was hired individually by the county magistrate himself, and his salary was also paid by the county magistrate himself.

The head of the sixth house, on the other hand, has a formal position in the court, and his meaning is completely different.

If possible, Fang Ziqi would certainly like to be promoted as soon as possible.

Chen Jianqiu didn't care about this. He had no interest in officialdom. In his opinion, this was just a job. After a moment of hesitation, he politely declined.

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand to signal Chen Jianqiu to listen to him, and said patiently, "I know you don't seek fame or fortune, and medicine is your forte, so I plan to have you work in the Medical Bureau. It's a proper job, and you can put your knowledge into practice. When you find your family, you'll be able to support them. You don't have any official title, so I'm letting you work as my advisor for a while. That way, it's more legitimate for me to arrange for you later."

Chen Jianqiu really didn't expect this. After Zhang Ping'an finished speaking, she realized that this arrangement was really well-intentioned. For a moment, her heart ached and she even felt like tears were about to well up in her eyes.

After taking a deep breath and thanking him solemnly, he did not refuse again. Even if he didn't think about himself, he had to think about his family.

"Anyway, there will always be a place for you in my small temple. If you have a better future and choice in the future, I won't stop you from leaving. You can work in the medical department for the time being and you can advance or retreat," Zhang Ping'an continued with a smile.

"Thank you, I understand," Chen Jianqiu nodded.

Fang Ziqi was a little jealous watching from the side. This young Doctor Chen was really lucky!

Then he thought again, working in the medical department had nothing to do with him and wouldn't bother him in any way, so he just agreed with a few words.

With this carrot hanging on his back, Fang Ziqi was full of energy and was able to get along well with his colleagues, striving to create a good reputation.

Zhang Pingan saw this and nodded secretly. It was okay to be scheming, it was just human nature.

But it cannot be denied that the fifth brother-in-law does have some abilities, is a man with good sense, and knows how to distinguish the important from the unimportant. He will be able to be a chief clerk in the future and can also serve as his right-hand man.

In the busy schedule, it was afternoon in a short while.

The bailiff suddenly came in to announce that Master Ge had returned from the sea.

"What? Where is he?" Zhang Ping'an was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the Ge Shiye the yamen runner was talking about was the man with green bean eyes.

"He's in the front hall. He looks old and has lost a lot of weight," the bailiff replied quickly.

I was secretly sighing in my heart. It seems that not everyone can make money by going out to sea. This Master Ge lost dozens of kilograms of weight during his trip to the sea. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot!

"I understand. Take me to see it quickly." Zhang Ping'an's heart tightened when he heard this. He put down his pen and stood up.

When he followed the yamen runner to the front hall, Zhang Ping'an finally understood why the yamen runner said that the green bean eyes looked old and miserable.

Originally, Green Bean Eyes had a plump, white and round body, but the fat on his face made his eyes so crowded that they were invisible.

After returning from a few months at sea, he not only lost dozens of pounds, but also became much darker. There were even dried flakes of skin on his face and neck caused by the sun. He looked very rough and did not have the demeanor of a rich young man at all.

He was dressed in ordinary clothes and even smelled of sweat.

But the good thing is that people look much lighter and their eyes become bigger.

He is currently wolfing down his food, with several empty bowls and plates beside him.

A few yamen runners who were familiar with him were still asking him questions.

Green Bean Eyes responded with a half-hearted "hmm ah ah".

When he saw Zhang Pingan, he let out a cry, put down his chopsticks, and ran over, crying and saying, "Pingan, my good brother, I almost didn't see you!"

Zhang Pingan let him hold him for a while before helping him sit aside and comforting him, "Don't worry, you must be hungry. Eat first. If you have anything to say, we can talk after you finish eating. I can't run away from here!"

Don’t say it, this person is really suffering!

Zhang Ping'an took a look and saw that even the simple meals that he used to look down upon were now enjoying it. He must be extremely hungry!

When the yamen runners saw Zhang Ping'an coming, they bowed and took their leave, each going to do their own work.

Another quarter of an hour passed before Green Bean Eyes had almost finished eating. He held his stomach and slumped in the chair, not moving.

Zhang Ping'an turned around and asked someone to bring two cups of tea.

Then he said gently, "Tell me, how did you end up in such a miserable state? Were you robbed? You lost so much weight all of a sudden, you look completely different. It's really not easy for the bailiff at the door to recognize you!"

Green Bean Eyes burped, took two sips of tea to moisten his throat, and then complained, "You know what, at first they really didn't recognize me. It was only after I told them a lot about my past experiences in the government office and showed them my name card and household registration that they let me in. I was almost stopped at the door!"

The tone of his voice was still the same as before, and the familiar feeling came back all of a sudden.

Zhang Pingan confirmed that it was undoubtedly Green Bean Eyes himself.

But he still jokingly said, "You look like this now. Not to mention those yamen runners, I guess even your own parents wouldn't be able to recognize you easily!"