This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Behind the middle-aged man were two young men in plain clothes. They did not go inside with him, but instead closed the gate to the mansion and stood on either side of the gate to prevent others from getting close.

Du Jingjian is in trouble... Cheng Jun immediately made a judgment.

Instead of searching for a suitable tree trunk to tie the reins, he first took off the wooden tag from his waist and put it in his pocket to prevent the other party from discovering that he knew Du Jingjian.

He then led the reins to Du Jingjian's door. Seeing the two young men looking at him, Cheng Jun stopped and asked curiously, "Brothers, the person who just went in looks familiar to me."

One of the young men looked him over and saw that Cheng Jun was wearing a blue robe, had a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and was leading a horse. He looked like a rich young man and said, "He is Zhu Fangzheng of Da'an Ward."

The neighborhood official was a minor official who managed neighborhoods.

"No wonder he looked familiar; I'm also from Da'anfang."

Cheng Jun looked enlightened and introduced himself.

Du Jingjian once said that the main reason he wanted to become an official was that he didn't want to be bullied by the neighborhood head... This neighborhood head surnamed Zhu doesn't seem to be here to apologize...

Cheng Jun understood and said, "I have other things to do, so I won't bother you any longer. You two carry on."

The two young men watched Cheng Jun lead his horse away, ignoring his question and continuing to stand on either side of the courtyard gate.

When they heard someone calling them from inside the house, the two immediately turned around, disappeared into the house, and closed the gate.

At this moment, Cheng Jun led his horse away and then returned.

Hearing the commotion in the yard, he tied the horse's reins to a tree trunk and arrived at Du Jingjian's house.

…………

In Du Jingjian's home in Da'anfang.

The aroma of stewed meat wafted through the air.

"Mom, if you're tired, take a rest."

Du Jingjian, with his sleeves rolled up, carried a basin of freshly washed fish and meat to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, a middle-aged woman with gray hair was looking down at the mutton stewing in a footless cauldron, occasionally picking up firewood and throwing it into the stove.

The middle-aged woman turned around and saw him put down the wooden bucket. She couldn't hide her joy and said, "The third son of the Duke of Su's family came to visit us today. How could I feel tired? I'm full of energy right now."

The middle-aged woman couldn't help but feel proud when she thought that Du Jingjian had managed to invite the son of the Duke of Su. After all, he was the son of a duke. For ordinary people like them, they would be grateful if they could even get a kind word from him, let alone befriend him.

This person must be easy to get along with; not only kind, but also well-educated and reasonable... Mother Du pointed to a basket of freshly baked flatbreads on the stove and asked curiously, "Jingjian, does that Third Son of the Cheng family really like the flatbreads I make?"

Du Jingjian sat next to her, helping to watch the fire in the stove, and said with a smile, "He really likes to eat. I saw him eat several, and he even praised your cooking skills."

"Then I can rest assured."

Mother Du immediately beamed with joy. The mutton in the pot was already stewed until it was very tender. As she ladled it out, she sighed and said, "When I was young, I worked as a cook for wealthy families with your maternal grandmother and learned a lot of skills. It's a pity that after the chaos of war, I never cooked chicken, duck, fish, or mutton again. This is the first time I've cooked in all these years. I wonder if my cooking skills have deteriorated."

"Definitely not." Du Jingjian sniffed and said, "Just by smelling it, I know how delicious it must taste!"

Du's mother laughed and scolded, "What good is it if you eat it? It has to be that Cheng Sanlang finds it delicious!"

After saying that, she looked at the dishes on the stove that hadn't been cooked yet and said with some worry, "Jingjian, will you be able to pay back the two hundred coins you borrowed from Liu, the shopkeeper of the West Market General Store yesterday? I heard that the interest is quite high."

Du Jingjian laughed and said, "That shopkeeper Liu is also from our Da'anfang. He already knows that I have become an intern. Since he was able to lend me two hundred coins, he must think that I can pay it back."

Seeing the worry still lingering in her eyes, Du Jingjian thought for a moment and said, "Mother, do you know what the price of grain is in Chang'an right now?"

“In Chang’an, one coin can buy two jin of rice, and two hundred coins can buy four hundred jin.”

Du Jingjian said, "The salary of a ninth-rank official in the imperial court is thirty shi per year, while an intern receives half of that salary. My annual salary is fifteen shi."

“In our Great Tang Dynasty, one stone weighs 120 catties, and my annual salary is 1,800 catties, so repaying Shopkeeper Liu is not a problem.”

Du's mother exclaimed happily, "Becoming a ninth-rank official means I can earn even more?"

"correct."

Du Jingjian counted on his fingers and said, "Not only that, the imperial court also has performance evaluations. Those who pass the evaluation can receive an extra three months' salary."

"So, after I become an official, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat."

Du Jingjian said with a smile.

"Good good!"

Du's mother was excited but didn't forget to remind him, "My son, you must remember that you received a great favor from Cheng Sanlang, you must never forget it!"

"My child understands!"

Du Jingjian touched the wooden plaque at his waist and nodded heavily.

Just then, he heard footsteps in the courtyard and thought it was Cheng Jun. He got up and walked out of the kitchen with a happy expression.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, Du Jingjian saw a slightly overweight middle-aged man, and his expression turned cold.

He would recognize the middle-aged man in front of him even if he were reduced to ashes; he was the head of Da'an Ward.

In the early years of the Wude era, his father died on the battlefield. Zhu Fangzheng, seeing that they had no background and were just an orphan and a widow, often came to make things difficult for them.

This time, the selection of censors was almost ruined because Zhu Fangzheng interfered, causing Du Jingjian to almost not be selected.

Therefore, he appealed to the Chang'an County government, argued his case, and persuaded the magistrate of Chang'an to grant him the quota.

It was because of this incident that Du Jingjian was determined to become an official.

Only by becoming an official can one avoid being bullied by the neighborhood head!

At this moment, Zhu Fang, dressed in the robes of a clerk, stood with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at him and said, "Jingjian, your uncle has come over, and you don't even invite me to sit down. That's so impolite."

Du Jingjian had no intention of inviting him to sit down in the main room. He said coldly, "Zhu Fangzheng, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you became an intern officer, so your uncle came over to congratulate you. Congratulations!"

Du Jingjian pointed to the door and said rudely, "Are you done congratulating me? If you're done, get out!"

Zhu Fangzheng's smile froze, his face darkening as he stared at him and said, "Du Jingjian, you don't really think that being a probationary officer is the same as being an official, do you? Apart from receiving a salary from the imperial court, you are utterly useless as an official!"

"go out!"

Du Jingjian shouted.

Seeing that he was not giving him face, Zhu Fang snorted coldly, spread his palms and said, "Let me out, fine, but give me back the money!"

I don't owe you any money!

Zhu Fangzheng chuckled, took out a contract from his pocket, opened it and said, "You don't owe me money, but you owe Liu, the shopkeeper of Da'anfang, two hundred coins. It's all written in black and white on this contract. Are you trying to renege?"

Du Jingjian stared wide-eyed at the deed in his hand. It was indeed his handwriting. He was both shocked and angry. "Why is Liu's deed in your hands?"

Zhu Fangzheng chuckled and said, "Isn't it unbelievable?"

"Then take a look at this one."

As he spoke, he took out another contract from his pocket, opened it, and faced Du Jingjian.

Du Jingjian stared at the words on the screen, and after reading them, his heart sank to the bottom.

The deed roughly states that the two hundred coins were first lent by Zhu Fangzheng to Liu, the shopkeeper, and then Liu lent them to him.

Ultimately, this money belongs to Zhu Fangzheng.

"do you understand?"

Seeing his face turn ugly, Zhu Fang sneered and said, "I gave you face earlier, but you didn't take it. Now you can't blame me for not showing you any mercy!"