35. Senior Brother Wang Dao, Younger Sister Su Ba Dao (Seeking follow-up reads and votes!)

Auditing accounts is no simple task.

Especially in this era, where arithmetic is still primitive and clerks must rely on abacuses for their calculations. Although Ouyang Rong has some knowledge of advanced mathematics, he is not some supernatural being. He cannot simply pick up an account book, instantly spot the loopholes, and lead his men off to confiscate property. He only has a basic education, while this is the livelihood of these professional clerks.

Fortunately, Ouyang Rong has cultivated a team that is both familiar and reliable.

Back when he first took office and decided to implement a work-for-relief program, he had asked Magistrate Diao for manpower. At the time, most people in the county office thought he was just having a whim, busy with useless tasks. Few were willing to follow him to the outskirts of the city to toil away for disaster victims who offered no kickbacks—a thankless job. The magistrate might seek fame, but these old hands certainly did not.

However, since Ouyang Rong was a magistrate, and in the local hierarchy, an official one rank higher is a heavy burden, Magistrate Diao had to "obediently" find him people. He arranged for a group of idle clerks from the county office's six departments to go along with him.

The moment Ouyang Rong saw this group, he knew they were the ones who were unpopular at the office—either green and inexperienced or aged and weathered. Yet, later at the outskirts, as Ouyang Rong led them daily to track refugee household registrations and grain supplies, and to establish relief camps, he found, through a bit of trial and error, that they actually worked quite well.

It stood to reason: the green clerks might lack experience, but they were malleable and energetic. Plus, Ouyang Rong was a master at painting grand visions, and he kept them well-motivated. As for the elderly, sidelined clerks, most of them did not lack ability; on the contrary, they were highly skilled and experienced. The reason they were marginalized by their superiors and colleagues was that they refused to flatter and were stubborn and eccentric in temperament.

It was hilarious—whether Magistrate Diao did it intentionally or not, these two types of people complemented each other perfectly, and they happened to be the most capable workers in the entire county office.

Old Man Cui was one such veteran clerk. Ouyang Rong had met him back when he was preparing to build the relief camps and gathered the clerks for a meeting.

At the time, Ouyang Rong was a new official full of enthusiasm, proposing grain distribution plans that, in hindsight, were overly idealistic. The other clerks present nodded in agreement, but only this thin, sharp-chinned Old Man Cui, without regard for the new magistrate's face, pointed out coldly that such a method would create a financial bottomless pit, and the ten thousand plus piculs of rice in the Longcheng granary would never be enough to fill it.

Ouyang Rong was not offended; he asked for advice on the spot and was thoroughly convinced by the sound reasoning. Later, he directly put Old Man Cui in charge of managing the silver and grain finances of the twenty-four relief camps with six new clerks under him.

Ouyang Rong later learned that it was this Old Man Cui who had meticulously compiled the annual financial ledgers of the Longcheng county office. Even though he was not the official in charge of the household department, he was the one specifically responsible for "binding and drafting the ledgers."

Now, as he opened the Eastern Storehouse to audit the accounts, Ouyang Rong politely declined the men sent by Magistrate Diao from the household and granary departments, replacing them instead with this team of relief camp clerks led by Old Man Cui.

The sun slanted to the west. Longcheng, having just recovered some signs of life from the flood, was shrouded in darkness, as if falling asleep with the sunset.

Looking down from above, there were only scattered lights from the homes of the wealthy. Poor families would not light lamps in the evening, preferring to finish their meals in the dim twilight and head straight to bed to save on lamp oil.

Normally, the county office courtyard on Luming Street should have been dark and closed for the day. But at this moment, it was brightly lit. In particular, the Eastern Storehouse, which usually saw no visitors but rats, was heavily guarded outside, with clerks working busily at their desks inside.

Ouyang Rong sent away Magistrate Diao, who was once again speaking in his usual slippery, probing manner. He and Yan Liulang, who was carrying full food boxes, returned to the Eastern Storehouse.

The storehouse was essentially a warehouse with thick walls on all four sides. As long as the main gate was guarded, not even a fly could get in.

After delivering a dinner box to Lieutenant Qin, the garrison soldiers pushed open the heavy doors. Ouyang Rong glanced at the men working focusedly at several tables, stepped inside, made a quiet round, and stopped behind Old Man Cui.

This veteran clerk, who was not well-liked in the office, was not actually that old; everyone just called him Old Man Cui. He wore a small skullcap, his graying hair combed meticulously. Perhaps because his eyesight was poor, he leaned his thin face close to the ledger, as if trying to bury his sharp head into the pages.

However, the old man’s small regular script was dignified and lively, possessing a distinct character.

Ouyang Rong felt a touch of emotion. Seeing that the time was right, he personally placed the food boxes on the table before Old Man Cui and the others, smiling: "Eat first, then calculate. I must trouble you all tonight."

The others stopped their brushes and agreed, but Old Man Cui did not even lift his head. It was only after he finished his current task that he set down his brush and stood up to eat.

Ouyang Rong squeezed in with the others to have a meal and asked curiously: "Old sir, are you a local?"

Old Man Cui shook his head. "I came here fleeing a famine."

"Never thought of returning home?"

"I have no ties, nothing to return to."

"I heard from Liulang that you adopted a pair of orphans at the relief camp."

Old Man Cui's chopsticks paused. "I gave them to another family to raise. Their conditions are better than mine."

Ouyang Rong nodded and did not press further.

After finishing the meal with the clerks, he began collecting the food boxes and asked: "How long will it take to finish auditing the Liu family's accounts?"

The other young clerks looked toward Old Man Cui.

The latter replied calmly: "We will not sleep tonight. We will finish by tomorrow morning."

"Good. Then I leave it to you all tonight."

Ouyang Rong nodded, then stopped bothering them. He helped tidy up the food boxes and left the Eastern Storehouse with Yan Liulang.

He returned to Meilu Garden, explained the situation to his aunt, and then, under her worried gaze, carried a quilt back to the county office.

Seeing this, Yan Liulang asked, stunned: "Ming-tang, what are you doing?"

Inside the main hall, the young magistrate spread the quilt out on a long table and smoothed it carefully. "Making a bed."

"Uh, I'll stay with you, Ming-tang."

"No, take some men to Meilu Garden and ensure my aunt is protected."

"But Ming-tang, you..."

"Junior Sister and General Qin are here; it will be fine. Besides, I am an official of the imperial court. If any family dares to take such a risk... then that is perfect. We won't even need to finish the accounts; we can just go knock on their doors and 'deliver warmth' directly."

"Understood. Take care, Ming-tang."

"Go."

...

On Luming Street, there stood a residence with a simple gate and no stone lions. Xie Lingjiang, dressed in dashing men's attire, pushed the door open and entered naturally. She navigated the winding corridors and elegant gardens with ease. However, while passing through a quiet pavilion in one of the gardens, she happened to catch sight of a familiar, graceful figure.

"What is Sister Su reading?"

Su Guo'er, her forehead adorned with wet-red plum blossom makeup, leaned against the veranda, breathing in the gentle evening breeze as she read. A maid with a round, baozi-like face held a lantern for her.

"Tao Yuanming's poetry," she replied without looking up.

"Tao Yuanming?"

"Mm."

"Hmm, I remember he was a famous scholar from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wait, didn't he serve as a magistrate in this very county hundreds of years ago? How many days was it..."

"Eighty-one days. Then he resigned," she said, as if reciting from memory.

"That's right, I think I heard Senior Brother mention it."

Su Guo'er, who had been indifferent, suddenly closed her book and asked: "Sister, you come from a scholarly family in Jiangzuo, and Longcheng is considered part of Jiangzuo. Has the Chenjun Xie clan collected any of his scattered poems over the centuries?"

"Tao Yuanming's poems?"

The stunning girl, sitting on the veranda reading in the night with a cold, aloof air, suddenly straightened her slender waist, leaned forward slightly, and stared at her.

"Yes, for instance, a short prose piece called... *The Return*?"

Xie Lingjiang thought carefully and shook her head. "I loved poetry when I was young, and I often flipped through the rare poetry collections in the Willow Catkin Pavilion at home, but I don't recall ever seeing *The Return*. Why is Sister Su suddenly interested in this?"

The bright eyes of Su Guo'er, reflecting the lantern light, dimmed slightly.

She did not answer, instead asking casually: "Sister Xie looks quite happy. Is there some joyful event?"

Unexpectedly, this touched upon exactly what Xie Lingjiang wanted to talk about. The young noblewoman of the Xie clan didn't mind that Su Guo'er had changed the subject; she smiled and recounted everything her senior brother had done today, finishing with:

"I'll get a good night's sleep tonight and go confiscate their property tomorrow."

Upon hearing the young magistrate's plans, Su Guo'er couldn't help but glance toward the direction of the county office. Seeming quite surprised, she silently reflected on some of her previous judgments.

However, after hearing Xie Lingjiang's spirited final sentence, she looked up at her and shook her head gently.

Su Guo'er lowered her gaze and went back to reading.

Xie Lingjiang knit her brows slightly. "What does that shake of the head mean, Sister Su?"

"It means nothing, just..." Su Guo'er said softly, "Sister Xie would do well to be careful these days. Also, go out less."

"Why?"

The girl with the plum blossom makeup on the veranda tried her best to be tactful. "A dragon from afar usually cannot suppress a local snake. Do you know why, sister?"

"Tell me."

"Because of arrogance."

Xie Lingjiang replied coldly: "Sister Su, you're one to talk about arrogance."

"It's different."

"It's the same."

"There are different kinds of arrogance. For example, I might be arrogant toward the Liu family, but I would never be careless."

"Nonsense."

"In any case, Sister Xie, go out less. You can spend more time with my mother these next few days..."

Before Su Guo'er could finish her sentence, she noticed that the noblewoman from the Xie clan was gone. She looked up and followed the curious gaze of the maid, Caishou:

She saw Xie Lingjiang, who had seemingly returned to rest, decisively turn back the way she came and head out again...

Su Guo'er said casually, "Sister Xie is even more stubborn than my brother."

"..." Caishou remained silent.

*Actually, young miss, you're the same.*