◎Greetings, County Magistrate. I have some issues to report to you.◎
The next day at noon, Zhao Shi suddenly summoned Lin Yuebai, intending to teach her account management.
“Ping’an is growing day by day, and you have no sisters-in-law to share responsibilities. These matters will eventually fall to you, so the sooner you learn, the better,” Zhao Shi said. “I’ve always been overly cautious, treating you all like children. But yesterday Yu Guan’er mentioned that other families’ daughters-in-law begin managing accounts and households much earlier. I’ve been bearing the burden alone instead of letting you share it. Upon reflection, I’ve indeed been holding on too tightly.”
Lin Yuebai gritted her teeth inwardly. Chen Yanzhang, you’ve doomed me!
Zhao Shi then proceeded to explain how to organize accounts, calculate profits and losses, inspect shops and manage workshops, how to employ people, which tenant heads were honest and which shopkeepers were cunning. The lecture made Lin Yuebai so drowsy she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
In short, her carefree days were gone forever. From now on, she would have to be like her mother-in-law – handling everything from major family assets, farmland, weddings and funerals, down to purchasing furniture, changing flowerpots, and paying maids and servants… working from dawn to dusk all year round while often receiving complaints.
…
Chen Yan had just entered his study and started writing the opening argument when his seat hadn’t even warmed before he was interrupted again.
This time it wasn’t Chen Ping’an, but Lin Yuebai, furious with almond-shaped eyes wide open. She slammed her palm on the desk, demanding to know why he had encouraged her mother-in-law to make her learn household management.
Chen Yan smiled. “Your son told me the day before yesterday that our Southern Chen Family faces serious hidden dangers. Our family business is large, but our expenses are even greater. Continuing like this will inevitably lead to collapse someday. I thought that with mother managing the entire clan’s properties and accounts alone, she’s inevitably stretched too thin. Since you’re intelligent and clever, you could help her review things and identify where the problems lie.”
“Don’t use our son as an excuse. He’s not even five years old yet – he couldn’t possibly say such things,” Lin Yuebai retorted. “You know perfectly well I’m not good at business matters…”
Her words trailed off as she paused suddenly. “Are you saying there are problems with the accounts?”
Chen Yan nodded. “Ping’an did say those things to me. Afterwards, I specifically went to check the accounts. I remember when grandfather was alive, the clan’s annual net income was around twenty thousand taels, but now it’s less than ten thousand taels, while expenses have more than doubled.”
“The clan assets distribute profits per capita. Now that the Northern Chen Family has more members, expenses naturally increase. Setting father aside, mother has to manage the household, shops, and farmlands – she’s spread too thin and inevitably overlooks things. How much have those farmstead heads and shopkeepers embezzled? The eldest cousin from second uncle’s family, the third cousin from third uncle’s family, plus Chen Huan and Chen Yu from granduncle’s family – these people in charge of operations, have they been lining their own pockets? They only need to deceive mother alone, which is practically effortless for them.”
Lin Yuebai felt overwhelmed. “You’re really overestimating me. If mother can be fooled, how could I possibly figure things out?”
Chen Yan chuckled. “We’ve been married so many years. Do you think I don’t know what you’re capable of?”
She nearly beat him to death on the spot.
After their playful scuffle, Chen Yan added, “The younger generation in our clan preferring leisure over work is another major problem.”
“Mother recently wants to liquidate some businesses. Try to keep some break-even operations so the clan’s uneducated youths aren’t idle. Young people with nothing to do easily cause trouble and develop bad habits.”
Lin Yuebai said, “I understand now. You want them all to hate me to death.”
Chen Yan said, “Just go ahead and do it without holding back. If anyone dares to complain and it reaches your ears, I have plenty of ways to make sure they can’t stay in Chen Family Alley.”
Lin Yuebai still couldn’t believe it: “Did Ping’an really come up with all these ideas?”
Chen Yan nodded: “Absolutely true. He said he heard them from storytelling books since he was little.”
Lin Yuebai murmured: “I don’t remember that…”
As the couple chatted animatedly, a small head popped in through the window: “Father, Mother, time for dinner!”
…
When they returned to the main room, they saw Feng Pozi and Cao Mama with two maidservants sewing clothes, with colorful cotton fabric spread all over the bed.
“These are gifts An Ge’er prepared for his new friends,” Cao Mama explained.
Lin Yuebai smiled helplessly. This child had always been sweet-tongued, able to coax these A-mas and sisters into putting aside all their work to focus on doing these strange things for him.
…
The next day wasn’t good weather for visiting. Upon waking in the morning, they saw dark clouds rolling across the sky, with heavy rain imminent.
Cao Mama dressed Ping’an in a brand new lined jacket. A Xiang held up a large oil-paper umbrella while Ping’an personally loaded the eight prepared gifts onto the carriage.
Chen Yan also held an umbrella, first helping his wife into the carriage, then lifting his robe hem when he heard several children speaking behind him in exaggerated tones.
“Such heavy rain~~”
“It’s flooded the alley again.”
“What a pity we can’t go to school!”
They turned to scatter to their respective homes.
“Chen Pingji.” Chen Yan stopped the oldest child, while the other children screamed and scattered like birds and beasts.
“Cousin-uncle…” Since the previous fighting incident, Chen Pingji was somewhat afraid of Chen Yan and didn’t dare move.
“Get in the carriage, I’ll take you to school,” Chen Yan said.
Seeing his truancy plan about to fail, Chen Pingji waved his hands anxiously: “No need to trouble you, I… I… can…”
“Get in.” Chen Yan’s tone brooked no argument.
Chen Pingji glanced longingly behind him before reluctantly climbing into the carriage.
Ping’an sat in the carriage gloating, making Chen Pingji grit his teeth in frustration.
The small river crossing Chen Family Alley had been rising year by year. During the continuous autumn rains, backflow often occurred, flooding the alley. Children from the southern part of the alley often used this as an excuse to skip school, but today Chen Pingji had been caught red-handed by Chen Yan.
The carriage waded through muddy puddles and stopped steadily outside an independent small courtyard in the northern part of the alley, from which clear reading sounds could already be heard.
Chen Pingji walked into the schoolhouse with a troubled mind, only to hear Zhou Fuzi standing under the eaves scolding him – not only for being late, but also for needing carriage transport for just half an alley’s distance, truly being spoiled, and so on.
Chen Yan closed the carriage curtain and urged the coachman: “Let’s go.”
…
Since being implicated in that murder case two years ago, Sun Zhixian had been dispirited, handing most government office affairs over to his secretaries, assistants, and clerks. Every day he either tended flowers or fed birds.
Fortunately, his family was wealthy and didn’t rely on his official salary.
While Chen Yan took Ping’an to see Sun Zhixian, a maidservant naturally led Lin Yuebai to see the County Magistrate’s wife, Yao Shi.
“So you’re little Ping’an?” Sun Zhixian asked, bending slightly with his hands behind his back, looking at him with a smiling expression.
“Yes,” Ping’an replied, then asked in return: “And you are the County Magistrate?”
Sun Zhixian also put his hands behind his back with a serious expression: “Indeed, this official is.”
Ping’an said very earnestly: “Greetings, County Magistrate. I have some issues I’d like to report to you.”
Song Shiye, who had been organizing official documents, slipped with his hand, dropping a stack of official dispatches on the floor.
Chen Yan, who was drinking tea, nearly choked and scolded mildly, “Ping’an, don’t be rude.”
County Magistrate Sun, however, was intrigued. “Oh? Tell me more.”
Ping’an said, “There’s a river near my house. Whenever it rains heavily, the river water backs up and floods half the alley. That way, my cousin has an excuse to skip school.”
Song Shiye frowned upon hearing this: What does your cousin’s school attendance have to do with you? If such minor matters as alley flooding were reported to the county magistrate, he would never get any sleep.
But County Magistrate Sun was very patient. “It must be that the river channel is silted up. Don’t worry, I’ll order the Record Keeper to arrange dredging as soon as possible, guaranteeing it won’t hinder your cousin’s studies anymore. What else?”
Ping’an continued, “Also, there are many wheelbarrows coming and going on Wisteria Lane every day, damaging the road. The stone slabs on Yanglin Bridge have many cracks that need repairing. The school building at the Teahouse School…”
“Ping’an, Ping’an,” County Magistrate Sun interrupted with amusement. “How about this: I’ll send a clerk to record all your concerns, assign them to the Three Bureaus and Six Departments, and verify and handle them one by one. Does that work?”
Ping’an nodded. “That’ll do.”
Song Shiye thought the magistrate was just humoring the child, but to his surprise, County Magistrate Sun actually called for a Duty Clerk to take Ping’an to the outer hall for recording.
“Thank you, County Magistrate!” Ping’an said brightly. “You’re truly a good official who cares for the people like his own children.”
County Magistrate Sun laughed heartily. “Yan Zhang, your son is so young yet already concerned with the world’s affairs.”
Chen Yan smiled wryly. “I admire Your Honor’s willingness to listen to a child’s words.”
County Magistrate Sun said, “A child’s words are especially precious. As the saying goes, ‘Staring at the sun, one can see the finest details’—the ancients didn’t deceive us.”
In the hall, Ping’an mixed various trivial neighborhood matters together, reporting them one by one to the Duty Clerk for recording. In truth, this was all a diversion—only the silted river channel was the real focus.
The Duty Clerk, in his early twenties, appeared slovenly and careless. Assuming Ping’an was illiterate, he scribbled randomly on the paper.
Ping’an leaned over the desk and pointed out his mistake: “It’s Chen Family Alley, ‘Chen’ with the ear radical, not ‘Cheng.'”
“Oh, you can read?” The Duty Clerk chuckled lightly, too lazy to recopy the document. He simply crossed out “Cheng” and replaced it with “Chen.”
“Wait.” Still unsatisfied, Ping’an pointed to the correction and the end of the paper. “Stamp here and here.”
He knew well that without an official seal, these words were worthless.
The Duty Clerk glanced at him sideways. “I don’t have the authority to stamp.”
Ping’an glared back defiantly. “There’s someone sitting in the main hall specifically responsible for stamping—I saw him when I came in.””
“If you saw him, why ask me to stamp? Go find the Seal Imprinting Clerk.” The Duty Clerk frowned.
Ping’an had expected minor officials to be difficult, but not this difficult. He could imagine that, barely taller than the desk, he would surely be hassled by the Seal Imprinting Clerk if he brought this messy document to the main hall.
He glanced back at his Old Dad chatting and laughing with County Magistrate Sun nearby. This Duty Clerk clearly knew about his father’s close relationship with the magistrate—even knew Old Dad was a provincial Jie Yuan—yet still chose to make things hard for him. It showed that under County Magistrate Sun’s long-standing delegation of authority, these people had become utterly brazen.
The yamen stands firm while officials flow like water. A magistrate serves only a few years before being transferred, but these petty clerks sink deep roots in the County Yamen, forming cliques that often leave magistrates helpless. A strong magistrate might curb them through a mix of favors and authority, but one fears encountering a “soft persimmon” like Magistrate Sun.
These men hold no rank or status, yet they excel at bullying others by flaunting borrowed authority. A few words from them could determine a family’s fate.
If even the magistrate could do nothing about them, how could a child like Ping’an confront them head-on? He simply smiled cheerfully and said, “Then please take me to the Personnel Office to see Uncle Hu. My grandfather would like to invite him for a drink.”
“Uh…” The Duty Clerk had assumed he was just a child who couldn’t even speak clearly, planning to brush him off casually. He hadn’t expected the boy to invoke Hu Jingcheng, the Record Keeper in charge of the Personnel Office.
For merchant families like the Chens, operating peacefully in Sheng’an County required maintaining good relations with the yamen clerks. As the saying goes, “The county magistrate isn’t as important as the official in charge.” In the eyes of this lowly Duty Clerk, Hu Jingcheng’s influence carried more weight than Magistrate Sun’s.
The Duty Clerk’s arrogance vanished instantly, his gaze shifting evasively as he said, “Record Keeper Hu… has gone out on business. I’ll take you to the main hall to get the seal.”
Ping’an made a face behind his back and skipped out the door.
…
Only after seeing the document bearing the official seal filed in the Record Keeper’s office did Ping’an feel somewhat relieved. Returning to Old Dad’s side, he found Magistrate Sun playing chess with him. The magistrate had someone take Ping’an to the inner residence for some pastries.
So Ping’an went to the East Flower Hall in the inner residence to find Mother.
Yao Shi was straightforward and warm-hearted. Seeing that Ping’an had prepared exquisite tiger-head hats and shoes for the Sun family’s infant daughter still in swaddling clothes, she repeatedly praised him: “This child is both sensible and well-behaved.”
Ping’an loved hearing honest praise. The more he was complimented, the more he imitated Magistrate Sun’s seven scholarly and reasonable sons, putting on a well-behaved manner.
As it was still some time before lunch, Yao Shi let them go play in the back yamen first.
Lin Yuebai looked at the infant in swaddling clothes, its tender white face so delicate it seemed one could squeeze water from it. The baby stared at the pellet drum, giggling with a sound like silver bells. Having raised her own children, seeing such a fresh new life inevitably stirred certain thoughts in her.
Yao Shi saw through her thoughts and said with a laugh, “Actually, with more children, the younger ones follow the older ones around, which turns out quite convenient.”
Lin Yuebai suddenly understood – for the younger to follow the older, one must first ensure the older ones don’t run wild.
Sheng’an County was located in the prosperous Jiangnan region, and its County Yamen was grand and imposing. Behind the third hall, a screen wall separated the magistrate’s residence from the outside world. Inside were the living quarters for the magistrate and his family, with five main rooms, over ten side rooms and annexes, plus two flower halls. Going out the back door of the East Flower Hall led to a spacious rear garden with trees and rockeries at varying heights – a perfect place for hide-and-seek.
Yao Shi and Lin Yuebai got along quite well. After watching the children play for a while, they turned back to continue their conversation, completely unaware that the children had slipped out of sight.
…
In the County Yamen’s third hall, Magistrate Sun was pondering his next chess move when an old servant entered quietly to report.
“Sir, Young Master Chen has sent each of the young masters a set of clothing… They’re bare-chested. Might they catch cold?”
Magistrate Sun looked up: “What kind of clothing?”
“Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—every color you can imagine. Young Master Chen said he couldn’t tell them apart, but once they put these on, he’d recognize them instantly,” the old servant explained. “They were even singing something about… Calabash Brothers, seven flowers on one vine.”
Sun Zhixian snorted with laughter. “Now that you mention it, they really are like seven flowers on one vine. As long as they don’t complain about the cold, just let them be.”
Chen Yan raised his hand, lowered his head, and massaged his temples.
Sun Zhixian added, “Yan Zhang, with only one child in the family, it must feel rather lonely.”
Chen Yan picked up a chess piece. “Not lonely at all.”
Quite the opposite, in fact.
A moment later, the old servant returned to report: “Master, the young masters have gone to the front and are digging holes in the wasteland outside the side gate.”
“Digging holes? What for?” Sun Zhixian asked, puzzled.
“Young Master Chen says he’s a pangolin and plans to dig a tunnel from the County Yamen to Chen Family Alley. The other young masters are helping, saying that once it’s done, they can gather to play anytime.”
Sun Zhixian blinked. “A pangolin?”
Upon hearing this, Chen Yan pushed aside the chessboard and stood up, intending to retrieve his family’s “pangolin”—no, his unruly son.
Sun Zhixian stopped him. “What’s the harm in digging? Let them play.”
Chen Yan: …
“Have someone fill the holes later so no one falls in, and don’t let the madam find out,” Sun Zhixian instructed the attendants before turning back to Chen Yan. “Sit, sit.”
Chen Yan resumed his seat, muttering to himself. It was true the child ruled the roost at home, but he was usually well-behaved and polite outside—nothing like this had ever happened before.
“Master, master, something terrible!” The old servant rushed in, panting heavily.
“Did the madam find out?” Sun Zhixian asked.
“No, not that.”
Sun Zhixian sighed in relief, picked up his cup to blow away the foam, and took a sip of hot tea. Composed, he said to Chen Yan, “Yan Zhang, you’re still young. You must understand that disciplining children requires moderation—don’t stifle their spirit.”
But the old servant wailed, “You’d better come quickly! The young masters have dug up a corpse behind the mortuary.”