Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 142

“Baked flatbread! Hot flatbread for sale!”

After traveling for half a day, Jiang Miao and his companions finally arrive at Cangzhou City. As soon as they pass through the city gate, they hear a vendor’s call. Jiang Miao lifts the carriage curtain to look outside and sees a flatbread stall set up against the city wall. An elderly man calls out to passersby in a stretched-out voice.

“Park the carriage over there. I’ll go buy a few flatbreads,” Jiang Miao says. It is already noon, and they haven’t eaten. If they go straight to the yamen to handle their paperwork, they might not have a chance to eat for a while. Getting a few flatbreads to tide them over seems like a good idea.

The driver pulls over, and Jiang Miao jumps down from the carriage. Walking up to the stall, he asks, “Uncle, how much for these flatbreads?”

Seeing a customer approach, the old man replies cheerfully, “Four wen each! Fresh out of the oven, fragrant, crispy, and delicious.”

“Then please give me forty first,” Jiang Miao says. Although there are fewer than twenty people in their group, he estimates based on twenty, allowing two per person. This way, those with smaller and larger appetites can balance each other out, ensuring everyone has enough to eat.

“Forty?” The old man’s wrinkles smooth out with delight as he quickly wraps up the freshly baked ones in oiled paper for him. He also skillfully shapes several more dough pieces, fills them with stuffing, flattens them, and places them in the oven.

After paying, Jiang Miao brought the wrapped flatbreads back to the carriage for his companions to eat, then returned to the stall to wait for the rest. While the bread baked, he struck up a conversation with the old man.

“Uncle, how many years have you been selling here?”

As he turns the flatbreads in the oven with wooden tongs, the old man replies, “I don’t really remember. All I know is that when I first set up my stall, I was about your age.”

Jiang Miao’s gaze becomes respectful. “This is a true local specialty. The people of Cangzhou are lucky to have it.”

The old man feels pleased when he hears this and says proudly, “Let me tell you, this pancake stall has been here since my father’s generation. It’s been passed down to me over the decades and truly deserves to be called a time-honored brand. Young man, you’re not from Cangzhou, are you?”

“We’re from out of town, here on business,” Jiang Miao replies vaguely. Hearing this, the old man looks at him curiously.

Where’s this ‘we’? I only see one of you. But of course, he thinks, they wouldn’t order forty flatbreads for just one person.

Jiang Miao notices his confusion and points to a few carriages parked by the roadside, indicating that these are his traveling companions.

But it is already too late. While they chat, two patrolling yamen officers, like cats that have smelled fish, eagerly start walking over to the carriages.

“Outsiders, your carriage is parked in the wrong place. Come with us quietly,” says the taller officer to the coachman.

The coachman, from the Duke of Zhongguo’s estate, is hardly intimidated by a couple of local officers. He responds, “Our carriage is parked by the roadside, not on the road itself. How exactly is that a problem?”

Seeing that even a coachman dares to talk back, the shorter officer grows angry. He unsheathes his waist dagger and knocks it against the carriage, demanding, “Tell your master to come out and talk!”

He chooses to knock on the very carriage where Pei Che and the two children are sitting, eating their flatbreads. Originally, Pei Che has no intention of getting involved, but hearing the officer’s demand, he lifts the carriage curtain and steps out.

“I am the owner of this carriage. What’s the matter?”

The two officers are momentarily stunned as Pei Che steps out, struck speechless by his imposing appearance. They can’t quite put it into words but feel that he exudes an air of powerful authority, a refined elegance beyond description. They hadn’t expected such a person to be seated in what appears to be an ordinary carriage!

This is not someone they can mess with! The two immediately become cautious.

They exchange glances and force a smile, saying, “It’s fine, it’s fine, but this carriage can’t be parked on the side of the road. Please head to that street; there’s a place to park the carriage there.”

“Carriages can’t stop by the roadside? Is there an official notice for that?” Pei Che asks, frowning. Even in Liangjing, there is no such rule; as long as a carriage doesn’t block traffic, parking by the roadside isn’t an issue.

The taller officer responds, “It’s a direct order from the newly appointed magistrate, though the official notice hasn’t been posted yet.”

Just then, Jiang Miao arrives and overhears this. He chuckles, for isn’t the new magistrate standing right here? Since when does Pei Che give such an order?

“Well, since it’s the magistrate’s order, we wouldn’t want to go against it. Let’s go along with the officers,” Jiang Miao says, looking up at Pei Che for his opinion, feigning a timid, overly cautious demeanor.

Pei Che immediately catches on to Jiang Miao’s plan and, after a brief pause, replies, “Alright then, since we’re new here, we don’t want to offend the magistrate.”

The two officers are momentarily confused; at first, they think Pei Che is someone of great importance, but now he seems to be just another good-looking outsider.

Hearing him agree to comply, their confidence surges again. “Alright then, let’s go!”

Jiang Miao directs a guard to wait for the rest of the flatbreads while the others follow behind the two officers in their carriages. After winding through various turns for quite some time, the officers finally stop.

In front of them is a small residence. Outside, a desk has been set up with a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar seated behind it. The man writes something down and hands it to a person waiting by the table, who takes it with a worried expression and walks away, shoulders slumped.

“Big haul today, Gao Head,” the scholar remarks with a pleased smile as he eyes the three carriages following the tall officer.

“Been days without a catch. If I don’t start bringing people in, I’ll be the one in trouble,” the tall officer replies.

Pei Che has exceptional hearing. Although the two speak quietly, he can hear them clearly, and he relays it back to the others.

After a few more exchanges, one of the officers calls toward the carriage, and Jiang Miao steps out. Following the officer to the table, he meets the middle-aged man, who says, “Carriages are not permitted to park by the roadside. The fine is two taels of silver per carriage. You have three, so that’s six taels.”he fine is two taels of silver per carriage. You have three, so that’s six taels.”

“What?” Jiang Miao exclaims exaggeratedly. “We were just parked there for a few minutes, and you want six taels? You’re practically robbing us!”

The middle-aged man, unsurprised by this reaction, calmly replies, “You broke the ordinance, so it’s a perfectly normal fine. If the penalty isn’t hefty, how do we know you won’t do it again? You can also opt not to pay, but the carriages will be detained here.”

Jiang Miao puts on an indignant, reluctant expression, and after a moment’s hesitation, he reluctantly hands over the money. The man checks the silver, confirms the amount, and empties it into a small box before dismissing him with, “You’re free to go.”

“Wait,” Jiang Miao says. “I noticed that the person before me received a slip. Why aren’t you giving me one? If I don’t get a receipt after you’ve taken my money, who’s to say you won’t deny it later?”

The middle-aged man snickers, “That last person’s ox cart was impounded, so they needed a slip to retrieve it. Your carriages aren’t being held—why would you need one?”

“No way. You took my money, so you need to give me a slip. What if I leave and someone else drags me back here?” Jiang Miao rattles off a series of reasons for needing a receipt, irritating the man enough that he hastily scribbles one down and tosses it to him.

Jiang Miao takes the receipt, finally satisfied, and climbs back into the carriage to leave.

Inside, Pei Che holds the slip, his face darkening as he reads the large characters that spell out “Six Taels Collected.”

“Two taels per carriage—for a method of extortion like this, even the wealthiest in Liangjing would be left in the dust,” he remarks with a scowl.

“Exactly. No parking by the roadside—who’d dare bring a carriage into town?” Jiang Miao is equally furious; he’s already spent over ten taels clearing the road, and now parking is costing another six. Cangzhou might as well be renamed ‘Robber Town.’

“The worst part is they’re doing this in your name. No wonder nobody wants to come here, even before you officially take office!” he continues.

Pei Che nods. “Before I came, Grandfather already warned me about Cangzhou. I thought it was simply the location—remote, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with scarce farmland, leading to difficult living conditions. But it seems the true reason for hardship here is corrupt officials.”

Jiang Miao sighs, knowing all too well how oppressive those in power can be for ordinary people. He wonders if Pei Che will be able to set things right here. Regardless, he is determined to stay by his side and face whatever comes.

The two gaze at each other silently for a moment, wrapped in gentle affection. Suddenly, Xiao Shitou’s shout breaks the calm: “Ah, the uncle was also fined.”

Jiang Miao glances out through the window that Little Stone has opened, seeing ahead the same man driving his ox cart, looking disgruntled as he makes his way down the road.

“Hey, wait a moment, Brother!” Jiang Miao calls out.

The man looks back, puzzled, and slows his cart. Jiang Miao’s carriage pulls up alongside his to match pace.

“Little brother, do you need something?”

“Brother, I wanted to ask about the rules around here. I was just fined six taels of silver right after arriving, and I don’t want to break any more regulations,” Jiang Miao says, leaning out to talk to him.

The man looks astonished. “Six taels? You were overcharged! My ox cart was only fined two hundred wen.”

Jiang Miao thinks to himself, I have a curse word on my mind, but I don’t know whether to say it or not! It turns out that they’re charging based on the person, huh?

Struggling to keep a polite smile, he asks, “Was your ox cart also fined for parking by the roadside?”

The man’s face contorts with visible anger as he recalls the incident. “How could we local people make such a mistake? First, they said parking on the roadside isn’t allowed, then they claimed people can’t sit on carts carrying goods. Then the cow is fined for urinating on the street. Last time I caught it, who would have thought it would raise its head and start eating a few leaves, right in front of them? Then they said the cow would be fined for eating leaves! I didn’t have any money on me, so they seize the cart. I have to pay the fine before I can get it back!”

stick, saying, “It won’t be allowed on the streets again; if this goes on for a month, I’ll have worked for nothing!”

Jiang Miao can’t help but gasp, taking a long while to ask, “Doesn’t anyone want to report this to the officials?”

The man gives Jiang Miao a look that says he is too young to understand. “Who do you think is collecting the money? Who are we supposed to report to? I don’t even know where this new prefect comes from, but all he does is squeeze money from the common people!” After saying this, he looks awkward, likely regretting his loose tongue.

Hearing the mention of the newly appointed prefect, Jiang Miao feels curious. “Have you seen the new prefect? Shouldn’t he have not taken office yet?”

The man scoffs, “He hasn’t arrived yet, but his trusted aides are already here—those dogs relying on their master’s power…” He regrets his words and quickly closes his mouth, realizing he has let it slip again.

The prefect’s trusted aides? Who are they?