Chapter 016: Who is More Noble (Three) 1/2

  Brothers and sisters, younger brothers and sisters, pity me, give me some collection recommendations...

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  From his appearance, Deng Jie looks like a very honest young man.

  Not very tall, about 175 cm, slightly on the chubby side. Round face, not big eyes, but very spirited.

  But perhaps due to excessive fatigue, Deng Ji's eyes looked very hollow at this time.

  His complexion was not good, with an unhealthy pale color. His hair was a bit disheveled, and the black cotton robe on his body was wrinkled, with several faint stains. Standing in the living room, he respectfully bowed to Qu: "Junior official Deng Ji, pays respects to County Magistrate Qu!"

  He felt a little bewildered and didn't understand why Kuai Zheng suddenly called him over, what instructions he had.

  Logically speaking, Deng Jie was indeed under Qu Zheng's command, but he had never been in contact with Qu Zheng. He himself was not a person who was good at flattering and currying favor. No matter what time it was, he always did his own job conscientiously and never put other things in his heart.

  He was originally in the county government's public house sorting out household registrations.

  Due to the change of county magistrate, the household registration data of this county must be submitted to the new county magistrate.

  The household registration management at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was not as standardized as in later generations. Especially after experiencing the Taiping Taoist Yellow Turban Rebellion, the household registration management became particularly lax. The last time the household registration was sorted out was when Liu Biao had just arrived in Jingzhou. Since then, the county magistrate of Jiyang has attached no importance to this matter. Although the county lieutenant Wang Wei is very concerned about this, due to being entangled in trivial matters and taking up too much energy, he can only sort it out sporadically.

  Jiuyang County is a medium-sized county with 10,300 households and a population of nearly 50,000.

  Almost every day, there are births, deaths, illnesses and old age. After accumulating for several years, it's not easy to suddenly take out the correct statistics. Moreover, Deng Cai is intentionally making things difficult, piling up several years' worth of work on Deng Ji all at once. Deng Ji is indeed very capable, but even he can't complete this task immediately under such circumstances. Calculating, he has been working in the county government for more than three days, and hasn't even had time to go back and change his clothes... Despite this, he still faces Deng Cai's aggressive questioning every day.

  Kuai Zheng saw Deng Jie and was also stunned.

  It can't help but feel strange inside, how come Cao Peng's brother-in-law looks so miserable?

  He seems to have understood something...

  Cao Peng is here to ask for punishment!

  Of course, Kuai Zhengdao was not afraid of Cao Peng. Even if Cao Peng were a disciple or even the son of Pang Ji, he would not be intimidated.

  Offending someone for no reason is never a good thing.

  Besides, Cao Peng didn't even confront him in person and was extremely polite and courteous in his words. His sister had a conflict with someone at home, and he came to pick up his brother-in-law, which is also normal human behavior. The problem is that Deng Ji works under him, but ends up like this. If it gets out, it won't be good for his reputation either. Kuai Zheng was still wondering what Deng Ji was doing in the public house anyway?

  It's not easy to get yourself into such a state...

  Khui Cheng had originally planned to call Deng Ji over and have him return with Cao Peng.

  Now, he also came with interest, and asked in a low voice: "Deng Ji, this county has just taken office, and everything is not clear. I haven't had time to meet with you yet. I heard that you have not returned home for three days, what is the reason? If you have difficulties, just raise them with the county magistrate."

  Deng Ji's eyes were dull and lifeless, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but pause in stunned silence.

  "Isn't the county magistrate asking for a small official to sort out the household registration of Qianyang?"

  Kuai Zheng nodded and said: "Indeed... but I didn't keep you from going home for three days either?"

  "According to the county magistrate's words, you ordered that the household registration must be sorted out and reported within three days. As a minor official with shallow learning, I had no choice but to work from dawn till dusk, day and night."

  Kuai Zheng said in surprise: "When did I ask you to report your household registration tomorrow?"

  He said, as if explaining to Cao Peng: "Since the younger brother took office, I've heard that the household registration of Juyang County has not been rectified for several years. Therefore, he ordered someone to sort it out... Deng Ji, I told you before, this matter doesn't need to be rushed. The rectification of household registration is difficult and can be done slowly. Why did you let him report back later?"

  "Huh?"

  Deng Jie said dazedly: "But the chief clerk said that this was your order..."

  "Nonsense!"

  Kuai Zhengyi's face sank upon hearing this, "Are you saying that Deng ordered you to do so?"

  "That's right."

  "What a scoundrel! How can you do such a thing?"

  Jia Zhengzhen is getting a bit angry!

  He had appointed Deng as his chief clerk because he was introduced by a clansman before taking office. He thought that since the person was introduced by a family member, even if they didn't have great abilities, they could still be trusted as a confidant. After all, the Kua family's foundation wasn't in Juyang, and if Kua Zhengyou didn't have someone reliable, it wouldn't be good for him to exert his power. But now, Deng had made him lose face in front of the Lu Men disciples... If this got out, it wouldn't be a good thing.

  "Brother, this matter... is a mistake made by someone under me, and it has implicated Brother Deng. I hope you can forgive."

  Deng Ji only then noticed that in the hall, apart from Kuai Zheng, there was also a sickly and simply dressed young man sitting. At first glance, Deng Ji still felt that this young man looked somewhat familiar. When he had welcomed Cao Nuan before, he had seen Cao Peng. However, because Cao Peng was reclusive, he hadn't paid much attention to him either. Now seeing him again, Deng Ji couldn't recall who Cao Peng was. He also wouldn't have thought of Cao Peng... after all, he knew the situation with his wife's family, how could he let a county magistrate be treated like an honored guest?

  But then the young man stood up and waved his hand as if nothing was wrong.

  "Big brother doesn't have to blame himself, this matter has nothing to do with big brother from the start. It's just the people below making a fuss, and it will be fine once they are properly disciplined later on, don't take it to heart."

  As he spoke, the young man walked up to Deng Jie and bowed his hands, saying: "Brother-in-law, let's go home."

  Brother-in-law?

  Deng Ji was even more perplexed, staring at the young man for a long time before stuttering and asking: "Y-you, y-you... are you Ah Fu?"

  "Brother-in-law, don't you recognize me?"

  Deng Ji's mouth was agape with surprise, and he stuttered: "Ah Fu, how did you end up here?"

  Cao Peng smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, this is a long story. Let's go back and talk about it again."

  "Sister had a conflict with Dengcai's wife today and got hurt... Hurry up and come back with me, I'll explain it to you slowly on the way."

  Deng Jizhen was stunned!

  Is this still the same aloof and distant younger brother from next door?

  Kuai Zheng on the side also heard it and was stunned for a moment.

  Previously, Cao Peng told him that his own sister had a conflict with a wicked woman in the village. Qu Zheng didn't take it seriously... In his opinion, something like a wicked woman was not worth mentioning at all. As long as Cao Peng brought it up, he could have helped Cao Peng vent his anger without saying another word. But if so, Qu Zheng might have underestimated Cao Peng. Fortunately, Cao Peng didn't mention the matter again, and Qu Zheng naturally wouldn't ask about it either.

  But now...

  Deng Cai, it's Deng Cai again!

  "Cao Xian-di, you just mentioned Deng Cai, which Deng Cai?"

  Cao Peng pretended to be surprised and replied: "Is it a clansman from Deng Village?... Big brother, I also just arrived today, to be honest, I'm not clear what's going on either."

  Kuai Zheng's face was gloomy as he looked at Deng Ji.

  "Deng Xian Di, how many Deng Caier are there in Deng Village?"

  "......Uh, just my older brother."

  "Is Deng Cai still your elder brother?"

  "It's true... but we're half-siblings."

  Ancient people often say "brotherly friendship and fraternal respect". These four words were left by Confucius, and are also an important basis for evaluating a person's moral character. Deng Cai is Deng Ji's elder brother, but he makes things difficult for his own younger brother everywhere. It seems that the two words "brotherly friendship" have nothing to do with him! On the other hand, this Deng Ji is warm and humble, and speaks slowly, which has a taste of "fraternal respect".

  Unconsciously, Kuai Zheng's goodwill towards Deng Ji suddenly increased; at the same time, his feelings for Deng Cai dropped to freezing point.

  "Cao Xian-di, you go back with Deng Jie first."

  "After your sister's body is well, I will host a banquet for you in the county town... Deng Ji, you have been taking care of Cao's wife at home these days, don't worry about coming back to work. As for that household registration, don't bother with it anymore, when you come back, this county has other important tasks entrusted to you."

  "Ah!"

  Deng Jidian was overjoyed and hastily inserted his hand to answer.

  Cao Peng stood beside him, his pale face still looking unusually calm.

  After coming from the county government office and having a conversation with Kuai Zheng, every word he said was carefully considered. Originally, if Kuai Zheng hadn't asked about Deng Ji's work, he would have brought up the topic himself. Unexpectedly, Kuai Zheng was also knowledgeable and voluntarily mentioned it, saving him the trouble.

  This kind of young master from a wealthy family is most concerned with saving face.

  Today he came over wearing the hat of a student from Pongji, and gave Qu a bit of face.

  So Kuang Zheng will also give him enough face...

  "Brother-in-law, let's go."

  Having said that, Cao Peng bowed his head to Kuai Zheng and said, "Sir, I'll take my leave first."

  Cao Peng took Deng Ji out of the hall, and Deng Ji was still a bit dizzy.

  He still can't figure it out to this day, as if he had fallen into a thick fog. His own younger cousin, how did he suddenly appear in Jinyang? Moreover, judging from the situation earlier, Kuai Zheng and he seemed extremely close. Deng Ji also understood the nature of these aristocratic families. If they weren't of equal status, they wouldn't put aside their pride like this... It's been almost three or four months since he last saw Cao Peng.

  Is it said that in these three or four months, my younger uncle became a trend?

  Deng Jishen followed Cao Peng with one foot light and the other heavy, and before long, they arrived at the gate of the county government office.

  "Brother-in-law, does Wang Shifu still recognize you?"

  In private, Cao Peng can call Wang Meng "Uncle"; but in public, he has to respectfully address him as "Honorable Father".

  The uncle and father's brother mean the same thing, but are more respectful.

  This is the county government office, every word and action of Cao Peng must be carefully noted.

  Deng Ji and Wang Meng were very familiar with each other, and immediately exclaimed in surprise: "Uncle, you're safe and sound."

  "Uncle Sun, you haven't changed either."

  "Uncle, what's going on today..."

  "Haha, this is a long story, let's head back first."

  Your brother has invited a doctor, and he should be arriving at home around this time. Let's take care of these matters first, and then we can have a good chat."

  Deng Ji nodded and lifted his leg to get on the car.

  Just then, a loud voice came from beside the gate: "Deng Ji, where are you going?"

  Deng Jie was taken aback, turned his head to look, and saw a young man walking out of the corner gate next to the county government office. The man looked older than Deng Jie, with a somewhat similar face shape. At first glance, he seemed a bit thin, with narrow eyes, high nose bridge, exuding an aura of ruthlessness and lack of benevolence.

  "Older brother..."

  "I've told you countless times, this is the county government office, not your home."

  "You should address me by my official title here... How utterly impolite, and yet you're a scholar, what a shame to the scholarly community."

  Deng Ji's face turned red, and his breathing suddenly became a bit urgent.

  He suppressed his anger and cupped his hands, saying: "At your service, Master Deng..."

  This young man was Deng Zhi's elder brother, Deng Cai.

  He raised his neck and said with a cold smile: "Deng Ji, where are you going?"

  Deng returned home as a minor official was about to go back home.

  "Go home?" Deng's small eyes glared roundly, and he shouted sternly: "Who allowed you to go home? The task assigned to you, have you finished it?"

  Deng Jizhang's face turned red as he was about to respond.

  But then a cold and desolate voice came from inside the county government office, "I allowed him to return home, what opinion do you have, Chief Clerk Deng?"

  Deng Caizheng strode away with his head held high, not even turning back to curse: "What are you anyway? I'm telling you, don't even think about going back until the official business is done."

  Only after he finished speaking did he realize that the previous sentence was not spoken by Deng Ji.

  He hastily turned around to look. As soon as he did, Deng was so frightened that his face turned white, and he hurriedly bowed and stuttered: "I didn't know the county magistrate was here, your subordinate, your subordinate..."

  Kuai Zheng stepped out of the county government office, coldly staring at Deng Cai. After a long time, he squeezed out a sentence with a gloomy tone, "Deng Zhuzhang, you have such great official power!"

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