Chapter 1: The Wedding Night (New Book...)

  Under repeated questioning by Pang Feihu and Cheng Erniu, Guo Ye told the whole story of how he had cheated Liu Amang in Dongliu Township.

  He spoke vividly and in great detail, and as a result, Pang Fei Hu and Cheng Er Niu's faces changed color with excitement, truly magnificent.

  Finally, Cheng Er Niu gave a thumbs up to Guo Ye and said: "Brother Guo, you can drive away the son of Li Zheng with just a few words, that's really impressive, I, Cheng Er Niu, admit defeat."

  Compared to Cheng Er Niu's optimism, Pang Fei Hu couldn't help but furrow his brow and say the one thing that Guo Ye didn't want to hear.

  All he heard was Pang Fei Hu sighing worry-free: "Guo brothers, it seems you've really gotten into trouble this time. Qin Wei married a wife a year ago, and it's said that the woman surnamed Liu, seemingly from your Dongliu Village."

  Pang Fei Hu's words were already very straightforward, and Guo Ye couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

  Damn it, it turns out that Qin Wei is not just a simple reliance on the Liu family, but actually the son-in-law of the Liu family.

  This beam knot is big.

  What goes around comes around! Last time I played a trick on Liu Amang, now his brother-in-law Qin Wei is onto me.

  Others are the head of the catching group, while I'm just a small official in the soap-making group. How can I compare to them?

  Seeing Guo Ye's gloomy face and furrowed brows, Pang Feihu couldn't help but comfort him: "Guo Ye, although Qin Wei is narrow-minded and vengeful, you are now a colleague in the county government, and with County Magistrate's personal letter of introduction, he wouldn't dare to do anything to you."

  When he heard County Magistrate, Guo Ye couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He and County Magistrate Gu Dezhao were fundamentally incompatible, and it was only because his father-in-law Wu Maocai had sent some silver to walk through the back door that he got a position. The other party had already collected the silver, so why would they care about the life or death of this small official?

  Moreover, Qin Wei is the captain under Gu Dezhao, how could he possibly make things difficult for this captain because of a small official?

  Pang Feihu saw that Guo Ye was still hesitant, and continued: "Besides, you are a member of my squad, and I am the leader. How can I let Qin Wei from the other squad bully you? Don't worry, if Qin Wei dares to make trouble, I will not stand idly by."

  Next to him, Cheng Er Niu also jumped up and down, helping to persuade: "What the boss said is right, he's just a fart in the capture team. If Qin Wei dares to make things difficult for Brother Guo, it means he's making things difficult for us brothers in the constable team. Let me, Cheng Er Niu, smash him to death with my iron fist."

  As soon as the two finished speaking, a warm current suddenly surged up in Guo Ye's heart, and he felt a gentle warmth spreading into his heart.

  Looking at Pang Feihu and Cheng Erniu's thick eyes, he couldn't help but feel grateful again, bowing his fist: "Thank you, Head of the Pang family, thank you, Second Brother Niu."

  At the same time, I was also deeply inspired. Ah, why should I, Guo Ye, belittle myself? Can't a man from a later generation be held back by you, Qin Wei, a mere second-rate captain? In the worst case, when the time comes, we'll fight to the death and die together.

  Hmph, Qin Wei, who will be the one to bring down the deer is still an unknown number.

  Pang Feihu encouraged Guo Ye a few more times, then instructed him to come on duty the next morning, and as for what position, it would be arranged tomorrow.

  After handing over to Guo Ye, Pang Feihu left first.

  After Pang Fei Hu left, Guo Ye looked at the big house and saw that there were only two men, he and Cheng Er Niu, so they didn't have to be polite. In the room, he changed into a brand new official uniform, put on a four-sided hat, and even inserted a small iron ruler into his waist.

  After changing clothes, she twirled around twice with a pleased smile and asked Cheng Er Niu: "Er Niu, how do I look?"

  "Looks just right, spirited."

  Kuo Ye burst out laughing and struck a pose, then hugged the old clothes he had just taken off to his chest.

  Just as Guo Ye was about to hug the old clothes, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten something very important - his accommodation in Longxi County was still unsettled.

  It is known that the county government provides food and monthly silver, but has never provided accommodation.

  Damn it! Guo Ye patted his own head, silently scolding himself for being muddled to the extreme. Was he going to sleep in a hotel tonight?

  Cheng Er Niu didn't know how Guo Ye had become like this and hastily asked what was going on.

  Kuang Ye immediately spoke out about his own affairs, who knew Cheng Er Niu listened and didn't laugh loudly, instead patted his chest and said: "I thought it was something big, but it's just a problem with the residence? Leave it to me, Cheng Er Niu."

  He immediately threw the old clothes in Guo Ye's hand onto the table, then hastily pulled him out of the main house and ran straight towards the county government gate.

  Guo Ye was pulled by Cheng Er Niu to run, and soon they left the county government office. As soon as they went out of the gate, Guo Ye hastily asked: "Er Niu, where are you pulling me to find a place to live?"

  Cheng Er Niu slowed down his pace and laughed: "Guo brother, you're lucky. There's a house with a small courtyard in our alley that's up for rent. The house isn't big, only three rooms, but it's more than enough for one person like you. Come on, I'll take you there."

  Kuo Ye ran alongside, rejoicing at his good fortune.

  Luckily, I was assigned to the soap class and got away from the capture class. Luckily, I met a kind boss like Pang Feihu. Luckily, I met interesting colleagues like Cheng Erniu and Zhu Pengchun.

  Thinking of these, and thinking of Qin Wei's threatening words when he left, it really doesn't count for much.

  In his heart, he couldn't help but roar with great passion, "What's the big deal? It's just a small obstacle! I, Guo Ye, am someone who is going to do great things."

  On the way, Guo Ye also inquired about Cheng Er Niu's background.

  Cheng Er Niu was a native of Longxi County, and his family lived in a hutong on Zhu Hu Da Jie in the southern part of the city. His father was also a yamen runner who had passed away due to illness, leaving behind Cheng Er Niu and his elderly mother. Later, it was Pang Fei Hu who persuaded County Magistrate Gu De Zhao to allow Cheng Er Niu to take over his late father's position in the yamen, allowing him to make a living there.

  Cheng Er Niu was twenty years old and had not yet married, with only an elderly mother at home.

  Guo Ye listened to Cheng Er Niu's introduction, feeling a great increase in goodwill while also raising some doubts. Since he was called Cheng Er Niu, there should be an older brother named Cheng Da Niu.

  How come Er Niu never mentioned having an older brother?

  How strange!

  But Guo Ye didn't ask abruptly either. After all, his own brother had passed away at a young age, and if he asked again, wouldn't that be stupid?

  Perhaps Cheng Er Niu also has his own unspeakable secrets.

  The county government office is located in the East City District, while Cheng Er Niu's residence is a hutong on Zhu Hu Da Street in the South City District, which requires passing through Dongcheng Avenue, Nanjing Avenue, and then turning onto several small streets to arrive.

  After walking through several streets, Guo Yechu, wearing a government uniform and a four-sided hat, had become somewhat familiar with the area from East City to South City.

  Tea houses, wine shops, grain stores, and brothels are scattered all over the streets from Dongcheng District to Nancheng District.

  About half an hour later, Cheng Er Niu led Guo Ye to You Ma Hutong on Zhu Hu Da Jie.

  Cheng Er Niu lived at the entrance of You Ma Hutong, and the three-room independent courtyard he mentioned was located in the deepest part of the hutong.

  It was also a coincidence that Cheng Er Niu knocked on the door of the small courtyard just as the owner of the small courtyard came over to inspect the house, and he ran into Guo Ye and the other person.

  The owner of the house was a middle-aged man with some city airs about him. Through Cheng Erniu's introduction, Guo Ye only knew that the man was named Wang Zhi and had an oil shop at the entrance of Youmahu Alley. This small courtyard was his ancestral property, and now his family lived on the second floor of the store, so this small courtyard was left vacant.

  Wang Zhi was overjoyed when he heard that Guo Ye wanted to rent his small courtyard. In this day and age, who wouldn't want to establish a connection with the officials in power? Even someone like Guo Ye, a newcomer to the yamen, was worth cultivating a good relationship with.

  Scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, with merchants at the bottom. Still, as a small oil shop owner without any family background, how could Wang Zhi possibly give up such a great opportunity?

  One was willing to rent out and the other was willing to rent, they hit it off immediately, and in just a few words, the matter of renting the small courtyard was settled.

  Finally, Wang Zhi directly cut the rent in half, and the monthly rent was only 0.5 taels of silver, which was really cheap to the extreme.

  Guo Ye knew what Wang Zhi was thinking in his heart, and didn't go into details. Anyway, he himself wasn't rich with silver coins, so it was like granting Wang Zhi a favor, which could be repaid later as friendship.

  He then pulled out a small ingot of silver from his sleeve, about five taels, and flipped out two pieces of loose silver from his waist, about one tael in weight, and directly paid the rent for a year.

  Wang Zhi saw the white flower pattern on the 8 silver ingots, and secretly rejoiced in his heart. He thought to himself, "Ha! I've finally found the right person. How could an ordinary yamen runner possibly produce several taels of silver so easily? It's not simple!"

  Cheng Er Niu, who was standing beside him, saw that Guo Ye's move was so generous, and with a flick of his hand, he could take out several taels of silver, and his eyes were also filled with envy.

  For someone like him who only earns one or two taels of silver a month, when has he ever seen five taels of silver in one lump?

  Cheng Er couldn't help but sigh in his heart. They were both yamen runners, so why was the difference between them so great?

  Guo Ye had no time to guess what was on Cheng Er Niu and Wang Zhi's minds, so he bid them farewell and entered the small courtyard with the key given by Wang Zhi.

  This is a small courtyard surrounded by yellow earth walls, with a single gate and a single house. In the courtyard, there is a rocking chair and a stone table. Although it's not big, it wins in quietness. There is a large Chinese scholar tree planted in the courtyard, estimated to be over 200 years old.

  The small courtyard has three rooms, judging from the size, one is the owner's room, another is a small hall for receiving guests and eating, and the other is adjacent to the owner's room, estimated to be a wing room for relatives and friends to stay.

  In the upper right corner of the yard, a thatched hut was temporarily set up, inside which there was a large stove, on top of which were placed many jars and pots, presumably the kitchen.

  Kuai Ye wandered around the small courtyard, thinking to himself that it was a pretty good place and he hadn't expected such a quiet little yard in a poor alley like Youmahu.

  Kuang Ye slowly walked to the rocking chair and sat down, creaking back and forth, closing his eyes and sighing: "The winding path leads to a secluded place, it looks like an immortal's abode!"

  The night fell slowly, Guo Ye came out of the small courtyard and casually found a snack shop to fill his stomach, then bought a bed quilt in a nearby street market, and quickly returned to his new residence while there was still a glimmer of light.

  One is because I'm really tired from today's ordeal and feeling a bit sleepy, two is because tomorrow I need to get up early to go to the office for my first day of work, being late on the first day of work is a big no-no.

  So, after returning to the small courtyard, Guo Ye made his bed and went straight to sleep, falling into a deep slumber.

  It was the first dawn after a night, the sky was gray and misty, the rooster had not yet crowed, Guo Ye woke up early because of his excitement for his first day as an official.

  Just about to get out of bed and wash up, suddenly——

  "Dong dong dong... dong dong dong..."

  A sudden knock at the door rang out in time.

  Kuang Ye hastily put on his coat and rushed out of bed, putting on his shoes while running out the door and shouting: "Who is it?"

  He had just let out a loud shout, when he heard Cheng Er Niu calling from outside: "Guo brothers, are you up? Come on, take advantage of the early morning when there's no one around, I'll take you to a great place."

  Guo Ye muttered to himself, it's still early in the morning, and he wanted to take advantage of the fact that there weren't many people around yet, what good place could there be.

  He walked straight to the gate and went to open the door for Cheng Er Niu.