"Did you find it?"
In the evening, Pei Che returned to the Duke Zhong's Mansion. The old lady did not serve dinner today, so the family ate alone in the small courtyard. The three of them were used to eating Jiang Miao's food, so Jiang Miao asked someone to take their share back and cook it themselves in the small kitchen.
Seeing Pei Che's exhausted face, Jiang Miao was a little worried. How could it be like this on his first day at work? He had been in charge of Cangzhou with ease before.
Pei Che shook his head. He had been looking at the household registration list for a whole day, and his eyes were blurry. When he closed his eyes, it seemed as if all he could see were words. He still couldn't find Zhao Wei. Even after flipping through it for a long time, he still couldn't find anyone with the surname Zhao.
This is just a small part of the list in that big box, and there are several more boxes like it.
"Alas, it's a pity that you can't bring those things back, otherwise I would look for them with you." Jiang Miao sighed. This kind of thing should be a relatively important item. Once lost, it is difficult to replace it. Household registration is not only used to count the population, but sometimes the government will borrow and search for it when handling cases. And every year when Liang Jing collects head tax, it also compares the collected items with the household registration list to see if there is any tax evasion or tax evasion.
Pei Che was deeply touched. Every time he encountered trouble, A Miao was always willing to share the burden with him. Even if A Miao could not help, he felt very satisfied in his heart.
"It's okay. I have a clue anyway. I'll just look for it slowly. I can finish it anyway."
Pei Che estimated that it would take at least a month to finish. But man proposes, God disposes, and plans cannot keep up with changes. When he went to the government office the next day, Pei Che had more things to do.
It was summer now, and because Liangjing was too cold in winter, many wedding banquets were held at this time. Since a wedding banquet was to be held, it was natural to get a marriage certificate and register the household registration.
The marriage certificate doesn't need to be approved by them, but if the woman wants to cancel her household registration or the man wants to add a child, they have to check everything before they can stamp it. Without this stamped household registration paper, the marriage certificate will naturally not be approved.
It took Pei Che more than half a month to finish reading the list in the first box, but he naturally couldn't find Zhao Wei.
"If this goes on, I don't know when I can finish reading it?" Pei Che sighed. Maybe after some time, he won't even have the time to search.
He is the only official in charge of civil affairs at the moment, yet he has to report on all the weddings and funerals in Liangjing, not to mention the newborn babies.
Jiang Miao understood what he was thinking. He was about to find out the truth, but due to various reasons he was unable to do so. This feeling was really frustrating.
Although Pei Che had several clerks under his command, he could not leave the task of finding someone to them. There is no impenetrable wall in this world. If he gave the order today, I am afraid that everyone in the Ministry of Revenue would know about it before the next day. After a few more hours, perhaps the whole Liangjing would know that he was looking for someone named Zhao Wei.
This might be an exaggeration, but Pei Che didn't dare to bet. He didn't even know who Zhao Wei was. What if the news leaked out and he knew someone was looking for him? What if he prepared for it in advance or simply left Liangjing
"Does your government allow outsiders to enter?" Jiang Miao's eyes rolled and he suddenly asked an unrelated question.
"That's easy." Jiang Miao patted Pei Che's shoulder. "From tomorrow on, take me there. I'll sit next to you while you do your work. If you can't bring the household registration list out, I'll go in and take a look at it. We are a couple who work together and can overcome difficulties. With my help, we will definitely be able to finish it quickly."
Pei Che wanted to shake his head. The list looked so densely packed that he, who dealt with articles all day, couldn't stand it. And A Miao was impatient when he saw the words, so how much could he read
But then he thought again, A Miao meant well, he must be extremely worried to say that, he couldn't let him down, anyway with A Miao by his side, even the most tedious official duties would become simpler.
The next day, Jiang Miao wore a gray suit and followed Pei Che into the Ministry of Revenue. He thought that this would attract less attention. After all, these adults were very high-minded, so why would they pay attention to a servant
After the roll call, the door of the messenger room was opened. Except for the first day when he arrived early, Pei Che followed the local customs on the rest of the days and did things according to the established system of the Ministry of Revenue.
Jiang Miao stood at the door of the office and found that the room was quite large, but unfortunately it was divided into several parts. It was obvious at a glance that it was an office shared by several people.
Among these tables, there was one that was the neatest and cleanest. For no reason, Jiang Miao felt that this should be Pei Che's seat. Sure enough, Pei Che's reaction confirmed his guess. Jiang Miao quietly made a "yeah" in his heart, seeing how much he and Pei Che were in tune with each other!
"There's only a small stool here. You can sit here and look through it. It's a little shabby, so I'm sorry to bother you."
Jiang Miao said: "What's the big deal? I've been in the worst environments before. Why would I be afraid of this?"
After saying that, he took a few steps forward and sat down on a small stool. In front of the small stool was a large box, which Pei Che had just opened yesterday. He had ordered the clerks to carry the box back to the warehouse after he had finished reading it.
Jiang Miao began to look through the roster. Pei Che looked at him for a while, then sat down and dealt with the unfinished business from yesterday.
Soon, other adults in the room arrived one after another, and the originally quiet room suddenly became lively. The sound of greetings and talking was endless, which was a big challenge for Jiang Miao, who needed to concentrate on reading the list. He was always attracted by their talking while reading, and it took him a long time to turn a page of the list in front of him.
Jiang Miao finally understood why Pei Che's work efficiency suddenly dropped. The list was not like a storybook. It looked boring to begin with, and with the influence of the outside world, it would be strange if he could continue reading it.
Jiang Miao came here excitedly, determined to show off his skills, but he failed at the beginning. At the end of the day, he only flipped through two or three books. He inevitably felt a little embarrassed when he went back, after all, he had already boasted.
Pei Che saw his frustration and said, "It's okay. A little bit adds up. If you can read this much every day, you can finish a box in less than a month."
Jiang Miao said that he was not comforted. His efficiency was too low today. He must not make such a mistake again tomorrow and should not always be attracted by the conversations of the adults.
(End of this chapter)