TTTQF Chapter 194

Such Cunning

"Ah Miao, what is this?"

Although Pei Che is accustomed to his beloved's always unconventional ideas, he can't help but feel bewildered as he looks at the two cotton-like bundles in front of him.

Jiang Miao raises an eyebrow, smiles mysteriously, and says, "You'll find out when we get there."

Pei Che spends the entire journey examining the two bundles, trying to make sense of them. It isn’t until they step into the Ministry of Revenue that he finally understands. As soon as Jiang Miao enters, he takes the two cotton-like items and stuffs them into his ears, one on each side.

Would this really help block out external distractions?

Pei Che occasionally glances over at Jiang Miao and notices that his pace while reviewing the registers has indeed sped up. He isn’t turning his head to eavesdrop on others' conversations as he had been the previous day.

The cotton bundles filter out much of the noise. After all, the officials here have some sense of decorum; while they chat frequently, they aren’t loud or boisterous. With the cotton stuffed in his ears, Jiang Miao can’t help but recall the modern headphones he used to wear. A wave of melancholy surges in his heart.

Having spent so much time in the ancient world, his behavior and habits have become nearly indistinguishable from those of the locals. Were it not for the occasional modern thought reminding him that he is a soul from the future, he might believe himself to be a bona fide ancient man.

Just as Jiang Miao’s mind begins to wander, a familiar name slides past his fingers. He blinks. Zhao... Wei? Zhao Wei! Isn’t this the person they are looking for?

"I found him!" Jiang Miao almost jumps up with excitement. He doesn’t expect the results to come so quickly—finding the person on the second day! This means he can skip looking through the remaining chests of records.

Pei Che is equally thrilled. He takes the register Jiang Miao hands over, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and apprehension as he braces himself to uncover the truth.

As he looks down, the first name on the page is indeed Zhao Wei. But as he continues to read, the burning excitement in his chest is abruptly doused like a bucket of cold water. Underneath the name, it reads: Deceased, aged fifteen.

According to Master Wuchen of Ciji Temple, this Zhao Wei is supposed to be someone around the same age as his parents. How can someone who passed away at fifteen possibly match that description?

Jiang Miao watches as the excitement on Pei Che's face turns to a sigh. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he leans over to take a look himself. He blames himself for being too impulsive, shouting out without thoroughly verifying the details.

Right, in the modern era, names have evolved from two characters to three or even four characters, precisely to reduce the chances of duplicate names. In this ancient era, where names are typically just two characters, the likelihood of duplicates is extraordinarily high. Moreover, "Zhao Wei" isn’t a particularly unique name, making duplicates even more likely.

Seeing Jiang Miao’s faint look of self-reproach, Pei Che softly says, "It's nothing. We can keep looking."

"Ah?" Jiang Miao removes one of the cotton bundles from his ears. The material fills his ears completely, making it hard to hear softly spoken words.

Pei Che chuckles and assures him it’s no problem. Then, taking the cotton bundle, he gently stuffs it back into Jiang Miao's ear, leaving him puzzled but continuing to sift through the records.

Time flies by, and in what feels like the blink of an eye, another month passes. Together, Jiang Miao and Pei Che finally manage to comb through all the household registration records.

Looking at the densely packed list of "Zhao Wei" names on their paper, Jiang Miao feels like he is beginning to lose recognition of the characters altogether. Out of all the household registrations, there are 56 individuals named Zhao Wei. After eliminating those who are deceased, don’t match the age range, or have a mismatched gender, only three remain. These three individuals are all around the same age as Pei Che’s deceased parents, making it likely that the person they are searching for is among them.

Of the three, one lives in the western part of the city, while the other two live in the eastern part. Their specific addresses are listed in the household registry, making it quite convenient to track them down.

"Mission accomplished! I’m heading back for now. It’s been so long since I made something nice for the kids. They look at me every day with such longing eyes," Jiang Miao says as he stands up, stretching his stiff limbs. After days of sitting in one spot, he feels like a machine about to break down—every movement seems as though it might cause him to fall apart.

Pei Che also stands up and helps knead Jiang Miao’s shoulders. "Go ahead and rest. You’ve worked hard these past days."

"It’s nothing," Jiang Miao says casually. "But these household registration records are way too disorganized. If they could be sorted by surname and each box labeled with an indexed directory, finding someone would be so much easier."

Jiang Miao thinks of modern books and dictionaries with their handy tables of contents, making it so convenient to locate information.

Pei Che’s eyes light up at the suggestion. He finds Jiang Miao’s idea quite logical. Now that he is in charge of household registration, there might be times when he needs to cooperate with the authorities for investigations. If they have to search through every record book each time, it would be far too cumbersome.

After Jiang Miao leaves, Pei Che calls over several of his subordinates. These clerks are all from the household registry office, typically tasked with simple duties like recording and copying information. Their work is fairly light.

Upon hearing their new superior’s summons, the clerks immediately set down their pens and rushed over. Aside from when he first arrived and directed them to move some items, their new lord hasn’t given them any other tasks. They wonder what he wants today. Could it be that he has already finished reviewing all the records?

The group stands respectfully in front of the desk, waiting for Pei Che’s instructions. Meanwhile, the other officials in the room perk up their ears, eager to catch any hints of what is going on.

“Gentlemen,” Pei Che begins, “I’ve finished reviewing these records. Please move the remaining two boxes back to the storage room.”

The clerks quickly respond with polite refusals, insisting it is no trouble at all. Moving boxes hardly warrants the word “trouble.” Just as they are about to relax, Pei Che continues.

“During my review of these household records, I noticed a major issue: the names are recorded in a chaotic and disorganized manner, with no discernible pattern. Finding a single person within these records is as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack. I wonder, do any of you have suggestions on how to address this problem?”

The clerks exchange glances, uncertain. After a moment, one of them steps forward and says, “Please forgive my lack of insight, my lord. I cannot think of a suitable solution to resolve this issue.” For as long as they can remember, this has always been the way things are done. It is inconvenient, but they have never known an alternative.

Another clerk steps forward and suggests, “Perhaps we could assign additional manpower to assist. With more hands, the work would certainly proceed faster.”

“That method is not appropriate,” an older clerk immediately objects. “Each office has a set number of personnel. We cannot casually increase or decrease the staff.” And if additional people are assigned only to be later dismissed, someone of his age would surely have no advantage in such a situation.

The group begins debating amongst themselves, each offering their opinions, but no one proposes an effective solution. Pei Che sits behind the desk, calmly observing the discussion. Once the room quiets down, he finally speaks.

“Since none of you have a satisfactory solution, I do have an idea of my own. Allow me to explain.”

“Please instruct us, my lord,” the clerks say, bowing slightly. However, many of them are skeptical, doubting there could be an innovative answer to such a long-standing issue.

“The reason it’s so difficult to find someone in the records is because the entries are haphazardly arranged. If there were a systematic method, it would become much simpler.”

“May we ask, my lord, how the records can be made systematic?”

“There are two ways to achieve this. First, we could add an index to the beginning of each record book. The index would list the name of the first person on each page. This way, by glancing at the index, one could immediately determine which individuals are recorded in a specific book without needing to flip through its entirety,” Pei Che explains.

The group nods in agreement upon hearing this. “Indeed, this would save a great deal of effort. And the second method?”

“The second method involves disassembling the records and reorganizing them by surname, binding them anew. This way, whenever someone needs to be found, you only need to consult a few volumes containing that surname,” Pei Che explains.

“This method is excellent!” the group exclaims in approval. Whenever the government needs to apprehend someone or confiscate family assets, they always borrow records from the registry office to ensure no oversights.

However, the low-ranking officers often struggle with literacy, leaving the task of finding the names to them. Each time this happens, they have to comb through all the boxes, which is a labor-intensive process.

If the records were reorganized by surname, only one or two people would be required to locate the necessary names. This would make their work significantly easier in the future.

Pei Che observes their reactions, remaining composed as he asks, “Which method do you gentlemen prefer?”

“Of course, the second method,” they reply unanimously.

“Very well,” Pei Che says with a mild smile, “then I’ll trouble you to sort the records in the storage room, disassemble them, and rebind them by surname. This task is a bit tedious, so I’ll submit a request to the minister to assign a few additional helpers to assist you.”

The group: “…”

So that is his plan all along. Afraid that they will complain or shirk their duties if ordered directly, he presents it as a choice. Are all young officials this cunning nowadays?

---

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Table of Contents