Letting out a long “Oh!”, George Harper couldn’t help but look rather pleased with himself. “Then you can’t compare to my John. John joined the county yamen’s tax office last month—that’s a golden rice bowl! Every day people bring him good food and drink as gifts, and he’s living the good life! Jason Brooks, working as a shop assistant leads nowhere. You should learn from your big brother.”

Jason Brooks smiled and quickly asked him, “How is my big brother doing?”

“Of course your big brother is doing well, but he’s had a bit of trouble lately.”

Jason Brooks was taken aback and was about to ask more when the carriage came to a stop—they had arrived at the Harper family estate. Fifth Uncle took out ten coins and quietly handed them to the driver, saying, “Please, give Michael Bolton a ten-coin ticket!”

“Boss, that’s too much! The ticket is thirty coins, and I have to pay two coins in tax. Give me a twenty-coin ticket instead!”

“I’ll pay the two-coin tax for you—give me a thirty-coin ticket!”

George Harper pulled out two more coins and stuffed them into the driver’s hand, then snatched the ticket from him without further ado. He winked at Jason Brooks with a proud smile. “The household can reimburse up to thirty coins for travel expenses—might as well take it.”

Jason Brooks found it a bit unbelievable. So this world had receipts too, and people found ways to game the system, just like in later times! He became even more interested in this world.

He jumped down from the carriage and saw a massive mansion before him. The estate covered nearly a hundred mu, with more than a dozen wide eaves visible above the high walls. This was the grand residence of the Harper clan, one of the great families of Huaiyang County.

The Harper clan was actually a distant branch of the imperial family of the Great Ning Empire. Three hundred years ago, the first emperor, Terry Harper, donned the imperial robe, overthrew the Great Zhou dynasty, and founded the Great Ning Empire. After three centuries, the imperial Harper family had grown to hundreds of thousands, with countless complex branches and offshoots—only the officials of the Office of the Imperial Clan could keep track.

In Donghai Commandery, there was only this one branch of the Harper family, so they were called the Donghai Harper clan. The Donghai Harper were descendants of Todd Harper, the Prince of Danyang from two hundred years ago, and were already far removed from the direct imperial line, belonging to a collateral branch. However, the Donghai Harper clan had grown wealthy through overseas trade and, with their large population, had become one of the great families of Huaiyang County.

Among the wealthy families of Huaiyang County, it was fashionable to build fortress-like mansions, with deep moats surrounding the estate. The Harper residence was no exception. The entire clan, numbering in the hundreds, lived together within high walls, with a moat dug outside and only a single small bridge connecting them to the outside world.

Jason Brooks arrived just before dinner time. The open space outside the small bridge was filled with vendors selling vegetables, cooked food, and all sorts of curious trinkets. People bustled about, and the place was lively and noisy.

“William!”

Suddenly, George Harper spotted a young man in a blue robe at a kite stall and called out, waving to him.

Jason Brooks was a bit stunned—William was his big brother’s name. The man turned around, and sure enough, it was his elder brother William Harper, whose face he remembered well.

Jason Brooks’s elder brother was named William Harper, ten years his senior, and the second grandson of the Harper family. Because their father was born of a concubine, his status in the family was not high. He now taught at the family school and was buying kites for his son and daughter. Suddenly hearing someone call him, he turned and saw it was Fifth Uncle. He smiled, but his smile faded as he noticed Jason Brooks standing beside him.

“Jason Brooks!”

He called out softly, hardly able to believe his eyes. It was his own younger brother, Jason Brooks. Though seven years had passed and Jason Brooks had grown into a man, he recognized him at once.

He dropped the kite and strode forward. “Big brother!” The bond of blood surged up in Jason Brooks, and he too stepped forward. The two brothers embraced tightly as the people around them began to whisper and ask George Harper what was happening. George Harper waved his hand and laughed, “My nephew has come home! He’s done very well for himself out there—much more promising than my John.”

William Harper looked his brother up and down, seeing that he was half a head taller than himself and as strong as an ox. He remembered how, at age ten, Jason Brooks had been sent to Qizhou for discipline after getting into trouble. Now, reunited after all these years, his heart was filled with joy, his eyes reddened, and his voice choked as he said, “Jason Brooks, you’ve finally grown up.”

Although Jason Brooks was no longer the same person as before, the bond of family made him deeply emotional. He nodded. “Big brother, it’s been seven years, but you haven’t changed a bit.”

Beside them, George Harper laughed and chimed in, “Alright, now that Jason Brooks is back, I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m heading home.”

“Thank you, Fifth Uncle!” The brothers quickly bowed in gratitude.

George Harper waved his hand and turned to leave. At that moment, the kite vendor called out, “Hey! Are you still buying your kite or not?”

William Harper quickly smiled at his brother. “Wait for me a moment—I promised my son and daughter I’d buy them a kite, and today there’s a good one for sale.”

Jason Brooks scratched his head a little sheepishly. “So big brother already has two children. I thought you hadn’t married yet!”

“When you left, hadn’t I already gotten engaged?”