Monk Qinghai and Mr. Zhou arrived at Changchun Inn by carriage. Mr. Zhou went in first to report to Mr. Wang. When Mr. Wang heard that a monk had come, he frowned and said, "What's with the monk? Tell him, I'm not one for monks, so he can go elsewhere!" Mr. Zhou explained, "The monk's not here for alms, but for matters concerning the Tao family." Mr. Wang was even more surprised, "A monk messing in family business?" Mr. Zhou said, "The monk is Mrs. Tao Ziyao's brother. When I went to the Tao family, Tao Ziyao wasn't there, but his wife insisted on coming with me to see you. The monk talked her out of it, so we came together. If you don't wanna see him, just say you're swamped."
Before Mr. Wang could speak, the monk couldn't wait and came in. Mr. Wang was torn between ignoring him and being polite; he just nodded slightly and sat down. The monk came in respectfully and bowed. Mr. Wang asked, "When did you arrive?" The monk replied, "I arrived yesterday. Tao Ziyao is my brother-in-law; I came to escort my sister. I rarely visit dignitaries. Last year when I was in Shandong, this official was still in office, and his wife donated over twenty thousand silver for charity. Lady Xisi, Lady Jidong, and Mr. Hu from the Grain Department all believe in Buddha and donated tens of thousands!" The monk was name-dropping Shandong bigwigs to impress Mr. Wang. However, Mr. Wang completely ignored him, letting him ramble on while he talked to his steward. Realizing he wasn't making any headway, the monk quickly got to the point, wanting to finish and leave. He started to say, "About my brother-in-law's work...", but Mr. Wang picked up his teacup, clearly signaling the monk to leave. Seeing the monk had more to say, Mr. Wang interrupted, "I'm heading east tomorrow, no time to wait. Mr. Zhou, stay behind, put the money in the manor's safe, and let him retrieve it when he returns!" After speaking, he walked to the door to see the monk off. The minute the monk was gone, Mr. Wang went back inside.
The monk felt humiliated and took a carriage back. He still wanted to show off in front of his sister, bragging about how good Wang was to him: "As soon as we met, he knew I wanted to raise funds to build a grand hall. Without waiting for me to say anything, he donated a fortune and even invited me to Japan after the New Year. He originally wanted to visit me, but I told him he was swamped with a lot on his plate tomorrow, so I told him not to come." His sister believed him and asked, "How's my brother-in-law's situation?" The monk replied, "Big shots like that don't bother with these small matters." His sister got anxious, "You've been gone half a day, and my issue hasn't been resolved at all!" The monk said, "Wang handed this over to Zhou, so go ask him." His sister kinda agreed. The monk asked again, "Has your brother-in-law come back?" His sister cried and said, "I haven't seen him!" The monk reassured her, "He's such a big guy, still an official; he won't just disappear. If we can't find him, I'll have someone in Shanghai write a letter to the officials in the international settlement to inquire. I'm sure we'll track him down. Don't worry!"
So, Wang Daotai got rid of the monk, and then the steward came to report: "Old Man Zou, who came the day before yesterday, is back again." Wang Daotai frowned when he heard this: "I don't have time to see him." The steward said: "Old Man Zou knew you were leaving tomorrow, so he came early yesterday morning and waited in the servants' quarters until midnight before being sent away. He came back early again today! He said you personally promised to put in a good word for him at Shanghai Road and help him find a job, so he came to ask for the result." Wang Daotai replied: "If he asked me to do something, I will help him out, but I can't guarantee it will work. Besides, whether he can get a job is up to Shanghai Road, not me. Even if Shanghai Road arranges a position for him because of me, there still needs to be a process; it can't happen so quickly. Tell him not to linger here; he should go to the yamen more often. If the leaders see him working hard, they will naturally arrange a job for him." The steward said: "People like him are really hard to deal with! If the boss didn't see him, that would be fine, but even if he did, he shouldn't easily promise him anything!" Wang Daotai sighed: "You don't understand! These poor waiting officials have been waiting for over ten years with no hope; they can barely make ends meet. If we leaders ignore them, do they have any way out? When Zhang Langzhai was the governor of Shandong (I served him), he had a good way of dealing with people. Anyone who asked him for something, although he seemed impatient on the surface, was very polite in reality. He once said: 'I have no jobs to give him anymore. If I give him the cold shoulder, how will he survive in the future? So give him a little sweetness first; even if I don't give him a job, he won't blame me too much.' He told me this himself, so I have always followed his method." The steward said: "In my opinion, Old Man Zou smokes too much; he just smokes all day. How can he have time to go to the opium den? These days when he comes here, he goes to the smoking house every few days." Wang Daotai said: "Everyone in office smokes these days; what's the big deal? I have been a waiting official in the province since I was in my twenties, from a low-level position to a river worker, staying up late, smoking without sleeping, getting dressed and registering at the governor's office before dawn. I was always the first one there. After registering, I would go back to sleep. Later, when I was a waiting official in the provincial capital, some leaders didn't know; they even praised me for being diligent! I worked my way up from a county magistrate to a prefect, and finally to a Daotai, all because of hard work and smoking! Just drop a hint about what I said to Old Man Zou, and he'll get the message. He needs to schmooze those higher-ups."
I gotta go, I don't have any time for him!
The butler had no choice but to leave. Old Man Zou was still waiting at the gate and hurriedly asked, "What did the master say?" The butler replied impatiently, "The master said that you officials are lazy and never go to the yamen, so there’s no work for you." Old Man Zou said, "Goodness me! To be honest, I'm hooked on opium. Ever since I started smoking it, I can't drag myself out of bed in the mornings." The butler said, "If you can't get up early, can you at least stop being lazy? Let me teach you a way." He then repeated Wang Daotai's words and added, "Follow my advice, and who knows, you might even become a Daotai one day!" Old Man Zou said, "I'm here about something important, don’t take the piss!" The butler said sternly, "This is serious business, mate! I ain't got time for games!" Old Man Zou realized the situation was not right and quickly apologized, bowing deeply. The butler ignored him.
Old Man Zou was completely baffled and sat there for a while. Suddenly, he had an idea and slipped away while no one was paying attention, returning to his own place. He couldn't afford a mansion, so he rented half a house where he and his wife squeezed in. Their bed was just two planks of wood, a tiny stove, and a few empty, ratty old chests. His wife's hair was unkempt; she hadn't combed it in at least a month, and her clothes were tattered. She looked worse than a scullery maid, which was a cruel irony considering she was his wife. Both of them loved smoking, and with Old Man Zou not finding work for years, they were so broke they could barely afford the opium they both craved.
So, old man Zou got home, didn’t say a word to his wife, and started ransacking the place. After searching for a while, he found nothing. His wife asked him what was wrong, but he ignored her. Eventually, she figured out his intention—he wanted to pawn some of his stuff. She said, "You've pawned everything I own! This is all I have left to wear and eat, and you still want to pawn *this*? I'm done!" As she spoke, she started to cry. The neighbors heard her wailing and thought someone had kicked the bucket, so they all came running over to see what the fuss was about. Mr. Zou didn’t care about them and kept searching through the room. Later, he found a bundle on the bed with two pieces of clothing inside that he wanted to take. His wife saw it and stopped him, saying, "There’s only a coarse shirt and a skirt left in here. If you take them away, I’ll have nothing to wear!" Mr. Zou refused and tried to take them. His wife, being a woman, was weaker and couldn’t resist him. She simply lay on the ground, crying and pounding her chest, and kept it up until midnight. The landlord downstairs couldn’t stand the noise and told him to move out the next day. His wife dared not cry anymore.
Mr. Zou took the bundle and went to the pawnshop. The shop assistant estimated the value and only agreed to give him four hundred copper coins. After a bit of haggling, he finally got 450 cash. He kept the pawn ticket, wrapped the money in cloth, and went to Daoxiang Village. He wanted to buy a pound of honey dates and a box of hawthorn cakes as gifts, but found out he didn’t have enough money. He ended up buying ten ounces of honey dates and a pound of cloud cake. He asked the guy to wrap it up nicely for a gift. After paying, he had some coins left, and grinning from ear to ear, Zou headed straight for Wang Daotai's Changchun Inn.
When he arrived at the gatehouse, he placed the honey dates and rice pastries on the table. The steward of Wang Daotai thought it was something he had bought himself and was not pleased, muttering, "What a clueless guy, doesn't he care if others are busy or not, just came to deliver this junk!" He sat there, ignoring Zou Taiye. Zou Taiye smiled and said, "I know I always trouble everyone, and I feel guilty. It's rare that we know each other and get along. Tomorrow everyone will follow the adults to Japan, and we'll be parting ways. This little something is just a small token of my appreciation, consider it a way to tide you over when you're hungry on the ship." The steward then understood that it was a gift of snacks, quickly stood up and said, "Zou Taiye, how can we accept your things? Times must be tough for you; that's too polite!" Zou Taiye replied, "We're like family, why be polite! As long as you don't treat me as an outsider, just accept the things, and I'll be happy." Seeing his firm refusal to take back the gifts, the steward thought he couldn't just accept his things for nothing, so he had to invite him to sit down again, and the two chatted for a while.
Zou Taiye wanted the steward to help him plead with the adults, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. They were leaving tomorrow; if he missed this chance, he'd be in trouble. But he felt embarrassed to speak up. Fortunately, the steward understood that he was giving gifts in exchange for help. But he didn't say it first, and Zou Taiye didn't want to say it first either, to avoid being looked down upon and seen as only valuing material things.
As they sat there thinking, Mr. Zhou entered. The steward quickly stood up, said a few words to Mr. Zhou, and he went in. Zou Taiye was at a loss for words, but when he recognized Mr. Zhou, he struck up a conversation and asked, "Isn't this Mr. Zhou?" The steward confirmed. Zou Taiye said, "Is he also going to Japan with the adults tomorrow?" The steward said, "Didn't you see the notice? He's been moved up to governor of Zhejiang; after we leave, he'll go to Hangzhou." Zou Taiye said, "If he doesn't go, then who's going with the boss? Won't there be one less person?"
Old Man Zou is really going to have good luck. The steward suddenly realized and said, "Yes! This morning, the authorities said that if Mr. Zhou doesn't go, there will be one less person to handle things. Wait a moment, I will go and check things out, and then ask Mr. Zhou to help you speak. What Mr. Zhou says should be very reliable." Old Man Zou was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly thanked him, "Thanks for your help, brother! If we could work together, that would be great!" The steward found Mr. Zhou, explained the situation, and said that it was a fellow villager asking for help. Mr. Zhou said, "For one's own affairs, I will definitely do my best. But the time is too tight; we are leaving tomorrow, it would have been better if he had come a few days earlier." The steward said, "He has been coming every day these past two days, and even sent a note to Shanghai." Mr. Zhou said, "The official has already sent him a note; let him wait for two days and there will naturally be a result. Why must he come now?" The steward said, "It's all about human relations. Our master is not the superior of Shanghai, just a colleague from a neighboring province. Besides, they have an actual vacancy, while we are just substitutes. To be honest, even if you send a hundred notes like this, you may have face at the moment, but who will remember you afterwards? That's just playing kids' games." Mr. Zhou, agreeing, went to see Magistrate Wang.
He hadn't said anything yet, but Wang Daotai spoke first: "Your inability to join me puts me in a difficult spot. Some things are beyond their capabilities, leaving me at a loss." Mr. Zhou replied, "I was prepared to serve your Excellency in Japan. Unfortunately, Zhejiang Governor Liu has already transferred me there, and friends have been urging me through letters; I can't delay. I'll have to repay your Excellency's kindness later. Your Excellency's party is short-handed for this trip, and I thought of someone." Wang Daotai asked, "Who?" Mr. Zhou said, "It's the Zou Dianshi who comes every day; he seems capable." Wang Daotai remarked, "This man is really interesting. He used to work in Chiping, Shandong. I met him when I went there on a business trip, and later I helped him with a few things. He passed away about twenty years ago, I recall. When he died, the villagers came to mourn, and I even contributed two taels of silver. We lost touch after that. Now, here in Shanghai, he's found me and he's been pestering me daily. Apparently, after his mourning period, he took a post in the provincial government and has remained here ever since, never advancing; I can't imagine how he's endured it all these years."
Wang Daotai spoke to the butler, who stood by listening. At a crucial point, Wang Daotai pointed to the butler and asked, "Didn't you say that Old Man Zou has a big smoking addiction?" The butler responsible for sending him sweet treats replied, "It used to be quite big, but he wants to find a job now, and he's quitting these days." Wang Daotai said, "You can't just quit smoking like that, can you? If he really wants to quit, why didn't he quit earlier? Why wait until now? I know this old man, but this time going abroad is different from staying in the country. We don't want any foreigners laughing at us!" The butler quickly said, "Old Man Zou has lived in Shanghai for years, rubbing shoulders with foreigners—he's seen it all." Wang Daotai's face fell, "I need to be assured before I can give him a job! Can he handle it? You guys know better than I do." The butler was speechless and left in a dejected manner. Wang Daotai said, "It's just fun to give them orders." Master Zhou quickly intervened, "They just feel sorry for him and hope you'll give him a job to learn the ropes." Wang Daotai said, "I'm a bit worried about taking him abroad. The manufacturing bureau is short-staffed, and Mr. Zheng mentioned yesterday that they need to replace more than twenty staff for some reason. I'll write him a letter of recommendation; he can give it a shot." Master Zhou saw Wang Daotai agree to write the letter and didn't say much more. Since Wang Daotai's letters were ghostwritten by him, there was no need to be polite. He immediately walked to the table, picked up the pen, and started writing. Zhou wrote the letter, showed it to Wang Daotai, and then gave it to the butler.
The steward was given the cold shoulder and came out, returning to the house with a long face. Mr. Zou saw that his expression was not right, and he was a nervous wreck, sweating profusely. After a while, Mr. Zhou came out, handed the letter to Mr. Zou, and explained the situation. Mr. Zou had not had a good relationship with Mr. Zhou before, but now he was deeply grateful and quickly came over to bow to Mr. Zhou. He had already found out that Mr. Zhou had just been promoted to county magistrate, so he repeatedly called Mr. Zhou "Your Honor" and referred to himself as "your humble servant." He said, "I'm deeply grateful for your guidance, Your Honor; I truly appreciate it!" He whispered to the steward that he dared not be presumptuous and wanted to invite Mr. Zhou to a small dinner party at the Ya Su Garden in the evening. The steward relayed the message to Mr. Zhou. Mr. Zhou said, "I understand, but I'm busy today, and the big boss leaves tomorrow. Tao Ziyao just sent a letter asking me to do something, so when do I have time? Let's do it another time!" Mr. Zou saw that Mr. Zhou was unwilling to go, so he had to say, "Since Your Honor is busy, I will come back in a few days to invite you." Mr. Zhou said, "There will be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future; no need to be so polite." Mr. Zou then borrowed a long coat from the steward to thank Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang offered a few words of encouragement and urged him to work hard. Mr. Zou agreed repeatedly and then left. The next day, he went to the dock to see him off, and then went to the manufacturing bureau to deliver the letter of recommendation.
Mr. Zhou received a letter from Tao Ziyao yesterday evening, inviting him to have a drink at *Yipinxiang* to discuss important matters. Mr. Zhou was originally too busy to go. However, since the money was kept in the village and needed to be explained in person, he took the time to relax. It turned out that Tao Ziyao had gotten into a fight with his wife, didn't want to go back to the inn, and ran into a friend on the way, so he spent the night at his friend's house. He finally wrapped things up around ten the next morning, slept late, and didn't get back to the inn until four. His wife was already screaming, and his brother-in-law, Monk, had just gotten back from seeing Wang Daotai. Tao Ziyao was giving Monk hell for going to see Wang Daotai, and Monk, furious, ripped off his hat. However, Wei Pianren came to find him, shifting the blame to Qiu Wuke and saying that Qiu Wuke had two fake contracts from the past, trying to extort money from him. Tao Ziyao freaked out: "One contract is fake, prepared for a lawsuit! We are all friends, how could you extort money from me?" Wei Pianren said, "If a lawsuit is really filed, will you still say it's fake? Your handwriting is already out there, you need to find a way to get it back." Tao Ziyao was stressed, so he asked Mr. Zhou for help. His wife initially cried and scolded him for not returning all night, but later found out he was being extorted. After all, they were married, so she calmed down. Tao Ziyao stormed into *Yipinxiang* with Wei Pianren and Monk. Shortly after, Mr. Zhou also arrived. After a bit of small talk, Mr. Zhou first explained the matter of the money being kept in the village. Tao Ziyao took Mr. Zhou to the balcony outside, leaning against the railing, and told him the ins and outs of the matter. Mr. Zhou said, "Your brother-in-law really blew this out of proportion!" Tao Ziyao said, "Forget about him, help me think of a solution. I'll split the profits with you – I don't want those guys getting rich off this!" Mr. Zhou was moved and said, "They both went to bat for your brother-in-law; if one of them doesn't get something out of this, it's gonna be a mess." Tao Ziyao asked, "What do you think we should do?" Mr. Zhou said, "Let's play it by ear." They then ordered food. Monk ordered a bunch of vegetarian stuff - he had to abide by the rules of the Buddhist sect in front of others and would never break them. The others ordered meat dishes, which need not be elaborated on. Mr. Zhou only ordered a bowl of soup, saying he had something urgent to attend to. During the meal, Mr. Zhou kept doing the math in his head and didn't say anything about the problem. After finishing the soup, he got up to say goodbye. Tao Ziyao repeatedly urged him, and Mr. Zhou promised to help him resolve the matter the next day. They said goodbye.
Tao Ziyao was in a complete panic, asking Wei Pianren for help. Wei Pianren said, "Not only did you write the two contracts for the five departments, but there's also another contract with two copies—one was taken by the five departments, and I kept the other for you. Also, the promissory note written by your father-in-law is here." Tao Ziyao became even more anxious when he heard this: "All of these are fake! Only the contract for 22,200 taels of silver is real!" Wei Pianren said, "Don't worry, I'm not after your money. We are friends; we share good fortune and face difficulties together. Anyway, the money that came down from above is more than 22,200 taels. Let's all profit from this unexpected windfall, and we'll say it's thanks to your father-in-law." Seeing Wei Pianren's tone soften, Tao Ziyao didn't say much more, as he had already asked Old Man Zhou to help. He only asked Wei Pianren, "When you see Wuke, please speak on my behalf; just say that I have no benefits here, and consider it a favor to a friend." Wei Pianren agreed. After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.
Mr. Zhou, named Yin, courtesy name Guofu, was originally a probationary prefectural official in Shandong. He was supposed to go to Japan with Governor Wang this time, but Zhejiang Governor Liu sent a letter requesting his presence. He had worked as a tutor in Liu's household before and had some connections, so Liu promoted him. Mr. Zhou thought that being a prefectural official was just a minor position, probably without much to do. Fortunately, Mr. Zhou was adept at cultivating relationships, and many people at the remittance shop were from the same hometown as him, so their relationships were good. He discussed with them and decided to purchase the position of county magistrate. Everyone agreed, some donating two hundred taels, some one hundred taels, and some fifty taels. With many small donations, he quickly completed the procedures at the office of appointments. From then on, his social circle expanded, and he became acquainted with many foreign trading firms. One day, he overheard someone saying that the one extorting money from Tao Ziyao's enemy, Wuke, was the nephew of a new military outfitter he had befriended. This merchant, named Wang Erdiao, was a distant cousin of Mr. Zhou, so their relationship was particularly good. Wang Erdiao flattered Mr. Zhou mainly because Mr. Zhou was favored by the Zhejiang Governor and he wanted to attract more business in the future, with no other intentions. Having Wang Erdiao as an ally made dealing with Tao Ziyao significantly easier.
Mr. Zhou was busy all night in the room of the inn where Tao Ziyao lived. The next day, after Wang Daotai left, he went directly to find Wang Erdiao and asked for his help regarding Tao Ziyao's matter. Wang Erdiao immediately agreed, saying, "My nephew did business at our trading company last year, and I was the guarantor. I can take care of it with a word. I also know that guy surnamed Wei, so don’t worry." After Mr. Zhou left, Wang Erdiao indeed called his nephew and said, "We are all important people, so let's not make a big deal out of this." Qiu Wuke then told his uncle the whole story. Wang Erdiao said, "Since that's the case, there's no need to rip Tao Ziyao off. However, I already promised Mr. Zhou, so I will go tell him to get Tao Ziyao to chip in, and that will be the end of it." Qiu Wuke couldn't resist his uncle and agreed to go back. He informed Wei Pianren to follow his uncle's arrangements, and they wouldn't get burned. Wei Pianren was anxious, stomping his feet, "If this blows up, how can I explain to Tao Ziyao!" That night, Wang Erdiao invited Mr. Zhou to Wan Nian Chun and asked him to tell Tao Ziyao, "The matter has been settled by my guys, but Wuke and Pianren did help and spent a lot of money. Please throw them some money. My guys have instructed not to argue, so I got you to handle this." Mr. Zhou thanked him repeatedly. He returned and told Tao Ziyao, discussing how much money to give to Qiu Wuke and Wei Pianren. Tao Ziyao only agreed to give each of them a thousand taels. Mr. Zhou said, "At least give them half, to avoid trouble in the future." Tao Ziyao was reluctant. Mr. Zhou talked him into it, and in the end, each received two thousand taels, and Mr. Zhou also got a thousand taels. Mr. Zhou felt it was too little, so he borrowed another thousand taels from Tao Ziyao, who gave him five hundred. With four thousand taels in hand, Mr. Zhou went to find Wang Erdiao again and explained the situation clearly. Tao Ziyao's notes were also retrieved. Once the machinery arrived, they'd be shipping to Shandong.
Qiu Wuke, under his uncle's orders, dared not say much. But Wei Pianren was still unwilling in his heart. Unable to do it himself, he got his new wife to shake down Tao Ziya: "Tao Ziya is rich now. He is heartless. Extort him!" His new wife tracked Tao Ziya down at his inn. Seeing his new wife, Tao Ziya, fearing his wife would find out, hustled her into the servants' quarters. His new wife first brought up the matter they had agreed on before, but they couldn't agree. After a while, Tao Ziya, still worried about his wife, shooed her out. Unable to think of another way, he said, "Let Wei Pianren come and talk to you about it." His new wife was thrilled. Later, they never met in person. Wei Pianren spent days running errands. Wei Pianren said, "She's demanding three thousand taels, and if you don't pay up, she'll be at the inn tomorrow to raise hell!" Tao Ziya panicked and begged Wei Pianren to get her to lower the price. In the end, they settled on two thousand taels. Wei Pianren took the money, gave only five hundred taels to the new wife, and Tao Ziya gave him another five hundred taels as a thank-you gift. He ended up pocketing two thousand taels, and that was that. As for what happened next, whether Tao Ziya waited for the machine to arrive and took his family to Shandong, or if something else happened, the book stops here for now, to keep things moving.
Zhou got a windfall of fifteen hundred silver dollars, and he was tickled pink. Once in the provincial capital, he did the usual thing and paid his respects to his superiors. Liu Zhongcheng was his old friend. After meeting that day, he quickly got him a job in the office and the Westernization Bureau. The next day, Zhou went to thank him and visited other officials, busy for several days before finishing. Everyone knew he was tight with Liu Zhongcheng, so they treated him with kid gloves.
The government office has a person named Dai Dali, who is a Jinshi and a magistrate-in-waiting. He has been working under Liu Zhongcheng for a long time and has gained Liu Zhongcheng's trust. He is very influential in the yamen, practically the top dog. Although Old Zhou is an old friend of Liu Zhongcheng, Dai Dali always pulls rank on him and completely ignores him. Old Zhou knows he has less experience and always gives in to him, enduring for the time being.
One day, there was a vacancy for a magistrate, and Liu Zhongcheng wanted Dai Dali to act as a stand-in. He mentioned this to the higher-up, saying, "Let's give this position to Dai Dali; he’s been working hard with me for so long." The higher-up agreed. However, this was just a private discussion between the two of them, and there was no official announcement yet. A cop who was listening on the side remembered this.
After the guests left, the cop quickly went to tell Dai Dali the good news: "Zhongcheng just got it sorted with the boss; it'll be official tonight!" Dai Dali was overjoyed upon hearing this. His colleagues came to congratulate him, and Old Zhou just went along with the crowd.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn. After noon that day, Liu Zhongcheng suddenly called Zhou and said, "In the office, Dai Dalai is the most reliable. He has never made a mistake in what he does. I have made him work hard for so many years, and I want to give him a break to broaden his horizons. The rest of you need to be more careful in the future." Zhou thought for a moment and replied, "Sir, Dai Dalai is indeed an expert. He is over fifty years old, and when he writes official documents, not a single word is wrong in thousands of words. He is fast and efficient, far better than the rest of us. While it's hard to say this outright, for the sake of the overall situation, we really can't do without him. Recently, officials in Hunan and Guangdong were criticized by those above for mistakes in their documents or incorrect salutations. With so many affairs at the end of the year, if Dai Dalai leaves, even if we are more careful, mistakes may still occur and delay your affairs. Although Dai Dalai has worked hard for many years and this promotion is well-deserved, we can't stop him. But for the sake of public affairs, we really can't do without him!" Liu Zhongcheng thought it made sense, "Mr. Zhou is my former teacher; his words are reliable. Now there are more demands from the higher-ups, it wouldn't be good if Dai Dalai made a mistake." So he decided, "Luckily I haven't formally told him this news yet; let's give this position to someone else. Once he's gotten through the winter and the others are familiar with official business, we can arrange a good position for him next year." After that, he informed the provincial governor that the position of that county magistrate would not be given to Dai Dalai, and they would discuss who to give it to tomorrow. Then Zhou left.
That evening, colleagues from the copywriting department chipped in for a farewell dinner to celebrate Dai Dali's promotion. Old Man Zhou also contributed money. He kept the words that Liu, the Deputy, had just said to him in his heart, didn't say a word, and just joined in the toasts and congratulations, pretending to be very happy on the surface. Dai Dali was practically beaming, polished off a dozen drinks, and was feeling pretty tipsy. He raised his glass and said, "We work together, I never expected to leave first." Everyone said, "The Deputy must really see your potential, deliberately leaving this vacancy for you to showcase your abilities." Dai Dali said, "What talent! It's just that my superiors take special care of me." Everyone said, "We'll probably be counting on you for a good word at the year-end review!" Dai Dali said, "We'll see! Hope you all get promoted too!" Everyone said, "That's just the boss's favoritism. We're still pretty green compared to a veteran like you!" Old Man Zhou also followed everyone in complimenting him but chuckled to himself. The dinner wrapped up after three a.m.
