After Mr. Ma returned home, he first told his wife to get their daughter ready, tidy up a room, and then made sure everything was in order around the house. He then sent a message to Leader Yang, asking for help in getting this matter done and expressing his gratitude. After that, he went to stay overnight at a friend's house.
Leader Yang never ate dinner at home, claiming it was for socializing, but actually spent every day frequenting the Qinhuai River. That evening, he still went out in a sedan chair, played cards on the boat first, then went to Fisherman's Lane to drink, probably only returning home around eleven o'clock. Xiao Geshi was well prepared and had the sedan chair directly carried to Mr. Ma's doorstep, then straight into the house. Leader Yang pretended to be drunk and followed inside.
The whole Ma family was in on the plan, and they brought Leader Yang directly to Ma's daughter’s room before leaving together. Only Leader Yang and Ma's daughter were left in the room. Leader Yang asked her many questions, but she remained silent, as if she couldn't speak. He thought she was shy and didn't pay much attention. As the night passed, dawn broke. Leader Yang was sleeping soundly when suddenly he heard someone knocking on the door outside, followed by the sound of the door opening, and it sounded like a man's voice.
Although Leader Yang was experienced, he felt afraid, worried that Xiao Geshi had believed the rumors and set a trap. He jumped up to listen for any movement. He only heard someone talking quietly outside, which made him even more suspicious. He thought about getting dressed, quietly unlocking the door, and grabbing something to defend himself with, ready to run. Then, silence. He became even more uneasy, wanting to open the door but not daring to, standing in the room for a long time. At that moment, Ma's daughter also got dressed and got out of bed.
With sleepy eyes, she looked even more beautiful, and Leader Yang was mesmerized, unable to control himself, and said, "It's still early, let's sleep a little longer?" Ma's daughter ignored him. Little did they know, the person outside the door heard his words, lightly knocked twice on the door, and also said, "It's still early, Sir, get some more rest."
Old Sheep was frightened when he heard a man speaking outside the door. The voice was very familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a moment, so he stood there, unable to catch his breath. Mao was very straightforward; she walked to the door, suddenly opened it, and said, "Spit it out!" Old Sheep thought it was Mao coming to pull him, but he didn't expect this. When the door opened, he saw a man kneeling outside, bowing his head, unable to see his face clearly. Old Sheep was even more bewildered. At this moment, the kneeling person spoke, "I'm Mu'en, I serve the old man, and I'm eternally grateful for his kindness!" After speaking, he raised his head and waited for instructions. Old Sheep looked carefully and recognized him as Mao Deguan, suddenly at a loss. Mao Deguan said again, "Girl, come and help me beg the leader!" The daughter also knelt down. Old Sheep finally understood. Seeing that they meant no harm, he quickly pulled up Mao Deguan and his daughter, saying, "I understand your good intentions, but I have to go back; we both know what's going on." Mao Deguan again paid his respects, "Thanks to the leader's cultivation!" They already had snacks ready. Old Sheep quickly washed his face and was about to leave. Mao Deguan and his daughter insisted he eat some snacks before leaving. Old Sheep had no choice but to pick at a few before leaving. Mao Deguan saw him off to the door and then returned. After that, Old Sheep went to Mao's house every day. After a few days, Mao Deguan was called in for questioning, met with the governor, and helped clear his suspicion. The governor was more into his meditation than paperwork, so he let it slide. Old Sheep took the opportunity to remove Zhu Degui from his position and revoke his title, intending to exile him. Zhu Degui was anxious and sought help everywhere. Mao Deguan stepped forward, "I will help you plead your case." He went to see Old Sheep, and after a bit of chummy chat, Old Sheep not only did not revoke Zhu Degui's title but also rewarded him with a letter, allowing him to work under Mr. Liang in Sichuan. Zhu Degui not only did not resent Mao Deguan but was grateful to him; that's how a sly fox operates.
Old Sheep has been in Jiangnan for a long time and knows a lot of people. He had businesses all over the place, Nanjing and Shanghai included. In his Nanjing store, there’s a shop assistant named Little Braid Tian, who is from Anhui. He’s short and fat, with very little hair, just a thin, short braid. Everyone calls him Little Braid Tian. Little Braid Tian has been a shop assistant for over ten years, saved up quite a bit of money, and recently wanted to buy his way into a Tongzhi or Tongpan position. Old Sheep advised him: "If you want to become an official, with my pull, I can get you a job as a Tongzhi or Tongpan in Jiangnan. Just a word to the right governor and it's done." Little Braid Tian had seen enough officials in Nanjing to think governors were beneath him. He was set on buying a governorship. Friends couldn’t talk him out of it, so they let him go. After he became an official, he wrapped up his shop duties, found someone to take over, and headed to Beijing for his new job. This guy had spent years in the bureaucracy, always dreaming of higher office. He should've known the ropes, right? But no... he blew it big time!
Let’s talk about the time he reported to duty in Beijing. He showed up late – everyone was already seated, menus in hand. He started bowing to everyone, big shots and all. Later, someone asked him, "Why are you so respectful to the high officials?" He replied, "They were wearing boots, just like those Nanjing bigwigs. I figured they were just off duty. Better safe than sorry, right?" He made mistakes himself, but when others pointed it out, he still defended himself confidently. He was always getting himself into hilarious scrapes.
When he arrived in the province, as luck would have it, Jiangnan's grain and salt officials had all been replaced, and he didn't recognize any of them. Early on the first day, he swaggered in and took the best seat at the governor's yamen, in the officials' hall. Everyone knew that the governor usually didn't start work until after nine o'clock. After waiting for a while with no one showing up, he became impatient and dozed off in his fancy robe. After a bit of sleep, fifty or sixty probationary officials arrived one after another, some with business, some without. The duty officer only woke him up when he saw the other officials coming in. He rubbed his eyes, scratched himself, and mumbled something about bedbugs biting him. Startled by the crowd, he was relieved to see they were all probationary officials—some he knew, some he didn't—so he quickly got up to greet each one.
After the greetings, just as he was about to sit down, another person came in, also dressed in full official regalia. He didn't recognize him. After the introductions, he hurriedly asked, "What's your name?" The person replied, "My surname is Qi." He then asked, "Who might you be?" A probationary official next to him recognized him because he had previously asked him to look after someone named Tian Xiaobian. This official quickly pulled Tian Xiaobian over and said, "This is Fang Bo." Tian Xiaobian quickly said, "So it's Mr. Fang, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The bigwig didn't even acknowledge him before sitting down.
At this time, another person came in, and everyone recognized him as the transport commissioner from the Lianghuai region, just back from Yangzhou to give his report to the provincial authorities. Everyone greeted him, and Tian Xiaobian went up to ask, "What's your name?" The commissioner replied. He then asked, "Which department are you with?" Seeing that he was inexperienced, the commissioner said, "I'm with the Lianghuai Transport Commission." When Tian Xiaobian heard "Transport Commission," his face lit up—a mixture of shock and glee. He raised his thumb and said, "Wow! We've struck gold!" Everyone was shocked, even the commissioner was stunned. Tian Xiaobian said, "Think about it: the Lianghuai Transport Commission position is known to bring in a fortune—fifty taels an hour! That's 1,200 taels a day, thousands a month... enough to make a man rich in no time!" He was speaking happily when a colleague next to him said, "Such a sweet gig, and nobody wants it?" Everyone asked, "Who doesn't want it?" The person said, "It's that Tang fella. They offered him the job, but he turned it down flat." Another person said, "Mr. Tang is a scholar; scholars aren't exactly known for their love of money, no matter how good the job is, he won't be interested; and the position in the Transport Commission now isn't as good as it used to be." Tian Xiaobian said, "Doesn't matter if the job's great or not, being a government man beats selling turnips any day!" Everyone just tuned him out after that.
After a while, it was probably past ten o'clock. Zhitai performed a worship ceremony in front of the ancestors' tablet before coming out to meet the guests. First, local officials entered to see him. Young Tian was visiting for the first time and went in with them. He'd rehearsed the formalities beforehand and, surprisingly, didn't put a foot wrong. However, he had a tendency to interrupt, butting in whether Zhitai asked him something or not. Fortunately, Zhitai had a good temper and did not get angry. After the meeting, the next day, the provincial governor spoke ill of him in front of Zhitai, saying that he came from a business background and did not understand the rules of officialdom. Zhitai replied, "That's alright; he's a straight shooter. Honest folk like that don't lie. He’s been in Nanjing for a long time, and there are some things we do not know; we can ask him. He hasn't picked up any bad habits yet, so he should not dare to deceive us." With that, the provincial governor finished his report and left.
