Qing Yao

Chapter 464 Fellow villager, come sooner!
Zhao An has done nothing but wait these past few days.

Waiting for someone with a high level of awareness of the need for shock and reconciliation.

How can we talk about the genuine Manchu Tartars of the Bordered Yellow Banner?
He really doesn't understand human relationships at all!
What does Deputy Commander Zhao want?
It's about attitude!

What is attitude?

Your painstakingly cobbled-together 800-word self-criticism?

Certainly not!

Attitude is an intangible thing; no matter how well you speak or write, it's all superficial. It needs to be measured and demonstrated with real money.

Why haven't these Manchu Tartars figured out the "true scripture" after so many days?
Ultimately, this is a disequilibrium in collective perception.

Manchus valued money extremely highly!

He could use his power to embezzle huge sums of money, but he would never spend a penny more than necessary where he could save money; this had almost become an instinct ingrained in his bones.

Needless to say, even those Manchus at the bottom of society, when they sent their servants to buy meat, would mostly rush to buy "folded meat" made up of scraps and offcuts when the meat stalls were about to close in the evening.

Simply put, it's cheap.

They were unwilling to buy rice in whole bushels, but instead bought it in small liters, claiming it was for freshness, but in reality, they were afraid that storing it at home would result in insect infestation or dampness, causing unnecessary losses.

Going to a teahouse isn't just about tasting the tea; it's about getting free hot water, since you bring your own tea leaves anyway. You can also enjoy the winter warmth from the heating and charcoal fire, and if you can even listen to a storyteller or a few songs for free, then you've hit the jackpot.

Of course, this kind of frugality can also be seen as a virtue of "thrift and diligence in managing a household".

Under the long-term influence of this collective atmosphere, most Manchurian officials who climbed up from the bottom maintained this "frugal" style.

In plain terms, it means only I can take advantage of you, and you can't take advantage of me!

Those spoiled brats born into powerful and wealthy families go to the other extreme—they are generous with their money, but they have absolutely no concept of human relationships.

In the eyes of these spoiled young masters, the emperor was the eldest, and he was the second eldest.

I live off my family's wealth, why should I bother with complicated matters?

Therefore, it is simply impossible to expect military officers from privileged backgrounds to be as adept at navigating interpersonal relationships as Han officials who had risen through the ranks in the quagmire of officialdom.

No one teaches them, and they don't need to learn this.

Whether you call them simple and honest or naive, in short, regardless of whether they came from the lower classes or were born into wealth, none of them were on par with Deputy Commander Zhao in terms of their level of sophistication.

Only those who went out to serve as officials and hired Han Chinese advisors and staff could understand the intricacies of the matter.

However, nothing in this world is absolute; there will always be those who finally understand.

Zhao An always returned people's self-criticisms. Someone always had to reflect on what was going on. Even if he couldn't figure it out himself, there were always outsiders who could offer guidance.

After his self-criticism was once again ruthlessly rejected, Taiping, the sixth lieutenant under the fifth commander, returned home dejectedly. He angrily threw his official hat, a symbol of his status, onto the table and slumped into his chair, fuming.

His wife, Chen, was a Han Chinese woman. Upon seeing this, she put down her needlework, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Master, has this been rejected again?"

"OK!"

Taiping, looking annoyed, slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "Damn it! I've revised that self-criticism nine times already! But that guy surnamed Zhao always manages to find fault with it. This time it's even worse. He said my understanding wasn't deep enough and didn't touch my soul. What's the soul? Isn't he just deliberately making things difficult for me?!"

After hearing this, Chen did not join her husband in cursing like most Manchu wives. Instead, she smiled, got up, poured him a cup of hot tea, and said softly, "My lord, you've been in officialdom for so many years, how come you can't even see through this little trick?"

"What do you mean?" Taiping looked up, completely bewildered; he truly didn't understand.

In his simple understanding, if his superior asked him to write a self-criticism, he should just write it honestly, be sincere, and humble. What else could he do?

Madam Chen pushed the teacup towards her husband and lowered her voice, saying, "My foolish husband, do you really think that Lord Zhao is testing your scholarship and selecting candidates for the Hanlin Academy? In the whole capital, anyone with a brain knows that if you want to send a visiting card to the He family, you have to go through this many people at the gate first."

As she spoke, she held up three fingers and waved them in front of her husband.

Taiping was stunned, and tentatively asked, "Thirty taels?"

In his view, this was already a considerable expense.

"Three hundred taels!"

Madam Chen glared at her husband reproachfully, "My lord, think about it carefully. It costs three hundred taels to send a letter to Lord He's residence. This Lord Zhao was promoted by Lord He himself. How could he not know the rules? How could he not be greedy for money? He's been making things difficult for his subordinates since he became an official. Could it be that he really wants your few scraps of paper?"

Seeing her husband still in a daze, seemingly unable to grasp the situation, Madam Chen decided to be blunt: "Sir, you don't need to bother with that damn self-criticism anymore. No matter how well it's written, it's not as good as real money. Tomorrow, just prepare the banknotes and send them over. I guarantee you'll get through this immediately!"

After saying this, Madam Chen turned and went into the inner room, took out her dowry box, and counted out thirty silver notes from the bottom that were stamped with a large seal and could be redeemed immediately.

Each one has a face value of one hundred taels.

"This three thousand taels is our family's most precious savings. Tomorrow, I'll slip this silver note into the letter of self-criticism and hand it over to Lord Zhao. I want to see if this impartial Lord Zhao can find a single fault with me after accepting this letter!"

Chen was also a woman who was willing to go all out, and she was far more generous than her stingy husband.

Her family is in business, so she's had a lot of guts since she was a child.

"Three thousand taels!"

Taiping, the husband, was so frightened that she gasped, "Why do they have to give so much? What if that Zhao guy takes the money and doesn't do anything, and then accuses me of bribery? Wouldn't I be in big trouble?"

"rest assured,"

Chen was confident: "Even He Zhongtang takes money, so even if Zhao doesn't take money, he'll still have to follow the rules. Otherwise, who will dare to give gifts to He Zhongtang in the future?"

She sat down and reminded her husband that there was news from the governor's office that someone surnamed Zhao was drafting a list to submit. If they actually let him submit the name, losing his job would be the least of his worries!
Which of the things done by the Sixth Zuo Ling (a military commander) can withstand scrutiny?
Over the years, her husband has amassed at least tens of thousands of taels of silver while serving as a lieutenant. If he doesn't cut some of his losses now, and if they find out, not only will he be forced to retire, but the whole family will probably be raided.

"This"

Taiping sat there, lost in thought, torn between his deeply ingrained notion of being stingy and his wife's resolute analysis.

In the end, fear overwhelmed everything, and a look of pain and determination flashed across his face: "Fine, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, so I'll do as you say!"

The next day, Taiping braced himself and asked to see Zhao An, carrying the self-criticism that had been rejected the day before, along with three thousand taels of silver notes wrapped inside.

Zhao An will definitely accept anyone who comes.

"Your humble servant, Taiping, greets Your Excellency!"

Upon entering the room, Taiping bowed respectfully, his voice noticeably weak, "This humble servant is utterly foolish and incompetent; I truly do not know how to write this letter of self-criticism to satisfy Your Excellency. I beg Your Excellency to consider my sincere intentions and offer some guidance!"

After saying that, he held up the much thicker letter of self-criticism with both hands, his heart pounding.

A moment later, Zhao, the deputy commander, spoke in a very friendly voice: "Fellow villager, you've finally come to your senses."

(End of this chapter)