Master Strategist

Upon hearing Su Mo's question.

Chen Gan thought for a moment before saying, "For a casual laborer to be promoted to a regular servant, receiving three to five taels in congratulatory gifts is already quite good!"

"Those guys have sharp ears and keen eyes!"

"Naturally, they saw that the County Magistrate showed you great favor, so they invested heavily in you!"

Su Mo was a novice at the yamen and didn't understand the intricacies.

Could the old fox Chen Gan not see it?

The new yamen servant was clearly highly valued by the County Magistrate; he was likely the Magistrate's confidant.

The congratulatory gifts naturally had to be increased accordingly!

Furthermore.

The quota for regular servants wasn't something that could be bought with just twenty taels of silver.

That was a preferential price for their own people!

If outsiders wanted to take their place, the internal pressure from the subordinate clerks was immense, and the money needed for bribes would be much higher; without fifty to sixty taels, don't even think about it!

Hearing his maternal uncle say this, Su Mo suddenly understood.

He had also guessed this reason.

He had simply underestimated the speed at which information spread in ancient times.

The rumor that he had gained the County Magistrate's favor seemed to have spread throughout Changping County!

In the end, it was still the Imperial Guard's doing!

Su Mo became even more eager to truly don the tiger skin of the Imperial Guard.

Unfortunately, Lin Moyin was too inefficient; she didn't keep up with the yamen's pace at all!

As a spy and intelligence agency!

Such efficiency was unacceptable!

She needed to be severely criticized!

Chen Gan glanced enviously at the congratulatory gifts, his expression turning serious. "Did you note down which families sent these gifts?"

"You'll need to reciprocate them one by one another day."

Su Mo nodded. "Your nephew naturally understands!"

Chen Gan grunted and added, "For ordinary households, you can let Qin Bi'er handle the return gifts."

"For neighborhood heads and section leaders, you'll have to visit them personally."

"With their support, things will go much smoother in the future."

Su Mo was taken aback. "Let Qin Bi'er handle it?"

"Is that appropriate?"

Chen Gan snorted. "Of course, she should handle it; otherwise, what use is she?"

"If you go personally, aren't you afraid of losing face?"

"Officials command respect through their authority, not familiarity!"

"If others think you're easy to bully because you're too friendly, who will give you face later?"

He paused slightly. "Madam Qin will eventually marry into the Su family."

"Since the Su family currently has no mistress, she should naturally act on your behalf and handle these trivial matters!"

As he spoke, his old face showed a hint of regret. "Your cousin is, after all, an unmarried young lady and it's not suitable for her to be seen in public. Otherwise, having her manage household affairs would be most appropriate!"

"You just need to wait patiently for another year!"

"If you really can't hold back, consummate your marriage with Madam Qin tonight!"

Su Mo was instantly speechless.

His maternal uncle, who was also his future father-in-law, was helping his nephew and son-in-law find a woman?

Didn't that sound a bit strange?

However, in this era, having multiple wives and concubines was more respectable, indicating a capable and high-status person!

Su Mo knew that his third maternal uncle, a yamen casual laborer, kept a mistress outside the city!

His third maternal aunt also knew about it; she just didn't mention it.

The uncle and nephew then began to sort through the congratulatory gifts together.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the house.

The two turned to look.

They saw Chen Ping and a large group of Fast Squad yamen servants approaching together, carrying items.

Leading the group was Lu Shan, the deputy captain of the arresting squad.

To Chen Gan and Su Mo's surprise.

The Fast Squad's Deputy Captain Luo Lie had also arrived!

Unlike Lu Shan, who wore a wide smile.

Luo Lie's face was grim, and the several Fast Hands following him also wore unpleasant expressions.

Chen Gan and Su Mo exchanged a glance.

They both saw a look of vigilance in each other's eyes.

The visitors were not here with good intentions!

Lu Shan, tall and stout like a wealthy gentleman, strode towards Su Mo.

Su Mo had already heard his uncle specifically mention this leader of the patrol squad.

He was a complete smiling tiger, someone who would devour you without spitting out the bones.

On the list of the three squads' yamen runners not to offend that Chen Gan had given Su Mo, Lu Shan ranked second, only below Zhong Sanyuan!

"Chen Gan, you're here too?"

Lu Shan turned his gaze to Su Mo with a smile. "Brother Su, you won't blame us for intruding this time, will you?"

Just as Su Mo was about to speak.

Luo Lie, standing beside him, glanced at the various congratulatory gifts displayed in the hall and sneered, "You've received quite a lot!"

"No wonder you've always wanted the position of Regular Servant!"

Chen Gan quickly interjected with a smile before Su Mo could speak, "It's all due to the respect shown by our neighbors and friends in the neighborhood."

"These few items are surely beneath Captain Luo's notice!"

He looked at Lu Shan and the others, then added, "Actually, we were just discussing setting up a banquet at the restaurant tomorrow afternoon to treat the two captains and all our colleagues from the Fast Squad to a good meal!"

"We never expected you all to show so much respect to this unworthy nephew!"

As he spoke, he cupped his hands and repeatedly apologized, "We hope Captain Lu, Captain Luo, and all you brothers will not take offense at any rudeness!"

Lu Shan smiled, "We are merely eager!"

"Hearing that the patrol squad has such a young and promising talent, we couldn't wait to come and meet him!"

He sized Su Mo up and down, clicking his tongue in admiration, "Truly a man of distinguished appearance!"

"I say, Old Luo, you shouldn't keep that grim face. If it were me, I'd be overjoyed to have such a talent join the patrol squad!"

Luo Lie inwardly sneered!

It wasn't your territory being encroached upon, so of course, you can afford to say such things!

He then let out a chilling, sarcastic laugh. "You can certainly ask Captain Zhong to inform the Magistrate."

"Perhaps the Magistrate, knowing you value talent, will transfer him to the patrol squad!"

Lu Shan chuckled and didn't reply. He turned to the Arrest Hands of the patrol squad and said, "Aren't you going to bring the gifts over quickly!"

They had come to congratulate Su Mo, so they naturally had to bring something.

Although Luo Lie's face was grim.

He had indeed not come empty-handed.

With a slight wave of his hand, a Fast Hand behind him stepped forward carrying a large, still hairy pig's head.

Su Mo didn't quite understand his intention!

Pork wasn't exactly cheap meat.

The common folk of Great Wu didn't have enough to eat, and any kind of meat could be considered a luxury.

However, it wasn't common for many wealthy or noble families to eat it.

There was no habit of de-odorizing pork at this time, and pork had a strong, gamey smell.

Even though it looked like a wild boar's head!

"Forget about going to any restaurant!"

Luo Lie had someone present the pig's head and said sarcastically, "Coincidentally, we hunted a wild boar that didn't know its place in the mountains yesterday. Let's just have a meal here!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the nephew and uncle immediately darkened!

If they didn't show some form of response to such an obvious public humiliation, how could they continue to get by in the future!

They weren't afraid of the Magistrate's Clerk, so why would they fear a Deputy Captain?

Su Mo narrowed his eyes, took half a step forward, and was about to speak.

Suddenly, another voice came from outside the door.

"Heh heh, quite lively!"

"The Fast Squad is here?"

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat upon hearing the voice. They all turned their heads to look outside the door!

Then, they swallowed in unison!

Dong Yangrong!

The Changping County Magistrate's advisor!

There was no need to explain what this meant!

Even more terrifying was that the uninvited County Magistrate's advisor had brought a congratulatory gift!

The entire venue fell silent instantly.

You could hear a mosquito fly by!