The Adviser

Su Mo heard the question.

Chen Gan thought for a moment before saying, "When a miscellaneous servant is promoted to a regular servant, receiving three to five taels as congratulatory gifts is already quite impressive!"

"Those fellows have sharp eyes and keen ears!"

"They naturally saw how the county magistrate treasured you, so they invested heavily in you!"

Su Mo was a complete novice when it came to the yamen and had no idea about the twists and turns involved.

How could the old fox Chen Gan have failed to see it?

The newly appointed yamen servant was clearly highly valued by the county magistrate. He was probably the county magistrate's trusted aide.

The congratulatory gifts naturally had to increase accordingly!

Besides.

A regular servant's position was not something that could be bought casually for twenty taels of silver.

That was a preferential price reserved for their own people!

If an outsider wanted to take over the position, the internal pressure from the subordinate clerks would be considerable, so the silver needed to grease the wheels would naturally be far greater. Without fifty or sixty taels, they could forget about it!

Hearing his uncle put it that way, Su Mo suddenly understood.

He had guessed at this reason too.

He had simply underestimated the speed at which news traveled in ancient times.

The rumor that he had won the county magistrate's favor seemed to have spread throughout all of Changping County!

In the end, it was still because of the Imperial Guard!

Su Mo looked forward more and more to truly donning the tiger's skin of the Imperial Guard.

Unfortunately, Lin Moyin's efficiency at handling matters was far too low, utterly failing to keep pace with the yamen!

As an espionage and intelligence organization!

That kind of efficiency would not do!

He would have to give her a serious reprimand!

Chen Gan looked sourly at the congratulatory gifts, his expression turning serious. "Did you remember which households sent these gifts?"

"You'll have to return the favor one by one another day."

Su Mo nodded. "Your nephew naturally understands!"

Chen Gan grunted, then continued, "For ordinary households, you can have Qin Bi'er appear in your place to return the gifts."

"As for the ward chiefs and lane chiefs, you'll have to visit them personally."

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

Su Mo froze for a moment. "Have Qin Bi'er appear in my place?"

"Would that be appropriate?"

Chen Gan snorted coldly. "Of course she should be the one to go. Otherwise, what use is she?"

"If you go personally, aren't you afraid of lowering your status?"

"A clerk's authority lies in his dignity, not in familiarity!"

"If others think you're approachable and easy to bully, who will give you face in the future?"

He paused slightly. "Madam Qin will enter the Su household sooner or later."

"At present, the Su family has no mistress, so naturally she should handle these trivial matters in her place!"

As he spoke, a trace of regret crossed his old face. "Your cousin is still an unmarried maiden, after all. It wouldn't do for her to show her face in public. Otherwise, she would be the most suitable person to manage the household affairs!"

"Calmly wait another year!"

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

Su Mo was instantly speechless.

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

Why did that sound so strange?

Still, in this era, men with three wives and four concubines were actually more respected. It showed that they were capable and held status!

Even with his status as a miscellaneous servant at the yamen, Su Mo knew that his third uncle kept a mistress outside the city!

His third aunt knew about it too. She simply said nothing.

The two of them, uncle and nephew, immediately began sorting through the congratulatory gifts together.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the residence.

The two of them turned their heads to look.

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

Walking at the very front was Lu Shan, the deputy head of the Arrest Squad.

What surprised Chen Gan and Su Mo was that—

Luo Lie, the deputy head of the Fast Squad, had come as well!

Unlike Lu Shan, whose face was full of smiles,

Luo Lie wore a dark expression, and several Fast Hands following behind him looked none too friendly either.

Chen Gan and Su Mo exchanged a glance.

They both saw the wariness in each other's eyes.

These visitors meant trouble!

Tall and broad, with a plump build like a wealthy merchant, Lu Shan strode toward Su Mo.

Su Mo had long heard his uncle specifically mention this Arrest Squad yamen leader.

He was a bona fide smiling tiger who ate people without spitting out their bones.

On the list Chen Gan had given Su Mo of the yamen servants from the three squads who must not be offended, he ranked second, surpassed only by Zhong Sanyuan!

"Chen Gan, you're here too?"

Lu Shan turned his smiling eyes toward Su Mo. "Brother Su, we came uninvited this time. You won't blame us for being presumptuous, will you?"

Su Mo was just about to speak.

Beside him, Luo Lie glanced at the various congratulatory gifts displayed in the main hall and sneered. "You've received quite a lot of things!"

"No wonder you've always wanted a regular servant's position!"

Chen Gan beat Su Mo to it and said with a smile, "They're all gifts from the neighbors in the ward, given out of goodwill."

"These little things naturally wouldn't catch Captain Luo's eye!"

He looked toward Lu Shan and the others, then continued, "In fact, the two of us were just discussing setting a feast at a tavern tomorrow at noon, inviting both captains and all our colleagues from the Fast Squad to enjoy a good meal!"

"Who would have thought that all of you would give this worthless nephew of mine so much face!"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands and apologized repeatedly. "If we have been discourteous, I hope Captain Lu, Captain Luo, and all our brothers won't take offense!"

Lu Shan smiled. "We were simply too eager!"

"After hearing that the Fast Squad had produced such a young talent, we couldn't wait to come over and meet him!"

He looked Su Mo up and down, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Indeed, he's the very picture of a fine young man!"

"I say, Old Luo, you should stop wearing such a dark face."

"If it were me, I'd be overjoyed if the Arrest Squad gained such a talent!"

Luo Lie let out a cold laugh inwardly!

It wasn't your territory being snatched away, of course you could stand there and make sarcastic remarks!

He gave a sinister chuckle. "You can invite Captain Zhong and report the matter to the magistrate."

"Perhaps once the magistrate learns that you cherish talent, he'll transfer him to the Arrest Squad!"

Lu Shan chuckled and did not answer. He turned toward the Arrest Squad's arrest hands. "Why haven't you brought the gifts up yet?"

Since they had come to congratulate Su Mo, they naturally had to bring something with them.

Although Luo Lie wore a dark expression,

he had not actually come empty-handed.

He gave a slight wave, and a Fast Hand behind him stepped forward carrying a huge pig's head still covered in black bristles.

Su Mo had no idea what he meant by it!

Pork could not exactly be called cheap meat.

The people of Great Wu did not even have enough to eat, so any kind of meat could be considered a luxury.

But indeed, few powerful nobles or great clans ate it.

People had no habit of castrating pigs in this era, so pork had a strong, rank smell.

Although this looked like the head of a wild boar!

"Forget about going to any tavern!"

After having the pig's head presented, Luo Lie said in a mocking tone, "As it happens, yesterday we slaughtered a wild boar on the mountain that didn't know its place. Let's have a meal here!"

When uncle and nephew heard this, their expressions immediately darkened!

To come openly to their door and slap them in the face like this—if they showed no response, how could they continue to get by in the future?

They were not even afraid of the classic, so why fear a deputy captain?

Su Mo narrowed his eyes, stepped half a pace forward, and was just about to speak.

Then another voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Heh heh, it's quite lively here!"

"The Fast Squad is here too?"

Hearing that voice, everyone's hearts tightened, and they all turned toward the entrance!

Then, as if by prior agreement, they swallowed nervously!

Dong Yangrong!

The Changping County magistrate's adviser!

What that meant went without saying!

Even more frightening was that the county magistrate's adviser had come uninvited—and had brought congratulatory gifts!

The entire scene instantly fell silent.

It was so quiet that even a mosquito flying past could be heard clearly!