Love is More Than a Word

Chapter 1 - Part 4

Chapter 1 – The New Magistrate Takes Up the Post, Part 4

Author: Su Youbing

Translator:
chiangyushien, Renkun27

Proofreader: KainGuru

When the two returned to the county's yamen, Tao Mo's heart was laden with anxiety. He did not bring this up and just went back to his room on his own. Old Tao called all the servants in the middle of the night and counted the number of servants again. As expected, there was a young male servant who had gone missing. Old Tao knew for sure that this young male servant was the one who made the painting of Tao Mo's face. He personally took out the contract signed by that person and took it in his arms.

On the next day, early in the morning, Old Tao knocked on the door of Tao Mo's room, but he saw that Tao Mo had already gotten up. He could not help but wonder: "Young Master, why did you get up early?"

Tao Mo answered: "I'm going out to visit a friend."

"Could that be Young Master Lu?" They were new to this place, and only managed to befriend with difficulty this Lu Zhenxue over tea.

Tao Mo replied: "No, I want to visit Mr. Yichui."

Old Tao was surprised and then he happily said: "Young Master, you actually have the same thoughts as me."

Tao Mo anxiously asked: "Why do you also want to..."

"Mr. Yichui and Mr. Lin Zhengyong are local celebrities. We just arrived in Tanyang County, so we should pay them a visit." He knew that even a fierce dragon would be no match for a snake in its home territory. In the officialdom, oftentimes, there were officials who would come to pay respects [1] because of people with strong backgrounds in their localities. This showed the importance of local connection. Last night's experience at Ming Cui made Old Tao realize how powerful the local litigants were. Not only were they arrogantly laughing at the law court, even the commoners took delight in talking about it and admired the local litigants greatly. They should not offend such people.

([1] 栽跟头 – an idiom "come a cropper" meaning if the magistrate wouldn't acknowledge the local celebrities, they end up falling because of these people.)

"Since that's the case, let's prepare two gifts before setting off." Tao Mo urged.

Old Tao said: "Wait a minute. Young Master, what kind of gifts do you want to buy?"

How could one question stump Tao Mo?

He thought about it and replied: "Formerly, it was you who prepared the gifts for my father's friends in the business field. You never made a mistake. Now, you can do it as before."

Old Tao responded: "Young Master, you praise me too much. During those days, every time Old Master sends me out to prepare gifts, he would inquire about the other person's preferences beforehand so that I could cater to their likes. However, now I actually know nothing about Mr. Yichui and Mr. Lin Zhengyong." Old Tao saw that Tao Mo's expression softened, so he continued, "A gift can be big or small. If the gift is considered small, people won't consider it and neglect it. If the gift is considered big, it will violate the taboo and can suddenly turn them into enemies."

Tao Mo listened and was profoundly affected, "In that case, how can I find out?"

"They are local celebrities, so the townspeople would naturally know them." Old Tao added, "However, ordinary people may only know the first, but not the second [2]. Even if they know something, they may not know the complete details. Young Master, I think it'll be better for you to ask the yamen's previous secretary. With his advice, you will be like a stranded fish put back into the water with ease [3].