Miao Chu

Chapter 76 Mysterious
Inspector Xin was alright, but the three officers behind him were quite aggressive, looking like they were there to demand an explanation, shouting and yelling to tell that "man surnamed Kong" to get lost.

As one of them spoke, his eyes turned red and his face flushed, and the veins on his temples bulged.

Han Li was in no hurry to explain or speak to Kong Fuyang. Instead, he first invited Inspector Xin and the three yamen runners who had followed him to sit down, and then had tea served. He said, “Kong Fuyang is indeed a bit arrogant. I have been scolded by him before. The teachers at the Imperial Academy have reprimanded him many times, but he has a bad temper and is stubborn, and it takes him a long time to change. I’m sorry you all have been wronged. I will go find this man in a while and ask him for clarification and an explanation.”

He had already put down what he was doing, and took out paper and pen. As he spoke, he took notes while checking with them where Kong Fuyang had gone wrong.

Han Li did not simply ask and answer; instead, he spoke first and asked the other person to confirm.

He spoke calmly and unhurriedly, first repeating what the others had just said. Although he didn't miss a single word, he remembered all the points they had mentioned and even elaborated on them, helping them to understand why they were angry and why they were so annoyed and aggrieved.

The three constables, along with Inspector Xin, who had been ready to interject and add their comments, had long forgotten what they were supposed to say as they listened.

The one who was the angrier the most had veins popping out on his forehead. All he could do was slap his thigh repeatedly, nodding his head more frequently than a rooster pecking at rice. The tail of the sash he wore swayed back and forth like a rooster's tail feathers. He kept repeating the same few uninspired phrases over and over again: "Yes!" "Yes, yes!" "Exactly!" "That's right!"

A person's anger has a limited lifespan.

Unless one is exceptionally gifted, it is difficult to remain in a state of extreme energy for an extended period.

Han Li had already interrupted the anger by first offering someone a seat and then serving tea. His subsequent explanation and elaboration made the person feel that all their grievances and emotions had been understood and resonated with. With each "Yes, yes" and "Exactly," the pent-up anger seemed to have been released slowly, as if an opening had been made.

When they heard that he was going to confront Kong Fuyang, their anger subsided considerably.

"You need to make it clear to that guy surnamed Kong that he can't talk or act like that anymore!" Inspector Xin said. "If he continues to act recklessly, he'll offend everyone, from top to bottom!"

Han Li readily agreed, put down his pen, and said, "Please sit here for a moment, I'll be right back."

He turned around and went to find Kong Fuyang.

The latter initially thought the person was coming to ask why he wasn't resting, and felt a little embarrassed. But when he learned that someone had come to complain about him, he immediately threw down his pen and cursed, "I haven't even said anything yet, and they have the nerve to turn around and accuse me!"

As he spoke, he stood up and shouted, "Who said that? Bring them here, I want to confront them!"

Han Li said, "What do you want with the name? Are you going to go and pick a fight with someone?"

"With your eloquence, others naturally can't out-argue you, but even if they do win, what's the point—did you come here today just to argue with the officials?"

Kong Fuyang forced himself to sit back in his chair, but when he looked down and saw the words on the paper on the table in front of him, his anger flared up again. He pushed the booklet forward, opened the first few pages to Han Li, and said, "Do you think I'm just looking for trouble for no reason? Take a look!"

“I want them to explain things clearly so that I can summarize and file them. But they ramble on and on, and after half a day they still can’t get to the point. How they caught it, where they caught it, they could have explained it in a few words, but they’re going to start reciting from the beginning of time.”

"Tell them to use their brains, think things through before they speak, so as not to waste time and get angry with me!"

Han Li took it and carefully examined it.

The records were all oral, and the officials could talk for hundreds of words about a simple question, with almost nothing of substance.

He turned a few pages before looking up and asking, "Brother Kong, I know you've been traveling and studying for the past year or two, and have experience working in various prefectural and county government offices, but I don't know what you did in those offices?"

"It's all just sorting out old files and archives, which is a waste of manpower and time."

"Have you dealt with any clerks, constables, or yamen runners?"

"I don't deal with the police or yamen runners, but I've had a lot of dealings with the clerks. Clerks may seem easy to talk to, but many of them are actually quite cunning. If you want to become an official in the future, you have to be extra careful so you don't get fooled by them—why are you asking this?"

"Compared to those in rural areas, the quality of the constables and yamen runners in the capital is far superior. If you can't even be bothered with a few officials from the capital's prefectural government today, how will you cope when you encounter a mix of good and bad subordinates in your future official career?"

Kong Fuyang was taken aback. After a long while, he said with his neck stiff, "Why should I care? I manage my subordinates, and they manage their subordinates. If I do everything myself, I'm a clerk, not an official!"

Han Li waved the booklet in his hand and asked, "How do you manage it? Do you manage it based on the files and documents your subordinates send you?"

"Words are written by people. Among those who do the work, there are outstanding people like you who can do things perfectly without needing to explain anything, and there are also those like those lowly servants who can't even speak clearly, and there are even those who harbor evil intentions and arbitrarily alter things for profit—you don't even want to listen to what people have to say, how do you plan to distinguish between them in the future?"

Kong Fuyang tried to speak several times, uttering "I" twice, but ultimately kept quiet.

Han Li then asked, "What do you want?"

"What do you mean, how?"

Kong Fuyang turned his head away, still looking somewhat unconvinced, but his voice had already weakened.

"Because your calculation and coordination abilities are exceptionally strong, far surpassing those of others, I need to borrow your strength today and tomorrow to help organize manpower and allocate prison cells."

“But after a few days, when things ease up a bit, I was planning to have you transfer to work with Inspector Xin on case trials.”

“Xin Feng has been working in the capital's prefectural government for decades. He is very capable and has probably arrested more thieves and criminals than you and I have ever met. This case involves a wide range of people. You should observe how he interrogates and makes judgments. He will surely be of use when he becomes an official in the future…”

"But this was just my own willful act, since you are unwilling..."

"Who said I didn't want to!"

Kong Fuyang was extremely anxious and quickly turned his head back. Because he turned it so fast, there was a "crack" sound, and he almost twisted his cervical spine.

He hissed and quickly reached for the back of his neck, ignoring the pain, and said hastily, "Of course I'm willing! This time, no matter how much those people ramble on, I will never interrupt them or say anything disapproving!"

"You may be willing, but others may not be!"

Han Li immediately turned hostile and sneered, "Who do you think you are? Three-legged toads are hard to find, but students who can write are everywhere. We were just temporarily transferred here to help out. Do you think that just because you can write a few words and do a few math problems, or are a little more capable than others, everyone will fawn over you?"

"Those officials who were there earlier heard that the person who wrote their records was a student of the Imperial Academy with a great literary reputation. They even changed their clothes to see you, all eager to make a good impression and try to talk as much as possible. Who knew you would be so disgusted by them? When they came to me, they were so angry that their eyes were red. What good is it if you're willing!"

"Huh? They...they're talking incoherently, and they're still trying to make a good impression??" Kong Fuyang's mouth dropped open.

What do you think of the essay written by the students from the outer dormitory?

With just that one sentence, Kong Fuyang suddenly realized the truth, and for a moment he could only regret it. He sighed for a long time, and said, "This...this..."

Han Li continued, "You think they can't speak? Were you born knowing how to speak? How do you know that others see you differently than you see them?"

Kong Fuyang was stunned for a moment, feeling as if he had been scolded, and the scolding was rather harsh, but he didn't want to rush to admit it.

"If they can't answer well, is it all their fault? You're not at fault yourself? You consider yourself a great talent, yet you can't even ask a question. Where do you get the nerve? If I were you, I wouldn't dare eat meat anymore from today onwards—I'm afraid that if I did, it would all grow into thick skin." As Han Li spoke, he pulled a thin booklet from his sleeve and threw it at Kong Fuyang.

The latter took the booklet, looked down at it, and upon opening it, saw that it contained a common interrogation document used in government offices.

The content is very detailed, compiling all the useful questions and highlighting the most crucial words and sentences in each answer with red ink.

"Take this and use it for a question-and-answer session. Don't let them speak, just let them answer—ask the questions first, and later, when you have a better understanding, it won't matter whether you use it or not."

Smart people don't need much teaching.

Kong Fuyang had only flipped through a few pages when he already had a good idea of ​​what to do. He even imagined the scene of asking the officials questions when he faced them again. He was full of confidence and couldn't wait to grab one of them and try it out.

He couldn't help but ask, "Where did this come from? Why didn't you give it to me sooner?"

Han Li was too lazy to answer.

Kong Fuyang, however, became more enthusiastic. He took two steps forward and grabbed Han Li's sleeve: "Zhengyan! Zhengyan! I was ignorant and I was wrong! Please give me another chance. If I make a mistake or cause trouble again, you can just send me back!"

Han Li looked at him coldly and said, "What's the use of apologizing to me?"

Kong Fuyang suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly asked, "Where are Inspector Xin and the others? I'll go find them!"

As she spoke, she ran quickly outside without waiting for Han Li.

Han Li didn't chase after him. He just flipped through the few documents that the man had compiled into an article and put on the table, added a few strokes, and supplemented a few simple documents before taking them all out the door.

When he returned, Kong Fuyang had already arrived and was apologizing to Xin Feng and the others in a very polite manner.

As a student in the Imperial Academy, and already renowned for his literary talent, he is destined for officialdom; it's obvious to anyone with a brain that he has a bright future.

Xin Feng and the others had only complained because they were so angry. They had just been persuaded by Han Li and had calmed down. Now that they saw Kong Fuyang sincerely apologizing and honestly admitting his mistakes, they naturally backed down and admitted that they were wrong, but they were still a little uncomfortable.

Han Li stepped into the room, listened to a few words, and observed everyone's expressions. Suddenly, he interjected, saying, "Brother Kong is a man of action, but he's all talk and no action. He's just annoying and makes people want to curse him."

As he spoke, he took out the files and showed them to everyone, saying, "He has a foul mouth, but he's very hardworking. He's already finished all the files for the prisoners we questioned this afternoon, and even the detention documents are done. You can just take them and hand them in later. You don't need to do anything else."

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed upon hearing this.

Whether it's detention documents or case files, they are all troublesome and time-consuming things, especially for those who are not very literate; dealing with them can be incredibly difficult.

Even though I got scolded, the person who scolded me actually did the work for me!

Thinking about it that way, it's not so unforgivable after all.

The three constables, along with Inspector Xin, immediately smiled at Kong Fuyang: "Oh, you!"

When Kong Fuyang saw the extra detention documents, he knew perfectly well that Han Li was behind them. He accepted the favor and from that moment on, he made up his mind to learn how to deal with the people who actually did the work in the government offices, and he was determined not to be as self-righteous as before.

Once he figured it out, he couldn't wait any longer and immediately said, "It's all my fault today. I should have treated everyone to a feast, but everyone is busy right now. How about I go out and buy some good food and dishes as an apology!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhang's smiling face suddenly froze as if it had been hit by frost.

"What time is it?"

"It's almost the end of Shen time!"

"Oh no, Inspector, didn't you say that Miss Song was coming to help with the cooking in the public kitchen tonight?"

Xin Feng exclaimed in surprise, "I was so busy arguing and working that I completely forgot!"

Then he called out to Kong Fuyang, "Miss Song's cooking is excellent. Let's not eat out anymore. Let's hurry up and leave, or we'll be late and all the good food will be gone!"

As he spoke, he and several of his men hurriedly got up and left. As they walked, they started running, and he didn't forget to turn back and call out to Han and Kong.

Kong Fuyang shook his head, sighing, "Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over a few bites of food?"

As he spoke, he turned around and asked, "Zhengyan, didn't you just say you wanted me to help organize the manpower and allocate the prison cells? I'll lend you a hand, and the two of us can work faster. We can finish calculating everything by the end of the 5-7 PM!"

"I'm not sleeping tonight either. Tell me everything you have—it's my fault for being so talkative and annoying, Zhengyan, you've gone to so much trouble!"

Kong Fuyang was full of enthusiasm and rolled up his sleeves to get to work, but when he looked up, he saw that Han Li was closing the cabinet door and then striding outside.

"Come on, what are you standing there for?"

"Aren't you going to work anymore?"

Han Li said solemnly, "Everything should be done with a balance of tension and relaxation. You must never be too tense, otherwise it will definitely do more harm than good."

Kong Fuyang looked somewhat bewildered.

He managed to get a couple of hours of sleep last night, but every time he woke up, he saw Han Zhengyan still working. He didn't rest in the morning or at noon, and even had his meals brought back by someone.

Why has it suddenly become about "balancing tension and relaxation" and "never being too tense"?

He genuinely wanted to thank Han Li and couldn't help but say, "Why don't I go out and buy some good food? I've had enough of lunch—the official kitchen in the capital is no different from the official kitchens in other prefectures and counties; both are equally awful!"

Han Li was walking ahead when he heard this and couldn't help but turn around and ask, "Have you heard your classmates mention Song's in the food alley behind us these days?"

"What Song Ji?" Kong Fuyang paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "The one that sells glutinous rice and shumai? I've heard of it before, and sometimes I see other people eating it, and it smells quite delicious. But I have to get up in the morning to study, so I don't have time to queue up—it's like fighting over something for a few bites of food! It can't be that mysterious!"

Han Li gave an "Oh," gave Kong Fuyang a meaningful look, and then urged, "Hurry up."

After saying that, he didn't stop for a second and strode away.

The pacing is too slow and dragging, I have to say QAQ. I originally wanted to write about food in this chapter, but I just can't seem to get around to it. I'll eat food tomorrow!!!

Many thanks to Fu Ruanruan from the bookstore for gifting me this writing aid! And thank you to my cats, Egg, Miss Ultraman, and Playful Aixin, for each of these little gifts! =3=
Thank you to the Yellow Scorpio Palace on Qidian for sending me the sachet! ^_^
Many thanks to Xiaoxiangfeifeia and book friend 563129 for each sending me a peace charm :)

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(End of this chapter)