Chapter Eighty-Eight: Double Joy Comes Knocking

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Phoenix Melody wine was not cheap, with an ex-factory price ranging between sixty and a hundred coppers per catty. Naturally, Cheng's brew commanded the upper limit, while Su's sat at the lower—and the Su family was already selling at a loss at that price. So when Su Youjin announced he wanted to halve even that bottom price, it was little wonder that Commander Qian thought they'd lost their minds.

"Youjin, tell me truthfully—how can this wine possibly be sold so cheaply?" Commander Qian loved money, but he hated being kept in the dark even more.

"That's exactly what I came to report, sir." The elder uncle lowered his voice. "Our Su Family Brewery has come into possession of the secret recipe for Erlang Wine."

"Erlang Wine?" Commander Qian realized with a start. "Isn't that the wine made by the proprietress's ex-husband? He even invited me to a meal once."

"Heh heh..." The elder uncle smiled. "One of my other nephews, with a hint from the proprietress, managed to recreate the Erlang Wine formula."

"Impressive!" Commander Qian praised heartily. "You Su boys—every last one of you is a damned fine specimen!"

"Heh heh, our ancestors must be smiling down on us. The children have all turned out well." The elder uncle beamed with satisfaction. "But this wine is considerably better than the original, because we've blended in some of our Su family's aged reserves."

"There we go!" Commander Qian laughed in sudden understanding. "When the He brothers let me taste theirs back in the day, it wasn't nearly this good—otherwise I'd have recognized it long ago!"

"Of course—nothing escapes your notice, sir!" The elder uncle chuckled. "So, can Sweetwater Records take on this business?"

"Naturally we'll take it—we absolutely must!" Commander Qian perked up and slapped the table. "Tell the proprietress to go all out. I'll have her back!"

"Right away!" The elder uncle answered crisply.

Just then, Commander Qian's hand drifted toward his teacup, and the elder uncle was about to take his leave with good grace, when the commander drawled, "Youjin, you've been a petty banner officer for quite a few years now, haven't you?"

"Indeed I have." The elder uncle's heart leaped, but he suppressed his excitement and gave a wry smile. "When I enlisted nine years ago, I should have inherited the hereditary rank of chief banner officer. But our family had just gotten tangled up in a lawsuit, and we had no money to grease the wheels—so I had to accept the reduced rank of petty banner officer. And I've been stuck there ever since."

"Even civil officials must serve nine years before being reviewed for promotion, let alone us military men. It's time you made a move. A vigorous officer like you—how can you keep spinning your wheels like this?" Commander Qian smiled. "Chief Banner Officer Liu is about to be promoted. If you're interested, once he leaves, I'll put your name forward."

"Ah?" The elder uncle was overjoyed. He'd thought perhaps he might get promoted to chief banner officer in his current post—but to succeed Liu himself?!

Though both were chief banner officers, the difference in pickings was like heaven and earth. Officer Liu was the chief banner in charge of collecting street taxes in Taiping Town! Ten ordinary chief banner officers together couldn't match his position!

Before the New Year's sweetwater business began, the elder uncle had gone through Liu's connections...

Commander Qian was still dangling the carrot, but the elder uncle had to act as though the appointment were already in hand. He bowed and thanked him profusely, stopping just short of kneeling to call him adoptive father on the spot.

"Alright, alright, don't get too excited just yet—nothing's decided." Commander Qian handled him with practiced ease. "All I can do is put your name up. The final decision isn't in my hands."

"For you, sir, to think so highly of me already fills me with boundless gratitude!" The elder uncle's eyes glistened with tears of emotion. "Whether I succeed Officer Liu is beside the point."

"Ha ha ha!" Commander Qian basked in the flattery, then tossed him another bone of reassurance. "Don't worry—I still have a bit of influence with the Commander General."

~~

As the two were talking, a clerk's voice sounded from outside. "Sir, there's an urgent dispatch from the Records Office."

"Oh?" Commander Qian frowned. "Bring it in quickly."

Though the Records Officer held only the lowly seventh rank, he was the head of all civil officials in the command headquarters—his actual power exceeded even that of the fifth-rank military inspector and the fourth-rank assistant commander. Moreover, as the saying goes, "the magistrate in office is better than the one in the county seat." The Records Office had its finger on every aspect of the thousand-household garrison, and Commander Qian dared not treat it lightly.

Su Youjin waited until Commander Qian had finished reading the urgent dispatch, then said softly, "Then I'll take my leave, sir."

"Hold on." Commander Qian didn't let him go. "Youjin, take a look at this too."

"Yes, sir." The elder uncle quickly accepted the document with both hands and was startled by what he saw. "What? The Erlang Ford community school has a vacant teaching post? This warrants an urgent dispatch?"

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"You're telling me! Damn it, scared the hell out of me!" Commander Qian chewed on a rolled betel leaf. "A goddamn trifle like this gets an urgent dispatch? How much money did the bastard spend on that?"

He then asked the elder uncle, "So what's the story with that Scholar Cheng?"

"He does seem to be genuinely ill." Su Youjin thought to himself, What kind of day is today? Two pieces of good fortune at once? "Besides, he's nearly sixty now—even without illness, he couldn't keep up with teaching every day."

"What the hell does his living or dying have to do with me?" Commander Qian had clearly come to treat Su Youjin as one of his own, as his cursing flowed freely. "But that damn Records Officer Gou set a one-month deadline—I have to find a new teacher to take over."

"Where are we supposed to find one on such short notice?" the clerk chimed in. "No scholar would want to go teach way out there."

"Exactly! Those smug scholars all look down their noses at everyone. Even if I begged them, they wouldn't agree." Commander Qian spat out the betel leaf residue, his head pounding with frustration. "How much hush money did that bastard Gou take from Scholar Cheng? I'll pay him double if I have to!"

But Su Youjin spoke up. "Please calm down, sir. I do have someone in mind—though he hasn't passed the scholar examination yet."

"It doesn't have to be a full scholar," Commander Qian said. "A veteran student who's passed the county and prefectural exams will do."

"He placed third in this year's county examination. Does that work, sir?" the elder uncle ventured.

"That's acceptable." Commander Qian nodded, then caught on and burst out laughing. "Youjin, why didn't you just say it was your own son? With all that 'third in the county exam' nonsense—I nearly missed it!"

"I didn't want to seem forward, is all." The elder uncle smiled sheepishly.

"Ha ha ha! That's what they call 'recommending worthy men without avoiding one's own kin'! Nothing to be embarrassed about!" Commander Qian was in excellent spirits. In truth, it was a pillow arriving just as he'd been nodding off.

"Will the Records Officer think my son is too young?" It was the elder uncle who now harbored doubts.

"Officer Gou is busy as a dog every day—he doesn't have time to worry about such things. As long as there's a body to fill the post, he's happy. Besides, I don't have to tell him how old your son is..." Commander Qian laughed.

"Quite right, sir." The clerk chimed in with advice. "We just need to state in the reply that young Master Su comes from a military household, placed third in the county exam, and lives in Erlang Ford. With those three points laid out, the Records Officer will gladly approve."

"You hear that? Satisfied now?" Commander Qian said to Su Youjin with a grin.

"Thank you very much, sir." The elder uncle quickly expressed his gratitude.

"Ah, don't stand on ceremony—you're doing me a favor too." Commander Qian waved his hand. "One of our own should be looked after, of course. But there's one condition—don't cause me any trouble!"

"That old codger Scholar Cheng is a professional complainer. He may be old, but if you provoke him, he'll still kick up a fuss." Commander Qian suddenly remembered the old feud between the Su and Cheng families, and his resolve wavered. "Hmm... will Scholar Cheng go along with this?"

"Rest assured, sir—times have changed." Terrified that Commander Qian might change his mind, the elder uncle hurriedly thumped his chest in assurance. "Scholar Cheng's niece married my third brother last year. And as for Scholar Cheng's daughter—that is, the proprietress..."

"What? She married your brother too?" Commander Qian exclaimed in surprise.

"No, no, not that—but she is the godmother of my two nephews, so relations between our families were smoothed over long ago." The elder uncle hastily explained.

"Alright, I'll trust you." Commander Qian figured that made sense well enough, and didn't change his mind.

~~

Deep in the night.

The elder uncle staggered home drunk, his tail practically wagging with pride.

"Woman! Get over here and give your husband a foot rub!" The moment he reached the top of the stairs, he bellowed.

The very next moment, his foot missed a step and he nearly tumbled back down.

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"I'll loosen your bones for you, all right—what's with the drunken antics in the middle of the night?" The aunt, along with Su Lu who was reading by lamplight, helped haul him into the room.

"Naturally, because something wonderful has happened!" The elder uncle flailed his arms with an exaggerated expression. "Your husband is about to become a chief banner officer! Come on, give me a kiss!"

"You've been licking Commander Ma's boots long enough—it's about time he gave you a bump." The aunt's expression softened, though she wasn't overly excited. Her own father had been a vice-commander back in the day; a chief banner officer really wasn't much in her eyes.

"Not just any chief banner officer—I'm taking over Officer Liu's post in town!" The elder uncle announced loudly. "Officer Liu—the one who collects the street stall taxes!"

"Really? So our hard days are finally over?!" The aunt suddenly warmed up at that. "Husband, are you thirsty? Let me get you some honey water. I've got your foot-washing water warmed up too..."

"And I found our son a post as well—at the community school closest to home!" The elder uncle delivered a brilliant hat trick.

"Honey, do you have a headache? Want me to massage it for you?" The aunt was ecstatic. She sent Su Lu off, closed the door, then turned and leaned against the doorframe, cheeks flushed with spring. "You devil, tonight I'll let you kiss me all you want..."

"Zzz..." The elder uncle's head lolled to the side and he was instantly asleep. No amount of shaking could wake him.

~~

Early the next morning, the elder uncle shared the good news, and the whole family was delighted.

The old patriarch said gravely, "Both matters must be kept secret. Especially you, eldest daughter-in-law—don't go spreading it to every household before anything's settled!"

"I'm not much of a gossip..." the aunt muttered with a guilty conscience.

"Indeed—secrecy is paramount." Su Youcai also nodded. "How many people will envy eldest brother's post? There's bound to be some spiteful soul who'd sabotage it just for the pleasure of ruining things."

"How could people be so wicked?" The aunt, at least, was capable of listening to reason.

"Isn't that just how people are? You think everyone's as simple-minded as you? If I heard that someone I knew was about to rise in the world, I'd want to sabotage it too." The elder uncle snorted. "And Chun Ge'er's post needs even tighter secrecy. If Scholar Cheng finds out, he'll do everything in his power to scuttle it. Until the appointment is finalized, if he firmly objects, the higher-ups won't dare use Chun Ge'er."

"Mm-hmm." The aunt was frightened. "But what do we do? He definitely won't agree!"

"No matter—once the official appointment comes down, there's nothing he can say. The command headquarters will back Chun Ge'er to save face." Su Youcai smiled.

"I'll say this—Youcai, you really are cut out for officialdom." The elder uncle praised him.

The old patriarch, delighted, said to his eldest grandson, "Chun Ge'er. Once you become a community school teacher, there are two things you must do."

"Grandfather, please instruct me." Su Man listened attentively.

"First, bring every child of the Su family back to the school."

"Don't worry, Grandfather—I will." Su Man nodded firmly.

"Second, drive every Cheng child out of the school, to vent our clan's grievances!" As shrewd a man as the old patriarch was, the mere mention of the Cheng family sent him into a rage—a grudge he'd carried as a chronic ailment.

The elder uncle said nothing at the moment, but once the old man went downstairs for his stroll, he hurriedly cautioned Chun Ge'er. "Son, don't you dare do that second thing. Your old man promised the Commander—we absolutely cannot provoke Scholar Cheng into lodging a complaint."

"Don't worry, Dad. I know what I'm doing." Su Man nodded.

PS. Some readers have said that giving Commander Qian ten taels a month in dividends was too much. I checked the original calculations—he does indeed receive ten taels a month, but only five are dividends; the other five are a token of respect, given to whoever holds the post at the time. That five-tael portion should have been paid at year's end as a lump sum. That was my error—it has been corrected.