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43 The Destitut e Petty Official s Three or four days after Littl e Rabbit had gone, Acting Governor-General Jia received a report fro m th e Prefec t o f the Q i Prefecture . I t was about Littl e Rabbit. The report said that all the money in his luggage had been stolen, and he was now stranded in the prefectural yamen awaiting instruction as to how best to deal with him. When Little Rabbit boarded the ship to go home, he looked about him out of curiosity and failed to keep an eye on his own luggage. That was why the thief had the opportunity to steal from him. When he opened his bag to look for his clothes, he discovered that his money had gone. Immediately raising an alarm, he demanded the crew to catch the thief for him. When the thief was nowhere to be found, h e broke dow n weepin g an d insiste d tha t th e cabi n cre w should compensat e him . Then he threatened to bring a charge when he went on shore. Those on the ship were happ y enoug h t o acced e t o hi s decisio n an d immediatel y pushe d hi m o n shore together with his luggage before the ship's departure. Upon enquiry , he foun d tha t h e was in th e Q i Prefecture . H e the n hire d a small cart to take him to the yamen. The Prefec t wa s a man called Ou Fengren. As Little Rabbit was the Actin g Governor-General's cousin , th e loca l officia l wa s bound t o trea t hi m wit h du e courtesy. First, he invited Little Rabbit to sojourn in the yamen, and then he sought instructions from th e Acting Governor-General . He wrote, 'The money was lost on the ship. And the ship was managed by the 426 Officialdom Unmasked foreigners. Sinc e thi s humble officia l ha s no jurisdiction ove r foreigners, woul d your lordship investigate the matter?' In th e Prefect' s view , this message would absolve him o f all responsibilities . The Actin g Governor-General wa s however most displeased when he saw what was written. H e said , ' I don' t car e i f it happens o n wate r o r o n land . I t come s within the jurisdiction of the Qi Prefecture. If anything is missing, I shall just ask you for it . If you treat m y relative lik e this, one ca n imagin e how you treat th e small men.' He then sent down a reprimand, saying that the Prefect was negligent in making arrests. Three days were given to him to recover the lost money and to arrest th e culprits. If he should fail to discharge these duties when the time limit expired, he would surely be dismissed. When Prefect Ou received the instructions, he was obliged to hold a discussion with Little Rabbit. Privately , he promised t o compensate him for al l the mone y stolen, an d i n addition he would present him with twenty-fou r tael s of silver as travel expenses. Furthermore, he had a ticket ready for the next shi p and sent a steward to accompany him home with two soldiers. When al l this was arranged, the Prefect himself went to the Provincial Capital to call on the Acting GovernorGeneral with a view to explaining the matter . He arcived well after dark but he could not wait to call on the Acting GovernorGeneral . Fortunately, the Acting Governor-General had no fixed time for going to bed or rising. He would just as happily receive his callers at the third or fourth watch . The orderlies knew about his peculiar character and dared not return home. Instead, they took their turn in serving him. For this reason, the yamen was full of activities even in the middle of the night. When Prefec t O u entere d th e assembl y hall , h e sa w anothe r perso n ther e before him . H e wa s lyin g o n a diva n normall y occupie d b y th e Chie f Distric t Magistrate. H e di d no t eve n notic e whe n peopl e walke d pas...

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