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44 Small Officials, Smal l Money The servant was a shrew and not easily cowed. She just lay on the floor and shrieked, 'Master, you can beat me to your heart's content. Even if you beat me to death, I shall not get up!' Having thus spoken, she bawled even more loudly. The commotion attracted a lot of attention, and many people crowded around to watch. Blushing, Master Shen bent down to pull her up. When he failed in his effort, he continued to scold her. He was even more exasperated when she answered back, s o he gav e her a few kicks which prompted he r t o cry out her grievance s even more noisily. The din brought out the gatekeepers whose shouted orders for her to stop had not th e slightes t effect . Eventually , th e major-dom o ha d t o mak e a persona l appearance and threaten to take her to the District Magistrate. It was only the n that she stopped. She stood up and rubbed her eyes with her hands. Master Shen was more than grateful to the major-domo, so he went forward to express his appreciation. Bu t before h e coul d eve n ope n his mouth, th e major domo simply stared at him and turned around to go away. Master Shen felt mos t humiliated, s o he wanted t o rebuke her i n order to hide his shame, but she ha d already run away, leaving his cap, shoes and clothes on the floor unattended . Of the people present, Master Qin was the kindest. He said, 'What shall we do if there's no one to carry the clothes for you?' Then he called, 'Little Puppy!' — whereupon a thin and yellow-skinned boy came forward and said, 'Papa.' He stood there to await his father's instruction, at the same time wiping off the mucus from his nose with the sleeve. Small Officials, Small Money 437 Master Qin told his son, 'This is Uncle Sui, and this is Uncle Shen. Have you met before?' Little Puppy answered, 'I know Uncle Shen but not Uncle Sui.' Old Master Qin said, 'This is my third son. He is fifteen. H e refuses t o study, but he has other abilities. Every time I go to the yamen, he always follows me and carries my clothes or delivers any messages. These things he can do quite well.' Then th e old man said to his son, 'What are you standing here for? Why no t give me the boots to change?' Little Puppy then too k out a pair of boots from a parcel an d handed i t to his father. Th e ol d man als o folded hi s clothes an d pu t them togethe r wit h hi s shoes , which Littl e Pupp y wrappe d u p togethe r i n th e same parcel. He also ordered his son to carry Master Shen's parcel of clothes an d boots. Little Puppy could not carry so many things by himself, but he was clever enough to find a pole in the hall. Using it as a carrier pole, he somehow managed to take charge of the parcels and walked out of the hall humming a song. It was then that people knew Master Qin even used his son as an attendant . When Master Shen returned home, he saw the old servant sitting in the hall screaming and cursing. Her behaviour enraged Master Shen so much that he wanted to dismiss her instantly . She sat there refusing to budge. She argued, 'It is easy if you want me to leave. I shall go at once when I am given my back pay. Also you have promised to pay me extra for following you to the yamen every day with your cap and clothes.' 'It was clearly understood a t the time that I would only pay if I received a n assignment. Now I still have no assignment , how can you ask me for it? ' — th e master said in defence . 'If you do not pay me for this, surely you must pay me my share of the tips for delivering gifts o n your behalf,' the old woman argued . She went on , 'You have not paid me my wages for thirteen and a half months. At eighty cents per month, you owe me ten dollars...

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