Chapter 315 Su Dashan

"One month's hard labor," the shopkeeper said. "If you do it again next time, it won't be a hard labor punishment anymore."

Su Dashan looked worried and almost cried. He begged, "Sir, I have been delivering documents for 42 consecutive days. Please have mercy and let me take over."

The shop manager's face darkened and he said, "How dare you! The rotation was decided by the adults. You are just a small soldier and you just have to obey. How dare you order the adults around?"

Su Dashan didn't dare to beg again and could only accept the punishment of another month's hard labor with a bitter face.

The soldiers on the side were leisurely sorting letters and official documents while watching Su Dashan making fun of himself.

Su Dashan looked anxious, but he didn't dare to urge them to speed up.

He had urged them before, and then they were even slower.

Letters and official documents were always handed to him before the post station closed, and he would then deliver them to the next post station, but he was always late.

It was a vicious cycle. Even if he stayed up several nights and rushed to deliver the goods, the same thing would happen again the next time. Then one day his body couldn't take it anymore and he would be late for the delivery.

If he was late in delivering the goods, no matter which post station he was at, he would be punished, and if the number of times accumulated reached a certain limit, he would be fined.

Su Dashan watched them distribute the letters with a numb face. His heart was calm. He had a premonition that he was about to die.

Only if he died would this prolonged labor cease, and he and his family be freed from this torture.

Su Dashan's stiff brain was turning slowly. How could he die without bringing trouble to his family?
Tired to death?

Or did he freeze or starve to death while delivering the letter?
It would be nice if I could meet some bandits.

Su Dashan thought that when the time comes, he would let the bandits hack him to death. Not only would he die without pain, but his family would not be blamed if the news was reported. He would hold the official documents from the court tightly and not miss any of them...

Su Dashan numbly imagined how he would die, until the heat in his waist brought him back to his senses.

Su Dashan barely managed to get out of this emotion. He touched his burning waist and took out two yellow talismans folded into a square. One of them was already a little burnt and was getting hot, and the other one was so hot that it burned his hand. He almost threw it away.

He felt like throwing it away because it was too hot, but his hands subconsciously clenched the yellow talismans and held them in his palms.

Who put this thing on him?
It definitely wasn’t his wife and parents. They don’t have the time to pray for talismans, nor do they have the money.

The faces of Pan Yun, Miao Zhen and Miao He flashed through Su Dashan’s mind. Were they those three little Taoist priests?
Su Dashan thought blankly and put the yellow talisman in his hand into his arms.

He also felt a little hot on his waist when he was hit with the stick. Could it be that not only did the officer hold back, but also because of the two yellow talismans, that he didn't feel much pain?

Su Dashan felt a warm current flowing through his heart, and he didn't want to die so much anymore.

While he was daydreaming, the shop manager saw him leaning there with his head down for a long time without moving. He became unhappy and urged him, "Su Dashan, what are you doing standing there? Hurry up and sweep the floor with a broom. Tell me what you can do..."

"You're late for delivering the letter. You only spend so much time at the post station every day. You're still not alive. Don't you see that this place is very dirty?"

Su Dashan raised his head stiffly and went to get the broom with a numb look on his face.

Seeing him sweeping the floor, the other soldiers did not rush to hand him the letters and official documents, but put them in one place first. When he had swept the post station inside and out and it was almost time to leave, they called him and said, "The letters have been sorted out. Please sign and seal your name before you take them away."

Su Dashan walked forward with a numb face, holding the pen and drawing circles on the list, but the ink was dry and he couldn't draw for a while.

One of the soldiers couldn't stand it anymore, so he stepped forward and poured some water into the ink tray, stirred it, and then whispered to remind him: "You have to count the letters first. Missing a letter is also a fault. If you accidentally miss an official document, it's not a fault, but a sin."

Su Dashan shuddered and finally came back to his senses. He went to count the letters and documents first.

He was not in good shape today. He failed to get it right after two attempts. The soldier waiting on the side became impatient and urged him, "Hurry up. Everyone is waiting to get off the court and go home. How long are you going to finish checking?"

Su Dashan said with sweat on his forehead: "I can't match it."

These letters and official documents must be counted and checked, and can only leave the post station after being signed by Su Dashan. If he doesn't sign for a moment, not only the soldiers, but also the post manager cannot leave.

If something goes wrong, it's the shop's responsibility.

Of course, if letters and official documents were lost by Su Dashan outside, the post office would also be responsible, but the main responsibility would be that of Su Dashan; but if they did not match at the post station, the main responsibility would be that of the postmaster and the post office.

The shop manager became impatient and urged him twice. Seeing that Su Dashan insisted on counting the items before signing, he pointed at a man and said, "You took him to count the items, but he can't even count them. What can you do?"

The man was a new labor soldier, but he could read and write, and he quickly got the hang of things at the post station. Even the post manager didn't dare to make things difficult for him.

It was he who just instructed Su Dashan to count the letters and official documents.

The new soldier stepped forward, first counted the official documents, then checked them one by one against the list and Su Dashan, and after confirming that there was no problem, he checked the letters.

Although this is a lot, it is easy. Just compare the quantities directly.

The new soldier counted the items with him twice, and after confirming that the quantity was correct, he handed the list to Su Dashan.

Su Dashan then picked up the pen again to sign, but at this moment, the postmaster came back with a sullen face.

Seeing Su Dashan signing his name, his face became even more gloomy. He stopped him and said, "Su Dashan will not deliver the official documents and letters today. They will be sent by rotation..."

He glanced around and pointed at the new soldier standing next to Su Dashan and said, "Song Ying, you will be the one to send him off today."

Su Dashan: ...

Song Ying: ...Su Dashan was shocked, and went to see Song Ying with guilt and worry.

Song Ying did not even turn his head, and said directly to the postmaster: "Sir, it is past the time to leave the office today, and I will not take any work."

The postmaster's face darkened and he said, "This is official business. You don't want to accept it if you say so? If the official documents and letters cannot be delivered to the next station before the court opens tomorrow, you will be held responsible!"

Song Ying said, "Then you can fire me from the post station. It's past the time to leave the government office, and I won't see you off!"

The postmaster's face turned pale, "How dare you!"

Song Ying raised his eyes and looked at him lightly, "Why should I not dare? Sir, I will not sign and seal. These documents and letters are all in the post station. The delay in delivery is your responsibility. Even as a subordinate, I have my share of responsibility, but the biggest responsibility still belongs to you, the post station chief, right?"

He said, "If you can't bear to see me like this, please kick me out of the post station."

Su Dashan looked at Song Ying in shock. He never expected that someone would dare to challenge the Postmaster like this.

The shop manager and other soldiers did not expect this and everyone was silent for a moment.

Song Ying looked at the postmaster with a hint of anticipation, as if he really wanted to be driven out.

Do you really think deploying troops is an easy job?

It's already hard work, and they bully the newbies and honest people, making the job, which is already hard, even harder.

Rather than being a pawnbroker in the post station, it is better to be a night watchman. Although it is hard work, at least it is free.

Hang out at night, at least you can sleep during the day.

There are so many types of jobs in the military service, but delivering letters is the hardest job and the punishment is the heaviest.

But the postmaster...he really didn't have the right to drive Song Ying away.

The most he could do is assign him more tasks and punish him if he made mistakes, but what if Song Ying didn't make any mistakes?

The postmaster looked at the postmaster with a gloomy expression, "Then you go and deliver today's letters and official documents."

Pu Si's face changed, "Sir..."

The postmaster's face turned pale as he said, "According to the rules, you should have counted the letters and official documents at 3 p.m. and handed them over to the messenger. But you took two hours. Since you can't do the counting, let someone else do it."

There is a difference between a Pu Si and a Pu Bing. A Pu Bing is half a laborer and half a hired worker, while a Pu Si is definitely a hired worker. Although the salary is low, it is also a stable and decent job in the Ming Dynasty.

The postmaster had no power to drive away the laborers, but he had the right to replace the postmaster.

He did not dare to offend the postmaster and nodded his head in agreement.

After the postmaster solved the problem, he turned to look at Su Dashan who was standing aside. His expression was still not good, but he forced a smile and said, "Su Dashan, your service is over and you can go home."

Su Dashan was stunned, and so were the others.

Seeing that Su Dashan didn't respond for a long time, Yicheng couldn't help but frowned, "Why, do you have any other opinions?"

Su Dashan came back to his senses and quickly shook his head to speak, but his throat was dry and even Song Ying, who was standing next to him, couldn't hear what he said.

The postmaster frowned and tried to speak gently, "The previous rotation arrangement was indeed a bit unreasonable. You suffered a loss. So, the three months of labor you were sentenced to will not be considered a penalty, but employment. I will pay you according to the wages of a soldier."

The monthly wage for a soldier is three hundred and eighty coins.

In the Ming Dynasty, such income was considered lower-middle class, but it was better than farmers' farming.

The postmaster asked someone to fetch a hundred taels of silver and one hundred and forty coins for him, saying, "Three months' wages, one thousand one hundred and forty coins, count them."

How could Su Dashan dare to count? The key point was that he couldn’t count them clearly either.

Song Ying, who was still standing next to him, took the money and said, "I'll count it for you."

The postmaster twitched his lips and confirmed that this man was a troublemaker and difficult to manage.

How come conscription brought such people to the post station?
Song Ying counted the money for Su Dashan, gave him a push, and occasionally interjected in the side. Then Su Dashan not only obtained a certificate of completion of service, but also received a reward from the post station, and was called the most diligent soldier.

Su Dashan was confused the whole time, but Song Ying guessed something from the conversation between the postmaster and the shop manager while he was busy.

He personally escorted Su Dashan out of the post station and whispered, "Brother Su, I asked around for you and found someone who spoke for you in front of the county magistrate. Do you know any Taoist priests from the Sanqing Temple?"

Su Dashan came back to his senses and looked at Song Ying with gratitude. "Song Ying, thank you, Taoist priest from Sanqing Temple... I fell when I came to the county town to deliver a letter today. It was the three young Taoist priests from Sanqing Temple who helped me. Did they tell the county magistrate about me?"

Song Ying smiled and nodded, "It should be. From what the postmaster said, the Taoist priest is very familiar with the county magistrate. Brother Su, can you introduce him to me? I want to ask for a talisman."

"Then you can go directly to Sanqing Temple, or the Mountain God Temple. The Taoist priests in the temple and the temple are very nice and will give you any talisman you ask for."

Song Ying: "...Okay, I'll go back and try again."

Su Dashan walked forward a few steps with his back tensed, and made sure that Song Ying had also turned around and left. Then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed in the direction of Sanqing Mountain. When he raised his head again, tears were streaming down his face.

He knew what Song Ying meant, but he didn't want to disturb the young Taoist priests as they had already helped him a lot.

(End of this chapter)