Chapter 15 Vagabonds visiting the county magistrate

Mao: “Upon reaching Yiyang County, we happened to come across a notice posted on the wall with the name of the county magistrate, Zhang Kangfeng. Xiao asked me if I knew him, but I replied that I didn’t. Xiao said that Zhang used to be a chemistry teacher at the First Normal School, though he only taught higher grades, so I was unfamiliar with him. Xiao mentioned that Zhang had returned to Yiyang as the county magistrate in the first half of the year. I inquired about their relationship, and Xiao said they were on good terms and had engaged in discussions on various topics. I suggested paying him a visit. However, Xiao reminded me that we were beggars and faced the challenge of passing through the guards and the gate of the county government. Still, we decided to give it a try. I was filled with excitement at the prospect of beggars visiting the county magistrate, considering it to be the most extraordinary episode of our journey.

We asked for directions several times, crossed the square, and arrived at the entrance of the county government office. The guards promptly intercepted us. The gatekeeper, a tall and rugged man, emerged and exclaimed loudly, ‘Get lost! Leave this place immediately! What are beggars doing at the government office?’ Noticing our tattered clothes, straw shoes, umbrellas, and bundles, he yelled once again, ‘Get lost! What brings you here?’

Xiao said, ‘We have come to visit the county magistrate.’ As Xiao spoke, he took out his business card and wrote my name, Mao Zedong, on it. He handed the card to the gatekeeper and said, ‘Could you please pass this along for us?’

The gatekeeper looked at it and said, ‘Beggars with name cards! What names are these? Xiao Xudong and Mao Zedong. What do you want me to do with this card?’

Xiao smiled and said, ‘Please deliver it to the county magistrate and let him know that we would like to meet him.’ The gatekeeper then asked, ‘Why do you want to see him? Are you here to accuse someone? Do you know that you need to submit a written petition first?’

Xiao explained, ‘We are not here to complain anyone. We are just passing through and thought of paying him a visit along the way.’

The gatekeeper responded, ‘What business can beggars have with the county magistrate?’

Xiao patiently said, ‘The honorable county magistrate is an excellent official and a very friendly person. I am confident that he would be willing to have a conversation with two beggars like us. Please go and check for yourself. Just deliver the card and ask him about it.’

The gatekeeper continued to shout, ‘You must be out of your minds! If I go in and tell him that two beggars want to see him, he will think I’m crazy. He will immediately dismiss me! Stop bothering me! If you don’t know what’s good for you, I will have the guards kick you out. Go, get out of here!’”

Journalist: “It seems like you couldn’t pass through the gatekeeper.”

Mao: “But we insisted on not leaving. Xiao said, ‘We must see the county magistrate.’”

I chimed in, ‘We are beggars, yes, but we must see the county magistrate!’

The gatekeeper became extremely impatient. He shouted loudly, ‘If you are unreasonable, I will use force to drive you away! Guards! Guards! Guards, come quickly!’ It seemed like the gatekeeper was about to take action. Two guards standing nearby walked over. Xiao spoke firmly, ‘Let’s see who dares to use force against guests of the county magistrate? Aren’t you afraid of being dismissed from your position?’

I also joined in, ‘We want to see the county magistrate. We haven’t committed any crimes. Let’s see who dares to force us to leave!’ We sat on the stone slabs by the gate and said, ‘If we can’t see the county magistrate, the two of us beggars will not leave this place.’”

Journalist: “So you were at a standstill. How did you resolve the situation?”

Mao: “At that moment, three individuals came out from the gatekeeper’s office, along with another guard. They formed a half circle around us, glaring at us, and all spoke in unison, insisting that we leave. However, no one dared to make a move.

Suddenly, one of the elderly men suggested to the gatekeeper, ‘Why don’t you go inside and inform the county magistrate? Just tell him that there are two fools who want to see him, causing trouble and refusing to leave.’

‘How can I do that?’ the gatekeeper asked. ‘If I report to him, he won’t be able to refuse to see them. He has instructed me to be mindful of visitors and only admit those he deems necessary to meet. If I consider them unwanted men, I have the authority to send them away to save him from any inconvenience. How can I possibly inform the county magistrate about these two jesters? They may be crazy, but I am not!’

The old man agreed and said, ‘Let me try. I will go in and report to the county chief, telling him that these two troublemakers are causing a disturbance here. We have tried our best to make them leave, but they stubbornly refuse. I will seek his guidance on how we should handle this. I won’t show him their name cards unless he asks for them. It will be entirely up to him to decide, and we won’t be held responsible for anything.’ The old man entered the room, put on a long robe, and tidied his hair. He put our name cards in his pocket and walked inside. The rude gatekeeper shouted from behind, ‘Go and ask the county chief for an order to tie up these two fools and throw them in jail for a few days. Teach them a lesson so they won’t dare to disturb us again!’

We knew he was intentionally warning us, but we pretended not to hear and sat quietly there, unable to help but secretly laugh.”

Journalist: “How did you break the deadlock afterwards?”

Mao: “Not long after, the old man suddenly walked out briskly, with a smile on his face, and ran straight to the gatekeeper, saying, ‘The county chief said to quickly bring these two gentlemen to his study!’ We continued to sit quietly on the stone slabs, pretending not to hear their conversation. But we saw the surprised expressions on their faces when they received this unexpected order. The gatekeeper anxiously asked the old man in a low voice if he had heard the county chief’s words correctly and if the county chief really said to bring them to his study room. We heard the old man answer, ‘Yes, I heard it very clearly, there is no mistake. He told me twice to immediately bring them to his study room!’ After a brief conversation, the gatekeeper came to us and respectfully bowed, saying, ‘The county chief wants to see you immediately. Please follow me, if you don’t mind.’”

Journalist: “So you won the victory.”

Mao: “We picked up our bundles and umbrellas. The gatekeeper offered to carry them for us, but we said, ‘No, thank you. You know, wanderers always carry their own belongings.’ We followed him, passing through the second and third gates, and crossing a garden until we reached the county chief’s study. Mr. Zhang Kangfeng was waiting for us there.

After the gatekeeper left, Zhang asked with a surprised voice, ‘Mr. Xiao, what happened? Where did you come from? It seems like you encountered some trouble!’ Xiao said, ‘We came from Changsha. This is Mao Zedong, my classmate from the First Normal School, 14th class.’ Zhang and I shook hands, and he asked, ‘Both of you came directly from Changsha to Yiyang? How did you come all the way here to see me?’

Xiao said, ‘It was by chance. When we entered the city, we saw the county chief’s notice posted on the wall and concluded that you must be the county chief. So, we decided to visit you. Our plan is to go from here to Yuanjiang.’

‘I see,’ Zhang said, ‘but where are you heading after Yuanjiang?’

Xiao explained, ‘We will just continue along the main road and go wherever it leads us.’

With a puzzled expression, Zhang asked, ‘But where are you ultimately going? What are you planning to do?’”

Journalist: “The county chief must be confused by your actions!”

Mao: “We knew that Mr. Zhang couldn’t fully understand this peculiar situation, so Xiao explained it to him in detail. We told him about our experience of living as wanderers during the summer vacation and shared some of our insights along the way. After listening, he was greatly surprised and expressed admiration for our courage in undertaking such an experiment.

Zhang commented, ‘Most people wouldn’t be able to understand.

That’s why the gatekeeper told me that two crazy wanderers insisted on seeing me and refused to leave! When I asked who the wanderers were, he handed me your business cards, and that’s how I knew it was you. But, to be honest, when I saw your attire, I completely understood the gatekeeper’s attitude. Now, the two of you go and take a bath, change your clothes and shoes, and then we can have a proper conversation.’

We talked with Zhang for several hours and had dinner together. During the meal, he told us that one of our former classmates was now the director of the Education Bureau in Yiyang County, another one was the principal of a middle school, and there was also one who was the principal of an elementary school. In total, there were six classmates who had obtained important positions in the local education sector. Zhang wanted to send a letter to each of them, inviting them to the county government for a welcome reception the next morning.”

Journalist: “Wow, the county chief is hosting a welcome reception for you?”

Mao: “We expressed our disagreement with such a reception, but Zhang insisted on his opinion, saying, ‘How can I not inform them about your visit? They will all be delighted to see you.’ In the end, we had to agree, and we each went to visit them. The two wanderers turned into honored guests. Before setting off to Yuanjiang, we stayed in Yiyang for three days. When we bid farewell to Zhang, he insisted that we keep 4 yuan with us for any unexpected needs and instructed the gatekeeper to accompany us to the city gate. We said there was no need for an escort, but he insisted on it.

We headed towards the city gate, and on the way, we said to the gatekeeper, ‘Your master is a good person! He didn’t want the wanderers to be bound and sent to prison. Instead, he warmly welcomed us. ’ The gatekeeper just kept his head down and remained silent.”