Chapter 54: Visiting Card

"General Sun has been the guardian of our Xingyuan Prefecture for a long time; our Wu family has always wanted to pay a visit, but we have never had the opportunity," Wu Ming said slowly.

Hearing him say this, the gazes of Xu Dabao and Sun Li gradually cleared.

Only Wu Kai, being simple-minded, finished his cup as soon as he picked it up, and by now he was already lying on his chair, unconscious.

"I wonder if Lord Sun has time the day after tomorrow; we would like to pay a visit," Wu Ming said, lowering his voice.

It was impossible for them to go visit General Sun by simply carrying gifts to his door; the other party would absolutely not accept them.

Even if they submitted a name card in advance to request a visit, if there were no other connections, General Sun would likely not see them.

The reason he had his nephew invite Chen Mo and the others was precisely to use this opportunity to build a bridge and find a pretext to give gifts to General Sun.

"Regarding this matter, I will go back and ask my foster father if he has time, and then I will let Uncle Wu know," Chen Mo promised with a smile; he understood the other party's meaning.

It was to have him act as a middleman, with the gifts and money all passing through his hands, so that even if something went wrong, it could not be traced back to his foster father.

The Wu family was truly worthy of being a family with generations of officials; even when offering bribes, they were extremely cautious.

"Then I will trouble you, worthy nephew. Here is some tea money; please accept it for a few cups of tea."

Wu Ming smiled and took a brocade pouch he had prepared from his Huai, quietly handing it to Chen Mo.

After accepting the money, the group raised their cups to drink again, and for the moment, both host and guests were happy and having a great time.

The meal lasted from noon until near dusk before it broke up, and Wu Ming arranged for a carriage to send the three of them back to the residence.

Chen Mo was still clear-headed; he was certain he had drunk quite a bit of wine, but his internal organs were far stronger than an ordinary person's, so this wine was not enough to make him drunk.

Xu Dabao and Sun Li were both red-faced, and although they were already muddled, the two of them still insisted on chatting, speaking drunken nonsense in a slurred manner.

Returning to the residence and handing the two of them over to the servants, Chen Mo walked back to his own room before he had the mind to open the pouch from earlier.

One had to say, a wealthy family was indeed different; the material of the brocade pouch was excellent, and the embroidery was quite exquisite.

This pouch alone was likely worth nearly a tael of silver.

Inside the pouch were three golden ingots, yellow and bright, with the small characters "Five Taels" stamped on the bottom of each.

If this small gold ingot were taken to be exchanged for silver, it could fetch at least fifty taels, and likely more.

Giving away one hundred and fifty taels of silver at once; it seemed the sincerity the Wu family could offer next would certainly be quite sufficient.

First tucking the ingots into his Huai, Chen Mo asked a servant where his foster father was and hurried off to find him.

"Foster father." Chen Mo walked into a small courtyard and bowed.

Sun Shouren was practicing with his blade; although the many Personal Soldiers under his command all practiced spear techniques, what he was most skilled at was the great blade.

A seven-foot-long Yanyue Changdao, cast entirely from refined iron, was being swung by him with the force of a tiger in the Wind.

This blade alone weighed nearly a hundred catties; looking across the entire Xingyuan Prefecture, perhaps only Sun Shouren could use it as a weapon.

After finishing the entire set of blade techniques, Sun Shouren sheathed the blade and stood still, slowly releasing his strength.

"What is it?" He placed the weapon back on the weapon rack and asked.

"The Wu family of Anning County invited us three brothers to drink today; they said they want to come visit you the day after tomorrow and wanted to ask if you have time."

Chen Mo spoke slowly, simultaneously taking out the gold ingots he had obtained from his Huai.

"That Wu Ming of the Wu family also gave us three brothers fifteen taels of gold, saying it was tea money for us to buy some tea."

Chen Mo spoke quite meticulously, narrating the entire event.

Upon hearing this, Sun Shouren nodded lightly; although he was a military general, he had been immersed in officialdom for many years and was an old hand, so he guessed the Wu family's intent in an instant.

"What about Dabao and Xiao Li?" Sun Shouren asked.

"Uh... they drank a few too many cups and are likely resting now," Chen Mo answered honestly.

Hearing this, Sun Shouren frowned slightly, but when he looked at Chen Mo, his furrowed brow relaxed again.

"Good. Go tell the Wu family that I have time to see them the day after tomorrow, and tell them to submit a visiting card in advance."

Sun Shouren pondered briefly before answering; being an official was all about money, and if someone wanted to give him money, there was naturally no reason not to accept it.

Of course, it also depended on how much the other party could give and whether it was worth the trouble he would have to go through for them.

Having finally managed to transfer from the Border Army to the rear, he naturally had to take the opportunity to scrape together more; only with money could he train troops and go to the frontier to achieve merit.

"You handle this matter; do not let anyone else intervene," Sun Shouren instructed.

Originally, he had not intended to let Chen Mo handle this matter; although Chen Mo was his foster son, possessed good character, and had excellent talent.

But the time he had spent as his foster father was ultimately too short, and Sun Shouren still did not fully trust him with many things.

However, Xu Dabao and Sun Li were truly too unreliable; knowing about this matter, they still got dead drunk.

If Chen Mo had not come to inform him, he might not have known about this by tomorrow; after all, when one drinks too much, one might not remember what happened the day before.

Therefore, this matter could only be handed to Chen Mo; Sun Shouren trusted Xu Dabao and the others even less.

"This child understands." Chen Mo bowed and slowly retreated.

Early the next morning, Chen Mo first called for Xu Dabao and Sun Li; he would handle this matter from now on, but the money already given was for the three of them to drink tea, so the two of them naturally had a share.

The two were hungover from the night before and were still somewhat muddled; Sun Li barely remembered this bit of business, while Xu Dabao was completely lost and only recalled it after Chen Mo explained it to him.

Of the three gold ingots, they each took one, and Chen Mo kept the brocade pouch for his own use.

After dividing the gold, Chen Mo left the residence and headed toward the Wu family.

This was not hard to find; Wu Ming had mentioned their Wu family yesterday, as they had a residence here in Xingyuan specifically for clan members who were to take exams to stay in.

Only scholars from humble backgrounds would stay in inns when coming to the city for exams; any small noble family with some power, even if they did not live there daily, would buy a residence in the city.

Walking to the front of the residence, Chen Mo gave his name to the gatekeeper and was immediately invited to a relatively quiet backyard, where a maid served tea and refreshments.

Before long, Wu Ming stepped in, and upon seeing Chen Mo, his middle-aged, plump face was full of smiles.

"Haha, I didn't know you were visiting, worthy nephew. I apologize for the poor hospitality, please forgive me." Wu Ming's attitude was quite enthusiastic.

The two first chatted about some useless pleasantries, and seeing Wu Ming wave his hand to dismiss the maid serving them, Chen Mo finally spoke.

"My foster father has time tomorrow. If Uncle Wu wishes to visit, please go in time. Also, before you go, don't forget to prepare a visiting card in advance."

Chen Mo spoke, deliberately emphasizing the words "visiting card."

The so-called visiting card is to see how much sincerity the Wu family is prepared to show, and what they want to achieve with this sincerity.

If the sincerity is sufficient, it is accepted; if the sincerity is insufficient, one does not meet, and the visiting card is returned.

"Rest assured, my Wu family has been officials for generations, we understand these rules; later, nephew, just take this visiting card and present it to Sun Jiangjun."

Wu Ming smiled in understanding; although he lacked the aptitude to take exams and become an official, he was usually only responsible for family trifles.

But with people in the family serving as officials, he was crystal clear on the ways of the officialdom.

After finishing the most important matter, the two talked about some trivial ideas, then Wu Ming kept Chen Mo for a simple meal before having someone prepare a carriage to send Chen Mo back to the residence.

As for the visiting card, it had been placed inside the carriage early on.

Besides a letter, there was also a red sandalwood box, half a foot square and quite exquisitely crafted.

Chen Mo did not check the letter or the contents of the box, but took them directly to his foster father and presented them all.

(End of this chapter)