Vol 2 Chapter 8 (1/2)
“… Here.” “Lord Liu Bei, this stack of silk tissue and bamboo scrolls is your work quota for the first half of today.” “If you don’t finish this by noon, you can forget about lunch.”
(TL: People in ancient China used silk tissue before paper was widely used.)
“…” After a few days of safe, secure and carefree living, the Xu state 3 called me over. Just as I took a seat, a small mountain of bamboo scrolls and a stack of silk tissue thicker than a full length dictionary was placed before me. “… You mean for me to do all this?”
Nods.
No way…
I’d thought I was just a guest too~~~ I never thought I had to work~~~
“That is a given.” “Lord Tao Qian’s health is lacking so even if you do not a.s.sume the role of Governor, these day-to-day administrative work still needs to be done by you. “Don’t worry, we’ll help out. Ah, Chen Deng and his father will help too.”
(TL: Chen Deng is still male here. He and his father Chen Gui were officials that served Tao Qian, and later on, Liu Bei as well.)
“Why don’t you all do it then?” I said irritably. “And to be honest, I don’t know any of this.”
There is no way that an ordinary high schooler can govern a large swathe of land well. It’s better to know my limits than to blindly a.s.sume responsibilities that I can’t fulfill.
“Everything is difficult in the beginning.” “This sort of thing is actually really easy anyway, you just need to get used to it.” “Lord Liu Bei need not feel too pressures, though one wrong decision could imperil a whole village or town.”
How is that supposed to help!!
“Un…” I picked up the brush very unwillingly and opened the first bamboo scroll before me. “What is this? … Umm, can someone help me read this…”
“…” “You, you can’t read?” “… Pu.”
“Don’t laugh okay?!”
I just can’t understand the words in your era, that’s all.
There’s no helping that this era uses the characters from the Han official script instead of the contemporary Chinese simplified script. Though I still can make out most of the words, reading long pa.s.sages is still very difficult.
(TL: This isn’t just traditional script. Traditional is still very intuitive if you know simplified. Most Chinese characters undergo at least one revision every dynasty or so, so a lot of words can seem unrecognisable.)
“We don’t have too much time for this, so you will have to work hard on your own.” Sun Qian said as she stood up and held a bamboo scroll which she started reading out from. “For example, this one is a report by a local agricultural official that the autumn harvest in Xiao Pei is predicted to fall short of targets, and asks if we should start preventive measures or if we should prepare for the shortfall.”
“…”
There is listening, and then there is understanding. Throwing out a problem that only an experienced agricultural official can understand and resolve on short notice, what are you expecting from me?
“Looks like you don’t understand.” “You should suggest preventive measures.” “But you probably can’t suggest anything concrete though.”
“Wu…”
Why did you ask if you knew then. Though I was regarded by them as incapable and ignorant, it was the truth and I could not refute this.
“In any case.” “Leave this agricultural matter to us while you look at others.” “… Looking at you, this amount of work will definitely not be done by noon… Gong You, stay here and help. Delegate some minor tasks to Lord Liu Bei.”
“…”
Sun Qian did not reply, and so I turned to look at her, and saw that she was nodding wordlessly.
Though Sun Qian’s expressionless countenance had not changed, she probably felt like she got a whole lot of trouble dumped on her is what I thought.
The other 2 then gave Sun Qian some broad instructions and left thereafter. Seeing the 2 figures from afar, I felt that this sight was really unnatural compared to the usual 3.
“Now then.” Sun Qian searched the stack of silk tissues and read out loud from one…
… No more.
This is way too dry.
“Now then, next.” Sun Qian took another sheet of silk tissue out from the stack and recited from it the same way she had done since an hour ago, “This one is–”
“Excuse me…”
“… Is Lord Liu Bei thirsty?” Sun Qian said calmly after being momentarily surprised at my words.
“No… I was wondering if you were thirsty.” I said helplessly as I looked at Sun Qian.
From the beginning, Sun Qian would basically recite the contents of a particular matter from a silk tissue, I would then ask her what she thought and then Sun Qian would then go on a long tirade that could last for almost 10 minutes, of which I could not understand most of what she said. In the end, I had to resort to saying ‘Th, then let’s do it that way then.’
No matter how you look at it, she is at most merely consulting me. But since she already had ideas on how to resolve each matter, why does she have to hear my opinion on it?
“I’m okay.”
She really doesn’t say much huh~~~ No good, I need to escape.
“…” I silently got up and said, “I’m going to the toilet.
As long as I step out of this room, I’ll be free.
In any case, it’s not like I’m needed here. Rather, she can probably settle things quicker if she doesn’t have to recite them to me.
“Does Lord Liu Bei intend on running away?”
“!!” I froze in place on the spot in mid-motion and turned my head stiffly to Sun Qian and smiled. “Wh, what are you saying? Didn’t I just say that I’m going to the toilet?”
“… Lord Liu Bei is intending on running away right?”
“How could that be? I was just…”
“Lord Liu Bei is running away?”
“Yes.”
I gave up. She gave me no room to escape at all.
And so I resignedly made to return to my seat with my head hung low.
“…”
Un?
Sun Qian was standing in front of me between me and my seat.
“Eh?” I raised my head and looked at Sun Qian who was one head shorter than me and her deep black eyes locked onto me, her face close enough that it was almost touching mine.
She slowly raised her hand and said as she pointed outside.
“… Perhaps we should take a break.”
“Then–”
“Before noon.” Sun Qian continued. “We must return before noon, and I will be accompanying you.”
How did it become like that?
“Why are you escaping with me?”
“Because Zi Zhong and Xian He have left you to me, you’re my responsibility.” Sun Qian said as she looked at me with a serious face. “And I can also browse the shops in the city while I’m accompanying you.”
“Well, I don’t actually mind that at all…”
As I said so, Gong You nodded and did not say any further. I frowned as I did not understand what to do next and decided to go ahead with the plan to leave.
As I turned and headed outside, I could hear the footsteps of Sun Qian following behind.
Xu state city was big, and well-governed by Tao Qian so no matter where we went, we were always greeted with a sight of peace and harmony.
“Sun Qian, do you know any interesting places in the city?”
“… Nothing in particular.”
“Th, then do you have any place in particular you want to go?”
“No.”
“Sun Qian, what sort of activities do you engage in outside of work?”
“Hang about Zi Zhong and Xian He.”