Chapter 1920 - Shaved Hair
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Lin Motian changed all the doctors examining the native cadres to males. But when it came to the surgical examination requiring complete undressing, another commotion arose—they claimed it was "an affront to scholarly dignity." Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi took the lead in stripping for their examinations, and helplessly, the others could only follow suit. Who told them to "join the bandits"?
Lin Motian walked over to the head nurse and asked: "How's the examination going?"
"Not optimistic. Look—more than half of these dozen or so people have various problems: malnutrition, severe athlete's foot, skin ringworm... One has tuberculosis and will have to be advised to withdraw."
"As long as we have the ability to treat them, let them pass the examination—recruiting people isn't easy." Lin Motian instructed.
Just as the two were speaking, a commotion erupted from the examination room inside. Many people were discussing loudly, and someone was even speaking with great passion.
It turned out that the "purification" procedure had caused an uproar. According to Senate policy, in territories under Senate control, not everyone was forced to adopt short hair and short clothing. However, anyone becoming a naturalized citizen had to undergo the "purification" procedure—including students in public schools, cadres, soldiers, and workers. In other words, anyone under direct Senate leadership or supported by government finances had to "shave their hair and change their clothes."
This wasn't merely about maintaining the "traditional image" of the "cropped-hair bandits"—it was mainly for hygienic reasons. Of course, enforcing this measure on refugees and contract laborers was easy—they were all "receiving grace" and had no standing to object. But applying it to civil servants who had been ordinary citizens until recently proved somewhat difficult. Especially since most of these people were traditional scholars who were particularly fastidious about such matters.
Upon hearing they needed to "shave their heads," they immediately began to clamor. Some even made gestures of resignation, loudly declaring: "What kind of Australian bird-official would I become! This body, hair, and skin are received from parents and must not be damaged! We came here hoping to display the ambitions in our hearts, not to suffer such treatment. Since the Australian Song doesn't treat scholars with courtesy, we shall have to leave." As they spoke, they made as if to depart—but their feet didn't actually move an inch.
Zeng Juan didn't mind having a haircut, but seeing the crowd so agitated, he didn't dare be the first to step forward for shaving. At this moment, Yuan Shuzhi broke the stalemate. He stepped forward, scratching his head and saying: "My scalp is terribly itchy—shave me first!" Then he added: "Tall caps and broad belts are the vulgar customs of the old country; Australian hair-shaving is truly the elegant governance of the new dynasty!"
This declaration made everything clear to everyone. Shaving one's head meant completely "joining the cropped-hairs." Consider it a pledge of allegiance! Well then, well then—let's treat it as cleansing ourselves by cutting off these three thousand strands of vexation! And so, one by one, they all had their hair shaved.
After the haircuts, everyone proceeded to the bathhouse for washing. Scrubbing attendants were already prepared, and they scrubbed each "civil servant master" from head to toe. Years of accumulated grime scrubbed off many of them, forming little rivers of mud on the tile floors.
After the scrubbing, Yuan Shuzhi washed with hot water and felt thoroughly refreshed. Emerging, clean clothes were already prepared—from the inside out, a complete "Australian outfit," all made of cotton, quite comfortable to wear. Only the sizes were all somewhat oversized—but this suited these traditional scholars who were accustomed to wearing loose garments.
These prospective civil servants examined each other, feeling somewhat awkward. Having shaved their hair and changed their clothes, they had completely "changed dynasties." The Great Ming was the past; now they were all officials of the Great Song Senate. Whether these posts were significant or minor didn't matter—at least a salary was guaranteed. When the Senate conquered all under heaven and the Great Song Emperor returned to court, there would surely be rewards. Everyone could get their families enfeoffed and their children provided for. Thinking of this, the new civil servants who had been glum about being forced to shave their heads came around. The atmosphere livened up considerably.
Besides the clothes they wore, each person was issued a canvas carry bag containing a change of clothes and some toiletries. Each person also received a canvas messenger bag embroidered with a row of red characters: "Serve the Senate and the People." Inside were notebooks, pencils, and similar stationery.
Zeng Juan flipped through them, secretly admiring: the Australians truly were thorough, considering every detail.
"Report to the Cadre Training School next Monday!" said the cadre distributing supplies. "If you don't know what date that is, go home and check your calendar!"
A batch of freshly minted "pseudo-cropped-hairs" appeared in twos and threes on the streets. Some felt embarrassed and hurried away with heads bowed, bags in hand. Others, wearing their short-style Australian outfits with bags in hand, still strolled home at a leisurely pace as if taking measured square steps. The commoners on the street could tell at a glance that these were likely newly minted "cadres."
Yuan Shuzhi, with his newly shaved head and wearing the issued four-pocket "official uniform," felt exceptionally spirited. Walking down the street, he felt quite pleased with himself. The only pity was that Great Song officials didn't get sedan chairs to ride—most Australian officials, whether going out on business or commuting, traveled on foot.
But today for Yuan Shuzhi, even walking possessed its own special flavor. Who knew how many people cast sidelong glances at him along the way. He felt utterly content, thinking that now with official status he was indeed different. He should find time to return to the countryside and repair the graves of his father and mother, then kowtow properly and inform his parents that he had finally brought glory to the family.
Under the gazes—whether envious, jealous, or disdainful—of the onlookers, Yuan Shuzhi and Zeng Juan walked back in high spirits. Having been through various procedures for half the day, the sun had already passed its zenith, yet neither had eaten lunch. Their stomachs were growling. They looked around for somewhere to purchase some food.
They had arrived at Liurong Street. Zeng Juan remembered there was a "Dong Family Shop" here that Li Ziyu had taken him to. The pancakes and snacks there had a distinctive flavor. Most importantly, the place was clean, the prices reasonable, and Mother Dong and her daughter were acquaintances. So he said: "Let's go to Dong Family Shop up ahead for a simple meal."
Yuan Shuzhi naturally had no objection. They arrived at Dong Family Shop, which had hired several more assistants due to thriving business. Now at the entrance making pancakes was an apprentice who spoke barely intelligible Chaozhou dialect, but was quite skilled at making pancakes.
The attendant at the door was unfamiliar, probably newly hired. Seeing them enter, he hurried to lift the door curtain and welcome the customers.
Dong Mingdang was attending to customers. She was simultaneously calculating accounts and responding to regular customers' greetings, busy beyond measure. Seeing Zeng Juan enter wearing the four-pocket cadre uniform, she knew he must have passed the civil service examination from a few days ago. This Zeng Juan was Li Ziyu's close friend. Now that he too had become an Australian official, her family had gained another backer. She hurried out from behind the counter to warmly welcome them:
"Ajuan, I haven't seen you for a while. Judging by your outfit, you must have become an Australian official."
"Sister Dong flatters me. Just an ordinary minor clerk, making a living is all."
"You're always too modest. Well, enough chatter—you two haven't had lunch, have you? We don't have anything fancy here, just some simple fare. Sister Fengxia just made wontons—they're really good! This elderly gentleman looks unfamiliar. He looks like a Senate cadre too—are you from Lingao?"
"Miss Dong, my respects. Please don't flatter this old man. I'm a local, and like young Zeng, have just been admitted as an Australian civil servant."
"Ha, so that's it. I see you're even older than my mother by about twelve years. Passing at such an age isn't easy. Please come inside and sit—the wontons will be ready soon!"
Besides pancakes, porridge, and small dishes, Dong Family Shop now also sold wontons, baked sesame cakes, and fried dough sticks. Business was booming. They had turned the inner courtyard into a private dining room, and Dong Mingdang led the two inside. She personally attended to them, ordering two bowls of wontons and two pancakes, both with meat added.
While waiting for the wontons, the two chatted about life and aspirations. Honestly, they had no real understanding of the work they would be doing. They could only imagine based on their own guesses, which inevitably led to some grand expressions of ambition.
At that moment, because they were short-handed, Auntie Jiang came to bring the wontons herself. Yuan Shuzhi was busy eating his pancake with his head down, savoring the fragrance of sesame. Just as he lifted his eyes, he saw Auntie Jiang carrying the wontons toward him. Yuan Shuzhi was captivated by this middle-aged lady's bearing, staring at her fixedly. This made Auntie Jiang quite uncomfortable. It wasn't until Zeng Juan kicked Yuan Shuzhi under the table that Yuan Shuzhi came back to his senses—but the beauty had already departed. He felt a profound sense of loss.
Zeng Juan chuckled: "Old Yuan, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to her. She's Miss Dong's mother, Auntie Jiang—the concubine of a deceased Pseudo-Ming prefect."
"Ah!" Yuan Shuzhi exclaimed in surprise.
Zeng Juan teased: "I see you have the look of romance about you. Could it be that along with your official fortune, you're having romantic fortune too? A double blessing!"
Yuan Shuzhi quickly waved his hand: "Preposterous, preposterous! I'm already half in the grave. To have encountered such fortunate times and still be of use to the Senate is already the greatest blessing. How dare I think of such matters of romance."
Returning to the Zeng household, everyone congratulated them again. They took out all the publicly issued clothing and items to "admire Australian sights"—even the "three-oh briefs" were taken out for the neighbors to marvel at.
The two then spent several more idle days. Yuan Shuzhi took the money he had saved from working at Wanshenglu Teahouse and went to pay off all outstanding debts at the shops where he had once bought on credit. He also bought some gifts to take to the temple where he had once lodged, to thank the monks. Finally, he gave all his remaining money to Zeng Juan's mother:
"I've been eating and lodging here for a month or so. This money isn't enough to cover room and board, so consider it a small token of my gratitude."
Zeng Juan's mother knew that despite his often slovenly appearance and self-deprecating behavior, he was actually a man of considerable self-respect—his lifetime of hardship had simply forced him to mask it with self-mockery. So she didn't refuse, only telling him to "continue staying here."
On the day to report, the two rose early, washed up, changed into their brand new "cadre uniforms," and headed to the Tribute Courtyard—the Guangzhou Municipal Cadre Training School.
(End of Chapter)