Chapter 432: The Role of the Native Protection Association

“No, he’s innocent. At least, I believe he’s innocent now,” Ji Xin said. “This matter was widely rumored among the natives at the time. You know I’m the president of the Native Protection Association. At that time, several relatives of the Zhang family came to me to complain—so I also conducted some investigation.”

Ma Jia listened silently.

“I flatter myself that I have some investigative skills, but although this matter was too strange and bizarre, I have to say that I can’t find any evidence to accuse him of it. From a logical point of view, it seems unnecessary for him to do so.”

“Is there a case file for this matter?”

“It must be in the National Police’s files. All unnatural deaths require a death investigation. If you want to see my investigation notes, you’ll have to come to my office to see them yourself.”

“No need. I believe your conclusion.”

“However, through this investigation, I did discover some thought-provoking things,” Ji Xin said. “This Master Lu of ours has lofty ambitions.”

“Lofty ambitions?”

“Yes. It all started a few years ago. At that time, he and I were both participating in a grassroots research activity of the Social Affairs Department, and we also had the mission of taking in native orphans and poor children. At that time, he recommended and sponsored four children to study at Fangcaodi.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“That’s right. It is indeed very good,” Ji Xin said. “Then he came to me, saying he hoped I could help him recommend two more children to enter Fangcaodi, in my name, with him providing the money.”

“Why didn’t he do it himself?” Ma Jia asked. “Sponsoring native children to go to school is something many Elders do. The Senate has not forbidden it.”

“He didn’t say. I think he probably didn’t want to stand out too much,” Ji Xin said. “I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. Later, when I started investigating the matter of the Zhang Family Manor, I found that there was a problem—he was sponsoring too many people. At that time, there were more than ten people studying.”

“More than ten people?!”

“About eleven or twelve,” Ji Xin nodded. “By now, the number of those studying and those who have already graduated has probably exceeded twenty.”

Ma Jia’s expression changed a little. Recommending and sponsoring native children to go to school was a trend among the Elders, similar to the “charity work” of the rich in the old time. Although there was a faint sense of cultivating personal connections, very few people would sponsor so many native students.

“This aroused my great interest, so I continued my private investigation and discovered more interesting things.”

“These students, after graduating and getting jobs, still maintain very close contact with Lu Xuan, often going to the Zhang Family Manor to pay their respects. They kowtow to him during the New Year and other festivals, and Lu Xuan often gives them financial assistance,” Ji Xin said. “And that’s not all. He probably also adopted seven or eight native children in his own manor to educate them himself—these people are not in the naturalized citizen system; they are his slaves.”

“This is raising retainers!” Ma Jia’s jaw almost dropped. He had thought Lu Xuan’s sudden visit was ill-intentioned, but he had not expected him to have such a move up his sleeve!

“You know, from a legal point of view, what he’s doing is not illegal. We haven’t said that Elders cannot own slaves. Besides, these slaves are kept in his wife’s name. As long as they pay taxes on time, it’s legal. As for sponsoring students, many Elders do similar things…”

“But they haven’t established a personal dependency relationship on this basis!” Ma Jia hit the nail on the head.

Ji Xin nodded. “That’s the key to the problem.”

“It’s a good thing you came today,” Ma Jia said with a sigh.

“In my opinion, even if I hadn’t come, you wouldn’t have cooperated with him. Am I right?” Ji Xin smiled. “After all, the Law Society is also conducting research on political reform. Why should they help him build a ladder and pick the fruits?”

Ma Jia smiled slightly, looked out the window, and said leisurely, “Even if the Law Society wasn’t working on this project, it’s not too late to start now.” He was silent for a moment, then asked, “What’s the matter that you suddenly wanted to see me about?”

“It’s a coincidence. It’s related to this Elder Lu,” Ji Xin said. “You know, I have a Native Rights Protection Association.” He gave a wry smile. “This association, to be honest, is not very popular. Not only do the Elders not like it, but even Du Wen, who talks about the ‘sanctity of labor’ all day long, criticizes me for ‘numbing the working people.’” He let out a long breath. “However, because of this association, some naturalized citizens and natives are willing to come to me to talk about their problems. A few days ago, a life secretary of an Elder came to me and told me something.”

“Which Elder, what matter?” Ma Jia was very interested.

“I won’t say which Elder. It has nothing to do with him anyway. The key is this life secretary. She reported to me that a classmate of hers from the maid training class was being severely abused by an Elder and was on the verge of a breakdown…”

“Is it Lu Xuan’s life secretary?”

“Yes.”

Ma Jia found it hard to believe. The Elders had all kinds of personalities, and their ways of treating women were even more varied. But there was one thing they almost all had in common: the humanism and spirit of equality from the old time still had a strong inertia in them. They could be considered “gentle and kind” in their treatment of the slaves of this time. Although he had heard that some Elders liked S&M, tying up their maids, dripping wax on them, spanking them, and so on, these were all considered kinks. No matter how they viewed their maids, the mainstream was to cherish them. Deliberate abuse and arbitrary corporal punishment were unheard of.

“Maybe he just likes S&M, or cosplay as a master…”

Ji Xin shook his head. “I’m a 21st-century person. I can tell the difference between S&M and corporal punishment. In short, it’s not an exaggeration to say that she is now being blamed for everything in the Zhang Family Manor. A few days ago, she fainted after being beaten and forced to kneel.”

Seeing that Ma Jia was still not convinced, he took out a notebook from his pocket. “I checked at the Lingao General Hospital and the special needs clinic of Runshitang, and there are no relevant outpatient records. However, the sales records of Runshitang show that Lu Xuan’s secretary has repeatedly purchased a Chinese patent medicine for reducing swelling and resolving bruises. I specifically consulted Liu San. Liu San said that this medicine was originally the ‘cane sore medicine’ of the yamen runners. He obtained the formula and improved it before giving it to Runshitang for production and sale.”

“From the quantity and frequency of her purchases, it’s quite considerable. Liu San said that if it were really for treating injuries from caning and flogging, that person would have been beaten to death long ago. So…”

“So you think that more than one life secretary in the Zhang Family Manor is being physically punished and abused, and it’s a common phenomenon.”

“Yes, the corporal punishment of slaves in the Zhang Family Manor should not be a common phenomenon.”

“But this is not against the law,” Ma Jia said.

“Yes, it’s not against the law. Unless someone dies,” Ji Xin said. “That’s why I came to you to discuss this issue.”

“Even if someone dies, according to the common program, the Elder will not be punished in any way,” Ma Jia said. “Besides, the Senate has not yet abolished the slavery system. It is still legal for natives to own slaves. Even the Senate itself has regulations for indentured servants. As for life secretaries, it was only recently that a document was issued to cancel their slave status.”

“Doesn’t the Law Society consider abolishing the slavery system?” Ji Xin said.

Ma Jia laughed. “You’re right, but it’s not on the agenda yet. Everything has to wait until we take down Guangdong. As for Hainan, at least we’ve made slavery very uneconomical. I think you also know very well that economic means are sometimes much more effective than a simple piece of paper. A hastily promulgated law that looks very correct, with all its clauses being general and without detailed implementation rules, is actually no different from having no law at all.”

“I understand that. There are a thousand loose ends,” Ji Xin said. “However, I think we should intervene appropriately in the matter of Lu Xuan’s life secretary. If something really happens, I’m afraid it will be another big storm. I feel that our current political ecology has become very abnormal. For everything, there are people jumping up and down, trying to muddy the waters.”

“I’m afraid it will be difficult. Interfering in the private lives of Elders is politically incorrect,” Ma Jia said. “Unless someone dies.”

A look of sorrow and pity appeared on Ji Xin’s face again. He did not pursue this issue further. Under the current system, they were indeed powerless. He asked:

“Then what about Elder Lu’s proposal?” Ji Xin shook his head and said, “I always feel that there is something wrong with this proposal.”

“Of course there’s a problem,” Ma Jia said, leaving his seat and sitting down next to Ji Xin. He offered him a cigarette, and after seeing him refuse, he lit one for himself, took a deep drag, and said, “I also think it’s not that simple.”

“Then you’re still going to revise it for him? He wants the Law Society to endorse his proposal to increase its weight. Aren’t you afraid he’ll get the upper hand?”

“The purpose of this proposal is to standardize the functions and powers of various administrative departments, which is in line with our Law Society’s principle of ruling by law. The Great Library, as the Senate’s policy advisory body, it’s not unreasonable for them to come up with such a proposal to offer advice to the Executive Committee. Since he asked us to revise it, the Law Society certainly can’t refuse outright. Otherwise, it would be unjustifiable. I think we can just revise some of the conceptual errors in administrative law and leave the rest unchanged. Naturally, the Law Society will not sign its name on it. Let the Great Library take the credit.” He said with a smile, “No matter what they want to do, there will always be a day when the dagger is revealed at the end of the scroll. A fox will always show its tail.”

After hearing Ma Jia’s smooth and official speech, Ji Xin suddenly felt that the man in front of him was a bit blurry.

Ma Jia seemed to have noticed Ji Xin’s strangeness and patted him on the shoulder. “Our Law Society has always adhered to the concept of ruling by law and does not play the trick of pulling the ladder out from under someone.”