In spite of the man being a friend of the Governor and the Chief of Police, he had acted like an outsider in taking money for what was worthless rubbish.

As the britchka left the courtyard Chichikov glanced back and saw Sobakevitch still standing on the verandah--apparently for the purpose of watching to see which way the guest's carriage would turn.
"The old villain, to be still standing there!" muttered Chichikov through his teeth; after which he ordered Selifan to proceed so that the vehicle's progress should be invisible from the mansion--the truth being that he had a mind next to visit Plushkin (whose serfs, to quote Sobakevitch, had a habit of dying like flies), but not to let his late host learn of his intention.

Accordingly, on reaching the further end of the village, he hailed the first peasant whom he saw--a man who was in the act of hoisting a ponderous beam on to his shoulder before setting off with it, ant-like, to his hut.
"Hi!" shouted Chichikov.

"How can I reach landowner Plushkin's place without first going past the mansion here ?" The peasant seemed nonplussed by the question.
"Don't you know ?" queried Chichikov.
"No, barin," replied the peasant.
"What?
You don't know skinflint Plushkin who feeds his people so badly ?" "Of course I do!" exclaimed the fellow, and added thereto an uncomplimentary expression of a species not ordinarily employed in polite society.

We may guess that it was a pretty apt expression, since long after the man had become lost to view Chichikov was still laughing in his britchka.