Black Spire Coded Notebook

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The book is heavily damaged by fire, rats, and other ravages of time.

From Min Feng, based on cryptography:

Looking at it for a little while, you find seven different "things" that seem to frequently recur at the beginnings of lines. Not all the beginnings of lines have a recurring "thing" like this, but about 2/3 of them do. Five of them are more early-ish in the notebook, two of them are more late-ish. You expect they are names, and the lines are like notes or items that pertain to each person. One of the names always has a small symbol after it.

(It's all written in the same hand, but you think it was not all written at the same time; the ink is not always the same.)

Follow-up from Min Feng, based on KS: Jade Taiga:

The symbol looks a little bit like a "5", and you wonder if that has anything to do with one of the old Taiga legends about the King of Five Grains, supposedly one of the first Taiga rulers, who taught people how to farm.

Jin says (via cryptomancy) that the first page is:

Fat Girl        Cook looking for a match for her daughter.
Speck           Susceptible to flattery.   No money problems.
Fat Girl        Majordomo is squeaky clean
                Meetings to be moved to the Best Square Room
Nosey           Plants in three other houses
Five-fingers    Lives high.   Thinks he knows about art.
Speck           Second wife's connections
Nosey           Chi San Goh
Five-fingers    Party on the Day of the Tiger
Speck           Surprise for the winter?
                4 tael
Fat Girl        Thick letters from the Forest
Pokey           Follows the majority
Weasel *        possible bribe if ascends
Pokey           poor stomach, shellfish
                1 minor favor ^^
Pokey           ? illicit relation ?
Five-fingers    Many small debts
                Go-zen Chen, debt consolidation opportunities
Nosey           Speck butler turnable

The second page is:

Speck           Too many swords
Pokey           Pao Xiao-mei
Fat Girl        Favor from Hsung
Nosey           Spotted Nibs
                Cut him loose, useless
Pokey           Possibly vulnerable to flat threat
Five-fingers    Secret visitor in Bear
Fat Girl        Scared of rats
Nosey           Frame?
                2 tael
Pokey           Copied key
Nosey           Overreaching on plants
Five-fingers    Debt acquired
Speck           Letter about the butler
Five-fingers    Jade collection
Fat Girl        Cook arrangement
Speck           Smiler & Taps