Qing Yao

Chapter 100 Flexible and Mobile

The second day's humiliation was quite effective.

The older clerk, Li, was very dissatisfied with Wang Xiaoli's "unreasonable demands," and ended up getting caught in the crossfire.

With Vice Principal Ma intervening, Zhao An agreed to give Li, the clerk, a chance, since his original intention was not really to expel him.

It's best to retain long-serving employees who have worked at the company for many years, since many business matters rely on them to handle, and a replacement might not be able to manage them.

Equivalent to a key technical personnel.

This is why local officials can sell off their clerks and staff on a large scale when they take office, but the clerical staff remains largely untouched.

With the lesson learned from Li Shuban, the staff in the school office immediately became obedient, and Wang Wanquan's persona as the director of the school office was finally established. At least on the surface, no one dared to disrespect him anymore.

Zhao An didn't let his cousin get involved in his affairs immediately. He just let him familiarize himself with the affairs of the prefectural school and get acquainted with everyone first.

Instructor Song arrived on the third day, bringing with him the relevant files of the three students, which were stamped with the seals of the county school and the county government.

As Zhao An expected, the parents of the three students were overjoyed that the prefecture and county recommended their children to study in the capital. As a result, Instructor Song would have to attend three more "admission banquets" in the next two days.

As for the three students' own thoughts, they are not important, not important at all.

After stamping the student files with the seal of the prefectural school professor, Zhao An summoned Instructor Tong from the teaching affairs office and ordered him to immediately send the three sets of materials for the recommendation of tribute students to the Imperial Academy in the capital.

The recommendation of students who were recommended for the imperial examinations did not go through the provincial education authorities. The Imperial College in the capital would directly register the students after receiving their files, and the students could go to the capital to study with the relevant certificates and travel permits issued by their local authorities.

Only the selected students (拔贡 and 优贡) had to participate in the selection examination held by the provincial education commissioner. However, because there were many of these two types of students, their prestige was not as high as that of the recommended students (岁贡), whose quota was limited.

The travel permit was issued by the Ganquan County government, while Zhao An's side issued an admission certificate, or introduction letter, for the Yangzhou Prefectural School.

Once the matter is settled, the trouble is resolved, and everyone is happy.

Old Song, however, lingered and refused to leave. Even though he had already drunk two bowls of tea, he insisted on having another cup because he was very thirsty, and he seemed distracted, chatting about this and that.

Seeing this, Zhao An couldn't help but laugh: "Lord Song, you're treating me like an outsider. If you have something to say, just say it. If we keep things to ourselves, how will we share hardships in the future?"

"."

Instructor Song was somewhat speechless, and weakly said, "Isn't it about sharing wealth and prosperity?"

"Uh?"

Zhao An's face immediately turned serious. "If you can share hardship, you can share wealth."

Old Song really does have something on his mind.

Something important.

Old Song thought that since those three students voluntarily gave up the prefectural examination to study in the capital, perhaps the three prefectural examination slots they left behind could be used flexibly.

Zhao An said "Oh," and went straight to the point: "So you're saying you sold those three spots?"

"Sir, how can you hawk your wares like that?"

Old Song, a scholar with a traditional education, though forced to join Zhao An's scheme, still retained some scholarly dignity. His face flushed, he explained, "I just felt it was a real waste to waste these three spots. Many good students from the county school failed the county exam last time and were therefore ineligible for the prefectural exam, so I thought I'd give them another chance."

Before Lao Song could finish explaining, Zhao An interrupted him and asked, "Just tell me how much you sell one spot for."

"Your humble servant," seeing Zhao An's unwavering gaze, Old Song helplessly uttered three words: "Two hundred taels."

"Two hundred taels is too expensive. If the student doesn't pass the exam, it's a waste of money. How will you explain that to the student's parents?"

Zhao An shook his head. The number of places for the prefectural examination is fixed for each prefecture and county. If a student is unable to take the prefectural examination for some reason, the place can be filled by the next eligible candidate.

Charging two hundred taels for just the opportunity to take an exam is going too far.

Two hundred taels of silver could sustain a family of five for several years.

That's incredibly cruel.

Furthermore, how can you expect a student who can't even pass the county-level exam to pass the prefectural-level exam?
If you fail the exam, aren't you just making trouble for yourself, Lao Song?
etc.
Zhao An's heart skipped a beat. He leaned back on the desk and stared directly at Lao Song: "You're guaranteeing they'll pass?"

Old Song muttered somewhat embarrassedly in a low voice, "If I don't find a way to make some money, how can I support your promotion, sir?"

Ai?
These words warmed Zhao An's heart. Without saying a word, he asked Old Song to give him the names of the three replacement students. It was too difficult to get the first-class students, so he decided to get the second-class students all of them.

Anyway, the number of students admitted to Enke this year has more than doubled.

"Thank you for your help, sir!"

Old Song breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took out the list he had prepared in advance from his sleeve and handed it over.

After glancing at it, Zhao An nodded slightly. The examination for the young scholars did not involve anonymous copying of the papers, and the examiners had a great deal of discretion in deciding who passed and who failed.

Although he was not the chief examiner, he had a great deal of power. The list of candidates to be admitted, which was determined by the "examiners" after reviewing the papers, had to be sent to him first. Then, he, as the deputy examiner, would make the final selection and report it to the chief examiner, the prefect.

In this way, the prefect can decide who is the top scorer, and even who is ranked first, but the deputy examiner Zhao An can decide who is ranked second.

If even this doesn't count, then what the prefect says doesn't count either.

It means everyone is leaving the place empty-handed and nobody gets a turn.

However, the probability of this happening is very small, practically zero.

Because once such a thing happens, it will inevitably be linked to the word "cheating," and the higher-ups will definitely send someone to investigate. Regardless of whether there was cheating or not, both the examiners will have to pack their bags and leave.

Who would do something that harms others without benefiting themselves?
Of course, to prevent Lao Song from shamelessly "admitting" even those who knew nothing, Zhao An still asked the three students about their usual grades with some unease.

Old Song quickly replied, "Don't worry, sir, they're all pretty much the same. If they were really bad, I wouldn't have the face to send them up."

With this guarantee, Zhao An didn't ask any more questions. When Old Song left, he also gave him a task, saying, "There's a good young man named Liu Xiaolou in the Tax Bureau. Go back and tell Lord Ding to see if we can temporarily transfer him to the prefectural school for some training."

Instructor Song thought it was no big deal, just a temporary worker, and readily agreed with a smile.

Zhao An tidied up his desk and was about to leave work early when Ma Xuezheng came over with a notice that the prefect and his entourage would be coming to the prefectural school tomorrow.

They were not there to inspect the prefectural school's preparations for the prefectural examination, but to participate in the prefectural school's final preparation ceremony.

This sprint ceremony was similar to the college entrance examination in later generations, and local government schools would hold it before each prefectural and provincial examination.

When the exam officially begins, all candidates will offer a sacrifice to Confucius.

(End of this chapter)