Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 47 Internship
Jia Chuan felt that Shunzi was much more sensible than Dong Shuben. He knew to worry about his salary. How could he earn a salary if he was idle every day? Even if he had no salary, even if he had enough food and drink for the time being, who would he turn to if something really happened one day?

Jia Chuan agreed to ask Shunzi the county magistrate tomorrow.

"Tomorrow? Do you have anything else to do today?" Dong Shuben asked in confusion. "We two are idlers, but you are not. After all, you are a clerk in the county government. You don't need to report for work? Don't you have any errands?"

Jia Chuan turned around and was about to leave, but then he remembered that he had not had lunch yet, so he turned around and went straight to the kitchen.

The servants knew they would have to stay for a while, and they were all very happy. There was basically no work to do here, and no rules to follow. It was said to be a job, but in fact it was no different from a vacation. They could even secretly take some food out, sell it, or take it home. There was little work and a lot of money here, so who wouldn't want to stay?

However, their good days will change drastically after Dong Yuanyuan arrives, but they have not felt it yet. Those who can take it out will no longer have the chance to do so.

Jia Chuan simply ordered the kitchen to make a bowl of noodles, then returned to the front hall to wait. Dong Shuben, Shunzi, and Yuanyuan followed him in one after another.

Dong Shuben thought about it again and again, and felt that the county magistrate was giving Jia Chuan such face because he must have known that Jia Chuan would be very successful in the future, so he took the opportunity to give Jia Chuan some face. If so, Jia Chuan's excuse for refusal just now would not be valid, so he wanted to persuade him again.

Shunzi reported that the front and back yards had been moved, and from now on the three of them would live in the front yard, while Yuanyuan would live alone in the back yard.

Dong Yuanyuan heard that there was noodles to eat, so she came and waited.

Jia Chuan originally wanted to have some peace and quiet, but seeing the three people coming in one after another, he knew he couldn't avoid them, so he thought of setting a rule. He first divided the house where the three people lived in the front yard, and then directly said that they could only live there until Dong Yuanyuan left. During the period of living there, they were not allowed to run around in the front and back yards without reason, and they were not allowed to enter and exit other people's houses at will without reason.

Jia Chuan spoke seriously, and the three listened absent-mindedly. Dong Shuben was thinking about how to get Shunzi and his daughter away, Shunzi was thinking about how to create an opportunity to be alone with Yuanyuan, and Yuanyuan was thinking... why haven't the noodles been made yet?
Jia Chuan's rules were set in vain. He waved his hands in frustration and said, "You guys can go do whatever you need to do. I'll eat my noodles and then go to the government office."

As soon as Jia Chuan finished speaking, a servant came in with noodles. Dong Yuanyuan jumped up and took it. The servant thought that someone was passing it on to him, so he happily left.

Jia Chuan just watched Dong Yuanyuan put the tray on the table, picked up the noodles and started eating them. He couldn't help but have a thought in his mind: this sister seemed to never be full.

Dong Shuben looked at his daughter lovingly as she ate noodles. Shunzi looked around and whispered, "Didn't you just eat? This bowl of noodles belongs to Jia Chuan."

Dong Shuben finally realized what was happening and said hurriedly, "I'll go to the kitchen and make another bowl. Yuanyuan often doesn't have enough to eat at home. I told you before that her mother is partial to her."

Dong Shuben's words sounded somewhat sad, and Jia Chuan was somewhat puzzled - with such a heavy weight, he couldn't eat enough?

Dong Yuanyuan seemed to have noticed something was wrong. She swallowed what she had in her mouth, picked up another piece of food with chopsticks and put it in her mouth. She handed the bowl to Jia Chuan and whimpered, "You eat!"

Dong Shuben had already stood up. He sighed and said, "You eat. I'll ask the kitchen to make another bowl."

Dong Yuanyuan said "Oh" and just as Dong Shuben's hand touched the door, she said, "Dad, take the bowl over there."

"Have you finished eating?" Dong Shuben turned his head and asked kindly.

"Hmm!" Dong Yuanyuan wiped her mouth. "What work do I need to do at home? I'm full."

"If there is no work to do, just take a rest." Dong Shuben said with a sob and went out.

Dong Yuanyuan looked at Jia Chuan, as if asking: Is there any work?
Jia Chuan coughed lightly and said, "Since you're here, you're a guest. Not to mention there's no work, even if there was, I wouldn't let you do it."

"No work to do, but is there food to eat?" Dong Yuanyuan asked with wide eyes.

Jia Chuan glanced at Shunzi, who explained, "You're here as a guest, aren't you? Besides, we work in the government office. We don't have to farm or chop wood. Someone will take our clothes for us to wash. You just need to rest. Your father wants you to experience this kind of life."

“What if I can’t go back after that?”

Shunzi said slightly embarrassedly: "It won't be long, I can go back."

"My father said that I can only go back after my eldest brother nods and agrees. Big brother, just agree so that I can go back as soon as possible. My brother can't do anything. I'm afraid that Mom will starve to death if I'm not at home."

Jia Chuan was a little uncomfortable with such blunt words. He was still thinking about how to respond, and Shunzi was a little anxious.

"Promise what?"

Just then Dong Shuben came back. He walked into the house and said, "Shunzi, take Yuanyuan to the backyard to have a look."

When Shunzi heard that he could be alone with Dong Yuanyuan, he immediately stood up. Dong Yuanyuan had eaten a little too much and wanted to move around, so she followed Shunzi.

Dong Shuben closed the door and wanted to persuade him again, but Jia Chuan raised his hand to stop him and said, "I'm wondering about something. If you have a chance, ask my sister-in-law..."

"What a generation gap!"

"What's the difference in generation? Either we're brothers, or we've never met!" Jia Chuan raised his eyebrows. "Ask your sister-in-law. When Yuanyuan gets married, you'll naturally marry a daughter-in-law. Will your daughter-in-law be as capable as Yuanyuan? If not, who will do the rough and heavy work at home? What else can your son do besides eating? What good will it do you if he becomes useless?"

Dong Shuben sat down dejectedly on the chair and said:
"How could I not have said these words? My wife had a difficult time when she was pregnant with Brother Fang and gave birth to him. After that, she couldn't have any more children. Fortunately, it was a son, so naturally she treasured him more. I was not around when he was young, so she doted on him. Now that he's grown up, she wants to control him, but alas, she can't do it anymore."

Jia Chuan shook his head and said, "Education is very important! So, I'll think of a way to let Yuanyuan stay for a few more days. That way, my sister-in-law can see if the son she raised is any good. And your son can also know how to live without his sister!"

"He always said that he wouldn't let my sister get married."

"His sister wasn't born to serve him... My sister-in-law didn't prepare a dowry for Yuanyuan. Could it be... that she also has this plan?"

Dong Shuben sighed and said, "Alas, if she doesn't marry and doesn't receive any betrothal gifts, what will she use to find a wife for her son? She has high standards."

At this time, Jia Chuan had no knowledge of this matter, so he did not think carefully about what kind of marriage he would have, where he would only get money from the man without having to pay a dowry. At this moment, Dong Yuanyuan's silly and shy smile flashed through his mind, and he could not help feeling annoyed. He stood up and said:
"It's settled. Let Yuanyuan stay for a few more days while you deal with your wife. But there's one thing: if she dares to bring her son with her and come here to eat and drink for free, I won't let her. Don't blame me for turning my back on her when that happens!"

"If you ask me, you two should get married in the next few days. It's a done deal. You hold a higher position than me, so she wouldn't dare to make a scene even if she wanted to."

Jia Chuan was even more furious. He hadn't wanted to be in this life in the first place. Of course, his opinion hadn't been sought in his previous life. But precisely because there weren't many options in life, how could such a big thing as marriage be so easily decided? He had to find someone he loved no matter what.

"You'd better kill that idea!" Jia Chuan lost his temper for the first time. "I'll tell Yuanyuan soon that she can't call me big brother anymore, she has to call me uncle!"

"You..." "This isn't the way to help your daughter. We've been together our whole lives, so we should be able to talk it out, right? What should I say to your daughter?"

"I have nothing to say to your sister-in-law. We have lived together for half our lives."

"Are you happy? If you could live your life over again, would you choose her again?"

"Of course I don't want to choose, but I don't have a choice."

Jia Chuan took a deep breath and said, "If you really love your daughter, you should find someone who can feed her well and treat her well."

"Isn't it you?"

"I can't be good to her! Oh, you won't understand even if I tell you. Do you know what communication is? If you don't understand, just listen to me. Let Yuanyuan stay for a few more days, let her stay with Shunzi for a while..."

"What do you want to do?! What will Shunzi achieve in the future?"

"Shunzi will definitely be more successful than you in the future!"

"Why?"

"Because he's smarter than you, and because I'm willing to take him with me. Let's put it this way, the three of us are grasshoppers on the same vine. That's not right. If bad things happen, none of us three can escape. As for good things, it depends on whether I'm willing to take you with me. I'm telling you solemnly now, as long as I can get better, Shunzi will definitely be fine!"

"what about me?"

"You're old now, so you can just find a minor job, but can you please stand up straight at home? You can listen to your wife on other matters, but in this matter, you know your sister-in-law is wrong, so why can't you show some authority as the head of the family?"

Dong Shuben's shoulders slumped, and he lost all his energy.

"Why hasn't my noodles arrived yet? Your daughter didn't steal them again, did she? This meal is..." Jia Chuan went out and went straight to the kitchen.

……

In the following days, Jia Chuan's life returned to normal, at least he thought it was normal.

Dong Shuben and Shunzi were also assigned to work in the sixth room. Although it was called work, the three of them basically had nothing to do.

The criminal room where Jia Chuan is located is naturally inseparable from judicial prisons. According to Jia Chuan's analysis, Zhu Zhanji has good intentions. He let Jia Chuan start his internship from the grassroots level, learn more about the grassroots business, and lay a solid foundation.

I am new to a department and don’t know anything, so naturally I am doing an internship. Since it is an internship, I should act like an intern.

Jia Chuan was very respectful and wanted to learn more from the officials in the prison, but the attitude towards airborne personnel had been the same since ancient times. Jia Chuan was humble and polite, and the officials were even more so. How could they say anything sincerely?

Jia Chuan had no choice but to go to Gao Yuntian. Gao Yuntian finally found an opportunity to lecture Jia Chuan, so he was naturally very enthusiastic.

In Jia Chuan's impression, the county government is just the county magistrate sitting in the court. Once he bangs the gavel, the case is decided. In this era when judicial and administrative powers are combined into one, the county magistrate is so powerful. How can he not be greedy?
Although Old Zheng had given him some explanation before, he didn't listen at all at that time.

Now that he has attended classes with Gao Yuntian for a few days, Jia Chuan regards it as training during his internship.

This training is still very necessary. At least it allows Jia Chuan to understand how grassroots cadres in the Ming Dynasty worked and survived. The salaries of government agencies in the Ming Dynasty were not high, especially at the grassroots level such as the county government. This was due to Zhu Yuanzhang's love for the people.

This also made Jia Chuan understand why Dong Shuben felt that Dong Yuanyuan had a good market. It wasn't just because a father liked his daughter, but because of the pressure of life. Even a small cadre could not escape hardship. If there was a capable woman in the family...

Jia Chuan was naturally very concerned about his salary. After understanding the situation clearly, he could only sigh. The monthly salary of these officials was about one stone of rice, which was about one tael of silver. Jia Chuan calculated carefully that it was enough for him to eat and use, but if it was a family of five, it would need about 20 stone of rice a year, plus money for food, and at least some clothes. Jia Chuan knew that a piece of silk would cost four or five taels of silver, which ordinary people could not afford. Even cotton cloth was a bit of a luxury. Roughly speaking, if a person worked as an official in the county government, he would not be able to support his family.

This does not include expenses such as weddings, funerals, and daily travel.

This requires the family to have other means of making a living, such as owning good farmland or having some skills. It is normal that a capable woman like Dong Yuanyuan is in high demand.

Gao Yuntian told Jia Chuan that another way was to accept bribes and sell releases, and collect "illegal fees" to make a living.

It was corruption. In ordinary cases, both the plaintiff and the defendant had to give the presiding judge, the criminal clerk and the jailer a regular fee. This was originally a bribe, but gradually it became a rule.

……

Jia Chuan had originally prepared to take root at the grassroots level, and even fantasized that Zhu Zhanji would just forget about him. He would then become a small cadre in the county town, start a family, have two children, and live an ideal life of just eating and waiting to die.

But after being trained by Gao Yuntian for a few days, he hesitated. If he wanted to live an easier life at the grassroots level, he would have to go along with the crowd, be familiar with the "bad rules" and apply them flexibly... He felt it would be difficult for him.

He told this idea to Old Zheng. At this time, Zhu Zhanji had already succeeded to the throne smoothly, and Jia Chuan was familiar with the Dongzhao County Government.

Ever since Xu Gong led his men back to the capital, there had been no further news from the capital. Old Zheng wondered if everyone's predictions were wrong. The emperor had already forgotten Jia Chuan, and Jia Chuan would only live out his days in Dongzhao County. Even if the emperor ever remembered Jia Chuan, it would be great if he could send him some rewards.

So, after hearing Jia Chuan's thoughts, Old Zheng snorted and asked, "Dong Shuben's daughter hasn't left yet, right? Since you're so open-minded, why don't you agree to her father's request and marry her directly? I don't think Dong Shuben wants a betrothal gift from you. He's just waiting for you to get promoted and make a fortune one day."

"It's not easy to take action against one of our own people, someone we know well." Jia Chuan said, stretching.

"Are you afraid that you might be blamed for not fulfilling Dong Shuben's wish?"

Jia Chuan raised his eyebrows and said nothing.

Old Zheng asked again, "Do you think that girl eats too much?"

“I have more work to do!”

"Don't you understand? Don't blame me for not reminding you. The last time Shunzi brought that girl here, I saw them flirting with each other."

(End of this chapter)