Qing Yao

Chapter 3 It Really Can Be Done

Documents have never been a necessary condition to hinder people from making progress.

Because it can be handled flexibly.

If you have one, I’ll give it to you; if you don’t have one, we’ll make one.

It is understandable that the tax bureau requires academic qualifications as a basic requirement for employers, and Zhao An fully understands this. However, he really does not have any academic qualifications, but his advanced ideas made him decide to get one.

It doesn't matter if it's true or false, as long as it's a certificate.

These days, academic qualifications are not connected to the Internet, so I don’t believe that the tax bureau of Ganquan County can verify the authenticity of a primary school diploma from a township in the neighboring Xinghua County.

If he is really that powerful, Zhao An will admit defeat.

The business of making fake certificates was not a skill that suddenly appeared in Zhao An's previous life, but a profession with a history of thousands of years. Yangzhou was the most prosperous place in the world, so the demand for fake certificates must be huge. Therefore, fake certificate dealers must be countless.

Furthermore, Zhao An felt that he was only applying for a student's license, which was the lowest-end and cheapest type of fake certificate, and also the least conspicuous type, and was absolutely foolproof.

Let me ask you, how many normal people would check whether someone’s elementary school diploma is genuine after having a full meal?

If you dare to think, you dare to do it.

The immediate trouble is that when my cousin Wang Defa heard that his nephew was a student, he happily asked his nephew to go with him to the office to meet Ambassador Ding early tomorrow morning with his student license, so as to quickly settle the matter while the office is short of staff, so as to avoid any further complications.

As for how to deal with Ambassador Ding and the social interactions between colleagues, my cousin didn't say a word, as if you don't have to worry about it.

Zhao An, who has lived two lives, must have known this in his mind. He admired this cousin whom he had never met and felt very close to him.

Being such a close relative, Wang Defa is a person who cannot be faulted at all.

However, I can’t go to the Taxation Bureau with Wang Defa tomorrow because the certificate has not been processed yet.

In order to avoid being exposed, I had to say that I had not thought about this when I came, so I left my student license at home.

Wang Defa felt a little regretful after hearing this but did not think much about it. After all, it was his nephew's first time going out to make a living, and his cousin Darong died early. No one reminded young people in all aspects that they are prone to negligence.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Go home tomorrow and bring your license. I'll first give Ambassador Ding a heads-up. I've been working in the department for almost thirty years, so I have some connections."

Perhaps because he drank too much, Wang Defa was obviously a little drunk. Thinking that he had to be on duty the next day, he asked his wife to clean up a room for his cousin. After chatting for a few words, he went to bed.

Xinghua is not far from Yangzhou City. It only takes one or two days to go there by car or boat, or three days to walk there.

The house Zhao An lived in was the west wing of the Wang family's house, but he tossed and turned at night, feeling mixed emotions of joy and worry.

He was happy because his cousin Wang Defa could help him find a job and solve his job problem.

What worried him was that he didn't know how much it would cost to get a student's license. He only had a few copper coins left, and if the price was high, he wouldn't be able to get it.

After tossing and turning, I gradually fell asleep. I don't know how long I slept. I vaguely heard some noise outside. I seemed to hear Wang Defa giving his wife some instructions, and then I heard the sound of the courtyard door opening and closing.

My cousin must have gone to work.

Most likely, breakfast is either eaten on the street or provided by the "unit".

After lying down for a while, Zhao An got up. As soon as he walked out of the house, he saw his cousin Ma bringing a bowl of porridge and placing it on the eight-immortal table in the main room. There were also a few salted duck eggs, a plate of pickles and two fried dough sticks on the table.

"Xiao An, you're awake. Wash your face first. Use your uncle's towel. Then have breakfast."

Ma was a typical housewife. She didn't talk much, but she was hardworking and kept the house very clean.

"Yeah!" Zhao An hurried to wash his face. After he finished washing, Ma asked him to have breakfast. After Zhao An finished eating, Ma returned to the east wing, took out a small purse from the bedside and came to Zhao An. Then she poured dozens of copper coins and several small silver coins weighing about three or five cents from the purse onto the table.

"Your uncle said he hasn't been to Xinghua for decades. This money is for you to use on the road. If there's any extra money, you can buy some paper money and incense for your uncle to offer to your grandma and your father. Please accept it. This is what your uncle wants. If you don't accept it, I won't be able to explain to your uncle."

After saying that, Ma sat down and drank porridge.

Zhao An did not act pretentiously. He quietly accepted the money and told Ma that he would go home soon.

Ma didn't say anything, but just asked Zhao An to be careful on the road, keep a close eye on the money, and make sure it is not stolen by thieves.

Zhao An agreed to all of them and casually asked, "Auntie, did anything happen in the alley outside your house? When I came here yesterday, people said that no one dared to come here normally."

After hearing this, Ma hesitated and said, "I'm not too sure. I just heard from your uncle that someone died in the alley a hundred years ago. I heard that the pile of corpses was higher than the roof. It was pretty scary."

"When did this happen?"

As he spoke, Zhao An stood up from the stool and put the money given by Ma into his arms.

"It's said that it happened when Shi Gong was guarding Yangzhou."

Ma was old and drank the porridge very slowly, unlike Zhao An who drank half a bowl in one gulp.

"Oh."

Zhao An didn't ask any more questions, he probably knew what was going on.

No need to ask any more, it must have happened during the Ten Days in Yangzhou.

Because he was in a hurry to get a fake diploma, he said goodbye to Ma, left the alley and ran straight to the bustling place. As a result, he wandered around Yangzhou City for a long time, but he didn't see the small advertisement posted at the corner of the wall, and he didn't know who to contact to get the certificate.

I was in an unfamiliar place and was at a loss for a moment, my mind was in a mess.

If I think about it carefully, I may have fallen into a misunderstanding, thinking that there were countless people making fake certificates in the past life, so I think it is the same in this era.

However, they ignore the differences of the times. In the past, making a fake certificate was at most a public security issue, but these days, making a fake certificate could result in the death penalty.

If the profits and risks are not proportional, why would there be so many fake certificate dealers?

Yes, there is one, and it must be a high-end game, the kind that is extremely hidden.

How can I go to work if I can’t get a certificate?

With a sad face, he wandered aimlessly and somehow ended up at the gate of a school.

To be precise, it is a community school under Ganquan County.

In ancient times, in addition to the official schools of the Imperial College directly under the imperial court, there were also community schools and charity schools in local areas.

Community schools are government-run, while charity schools are privately run or semi-government-run. Both are schools for cultivating talents, and the textbooks are mainly based on the Four Books and Five Classics.

Charity schools are generally managed by local prestigious gentry, while community schools are directly managed by the government. However, regardless of whether they are community schools or charity schools, they are all under the jurisdiction of the county instructor, and the specific person in charge of community schools in townships is the school official sent by the county.

That is the principal.

Looking at the young students coming in and out, and then at the teachers chatting and laughing inside, Zhao An thought of something. He couldn't help but touch the money given by Wang Defa and his wife in his arms, and an idea came to his mind.

Since you can't make a fake certificate, just make a real one.

(End of this chapter)