Qing Yao

Chapter 64 Don’t you treat me as an adult?

It is feasible for Zhao An to participate in the private salt trade. The Qing Gang itself is the largest logistics and transportation group in the Qing Dynasty, and this logistics and transportation group also has an internal paramilitary organization. Compared with the small salt trafficking teams composed of desperate criminals, the Qing Gang naturally has an overwhelming advantage in organization and force.

During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, Li Wei used the Qing Gang to crack down on salt smuggling in Lianghuai, with remarkable results, making the salt traffickers sworn enemies of the Qing Gang.

However, decades have passed, and time is the easiest thing to dilute hatred. Zhao An estimated that the Qing Gang and the illegal salt dealers may have kept their distance from each other for a long time, or even colluded with each other, because the Qing Gang's logistics system is also a natural "umbrella" for illegal salt dealers.

One party has goods, the other party has ships, and everyone can make money.

Anyway, Zhao An would never believe that the Qing Gang was not involved in salt smuggling.

Therefore, as long as he can deal with some kitchen owners and do some official work, it should not be difficult for him to use the Qing Gang's cover to set up a small-scale production and sales channel to earn a few hundred or a thousand taels a year or even more.

It's not like he wants to monopolize the private salt system. Even if he wanted to, he doesn't have the ability to do so.

How dare he sneak out to sell salt in broad daylight? How could he not have some connections in the white world?
Maybe even the route to the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office can be opened up.

Zhao An would never eat his own food and ruin everyone else's pot.

It is true that sharing happiness with others is worse than enjoying it alone.

Unless he becomes the governor of Jiangsu or the governor-general of Liangjiang, the private salt business must be owned by the Zhao family.

If things get urgent, even the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office has to be named Zhao.

Whoever has the surname Aisin-Gioro will go with the old man who has nine years left to live.

In fact, Zhao An also has connections in the official circles. The Inspection Office of Ganquan County is responsible for the function of combating salt smuggling, and County Magistrate Ding is an extremely greedy official. As long as the county magistrate gives in or gives a hint to the Inspection Office in disguise, the Inspection Office will definitely not dare to investigate the people around the leaders.

If you don't obey orders, you will be laid off immediately.

As for partners, Zhao An couldn't think of anyone else except Sun Rui, the fourth Sun, but if they really wanted to do this secretly, they would have to find some trustworthy family members to participate.

Zhao An was thinking about this matter all the way, and thought that it was necessary to get Bao Dawei and Yang Xiaoshuan, who grew up together, into the Green Gang, so that they could do the salt smuggling.

He was an official at the provincial school and it was not easy for him to openly participate in smuggling.

If other private salt dealers discovered the existence of this student official, things would become very difficult.

Once reported, he would not be able to survive in Jiangsu unless he continued to cheat in another province.

Making money is one thing, but when it comes to major issues and his future, Zhao An dares not be vague.

You have to make money, but you must never do it yourself.

He Zhongtang was at the peak of his career at the moment, and Zhao An felt that if he could give He Zhongtang a gift of one million taels at once, Lord He Zhongtang might even let him take the top position in the province.

Ten million taels, maybe the governor and the ministers will discuss it.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Zhao An’s resume and political achievements must also be good.

However, the ID card and academic qualifications are fake, so can't the resume and political achievements be faked as well?
If you want to be fake, be fake to the end!
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Zhao An's face on the mule cart. It didn't look like a wretched smile, nor did it look like a smile with lofty ambitions. Anyway, it looked quite weird.

The road ahead was much easier to travel, and God did not give Zhao An any more obstacles, so he arrived at Dongtai County smoothly.

Dongtai County is a new county that was separated from Taizhou more than 20 years ago. Therefore, the county town is not large. The county school and Confucius Temple are together like other places, located about a mile southeast of the county government office.

Zhao An felt that Dongtai County was surrounded by various rivers, which were filled with salt merchants' cargo ships flying various flags, as well as ships transporting reeds. At first glance, there were no tall buildings. Except for a few two- or three-story buildings occasionally, the rest were blue brick bungalows.

There are docks everywhere along the river, including large docks for merchants to load and unload goods, as well as small docks for city residents to wash clothes, cook, and fetch water.

If you look closely, you can see women squatting on the dock washing spittoons and urinals.

The accent of Dongtai people is not like that of Xinghua, Zhao An's hometown, and it is also very different from that of Yangzhou. It sounds a bit like the Nantong accent of later generations. In any case, Zhao An can't understand it.

Sitting on the mule cart and looking down the road, I felt as if I had returned to a small town in southern Jiangsu in the 1960s and 1970s.

After arriving at the gate of the county school, Zhao An paid Zhang Erge for the taxi fare and asked him to go back.

It's not that he doesn't want Brother Zhang to stay in Dongtai and wait for him to go back together, but he really doesn't know how long the Dongtai County Examination will take. If he stays in Dongtai for too long, it will affect Brother Zhang's income.

Now I can bring a few guests on my way back.

Zhao An felt embarrassed to just sit here and wait for others without doing anything.

"Brother, if you need a car next time, just come to me directly."

When Zhang Erge left, he gave Zhao An a piece of bamboo slip with his home address on it. Its function was similar to that of a business card in later generations. If he needed anything, he could just go to his house and wait, or leave a message.

It is probably the labor wisdom of the grassroots people.

There was no old man guarding the gate of the county school. From the outside, it looked a bit like a temple surrounded by a wall. Zhao An looked around, straightened his clothes, and walked in with his hands behind his back.

The walking posture should appear as mature and steady as possible, as it can reflect the aura of someone from a higher-level unit who is "inspecting".

If you act like a little punk, you will definitely be looked down upon.

The mentality is probably that you shouldn’t treat the village chief as less of an official.

As soon as you enter the county school, you can hear the sound of reading. Dongtai prospers because of salt, and people gather because of salt. Naturally, most of the students are children of local stove owners.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the household registration of stove households was under the management of the Salt Transport Administration, but was actually managed by prefectures and counties. Stove households had to inherit this right from generation to generation and were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. However, in the Qing Dynasty, this system was relaxed, and the children of stove households were allowed to take the imperial examinations, but they had to bear certain additional taxes and labor service.

Zhao An's arrival did not attract the attention of anyone in Dongtai County School until he pretended to be a "leader" at the door of a classroom and looked inside carefully, which attracted the attention of Dong Zhengxiang, the reinstated instructor of the county school.

The reinstated instructor is an official without rank. Only the instructor of classics is a ninth rank official. Functionally, he is an assistant to the instructor of classics. In the case of Dongtai County School, the instructor Dong is actually in charge of logistics and food.

"who are you looking for?"

Zhao An's pretentious attitude made Dong Xun, who was holding two pieces of pork in his hands, a little unsure.

"Oh, I came from the mansion."

Zhao An said lightly, and then was invited by Instructor Dong to the "Principal's" office, which was the duty room of the county instructor.

"Master Zhao, please sit down for a moment. The teacher has gone to the county government office to discuss the county examination. He will be back later. I will make you a pot of tea first."

As expected of the person in charge of logistics, although he was quite surprised that Zhao Xuelu was so young, the expression on his face, the work at hand, and the verbal compliments were all the same as those of Dong Xundao.

Zhao An found it quite useful, especially the way he addressed the person as "Sir", which gave him a very special feeling.

What kind of good tea could a Confucian scholar in a small county have as a treat? It was just the common stuff on the market. Zhao An was not particular about it, and he was thirsty, so he wanted to pick up the brewed tea bowl and take a sip to moisten his throat. But he thought of something and stopped moving. Instead, he picked up the bowl and covered it with the tea bowl, gently scraped it twice, and blew on it twice.

Take your time.

In the eyes of Instructor Dong, this is probably what the style means.

The "Principal" Yang Jiaoyu and the Vice Principal Chang Xundao (Jingzhi) both went to the county government office. Apart from Dong Zhengxiang, the assistant instructor, no one else on the county school side was qualified to be responsible for the reception.

Zhao An pretended to know everything and asked Dong Zhengxiang about the county exam. When he learned that the official date for the exam was the day after tomorrow and that it would last for three consecutive days, he couldn't help but ask with some concern:

"It's the height of summer right now, and the weather is scorching. Has the county school noticed any concerns about students getting heatstroke? We can't afford to let anything go wrong. While exams are important, the students' health is even more important. This is what the professor specifically reminded me of before I arrived. You must not let your guard down."

Dong Zhengxiang hurriedly said, "Don't worry, sir. We have prepared all kinds of medicines, and the examination room is well-arranged."

"That's great," Zhao An nodded with satisfaction, and then asked about how many students would take the county exam this year, how many people the county school estimated would pass the exam, and things like accommodation and food for the candidates.

These are all very professional questions, because the things to pay attention to when gathering students for exams are the same in ancient and modern times, but the expressions are different.

While answering, Dong Zhengxiang was also admiring the adults who came from the provincial school. They thought of things that they thought of, and also things that they could not think of.

Fortunately, I was able to handle the situation well. If someone else had done this, there would have been some negligence.

After waiting for a while, the principal and vice principal still did not come back, so Zhao An simply asked Dong Zhengxiang to take him to see the classrooms. He looked definitely more professional than the principal.

The old scholars who were teaching were all worried, wondering who Dong Xundao was leading to wander around here.

As an invigilator sent from the government office, Zhao An's food and lodging were definitely provided by the county school. The accommodation arranged for him was a public house behind the county school, near the school temple.

There are seven or eight houses in total, all of which are blue brick bungalows. At first glance, it would be more appropriate to call them guesthouses.

We also eat in the county school cafeteria. Of course, we don’t eat with the students or the teachers, but we have a special kitchen.

Overall, Zhao An was quite satisfied. As an invigilator, he had more freedom. He could check the name files of the candidates before the exam. After the exam, he could walk around the exam room if he wanted to. If he didn't want to, he could go back to his room to sleep or go shopping. Anyway, everyone knew that he was just there for the formalities.

There is no money to be made, but you still expect the invigilator to stay in the examination room every minute.

However, when the principal and vice principal of the county school came back, Zhao An was not very satisfied, because the two were not as respectful to him as Dong Zhengxiang. Especially the eighth-rank instructor, seeing that he was young, would act like an old senior from time to time.

Apart from informing him of the examination process and requiring him to arrive and leave at certain times, all other contents were kept completely confidential to Zhao An.

He was not even taken with him to the county the next day to discuss matters with the chief examiner, the magistrate.

This is not a question of whether one can be an official, but whether one can be a human being.

Zhao An felt a little aggrieved. He thought that even if he, as an invigilator, no longer had a say, the county school would still invite him to dinner every day, give him some red envelopes as a gift, or arrange some entertainment for him.

I am content with this, I don't care about anything and turn a blind eye to any problems.

We are all engaged in the education system, so there is no need to make the relationship awkward.

But he was really angry when the two principals and vice principals of Dongtai County School looked down on him like that.

He just has no place to vent his anger. In principle, no one needs to tell him anything, let alone ask him to have a massage or relax or arrange any special activities.

He could only stare blankly, hoping that the county examination would end quickly so that he could return to Yangzhou to plan how to make money.

Finally, the county examination began. Early in the morning, Dong Zhengxiang called him to the gate of the Confucius Temple. Then he saw the magistrate, chief clerk and other officials of Dongtai County talking with Yang Jiaoyu and Chang Xundao of the county school.

Dozens of students who took part in this county examination stood in front of the statue of Confucius, each with an expression of great piety on their face.

Why call Zhao An over?
Participate in the ceremony of worshiping Master.

During the ceremony, not only did the magistrate and assistant officials of Dongtai County come over to greet Zhao An, but the principal and vice-principal of the county school didn't even say a word to Zhao An, as if he were an unknown person.

It was Dong Zhengxiang, the disciplinary assistant, and two other teachers who were talking to Zhao An.

After the ceremony, Zhao An followed the arrangements like a wooden man. After symbolically checking the files of a few candidates, he agreed to start the exam.

There was only one exam on that day, which was on eight-legged essays. The next day, the exam was on poems and commentaries on classics. The last day, the exam was on policy essays.

After three days, Zhao An felt nothing but aggrieved, but he couldn't leave immediately because he had to mark the papers on the fourth day.

With such a small number of candidates, the marking can be completed in one day.

The marking of the papers definitely had nothing to do with Zhao An, because the chief examiner was the county magistrate, the deputy examiner was the teacher, and a few old scholars were also selected to participate in the marking.

The final ranking is decided by the county magistrate and the teacher.

This is also the key point of collecting money.

The reason for having Zhao An as the invigilator is not to give him a share of the money, but to ensure fairness in marking the papers.

The actual ranking was decided before the exam.

By the evening, the marking was completed and the rankings were determined.

Zhao An had nothing to do from beginning to end.

The last thing he had to do was sign his name on the list of candidates.

The list was handed over to the invigilator Zhao An by Dongtai County Magistrate Chen Wenhe himself, with the names of the magistrate and the instructor already signed on it.

Zhao An took a quick look and found that the top student in the county case was a student named Lu, who got A grades in eight-legged essay, examination poem, classics and policy essay.

Originally, he would have just signed and left, but Zhao An wanted to disgust these people from Dongtai County, so he didn't sign. Instead, he coughed lightly and asked to show him Case Leader Lu's test paper.

This request is both reasonable and unreasonable.

The reason is that the invigilators sent by the provincial school can, in principle, mark the papers because they have the power to do so.

What is unreasonable is that it is an unspoken rule that the provincial school does not interfere with the county school.

Now that Zhao An has broken this unspoken rule, it naturally makes people in Dongtai County dissatisfied, because this makes the county lose face, especially the chief examiner and deputy chief examiner.

The county school's instructor even gave Zhao An a look, indicating that this was not necessary.

Zhao An remained unmoved.

The magistrate felt embarrassed and snorted before agreeing to hand over the first-place paper in the county case to Zhao An for him to see.

He was not panicking at all. Although he had received money from the Lu family in advance, little Lu was indeed a good kid and might be the first in the county.

In this way, even if someone questions the ranking, it doesn’t matter.

The four test papers soon arrived in Zhao An's hands, but how could he tell whether the answers were correct or whether the writing was good.

It's just adding to the trouble.

After pretending to read the four examination papers, he was about to sign them. However, when he picked up his brush and was about to write, he suddenly had an idea. He grabbed the first candidate's essay paper and said coldly to the Dongtai County Magistrate, "Who wrote these examination questions?"

"This county is the chief examiner, so the exam questions are naturally set by this county!"

County Magistrate Chen was really angry. It was bad enough that this kid from the provincial school was ignorant, but how could he speak to him in such a tone?

The deputy examiner Yang Jiaoyu on the side also frowned slightly. Young people are always troublesome.

Zhao An ignored the two men's dissatisfaction with him and simply handed over the paper. He said in a deep voice, "Excuse me, Master Chen, what does this question mean when the third line of Qian doesn't resemble a dragon?"

County Magistrate Chen couldn't help but sneer, "Could it be that the officials of the prefectural school don't even understand the meaning of the examination questions for the county's students?"

"Yes, of course I know."

Zhao Anwei snorted, "Master Chen's test question is just saying that Emperor Qianlong doesn't look like a dragon."

(End of this chapter)