Anti-Japanese War, weapons designer at Fengtian Arsenal

Hu Xiaoming climbed up to the top of the wall and jumped down. The wall was not low and he might get hurt if he jumped down. Li Qinwu rushed forward and hugged him, allowing Hu Xiaoming to land safely.

After landing, Hu Xiaoming's first words stunned Li Qinwu.

"Director Li, let's elope!"

Li Qinwu suddenly felt his anus tighten and he took a few steps back. He adjusted his panicked expression and got straight to the point without responding.

"Xiao Ming, I heard that your father wants you to take the civil service exam? You plan to resign from me, is that true?"

Hu Xiaoming nodded and then shook his head.

"My father wants me to take the civil service exam, but I don't want to go. I still have a lot of research to complete. But my father said that if I don't go, I would be disloyal and unfilial, and I will be punished by the family rules. I, I, I..."

Hu Xiaoming's face was full of bitterness, and Li Qinwu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Hu Xiaoming didn't want to leave, Li Qinwu could persuade him to come back.

In fact, the ballistics knowledge that Hu Xiaoming mastered has already been learned by his clone who follows him. If Li Qinwu were to start his own project to research bullets of other calibers, he might not be worse than Hu Xiaoming.

But Li Qinwu is now intending to let these projects be done by people he trusts, in order to cultivate systematic knowledge among people other than his clones.

Li Qinwu felt that he would die sooner or later, either from old age or from an accident. After his death, his clones would dissipate along with him, and the research they had done would not be passed on. It was necessary to let ordinary people master this knowledge.

Therefore, Li Qinwu wanted to try his best to win back Hu Xiaoming. If something happened to him, he could still go to other forces to continue researching bullets, and perhaps make some changes to the anti-Japanese war in this time and space.

Li Qinwu was just about to ask Hu Xiaoming about his specific plans when suddenly, the mahogany door of Hu Xiaoming's house was opened. Hu Xiaoming's shabby father was standing at the door surrounded by maids and servants. When he saw Li Qinwu and Hu Xiaoming standing together, he snorted coldly.

"Xiao Ming, come here."

Hu Xiaoming shrank back behind Li Qinwu. Seeing this, Lao Bagu was about to scold him, but Li Qinwu spoke first.

"Uncle, you have seen Xiao Ming's attitude. My factory is in urgent need of talents like Xiao Ming. Let's talk about this, uncle. If I can't convince you, I will ask the factory to issue a termination contract and let Xiao Ming become an official. I will never stop him and give Xiao Ming 1 yuan as a reward for his research during this period. What do you think?"

When he heard the 1 yuan, Lao Bagu's eyelids twitched violently. He snorted coldly and turned to walk in.

"Come in!"

Li Qinwu and Hu Xiaoming looked at each other and followed him in.

As soon as he entered the yard, Li Qinwu's eyes widened. The big mansion bought by the Hu family was really nice. It had a Chinese-style garden, with trees, rocks and even a small pond. It was simply a different world!

The three of them walked into the living room and sat down. The maid guarding the door came up with a teapot and served tea to everyone. This time, the look in her eyes when she looked at Li Qinwu was no longer so arrogant, but rather a bit flattering. It seemed that the 1 oceans that Li Qinwu had just mentioned had won her respect.

Li Qinwu ignored the maid's change of heart. He looked at the calm old man and asked, "Uncle, I'm doing business in Chongqing, so it's inevitable that I have some contacts with government-owned factories. I know the situation of government-owned factories in Chongqing. Since Xiao Ming wants to take the civil service exam, I wonder if your uncle can help him?"

Upon hearing this, Lao Bagu looked disdainful.

"My son has been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since he was young. He has a thorough understanding of the teachings of the sages. He also went to France for further studies and has a basic understanding of the foreigners' tricks. He will naturally pass the civil service exam with one swipe. What does he need to do to help him? It's ridiculous!"

Li Qinwu chuckled and stood up as if to leave.

"In that case, I won't bother you anymore. Just let Xiao Ming go back to work after he passes the exam. These few days won't count as his absence."

When Lao Bagu heard this, he got angry and slammed the table and cursed: "You are so rude. My son hasn't even taken the exam yet, how do you know he will fail?"

The slap from Old Bagu made a loud noise, which made the old man grimace in pain. Two servants outside heard the sound and hurried in. I don’t know if these two idiots were tactful or not, but seeing how angry the master was, they wanted to drag Li Qinwu away on the spot.

Li Qinwu sighed, saying that the servants of the old eight-part group are all so much like the lackeys of the feudal era, which is true.

He lifted the hem of his clothes, revealing two M1911 pistols inserted in his belt. The two servants' eyes widened, and one turned 90 degrees on the spot and left smoothly.

Li Qinwu spread his hands towards Lao Bagu.

"Uncle, you know, this so-called civil service exam is just for show. The positions have been determined long ago. For minor officials like the patrol officer, you only need to pay 50 dollars to the examiner to take the position. For clerks in government agencies, you need to pay 200 dollars as a minimum. If you want to be promoted in the future, you still need to make extra arrangements. Otherwise, you will be a clerk for the rest of your life.

Oh, by the way, having money is not enough, you also need connections. These positions are given priority to the children of officials, relatives of military officers, and nephews of wealthy merchants. In short, you must have connections first, and then pay money to bribe them, only then can you pass the exam."

This is not something Li Qinwu said casually, this is what Xiang Haigui, a big boss in the industrial and commercial sector, said.

When the news about the civil service exam came out, Li Qinwu asked Li Xiao to go and ask him. When Xiang Haigui saw the killer Li Xiao sneaking into his house again, he thought that his subordinates had offended him and almost fell to his knees again.

Fortunately, Li Xiao was not here to kill anyone, so he just asked about the rules of the civil service examination. When Xiang Haigui heard this, he was relieved and told him everything.

There is no such thing as an exam; it's all about buying and selling official positions. The quotas have been decided long ago, and it's just an exam to make things look better. Xiang Haigui even gave Li Qinwu 8 quotas as a gesture of goodwill. Li Qinwu has already arranged for 8 clones to enter the local official system to see if he can rise from a small clerk.

After hearing what Li Qinwu said, Lao Bagu slammed the table in anger again.

"Nonsense! Nonsense! How can official positions be bought and sold like this? How can we rectify this kind of corruption? How can we make our country strong and rich? It's lawless! It's really lawless!"

Seeing how angry he was, Li Qinwu thought that Lao Bagu must have been convinced. He was about to talk about the treatment that Julong Company gave to Hu Xiaoming when he saw Lao Bagu change the subject.

"Don't worry, Xiao Ming. Daddy will immediately find some connections to help you and buy you an official position!"

Li Qinwu and Hu Xiaoming were both confused. No way, you were cursing one second ago, and you got involved in the mud the next?

Hu Xiaoming couldn't help but complain: "Father, didn't you say that buying and selling official positions is nonsense? Why are you still..."

Lao Bagu stroked his beard calmly.

"No, son, we are different. We entered the officialdom to establish our hearts for the world, to establish our lives for the people, to inherit the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity. We cannot be lumped together with those who exploit the people's blood and sweat!"

Li Qinwu rolled his eyes and said, "Haha, you are a literati."