The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Chenzhou Prefecture governs eight counties, one upper county, three middle counties, and four lower counties.

Sun Shan had only spent one night at the post station when he met his colleagues.

This colleague was in his forties, a full generation older than Sun Shan.

Looking at his gray hair and beard, he was still wearing the uniform of a seventh-rank official.

Sun Shan looked at his seventh-rank official uniform again, and then couldn't help trembling.

Oh, this is so terrible. Will I follow in the footsteps of this colleague, working until my hair and beard turn white, my back becomes hunched, and I am still a seventh-rank official.

When County Magistrate Shen saw Sun Shan, he was stunned, looking at him wearing the uniform of a seventh-rank official.

He asked tentatively, "Colleague, my surname is Shen, and I'm the magistrate of Mayang. I wonder if you are...?"

Sun Shan bowed in return, "My courtesy, County Magistrate Shen. I am the County Magistrate of Yuanlu."

Then County Magistrate Shen said bluntly, "County Magistrate Sun, you are so young! You have great potential!"

What could Sun Shan say? He just smiled and replied, "Thank you, thank you."

At this moment, Sun Shan understood why County Magistrate Shen was still the county magistrate despite his gray hair. With the level of his questioning, it would be strange if he could be promoted.

Sun Shan once again carefully examined County Magistrate Shen. His face was thin and old, and his figure was even thinner. If he were not wearing his official uniform, one would not know that he was an official.

From a distance, he looks like a typical old farmer.

He then quietly looked at Magistrate Shen's hands, which were wrinkled and rough, and it was obvious that he was not a pampered young man from a wealthy family.

And when he smelled the pungent smell of earth, Sun Shan knew that Magistrate Shen's background was probably very similar to his.

In short, his background is average.

Mayang County, where County Magistrate Shen was located, was adjacent to Yuanlu County where Sun Shan was located, and the two counties were separated by a series of mountains.

Although they are next to each other, they are actually very far away.

Whether from Mayang County to Yuanlu County or from Yuanlu County to Mayang County, you have to walk around the mountains.

Of course this is not a problem. The most important thing is that there are many "rare and large wild beasts" in these deep mountains and old forests.

Unless necessary, the people of the two places will not communicate with each other and develop feelings.

What I fear most is that I will be eaten by wild beasts in the mountains before reaching my destination. That would not be worth it.

When County Magistrate Shen met Sun Shan, just like Sun Shan met County Magistrate Shen, both were attracted by the other's rustic air.

Look, the two of them were sitting in the courtyard of the post station, watching the moon and chatting awkwardly.

Magistrate Shen said regretfully, "Magnate Sun, Mayang and Yuanlu are clearly next to each other, but there's no way to get there. What a shame. Otherwise, I would have met Magistrate Sun a long time ago."

Sun Shan also said hypocritically, "Yes, the two places are adjacent, but there is no way to travel between them. What a pity! If only there was a road between the two places, our people could travel back and forth."

In a previous life, this wouldn't have been a problem at all.

The shield machine is put into use to dig a tunnel in the mountains, which can be connected in just over ten minutes.

Now there is no other way. If the people of the two places want to travel between them, they can only go through a third county.

Magistrate Shen continued, "Magnate Sun, you're new here, right? Last year, Yuanlu was still short of a magistrate. I was wondering who the court would send. Haha, I never thought they'd send someone so young. Magistrate Sun, you're the youngest magistrate in Chenzhou Prefecture, so promising and young."

Sun Shan cupped his hands and said in a very hypocritical and cautious manner, "Thanks to Your Majesty's grace, I have been assigned to Yuanlu as a local official. This is my great honor. I am eternally grateful to Your Majesty."

God knows whether the County Magistrate Shen in front of him is loyal or treacherous. Maybe he was just pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger when he asked about his age rashly just now.

Haha, you have to be extra careful when you speak.

Colleagues may not necessarily benefit each other and may also attack each other.

Even if there is no conflict of interest, people are diverse and a casual remark can offend someone.

Ever since Sun Shan became an official, he had to use the "panacea" principle when speaking to others.

In other words, if you catch the emperor praising you, you will never go wrong by saying that the king’s grace is great.

Magistrate Shen stroked his gray beard, smiled, and said, "Yes, thank you, Your Majesty, for sending Magistrate Sun here to serve. Haha, I have a new colleague now."

After saying this, he bowed to the sky again.

Sun Shan and County Magistrate Shen chatted about some trivial things that had no nutritional value.

But I also got to know the other person's background through little by little words.

Everyone tacitly revealed what information they could.

Magistrate Shen smiled and said, "Magnate Sun, it's getting late. I'll go back first and we'll talk tomorrow. It's a great honor to meet Magistrate Sun today."

Sun Shan returned the greeting, "Me too. It's a great honor to meet Magistrate Shen today."

After saying that, the two of them went back to their rooms.

Magistrate Shen and Sun Shan lived in the same courtyard.

He lived in the east wing and Sun Shan lived in the west wing. They lived face to face and could hear every movement clearly.

Sun Shan returned to the house and couldn't help but drink a few sips of water. Although they were not very familiar with each other, they had chatted a lot and their mouths were tired.

Gui Ge'er quietly peeked through the window and looked across at the opposite side.

After making sure no one was around, he tiptoed over to Sun Shan and whispered, "Brother Shan, this County Magistrate Shen is such a chatterbox. He's been keeping you chatting all night."

Sun Shan smiled and shook his head: "We just met, so it's inevitable that we have a lot to talk about."

Gui Ge'er was puzzled. Since they had just met, wouldn't there be nothing to talk about?

Brother Shan's words are so unreasonable.

The personal bodyguard, Sun Dali, whispered, "Master, this County Magistrate Shen looks just like the old man in our village. I never thought he was actually the County Magistrate."

Not only Sun Shan could see that County Magistrate Shen came from a poor family, but Sun Dali could see it too.

Haha, the smell of the peasants is so strong that even a blind person can smell it.

When Sun Shan heard Magistrate Shen's name, he knew who he was.

Sun Shan had a copy of the "List of Officials of Chenzhou Prefecture" sent by Chief Chen.

After checking, we know that County Magistrate Shen is the magistrate of Mayang County, a native of Yuzhou. He passed the imperial examination in the 30th year of Taiqi and was then assigned to be the magistrate of Chenzhou Prefecture.

He was not the magistrate of Mayang at first. After several transfers, he was finally transferred to Mayang County.

Others were promoted step by step, but County Magistrate Shen was the opposite. Each transfer was worse than the previous one.

As a result, he gradually became the magistrate of a lower-class county.

If Yuanlu County is a remote and poor place, then Mayang is a wild and desolate place.

Mayang is located in the Wuling Mountain area. The area is quite large, but it is all mountainous. The Wulingyi population accounts for the majority of the population, and the management can be described as hell-level.

Look at County Magistrate Shen, he is only in his forties, but his hair and beard are very white. You can imagine how difficult it is to be a county magistrate there.

Sun Dali and Gui Ge'er couldn't help but widen their eyes when they heard that most of the people under County Magistrate Shen's jurisdiction were Miao people.

Gui Ge'er patted his chest in fear and said thankfully, "Brother Shan, it's a good thing we're in Yuanlu, not Mayang. The Miao people really like to use poison. I think County Magistrate Shen must have been poisoned many times to have aged so badly."

Sun Dali said in great agreement, "That's right, poor Magistrate Shen, he's in his forties but looks like he's in his sixties. Alas, his lifeblood has been sucked dry by the Miao people's poison."

Sun Shan: ...

Forget it, let them think whatever they want. It’s late at night, so I’d better go to bed early.