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

Two days later, it was time to meet my boss.

Sun Shan got up early in the morning, washed, and had breakfast. Then he and County Magistrate Shen went to the government office to report on their work.

After spending two days together, Sun Shan discovered that County Magistrate Shen was just as he had initially thought: stupid and dull.

No wonder things get worse with every transfer.

He is too straightforward, his words are meaningless, and he is not a man of action.

He idled around all day, thinking about the romantic world and reciting sad poems.

He has all the shortcomings that a scholar should have, but none of the advantages that a scholar should have.

He claimed to be a scholar, but he did not develop local education at all, leaving the people to grow and survive on their own.

Sun Shan sent Wang Jiaxing to secretly investigate the specific political achievements of Mr. Shen through his great-aunt's relationship.

Haha, not only does he have no political achievements, but he is also ranked last in education.

No wonder he looks so old and frail at only forty-something.

Especially when it comes to meeting season, he is always the first one to be criticized.

These past two days, he always asked Sun Shan to "recite poems and compose couplets", and he kept composing poems about grass, trees, mountains and the moon, which made Sun Shan neither laugh nor cry.

At this moment, I really regretted not following Wang Jiaxing.

This County Magistrate Shen is really difficult to deal with. He doesn't know how to read people's expressions. Even though he is so resistant, he still drags him to write poetry.

Could it be that he didn't have many friends in the past, and now that he finally meets someone who he considers a new friend, he starts talking endlessly?

Is it because they were both born in the countryside that they have similar interests?

Sun Shan spent two days in a state of headache, and finally the meeting day arrived.

Sun Shan must apologize here. He used to think that holding meetings was a waste of life and extremely boring.

Only at this moment did I realize what a wonderful thing a meeting is, as it can successfully get rid of difficult people!

Sun Shan straightened his official uniform and quickly arrived at the meeting room following the instructions.

When I got closer, I saw that several colleagues were already there.

As soon as Sun Shan and County Magistrate Shen arrived, they were immediately met with unanimous gazes.

Everyone quickly bowed and greeted each other.

Sun Shan looked at his colleagues quietly. Magistrate Shen was right. They were all older than him.

Hehe, it seems that there are very few young and promising officials like him in Daqian. Sun Shan discovered that he is so outstanding.

One of his colleagues took the initiative to speak: "Is this the new Yuanlu County Magistrate, Sun?"

Don't blame him for asking questions even though he already knows the answer. When a group of people get together and the boss isn't there, they always have to talk about this and that and find awkward topics to chat about.

So this task needs to be done by a more lively colleague.

When Sun Shan first entered the officialdom, he always adhered to the principle of "less talk and less action". If others did not ask, he would definitely not ask.

Sun Shan quickly bowed and responded, "My courtesy is with you. I am Sun Shan, the magistrate of Yuanlu County. I wonder if..."

It means asking the colleague to introduce himself.

Having said that, it once again proves why County Magistrate Shen was "demoted again and again".

He was an old acquaintance, but he didn't introduce his colleagues to Sun Shan.

As soon as he entered the conference room, he bowed politely and sat alone.

Judging from his appearance, he doesn't get along well with his colleagues.

The colleague who took the initiative to speak smiled and said, "I am Zhou Zhengze, the magistrate of Yuanling County."

Sun Shan immediately returned the greeting: "Zou Zhixian, I am honored."

After this introduction, Sun Shan knew who the wrinkled magistrate in front of him was.

My favorite Wuqiangxi fish comes from his territory. I wonder if I can use my connections to get more of them and steam or braise them.

While craving for fish, he couldn't help but look at County Magistrate Zou with sympathy.

"It is unfortunate to be born as a county magistrate in a suburb", the seat of Chenzhou Prefecture is Yuanling County.

Magistrate Zou faced Prefect Liu day and night, and I wonder how he felt about that.

If he were a handsome guy, I would just tolerate it, but the problem is that Magistrate Liu is not handsome at all.

County Magistrate Zou had a very miserable life as he was controlled by Prefect Liu for 360 days a year.

Sun Shan looked at County Magistrate Zou with sympathy, and then continued to do what he was doing, since it was not him who was in conflict with him anyway.

Everyone has their own karma, so it’s not easy to say too much.

Everyone gathered together and introduced themselves to each other, mainly because they wanted to meet Sun Shan. The other county magistrates had more seniority in Chenzhou Prefecture than Sun Shan and had known him for a long time.

When colleagues chat with each other, the safest way is to talk about the weather or some interesting things that happened along the way.

County Magistrate Shen, who was standing next to him, rolled his eyes and whispered, "Hypocrisy!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, smiled awkwardly, then pretended not to hear and continued chatting.

Haha, why get angry with an old official with white hair, gray beard and no political future?

What future does County Magistrate Shen have after being demoted to Mayang, where barbarians make up the majority of the population?

Maybe I'll be able to work in Mayang until I retire and return home. No, maybe I won't have the chance to retire and return home. There are not only many barbarians but also many bandits over there. Who can say for sure if something unexpected happens along the way?

Colleagues had just seen Sun Shan and County Magistrate Shen come in together, and were genuinely curious as to why the two were involved.

Now it seems that they must have just happened to be together. The Magistrate Sun in front of him was much more insightful and spoke more politely.

The colleagues tacitly avoided looking at County Magistrate Shen and continued chatting about this and that.

I especially want to have a chat with the newly joined County Magistrate Sun. He is so young, has passed the imperial examination twice, and has connections in the capital. Maybe after a few years of experience in Chenzhou Prefecture, he will have the opportunity to be transferred to the capital.

It is always better to have one more friend than one more enemy. Maybe it can help you in the future.

Sun Shan never imagined that he would become the target of his colleagues' criticism.

He has always been the one who bites others, so if he is the one who bites others in the future, he must never agree to it.

If you don't take advantage of others, you will suffer a loss, and if others take advantage of you, you will suffer an even greater loss.

If faced with being bitten, Sun Shan would definitely dodge.

That’s right, he, Sun Shan, is just like that, selfish and not beneficial to others.

Everyone chatted while waiting for Magistrate Liu.

As the boss, he must be the last one to appear, otherwise his identity as the boss cannot be shown.

Fortunately, Magistrate Liu was not a boss who liked to show off, so they arrived late after just a few words.

Everyone quickly stood up to greet him.

Magistrate Liu smiled amiably and said, "What were you talking about just now? You seemed so excited."

What else can we talk about? The only thing left is the weather.

This is the prefectural government office, not a secret room. If they were to chat behind each other's backs, they would surely chat about Prefect Liu for eight to ten days, pouring out their bitterness.

Magistrate Zou, who was good at dancing with his sleeves, stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, Magistrate Sun has just arrived, and everyone is very curious about him, so they are trying to get acquainted with him."

Liu Yineng nodded and said, "Zhixian Sun is a promising young man. He has passed the imperial examinations twice and is now the head of a county. Haha, you should talk to him more and encourage your children to learn from him."

Young people always attract a lot of attention, especially when a young person suddenly appears among a group of old hands, everyone will definitely be more curious.

Sun Shan immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency the Prefect, I am too kind to praise you. I am just an average person, not worth mentioning."

Prefect Liu looked at Sun Shan meaningfully: You are not ordinary, you are a Jinshi selected by the emperor.

Just these two words "kiss it" make it special.