Chapter 10: Apprenticeship and Training, Minor Heat Assessment
The first cursive figure that was woven was shaky in its movements and stood unsteadily.

The second walking cursive man was staggering but his body was steady.

The third person walked in cursive again, and his steps became faster and faster.

……

When Xue Wenzhong came back from a walk around the front yard, he was surprised to see a straw man in the backyard, walking very fast; the second straw man was jumping between haystacks; the third straw man was swinging under a locust tree; the fourth straw man was turning over the grain nearby; and the fifth straw man was weeding in the vegetable garden.

Although there were still several "failures" that overturned the vegetable basket, knocked over the clothes rack, and scared away the chickens and ducks, Xue Wenzhong simply ignored them.

He stared at the cursive figures that were beginning to take on some spirit, and quickly walked over to Zhao Xing, who was holding a clothes hanger and collecting a vegetable basket. He asked, "I've only been out for half an hour, and you've already made all these?"

Zhao Xing looked at the messy backyard and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Xue, I'll be able to clean it up quickly, but a duck has already flown out of the fence... I'll compensate you with one!"

Xue Wenzhong's wrinkles were squeezed together by his smile. He grabbed Zhao Xing and said, "What's a mere duck? Don't worry about it!"

He patted Zhao Xing on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, and try to get an A in the winter assessment. Then, pass the spring temple examination and become an official. There will definitely be a place for you."

Zhao Xing was stunned for a moment, then realized that the old Sinong was not blaming him, and smiled and bowed: "Thank you, teacher."

"But the Sino-Agricultural Supervisory Office is full of experts, and I am of low status, so I may not be able to defeat them..."

Xue Wenzhong understood what Zhao Xing was hesitant to say, which was referring to the phenomenon that several other Si Nong officials accepted benefits from their subordinates, gave them special treatment and provided great assistance.

"You have such a talent, but I overlooked it in the past. It was really my mistake. From now on, you can come to the backyard every day and study for an extra hour."

Zhao Xing was hesitant to speak just now because he wanted to achieve this effect. Xue Wenzhong's words already showed that he regarded him as a disciple. How could he not know how to climb up the ladder?

The way he addressed me changed instantly, and he bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Master, for your cultivation."

Xue Wenzhong was also inspired. In the past, he did not fight for anything, but when he saw a good seedling in his old age, he also had some ideas, so he accepted the worship seriously:
"Keep working hard, don't waste your talent, do your job well, and you will be able to make it sooner or later. I don't care what others do. If you still can't get in next year, then I will step down and leave the position to you!"

If other leaders said this, Zhao Xing would think it was just empty talk.

But what Xue Wenzhong said is still very credible. Firstly, he is a man who values ​​trust and promises. Secondly, he is old and could have chosen to retire long ago.

If there are not enough vacancies at that time and Zhao Xing's ranking is just on the edge, he might really make the move of abdicating and letting others take over.

"Thank you, teacher. I will work hard and live up to your expectations."

In the next three days, Zhao Xing learned the fourth method of making straw men from Xue Wenzhong.

Even Xue Wenzhong was surprised at Zhao Xing's progress. You know, Zhao Xing only practiced "Liu Chuan Bian Fa" for an extra hour!
Zhao Xing was also deeply moved:
"With the dual blessing of luck and treasures, not only did my cultivation speed speed up, but I also gained the attention of the old Si Nong. The Dameng Academy is indeed a good place. I only missed a tiny bit of benefit and got it, but it has brought such a big change."

However, these few nights, when he tried to enter the Daming Academy again, he found that even the Platform for Questioning the Heart was hidden. He didn't know if he was too weak and there was no suitable level for him to pass.

At this time, Zhao Xing was walking in the fields in the eastern suburbs.

A minor clerk in the Ministry of Agriculture usually studies in the morning and works in the afternoon.

In addition to miscellaneous tasks such as persuading farmers and inspecting and accepting crops, there are also responsibilities. Of course, this all depends on what aspect your superior is responsible for.

Having more people has its disadvantages, but also its advantages. It is relatively easy to work under Xue Wenzhong, because with more people, the boss will assign less miscellaneous tasks, so it is not so busy.

You can spend more time studying and preparing for the assessment.

The job transfer of the Minister of Agriculture consists of multiple parts.

The first is the harvest of the townships in the jurisdiction, which is counted by the county government and not supervised by the Minister of Agriculture.

The vast majority of towns and villages are not bad, but there are also three grades of farmland: upper, middle and lower. It would naturally be better to be assigned to a better jurisdiction, but Xue Wenzhong did not fight for it, so the good ones were divided up by the other ministers of agriculture.

The second is the moral assessment, which covers a lot of things, including the completion of chores assigned by superiors, learning attitude, reputation, etc. There is no specific standard because the authority is in the hands of superiors.

The third is the ability assessment, which is based on the content of the 24 solar terms. Among them, the four seasons and eight festivals, namely, the beginning of spring, spring equinox, beginning of summer, summer solstice, beginning of autumn, autumnal equinox, beginning of winter, and winter solstice, are required. The other key planting and harvesting solar terms are also included in the assessment. For example, the Grain in Ear a month ago was an assessment of whether the last wave of Yuan rice had been planted and the survival rate.

The person in charge of setting the questions and the person who evaluated the test were both Chen Shijie, a ninth-rank official in charge of agriculture.

The above three types are counted as "ordinary points". Those with higher scores will be recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture to the "Nanyang County Government" at the end of the year. The combination of the three is the "Winter Evaluation".

Sometimes there will be another round of winter examinations, but it depends on the situation, mainly on the performance of the entire Nanyang County in the previous year. If you can pass the other counties and the court allocates enough places, then you may not need to take the exam again.

In the early spring of next year, there will be another temple test.

The imperial court set the questions and further screened the candidates reported by each county.

Only when you pass the temple examination can everything be settled.

After that comes the 'formal acceptance', where the imperial court issues a formal appointment document, and one receives the baptism of luck in the temple, becoming a part of the luck-based dynasty system of the Great Zhou.

To put it bluntly, this is a series of job transfer tasks.

Zhao Xing had also changed his job during the reign of Emperor Jing in his previous life, so he was very familiar with the process, but it was still a bit difficult during this period.

It will be much simpler when the revival version comes.

But there are advantages to being difficult. Many things are now out of print.

"I have good luck and treasures, so it shouldn't be difficult for me to change my job and get ashore." Zhao Xing was full of confidence and walked briskly towards the public field.

The summer solstice has passed and the Lesser Heat is coming soon.

In the public fields of the county government, the Yuan rice has begun to mature.

This year's winter evaluation part of the ability assessment does not include the 'Summer Solstice', so Xiaoshu will definitely not have a 'bye', otherwise he will not be able to complete the basic rounds of the winter evaluation assessment.

At this time, the petty officials of the Sinong Supervisor basically ran to the public fields most of the time, and would not wait for the examinations until the time came, so there were already many petty officials waiting at the public fields in Gucheng.

"Everyone is preparing for the Lesser Heat Examination. Why does it feel a bit like the scene in my previous life?" Zhao Xing took a look and felt that this was quite similar to the feeling of fighting for public elective courses when he was in college in his previous life.

But it is normal. If you miss one review, you will not be eliminated, but the impact will be very large. No one can guarantee that you can pass the exam if you miss one subject score.

When Zhao Xing walked into the public fields, he could clearly feel the heat and began to sweat. Even though he cast the [Walking Cloud] spell to block out the sun, he still couldn't resist it.

After waiting for a while, he saw Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong, as well as Li Chengfeng, Wen Nanxing and others who had also rushed over to take the exam.

Without exception, everyone was sweating and panting beside the field. They were as hot as dogs.

"It's only the Lesser Heat, but the sun is as scorching as the Greater Heat. Chen Sinong really has a bad taste. Brother, what tricky test questions do you think he will give this time?" asked Chen Ziyu.

"How should I know? Isn't your last name Chen?"

"Although we have the same surname, he is a temporary official and his hometown is Xishan County. He has nothing to do with me." Chen Ziyu curled his lips.

"Let's save our energy and wait." Qian Dong waved his straw hat weakly.

Just when everyone was feeling wilful from the heat, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the south.

"Look, what is that?!"

"It's the test questions. Here comes the test questions!"

"Oh my god, it's actually..."

(End of this chapter)