Chapter 13 First Armor
"The Lesser Heat Assessment has ended. The content was the 'grain-eating bird disaster'. The results of this assessment will be determined based on the damage to the farmland that each official is responsible for."

"If less than 10% of the original rice is damaged, it will be rated as Grade A."

"Those with damage of less than 20% will be rated as Grade B."

"Less than half of the damage is caused, so it is rated as Grade C."

"If more than half of the plants are damaged, there will be no score for this assessment, and the plant will be punished to be replanted and use cultivation techniques to speed up growth. If the damage is repaired, the plant can be re-evaluated as Grade C."

"The scores for the Lesser Heat Assessment have been posted. Please check them yourself. Regardless of your scores, you should work hard and avoid arrogance or impatience."

After Chen Shijie finished speaking, Feizhou's clerk waved his hand, and a piece of yellow paper floated in the air and was accurately pasted on the nine notice boards on the public field grassland.

All the officials bowed towards the flying boat, and when the Liuyun flying boat floated away, they gathered around it.

"What? There are only thirty people on the A list, and only five above A?!"

"It's over, it's over. There are only 214 people on the list. Doesn't this mean that half of the officials are unqualified?"

"My dear fellow in front, please help me check if my name, Liang Bo, is there?"

"Yes, ninth on the C list, top C, congratulations, Brother Liang."

"Alas, only ranked C? Last time, you were ranked B..."

"The Lesser Heat Assessment is so difficult, how difficult will the Autumn Moon Assessment be? There will only be a few people who can be accepted as officials in the spring of next year, so what the hell! Let's go, let's go have a drink!"

"Well, that's true. At worst, I can just quit!"

The difficulty of the Lesser Heat Assessment is much greater than the previous ones, so the top of the list is gloomy.

Very few people were happy, as they all felt that they had done poorly in the exam.

Among them, a small number of people don't care.

Because only three to five people are appointed as officials each year, the difficulty of the assessment will become greater as time goes by, thus screening out those petty officials who are not diligent and unqualified.

Since there was no chance to do it, why bother? Just go for it, and don't even plan to take a make-up exam.

What? You said I was fired? I'll fire you if I want. The salary is not much anyway. In a peaceful world, if I don't work as a petty official, how can I starve to death?
Of course, most people still care, otherwise why would they choose this path in the first place? Besides, they have worked so hard for so long, and the sunk costs are here, so of course they still have hope.

Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong were also trying hard to squeeze forward.

Soon, they squeezed out again in despair.

Both of them got a C-, which was just barely qualified.

As soon as he got out of the crowd, Chen Ziyu slapped his head and said, "Yes, Qian Dong, how are your grades? Did you help check them just now?"

Qian Dong raised his drooping head and hesitated: "I didn't see your name on the C list just now, could it be..."

"What's so difficult? Are you saying that big brother failed the exam? He didn't even make the C list? Big brother worked so hard before, how sad would he be if he didn't even make the C list? No wonder he disappeared, is he thinking too much?"

Qian Dong quickly shook his head: "No, not really. Big brother is usually so free and easy, how could he be so upset by such a thing... But I'm afraid he can't avoid being sad."

Chen Ziyu said worriedly, "I'll go take another look at the list. Qian Dong, go around and look for your brother first, and then we'll meet at the Sanjiao field."

A quarter of an hour later, at the triangular field.

Qian Dong saw Chen Ziyu, who was in a state of disarray. Looking at his expression, he thought something had gone wrong. Why did his face become even gloomier than before?

"I haven't found my brother yet, what's wrong with you?"

Chen Ziyu looked up blankly: "Brother's name is not on the C list."

"If he's not here, then he's not here. It's not surprising that he failed the exam..." Qian Dong said, and then he paused: "In the B list?"

Seeing that Chen Ziyu didn't answer, Qian Dong's mouth gradually opened: "Could it be..."

"Yes, brother is on the A list, and ranked above A. He is on the same list as Wen Nanxing, Li Chengfeng, Zong Shichang, and Xiao Ze."

"..."

Qian Dong's expression became the same as Chen Ziyu's.

Not far from the A-list, Li Chengfeng was surrounded by people, sitting on a rock to enjoy the cool air.

He certainly didn't need to go and see it in person, and he was confident enough that he was at the top of the list.

What he enjoyed was not the moment when the results were announced, but the flattery from everyone at that moment.

"Congratulations, Brother Li, for once again being ranked in the top 100!

"Brother Li is indeed extremely talented. How many times have you been ranked first?"

“This is the sixth time!”

"I'm afraid I'll have to call you Lord Li next spring."

Li Chengfeng smiled and bowed to the people around him: "Don't joke, everyone. What's the difference between a great man and a small man? We are all brothers. Besides, I am not the only one who has been rated as the best. I am far inferior to my cousin... Clan brother, clan brother! What are you looking at?"

Zong Shichang, a burly young man standing next to him, heard Li Chengfeng calling him and came back to his senses with a little curiosity: "I'm looking at the list, Brother Li, there are five people on the A list. Apart from you, me, Wen Nanxing, and Xiao Ze, I've never heard of this fifth person."

"Oh?" Li Chengfeng couldn't help but step forward to take a look. When he saw the unfamiliar name Zhao Xing, he frowned and said, "I have never heard of him. I know most of the people in the Seventh Agricultural Supervision Institute. Where did this person come from?"

"Could it be that he is under the command of the old Minister of Agriculture?" Zong Shichang said.

"Don't think too much about it. You'll know after visiting him some other day." Li Chengfeng narrowed his eyes.

At the same time, Wen Nanxing, Xiao Ze, and other people on the A list also noticed the name Zhao Xing.

The Sino-Agricultural Supervisory Commissioner only has three or five vacancies for the position of official each year. Forget about the other lists, everyone on this A list is a competitor.

If others get promoted, you can’t, and they may even become your immediate superiors. How can you not pay attention?

However, Zhao Xing was usually too low-key and inconspicuous. When asking his friends, almost no one had ever heard of this man. At most, they only knew that he was a minor official under the old Minister of Agriculture. This made people even more curious.

Zhao Xing didn't know that he had been noticed by many officials, and he didn't even look at the list.

After Chen Shijie announced the rules, he immediately knew that he would definitely be on the top of the list. Why bother going out in the hot weather and getting all sweaty? It would be better to go home early to take a shower, change clothes and have a meal.

If I come back late, Mrs. Cai might hide the meat. She is someone who would really do such a thing.

"This year's assessment has already been six, including the Lesser Heat. According to convention, there will be six more minor exams following the solar terms."

"In my previous five attempts, I got a B-level score once, got promoted to C-level twice, and failed to get promoted to C-level twice. Pretty mediocre."

"But it doesn't matter. Rapid progress is also considered outstanding. This kind of test is not entirely based on grades. If you have good potential, you will have the opportunity to be recommended."

"If I can get into the top list in every small test before the winter evaluation, I will definitely be noticed by the higher-ups, even the old Minister of Agriculture. I wonder how much help he will be able to give me then." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"Old Si Nong Xue Wenzhong is a well-known good man. He doesn't fight or compete, and he is very honest. He never accepts anything from others. If I am not much different from other people at that time, it will depend on whether my superiors will fight for me at the critical moment."

"Sizzle~" The aroma of meat suddenly entered Zhao Xing's nose, interrupting his thoughts. It turned out that he had arrived home and the aroma of meat was wafting out of the kitchen.

"Hmm? It looks like it's ginseng and black chicken soup... Hey, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early!"

(End of this chapter)