Chapter 123 Uncle's Dinner Argument
Even if the juren has the qualifications to be a candidate for official position.

But there were many Jinshi in front of him, and countless senior Juren lined up around him.

A carrot and a pit.

If you don't have any connections, you will never be able to get the official position even if you wait on the waiting list until you are old.

However, there is a lot to learn about being a substitute.

One is to follow the step-by-step "sequential waiting list".

This means you can only wait until there is a vacancy for officials and then you can slowly queue up.

However, even if you are extremely lucky when it comes to queuing, you won't be able to get any good positions, as they are all in the corners of remote mountainous areas.

The other is "recommendation based on merit".

This requires a high-ranking official in the court to recommend someone and say, "Your Majesty, this person may not be good at the exam, but he has great character and practical ability. Would you like to let him go and give it some training?"

This is the path Liu Qing took.

Since his father-in-law had come to plead for mercy and his wife was whispering in his ear, the old Marquis of Pingyang naturally lent a hand.

As a result, Liu Qing successfully obtained an official position in Jiangnan Road - Pingjiang Prefecture Tuanlian Tui Guan.

So, under the envious, jealous and hateful eyes of a group of scholars, Liu Qing took office.

Then came the part where Madam Chen looked down upon the Liu family.

Liu Qing had the Yang family as his backing, but he didn't make any effort and did nothing. Until now, he is still spinning in circles.

And his son Liu Chenghan also came.

But he was not a good student. At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, he failed even the provincial examination.

It seems that he is quite interested in the ways of business.

This made Mrs. Chen look down on him even more.

To be honest, in Yang Wenyuan's memory, although this uncle and cousin had never met before, they could be said to be acquaintances.

I really have no impression!
But he was his uncle after all, so Yang Wenyuan apologized and immediately asked the maid to take him to the courtyard where his uncle was.

After entering the courtyard and walking through the corridors and pavilions, before entering the house, I saw two people sitting inside.

One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a green robe, with a plump figure and a ruddy complexion. He should be my uncle Liu Qing.

Following behind was a young man who was much older than Yang Wenyuan, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Next to him was a pretty girl, holding the hand of a delicate and pretty girl.

Cousin Liu Chenghan and his wife Wu, and next to them was his daughter, whose name Yang Wenyuan couldn't remember.

Seeing Yang Wenyuan coming, several people hurried forward to greet him.

"uncle!"

Yang Wenyuan bowed to Liu Qing first, and then to Liu Chenghan and Wu.

"Brother, sister-in-law!"

Liu Qing and Liu Chenghan also responded in kind.

Yang Wenyuan then looked at the little girl who was leaning against Wu and trying to hide behind her mother several times but in failure.

"Is this my niece? She is indeed well-behaved and cute."

Yang Wenyuan couldn't help but feel some love for the adorable human cub, not to mention that they were close relatives.

"Why didn't your uncle write a letter before he came? I should have gone to the dock to meet him in advance."

"We are all family, there is no need to go through so much trouble."

"It's not a problem. I just finished my exams recently, and my aunt is helping to take care of the chores at home, so I have a lot of free time these days."

Because they hadn't seen Yang Wenyuan many times in many years, and there was no sister to help smooth the atmosphere, and Liu Qing was not a very outgoing person, so everyone felt quite restrained.

Although Yang Wenyuan was his sister's son, looking at Yang Wenyuan's sturdy figure and resolute face, as well as the irrefutable gap in status, Liu Qing did not regard Yang Wenyuan as a junior at all.

So even though Liu Qing wanted to communicate with his nephew after a long time, he was too embarrassed to say many things. So he just chatted for a while.

When Yang Yuqing returned home and sent someone to say that they were going to have dinner together, the depressing atmosphere was slightly relieved, and Liu Qing went to the banquet with a happy look on his face.

Yang Yuqing and Liu Qing are naturally familiar with each other.

When my sister-in-law married into the Marquis's Mansion, it was inconvenient for my brother to be involved in many matters, so Yang Yuqing was responsible for contacting Liu Qing.

Including taking them to get familiar with Bianjing and visit brothels...

Let’s not talk about the past!
After all, Yang Yuqing and Liu Qing are old acquaintances.

The two people who hadn't seen each other for a long time sat together.

We chatted back and forth, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more familiar.

When talking to other parents, the best topic is always children’s academic performance.

Although Yang Wenyuan's provincial examination results have not yet been released, it is obvious that Yang Yuqing is more confident than Yang Wenyuan himself. Therefore, when he has dinner and drinks with colleagues and friends recently, he is the first to speak about academic issues.

This time is no exception.

However, Yang Yuqing had just returned home and a banquet was held. Naturally, Madam Chen had no time to tell Yang Yuqing that Liu Chenghan was almost thirty and still only a student.

Therefore, as soon as the topic was brought here, Mrs. Chen signaled to Yang Yuqing to shut up.

However, no matter how Madam Chen winked at him, Yang Yuqing just thought that Madam Chen didn't want him to drink so much, so she made eyes at him.

Ever since Yang Wenyuan got the nonsense "Drink in moderation, excessive drinking is harmful to health" from some ancient book, Mrs. Chen, who didn't like Yang Yuqing's frequent drunkenness, immediately seized the opportunity and began to restrict Yang Yuqing's alcohol supply at home.

Therefore, Yang Yuqing could only drink freely when he was entertaining guests or having dinner out.

Seeing Mrs. Chen's frown, Yang Yuqing laughed inwardly:
"Someone's coming to my house today, can you still control me from drinking?"

"Brother Qing, Wenyuan just took the provincial examination a few days ago. This is worth celebrating. Cheers!"

Another glass of wine.

Yang Yuqing looked at Liu Chenghan standing aside.

"Chenghan, I haven't seen you for many years. How is your study going?"

Hearing this, Liu Chenghan's face showed a little embarrassment, but Yang Yuqing treated him very well when he was a child, so he still said:

"Uncle, my nephew is not interested in this. I am now running the family business."

“Well, that’s not bad either.”

A look of difficulty appeared on Yang Yuqing's face.

After all, in his memory, Liu Chenghan was also studying when he was a child, but who would have thought that he would become a businessman now.

Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, the question I asked just now seemed to be exposing other people's shortcomings.

Mrs. Chen's eyes showed a look of "Just as I expected".

Unexpectedly, Liu Qing said at this time.

"What do you mean by not being here? I can't even pass the provincial examination, so I can only stay at home and tend to the shop."

Obviously, Liu Qing was extremely dissatisfied with Liu Chenghan's decision to give up literature and go into business, so much so that he said such words on the spot at the banquet.

As Liu Qing finished speaking, Liu Chenghan's face became embarrassed and he lowered his head without saying a word.

Mrs. Wu, who was standing by, pursed her red lips and pretended to pick up some food for her daughter who was enjoying her meal next to her, but her eyes were watching the reactions of the Yang family members.

The scene suddenly turned cold.

Yang Yuqing quickly laughed.

"Children have their own ideas. Wasn't Wenyuan like this before?"

Yang Yuqing looked at Yang Wenyuan: "Right, Wenyuan?"

(End of this chapter)