Chapter 2562 - 2536: Competing for Vacancies

Zhou Lijun pondered over the profit and raised his eyebrows, saying, "Fifth Uncle, you made over ten thousand coins in just one day."

Old Zhou stood at the doorway with his mouth slightly open, unable to speak for a moment.

He finally stopped criticizing Zhou Wulang for not cooking at home.

After thinking it over, he looked at the pile of money on the ground and asked, "How much do you have to hand over to the public funds?"

Zhou Wulang hadn’t spoken yet when Zhou Lijun glanced at the abacus again and said, "Twenty-nine thousand five hundred forty-nine coins."

Old Zhou immediately said, "Alright, count it out and hand it over to me."

Zhou Wulang: ...

The copper coins hadn’t even warmed in his hands yet.

He quickly asked Zhou Lijun, "How much do I have left?"

Zhou Lijun said, "Forty-four thousand three hundred twenty-three."

That’s quite a lot, and Zhou Wulang smiled happily and then called Zhou Lichong to help count the money.

The old man was still standing by, watching.

Ms. Qian then asked, "How did you earn so much? You didn’t cheat the Second Young Master, did you?"

Ms. Qian and Old Zhou were used to calling Bai Erlang the Second Young Master even now.

Zhou Wulang immediately said, "I didn’t cheat him; I checked it thoroughly. For such a long stretch of road, if a benevolent person donates, it would roughly cost around two hundred fifty thousand, and I even reduced it."

That’s why he was initially unsure whether it was a profit or a loss.

But he had already planned it out; if he profited, that’s good; if not, it’s okay, since Bai Erlang is practically family, and the road was mostly built for Manbao and Bai Er’s family.

Zhou Dalang was dumbfounded, "How could there be such a big difference?"

Five thousand is not a small amount.

Currently, there are only two ways to build roads: one is for the County Governmental Office to levy labor to construct the road, which is actually the most common scenario;

Another is for benevolent people to donate funds for road and bridge construction, which is considered a great merit, remembered much more than donating incense money at a temple or performing a ritual at a Taoist shrine.

Generally, those who do this are local gentries.

For instance, someone like Old Master Bai, building a road could keep people remembering you for twenty years, and if built well, it could be remembered for a hundred years.

Zhou Wulang said, "People who donate for roads still have to notify the County Governmental Office, and sometimes the government clerks have to supervise, which increases costs going back and forth."

It was knowing these inside tricks that Zhou Wulang slashed off fifty thousand from the estimated two hundred fifty thousand, because he didn’t need to use connections or inform the County Governmental Office.

Not to mention having Princess Mingda as a label, even using his sister Zhou Man’s name, generally, the County Governmental Office wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Therefore, he didn’t pay anyone.

Old Zhou thought it over and regretted, "It’s a pity that road construction projects are hard to secure, as the County Governmental Office usually tasks labor directly; otherwise, if everyone hired people like the Princess to build roads, you wouldn’t know how much you could earn."

Zhou Wulang also felt regret; it’s really a one-time deal.

But it doesn’t matter; Manbao said, currently many things are lacking, but what is most lacking are people. As long as he has people at hand, earning money becomes easy, and if he holds onto those people now, it will be easier to earn money in the future.

Everyone moved the allocated money to Old Zhou’s room and then started to think about what to eat for dinner.

Just as Manbao and the others returned from the office, they heard it and said, "Let’s eat together; there are dishes over at the kitchen, Aunt Rong and the others can prepare quickly."

Old Master Bai saw and didn’t want his family to eat separately, so he brought over dishes to eat together, everyone chatting while eating.

Mr. Zhuang asked Bai Dalang, "Any progress on the matter of selecting officials?"

Everyone looked at Bai Dalang.

Bai Dalang said, "When I went there today, I happened to see a vacancy in Tongbai County, Tangzhou, and I have already applied. But there are many people waiting for it, and I heard from a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel that including me, there are six people waiting for this vacancy."

That’s quite a lot.

Actually, there are quite a number of vacancies this year, but few in the capital, most are in local areas, and some in the military.

In fact, regardless of whether one is an accomplished scholar or Ming Classic, all three directions can apply for the vacancies.

Currently, there’s no bias against either civil or military pursuits, hence there are quite a few people in the military who are well-rounded in both. Among the old elite, many excelled in both civil and military fields when the country was founded, even more so now.

Actually, being literate offers a faster path for promotion in the military, and if one is a Ming Classic or accomplished scholar, they are even more favored, after all, having read military books is better than just relying on ignorance and innate talent, right?

Unfortunately, Bai Dalang does not have a military talent, so even though there are several positions staying in the capital available in the military, he did not think to apply for them.

After discovering that several applications for positions in the capital were unsuccessful, he vaguely guessed something and started focusing outside.

After the meal, they moved to another place to continue discussing the matter.

Bai Shan said, "Tangzhou is not far from the capital and is in the Central Plain area, a good location. I just don’t know the actual situation in Tongbai County and why the vacancy arose?"

"I heard the county magistrate died of illness suddenly, only recently reported and arrived in the capital, so it’s a newly added vacancy."

It’s also because he frequently visited the Ministry of Personnel during this period, and due to the relationships with Bai Erlang, Bai Shan, and Zhou Man, the officials there were quite accommodating to him, notifying him immediately of any vacancies, and he promptly submitted his application.

But there are quite a few others with similar connections, so there were others applying for the position almost simultaneously.

Mr. Zhuang said, "Tongbai is the source of the Huai River, and from what I know, it’s a place with a dense water network, featuring both western plains and eastern hills, though not high ones, making it a good place."

For a county official, what’s primarily looked at is the terrain and availability of water which makes economic development easier and population growth more likely. With these two, one can focus on education.

A government official’s achievements are measured by tax revenue and the ratios of population growth and educational development.

What is the ratio of educational development?

One looks at the number of people qualified in the Ming Classic and as accomplished scholars, and two looks at the number of people receiving education in the county.

Old Master Bai, hearing it’s a good locale, immediately told Bai Dalang, "Go visit the Ministry of Personnel more frequently and make sure you secure this vacancy."

He worriedly said, "The Ministry of Personnel’s exam was half a month ago, and the best vacancies are almost selected, if you don’t decide soon, what’s left will be just poor countryside."

Bai Shan also nodded, "Big Cousin, seal this vacancy."

Bai Dalang smiled wryly, "It’s not solely up to me to decide."

Old Master Bai then looked at Mr. Zhuang and others, thinking to find Erlang, but realized that it wouldn’t be appropriate for the groom to overly involve in these governmental affairs, especially since Erlang is among the candidate selections this year.

Mr. Zhuang and others naturally thought of this. He said, "This can’t be done by Bai Er; even if he can, as the groom of nobility, his involvement in selecting officials wouldn’t make the emperor quite pleased."

Mr. Zhuang looked at Manbao.

Manbao nodded and said, "I’ll have a casual encounter with Minister Li tomorrow and chat with him."