He wove the first Reanimated Strawman, its movements wobbly and unstable.
The second Reanimated Strawman, though its steps were faltering, its posture was already stable.
The third Reanimated Strawman, its movements gradually quickened.
...
By the time Xue Wen-zhong returned from a circuit of the front yard, he was astonished to see a strawman in the backyard running like the wind; a second strawman leaping between haystacks; a third strawman swinging under a locust tree; a fourth strawman winnowing grain nearby; and a fifth strawman weeding in the vegetable garden.
Although there were still several 'failed products' that had knocked over vegetable baskets, toppled clotheslines, and startled chickens and ducks, Xue Wen-zhong simply ignored them.
He stared at the several Reanimated Strawmen that were beginning to show a hint of spiritual essence, and quickly walked over to Zhao Xing, who was propping up a clothes rack and collecting vegetable baskets: "I was only out for half an hour, and you've already made these?"
Zhao Xing looked at the somewhat messy backyard and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Old Xue, I'll clean it up very soon, it's just that one duck has flown out of the fence... I'll compensate you for it!"
The wrinkles on Xue Wen-zhong's face crinkled together with a smile. He grabbed Zhao Xing and said: "What's a mere duck? Don't worry about it!"
He patted Zhao Xing's shoulder: "Work hard. Strive for an 'A-plus' in the Winter Assessment, and after passing the Spring Temple Exam to be formally appointed, there will surely be a place for you."
Zhao Xing was stunned for a moment. After realizing that the Old Director of Agriculture wasn't blaming him, he smiled and cupped his hands: "Thank you, Teacher."
"It's just that the Bureau of Agriculture is full of experts, and my status is humble, so I may not be able to compete..."
Xue Wen-zhong understood the unspoken part of Zhao Xing's words, which referred to the phenomenon of other agricultural officials accepting benefits from subordinates, giving them special treatment, and providing strong assistance.
"You have such talent. It was truly my mistake to have overlooked it in the past. From now on, you can come to the backyard every day and study for an extra hour."
The effect Zhao Xing wanted when he hesitated earlier was precisely this. Xue Wen-zhong's words already implied that he regarded him as his Disciple. How could he not know to seize the opportunity?
His address changed instantly, and he bowed, saying: "This Disciple thanks Teacher for his nurturing grace."
Xue Wen-zhong also had a sudden impulse. In the past, he didn't contend or compete, but in his old age, seeing such a promising talent, he also had some thoughts, so he formally accepted this bow:
"Keep working hard, don't waste your talent, do things well, and you will eventually have your day. I don't care about others; if you still can't get in next year, then I will abdicate and leave the position to you!"
If any other leader had said this, Zhao Xing would have dismissed it as an empty promise.
But for Xue Wen-zhong to say it, the credibility was very high. Firstly, his character was to value trust and promises, and secondly, he was already old and could have chosen to retire long ago.
If the number of slots was insufficient at that time, and Zhao Xing's ranking happened to be on the edge, it was quite possible that he would indeed make the gesture of abdicating.
"Thank you, Teacher. I will work diligently and will not disappoint your expectations."
Over the next three days, Zhao Xing learned a fourth method of strawman weaving from Xue Wen-zhong.
Even Xue Wen-zhong was surprised by Zhao Xing's progress, considering that Zhao Xing was practicing the "Liu Chuan Weaving Method" only during the extra hour of practice!
Zhao Xing was also very emotional in his heart:
"With the dual blessings of Luck and treasures, not only has my cultivation speed increased, but I have also gained the attention of the Old Director of Agriculture. The Great Dream Academy is indeed a good place! Just a tiny bit of benefit that I received has led to such a big change."
However, in the evenings of these past few days, when he tried to enter the Great Dream Academy again, he found that even the Heart-Questioning Platform was hidden. He wondered if it was because he was too weak, and there were no suitable challenges for him to attempt.
At this moment, Zhao Xing was walking in the fields of the eastern suburbs.
Junior agricultural officials typically studied in the morning and worked in the afternoon.
In addition to miscellaneous tasks like encouraging farming and inspecting harvests, they also had areas of responsibility. Of course, this all depended on what aspect their superior was responsible for.
Having many people had disadvantages, but also advantages. Under Xue Wen-zhong, it was relatively relaxed. Because with more people, the miscellaneous tasks assigned by the superior were fewer, and they weren't as busy.
This allowed for more time to study and prepare for the assessment.
The transfer of agricultural officials involved multiple parts.
Firstly, the harvest of the responsible district and town. This part was statistics by the county yamen and not overseen by the Bureau of Agriculture.
Most townships were more or less the same, but there were also three grades of land: superior, medium, and inferior. Being assigned a good jurisdiction would naturally be better, but Xue Wen-zhong didn't contend, so the good ones were all divided among the other agricultural officials.
Secondly, the assessment of virtue. This encompassed many things, including the completion rate of miscellaneous tasks assigned by superiors, learning attitude, reputation, and so on. There was no specific standard, as the authority was entirely in the hands of the superiors.
Thirdly, the assessment of ability, which was based on the content of the twenty-four solar terms. Among them, the four seasons and eight festivals, namely: Start of Spring, Spring Equinox, Start of Summer, Summer Solstice, Start of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Start of Winter, and Winter Solstice, were mandatory. Other key planting and harvesting solar terms were also included in the assessment.
For example, the Grain in Ear a month ago tested whether the last wave of primordial rice planting was completed and its survival rate.
The person responsible for setting and assessing the questions was Chen Shijie, a Ninth-Rank Agricultural Official.
These three types were considered 'daily scores'. Those who ranked high in scores would be recommended by the Bureau of Agriculture to the 'Nanyang Prefecture' at the end of the year. The three combined formed the 'Winter Assessment'.
The Winter Assessment sometimes involved another round of exams, but it also depended on the situation, mainly how the entire Nanyang Prefecture performed in the previous year. If it could outperform other prefectures, and the imperial court allocated enough quotas, then another exam might not be necessary.
In the spring of the following year, there would also be a Temple Exam.
The imperial court would set the questions to further screen the quotas reported by each prefecture.
Only after passing the Temple Exam would everything be settled.
After that came the 'formal appointment', where the imperial court issued the official appointment document, and one would receive a baptism of Luck in the temple, becoming a part of the Great Zhou, this Luck Dynasty's system.
In short, this was a series of transfer quests.
Zhao Xing also transferred during Emperor Jing's reign in his previous life, so he was very familiar with this process. This period was still a bit difficult.
It would become much simpler by the time of the Revival version.
However, difficulty had its advantages, and many things later became completely out of print.
"With the blessings of Luck and treasures, transferring and securing a position shouldn't be difficult," Zhao Xing was full of confidence, walking briskly towards the public fields.
The Summer Solstice had passed, and Minor Heat was approaching.
In the county yamen's public fields, some primordial rice had already begun to ripen.
This year's ability assessment for the Winter Assessment did not include 'Summer Solstice', so Minor Heat would definitely not be 'skipped', otherwise, the basic number of Winter Assessment exams would not be met.
At this time, most of the junior officials from the Bureau of Agriculture basically ran to the public fields. The exam was not postponed, so at this time, there were already many junior officials waiting in the public fields of Gucheng.
"Everyone is waiting for the Minor Heat exam, it's a bit like a scene from my previous life." Zhao Xing looked around, feeling it was quite similar to the feeling of scrambling for public elective courses in college in his past life.
However, it was quite normal. If one missed an assessment, although it wouldn't lead to being eliminated, the impact would be very significant. No one could guarantee passing if they missed one subject's score.
Zhao Xing walked into the public fields and clearly felt the scorching heat, and his body began to sweat. Even with the "Flowing Cloud" Spell for shade, it was a bit hard to resist.
After a while, he saw Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong, as well as Li Chengfeng, Wen Nanxing, and others who had also rushed over to wait for the exam.
Without exception, everyone was panting and sweating by the fields, truly as hot as dogs.
"It's only Minor Heat, but the sun is as scorching as Major Heat. Official Chen really has a twisted sense of humor. Brother, what kind of tricky question do you think he'll come up with this time?" Chen Ziyu asked.
"How would I know? Aren't you surnamed Chen?"
"Although we share the same surname, he's a transient official, his hometown is Xishan Prefecture, so he has nothing to do with me," Chen Ziyu pouted.
"Let's just save our energy and wait," Qian Dong waved his straw hat weakly.
Just as everyone was wilting from the heat, a sudden cry of surprise came from the south.
"Look, what's that?!"
"It's the exam question, the exam question is here!"
"Heavens, it's actually..."