There is a three-entry mansion in Yushui County, located in a secluded place in the east of the city, where few people usually go in and out, but it has been obviously much more lively recently.

Most of the people who came and went were dressed in coarse cloth and short beats, and their skin was dark and rough, and they knew at a glance that they were used to rough work.

A wooden plaque was nailed to the entrance of the mansion, with black lacquer and gold characters, and the words "Ziyi Club" were written.

Most of the people who come here will stop under this plaque, bow their hands, and then go in. In fact, almost all of them are illiterate, but they all show their highest respect for these four big characters.

And this plaque, just watching people come and go, silent.

The house is full of greenery, and even in this August weather, it makes people feel very cool.

There were seven or eight people standing in the backyard garden, two of them clustered in the middle. Unlike most of the people who showed up here, the two men wore long shirts, which is the kind of dress that only a scholar would have.

"Brother Zhu, I'm tired of you this time. One of them said to the other.

The others around responded and turned to this man.

"Brother Zhu" smiled and stroked his beard and said: "You don't have to be polite, it is also a blessing for my generation to see young people take over the mantle and inheritance of their predecessors." ”

"Alas, we don't know a single word, Master Zhu, don't think we're vulgar!" A middle-aged man with a short figure next to him had a very loud voice, and as soon as he opened his mouth, a bird was startled.

"Lao Tian, keep your voice quiet, don't be alarmed by Master Zhu. The other said reproachfully.

However, just like the loud Lao Tian said, except for Zhu Gantang standing in the middle and Qi Zhengzheng next to him, all of them are craftsmen, who have never read and are not very literate.

They already have a feeling of being ashamed of themselves in front of people like Zhu Gantang, not to mention that Zhu Gantang is the chief examiner of the Yushui County Apprenticeship Test and the Hundred Workers Test, and his status is naturally extraordinary.

In front of him, these "masters" who were quite famous outside couldn't help but lower their voices a little.

"The biggest hero this time is Brother Zhengzheng. All the materials used in this 100 labor test and apprenticeship test are provided by Yue Mu Xuan, which costs a lot of money, and you have to spend a lot. Zhu Gantang hugged his fist at Qi Zhengze.

"Where. Qi Zhengze simply replied with two words and closed his mouth.

"Xiao Kun isn't big now?" asked Zhu Gantang with some concern.

"It's fine. Qi Zhengze only replied with two words.

"You......" Zhu Gantang was very familiar with him, knew his temper, and shook his head with a wry smile.

At this time, a small official came over and presented a file. Those craftsmen are waiting here for this, looking at Zhu Gantang's hands, their expressions are eager.

Zhu Gantang was not hypocritical, he opened the file directly, glanced at the upper right corner, and said: "This time, a total of 1,372 people took the exam in Yushui County, 250 people participated in the 100-work test, and 1,122 people participated in the apprenticeship test. ”

"The number of people in the 100-job test has not changed, and the number of apprentice tests has doubled!"

"Today, the work is the most important, and the craftsmen have the steps to the sky, and the people who enter the industry are naturally enthusiastic. Zhu Gantang arched his hand towards the north and said.

Then he flipped through the file and continued to look down.

"This year, there are 100 people in the first-level workshop, 80 people in the second-level workshop, 40 people in the third-level workshop, 20 people in the second-level workshop, and 1 person in the fifth-level workshop. There are no first- and second-level workshops in Yushui, seven third-level workshops, and thirty-eight fourth-level workshops, and all workshops at all levels are full, and none of them are missing. Zhu Gantang continued.

Yushui is not a big county, but now the people who can stand here are basically third-level workshop owners, and each family can report forty people. Everyone looked at each other, and their smiles were full of competition.

"This apprentice test county test lasted for three days, and after five days of trying, a total of 200 people were selected, and the head was named the county head. ”

"The county test is all physical tests, one per day, a total of three. ”

"There are three examiners, the contemptible main examiner, and the two masters of Song and Qin are the deputies. Candidates paint their names behind closed doors, only look at the finished product, and take three equal points. These matters are no different from previous years, and you must be aware of them. ”

After reading these points, Zhu Gantang smiled and bowed his hand to the workshop owners: "Tomorrow will be the entrance exam, thank you for your hard work." ”

"Thanks, sir!" the workshop owners bowed down in satisfaction when they got the news they wanted.

"Twenty-one people are here, all right, come with me. ”

At the gate of Shuicheng, after the person who had just arrived asked their names, he wrote them all down on a piece of paper and beckoned them to follow.

Xu Wen heard that someone from Yushui County would come to pick him up, and he was guessing the identity of this person all the way.

Lian Tianqing is not an ordinary craftsman visible to the naked eye, will the person he sent to answer him be his old friend?

As a result, when he saw this man, he knew that he was thinking too much.

This person is dressed in soap, and he knows by looking at his appearance that he is an ordinary local official, the kind who runs errands. He took the letterhead handed by Zhou Zhicheng and muttered, "I'm quite good at going through the back door." ”

Then he shouted, "Which twenty are they?"

Zhou Zhicheng and Master Feng glanced at each other, and Master Feng stepped forward and smiled: "My lord, there are twenty of us here, are you sure ......?"

The man glanced at them and waved the letterhead in his hand impatiently: "Isn't it all written on it? Do you not understand it or what? Twenty people, the quota of a fourth-level workshop, how can you not be sure?"

"But the government has assessed our Yao Clan's Wood Workshop as a fifth-level ......," Senior Brother Zhou stepped forward and said a little nervously.

"Who knows what back door you're going through...... Okay, that's enough, twenty people, right, I'll take a name and go. The little official looked too lazy to talk to them, but Xu Wen saw it on the side, such a "back door" must be regarded as some kind of unspoken rule, but Senior Brother Zhou didn't know it before. I don't know what way Lian Tianqing went, and he got twenty places on a letterhead.

"Senior brother, and me, we are not twenty people, we are twenty-one!" Lu Cheng was anxious, and pulled Senior Brother Zhou and whispered.

How could he think of it, just after a while, Xu asked the twenty of them to get the quota, but he became the extra one!

Senior Brother Zhou also realized it, stuffed the little official with ingots of silver, and explained a few words.

The little official accepted the money, and finally wrote down Lu Cheng's name and wrote it behind Xu Wen.

Lu Cheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the team. Xu Wen just asked him, "What is the fifth-level woodmill, and what is the fourth-level?"

"The government divided the workshops into levels, one to five. Level 1 is the largest, level 5 is the smallest. The number of places submitted for each level is different, with only one person for level 5 and 20 people for level 4. Lu Cheng was used to Xu Wen's loneliness, and his heart was a little chaotic here, so he cheered up and whispered to him to explain.

"So Yao's Wood Workshop is only level five?" asked Xu.

"What kind of tone are you, no matter what level it is, it can only be obtained through official certification, how can you say that it is only?" Lu Cheng was dissatisfied.

Xu asked thoughtfully. He originally thought that Yao's Wood Workshop was already very formal, with the classification of Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang, and there were assessments every month, but he didn't expect it to be just a fifth-level workshop.

The craftsman system in this world is bigger than he imagined......

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask, what is this?" Lu Cheng pulled himself together and asked, pointing to his hand.

Along the way, Xu Wen kept holding a piece of paulownia wood, and his fingers gently rubbed on it, and there was no other movement. "Don't you recognize it? ”

"How could I not recognize it! I mean, what do you keep holding this?"

"Don't you think the paulownia wood is very beautiful? bright and elegant, the texture is clear and beautiful, you see the luster of this surface, like silk, light and soft, dense and delicate. It is so light and so dense, impermeable and not deformed, and fire-resistant, it is really a good wood species. Xu Wen held the paulownia wood in front of Lu Cheng and showed him, and said with great interest.

“...... Do you know. Lu Cheng said with a strange expression.

"Huh?"

"This is the longest I've heard you say since I've known you. ”

"Uh......"

"Also, you really read the book, and you talk about it in a set ......"

The soap-clothed little official took them to the outside of a mansion in the west of the city, pointed to the front and said, "All the candidates live here, you came late, the rooms have been arranged, and the conditions left for you are not good." ”

As he spoke, a group of people came up from behind them and walked in the door. The leader was introducing to the young man behind him where he was going to live, which was the second courtyard of the mansion, the big shop, and everyone was going to sleep together.

The soapy little official didn't look over there, and said, "If you want to sleep now, you can only sleep in the stable, clean it up yourself, and it will be very comfortable to sleep." Of course, you can also go to live outside, but tomorrow the exam is starting, and you can't enter the door if you miss it. ”

Xu asked them to have a little pocket money in their hands, which was not enough to go out and stay in the hotel. Zhou Zhicheng obviously did not prepare additional accommodation fees. But these are all from peasant families, and they have lived in worse environments, and what is a mere stable.

However, Xu Wen also saw that they could only live in the stable, in fact, it was not because they were late or anything, they were temporarily inserted, and there was no way to arrange it.

Zhou Zhicheng didn't discuss with them, and directly agreed to live in the stable, and the apprentices didn't have any opinions.

The stables are located in the front yard of the mansion, and there are many people coming and going, and from time to time people lead the horses to store them.

Before he could get closer, Xu Wen heard the commotion and low neighing of the horses. When you get closer, the smell of horse manure is not very good.

"That's it, be careful, don't startle the horse. Tomorrow Chen is entering, and Chen Chu will gather outside the venue. Someone will call you then, get ready in advance. ”

It was eight o'clock, and the beginning of the morning was seven, which meant that they had to get up before half past six, but they were used to it.

The little official told him a few words, and Zhou Zhicheng stuffed him with silver ingots and asked him to take care of them more. The little official pinched it with satisfaction and turned to leave.

Zhou Zhicheng turned around and said, "Let's clean up the sleeping place tonight first." ”

Xu Wen and the others responded one after another, and were about to find tools to go in, when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves sounded, and two horses galloped over!