In the morning, the sun had already risen.

There have been a few light rains intermittently in the past ten days, all saying that the spring rain is as expensive as oil, and the old locust tree in the yard has been full of young leaves, and it is a piece of new green at a glance, which is pleasing to the eye; The roof tiles were still stained with water, and some moss had already emerged; The soil in the yard was still very wet, and after this period of rain, some young grass had come out of the soil, and there were still water droplets hanging on it.

Qian Jin walked into the courtyard and took a deep breath of the early morning air. Today is the fifth day after the end of the examination, and the fatigue of the examination has long been swept away. He pulled out the Miao knife and practiced the knife technique one move at a time, and after a while, the knife style went fast, and the courtyard was full of the whining sound of the blade cutting through the air.

Half an hour later, Qian Jin put away his knife and stood. There were a few applause from the side, Qian Jin looked sideways, and it turned out that Jin Taiming was watching, so he said, "Brother Jin, you got up very early." ”

"Brother's knife technique is becoming more and more superb. Since then, no one dares to say that our generation of scholars is powerless. ”

"Let Brother Jin laugh, it's just a bit of a trick. Brother Jin is going out? Qian Jin saw that Jin Taiming had put on the new clothes made by the silkworm girl, so he asked.

Jin Taiming pondered for a while and said, "I plan to go to the Ministry of Officials to order something, and then see what vacancies there are." ”

Qian Jin frowned, remembering that he would try it out that day, he and Liao Donglin were both tired, while Jin Taiming looked light-hearted, and said in his heart that he shouldn't have made an old mistake and handed in a blank paper, right? So he said: "Brother Jin, this exam is over, you might as well wait for the list to be released and then go to the ministry." ”

How do you know that Jin Taiming laughed and said: "Brother, I won't tell you, I didn't take the test at all this time, I went in and came out." ”

“……”

Jin Taiming saw Qian Jin stunned and explained: "Brother doesn't need to worry. It doesn't make much difference between me and not. I'm not the one who is good at camping, even if I get a county order from a jinshi, I won't be able to do that fly camp dog when the time comes. Wouldn't it be better to find a quiet errand and read a book in your spare time? ”

Qian Jin sighed, seeing that he had thought about his retreat, and it was not easy to persuade him again, so he said: "Everyone has their own ambitions, since Brother Jin has made up his mind, it is better to go together after breakfast." ”

Jin Taiming of this official has never been there, and they all say that the threshold of the yamen is higher than that of ordinary people, and one more person will have more momentum when he goes, so he nodded and agreed.

……

The two entered the Daming Gate from Qianmen Street and arrived at the inner city of the capital. In the middle of the inner city is the imperial city, and around the imperial city are the large and small government offices and yamen of the capital, as well as the mansions of wealthy families.

The first thing that catches your eye is a T-shaped square, which is the central axis of the entire capital, more than four or five times wider than the usual street (vendors are strictly prohibited from setting up stalls here). Directly opposite the square is the Chengtian Gate, the gateway to the imperial city. The area on the east side of the line between Chengtianmen and Daming Gate is the area of Honglu Temple, Liubu, Qintianjian, Tai Hospital and other official yamen.

Qian Jin and Jin Taiming had only been to the inner city a few times when they were participating in the examination in the Gongyuan, and they were not very familiar with the location of the yamen. The two of them saw that the architectural styles of these government offices on the streets were different, so they must drill every street, and they must enter every alley, and they should take a trip to the capital.

When they reached an alley, a colonel led by five soldiers blocked their way. I saw the school officer drink: "Stop coming." ”

Qian Jin saw that they were all in their twenties, wearing black hats, green brocade clothes, and embroidered spring knives at their waists, and said in his heart that this should be Jinyiwei.

The school officer approached, looked at Qian Jin and Jin Taiming, and asked in a deep voice: "I have followed the two of you all the way, seeing that you are sneaky, there must be some ulterior deeds, come with us to the Zhenfu Division." ”

Qian Jin wondered in his heart, and said that this Jinyiwei is really not a vegetarian, and he will take people at every turn. If he really went to the Zhenfu Division with them, he would inevitably have to suffer some hardships. So he motioned to Jin Taiming not to speak, and then hugged his fist at the school officer and said, "This military master, I think there must be some misunderstanding here." Qian Jin, a contemptible Guanhai City, went to the Ministry of Officials on a business trip this time, and stayed here because he lost his way. ”

When the school official heard Qian Jinfen say, he couldn't help but wonder: "You are Qian Jin?" Is there a certificate? ”

Qian Jin threw his 100 household waist cards over. The school official took it and glanced at it a few times, and arched his hand and said: "It turns out that it is really a thousand households, and Li Bin, the official Jinyi Guard, was offended a lot just now." The officer turned around the alley and walked straight two more alleys to the entrance. With that, the officer led his subordinates away.

Qian Jin sighed that this fame is sometimes quite effective.

……

The two of them followed the instructions of the school official and finally found the official office of the official department.

The official office of this capital is magnificent. The whole official office of the official department is surrounded by a blue brick wall more than two meters high, there are two huge stone lions squatting at the main entrance, behind the stone lion is a vermilion gate, and above the door is a big plaque, on which the book 'Ministry of Officials' two golden characters.

A slight glance inside, all of them were antique wooden buildings, and there were no less than twenty large and small houses. Looking at the street in front of the ministry, it can be described as a crowd at the door, and it is even more solemn and solemn.

At this time, two stout yacha hands and waist knives stood on both sides of the gate. Qian Jin and the two stood still in front of the stone lion, and when they were about to step forward to talk, the two officials drank: "This is the government office of the ministry, and the idle people will retreat quickly." ”

Jin Taiming then stepped forward to sue for mercy and said: "Two poor masters, the contemptible person is Jin Taiming, a man from Guangdong, and he is here to order the officials this time." Please let me know. ”

One of the yachas, who had a beard on his face, glanced at Jin Taiming and said disdainfully: "Don't say that you look like a thief, even if you are really a person, this is not a place where you can come casually, so don't leave quickly." ”

Qian Jin knew the truth that the little ghost was difficult, so he hurriedly stuffed a tael of silver into the past, and said with a smile: "Two poor brothers, it is not easy for us to come from Guangdong, please let me know." ”

The two officials weighed the silver in their hands and showed a look of satisfaction. The bearded man smiled, "Okay, you wait here, I'll pass it on." ”

After the tea, the bearded man went back and said, "Don't say that I didn't help you, the big man in this ministry is rare for ordinary people to see." I have reported this matter to Director Lin of the Anthology Division, so come with me. ”

Qian Jin and the others hurriedly thanked him, and followed the bearded man into the gate of the ministry. The first thing that catches your eye is a stone screen with four big characters written on it: 'Honest and Honest'. Entering the main hall from the right, the bearded man led the two of them into a corner door, and through several corridors, to a side hall.

"Master Lin is inside, wait for you to be smart." The bearded man finished and left.

Qian Jin and the two glanced at each other, then knocked on the door gently, and saw that someone inside said 'Come in', so he gently pushed the door and entered. I saw a middle-aged official in a green robe sitting in front of the desk, holding a yellow book in his hand to look at it.

The middle-aged official was about fifty years old, with a ruddy complexion, a pair of fish-bubble eyes, slightly protruding cheekbones, and a wisp of goat's whisker on his chin. Presumably, this is the main task of Anthology Silin.

Qian Jin and the two didn't dare to disturb loudly. After the tea, Director Lin glanced at the two of them and asked, "Who is Jin Taiming?" ”

Jin Taiming hurriedly made a gesture and said, "The main thing, the student is." ”

Seeing that Jin Taiming didn't like it, Director Lin said with some disgust: "I already know your intentions. It's just that all official positions in the world are fixed, and only when officials are dismissed, promoted, resigned, or die, will they be vacant. I just took a look at the official register, and there are no official vacancies yet. ”

Jin Taiming saw that Director Lin said this, and estimated that this matter was difficult, and he didn't want to return in vain. When he was hesitating, Qian Jin stabbed him in the back and stuffed him with a money bag from behind, which contained twenty taels of silver. Jin Taiming hesitated for a moment, but still took the money bag, and said to Director Lin: "The student came by trekking through mountains and rivers, and he never brought a meeting gift. There are a few silver taels here, and I also ask Director Lin to smile. After that, Jin Taiming respectfully put the money bag in front of the case.

Wading through mountains and rivers picked up the money bag and flipped it, and said quietly: "Is there a shortage of officials, it's not that there is nothing." It's just a long way to go, so I'm afraid you don't want to go. ”

Jin Taiming said: "Everything is arranged by Director Lin. ”

Director Na Lin smiled and said: "Now that Yunnan is full of posts, are you willing to go?" ”

“……”

Qian Jin and Jin Taiming couldn't help but be stunned on the spot when they heard the words of Chief Lin.

This post is actually the one who manages the post station, and there is no quality. Moreover, the mountains of Yunnan are high and dense, and there are many epidemics, and the toast there will kill people if they don't agree with each other, so you don't care if you are an official of several grades. Therefore, this official shortage in Yunnan has always been an unpopularity, and few people are willing to go to a county order, let alone a post man.

Jin Taiming was so angry that the two mustaches on his lips were trembling. He calmed down and said, "Director Lin, Xiaguan is the first place in the Guangdong Township Examination, please also arrange a nearby errand for the sake of my old mother who needs to be taken care of at home." ”

Director Na Lin was already impatient, grabbed the money bag and smashed it on Jin Taiming's head, and roared in his mouth: "Do you think I am here in the vegetable market?" ”

Seeing that the situation was wrong, Qian Jin had already flashed forward to catch the money bag, and then helped Jin Taiming to walk out the door. When I arrived at the door, there was a sentence floating from behind: "Two dirt buns, I don't have any eyesight at all, what kind of official are you doing?" ”