Chapter 261: The Road to High Office 61

Chapter 261: The Road to High Office 61

In the first round, those who were eliminated were mostly those who were not skilled in embroidery. Their vision tests were generally passed, as they could clearly distinguish between people 25 meters away and spools of thread within a foot.

For the embroidery section, Cheng Ge Er had prepared a pre-embroidered picture of a dragonfly frolicking among lotus flowers. He asked the candidates to replicate this image. In the end, only six barely met his requirements.

Among these six were two sisters, Cao Fei and Cao Fang, daughters of a minor landlord from Daji Town. Coming from a wealthy family, they had been exposed to embroidery early and thus had a solid foundation in the craft.

Of the remaining four, Qiao Yun, a young man, made a living by sewing and mending clothes with his mother, and thus had a good grounding in embroidery.

Wang Yingying, a young girl, had a mother who had once worked as an embroidery artisan in an embroidery workshop in Liaobei, giving her a somewhat prestigious background.

As for the remaining two, Cao Qin and Wang Ye, they were kept as backups by Cheng Ge Er. Although they didn’t manage to embroider any patterns, they at least outlined the contours, showing some talent as farm girls.

Cheng Ge Er had them as backups because he anticipated that the sisters might not endure the hardships.

Coming from a minor landlord’s family, they were young ladies who likely had servants at home. Asking them to do servant-like work, he doubted they would have much patience...

As Cheng Ge Er predicted, during the second round of patience testing, the sisters couldn’t sit still for even an hour, complaining it was too hard and their eyes were straining.

This four-hour test concluded the selection.

The final four who remained were Qiao Yun, Wang Yingying, Cao Qin, and Wang Ye.

Cheng Ge Er and Mrs. Cao Zhou read the contract aloud in front of their parents—

The contract essentially stated a four-month learning period, during which they had to pass the master’s assessment. If successful, they would work for the embroidery workshop for five years, receiving a monthly salary of one tael of silver.

If they failed the assessment, they would still be provided with three meals a day and a monthly allowance of 10 copper coins until they passed.

After five years, if they chose not to continue working at the workshop, they were prohibited from engaging in related industries for three years as per the contract.

If they continued working at the workshop after five years, a new contract would be drafted, increasing their monthly salary to three taels.

The four families, hearing the terms, realized their children had a shot at a better future! They eagerly urged their children to press their fingerprints and sign the contract.

They were so thrilled they were on the verge of tears—one tael of silver!

That’s twelve taels a year, and saving up, how much silver would that be?

The four children also silently vowed to pass the assessment within four months!

"With the contracts signed, go home, pack your things. Meet me at Youfu Inn tomorrow at Chen hour, and I’ll take you to Lingbei County," Cheng Ge Er said gently to the four children, who would now become his apprentices.

"Yes!"

"Lord Xu, I’ve prepared a meal. Let the children have dinner before they go back," Mrs. Cao Zhou said, having heard from her husband about the kind actions of County Magistrate Xu and his spouse, and wanting to show her appreciation.

"Very well."

Mrs. Cao Zhou gave a nod to her maid, who smilingly led the four families to dine.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Cao Zhou had a reason to keep Cheng Ge Er and the others for a feast.

"Minister Xu, I specifically had the chef learn some Dongxiang cuisine. I hope it’s done right," Town Head Cao said with a smile, raising his glass. "Please, give us your expert opinion."

Chopped pepper fish head, stir-fried pork with chili, blood duck, grandmother’s pickles, steamed cured meats...

Looking at the ten dishes of his hometown cuisine before him, Xu Zeping said warmly, "Since coming to Lingbei, I haven’t had the chance to enjoy my hometown’s dishes. Today, you’ve gone to great lengths, Town Head Cao."

Then, he raised his cup to toast Town Head Cao.

After being praised, Town Head Cao beamed like a blooming flower: "Your Excellency's presence is a great honor for Cao."

"Town Head Cao, your thoughtfulness is noted in my heart." Empty promises were a new trick Xu Zeping had recently picked up.

"Ah, ah, ah," Cao Deren gesticulated excitedly: "Your Excellency, I do not seek for you to remember my thoughts, only that you might occasionally think of our Daji Town, that is my only wish."

"Yes, these delicacies were all offered by the townsfolk to Your Excellency," Cao Kang chimed in at the right moment, smoothing over Cao Deren's words.

Cao Jian wanted to join the conversation but had no chance to interject, so he could only sit in the corner with Old Master Cao, watching dryly.

After three rounds of drinks, the conversation began to flow.

Cao Jian felt it was time to make his move and approached Xu Zeping with a cup in hand, respectfully offering a toast: "Minister Xu, I have long admired you. Today, I am honored to have the chance to toast you."

Cao Kang had been waiting for this moment. He used the act of drinking to hide his smile behind his sleeve—the fish had finally taken the bait.

Xu Zeping had a rough idea of the scheme laid out by Cao Kang and his wife. No wonder they always wanted to keep them for meals at the Cao residence; they wanted to use him as a tool!

However, seeing how well Cao Kang handled things, he was willing to give him this face.

"Who are you?" Xu Zeping pretended not to recognize Cao Jian, feigning ignorance.

"I am Cao Jian, Cao Kang's younger brother," Cao Jian replied eagerly, smiling appropriately.

"Brother?" Xu Zeping suddenly realized: "Oh, you are Cao Kang's half-brother."

Cao Jian's face stiffened, and he replied reluctantly: "Yes, but my relationship with my elder brother is very close; we grew up together."

"Close? No wonder," Xu Zeping clicked his tongue: "So close that you can disregard the law and split the family property equally—that's quite rare."

Cao Jian's legs gave way, and he immediately knelt on the ground.

Old Master Cao also broke out in a cold sweat, looking to Cao Deren for help.

Cao Deren, hearing this, felt a chill down his spine. When it came to dividing the family property, his incompetent brother had gone behind his back to seek out the former county magistrate, offering him many benefits.

The former county magistrate, seeing it as a family matter and no lives at stake, turned a blind eye and let it pass.

Cao Deren, understanding the situation, was about to speak when Cao Kang smoothly took over.

"Ah, Your Excellency, you may not know, but a few years ago, I received a prophecy from a master that before the age of thirty, I should not have too much wealth, as it would hinder my descendants," Cao Kang skillfully smoothed things over: "My father, concerned for my descendants, suggested putting the land under Xiao Jian's name until I turned thirty, after which it would be returned."

The laws of the Great Jing Dynasty clearly stipulated that in the division of family property between a legitimate son and a half-brother, the legitimate son would take seventy percent; if the legitimate son had no male descendants, the half-brother could split the property equally with the legitimate son.

Cao Kang was not only the legitimate son but also had two healthy sons, so Cao Jian taking fifty percent of the property was unjustifiable anywhere.

Seeing Cao Kang's lips moving to take away the land under his name, Cao Jian was furious but dared not make a scene, only looking pitifully at his uncle for support.

"Yes, Kang's words are true," Cao Dehuai, fearing the Cao family would be implicated, quickly added, "Last month, Kang turned thirty, and Dehuai has been talking about transferring the land registry these past few days. Dehuai, isn't that right?"

Hearing his name mentioned, Cao Dehuai no longer dared to play dumb and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, tomorrow I will go to the yamen."

...

At the family banquet, Madam Jiang, taking advantage of Cheng Ge Er's influence, thoroughly mocked the sister-in-law who had once oppressed her.

The Xu family was harmonious, and since Xu Zeping and his brother did not live together, Cheng Ge Er had never experienced the infighting between sisters-in-law.

He had heard Madam Jiang talk about household strife—either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind, especially when two brothers are not from the same mother, making it even more treacherous.

Cheng Ge Er instinctively touched his belly, thinking of his elder brother and Pingping. He hoped that if they had a baby in the future, it would be like Pingping and his brother, supporting each other.

After the banquet ended, Cao Kang and his wife respectfully escorted Xu Zeping and his husband back to the inn, then sincerely apologized, promising that such an incident would not happen again and thanking them for their assistance.

Xu Zeping gave a slight nod, keeping his words to himself.

After Cao Kang and his wife left, the couple washed up and prepared to rest.

When Xu Zeping returned with water, wanting to say a few words to Cheng Ge Er, he found that the little pig was already asleep again.

Xu Zeping smiled helplessly, thinking it was just like hibernation.

After a good night's sleep, it was early morning once more.

With his usual good temper, Xu Zeping dressed the little pig still in bed, repeating the previous day's routine until Cheng Ge Er sat in front of the copper mirror to tie up his hair and finally woke up.

Today, without making any excuses, he said straightforwardly, "I was just sleepy and wanted to sleep, what's wrong with that?"

Xu Zeping hid his smile behind his fist and spoke gently, "Xiang'er, I didn't say anything, why are you so agitated?"

Cheng Ge Er gave a light snort, "I just wanted to explain, is that too much to ask?"

"Allowed, everything as you wish."

Xu Zeping's good temper left Cheng Ge Er with no place to vent his frustration.

After tying up his hair, he didn't want Xu Zeping to help him with the hairpin anymore. He simply took the pomegranate hairpin from the table, pinned it to his bun, and stomped downstairs in a huff.

"I specially asked the innkeeper to cook some dumplings, would you like to have some?" Xu Zeping approached him with a shameless grin, blinking his big eyes, "What do you say?"

Cheng Ge Er grabbed the chopsticks from Xu Zeping and snapped, "No chili."

"Breakfast shouldn't be too spicy, it's good for the stomach."

"But I just want to eat something spicy!" Cheng Ge Er, for some reason, felt extremely wronged and couldn't control his nose from souring, "If there's none, I won't eat!"

Seeing the young master with teary eyes, Xu Zeping was immediately at a loss and quickly soothed, "Alright, alright, I'll go ask the innkeeper for chili right away."

"I want chili oil."

"Alright, alright."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge Er finally smiled through his tears.

When he went downstairs, he saw that the four children had already been brought to the inn by their families, standing awkwardly in the lobby at the age of twelve or thirteen.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

Xu Zeping's question made the four children's stomachs growl, and Qiao Yun boldly said, "Sir, it's still early, not yet time for lunch, we're not hungry."

The Cao family's carriage hadn't arrived yet, so Xu Zeping asked the innkeeper to arrange four bowls of noodles for the children, while he himself went upstairs with chili oil, still needing to coax the little ancestor.