strokinit Chapter 46 The Golden List!
Chapter 46 The Golden List!
At the outer city government office, there was an official document and four official notices posted on the wall.
Two bailiffs were maintaining order, and the street was already packed with people, making it impossible to move.
"I passed! I passed! Seventh on the list of successful candidates! I have achieved academic success! Mother! Mother!" A scholar in plain clothes, squeezed into the crowd, suddenly exclaimed excitedly, his expression losing all composure, and staggered home to report the good news.
Most of the people who looked at him were envious.
The simple phrase "passing the exam" is enough to change the fate of an ordinary person or even an entire family.
Soon, sighs of lamentation began to emanate from the crowd.
After all, only a very small number of people actually make the list; the rest are those who fail.
Shen Pan stood among the crowd, his gaze also falling on the four lists.
Two of them, with gold-edged patterns and a large official seal underneath, are the most eye-catching.
That is the high school's honor roll. Only the top ten students in both academic and athletic subjects are eligible to be nominated on the honor roll each year.
In other words, each year, only twenty people from each county can obtain this honor; the rest of the candidates are just there to make up the numbers.
The other two sheets were written on ordinary paper in small print, listing the names of the last ninety people.
This is also known as the scattered list or the silver list.
Those on the silver list have no official rank, but their scores are still quite good. Some of them are only one step away from the middle list. Displaying their names is both an encouragement and a good resume for these candidates.
Even without official rank, they could still find a way out and a job by taking the exam again the following year.
Shen Pan skipped the literature rankings and focused his gaze on the martial arts rankings.
The list of names only had ten names, and the characters were large enough to be scanned at a glance.
When he saw his name on it, his clenched fist relaxed.
He was only eighteen years old and had not yet come of age. Even though he was confident, he was still a little nervous when the results were announced.
Shen Pan, ranked third on the Martial Arts Ranking!
The second one is Xu Hong, an internal energy master in his thirties!
As for this year's martial arts champion...
"Brother Zhao, you really are number one! Number one on the martial arts ranking!"
Standing outside the crowd, Li Gou'er immediately spotted the name at the very top of the list.
He might not recognize his own name, but he definitely knows Zhao An.
His loud voice immediately drew the attention of many people.
Being number one on the honor roll is a remarkable achievement in this small county!
Zhao An was tall and burly, standing out like a crane among chickens in a crowd.
Many people from the outer city recognized Zhao An and came to congratulate him, offering words of congratulations and celebrations.
Zhao An's bad reputation among his neighbors has now largely disappeared.
After all, they were fortunate to have Zhao An, as they were no longer subjected to the exploitation and oppression of that evil gang and had enjoyed a few peaceful days.
Furthermore, Zhao An did not commit any further evil deeds, which was also the key to his improved reputation.
Zhao An cupped his hands in greeting and gave a few perfunctory replies.
"Congratulations, Brother Zhao." Li Tianhuai forced a smile and bowed to Zhao An.
Seeing his dejected expression, Zhao An looked at the list of successful candidates, but the name of this poor scholar was not on it.
"It's alright, we can take the exam again next year," Li Tianhuai said to Zhao An with a shake of his head and a sigh.
"Okay, take the exam again next year." Zhao An patted him on the shoulder.
Soon after, the county government dispatched officials to deliver the official documents and identification documents to Zhao An's courtyard.
Thus, Zhao An could be considered a martial arts performer with official backing!
Those who possess academic achievements can enter officialdom, be exempt from taxes and corvée labor, and even not have to kneel before the county magistrate!
Of course, if one does not want to be just a minor official, one can continue to take the prefectural examination to raise one's starting point in officialdom.
Zhao Anze has no immediate plans to pursue further academic achievements; having an official background as a martial arts student is enough for him.
It saves him a lot of trouble on a daily basis.
For example, martial arts performers have the power to eliminate evil and maintain order!
Even the constables and police officers in the outer city government wouldn't dare to cause trouble in front of him unless absolutely necessary.
In this way, when he encounters ordinary red-named criminals committing evil deeds in this outer city, he doesn't need to worry and can simply kill them.
"You two, from now on, go out into the streets and alleys every day, and write down any bullies or thugs you see who are swaggering around and oppressing their neighbors," Zhao An instructed Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi.
"Brother Zhao, what are you doing?" Li Gou'er asked, puzzled.
"Exercising my martial arts powers," Zhao An said calmly.
He planned to take a trip through the city every now and then to wipe out the red-named players who appeared. As for the guilds that frequented the city, he wouldn't let them get away with it either.
Now that he uses a lot of soul slaves and they are being depleted quickly, he naturally has to find ways to replenish them. He will also keep an eye out for people who have accumulated good deeds.
He wouldn't miss the opportunity to reap good results.
Now that he holds official rank and is considered a positive figure by the government, he can more easily gain the trust of ordinary people, which will also help him reap good rewards.
The outer city government office.
Zhao Ke was drinking alone in the side room, ignoring the constables under his command who were rolling dice.
"What's wrong, Brother Zhao? Why are you looking so worried? I heard you've recently become involved with the young lady of the Yu family in the inner city. Is that true?" Lu Yixiu walked into the side room and, seeing Zhao Ke, couldn't help but strike up a conversation.
"Don't put it so harshly, this is called mutual affection and love," Zhao Ke said irritably, a little drunk.
"If that's the case, shouldn't Brother Zhao be enjoying his success? Why is he drinking so bitterly?" Lu Yixiu couldn't help but ask.
"If you become a couple with that Miss Yu, you'll definitely be able to work in the inner city in the future."
Zhao Ke shook his head and muttered, "It's not that easy. That Master Yu probably looks down on us. The betrothal gift he's asking for is at least five hundred taels of silver. Where am I supposed to get that much money?"
Lu Yixiu understood immediately upon hearing this, and then said, "That's not a problem, you still have a good younger brother."
"That's Zhao An, the number one on this year's martial arts list! I heard even the Fan family, the county magistrate, gave him a gift of five hundred taels of silver, which is nothing more than a casual wave of your brother's hand."
"Hmph! Don't mention that ingrate!" Zhao Ke slammed his hand on the table and snorted coldly.
Mentioning Zhao An makes him angry.
Let alone asking for five hundred taels of silver, he was even rebuffed when he tried to host a celebratory banquet for Zhao An that day. In his opinion, Zhao An clearly wanted to sever ties with him.
He completely forgot who had kicked Zhao An out of the door and left him there.
"I thought Brother Zhao would be living the high life with your brother," Lu Yixiu sneered, unable to contain himself at Zhao Ke's exasperated state.
"Lu Yixiu, did you come here today specifically to make a fool of me?" Zhao Ke glared and said coldly.
"How could that be?" Lu Yixiu quickly suppressed his smile.
"I'm actually here to point out a way for Brother Zhao, and I guarantee you'll get the betrothal money and marry that Miss Yu as you wish!"
Zhao Ke was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Lu Yixiu to say that, then frowned and asked, "You have a way to earn five hundred taels?"
Subconsciously, he felt that such a good thing could not possibly fall into his lap.
"If you don't believe me, come with me and you'll see," Lu Yixiu said, finishing the wine on the table in one gulp and standing up.
"really?"
"really!"
Zhao Ke gave Lu Yixiu a deep look, and finally stood up.
The main reason was that he really had no other choice.
He couldn't possibly raise five hundred taels of silver on his own in a short time, so he had no choice but to trust Lu Yixiu.
The two walked out of the government office one after the other and went to a secluded place in the outer city.
The courtyard here is dilapidated, with charred ground everywhere, a pile of withered leaves left unattended, and a dry well.
A man lit a fire and sat there motionless.
There were several dead rats on the fire, being roasted by the flames.
"You're saying this person can give me five hundred taels?" Zhao Ke found it absurd, and his face showed some anger, thinking that Lu Yixiu had tricked him.
The person in front of me had several knife scars on his face, and was disheveled and dirty, looking every bit the beggar.
How can someone like that be rich?
"Look closely! Who is he!" Lu Yixiu whispered.
Zhao Ke then took a closer look.
Suddenly, his pupils dilated, his eyes widened, and he involuntarily took two steps back.
"This man is the third leader of Black Wind Stronghold!!"
"He...he's dead, isn't he?!"
"It is indeed Lord Yang Yi," Lu Yixiu said with a grin.
"That day, the new magistrate sent troops up the mountain. The three leaders pretended to be dead, but they are still alive."
"You colluded with Black Wind Stronghold?!" Zhao Ke finally realized what was happening and stared at Lu Yixiu in disbelief.
"Don't look at me like that. Now that you're here, you're just like me."
......