"No... How can I become an official without taking the imperial examination? Can such an official position just fall from the sky?"
"Burp," the young master burped, holding the wine glass and said:
"This young master started learning at the age of three, and my family hired the most expensive teacher."
After drinking the wine in his glass, he continued, "The teachers all praised my writing, and I worked very hard myself."
"Why do I keep failing the exams? It's so unfair!"
"It's not that God is unfair, it's that you didn't use the right method."
The man said, "Who would still foolishly study and wait for the imperial examinations that take place every three years? As long as your family has enough money, you can become an official at any time."
"Brother, could you please tell me in detail?" The young master personally poured a glass of wine for the man and pretended to listen attentively.
Seeing that he was so understanding, the man didn't say anything more.
He pointed to the next door with his thumb and said, "Ma Liuzi from the pawnshop has connections. He can contact the higher-ups and set a price for whatever you want."
"Brother Ma, how can I meet him?"
"You've finally asked the right person. I can take you there."
"But don't talk nonsense after you get there." The man picked up a piece of beef and ate it.
The young master hurriedly pushed all the dishes in front of him.
Waving his hand, the man said, "Since there aren't many people around right now, I'll take you to see it for yourself."
"Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother."
The master and servant thanked the man profusely and followed him away.
Arriving at the brokerage, the man approached and cordially greeted a middle-aged man reading the account books at the table: "Sixth Brother, good business."
Ma Liuzi looked up from his account book at the visitor and asked, "Wu Laizi, what brings you here?"
"Thank you for your concern, Sixth Brother." Wu Laizi bowed and said:
"I met this young man who was having some trouble while drinking, so I thought of helping him."
Ma Liuzi closed the account book and looked at Zhao Sheng and the other man: "Who is this?"
"I went to Beijing to take the imperial examination but failed, so I came to the tavern to drink to drown my sorrows." Wu Laizi signaled the young master to come forward with his eyes.
The young master clasped his fists and greeted Ma Liuzi: "Hello, Sixth Brother."
"Yeah." Ma Liuzi responded expressionlessly.
"Sixth brother, sixth brother, can you please talk to me for a moment?" Wu Laizi pulled Ma Liuzi into the inner room.
"This young master has failed the imperial examinations twice. His family is not short of money, but this fool is obsessed with becoming an official. I want to bring him to you to find a solution."
Ma Liuzi nodded and said, "Of course it's possible, but is this person reliable?"
"This young master has become stupid because of reading too much. He is very good at flattering people. If this deal goes through..." Wu Laizi rubbed his fingers and made a gesture of counting silver.
"Hmph, you will definitely get some benefits after the matter is accomplished."
"Thank you, Sixth Brother, for helping me make a fortune." Wu Laizi smiled.
After the two of them left, Wu Laizi said to the young master, "Sixth Brother has agreed to help you. If you have any requests, please tell me."
After saying that, he patted his shoulder and left.
"Thank you, Brother Wu." The master and servant hurriedly expressed their gratitude.
"Wu Laizi has told me everything about your situation. Let's go inside and talk in detail."
As he said that, he entered the room first.
After sitting down, the young master asked, "Brother Wu said that one can become an official without taking the imperial examination. I would like to ask if there are any other methods?"
"Buy an official position." Ma Liuzi said casually.
"Buy an official position? Can an official position be bought and sold?" The young master looked confused.
Ma Liuzi sneered: "As long as you have money, you can buy anything."
"Then...how do I buy it?"
"I wonder how high an official position you want to hold, sir?"
"The higher the official rank, the better!"
"The higher the official rank, the higher the price. I wonder what your family background is like?"
"This...I don't understand either."
At this time, the servant spoke up: "My young master has loved reading since he was young and never asked about family matters."
"When you're away from home, I take care of everything, so you don't have much idea about money."
"Mr. Liu, could you give me an example?"
After a moment's silence, Ma Liuzi said, "Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
"good."
The two watched Ma Liuzi leave.
"Boss, how's my acting?"
"Not bad, you're pretty good at pretending to be a stupid young master."
“…”
Zhao Sheng chuckled.
A moment later, Ma Liuzi came over with a price list.
"Here's the price list for the officials I can buy here. Take a look."
After saying that, he picked up the teacup and drank the tea by himself.
The servant picked up the price list and looked at it with the young master.
The two of them watched very seriously and asked Ma Liuzi some questions from time to time.
"Can I buy an official position in Jinling? I don't want to go too far from home."
Ma Liuzi promised, "As long as it's within Jiangnan, I have connections."
"That's great." The young master's eyes sparkled, "I finally have an official position!"
"Master, please be patient. We don't have that much money on us."
The servant looked at the price marked on the back without blinking, which showed that the family was indeed wealthy.
"Have you two made your choice?" Ma Liuzi carefully observed their facial expressions and pondered carefully in his mind.
"Well, this, is this the Dongfu County Magistrate?"
"This is the place closest to home." The young master was very happy.
After thinking carefully for a moment, Ma Liuzi replied, "Okay."
"It seems that this young master is a little foolish, but he is not stupid, and he does not have too big ambitions."
Thinking this way, Ma Liuzi said to them, "Pay the money."
"You haven't told me the process of buying an official position and how to take office." The servant was quite cautious.
"If you cheat us out of our money and our young master doesn't become an official, wouldn't we be at a loss?"
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