Bai Jiao gladly accepted the group of Wang family members that Wang Conglin brought.
Now is the time when manpower is most needed. Bai Jiao only wants more, not less. As soon as people arrive, he immediately assigns them to various positions. Wherever manpower is needed, whether it is the county government, the school, or the village, Bai Jiao is not bound by convention.
Surprisingly, the Wang family complied with the arrangement without offering any objections.
Today happens to be the day of the county government's examination for recruiting talent. The venue is set at the main gate of the county government office. There are thirty candidates who have registered to become officials. This examination is specifically designed for officials.
The constables stood aside to maintain order, while onlookers gathered around. Bai Jiao sat at the head of the table.
Qi Nuan and Xu Erniang distributed the test papers, and then Qi Nuan, the old gentleman, and the officials in charge of previous recruitment examinations patrolled the area to prevent anyone from cheating.
Naturally, some of them were members of the Wang family.
Talented people are always proud. Although they could be hired directly, knowing that the county government was holding this exam, some people naturally wanted to see it for themselves, and Bai Jiao did not stop them.
However, if the ranking is too low, the county government will select the best candidates; if not, Bai Jiao will not be considered a waste.
Although the scene was crowded, it was unusually quiet, with only the sounds of exam papers being turned and pens being written on, as well as the footsteps of Qi Nuan and his team as they patrolled the area.
The people standing on the periphery tried to peek out from under their noses to see what the questions on the candidates' exam papers were, but they were too far away to see. After several attempts, they had no choice but to give up their curiosity and watch quietly from the sidelines.
Some candidates were writing furiously, some were frowning and unable to put pen to paper, and some remained calm, occasionally pausing to write.
This naturally aroused great curiosity among onlookers.
But they had no choice but to patiently wait for the result.
Time passed minute by minute. Some people couldn't wait and left first, while others quietly watched the candidates answer the questions.
Qi Nuan looked at the question above.
Question 1: In today's financial management, land reclamation is essential, and water conservancy is urgent. Let us examine past events. Since the separation of soldiers and farmers and the abolition of well-management and pastoralism, the idea of land reclamation arose. Some say it greatly relieved the people's burden. Could you explain its rationale?
Examining the events of that time, the garrisoning of Jincheng, the cultivation of land in Dunhuang, the farming in the border regions, and the stockpiling of grain in Hezhong were all noteworthy achievements. But which was truly superior? And could their strategies for adaptation be adopted and implemented today?
Since the fields were opened up and the ditches were damaged, the idea of water conservancy arose. Some said that recruiting people to repair them would achieve two goals at once. Could you elaborate on this?
Upon careful examination, the Longshou Weir, the Liufu Canal, the Xinfeng Pond, and the Chiyang Dam were all famous at the time. Which one was truly superior?
Looking at this candidate again, Qi Nuan was walking forward before even starting to answer the question.
At this moment, the old man stood in front of a candidate. The old man looked displeased, and the candidate seemed to sense something, feeling anxious and afraid that he had made a mistake.
His hand holding the calligraphy brush trembled slightly, and with a "plop," the ink on the brush dripped onto the exam paper, turning the questions he had already answered into a blot of ink.
The handwriting at the beginning was no longer legible, and the examinee's face turned deathly pale.
In his haste, he put down his brush, nearly knocking over the inkstone. He then picked up the exam paper and was about to blow on it.
However, this only made the stains grow bigger and bigger.
The old man shook his head inwardly, but showed no sign on his face, and walked away from him.
His mental fortitude was too poor, and his reactions were too chaotic and disorganized.
The sun has slowly moved from the horizon to high in the sky. Time is running out, and many people have not yet finished answering the questions.
When the sun was directly overhead, the bailiffs rang the bell, and the sound instantly spread throughout the entire area.
"The exam time is up. All candidates, please stop writing and hand in your papers."
After doing this three times, Qi Nuan and the old man began to collect the papers.
"Could you please give me a little more time?"
Qi Nuan and her team showed no mercy to the candidates who had not finished answering the questions, collecting all the test papers with expressionless faces.
Bai Jiao placed all the exam papers on the desk.
He announced loudly to the crowd: "Now all candidates may go and have a meal and rest. When the screening begins, the papers will be graded on the spot."
The bailiff then said, "All citizens may rest and eat, or remain where they are, but they must not make loud noises."
When the crowd heard that the grading would not begin until the afternoon, most of the people watching decided to go home for lunch and come back later, with only a few remaining in place.
However, the candidates refused to leave and stayed in place to wait for the results.
The food was brought here by family members, and they ate it on the spot.
Bai Jiao and Qi Nuan's lunch was also brought by the county officials. After they finished their meal at a leisurely pace, they began to look at the exam papers.
The exam paper is divided into five parts.
One type of question is a fill-in-the-blank question, which requires candidates to answer questions based on the literary classics they have studied.
The second part consists of problem-solving questions, covering the meanings of ancient and modern learning, and the roles of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
The third topic is the debate: "With lessons from the past, why not do it?" and "Right and wrong."
Four-dimensional arithmetic problems, the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, and market transactions.
The fifth topic is policy discussion: matters concerning the world and actions that benefit the people.
The exam papers were all sealed with names, and the ten people were divided into five groups, with two people per group grading a portion of the content.
Bai Jiao and the old gentleman reviewed the fifth part of the exam questions together, Qi Nuan and the county yamen clerk reviewed the fourth part of the exam questions together, and Fang Hongyuan, a great scholar invited from Wang Family Academy, reviewed the third part of the exam questions together with Mr. Wu, who was originally from the county yamen school.
The remaining four people were divided into two groups, each taking turns to complete Part 2 and Part 1.
When the screening began, the scene was completely silent, with only the soft sounds of turning the exam papers and Bai Jiao and the others.
Everyone held their breath, afraid of disturbing the group.
Three people from the Wang family came to take the exam. They exchanged glances, and Wang Congyong shook his head at the other two, as he himself was quite nervous at this moment.
He thought this exam would be a piece of cake, but some of the questions were unexpected.
However, as he looked around, he wondered who could compare to the Wang family?
Ji Jin also participated in this exam, at Bai Jiao's special request.
Although Ji Jin is stubborn and doesn't seem very smart, he is quite capable. As the county magistrate, he should let others know that he is not without capable people.
Ji Jin's face remained calm, showing no sign of nervousness or anticipation for the exam.
There was only one person present, with a smile on his face, looking very happy and confident about the exam.
Those outside the examination room naturally observed the candidates' reactions, and some had been paying attention to the situation from the beginning of the exam, taking their reactions to heart.
At this point, some people had already started betting on who among them would win first place in the exam.
The public was very enthusiastic about participating. As time went by, people got a little bored and started gambling nearby.
They witnessed the entire examination process firsthand, so they were very confident in their choice.
Some candidates were already well-known, while others were not.
So who should we choose?
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