OBS Chapter 237 Truly, that's fucking amazing!
Chapter 237 Truly, that's fucking amazing!
It is well known that cultivating top-notch engineering students is more difficult than cultivating top-notch humanities students.
Especially these craftsmen who were sent to Ningyang County by Old Zhu and Little Zhu, any one of them could probably be a master craftsman. Asking them to handcraft aircraft carriers and nuclear bombs would be out of the question, but asking them to handcraft nuts, gun barrels and the like should be no problem.
Perhaps these craftsmen also possess their own unique skills, the kind that are passed down only to sons but not sons-in-law, or daughters-in-law but not daughters.
Yang Shaofeng felt he would feel guilty if he didn't properly manage and utilize these engineering whizzes.
Of course, treating these craftsmen like cattle and horses would be a waste of their talents.
The best course of action would be to have them train apprentices, one batch after another. After all, Magistrate Yang's requirements are not too high. Even if the apprentices he trains are not as good as them, as long as their skills are acceptable, they can be used as long as they are passable.
After making up his mind, Yang Shaofeng's eyes became burning with enthusiasm as he looked at the 318 craftsmen.
Magistrate Yang directly instructed the lame man who had just returned: "Lame man, after they have all registered, remember to arrange accommodations for the three scholars, and make sure they are close to the Confucian Temple."
"These students were arranged to live closer to the county government office."
“The artisans were placed in a relatively empty place that was close to the workshop, so that they could form their own quarters or several quarters.”
……
Chen Mo was completely numb.
There were twenty-six students, more than three hundred craftsmen, and their families, totaling nearly 1,200 people. The household registration book that Magistrate Yang produced was quite complicated, and he certainly couldn't register all 1,200 people in a short time on his own. He would have to select a few students from the twenty-six students to help.
So here's the question: which student would be willing to do such strenuous work? Choosing which student to take on means offending that student!
Damn it, I was appointed as the temporary clerk, and before I even officially took office, I had to offend the six clerks.
Wu Yanhu was just as numb as Chen Mo.
Normally, a county magistrate is an official of the eighth rank. In special counties like Ningyang and Qufu, the county magistrate is an official of the seventh rank, who is a formally appointed official with a formal position and salary.
At the very least, those proper county magistrates are called "Second Masters," and they have their own offices. When the county magistrate is away on business or goes to the capital to report on his duties, the county magistrate can temporarily take over the county magistrate's work. Unlike me, I only have the title of "temporary county magistrate," but in reality, I have no official position, no salary, and no power whatsoever. Compared to a proper county magistrate, I do the same work or even more, but the treatment I enjoy is worlds apart.
For example, right now, before Chen Mo selects a few clerks to help with household registration, I, as the "acting county magistrate," have to first arrange for the remaining students to become clerks in the six departments for Magistrate Yang.
In addition, institutions such as Chengfafang and Jiageku, which did not exist in Ningyang County before, also need to start making preparations.
A whole host of tasks that I should have done myself, or shouldn't have done myself, have now all become my responsibility.
That's absolutely outrageous!
Compared to Chen Mo and Wu Yanhu, Lü Peng had it much easier. After all, the prison in Ningyang County was empty, and as the clerk, he basically had nothing to do.
The only thing that bothered Lü Peng was that he also had to take on the job of "Ningyang County Instructor".
Compared to the three scholars, the remaining twenty-six students were truly devastated and wished they could die.
What did the officials in the capital say when they tricked us into coming to Ningyang County?
The idea was that they would come to Ningyang County with three scholars, who would then teach at the county school. The students, who were also students, would follow them to the school and serve as teachers to the peasants of Ningyang County for a period of time. When the county-level examination was held, they could then take the exam to obtain the title of scholar.
Now, things are really messed up. While they are studying in school, they are also forced to serve as clerks in the six departments, working like slaves for this guy surnamed Yang.
This is just bullying honest people!
The students felt wronged and wanted to cry.
However, upon seeing the yamen runner whom Magistrate Yang called "Lame Five" brandishing his waist knife, and seeing all the yamen runners in the hall staring at them with unfriendly expressions, the students could only swallow their anger and immediately demonstrate to Magistrate Yang what it means for a man not to easily shed tears—even though tears were welling up in their eyes, they resolutely refused to let them fall to the ground!
As a result, the twenty-six students were all obediently assigned to the Sixth Division by Wu Yanhu. Then, the students assigned to the Household Division and the Ritual Division were taken by Chen Mo to help register the household registers for the craftsmen.
However, the three scholars and twenty-six students soon felt aggrieved.
"I know you all have come from afar and have had a hard time. It is truly not easy for you to handle so many miscellaneous tasks for me now."
Magistrate Yang chuckled and said, "I will submit a memorial to the Ministry of Personnel to apply for official positions, robes, and salaries for you. Before the Ministry of Personnel approves, we will pay you the salaries in silver as provided by the court."
"Furthermore, since you have settled in Ningyang County, you will be allocated the land you are entitled to without any shortfall. For the time being, each household will be allocated 15 mu per adult male. The same applies to oxen and seeds. Each household will be allocated one large animal, either an ox, a mule, or a draft horse. Seeds and farm tools will also be provided by the county government. Tax exemptions and reductions will be handled in accordance with the regulations of the imperial court. Those of you in charge of the household registration and public works departments, please remember to implement these matters."
"After you've registered your household registration, Brother Limpy Fifth will take you to arrange your accommodations. Those courtyards currently belong to the county government, and if you have the money, you can buy them directly."
"Actually, Ningyang County is just a small county, and a poor county. There are not many people. Including you, there are only about three thousand people. So there are not many things to worry about. The most troublesome thing is the household registration you are doing now. You have plenty of time to study. If you really don't want to be an assistant official or clerk, you can wait until the court holds the provincial examination and then take the exam for official rank."
The twenty-nine liberal arts students gradually felt relieved.
Having money to work, an easy job, and a certain level of preferential treatment seems pretty good, right?
Just as these liberal arts students were lost in thought, Magistrate Yang said with no small amount of pride, "The people of our Ningyang County are the kind and good people that both Prime Minister Xu and Grand Secretary Chang have praised. They don't do anything like petty theft, fighting, or brawling. They don't even play poker. There's simply no place more worry-free than being an official in our Ningyang County."