Chapter 63

"Meet your aunt," Li Yuanwai said in a deep voice.

Li Zhen, Li Wan yuan, and Li Feier had no choice but to respectfully call out "Aunt."

However, they were puzzled. Li Fushi Qin Shi's hometown was quite far away, in Huazhou. In the past, due to the private goods trade, Qin Shi's father and Li Yuanwai's father had become acquainted and had a good relationship, eventually leading to a marriage alliance.

In ancient times, most marriages were like this. Even Wang Ju was not very opposed.

Although they were far apart, the two families still interacted frequently due to the private goods trade. The Li siblings knew several elders from the Qin family, so where did this aunt come from?

"The niece looks so beautiful," Lu Shi's eyes lit up.

"Aunt, you flatter me. You can go down now," Li Yuanwai said.

This relative was strange. She could be considered a Qin family member, but her husband was a distant relative of his wife. It was hard to trace back to which generation, and it was the New Year.

But this distant uncle had now become the magistrate of Hucheng, and Li Yuanwai had to muster his energy to deal with him.

"Aunt, what brings you here this time?" Li Yuanwai asked directly.

"I came for a personal favor."

"We are family, why talk about personal favors?"

"Then I'll say it. I have a nephew who is quite useless. I heard that in Yanzhou there is a kind of jade salt. Can he be involved in it?"

"This... It's not my sole business, and I can't make the decision alone," Li Yuanwai finally understood. In fact, last year, they had absorbed many large families from Guanzhong and other regions as shareholders.

This was a helpless situation. In Yanzhou, they were the local power, and they played a role. But outside Yanzhou, they couldn't compete with the local powers, even with official support.

Thus, over twenty families gathered and discussed a plan. They selectively absorbed influential families from other regions, and the shareholding structure was relatively simple. Each time they bought salt coupons in the capital, they would exchange them for salt, process it, and sell it. Once the fine salt was sold out, it would be a new beginning, avoiding financial disputes.

Moreover, the technology was not complex, and even with continuous improvements, it wouldn't last long.

But they were selective.

Not only did the family need to be influential and supportive, but they also had to have a good reputation locally. Otherwise, if they were too selfish, internal conflicts would arise.

This strategy had expanded the sales of fine salt to the south, reaching Bashu, to the east, reaching Bingzhou, and even to the capital, covering almost three million households. This was the aggressive market capture strategy Wang Ju had mentioned, maximizing profits before the jade salt market became saturated.

Magistrate Qin was the magistrate of Hucheng, a key position on the Tongguan route. It would be good to have him join, but the key was not Magistrate Qin himself, but Lu Shi's nephew. Li Yuanwai didn't even know Magistrate Qin, let alone this nephew.

"I heard you are a major shareholder."

"That's true, but I'm not the largest shareholder," Li Yuanwai said with a bitter smile. The largest shareholders were the Zhu and Zhao families. Who could blame them for their good luck? If not for his daughter, he might not even be the third-largest shareholder.

"How about this: we will soon be buying the fourth batch of salt coupons. At that time, each family will send a manager to the Jingzhao Prefecture to discuss and absorb some new shareholders. I can introduce your nephew. But I need to know some details about him so that everyone can agree."

"Is it that difficult?"

"Yes, it is. The profit is quick, and adding new shareholders will affect others' earnings. Therefore, new shareholders must help with the sales of jade salt and have good character, not causing any disharmony."

It was hard to say more. Every family had connections. Sooner or later, this would happen, but it shouldn't start with him. If it came to connections, some people had far better backgrounds than this so-called aunt.

Lu Shi was thinking.

Li Yuanwai sipped his tea, thinking, "Aunt, take your time. I've been very clear. My agreement alone won't do; we need to convince over fifty shareholders."

"How old is your niece?"

"You mean Feier? She is fourteen."

"Is she betrothed?"

Li Yuanwai immediately became alert and said, "Yes."

"To whom?"

"To a student of Magistrate Zhang Zai of Yunyan County. Zhang Zai treats him like his own child."

"Which Zhang Zai?"

Li Yuanwai was a bit confused but didn't show it. He said, "After he passed the imperial examination, Chancellor Wen highly appreciated his talent and had him lecture on the *I Ching* at the Great State Temple in the capital, sitting in a tiger-skin chair. He is a well-known Confucian scholar."

"Why is he just a magistrate of Yunyan County?"

"Although Magistrate Zhang is still a county magistrate, he was promoted from a judicial officer to a county magistrate in less than five years."

This was the Song Dynasty's system for promoting officials based on their performance.

The imperial examination list of Jiayou 2nd year was star-studded. As Wang Ju thought, talent was one part, but luck was another. The top three of that year had nothing to do with these great figures. How many people know the names of the top three: Zhang Heng, Dou Bian, and Luo Kai?

But it was very important. Not only was it an honor to be named at the top, but it also determined the starting point of one's career. Emperor Taizong divided the Jinshi into three grades, which later became five, and during the Tian Sheng period, it was divided into six grades. The top five were the first grade, the second grade was the first class, and the sixth grade was the fifth class. Later, it was changed again, with the top five being the first class, the second class being about ten to twenty people, the third and fourth classes being about a hundred people, and the fifth class being the rest. The first class was granted the title of Jinshi and the rank of Wenlin Lang, the second class was granted the title of Jinshi and the rank of Congshi Lang, the third and fourth classes were granted the title of Jinshi, and the fifth class was granted the title of Tong Jinshi.

So, the top scholar Zhang Heng started as a vice-magistrate of a large state, Huzhou. Su Dongpo was in the second class (not second place, probably between sixth and twentieth), and after mourning, he was appointed as a clerk of Fuchang, an eighth-rank position. But he was lucky, with Ouyang Xiu's support, he was allowed to take the special examination and achieved a rare third-class result, immediately being appointed as a judge and a clerk of Fengxiang Prefecture. Even so, his starting point was not as high as Zhang Heng's.

Zhang Zai, like Fan Zhongyan, was probably in the third class, possibly the fourth, so he was only a ninth-rank judicial officer.

Wang Shao's ranking was probably even worse, so he was not appointed for a long time and went to Qin Prefecture and He Prefecture to start his legendary career.

But this was a starting point. Entering the bureaucracy also involved a process of promotion, usually every three years, based on performance. Fan Zhongyan took nine years to become a county magistrate, while Zhang Zai took only four years, which was not slow.

Lu Shi's face turned sour.

It took only four years for someone to become a county magistrate, but how many years did it take her husband to become one?

In fact, Wang Ju's six bows were extremely impressive.

The first bow produced an elementary textbook.

Zhang Zai immediately saw its value and rewrote it. Given Wang Ju's young age, even if he wrote something like the *Chibi Fu*, people would still point out its flaws. Of course, there would be surprise.

But Zhang Zai had the knowledge to rewrite it, and the rewritten *Disciple's Rules* was even better than the original.

Then Zhang Zai had it printed. With about a thousand characters, it was easy to carve and print on six or seven pages, making it inexpensive. He distributed it to the countryside, making it the second elementary textbook alongside the *Hundred Family Surnames*.

Good things eventually shine, and with Zhang Zai's reputation, it quickly spread.

The remaining five bows were even more profound, delving into the core of Confucianism. Only the sixth bow was overlooked, as the concept of "preserving heavenly principles and extinguishing human desires" was not yet popular. If promoted, it would mean no hugging sisters or watching dances, which would be hard for Kou Zhun, Su Dongpo, Han Qi, and Xiao Song. No enjoying fine food, which would be hard for Lu Mengzheng. No enjoying fine wine, which would be hard for Shi Zhongli.

So many scholars were curious. If just the bow ceremony was so impressive, what did this master and disciple talk about in their daily lives? Some even wished they could live in Zhang Zai's house to listen.

But this cousin-in-law probably wouldn't be interested.

There was another matter. Zhu Huan's second son ranked second in the local examination last year.

When the results were announced, Zhu Jun said, "Without the guidance of the young Wang, I would not have passed."

But what was Wang Ju like then? A wild boy from a small village, now studying with a famous Confucian scholar for a long time. How much had he evolved?

PS: Thank you, Gu Yue Mo Hai, for the 1888起点币 (Qidian coins) donation.

Thank you all for your support, and for helping me break a record. It feels great.

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