The first Repeating Straw Puppet he wove staggered about, unable to stand steadily.
The second Repeating Straw Puppet still walked with a limp, but its body was already stable.
The third Repeating Straw Puppet moved increasingly quickly.
When Xue Wenzhong returned from making a round through the front courtyard, he was stunned to see a straw puppet striding as swiftly as the wind in the rear courtyard; a second leaping among the haystacks; a third swinging beneath the locust tree; a fourth turning grain nearby; and a fifth weeding the vegetable garden.
Although several "failed products" had overturned vegetable baskets, knocked down clothes poles, and startled the chickens and ducks into flight, Xue Wenzhong ignored them entirely.
He stared at those Repeating Straw Puppets that had begun to take on a lifelike quality, then hurried over to Zhao Xing, who was setting up the clothes rack and collecting the vegetable baskets. "I was gone for less than an hour, and you made all of these?"
Zhao Xing looked at the somewhat messy rear courtyard and said apologetically, "Sorry, Elder Xue. I'll have it cleaned up soon. It's just that one duck has already flown over the fence... I'll compensate you with another one!"
The wrinkles on Xue Wenzhong's face bunched together with his smile. He grabbed Zhao Xing. "What does one duck matter? Leave it alone!"
He patted Zhao Xing on the shoulder. "Work hard. Strive for a Grade A in the Winter Assessment. Once you pass next spring's Temple Examination and receive a Formal Appointment, there will surely be a place for you."
Zhao Xing froze for a moment. Once he realized Old Sima Nong was not blaming him, he smiled and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Teacher."
"It's just that the Ministry of Agriculture is full of talented people, while my status is low. I may not necessarily be able to compete with them..."
Xue Wenzhong understood what Zhao Xing had left unsaid. He was referring to the other Ministers of Agriculture taking benefits from their subordinates, providing private coaching, and offering them vigorous support.
"You possess such talent, yet I overlooked it before. That was truly my failing. From now on, you may come to the rear courtyard every day and study for an extra hour."
That was precisely the result Zhao Xing had wanted from his hesitation. Xue Wenzhong's words already implied that he regarded him as a disciple. How could Zhao Xing fail to seize the opportunity?
His form of address changed at once. He bowed deeply and said, "This disciple thanks Teacher for your nurturing grace."
Xue Wenzhong had acted on a Heart's Blood Surge. He had never fought or competed in the past, but in his old age, seeing such a promising seedling stirred some thoughts in him. Thus, he solemnly accepted the bow.
"Keep working hard. Do not waste your talent. Do your work well, and sooner or later, you will rise above the rest. I do not care what others do. If you still cannot get in next year, then I will step down and yield my position to you!"
If another superior had said that, Zhao Xing would have taken it as empty promises.
But when Xue Wenzhong said it, it carried considerable credibility. First, his character was one that valued trust and promises. Second, he was already advanced in years and could have chosen to retire long ago.
If there were not enough slots when the time came, and Zhao Xing's ranking happened to fall right on the edge, Xue Wenzhong might truly step down and yield his place.
"Thank you, Teacher. I will study and work hard, and I will not disappoint your expectations."
Over the next three days, Zhao Xing learned a fourth method of weaving straw puppets from Xue Wenzhong.
Even Xue Wenzhong was astonished by Zhao Xing's progress. After all, Zhao Xing had practiced the Liu Tradition Weaving Method only during that extra hour of training!
Zhao Xing also sighed inwardly.
"With the dual boost of fate and treasures, not only has my cultivation speed increased, but I've also gained Old Sima Nong's favor. Great Dream Academy truly is a good place. I merely received a tiny bit of what leaked out, and it has already brought such enormous changes."
However, when he tried to enter Great Dream Academy again over the following nights, he found that even the Heart Questioning Platform had been hidden away. He did not know whether he was simply too weak, with no suitable trial for him to challenge.
At that moment, Zhao Xing was walking through the fields of the Eastern Suburbs.
Agricultural clerks usually studied in the mornings and worked in the afternoons.
Aside from miscellaneous duties such as encouraging farming and conducting inspections, they also had assigned areas of responsibility. Of course, that depended entirely on what their superior was in charge of.
Having many people had its drawbacks, but it also had its advantages. Working under Xue Wenzhong was relatively easy. With more people, there were fewer miscellaneous tasks assigned by their superior, so they were not as busy.
They could spare more time for studying and preparing for assessments.
The transfer to Agriculture Official had several components.
First was the harvest of the towns and villages within one's assigned jurisdiction. This part was counted by the County Office and was not overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Most towns and villages were roughly the same, but farmland was divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. Naturally, being assigned a good jurisdiction was better. However, Xue Wenzhong did not compete, so the good areas had all been divided among the other Ministers of Agriculture.
Second was the Moral Character Assessment. This covered many things, including the completion rate of miscellaneous tasks assigned by superiors, one's attitude toward learning, one's reputation, and more. There was no specific standard, because the authority rested entirely in the hands of one's superiors.
Third was the Ability Assessment, which tested material related to the Twenty-Four Solar Terms. Among them, the Four Seasons and Eight Festivals—Start of Spring, Vernal Equinox, Start of Summer, Summer Solstice, Start of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and winter solstice—were mandatory. Several other key planting and harvest solar terms were also included in the examinations.
For example, during Grain in Ear a month ago, they had tested whether the final batch of Yuan Rice planting had been completed and its survival rate.
The person setting the questions and conducting the assessments was Chen Shijie, a ninth-rank Minister of Agriculture.
These three categories counted as "regular scores." At the end of the year, those with the highest scores would be recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture to the Nanyang County Prefecture. The three were combined into the Winter Assessment.
Sometimes, the Winter Assessment would include another round of testing, though that depended on the circumstances. It mainly depended on Nanyang County's overall performance during the previous year. If it outperformed the other counties and the court allocated enough slots, there might be no need for another examination.
When spring arrived the following year, they would still need to undergo a Temple Examination.
The court would set the questions, further screening the candidates submitted by each county.
Only after passing the Temple Examination would things be settled.
After that came the Formal Appointment. The court would issue an official appointment document, and they would receive a baptism of fate within a temple, becoming part of Great Zhou's Dynasty of Fate system.
Put plainly, it was a chain of class-transfer quests.
Zhao Xing had also changed professions during the Emperor Jing's era in his previous life, so he was very familiar with this process. This period was still somewhat difficult.
It would only become much easier after the Revival Version arrived.
But difficulty had its advantages. Many things would become completely unavailable later on.
"With the boost from fate and treasures, changing professions and making it ashore shouldn't be difficult." Zhao Xing was brimming with confidence as he walked briskly toward the public fields.
Summer Solstice had passed, and Minor Heat was about to arrive.
Yuan Rice in the County Office's public fields had already begun to ripen.
This year's Winter Assessment ability examination had not tested Summer Solstice, so Minor Heat definitely would not be skipped. Otherwise, it would be impossible to fill out the basic number of Winter Assessment examinations.
At this time, the clerks of the Ministry of Agriculture spent most of their time running to the public fields. The examination would not wait for latecomers, so many clerks were already waiting in Gucheng's public fields.
"Everyone's camping out for the Lesser Heat Assessment. Why does this feel a little like a scene from my previous life?" Zhao Xing looked around, feeling as if he were back in university, scrambling to register for public elective classes.
Still, it was only natural. Missing one assessment would not get them eliminated outright, but the impact would be enormous. No one could guarantee they would still pass with one subject missing from their scores.
Zhao Xing entered the public fields and immediately felt the heat rolling over him. Sweat began to form on his body. Even after casting the Cloudcalling spell to shade himself from the sun, he could barely endure it.
After waiting for a while, he saw Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong, who had also come to wait for the examination, along with Li Chengfeng, Wen Nanxing, and the others.
Without exception, they were all panting and sweating at the edge of the fields, truly hot as dogs.
"It's only Minor Heat, yet the sun is as vicious as during Great Heat. Minister Chen really has a twisted sense of humor. Brother, what tricky question do you think he'll set this time?" Chen Ziyu asked.
"How would I know? Aren't you surnamed Chen?"
"We share a surname, but he's an appointed official. His hometown is West Mountain County, so he has nothing to do with me." Chen Ziyu curled his lip.
"Save your energy and wait," Qian Dong said weakly, waving his straw hat.
Just as everyone was wilting from the heat, a burst of startled cries suddenly came from the south.
"Look! What is that?!"
"It's the test question! The test question is here!"
"Heavens, it's actually..."
Before you continue