Well informed

There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?

Compared to reselling millet, Zhang Xuezhou discovered that Sang Hongyang was more interested in arithmetic.

The boy would arrive by horse-drawn cart every day to buy millet, and he would also pester Zhang Xuezhou to give him questions.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to meet the demands of this major client, occasionally giving him arithmetic problems to solve.

This kind of thing is not difficult for him. If Sang Hongyang can keep solving problems, he can also talk about calculation problems such as area, volume, and geometric sequences. If the demand is higher, he can also talk about high school mathematics.

This is a subject that trains logical thinking, but 99% of people only use elementary school addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division algorithms after entering society. They rarely apply knowledge from many subjects to their lives and work. Zhang Xuezhou never thought that he would have a day when he would use textbook knowledge to deal with clients.

This allows him to tackle some truly original problems.

Watching Sang Hongyang furrow his brow and calculate, Zhang Xuezhou was quite satisfied with this math problem that brought them closer together.

Sang Hongyang liked the millet and math problems he provided, while Zhang Xuezhou liked the money he offered.

The two hit it off immediately, and Rong Tianding and Xu Yuan continued to buy and resell millet.

Although Xu Yuan is young, he is an expert in crops. He can tell clearly whose millet is the right moisture level and whose millet has plump grains, and the millet he buys is of good quality.

It's reassuring to have professionals doing professional work, which explains why Zhang Xuezhou and Sang Hongyang didn't have to worry about millet and instead discussed arithmetic in the workshop.

"Brother Dongfang, you are so learned, why are you content to run a shop in Chang'an City instead of seeking fame and fortune in the imperial court?"

It took Sang Hongyang several minutes to solve the arithmetic problem Zhang Xuezhou had given him. He couldn't help but Qi Ingestion the problem Zhang had posed, and he found it even more difficult to understand why someone so knowledgeable would be selling millet.

Of course, people who are good at arithmetic can also make money selling millet.

For example, Sang Hongyang himself made a little money by reselling, and he also knew that Zhang Xuezhou and others were buying millet at low prices and reselling it.

Both sides were fully aware of the situation, but Zhang Xuezhou did not cross the line, while Sang Hongyang paid to save himself the trouble of inspecting the millet, negotiating prices in small batches, and searching for scattered merchants.

In this trade process, it's difficult to monopolize the profits, and it's also difficult to take all the gains. Cooperation, on the contrary, makes things easier for both parties.

Moreover, Sang Hongyang's income did not come from just this one source.

It's normal for intelligent people like them to have multiple ways to make a living, especially after their status rises and their level of understanding becomes completely different. Earning income from the price difference of goods is no different from picking up money.

But Zhang Xuezhou was also an educated man, and it was puzzling to Yang Da that someone like him would open a small shop in the West Market to earn a meager income.

"Actually, I also want to achieve fame and fortune," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I submitted my self-recommendation letter to the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant a couple of days ago!"

"With your abilities, you should be promoted in a few days," Sang Hongyang said with a smile.

"Becoming an official so quickly?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise, "Is the efficiency of the Office of the Jingzhao Intendant in the capital really that high?"

"This is something His Majesty personally requested, how many of them would dare to delay?" Sang Hongyang said. "There is a great demand for talents like you, especially in the Imperial Secretariat, which has a great need for those skilled in calculation. They have more than two hundred vacancies this time, so it should be easy for Brother Dongfang to be among them."

"Then thank you very much for your kind words, Brother Hongyang!"

Zhang Xuezhou cupped his hands in greeting.

If there are thousands of people competing for one or two positions, then even those with connections will fight tooth and nail to get in. But it's much easier to grab a spot when there are only a couple hundred vacancies.

Moreover, the Imperial Secretariat was only one of the nine major government departments of the imperial court.

When Sang Hongyang mentioned that there were as many as a thousand vacant official positions in these substantive departments, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but be astonished.

"How can there be so many vacancies in the imperial court?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"This matter is related to the late emperor's funeral. The late emperor died in his prime, which sparked some discussions. It was one thing for ordinary people to gossip, but some officials and clerks also got involved without self-discipline. It just so happened that there was a crackdown at that time, and hundreds of people lost their lives. There were also other issues involved, and many people were later demoted and sent out of Chang'an City, which created a lot of vacancies!"

"I see!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, then looked at Sang Hongyang with curiosity. He hadn't expected that the other man was more well-informed than the gossipy passersby and women.

"I have been seeking an official position for several months. If Brother Hongyang has heard any news, please let me know," Zhang Xuezhou pleaded.

"No problem!"

Sang Hongyang readily agreed, and then leaned close to Zhang Xuezhou's ear and whispered.

"Most of those who recommend themselves for official positions are in clerical roles, which require effort but are difficult to advance in. If Brother Dongfang has some money in his pocket, he could donate a sum and get an easy, sinecure, which might even have a better future," Sang Hongyang said.

"Can you become an official by donating money?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"As long as it benefits the court, it's certainly feasible. After all, the court has to support so many people, how can it refuse money offered to it?" Sang Hongyang said. "It's just that the officials who donate money hold sinecure positions with little power, but the advantage of donating is that they can meet some important figures, and who knows, they might have a chance to break through at any time."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"If it weren't for Brother Dongfang's erudition, I wouldn't have recommended this approach," Sang Hongyang said. "After all, you can't gain the favor of important figures without some real skills. But Brother Dongfang is talented, and he can use money to bypass those restrictions, thus avoiding years of struggling without advancement!"

"Your approach is good. Are there any rules for donating money, and how much money is required?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"This is the amount of money needed to get close to the Nine Ministers," Sang Hongyang said, holding up one finger. "This is the amount needed to curry favor with the Three Dukes, and this is the amount needed to send money to the Imperial Palace!"

One finger represents a hundred gold coins, while the Three Dukes require three to five hundred gold coins, and those sent to the palace require a minimum of a thousand gold coins.

Zhang Xuezhou clicked his tongue in amazement, feeling that it was too difficult to become an official by donating money. Only those wealthy Lineage who had nowhere to spend their money but wanted to be adorned with gold could afford to spend such a sum.

"Don't be fooled by the large sum of money you're paying. Sometimes, a single word from these people can make us a fortune," Sang Hongyang said. "As long as we're smart, recouping our investment won't be difficult!"

"That makes sense!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded repeatedly.

Zhang Xuezhou strongly agreed with Sang Hongyang's approach; the high-end route was indeed highly profitable. However, no matter how much Sang Hongyang valued it or how much guidance he received, he couldn't bring himself to become a government official through donation.

Firstly, Zhang Xuezhou was unlucky; taking shortcuts could easily lead him into a trap.

Secondly, Zhang Xuezhou was short of money; he couldn't even scrape together the first tier of funds Sang Hongyang had mentioned for donating an official position.

As the conversation flowed freely, he unexpectedly learned that Sang Hongyang had obtained a position as a servant in the palace by donating money.

This position had very little power; it was mostly about running errands, and it was difficult to make any decisions. However, Sang Hongyang's information network was undoubtedly extremely advanced.

Even something as simple as self-recommendation for an official position is done under the watchful eye of the other party.