GBP Chapter 992 I Don't Want to Be Transferred
Chapter 992 I Don't Want to Be Transferred
"Grandma is the best, she's the luckiest!" Little Fish said with a smile, making Madam Xu laugh heartily.
Xu herself felt that she was very fortunate.
After hearing about the situation of his family back home, Zhang Ping'an felt somewhat upset.
Although he knew that not everyone could maintain their integrity in the face of wealth and fame, his family members had fallen into depravity far too quickly. It wasn't this bad when he returned to his hometown to visit relatives and observe mourning for his parents a few years ago.
"So, according to you, when you go back this time, you won't find anyone in your family suitable?"
Little Fish knew what his father was thinking, so he calmly shrugged and said, "It's not that I'm picky, there's really nothing promising. But my second aunt's son, Xiao Chuan, is not bad. He's getting smarter as he grows up. With some training, he could be useful. And then there are Uncle Jinbao's two nephews, Liu Jin and Qi Jin. I brought them with me this time. Didn't I just tell you? It's not about the number of people, but about their usefulness!"
Having said that, Zhang Ping'an had nothing more to say. He got up and patted his son on the shoulder: "You are much more decisive and ruthless than I was when I was young. In some ways, you are the material for great things. But being an official in the bureaucracy is not so simple. There are still many things that require experience. You brought these clansmen and retainers back, so you have to be responsible for them. You need to know which people to use in which situations."
"Father, after I passed the imperial examination last year, didn't you give me a few estates and shops to practice on and manage the profits myself? It's no problem to support some people, and besides, no one works for free under my supervision!"
After Xiaoyuer finished speaking, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, filled with an unwavering confidence.
I'm just waiting to officially enter officialdom and make my mark!
"By the way, has my fourth uncle already passed away?"
Zhang Ping'an nodded: "They left a long time ago, and they're probably almost at their new posts now."
"Oh!" Little Fish responded, then lowered his head in thought. "Was he transferred because of the locust plague?"
“Your fourth uncle is not a cowardly person. This transfer is probably not just because of the locust plague. There are probably more reasons that we don’t know about.”
After Zhang Ping'an finished speaking, his expression suddenly became more serious: "Perfect timing, I haven't had a chance to ask you about the locust plague yet. Did you suffer a lot of damage on your way back this time?"
When it came to serious matters, Xiaoyuer's expression became serious: "When I went back by boat, I felt okay. After all, Ezhou Prefecture is a land of plenty, and the people there have experience in dealing with locust plagues. Also, every household has some savings, so it wasn't too bad. But after crossing the river to the south, the situation there is much more serious. Many places only have one or two tenths of the harvest they used to have. This year, they will definitely be unable to make ends meet."
"Are there any refugees?" Zhang Ping'an asked.
Xiaoyu shook his head. "No, after all, when the late emperor was alive, taxes were low and people's livelihoods were important. Most people had saved up some money. They could probably get through a locust plague by gritting their teeth. I just don't know what will happen after that. I heard from the dock that Shandong and Shanxi were the hardest hit areas. Is that true?"
When asked about the disaster in Shandong and Shanxi, Zhang Ping'an said with some concern: "It's true. The day I sent you to the dock to take a boat, your Uncle Xiaohu came to the mansion to tell me about it. I also reminded your father-in-law, but the disaster came too quickly. Shandong and Shanxi were the hardest hit. The imperial court has now sent people there to provide disaster relief."
“The national treasury is full, so disaster relief is not a difficult task. However, I met a remarkable person who is good at observing celestial phenomena and the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams on this trip. He is the retainer named Lü Liang whom I just introduced to you. He said that there will probably be a severe drought in the next two years,” Xiaoyuer said.
Zhang Ping'an's expression remained unchanged after hearing this, and he was not surprised. He slowly said, "Since the locust plague, the Imperial Observatory has also specially observed the stars at night and made calculations. They also said that there might be a severe drought. However, His Majesty is currently obsessed with alchemy and has pushed all the responsibility onto your father-in-law and the people in the Ministry of Rites. I'm afraid that in the end, we still won't get a good response!"
Xiao Yu'er knew a lot about the affairs of the court, and frowned: "As long as the Cui family doesn't fall, my father-in-law probably won't have the time or inclination to deal with these trivial political matters."
“Yes, he always feels that he has the national treasury as a backing,” Zhang Ping’an said casually, his tone tinged with sarcasm.
Zhang Ping'an's good temper, cultivated over many years, was almost ruined by the locust plague. Thinking of this, he didn't want to say anything more about these trivial matters. He could only wait until after the locust plague to see how to persuade Li Chong and Zhou Pu.
"Your fourth uncle mentioned before that he wanted me to use my connections to get you transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. I've been thinking about it these past few days, and I think it makes some sense. In the Hanlin Academy, you can only do paperwork, which is for currying favor with the royal family, the emperor, and the crown prince. It's all superficial and not very useful for people's livelihood. So, I'm thinking of helping you transfer to the Ministry of Revenue after you've served in the Hanlin Academy for three months, so you can work under your father-in-law. What do you think?"
Zhang Lao Er and Xu Shi were completely ignorant of these matters, so naturally neither of them offered any opinions.
Xiaoyuer, however, had already made up his mind. He pondered for a moment and said, "No rush, let's wait and see. Although the Hanlin Academy is indeed a useless government office that doesn't do much practical work, it is the fastest way to get close to the royal family and win the trust of His Majesty and the Crown Prince. If we can gain His Majesty's trust, then our career path will be half smoother. We can transfer to the Ministry of Revenue later depending on the situation. In fact, I would prefer to go to the Ministry of War rather than the Ministry of Revenue."
Zhang Ping'an raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"
Little Fish chuckled, didn't say much, stretched, and then said, "A good man's ambition lies in all directions. This time when I returned to my hometown to visit my family, I suddenly realized that I should take advantage of my youth to see the world. Staying cooped up in the capital all day is a waste of my precious time. I don't want to spend my whole life scheming and plotting for a minor official position. It's too boring!"
Seeing Zhang Ping'an frown, Xiaoyuer quickly tried to smooth things over, "Of course I'm not saying that you're doing this wrong, Father. If you hadn't paved the way for me and made it to the position of Privy Councilor, how could I have studied so smoothly and passed the imperial examinations so easily? I just think that since I have such a good foundation, I should go further so as not to waste my time!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a servant came over to ask if it was time to eat.
Fearing that her grandson would go hungry, Madam Xu quickly instructed the servants to prepare a meal.
That concludes the discussion.
The clansmen and guests who had been washing up and settling in the guest rooms also came over. Xiao Chuan was the same guy with the scabies head who had played with Xiao Yu'er when they were kids.
He had traveled by boat and car all the way here and was terribly seasick, but felt much better after washing up.
Feeling that he hadn't performed well when he came over to pay his respects, he bowed again to Zhang Ping'an, Xu Shi, and Zhang Lao Er as soon as he entered the room.
With a big smile on her face, she was very charming.