amaotonovel Chapter 1271 Connections Again
Chapter 1271 Connections Again
"The assessment officially begins!"
As Fang Xianyue finished speaking, the more than two hundred applicants scattered instantly. Shen Zheng smiled secretly at the people of Tongan County and silently said, "Go."
The sun was high in the sky, and those responding to the call hurried along.
Some people had a clear goal: "Let's go to the West Market first! It's the busiest place right now!"
Someone looked dazed: "Should we walk, or hire a horse?"
Some people banded together: "Brother, join us! We can share information!"
Some people go alone: "Don't wait for me, I want to think about it myself first, you guys go ahead."
Everyone made their own choice, and Xue Li was no exception.
She declined the invitations from several people to collaborate and chose to leave alone.
After leaving this street, there is a carriage shop two hundred paces to the east. She plans to rent a strong, smooth-coated young donkey as her mount for the day, which will save her a lot of walking.
But the thought only lasted for a moment before it vanished—she saw her own carriage at the end of the street.
"Father?" She reached out and pulled back the carriage curtain, overjoyed. "You haven't left yet? Perfect timing! Give your daughter a ride!"
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and climbed onto the carriage using both her hands and feet.
After getting on the bus, she realized that her mother was not on the bus.
"Where's Mother?" She lifted the cushion to look.
"What are you doing? What are you doing!" Mr. Xue glared at her. "Do you think your mother can hide under your butt? You're a grown woman now, but you still act like a child, so impulsive and reckless..."
Xue Li gave an awkward smile, lifted the curtain and urged, "Brother Xiao Zhi, let's go to the West Market first! We need to hurry, I'm in a real rush!"
"Yes!" the coachman responded, and before she could even settle in, the carriage started moving.
After sitting down, she briefly explained the assessment requirements to Mr. Xue, and then began planning her route for the day in her mind.
First go to the West Market, then to the dock, then to the teahouse, and finally to the bulletin boards of the prefectural school administration, salt and iron administration, and other government offices.
Thinking about it this way, time really is tight and the task is heavy...
Just then, Xue's father suddenly spoke up: "Li'er, do you want to go to the West Market to gather information?"
"Yes," Xue Li nodded, then pondered, "The West Market is busiest right now, and there's bound to be a lot of news there. We can't let others beat us to it. I don't want to be delivering side dishes to the government office every day from now on..."
Mr. Xue didn't care that his daughter looked down on his limited "connections".
However, he believed that going to the West Market at this time was a mistake: "Li'er, I don't think you should go to the West Market first."
Xue Li was taken aback: "Why? Everyone else went."
“It’s precisely because everyone else has gone that you can’t go now.” Father Xue lifted the small curtain and pointed to the crowd hurrying by outside, saying, “Today is the small market day, and six or seven out of ten of these people outside are heading to the West Market. If you rush over now, you’ll only end up squeezing into the crowd and won’t get any other benefit.”
Xue Li was stunned, still pondering, when her father asked again, "When the shop was busy in the past, how did you react when someone asked you for information?"
Xue Li thought for a moment: "I could either give a perfunctory answer, tell them to ask someone else, or pretend I didn't hear it..."
As she spoke, she herself was stunned.
Yes!
She almost forgot the principle of "avoiding trouble when business is busy".
There are many people in the West Market right now, but everyone has their own things to do. Especially for those merchants who have a lot of inside information, going to ask them for information now would be tantamount to cutting off their source of income.
"Then..." Xue Li wanted to ask her father where she should go now.
But after a pause, she suddenly had an idea: "The dock!"
She slapped her thigh and hurriedly lifted the curtain, saying to the driver, "Brother Xiao Zhi, let's change our route and go to the dock! Let's go to the dock first!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Xue smiled but remained silent.
"Father, shouldn't we go to the dock?" Xue Li analyzed after confirming, "Cargo ships usually arrive around 3 AM. Right now, the sailors should have just finished unloading and are having breakfast at the breakfast stall. We can ask them for information..."
Mr. Xue's smile widened, and he praised her generously: "My daughter is so smart, she understands things immediately."
Xue Li pouted, a hint of disappointment in her voice: "Please don't praise my daughter. If it weren't for you, she probably would have been humiliated at the West Market..."
How could she possibly stand out from over two hundred people and get a better position closer to Lord Shen?
Seeing her self-blame and disappointment, Mr. Xue gently patted her head and comforted her softly, "Silly girl, nobody's perfect. Even if I didn't say it, you'd understand this soon enough. Gathering information is like doing business; you have to find the right opportunity. If the timing is right, you can often achieve twice the result with half the effort. When we get to the dock, I'll take you to meet some people. You can use them to gather information whenever you go to the dock in the future."
"ah......?"
Upon hearing that they were looking for someone, Xue Li instinctively asked, "Is it your...connections again?"
Could this "connection" be an uncle selling vegetables at the dock?
"What are you thinking about!" Father Xue coughed lightly. "The person I'm taking you to see this time is someone with real skills! You'll know once you meet him."
Xue Li was skeptical.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly felt a little guilty: "Wouldn't this count as helping my daughter cheat? If Lord Shen finds out, will she hate my daughter?"
"Cheating?" Upon hearing this, Mr. Xue abruptly pulled back the carriage curtain and pointed to a group of people on the left side of the street, saying, "Look what they're doing!"
Xue Li was taken aback and looked up.
Several people offering tips set up their stalls and beckoned to passersby: "Come on, come on, we're here to collect tips! Two coins for one tip, four coins for two tips, ten coins for five tips. Duplicates don't count. First come, first served!"
Passersby were immediately intrigued: "You want to buy information? What kind of information?"
"Any information is fine! Every single one counts!" said the vendor. "But let's make it clear first, once you sell us the information, you can't tell anyone else!"
Xue Li was shocked to see this.
These people not only spend money to buy information, but they also want to create a monopoly!
"See?" Father Xue slowly lowered the carriage curtain and asked her, "Did Lord Shen say that we must not seek help from others, nor spend money to buy information?"
Xue Li opened her mouth, then was shocked to find that Lord Shen had set no other rules besides instructing them not to ask others to write for them, not to cause trouble, and not to force others to provide information.
"this......"
Xue Li suddenly felt that she had a completely new understanding of today's assessment, and in an instant, she thought about many things.
Why didn't Lord Shen forbid them from asking for help?
Since officials need to deal with people, the wider their network of contacts, the better.
Why doesn't Lord Shen forbid them from spending money to buy information?
Because it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, important and unimportant, information purchased from others, this is precisely a test of the judgment of these recruiters.
Ultimately, today's assessment is not about "who can gather more information," but rather "who can gather the most valuable information using the smartest and most efficient methods without violating ethical boundaries."