After coming ashore, Zhao Xing and Old Eight Xu returned to the river salvage vendor's stall.
They returned the voucher, got back the one tael deposit, and Zhao Xing also gave it to Old Eight Xu. One is one, two is two, and that settled their accounts.
It was only because it was very late now, otherwise Old Eight Xu would have definitely dragged people over to brag.
Zhao Xing checked the time and returned to Gucheng.
"Wind Walk~"
Wind rose under his feet, his walking speed increased, each step covering two to three meters.
He arrived home just before the end of the Hai hour.
"Today's harvest is not bad. I only intended to make a small fortune, but I didn't expect to gain so much in the end."
"It seems my Derived Two Luck is indeed extraordinary."
If it were a Derived One Luck, he probably would have just brushed past this Fourth-Tier bead.
"With this harvest, I won't have to worry about food and drink for a short time, and my Qi Gathering speed won't be slow either." Zhao Xing packed the bead, put it into a box, and locked it.
He still had some spare money now, so he wasn't in a hurry to sell it. He always wanted to sell it for a high price.
If it were an ordinary person, having gained such an unexpected fortune, they wouldn't be able to sleep well, but Zhao Xing ate and slept as usual.
The next day, he went to the Directorate of Agriculture as usual for duty and study.
After the End of Heat, the Old Director of Agriculture began to focus on theory and less on practical operations.
He directly informed everyone that the next solar term would be a theoretical exam.
Reading became the top priority for the clerks of the Directorate of Agriculture.
"Old Director of Agriculture, can you reveal which classics will be tested? Can you circle some key points for us?" a clerk asked.
Xue Wen Zhong smiled slightly: "Of course you can, listen carefully. 'Great View of Wood', 'Classic of Herbs', 'Hundred Solutions to Heavenly Time', 'True Chapters of Four Agriculture', 'Monthly Phenomena', 'Three Lights of Earth Veins', 'Ten Thousand Chapters of Benefiting Things'…"
Well, asking was like not asking at all, all of them were key points!
Extensive knowledge and a strong memory were essential qualities for an agricultural official. The Ten Nine Provinces were vast and rich in resources, with many variations in heavenly timing and geographical advantages, not to mention various plants.
If the imperial court sent you to take office somewhere, and you didn't even know what was suitable to plant there or when to plant it, what use were you?
The above were still basic requirements, akin to begging heaven for food.
Many special environments required agricultural officials to cast Spells, change heavenly timing, seek earth veins, and create a good environment before deciding what to plant.
"In the southern part of Guangling Province, there is Yuanling County, where in spring, five kinds of excellent grains can be planted, sown and harvested in spring, with one ear able to feed five people."
"In summer, a hundred blood vines can be planted, sown and harvested in summer, and the vine fruit can replenish a hundred types of blood."
"In autumn… Qian Dong, what was in autumn again?" Chen Zi Yu tilted his head to look at Qian Dong.
The latter spread his hands: "Why are you memorizing such an obscure 'Benefiting Things in the Cave Heavens'? Are you going to have a chance to be an official in a Cave Heaven and Blessed Land?"
"That's true." Chen Zi Yu was about to put it down when he heard Zhao Xing slowly say from beside him: "In autumn, golden beans can be cultivated, sown and harvested in autumn, gathering Qi in three days, reaching a tier in one month, and its price is comparable to gold."
"In winter, bone-mending ginseng can be dug, able to mend bones in ten days and regrow severed limbs in a hundred days."
Chen Zi Yu opened his book and looked, sincerely praising: "As expected of Elder Brother, your foundation is truly solid."
Zhao Xing said with a hint of nostalgia: "That's not entirely true. If you could live there for a few years, you'd also know it like the back of your hand."
"Elder Brother speaks as if he has been there personally. Guangling Province is more than ten thousand li away from our Pinghai Province?"
"Can't I have been there in my dreams?" Zhao Xing laughed.
"Yes, of course, you can. Who told you that you are the Elder Brother?"
"Hahahaha."
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the White Dew solar term was approaching.
Zhao Xing was also studying day and night, preparing for the exam. Once he became a regular official and entered a tier, not only could he enter the Luck Dynasty system, increasing his blessings and Lifespan, but he could also try many other things.
For example, the treasure mountain that was the Grand Dream Academy, after entering a tier, he would likely be able to try to gain benefits from it again.
Becoming a ranked official agriculturalist would also expand Zhao Xing's scope of action and allow him to learn more Spells. This would lay a more solid foundation for the future Revival version.
Zhao Xing was not striving for regularization, but for longevity. If he were thrown into the even more distant Grand Ancestor version, he would have just given up.
But being in the Emperor Jing's era, he felt he could still strive to survive until the Revival version.
This motivation was very simple yet very powerful. Think about it, if someone told you that if you start exercising now, maintain healthy living habits, and live for another twenty years, you could wait until technology makes a Breakthrough, and you would become immortal, would you do it?
"If one does not marry, does not have children, and gets promoted and ranked, the blessings of Luck that extend Lifespan will not be dispersed, but will all belong to the official himself."
"Additionally, any treasure that extends Lifespan is best used as early as possible, otherwise, the constraints will become stronger and stronger later, and the difficulty will become greater and greater."
"When receiving a rank, other aspects will also be elevated, but if I have already reached the corresponding rank at the time of receiving it, then all of it will be used to increase Lifespan. Therefore, by next spring, I should ideally reach Qi Gathering Ninth-Tier, so that all the benefits of receiving a rank will go towards my Lifespan." Zhao Xing mused.
Doing so also had another advantage: if he were dismissed from office or demoted, the impact would be very small, or even completely non-existent.
It was as if he himself had the ability to jump onto the Great Zhou's Luck express train, not needing it to pull him too much, only needing it to open the door. When it came time for it to kick him off, he would also have the ability to jump off without injury.
"Heaven's Mandate is my Mandate, Heaven's Luck is my Luck, Heaven's Lifespan is my Lifespan. Return Luck to the Dynasty? Not even a bit." After considering the future, Zhao Xing returned to the present matters.
On the seventh day of the ninth month, White Dew.
The Directorate of Agriculture ushered in its first theoretical examination of the year.
The entire exam lasted two days. Entry was not allowed if late, but early submission was permitted.
The chief examiner was still Xue Wen Zhong, but other agricultural officials were required to review the questions together, and they had to conform to Nanyang Commandery's examination philosophy, neither being too unconventional nor too rigid.
After grading, the exam papers needed to be archived and submitted to Nanyang Commandery for re-examination. Other solar term exam results also had to be archived and submitted, but Nanyang Commandery generally did not examine them in detail, only conducting random checks unless someone reported an issue.
However, theoretical exams would definitely be fully re-examined.
Because it was not a big deal if a clerk's Spell went awry, but if their theoretical ideology was askew, it would be very dangerous.
During the Grand Ancestor's era, there was an agricultural clerk in Nanyang Commandery who, for some unknown reason, read some twisted book. During the exam, to show off, he wrote a theoretical ideology of 'severing the connection between heaven and earth'. As a result, he simultaneously offended both the Heavenly Timing faction and the Earthly Advantage faction, and was directly arrested and imprisoned.
Even the Self-Centered faction did not deny the Heavenly Timing faction and Earthly Advantage faction, only having a primary and secondary relationship, but 'severing the connection between heaven and earth' denied the current calendar and even denied the Dao itself, belonging to a proper Evil Path ideology. This was not just heresy; it was practically treason and an insult to the nation.
The Great Zhou still allowed relatively free speech. Later, this person was investigated, released after half a year, and he had no major issues. However, the booksellers who sold those evil books suffered, and after a strict crackdown and confiscation, all their clans were exterminated.
"During the exam later, I must hold back a bit when writing. I shouldn't come up with any overly advanced ideas. Even being a small half-step ahead is enough to get an 'A' grade." Zhao Xing repeatedly reminded himself, then walked into the examination hall.
