Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 215: The Circle of the Rich Young Masters of Thirteen Hongs
As evening approached, Shen Qing returned to the government office after inspecting his defense area.

After handing in the duty card, he followed Dong Jing and the two walked towards Xinyifang.

Dong Jing and Shen Qing rode their horses side by side.

"Officer Shen, do you know what we as officers need to do if we want to move up the career ladder?"

"Not sure." Shen Qing shook his head and said.

He had no backing or foundation in Yongzhou, so no one could give him any guidance and he had to do things entirely based on his own intuition.

It's been three or four months since I joined the Weiwu Division, and even though I've done so much, I still feel constrained, as if there has been no progress.

Today, the Weiwu Division and the Bingmasi operate in parallel.

There was a chief military officer and a chief guard officer, each of whom commanded a number of officers, and under them were a number of servants.

Among them, the General Officer of the Army had greater power. Compared with the General Officer of the Guards, in addition to commanding the officers, he also managed the clerks, account books, and patrol officers.

It is said that at the beginning, the two departments together had as many as a thousand people.

After the attrition of personnel, it has never been fully staffed.

In other words, there is still a lot of room for promotion.

What Dong Jing asked was exactly what he wanted to know.

"To be honest, our Weiwu Division doesn't have so many twists and turns. The most important thing is to look at each person's practice, not how many merits they have made."

Shen Qing asked in surprise: "Practice?"

Dong Jing said, "That's right. In fact, it's not just our Weiwu Division, it's the same in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Think about it, if you have made many contributions, you will be promoted and get many wish beads, elixirs and precious medicines. But what if you are a fool who practices martial arts?"

"Given so many resources for cultivation, but you can't even make it to the Qi Cultivation Stage, isn't that a joke? What if you don't cultivate and get so many resources?"

Shen Qing thought of Wu Sheng's business. He frowned and asked, "Should it flow out or be left for the younger generation?"

"That's right. Whether it's leaked out or passed down to the younger generation, it will shake the foundation of the country and hinder the Ji family's ancestral business. Therefore, if you want to be promoted, you still have to rely on the level of your martial arts practice."

"The level of martial arts cultivation is the most intuitive. If you are good, you are good. If you are not good, you are not good. You can tell at a glance."

"So if we want to move forward, martial arts comes first, and merit comes second. We can't just do things without thinking." Dong Jing said meaningfully, "You are just starting now, don't be too anxious, the strong will break easily."

Shen Qing frowned slightly, as if he understood something.

He could tell that Dong Jing had intentionally chosen him before he attended the party.

“Thank you for your advice.” Shen Qing clasped his hands together.

"We're here." Dong Jing looked up at the crowded Shen's Restaurant in front of him and said, "Your business is so prosperous that I had to pay a higher price three days in advance to reserve a table."

"If you come next time, just say hello to me in advance. I can't make decisions in other places, but I still have a say here."

The two walked to the door, and a waiter recognized Shen Qing's identity and took the initiative to greet him and said respectfully: "Boss, you are here."

Shen Qing threw the reins to the waiter and walked into the restaurant with Dong Jing.

Walk around the lobby and go straight to the private room on the second floor.

At this moment, there were several figures sitting in the private room, chatting in low voices.

These people all wore jade pendants and looked very dignified.

Even if you haven't dealt with them yet, you can feel their temperament as being from a noble family.

Shen Qing followed Dong Jing and walked to the side of the group.

Dong Jing stepped forward and introduced Shen Qing to everyone one by one.

There were three men and two women in the room who had arrived early.

Four of them were surprised to hear that Shen Qing was the owner of the restaurant and also worked for the Weiwu Division.

One of the women wearing a hairpin said, "If I remember correctly, there is no big family with the surname Shen in Yongzhou, right?"

The man beside him nodded and said, "Maybe there was a long time ago, but not now."

As soon as these words came out, Shen Qing immediately noticed that these people's attention on him had decreased a lot, and they became uninterested.

The status and factionalism of the Great Zhou Dynasty have long been deeply rooted in people's minds.

Shen Qing has already obtained military status and is an official, but he is still not qualified in the eyes of these wealthy families.

Just like an uncultured upstart who is still looked down upon by other bosses. Shen Qing's face was calm, as if he had expected something.

They chatted for a while, and soon three more people came into the room.

He was familiar with one of them, Xi Shaoqin, the officer of Group 4.

The latter saw him slightly stunned, smiled and nodded to him.

Dong Jing said, "Now that everyone is here, why don't we all sit down and order some food? I heard that the dishes in Brother Shen's restaurant are not available outside. It's a rare occasion for us to get together today, so we must all try them."

"Haha, we came here today just for the food, let's find a seat."

These people were all familiar with each other, and they sat down in their seats according to their order.

Shen Qing was silently placed at the last seat, while Xi Shaoqin from Group 4 was also placed at the back, sitting next to him.

The man sitting at the head of the table looked at Shen Qing and said, "Since this is Mr. Shen's restaurant, why don't we let Mr. Shen order dishes for us and see if there's anything special about it?"

Shen Qing smiled and said, "I don't know much about the dishes, it's just that my family members use my name to cook. Why don't we serve all the signature dishes so that everyone can have a taste? I think these dishes are pretty good."

"Then let's listen to the boss and serve one of each of the signature dishes."

Shen Qing called the servant and ordered the dishes.

There was some free time before the dishes were served, and people at the table started chatting in groups of three or four.

Shen Qing sat at the last seat. It was his first time attending the event, so no one wanted to greet him.

Xi Shaoqin, who was standing by, noticed this after talking to others.

He turned to Shen Qing and asked, "Is this the first time that Officer Shen has attended such a gathering?"

Shen Qing didn't expect Xi Shaoqin to take the initiative to talk to him.

On weekdays, they were just nodding acquaintances in the yamen, and they probably didn't say more than three sentences to each other.

He didn't know what Xi Shaoqin was up to: "I've never participated in it before."

"No wonder." Xi Shaoqin glanced at the chief man without leaving any trace and said, "Do you know who he is?"

"I don't know."

"He is the second-ranked young master of the Sun family. He is only twenty years old now, but he has already reached the Jade Meridian Realm and is extremely talented. Now everyone thinks that he may become the future innate master of the Sun family."

A twenty-year-old Jade Vein Realm martial artist?
Shen Qing raised his eyes and looked at him carefully again, and found that this eldest son of the Sun family had sharp eyebrows and eagle eyes, and was graceful and elegant.

He was wearing a dark blue brocade robe, a jade belt inlaid with gems around his waist, his hair was tied up high and inserted with a jade hairpin, and he looked very noble.

It's indeed quite good.

"There are also the Wu family, the Zhao family, the Qian family, the Dong family... Each of them is either a young master or a young lady, born into a noble family, and their cultivation is basically on the edge of the Jade Meridian Realm, and the worst is at the perfect Qi Sea Realm."

Shen Qing suddenly realized that after going around in this circle, he seemed to have the lowest cultivation level and the worst background.

Xi Shaoqin took in all the changes in Shen Qing's expression and seemed slightly satisfied.

This officer is very young, and he has come all the way here from a small place, and he has killed many demons. It is indeed extraordinary, but he is still not qualified compared with them.

He didn't want Shen Qing to bring bad influence to the government office and cause trouble, so he wanted to use this to dampen his enthusiasm.

It wasn't long before all the dishes were served and everyone at the banquet was toasting each other.

"Hey, this dish is really good. I have never eaten such a unique dish. Mr. Shen is really good."

Shen Qing smiled apologetically: "As long as you like it."

After a few drinks, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

There were people at the table who knew each other well, chatting animatedly in groups of three or four.

Shen Qing seemed to have been forgotten and no one cared about him at once.

He just felt that this party was becoming more and more boring and was a real waste of his time.

If you spend more time on cultivation, maybe you can make some progress.

Shen Qing secretly complained in his heart. He did not disturb everyone's fun and finally chose to leave alone.

Xi Shaoqin, who was chatting happily on the side, glanced at him, ignored him, and continued chatting and laughing with others.

(End of this chapter)