I just passed the imperial examination, what the heck is this "Celestial Official System"?

???

How did it go up?!

Song Li was startled.

I haven't redeemed it yet.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, although there was a saying about half a minor merit, half a minor merit could not be used to obtain luck, nor could it be used to exchange for rewards. One must collect a full minor merit; otherwise, it could only be used for private exchanges between officials.

In theory, he had two minor merits that could be combined into one, but in reality, the other half of the minor merit had not yet been redeemed by the Ministry of Rites and therefore did not count.

unless......

Song Li thought of a situation.

"Brother Song, I happened to run into my uncle who works in the rites department yesterday, so I took the liberty of giving you half of the small merit in advance. You can go to the rites department to complete the formalities after the New Year."

Huo Zhun spoke with a smile.

He was holding a small jade pendant in his hand, identical to the one in Song Li's hand, both engraved with Song Li's name.

"Thank you, Brother Huo."

Song Li bowed.

The merit jade tablets of the Great Zhou Dynasty are extremely mysterious. It is said that they are made using a special refining method. They do not need to be combined; as long as the distance between them is no more than one zhang, their auras can be connected and they can become one.

"It was just a small favor."

Seeing Song Li's surprise, Huo Zhun's eyes were full of pride.

Born into a prominent family, it's impossible for someone not to understand social etiquette and interpersonal relationships.

That's why he realized that doing more things that are expected is useless; he had to do things unexpectedly, doing one thing that is worth a hundred.

The same applies to building closer relationships with others.

It couldn't have been a coincidence; he had seen Song Li's performance and made a special trip to find his uncle. Even without today's banquet, he would have made a special trip to the farmhouse.

Song Li took the other half of the small jade pendant from Huo Zhun, which could be put together to form a whole.

At the moment the gap was approaching.

Click.

With a soft click, the jade pendant connected itself, becoming a seamless whole, with no visible seams or imperfections.

"How mysterious!"

Song Li was amazed by the skill of the weapon-forging technique.

The rewards have been bestowed.

The banquet was drawing to a close.

The officials of the Nine Offices called on their friends and relatives to continue their revelry at restaurants or to listen to music at brothels.

Song Li was truly hungry, and he devoured all the food on the table, declining Huo Zhun and Zhu Ran's invitation to go to a brothel.

He left the city alone and returned to his farmhouse.

The desolation after the hustle and bustle is the most unbearable.

Because it was near the end of the year, the farmhouse and government office were dark and almost dark, with no people coming and going, and not even the chirping of cicadas or the croaking of frogs.

A silence.

However, Song Li did not feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he was quite content.

Given his current fame, he naturally receives numerous invitations, but he has declined them all.

It wasn't because he didn't enjoy the pleasure of listening to music in brothels, but because he knew that he was still just a lowly peasant official with no powerful backing.

Don't get carried away.

Otherwise, the higher you are praised now, the harder you will fall later.

Only one's level of understanding is fundamental.

Song Li washed his face with cold water and then sat cross-legged on the bed to continue practicing the Changchun Gong.

......

......

In the blink of an eye.

Two days have passed.

Hey, hey, hey.

The sounds of children playing and setting off firecrackers filled the air, creating a lively atmosphere.

The servants of the farmhouse had already put up bright red festive decorations on the door early on.

"It does have some of the New Year's spirit now."

Song Li wrote a "福" (good fortune) character himself and pasted it on the courtyard gate, then clapped his hands in satisfaction.

At this time.

Then I saw a young woman walking over.

Song Li raised an eyebrow slightly.

He recognized the person as the maid in the front yard of Master Zheng's residence.

"Lord Song, the master heard that you have no relatives or friends, and he wants you to come to his home to celebrate the New Year together."

master?

Manager Zheng!

Song Li was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that the maid from Master Zheng's household would come to him to invite him to the New Year.

"Alright, please tell Steward Zheng that Song Li will be here shortly."

The maid nodded and turned to leave the farmhouse.

"My boss invited me to spend the Chinese New Year?"

Song Li blinked.

"It shouldn't be some kind of trap."

There was no enmity between Zheng and him, and what kind of good person would set up a trap on New Year's Eve?

Visiting as a guest.

Of course, there's no such thing as going empty-handed.

Others may not need it, but you cannot be unprepared.

After a moment's thought, Song Li had an idea in mind.

......

......

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

The streets of Shannan County are almost deserted, and even the most mischievous children are being dragged into their homes by their parents for meals.

The end of the year is a major event.

If you don't get through this hurdle, you'll have bad luck next year.

In the past, Song Li would probably have considered it feudal superstition.

But as my knowledge and experience broadened, I realized that there was a lot more to it than met the eye.

So even though he was all alone, he didn't really intend to fool anyone. If it weren't for the invitation from Steward Zheng, he would have already enjoyed a hot pot of beef and mutton soup and spirit wheat.

The Zheng residence is located in the east of the city.

Those who can afford to buy property here are almost all wealthy and influential people.

Young officials like Song Li would never have such a dowry.

The vermilion gate, standing at least two zhang tall, was extremely imposing.

There are two bronze lion head door knockers on the door.

In the era when the rules were strictest during the founding of the dynasty, only officials of the third rank or higher would dare to use such a designation; otherwise, it would be considered an overstepping of authority and would be punished by the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

But as time goes by...

The old etiquette system was gradually relaxed.

Some wealthy families in the city could also enjoy the treatment of a third-rank official.

Boom, boom, boom.

A heavy knocking sounded on the door.

Not long after.

A middle-aged man pushed open the door and peeked out.

Although the two had never met before, the middle-aged man recognized Song Li at a glance: "Young Master Song, the master has been waiting for you in the courtyard for a long time. Please come in quickly."

Thank you for your trouble.

Song Li cupped his hands in greeting and followed the middle-aged man into the Zheng residence.

The Zheng residence was enormous, at least five or six times larger than the farmhouse.

As you walk around, you can see no fewer than a dozen busy servants and maids.

"Just supporting these people is a terrible expense every year."

soon.

The middle-aged steward led him through the front room to the backyard.

A graceful ginkgo grove leads to a stone-built fishpond.

Manager Zheng held a handful of fish food, his back to Song Li and the other man.

Seeing this, Song Li...

Suddenly, I remembered a certain predecessor who jumped into the water to catch fish for the chief eunuch, and in the end, I resisted the urge.

Zheng, the chief clerk, was based in the military.

Going too far will not only invite disgust, but may even destroy any good impressions you've made before.

As a rural official, his future was entirely in the hands of Chief Clerk Zheng.

"They're here."

Although Zheng was facing away, he still noticed Song Li's presence.

I threw a handful of fish food into the water, and there was a splash.

"After ten years of self-cultivation, I still can't learn these pretentious things."

He turned around and looked at Song Li.

Song Li reached his right hand into his sleeve.

Zheng, the steward, could naturally tell that Song Li had prepared a gift.

I felt slightly displeased.

Could he possibly be missing something?

He would definitely look down on anything that a mere agricultural official could offer.

He was about to speak.

But then Song Li took out a book and said with a studious look, "I came here by chance to obtain this 'Gathering Yuan Notes' and have benefited greatly from it. Today I have come to thank my teacher for his kindness in imparting knowledge and teaching me."