Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

......

A moment later, all the Daoist people had completed their first shot, and forty-nine people were selected to advance to the second round.

After a short rest, the second round of archery practice began!

It was now March, and the sun was getting stronger. Zhao Xian stood on the earthen platform for a long time, and a layer of fine sweat seeped out from his forehead.

Forty-nine people advanced to the second round, and Shanghuting secured seven seats, including his cousin Zhao Cheng and his second cousin Zhao Ji.

Zhao Xian was not surprised that Zhao Cheng was included, but he was quite puzzled that his elder brother Zhao Ji was also included.

My brother's old arm injury has not yet healed. It is often said that it takes a hundred days to recover from a bone or tendon injury. He has not even been resting for a hundred days yet. How can he possibly be able to draw the iron bow?

Before long, the second round of shooting practice was over.

The team still consists of seven people, with two people selected from each team.

On the earthen platform, Chen Yuancheng looked down at the archery practitioners below and gradually fell into deep thought.

The things my uncle Chen Sheng said that day gradually came to mind.

Now that I am serving as the village head, in charge of more than ten thousand people, I have no one to serve me. It is really inappropriate that I have to trouble Zhao Xian to do everything personally.

This opportunity to practice archery should be a chance to find some talented individuals!

Thinking of this, Chen Yuancheng looked up again at the earthen platform, and the fourteen figures came into view one by one.

"Huh~"

With a soft exclamation, Chen Yuancheng spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

"First team, fire!"

Zhao Xian waved the small flag in his hand, and the seven men stepped forward and took their positions.

Among the seven people, Zhao Xian's gaze fell on one of the robust figures, his cousin Zhao Cheng!

"shoot!"

At a command, the seven men drew their bows and nocked arrows, shooting them at the distant target.

Before long, all fourteen men had finished shooting.

Zhao Xian selected four people from among them, all of whom came from prominent families and wealthy households in the village.

One of them was from the Yan family, the guest surnamed Qi who had competed with Zhao Xian in archery that day; the other was from the Xu family, Xu Dekun.

The remaining two were Song An, a disciple of Shen Gong, one of the three elders of the village, and Li Yao, the son of the wealthy Li family of Sanghuaiting. Neither of them came from an ordinary village family.

The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" perfectly describes this situation.

It was nearly noon, and now that the four had been chosen, the final round began.

All four were brave and strong men. After a short rest, they got up, drew their bows and arrows, and prepared to shoot.

A dozen or so breaths later, all four had finished shooting.

Before the official could report the target, a flash of red light appeared in Zhao Xian's eyes, and he already knew who had won the top three spots.

The first place went to Xu Dekun, the second place to Song An, a disciple of Shen Gong, and the third place to Yan Jiabinke.

"Now that the archery competition is over, please, Your Majesty, announce the results!"

After the official finished reporting the target, Cao Miao immediately turned around, bowed to Chen Yuancheng, and solemnly reported.

"Can."

Chen Yuancheng nodded slightly, rose, walked to the edge of the earthen platform, looked around at the people, and said with a smile, "The first place winner of this year's archery competition is Xu Dekun of the Xu family in Xiangting!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding Daoist people burst into cheers.

"Second place: Song An from the Song family of Xiangting!"

"Third place: Yan Jiaqiyuan from Xiangting!"

The top three spots were all taken by people from Xiangting, and at that moment the cheers from the villagers of Xiangting were the loudest.

Seeing the villagers' arrogance, a local man, feeling indignant, immediately mocked them, saying, "The archer hit the bullseye every time today!"

"Xu Dekun only hits the target nine times out of ten; how can he compare to the archer's divine prowess!"

"That's right! If we include the archers, the first place should belong to Shanghuting!" Another Daoist added fuel to the fire.

Upon hearing this, the village elder's smile froze, and he immediately retorted, "It has always been the established rule that the archer in charge of archery does not participate in the competition!"

"This year, our village pavilion will be the winner!"

In the distance, the Daoist people were bustling about, arguing endlessly, but this did not stop the distribution of rewards on the earthen platform.

According to the old custom of archery in the countryside, the first place winner could be recommended to serve as an official in the county.

Chen Yuancheng immediately promised Xu Dekun that he would submit a written recommendation to the county government within three to five days.

Xu Dekun's face immediately lit up with joy, and he gladly accepted the offer.

If the top archer in the village were to be recruited by the county magistrate, he would certainly not end up as a minor official like Zhao Xian; he would at least be given a position as a lowly official.

Although the Xu family once produced a county magistrate with a salary of 400 shi (a unit of grain), the family fortunes have declined since then. Xu Dekun's early career as an official, where he obtained a position with a salary of dou (a unit of grain), is already a very good starting point.

As for the idle gossip of the Dao people, he would not take it to heart.

Although the Xu family is currently in a slight decline, that is only in terms of official career; the family's wealth is increasing year by year.

Xu Dekun's mind raced, and he immediately said respectfully to Chen Yuancheng, "Mr. Chen, Bozhang is now the archer, hitting the target ten times out of ten, the best archer in the village, the prize should belong to Bozhang!"

"Haha, Bozhang's success is just a fluke. In terms of real talent and learning, he is no match for Xu Jun's family's scholarly tradition." Chen Yuancheng smiled, his tone meaningful. "Besides, Bozhang has only been a minor official for less than two months since I recommended him. How can I hastily recommend him to the county government again, only to invite criticism?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Dekun's heart skipped a beat. He immediately understood and said with a smile, "I heard that Bozhang's family does not yet have any oxen. Although my family is not very wealthy, I would like to give Bozhang an ox as a token of my respect."

"Since you are so courteous, you will surely rise to a high position when we serve as officials together in the future." Chen Yuancheng nodded in praise, and the matter was thus dropped.

Zhao Xian stood quietly to the side, a faint smile on his face, without saying a word, his expression very calm.

Zhao Xian already knew about his appointment as the archer of the village last night.

The rewards for second and third place were a certain amount of coins, far less than those for first place.

After the top three received their rewards, Chen Yuancheng summoned the remaining villagers who had advanced to the second round.

Apart from the top three, the remaining forty-six people each received a low-grade spirit stone, which was personally distributed by Chen Yuancheng.

When they arrived in front of the seven villagers at Shanghuting, Chen Yuancheng stopped and chatted with them for a while, expressing his expectations for them.

Zhao Xian, carrying a wooden tray, followed closely behind Chen Yuancheng. When he reached Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ji, he nodded slightly, his eyes showing concern.

Of the seven people at Shanghu Pavilion, apart from the two elder brothers, Zhao Xian knew all five of them. He nodded and greeted them one by one with a humble expression.

After the last spirit stone was distributed, Chen Yuancheng returned to the earthen platform and announced the end of the village archery competition.

Afterwards, he, along with the three elders of the village and the heads of the three major clans, went ahead and returned to the pavilion.

Villagers from various neighborhoods also left the scene in an orderly manner, led by their neighborhood chiefs.

Zhao Xian and the other village officials remained in place to maintain order until all the villagers had left before returning to their village.

As night fell, Chen Yuancheng, accompanied by the village officials, went to the Xu family's house for a banquet.

Xu Dekun was recommended to the county government by Chen Yuancheng, and the Xu family had to repay this favor no matter what.

During the banquet, both host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely and engaged in pleasant conversation.

As the moon rose high in the sky, the group from the country house left the Xu family. Zhao Xian also had a rein in his hand, with a female bull tied to the back of the rein!

For some reason, the Xu family's meager respect turned from that of a bull into that of a cow, and a cow that already had a calf!

A cow costs at least three thousand five hundred coins, and all the officials in the village were envious when they saw Zhao Xian's cow.

However, no one harbored resentment out of jealousy, after all, the skill of hitting the bullseye ten times out of eighty paces is something that ordinary people can hardly achieve.

Upon returning to his village, Zhao Xian led the cow to an empty stable and asked the old shepherd to take good care of it for the next few days.

With the spring farming season over and the archery practice in March completed, and the miscellaneous tasks in the village gradually decreasing, Zhao Xian was able to have half a day of leisure each day. He then devoted the rest of his time to cultivation, daring not to slack off in the slightest.