Zhou Xing copied the book for a day, not to mention dinner, and didn't even eat lunch, but fortunately He Chujun understood him, so he didn't eat dinner out, but bought some boiled pig water, and a few large cooking cakes as their dinner.

Although He Chujun was born stronger than Zhou Xing, but because his parents died early, the family business also declined, fortunately, he still has hundreds of acres of fertile land in his home, which is taken care of by his wife in his hometown, originally with the situation in his family, he is also a small landowner in the countryside, but the price of Chang'an is too high, so his life is also tight, otherwise he would not rent Zhou Xing's house.

At this time, it was completely dark, He Chujun lit the oil lamp in his room, and then sat at the small table with Zhou Xing while eating and chatting, but Zhou Xing was a little embarrassed at this time: "Brother He, you rent my place, but you often invite me to dinner, which really makes me feel sorry." ”

"Haha~, Hongda, you are too outward, we are friends, and I am older than you, you just treat me as a big brother, and I should do to take care of your little brother!" He Chujun laughed very heartily and said, he likes to make friends, and although Zhou Xing is young, he is extremely smart, and he reads hard, so he is also very optimistic about Zhou Xing.

Hongda is Zhou Xing's word, originally he was young, and it was not yet time to take the word, but after meeting He Chujun, the friendship between the two became deeper and deeper, so He Chujun helped him take a Hongda word, hoping that he would be able to achieve a grand hall and a career in the future.

Hearing He Chujun's words, Zhou Xing was also moved in his heart, and even his eyes were a little hot, after all, after the death of his parents, no one had cared so much about him for a long time, which made him also have the urge to cry, but the man didn't flick when he had tears, he finally took a bite of the cooking cake in his hand, and then forcibly endured the tears in his eyes.

"By the way, I heard that the prisoners of Guozijian will be assigned some official positions every year, with your talent, Brother He, you will definitely be able to get a good official position, right?" After a long while, Zhou Xing suddenly asked.

"Guozijian will indeed assign official positions to the inmates who have graduated, such as being a county lieutenant of a county, a secretary of a government, etc., although they are all low-level petty officials, but as long as they are outstanding, they can also be promoted in the future." He Chujun nodded at this time and said, although Datang already has the imperial examination, but the territory of Datang is too big, and the officials selected by the imperial examination cannot meet the needs of Datang at all, so the prisoners of Guozijian are also used as reserve officials.

"I really envy you Guozijian, you can be an official without the imperial examination, but unfortunately my family is extremely poor, and I don't have the shade of my ancestors, so I can't enter Guozijian at all." Zhou Xing first showed an expression of envy, but finally said a little lost.

Guozijian is not everyone can enter, Guozi prison has a total of 300 people, generally only the children of officials or aristocratic families can enter, and the prison is divided into six subjects, different grades of officials and children learn different subjects, such as the highest Guozixue for example, only accept the third grade or more and the descendants of the Guogong, from the second grade or above the great-grandson for a living, the second-level Taixue only accepts more than five grades and the descendants of the county and county, from the third-grade great-grandson for a living, it can be said that the hierarchy is strict, He Chujun got the help of his father's old friends, and he can only enter the four schools to study.

Seeing Zhou Xing's appearance, He Chujun smiled indifferently and said: "Hongda, don't be too disappointed, in fact, the current Guozijian is not as good as before, and I have decided that even if the Guozijian assigns an official position, I don't want it, but I want to participate in next year's imperial examination and try how well I can learn!" ”

"Why, Brother He, why don't you let go of the smooth road, but instead go to compete with others for the imperial examination with little hope?" Zhou Xing couldn't help but be taken aback when he heard He Chujun's words, and then asked rhetorically, you must know that the competition in the imperial examination is very fierce every time, especially in the Jinshi department, the number of people admitted each time is very small, and although He Chujun is talented, he is definitely not sure of being successful.

"Hehe, Hongda, you don't know, there are two main reasons why I decided to take the imperial examination, and I also have to take the most difficult Jinshi subject." I saw He Chujun smiled again at this time, "The first is because the current Guozijian is different from the past, in the past, when our Datang was first established, there was a huge shortage of officials, so the prisoners of Guozijian can also be assigned to a good official position, but over the years, our Datang has gradually stabilized, and the demand for officials is limited, and the best official positions have been snatched away by those officials who were born in Jinshi, and the prisoners of Guozijian can generally only be assigned to remote places." ”

When he said this, he saw He Chujun pause for a moment and then said: "If it's just a good position that is snatched away, it doesn't matter, but now the officialdom regards the imperial examination as the right way, and the officials who are not from the imperial examination are quite discriminatory, and even the future promotion is affected, which is far less smooth than the officials from the imperial examination, and it is precisely because of the above that I decided to take the road of the imperial examination, although the front is a little more difficult, but it is to lay the foundation for the future." ”

"I see, it's still Brother He, you have a long-term vision!" Zhou Xing couldn't help but praise after listening to He Chujun's words, he liked to chat with He Chujun very much, because the other party has experience and insight, and can tell himself many things he doesn't know, such as these things in the officialdom, if He Chujun doesn't tell him, I'm afraid he can only rely on his own little bit of groping in the future.

"Hehe, it's not about taking a long-term view, it's just a choice that is most beneficial to you." When He Chujun heard Zhou Xing's praise, he also smiled again and said, "By the way, Hongda, do you have any plans for the future?" ”

"Me? What can I plan, I just hope to read more books, I don't expect the imperial examination, after all, my talent is too poor, I only hope that I can find an opportunity to enter the officialdom in the future, even if it is to start as a small official, so that at least I haven't wasted all these years of hard study. Zhou Xing laughed self-deprecatingly at this time.

Speaking of which, Zhou Xing asked himself that he was not stupider than anyone else, and even as long as he was known to people, they praised him for his quick thinking and a good material for reading, but no matter how good the material is, if he doesn't read books, he won't have much success in the future, not to mention anything else, Zhou Xing feels that he is far worse than He Chujun, and He Chujun is not from a family, but he only read a lot of books when he entered the Guozijian later, he can't even compare with He Chujun, let alone those children of the family.

Seeing Zhou Xing so pessimistic, He Chujun couldn't help sighing, but then he cheered up and encouraged the other party: "Hongda, don't be too pessimistic, our Datang is in its heyday, and a large number of talents are needed in all aspects, I heard that in the first two years, Li Xiu's bank needed a large number of scholars, and these people entered the bank at the beginning just as small officials, but later with the expansion of the bank, many people were promoted to officials, it is said that the bank will expand in the future, and the officials inside are also promising. I think you can try it! ”

Hearing He Chujun mention the bank, Zhou Xing's eyes also lit up, but then he said a little embarrassed: "Actually, I knew about the bank's recruitment last year, and I also went to try it, but people thought I was too young and didn't accept it at all." ”

"Haha~, you were only thirteen years old last year, you are indeed too young, but you don't have to worry, the bank needs a lot of people, your talent is good, your brain is smart, as long as you are two years older, you can definitely go in, in addition, I heard that the bank has high requirements for arithmetic, it just so happens that I have a friend who has a copy of "Li Gongzi Arithmetic" in his hand, I will borrow it for you in two days!" He Chujun couldn't help laughing when he heard Zhou Xing's words, Zhou Xing is not only young, but he usually eats badly, but he looks thin and small, looking more like an eleven or twelve-year-old child, and the bank will naturally not accept him.

Hearing He Chujun's words, Zhou Xing also smiled a little embarrassedly, and the pessimism just now was swept away, but he was still a little unwilling in his heart, after all, every scholar has a dream of the imperial examination in his heart, but unfortunately the reality is too cruel, so that he has to give up the dream in his heart, and starting from a small official is the most suitable path for him.

He Chujun and Zhou Xing chatted while eating, during which Zhou Xing also asked the other party some questions he encountered in reading, and He Chujun also answered them one by one, until it was almost two watches, they dispersed, Zhou Xing also went back to his room to rest in the dark, but when he was lying on the bed, he couldn't help but think of today's conversation with He Chujun.

"A small official is a small official, and when you have a stable income in the future, you will have money to buy books, and then you will find time to study, and maybe you will have the opportunity to participate in the imperial examination in the future." In the end, Zhou Xing said to himself, but despite the words, he also knew that this hope was too small, after all, after being a small official, there must be something to be busy with, how could he have time to study again? And the income of the little official is not very high, relatively expensive books, I am afraid he can't buy a few books in a year.

Zhou Xing tossed and turned in bed for half the night before falling asleep, and when he woke up the next day, it was already three poles in the morning, He Chujun had already gone to Guozijian, and the book he copied yesterday was also returned by the other party, after all, the book was borrowed by He Chujun, and he said that he would return it today, if he delayed, it would also damage He Chujun's reputation.

When I got up next week, I boiled some brown rice porridge for myself, drank my pickles, and then took out the book I copied yesterday and read it.

But just when Zhou Xing was reading in the courtyard, he suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside, and then he saw Hechu Junxing rushing to push the door and run in, and when he saw him, he shouted excitedly: "Hongda, great joy, you come with me, the library is going to recruit people!" ”