Chapter 1562 - The Gathering (Part Three)

Wang Qisuo chimed in from the side, "The Chiefs have such a big operation now, with so many things to manage, how could they attend to everything? Take me for example, lately I've been dragged off to act as a musician playing the flute. Besides standing guard and sentry duty every day, I have to go to rehearsals! I heard it's all in preparation for something called the 'Cultural Festival'. They say the Senate attaches great importance to this event; many Senators have gone to the gymnasium to inspect it, and even Chairman Wen went to check on the work."

"Who knows why the Chiefs are messing with these flashy, useless things? Can you eat them? can they fight a war? I heard it's all being done by those student kids at Fangcaodi, just a bunch of pale-faced schoolboys and little girls, what kind of stuff can they come up with? But the Chiefs are particularly partial to them!" Triggered by Wang Qisuo's words, someone immediately voiced a complaint.

"That's where you don't understand. These children are the Chiefs' 'Disciples of the Son of Heaven', they're all going to be high officials in the future. Can mud-legged grunts like us compare to them?" Huang Yang, face flushed from a few cups of wine, was a distant cousin of Huang Ande beyond five degrees of kinship, and also hailed from Dengzhou Town. After arriving in Lingao, he joined the National Police and was assigned to Fangcaodi Academy as a Petition Police officer.

Because the Senate was in a semi-wartime state and security tasks were heavy, they couldn't rely solely on semi-detached militia, so the National Police introduced the Petition Police system. The so-called Petition Police were security personnel dispatched by the police agency or organized by the entities themselves after relevant schools, enterprises, or groups applied to the government police department due to necessity and received permission. They operated within specific areas, and their expenses were borne by the applying department. This was roughly similar to the economic police and security guards of another spacetime. Uhnder the Senate's rule, this police department consisted of formal personnel of the National Police, responsible for recruitment, training, and dispatch, while relevant personnel and duty expenses were borne by the departments utilizing the police.

The students of Fangcaodi were a rather mysterious existence in Lingao. They rarely went out on the streets, but whenever they appeared in public, they always stood out from the crowd. Regardless of gender, they all wore neat and beautiful uniforms, especially the girls, who were particularly eye-catching. Their style was completely the most fashionable "Australian style".

"You're a policeman at Fangcaodi, you've seen a lot. What's that school really like?" Huang Xiong, about to become a father, was naturally very concerned about schooling for children.

"Fangcaodi School, there's nothing bad to say about it! Inside it's like a garden, even the grass grows neatly," Huang Yang bragged, his mood elevated by the alcohol. "Experience" was always a main topic at the drinking table; in the early years, if someone came back from abroad, they wouldn't finish until they had described even the toilet seats in Japan. "Those buildings, that furniture—even though they are collective dormitories, they are much prettier than your house, Brother Huang..."

"Don't just talk about useless things, tell us the important stuff!"

"Don't rush, let me tell you slowly," Huang Yang took a bite of food. "As for the food, clothing, and expenses inside, I won't go into details. Let alone us newcomers who can't compare, even the old naturalized citizens, I see they are far behind—chicken, duck, fish, and meat every day, every meal. And there's that fishy-tasting milk to drink. Don't look down on it; apart from the Chiefs, in all of Lingao, only they get to drink it!"

Huang Yang's words caused a small stir of envy at the table. Huang Yang enjoyed this effect very much and continued to boast, "Take the clothes for example. If it's not fine cotton cloth, it's imported Western wool and fine linen: there are skirts, jackets, and hats. One set for summer, another for spring and autumn, and there are even cloaks for winter..."

Zheng Yue'e brought over a large bowl of piping hot spicy soup and set it down, saying, "What's strange about scholars eating well and dressing well? Even the poor xiucai scholars of the Great Ming have a piece of cold pork to collect."

"That's true, that's true. I didn't say it wasn't okay," Huang Yang hurriedly said. "Besides, the students at Fangcaodi aren't some poor xiucai; they are hand-taught by the Senators, the Disciples of the Son of Heaven!"

"Then that's the Senate's Imperial Academy," someone who knew a little about the Ming Dynasty's civil service system showed off.

"Coming out of the Imperial Academy only gets you a small official post," Huang Xiong, having been a military officer of the court, knew a bit more about the official system. "Fangcaodi should be considered the Hanlin Academy—Disciples of the Son of Heaven."

"Brother Huang Xiong still knows more," Huang Yang complimented, then acted mysterious again. "Besides, do you know who studies together with them?"

"Who?"

"The young masters and misses of the Senators!"

Everyone at the table became interested. Naturally, the Chiefs were human too, and had seven emotions and six desires. Having been on the island for a few years, everyone knew that the Life Secretaries were the Chiefs' chambermaids. But the Senators' children were rarely seen by anyone. They almost never appeared in public occasions.

Even personnel from the Garrison Battalion like Wang Qisuo rarely saw the Senators' children. Although the Garrison Battalion undertook a large amount of garrison and internal security tasks, the security for the Senators' private lives was the responsibility of the guard company within the Garrison Battalion, where the soldiers were carefully selected. Soldiers like Wang Qisuo, with a short service period and no family dependents here, would not be selected at all.

"Come on, tell us quickly." Someone hurriedly filled his cup with wine.

Huang Yang tossed his head back, wiped his mouth, and said, "Actually, I don't know much either. There's a special courtyard inside Fangcaodi, which is where the Junior Chiefs study. Children who study well at Fangcaodi get selected to accompany them in their studies—think about it, won't these study companions rise to prominence in the future? If a girl takes this opportunity to catch a Junior Chief's eye and becomes a concubine, the whole family will enjoy felicity."

"Brother Huang Xiong, looks like you're going to prosper..." Someone started teasing him.

Huang Xiong smiled, "Where would I get such fortune!"

Someone anxiously asked, "What do the Junior Chiefs look like?"

Huang Yang said, " nothing special, their spirit and bearing are just like the Chiefs! They speak amiably and have great learning! It's just that the Senator Misses inside, one by one, are blustering and loud, not ladylike at all! I see they aren't young anymore, yet none have husbands, and the Chiefs aren't anxious about it..."

"So what if they are anxious? They won't marry you," someone teased.

Huang Yang was already drunk, smiling dizzily and shaking his head, "I wouldn't dare dream of eating swan meat. Those are the apple of the Senators' eyes; I don't even dare to look at them twice. Those little ladies are very alluring, with short skirts and tight clothes, those chests, those legs..."

The conversation at the wine table finally and uncontrollably slid in that direction. Huang Ande coughed repeatedly, finally stopping Huang Yang's evaluation of the Senators' daughters' figures. "Do you know? This Cultural Festival, the Junior Chiefs are going to participate too. Those Senator Misses are even going to dance; I really want to go see..."

Huang Ande coughed repeatedly again, and Huang Yang finally stopped mentioning "Junior Chiefs". He started bragging about the students of the Women's Normal College instead. Compared to the "Senator Misses", their exposure frequency was much higher. Especially when talking about these girls' uniforms, how beautiful they were, how exquisitely made...

These female students had been a hot topic locally recently because rumors had spread: it was said that these girls were originally bought to be chambermaids for the Senators. Later, Chairman Wen was benevolent and specifically instructed the Senate to return their indenture contracts, and even let them study to become officials in the future, and so on.

"Even if they are to become officials in the future, there's no need to be so extravagant," someone still felt the Senate was a bit "excessive." Having had a few cups, the wine went to his head. "A xiucai of the Great Ming only gets a few dou of rice a month and an exemption of two shi of grain tax. Do these little brats have more learning than Master Xiucai? Being raised with such luxury from childhood, it's not impossible they'll grow up to be useless."

Huang Ande's face changed color. He wasn't clear about the situation at Fangcaodi, but he knew those students were the darlings of the Senators. Huang Yang's earlier remarks were already greatly inappropriate; saying things like this now would be bad if the Senators found out. Just as he was about to speak, Huang Yang was already shaking his head:

"You don't know shit. They are learning Australian knowledge. Do you think it's like those sour scholars memorizing useless articles by rote? The trains, the guns and cannons, and the steam clippers... it's all Australian learning, and it's not easy to learn. Last time I was on duty at the school, I saw a dozen kids tinkering according to a book for over a month, and they actually built a small machine that moves by itself. Add water, add coal, and it turns on its own, capable of hulling rice and grinding flour. Even the Chiefs said they were capable."

Wang Bao'er muttered as she served the dishes, "The schools run by the Chiefs don't teach the Four Books and Five Classics; reading there won't get you into the civil service. What's the use of knowing how to build a machine? You'll just be a head craftsman."

"Civil service, civil service! Reading those damn books just makes you a sour scholar, ending up like your father, unable to even keep a home." Huang Xiong said somewhat unhappily. Wang Bao'er's face darkened upon hearing this, and she threw off her apron and swayed back into the kitchen.

Hearing Wang Bao'er's complaints, the others at the table seemed to find a topic and started pouring out their own dissatisfactions. Although since coming to Lingao, their lives were no longer about starving one meal and being full the next, everything feared comparison.

"Look at that Lu Laonian. When we all rose up together, he was the one scared witless and slinking to the back. Before we could enjoy any fortune, he's the one first served, taking more than his share. Tell me, how could the Chiefs fancy someone like him?"

Someone said indignantly, "Exactly. Back when the Chiefs wanted to save Master Sun, it was us brothers carrying our heads in our hands and charging forward with Brother Huang. Lu Laonian took advantage of our efforts. Now his food, drink, and expenses are better than us brothers. Sigh."

"The food here, back home we wouldn't even dare dream of it. Not only are we full every meal, but there's always meat. Tsk tsk. But people die from comparison. Not to mention the old Lingao locals here, look at the employees buying houses—we wouldn't dare dream of that." Someone else said, "Queuing, queuing. Queuing to eat, queuing to go to the fields, queuing to take a carriage, we endure it all. But even to take a dump we almost have to queue. Brother, tell me, just how much do these Chiefs like queuing?" This was from someone unaccustomed to the new life.