Chapter 1909 - Civil Service Examination (Part Two)

That evening, Yuan Shuzhi and Zeng Juan studied the newspaper carefully, looking for positions that met their qualifications. There were quite a few vacancies this time. Zeng Juan first looked at the police recruitment: the requirements were still low, but he felt that competing physically with those "crude embryos" would be a disadvantage. After looking through everything, he felt the Taxation Bureau positions suited him best: he had grown up helping his parents with business and was skilled with the abacus. The newspaper stated that those proficient with the abacus would be given priority. Moreover, Li Ziyu had said the Taxation Bureau was one of the Senate's most powerful departments, offering good pay and plenty of "oil and water"—a unit with a future. So he secretly made up his mind to apply for the Tax Administrator position.

Yuan Shuzhi, on the other hand, was troubled. The multitude of positions dazzled him. He was literate, and the Australians valued this. But at his age, many positions were unsuitable. He dragged Zeng Juan over to help analyze his options. Zeng Juan suggested he choose between Civil Affairs and the Sanitation/Environmental Hygiene Bureau. Yuan Shuzhi thought about it: Civil Affairs naturally managed the populace's birth, aging, sickness, and death—a position of great power, but hard to test into; he'd have no advantage competing against young people. The Sanitation Bureau was equivalent to the "Palace Purification Bureau"—managing sweeping and cleaning matters. But after all, it was an official position. Presumably he wouldn't have to do the work himself, just direct subordinates. Being a small team leader in the yamen shouldn't be a problem. Those other applicants probably wouldn't want to apply for such "lowly" positions, which would work to his advantage. So Yuan Shuzhi decided to apply for the position of Inspector at the Sanitation Bureau.

Looking at the application requirements, this recruitment differed from the previous police recruitment in that it had "educational attainment" requirements. Anyone with a Ming academic degree, of any kind, was considered equivalent to "Class B Diploma academic ability." Those from community schools or private academies who hadn't obtained a degree were considered equivalent to "Class C Diploma academic ability."

This "Class C Diploma academic ability" covered the requirements for the vast majority of positions. Both Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi cleared this threshold.

Besides "educational attainment," applicants needed a certificate from the baojia (neighborhood administrative system) where their household was registered, confirming they were permanent residents of that ward and precinct, followed by a stamp from the local police station. Shop guarantees were not required. This posed a problem for Yuan Shuzhi: having no fixed abode, he had never registered a household.

"That's no hindrance," Zeng Juan said. "Tomorrow I'll just register you under the 'employee' regulations into the Wanshengliu Teahouse's collective employee household."

The household registration problem was solved, but getting the certificate from the police station proved difficult. Why? Because the application requirements explicitly stated: "No criminal record." Yuan Shuzhi had recently been processed for theft. This criminal record would screen him out immediately.

Yuan Shuzhi sighed and groaned, losing all enthusiasm for studying. Zeng Juan also felt very disappointed. He was thinking of how to comfort him when suddenly a lightbulb went on in his head. He asked: "Old Yuan! When you were processed by the police station, did you have a household registration?"

"I had no fixed abode back then, where would I get a household registration? Only when they first started household registration did I settle a temporary one at the temple I was staying in. Later the monks kicked me out, and that was gone."

"Then it's easy!" Zeng Juan said. "Since you didn't have a household registration then, you just have a case file for a rootless 'Yuan Shuzhi.' When you register your household tomorrow, just change your name. Call yourself 'Yuan Shu.'"

That was indeed a method. Yuan Shuzhi hesitated: "But quite a few people know about my offense. Even in the teahouse, many people know."

"You don't understand. When officials do business, the first thing they look at is documents. As long as the name on the document doesn't match, who can say you are Yuan Shuzhi? You are Yuan Shu!"