Chapter 22: Public Security Bureau Exam Begins—martial Way, Your Grandpa’s Here
“These constables are really no good. If I were their squad leader, I’d chop them all down.”
Lin Fan was very dissatisfied. Although he hadn’t been in this world long, he knew how great the power of constables was for ordinary common people.
“See, you’re talking nonsense again.” Wang Changhai tossed a few peanuts into his mouth and said, “The Hu Family has been rooted in our Yong’an City for three generations. Their ancestors produced a martial scholar, so they have some connection to prestigious clans. The officials in the government will give them some face.”
Martial Scholar?
Lin Fan narrowed his eyes. Anything connected to martial must have some story.
Seeing Lin Fan silent, Wang Changhai kindly advised, “A Fan, I know you’re hot-blooded and can’t stand these bully-with-official-power things, but there’s no way around it. The world is like this now. Mixing in officialdom is harder than mixing in a gang. The twists and turns there really eat people without spitting out bones. Why do you have to join the Public Security Bureau? Even if you pass the exam and become a commoner constable, you’ll only get a few coins a month?”
He really didn’t want Lin Fan to join the Public Security Bureau.
It’s not something ordinary people can mix in.
You definitely need to be slick.
Now Lin Fan was his wife’s sworn brother, one of their own. Staying by his side, when the time was right, he would step down, promote Lin Fan to take his place, and become hall master. That would be great.
That would make him a prominent figure in Yong’an City too.
Seeing Lin Fan silent, Wang Changhai sighed, knowing this kid had made up his mind and wouldn’t turn back. Fine, fine. Anyway, he had already started finding connections for him, pulling strings. Just let it be for now.
Once he handled some matters and faced restrictions everywhere, he’d know the difficulties.
Being a constable is that easy?
The ones just getting by are somewhat comfortable.
If you really want to get things done, you get up earlier than chickens, sleep later than dogs, and often get poked in the neck by common people, called dogs who don’t do real work and only know how to collect money.
Physical and mental attacks are common occurrences.
Several days later, in the early morning, Lin Fan packed his things early. Today was an important day—the Public Security Bureau exam. His sworn sister had come early.
To be honest, for Lin Fan, he had never been this nervous in his life.
Even when taking the college entrance exam back then, he could get up early and go to the internet cafe to play some Happy Mouse.
Search, kowtow, withdraw.
Then go take the exam contentedly.
After all, he had a clear understanding of his own academic performance. If he couldn’t pass, he couldn’t. Being nervous wouldn’t help. But this time was different; he had really studied seriously.
Sure enough, people are forced out.
“Sis, it’s fine. I can go alone.” Lin Fan had an egg stuffed in his mouth.
Wang Shi checked paper and pen, confirmed no mistakes, and packed them in the cloth bag. “How can you go alone? This is a big deal for you. Sis is afraid you’ll be careless and forget things. I definitely have to check thoroughly for you.”
“Alright.”
They went out and rode the horse carriage his sister had prepared. In the carriage, Wang Shi held Lin Fan’s hand and instructed, “Just take the exam with peace of mind, do it well, and don’t feel pressure. Sis has found connections for you, sent all the gifts that should be sent. As long as you don’t do too poorly on the law exam, it’s basically a sure pass.”
“Also, Sis personally went to Qingfang Private School to give the teacher a thank-you gift. That old teacher was an official in the government when he was young and has connections too. Sis did this to insure you; it must be foolproof.”
Listening to his sister nag on, Lin Fan felt like crying a little.
He really hadn’t expected that in the three months since coming to this world, he would actually meet someone who truly cared for him.
“Sis, I know.”
“Mm, good that you know. Little brother, work hard. You’re Sis’s reliance.”
Not long after, the horse carriage stopped at the Public Security Bureau entrance. There were quite a few people for this exam, most from well-off families. As soon as Lin Fan appeared, someone immediately came up fawningly.
“Master Lin.”
This title seemed to have spread.
After all, he was too good at fighting.
He was also prominent in Yong’an City.
Yang Ming, maintaining order at the door, saw Lin Fan and his eyes lit up. He trotted over eagerly. “Brother Lin, I wish you a great victory. We’ll be colleagues in the future.”
“Brother Yang, it’s not set in stone yet.” Lin Fan said.
“No, no, you’ll definitely pass.”
Yang Ming smiled. He dreamed of becoming colleagues with Lin Fan; being around him felt so safe. Even his master had been nagged by him daily and exceptionally put in a good word for Lin Fan.
This Public Security Bureau recruitment was only for five people—one radish one pit.
Someone had to move positions.
Lin Fan noticed the clothes Yang Ming was wearing had changed and smiled, “Congratulations, Brother Yang. From now on, I have to call you Constable Yang.”
Official constable, with an official position, able to receive salary.
Although without rank, he belonged to the imperial court’s grassroots.
“Thanks to Brother Lin’s blessing.”
He wasn’t being modest or exaggerating. The killer was caught and brought to justice; without Lin Fan, he and his master might have died. The previous time was the same, even more dangerous.
Plus the merits he had accumulated before, promotion was inevitable.
Even though his master was sidelined, in the face of solid merits, some people didn’t dare block it. After all, their Public Security Bureau’s merit reports went directly to the higher level.
Even the county magistrate had no right to interfere.
“Brother Lin, this is?” Yang Ming looked at Wang Shi, finding her somewhat familiar but not sure.
“My sis, my hall master’s madam.”
“Oh, so it’s sister-in-law.”
He had heard some rumors that Loyalty Hall’s Wang Changhai’s madam had taken Brother Lin as sworn brother. Seeing the situation now, it was clear this sworn sister valued Brother Lin greatly.
Wang Shi nodded with a smile.
The three chatted idly, and the exam time was approaching.
Yang Ming personally took Lin Fan into the exam hall, found the seat, and after sitting, Lin Fan took out paper and pen one by one, took a deep breath, and waited for the exam to start.
Soon, a middle-aged man walked in, followed by some constables. These constables each found places, sat staring intently, guarding fixed areas.
This looked just like proctoring teachers.
Exam papers were distributed.
Lin Fan looked at the questions on the exam paper, took a deep breath, picked up the pen, scribbled randomly… no, unleashed all his knowledge, emptied his brain of all reserves, and seriously wrote down all the known knowledge.
The proctoring middle-aged man glanced at Lin Fan.
He had become very famous in Yong’an City recently.
Heard he was very good at fighting.
He walked down with hands behind his back inspecting, passed by Lin Fan, lowered his head to look at Lin Fan’s exam paper, and after looking for a moment, nodded quite satisfied.
He had some real talent, not scribbling randomly.
Someone had greeted him about it.
And not just one person.
The gifts were very generous.
Since he accepted the gifts, he naturally had to do the job. One of the five radish pits was taken.
Two hours passed quickly.
Hand in papers and leave.
When going out, his sworn sister was still waiting outside. Seeing him come out, she immediately asked, “Little brother, how did the exam go? Smooth? Any you couldn’t do?”
At this, Lin Fan couldn’t help laughing.
“Sis, don’t you trust my strength? It was simple.”
“That’s good. I knew my little brother had no problem. Let’s go. Sis booked a table for us to celebrate properly.”
Now that the exam was done, results would come out tomorrow.
No use thinking too much.
He must become a member of the Public Security Bureau, use it as a springboard, rise to the top with merits, contact real high officials from great families, and explore martial way secrets.
Martial Way, your grandpa is coming.
