The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

Chapter 88 Liu Xiaoke's Application

"Brother Peng, you're here really early!" Liu Xiaoke greeted him with a smile.

"That's right. This is a good opportunity. I should come early to grab a good position, so that I can do more work and earn more money!" Peng Erlin said, patting the purse at his waist with a proud look on his face.

"Brother Peng, have you started work already?" Liu Xiaoke was a little surprised.

"Of course I did. Yesterday I went to the dock to help Zhaoyin Academy unload goods. I worked for a whole day, and guess what, I made a total of three hundred coins!" Peng Erlin said, stretching out three fingers and shaking them in front of Liu Xiaoke.

"So much! I also heard that Aunt Zhang next door also earned a lot by working." Liu Xiaoke couldn't help but exclaimed. This was much more than what they usually earned from working for a few days.

"That's right. Dean Cen of Zhaoyin Academy is such a kind man. He pays such a high salary and also provides food and accommodation. This job is really comfortable!" Peng Erlin said, and couldn't help sighing.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance. A plain carriage slowly approached, followed by a team of uniformed guards. The crowd immediately became agitated, and everyone craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the person in the carriage.

"Look, it's Chen Jianyuan from Zhaoyin Academy!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone suddenly quieted down, looking at the carriage in unison.

After the carriage stopped, a young man in a long green robe, holding a folding fan, stepped down. He had a handsome face and an elegant demeanor, but there was a hint of mystery between his brows.

"Who is this?" Liu Xiaoke asked Peng Erlin in a low voice.

"Shh, keep your voice down. This is the second-in-command of Zhaoyin Academy, Dean Chen. I heard that he has a special relationship with Dean Cen!" Peng Erlin said with a hint of awe in his tone.

Chen Zigui glanced at everyone, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. "Everyone, I am Chen Zigui, the abbot of Zhaoyin Academy. I'm here on the orders of Dean Cen to recruit craftsmen to participate in the preparations for the royal sacrifice."

Hearing the words "Royal Sacrifice", the crowd erupted in excitement. Royal Sacrifice is a once-in-a-century event. Being able to participate in it is a great honor!

"Quiet!" Chen Zigui coughed lightly, and the crowd immediately quieted down.

"The craftsmen we're recruiting this time must be highly skilled, have good character, and be able to endure hardships and hardship. Of course, Dean Cen has already made arrangements for your remuneration. As long as you work hard, your wages will be settled on the same day, and lunch and dinner will be provided, with meat included for both meals."

As soon as Chen Zigui finished speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers. Everyone was eager to try their luck, eager to show off their skills in this royal sacrifice and earn a lucrative reward.

Liu Xiaoke moved forward with the crowd, and soon it was his turn to register. The person in charge was a tall, thin scholar, holding a slender wolf-hair brush in his hand. The pointed brim of his hat forced him to raise his head slightly, and he looked at Liu Xiaoke subtly.

"Name?" the scholar asked in a soft voice.

"Liu, Liu Xiaoke." Liu Xiaoke answered nervously. This scholar looked gentle and polite, but why did his eyes look like knives, which made him feel creepy.

"Home address? How many people are there in your family?" The scholar asked a series of questions, which made Liu Xiaoke even more nervous and he began to stutter.

"Home, I live at home, in the south of the city, on Orange Garden Street. Right now, it's just me and my mother..."

"Juyuan Street? Little brother, it's like this. We need the specific address. After all, this sacrificial ceremony is of great importance. We need to be careful in the registration work to avoid causing trouble for you later." The scholar patiently explained to Xiao Ke.

"It's at No. 31, T-junction, Orange Garden Street, next to Lin the stonemason's house..."

After Liu Xiaoke finally finished telling the address, he thought the scholar was going to ask him something else, but the scholar waved his hand and motioned him to wait on the side.

Liu Xiaoke wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, why is Zhaoyin Academy treating recruiting craftsmen as if it were an imperial examination? Is there some secret behind this?

After registering his information, Liu Xiaoke was taken to a room filled with study supplies. Several young men of the same age as him were sitting in the room. They were all well-mannered and when they saw him come in, they put down their brushes and looked him up and down.

Liu Xiaoke felt uneasy when he was stared at. Just when he was about to ask something, one of the handsome young men picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and motioned him to stand in the middle of the room.

"Don't be afraid, brother. We are just following orders and following the rules. You don't need to be nervous about drawing a portrait for you." The young man explained with a smile, and the others echoed him.

"Painting, portrait?" Liu Xiaoke was even more confused. "Why would they want to paint a portrait when hiring a craftsman? Are they afraid I'll run away?"

"This...we don't know about this either. We are just following orders." The young man smiled awkwardly, lowered his head and continued to paint, and the others also buried their heads in their work.

Liu Xiaoke was stared at intently, not daring to move, and could only let them manipulate him. He secretly looked at the people around him and found that they were all very skilled painters. In a short while, they had portrayed his appearance and expression vividly.

After the portrait was completed, Liu Xiaoke was taken to a secret room by a serious-looking middle-aged man. The room was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood, which made people feel inexplicably depressed.

"Your name is Liu Xiaoke, right?" The middle-aged man sat in the shadows, his voice low and powerful.

"Yes, villain, Liu, Liu Xiaoke..."

"You live in Orange Garden Street?"

"Well, to answer my uncle, I live on Orange Garden Street in the south of the city."

"Oh, right, little brother. A few years ago, Lord Han promoted overseas trade on Orange Garden Street, so he requisitioned that orchard and turned it into a shipyard. Did your family get any compensation?"

"Uncle, this happened about five or six years ago. I was still young at the time, but I know it was my father who handled this matter. Lord Han proposed two compensation plans at the time. One was monetary compensation; the other was that for families without houses, the government would build a townhouse in the south of the city as compensation. At that time, my house was still a thatched hut, so my father chose the compensation house. At least he would have his own home."

"Well, yes, we have the same understanding." The middle-aged man's words instantly made Xiao Ke a little nervous.

Liu Xiaoke became even more nervous due to this series of interrogations. He felt as if he had committed some serious mistake and was being judged.

"Young man, why do you come to work at Zhaoyin Academy?" the middle-aged man suddenly asked.

"I, I want to make money and treat my mother's illness..." Liu Xiaoke's voice became smaller and smaller. He didn't know why he had to explain all this, but he instinctively wanted to gain the approval of this middle-aged man.

"Cure the disease? What disease?" the middle-aged man asked.

"My mother, her, her legs..." Liu Xiaoke was about to explain when he suddenly realized something and raised his head abruptly, his eyes full of vigilance. "You, why are you asking these questions? What does this have to do with work?"

The middle-aged man did not answer his question, but smiled meaningfully, took out a wooden sign from his sleeve and handed it to him.

"Take this wooden sign and report to Qingfeng Ferry in the north of the city tomorrow morning to work with Team 3 of the Craftsmen Department to design and build the floating bridge."

Liu Xiaoke took the wooden sign and saw the three words "Liu Xiaoke" engraved on it. The font was beautiful and the strokes were sharp, exactly the same as the handwriting of the tall and thin scholar just now.

"What does this mean?" Liu Xiaoke clenched the wooden sign tightly, feeling an uneasy premonition in his heart.

The middle-aged man stood up, walked up to him, patted his shoulder, with a subtle warning in his tone.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Remember, do your job well, get your wages, and accompany your mother to treatment..."

The middle-aged man didn't say anything else, but the mysterious look in his eyes made Liu Xiaoke unable to guess, completely unable to guess.