Free Web NovelChapter 79: Chapter 79: Jinghai Hai Family
"...Wait, are you serious?" Zhang Hai’s face twitched. It wasn’t that he looked down on Chu Bamboo. The problem was, he was certain that this Mr. Zhu was a high school dropout.
Sure, a middle school education was technically enough to qualify for the civil service exam. But even with a university degree, there was no guarantee you’d pass—
’Aren’t you just setting yourself up for failure?’
After washing up, Chu Bamboo seemed to remember something and said to Zhang Hai, "Take this assassin back to the church for now. You’ll be in charge of guarding him! Once I’m done with my exam, we’ll figure out how to deal with this guy."
’Since he’s such a tough nut, I can’t expect to get any information out of him... I’ll just have to make full use of his remaining value!’
Zhang Hai nodded subconsciously, then his cheek twitched. He watched Chu Bamboo’s figure disappear completely from sight before looking down at the assassin pinned under his foot.
’Why is it that even after the matter is settled, after I’ve said my piece... I’m still listening to him...’
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Zhang Hai slapped his own cheeks, then hoisted the assassin over his shoulder and walked out of the building.
... freēwēbnovel.com
The civil service exam was, naturally, held inside the District Government Office.
However, when Chu Bamboo arrived, completed his identity verification, and entered the examination hall, the several officials proctoring the exam really couldn’t keep their composure.
After all, they had just seen Chu Bamboo two days ago—at that time, Chu Bamboo had been sitting triumphantly on the main stage of the public service hall. Even Sun Zheng had only been able to sit in a secondary seat beside him.
To see him now, taking the exam, just seemed bizarre no matter how they looked at it.
"I wonder how hard this exam will be..."
"Relax. Jinghai City has opened up thirty spots this time. The Third District is an industrial zone, so compared to the Second District and First District, our culture and education aren’t as developed. The competition won’t be as terrifying."
"But even so, most of the spots will probably go to the First and Second Districts, right? We might only get two or three spots allocated to us. Imagine how fierce the competition will be!"
The conversations of those around him revealed their apprehension, worry, and unease.
To be honest, hearing this made Chu Bamboo feel a little guilty—after all, his situation was somewhat special...
’So be it,’ Chu Bamboo sighed inwardly, having made a decision. ’When the time comes, I’ll pull some strings and see if I can secure one more spot for our district! I’ll raise the number of selections to thirty-one.’
Entering a Government Office without passing the examination was extremely difficult. This was a strict rule of Daqian!
But if one passed the exam, temporarily adding an official slot was something that had wiggle room—at least, with Chu Bamboo’s connections, it was definitely doable if he put his mind to it.
"All candidates, please enter the hall and begin the examination!"
Chu Bamboo found his seat, picked up the exam paper, glanced at it, and immediately began to write furiously. His speed was unbelievable, as if he wasn’t even thinking.
"..."
’Is he for real?!’ The proctor was startled when he saw this from afar. He discreetly walked over to Chu Bamboo’s side, and then...
"!?"
He was stunned at first glance. Setting aside everything else, the man’s handwriting was beautiful. He’d probably get full marks for presentation alone.
Then, as the proctor looked a little longer, he grew even more shocked. At least for the questions he could see and solve at a glance, Chu Bamboo hadn’t made a single mistake.
Ultimately, the rules forbade him from staying in one spot for too long. He could only walk away, sighing with emotion inwardly. ’As expected of the uncrowned king of the shantytown districts.’
Originally, the name of Mr. Zhu wasn’t very prominent in the Third District, or even in the entire Government Office system of Jinghai City—at least, his fame wasn’t high among the low-to-mid-level officials.
Perhaps only the true upper echelons paid any attention to the shantytown districts of various sizes that were scattered across Jinghai City like "scars."
But after the recent major union march, and with Chu Bamboo negotiating with and successfully subduing the various major factory owners, his reputation had skyrocketed in an instant...
At least within the low-to-mid-level official system of an industrial area like the Third District, he was now a household name.
As Government Office personnel, they knew all too well how terrifying those major factory owners—a convergence of capital and great clans—were, and just how vast the forces backing them were...
What Chu Bamboo had done was enough to fill them with a sense of awe and reverence toward him.
After finishing all the questions, Chu Bamboo didn’t even bother to check his work. He simply tossed his pen down, handed in his paper, and walked out of the Third District Government Office.
...
"Ah Zhu, over here! Over here!" Li Kang’s shout suddenly rang out.
Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow and looked over, spotting a beaming Li Kang and his group... Hmm? frёewebnoѵēl.com
Chu Bamboo’s gaze fixed on the tall man beside Li Kang, and a strange look crossed his face.
"Hello, Mr. Zhu!" The tall man stepped forward, a standard, template-like smile on his face, and extended a hand. "My clan brother has mentioned you before. Although you made him suffer a considerable loss, he bears you no ill will. In fact, he admires you greatly."
"...You’re giving him too much credit!" Chu Bamboo briefly clasped the man’s fingertips. "I’d thank my lucky stars if he isn’t privately calling me a damn, ill-mannered orphan who wasn’t raised right, or the gangster boss of the slums!"
Hai Yun’s expression stiffened for a moment, and he seemed to want to say something but stopped. Because Hai Tie really did curse him like that in private. But... how did this man know?
’How strange... The Hai Family can’t possibly have a mole, can it?’
"This is Deputy Hai from the Second District!" Li Kang quickly made the introduction, sensing the atmosphere had grown strange. Then he added with a beaming smile, "Though, perhaps I should offer my early congratulations... Captain Hai?"
"You’re too kind, truly!" For a moment, the formulaic smile on Hai Yun’s face became much more sincere.
He cupped his hands. "Rest assured, the Third District’s Special Operations Brigade is indeed too undermanned. Once I have sufficient authority, I will definitely try to persuade the Celestial Capital to give the Third District more consideration when allocating Special Operations personnel next time!"
Chu Bamboo, listening from the side, understood perfectly. This was the deal they had struck—
Li Kang would help Hai Yun take down Captain Qi, and in return, Hai Yun would support the expansion of the Third District’s brigade. To be frank, the Third District had far, far too few official Transcendents at the moment.
The first time Chu Bamboo had met Li Kang and his team, they had to rush out on a mission after just a few words. This was no coincidence.
The Third District was the largest in area and had a huge population, yet the First and Second Districts looked down on it as the countryside, treating it with utter contempt... The most polluting industries were all located in the Third District.
As for the First and Second Districts? They just had to sit back and enjoy their beautiful scenery and the dividends from their financial operations.
It was precisely because the First and Second Districts had few workers and basically no shantytown districts that Chu Bamboo had never liked going there... although, strictly speaking, he knew quite a few people there.
"Um, Father Bamboo!" Guan Fei said, his expression a mixture of respect and nervous unease. He rubbed his hands together. "About your exam this time..."
He was actually really looking forward to working with Chu Bamboo.
"It went very smoothly!" Chu Bamboo thought for a moment. "According to procedure... the interview should be next! But the captain has already greased the wheels for me, right?"
Li Kang froze.
Chu Bamboo: "?"
Ning Linglong’s expression also turned strange. She looked Li Kang up and down suspiciously. "You’re not worried about being usurped, are you... But even if Uncle Zhu joins, I’d be the first one to usurp your position! Aren’t you overthinking things?"
"...?" Li Kang laughed in exasperation.
Hai Yun’s expression stiffened again. His gaze swept over everyone present, a look of complete confusion on his face.
The power struggle in the Second District’s Special Operations team had already reached a fever pitch; they were truly one step away from coming to blows... But even so, on the surface, everyone maintained a harmonious facade.
’But why, in the Third District’s power struggle, could someone talk about usurpation right to Li Kang’s face? Wasn’t this a direct provocation?’
’How can Captain Li tolerate this? What kind of joke of a captain is he?!’
’And why, after all that was said... is the atmosphere still so harmonious?’
Noticing Hai Yun’s gaze, Li Kang gave a silent smile, a hint of pride on his face. "I do have some unruly ones... but my juniors are very capable. It’s not a bad thing for young people to have drive, ambition, and the desire to get ahead!"
Hai Yun was silent for a moment, then his smile, which had held a trace of sincerity, reverted to its standard, template-like form.
「A moment later.」
After seeing Hai Yun off, Chu Bamboo said lazily, "Uncle Li, looks like... you were underestimated!"
Chu Bamboo cleared his throat and did a spot-on impression of Hai Yun’s voice: "He can’t even keep his own subordinates in line! How can someone like that be the captain of a Captain’s Office for an entire district? A country bumpkin, truly unfit for the big stage..."
"Hey, hey, hey, that’s going too far! Slandering people behind their backs isn’t like you," Li Kang quickly cut in.
"Is it really slander?" Chu Bamboo met Li Kang’s gaze with a half-smile.
Guan Fei, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, paused and said quietly, "I don’t like that guy!"
Although Guan Fei was big and stout, his eyes were extremely sharp. He could sense that the man always exuded an air of lofty indifference and condescension.
"I regret wearing stockings today!" Ning Linglong sighed as well. "That guy walks around with his nose in the air, but his eyes kept darting to my stockings..."
’What kind of person is he!’
’And Uncle Zhu... are you blind? You didn’t even glance over. Can’t you see them?!’
"For the Jinghai Hai Family, this kind of behavior is completely normal!" Chu Bamboo sneered, his tone carrying a strange edge. "I remember an old saying from the shantytown districts—’The ’Sea’ in Jinghai is the Hai Family’s Sea!’"
While that saying might not be entirely true anymore, especially after the old governor took power twenty years ago and used iron-fisted methods to curb the great families’ power... it still gives you a sense of just how glorious the Hai Family’s status once was.
There had even been a time when Chu Bamboo was so fed up with these arrogant elites that he considered pulling a Huang Chao on them. Or maybe learning from the young generals on the neighboring Peninsula, putting them through a good ’interrogation’ to see what kind of loot they’d drop.
