Chapter 1815 - Civil Service Consultation

Since she's from Lingao, she must be quite familiar with the chiefs' affairs. But a mere woman probably doesn't know much about Great Song's official positions either... Ah, might as well ask. At worst, she still knows more than those who need retakes.

Though he thought this, actually approaching her gave him pause. Naturalized police officers transferred from Lingao held ranks of at least Police Third-Grade Superintendent—equivalent to Second Lieutenant. Nearly all occupied leadership or technical specialist positions. To newly-recruited local police, they were practically figures in the clouds. Every word and deed radiated natural authority, inspiring awe.

This Lian Nishang—supposedly demoted to Guangzhou—held the position of Deputy Section Chief of the Guangzhou Municipal Police Bureau's Household Registration Section. To Li Ziyu, that constituted a genuine "high official."

Though Australians always preached "equality between officers and soldiers," and superiors rarely put on airs—including Elders who were unfailingly "approachable"—still, casually striking up conversation with a superior remained somewhat daunting for Li Ziyu, raised in the rigidly hierarchical Ming.

He hesitated for quite a while before finally steeling himself to step forward and greet her:

"Officer! I'm Li Ziyu from the Public Security Section. I have something I'd like your guidance on." Li Ziyu stood respectfully across from Lian Nishang, using Cantonese-accented official Australian to introduce himself.

Before he'd finished, he suddenly noticed that this young female officer's hair was streaked with considerable gray. His heart seized.

Lian Nishang looked up and smiled in response: "Comrade Li, hello. No need to be so formal. Please sit."

Li Ziyu quickly took a seat. Observing Lian Nishang up close, he noticed that despite her youth, fine wrinkles had appeared around her eyes. She looked very tired. Li Ziyu wondered whether Officer Lian carried some hidden troubles. Catching her puzzled expression, he hurried to say:

"Senior officer just transferred from Lingao?"

"Hehe, just call me 'comrade'... Yes, I've only been here about a month."

"Oh, are you settling in here in Guangzhou? Conditions must be considerably worse than Lingao?"

"It's all right, nothing unusual... When I was wandering in years past, sleeping rough, starving and freezing—I endured that too. Besides, Guangzhou—I once stayed in its charity hall for several months."

"Then you've returned in triumph."

"'Triumph' is too grand a word. Merely following work assignments." Lian Nishang's face shadowed with loneliness as she spoke.

Li Ziyu heard this and knew the rumors about demotion to Guangzhou were probably accurate. He quickly changed subjects:

"Officer Lian, you don't have to take our professional exams. Why are you still here reading?"

"The chiefs say 'knowledge is power.' Our Great Song can defeat the False Ming each time precisely because the chiefs are omniscient. As subjects of Great Song, we should study more as well."

Li Ziyu thought: You're a woman—what more do you need to learn? But he asked curiously: "Officer Lian, what book are you reading?"

"Oh, just some Great Song cases. Some are murder cases, some merely domestic matters. They're written as short stories. Reading them passes time as entertainment while also broadening experience."

"As the saying goes, 'Even upright officials find household matters hard to judge.' Yet the chiefs seem rather fond of managing such domestic trifles..." Thinking of his own daily street duties dealing with trivial matters, Li Ziyu couldn't help but silently groan: I'm supposed to be a man destined to reach life's pinnacle alongside the Australians!

"You don't appreciate this properly. In police work, trivial matters can prove tremendously important. In Hainan's public security work, domestic matters account for a considerable proportion. If small matters aren't promptly and properly addressed, they accumulate into major ones. For example, this case—it originated precisely from domestic violence: a husband chronically abusing his child-bride-origin wife. Because the local station didn't intervene in time, eventually the wife poisoned and killed her husband's entire family..."

"Ah, how vicious! Utterly against morality!" Li Ziyu was genuinely indignant. "Such an outrage against human relations—even death by a thousand cuts would be appropriate."

Lian Nishang gave him a somewhat displeased look: "The court's verdict stated that while her murder was certainly criminal, the husband's family had abused her for years—neighbors and relatives all testified, and the hospital provided verified injury evidence—indicating mitigating circumstances. So she was sentenced to lifetime exile in Kaohsiung."

"That—that's really far too lenient! Setting aside the several lives lost, just this transgression against human bonds, this crime of murdering husband and elders—granting her a quick death would already constitute great mercy. Yet they spared her life—that's simply inconceivable!" Li Ziyu's astonishment intensified. "She didn't even receive the death penalty—how is that reasonable?"

Lian Nishang gave a cold smile: "So you didn't personally hack her into a thousand pieces to uphold moral order—quite a pity?"

Li Ziyu suddenly snapped awake—what nonsense was he spouting?! Openly attacking the Elder Council's laws and precedents—and before a "veteran Australian hand" at that! This was practically suicide. Cold sweat instantly broke out as he rushed to explain: "No, no... I merely felt that with several lives at stake, even with mitigating circumstances, sparing her life seems... seems... really quite... too lenient..."

Only then did Lian Nishang's expression ease slightly: "You're new, so it's understandable. Let the pedants prattle about 'moral order.' Speaking strictly of facts: if the police had intervened in time to stop the husband's chronic abuse, perhaps none of this would have occurred afterward. So domestic trifles, once accumulated, can also kill people."

"But—but can the police really interfere when a wife is beaten by her husband?" Li Ziyu was still puzzled.

"How can they not? In Lingao, there are cases of women beaten by their men taking complaints to the Dongmen Citizens' Court. There are also women crying to the police station. Beyond domestic violence, every year we handle a considerable number of civil disputes classified as household matters."

"Women beaten by husbands take it to court??!!" Li Ziyu was even more shocked—this was utterly unheard of! A shrewish virago! He couldn't help blurting out: "That's too... too... too..." Then he suddenly remembered his earlier slip. If he said anything now that irked this cold-faced female "Australian hand," things would go badly—if she whispered a few slanderous words to the real Australians, never mind promotion, his life might be in jeopardy!

He quickly covered himself, diverting the topic: "This is truly unheard of in the Great Ming. Even if a woman's natal family is powerful, they'd rather not make a public scene. They fear 'airing dirty laundry.'"

"Even in Hainan, not many women are willing to speak up. As for 'dirty laundry,' that's the men's shame. If a woman gets beaten, is she not permitted to speak of it? Officer Li, your professional development still needs work. Why do you still carry the False Ming's old thinking?"

"No, no, absolutely not. It's merely somewhat peculiar." Li Ziyu shook his head like a rattle drum, hastening to distance himself. He knew that continuing on this topic would sooner or later land him in trouble. He quickly said: "Listening to you, senior, is worth three years of reading! Great Song's laws are truly different from the False Ming's. I still need to study more! Please, whenever you have time, offer me more guidance!"

Lian Nishang nodded slowly: "Guidance is too strong a word. I see you're still a salvageable person. Let us simply study together."

Li Ziyu found her phrasing rather awkward. But he didn't dare give offense. He could only nod in agreement and move quickly to his main purpose:

"To be honest, I have a friend interested in this civil service exam, but it's completely unprecedented—nothing to reference. Quite difficult to know where to begin. There are some questions I wonder if I might ask, senior? This exam is novel for everyone. Senior has long served under the chiefs—you must understand matters much more clearly..."

"This civil service exam never existed in Lingao either. I can only share what I know. Whether it proves useful depends on your friend himself..."

"Thank you so much, senior. I'm truly grateful..." Li Ziyu relaxed inwardly.

Li Ziyu's questions concerned mainly the selection of exam positions.

"...My friend studied at a private academy for a few years. He can read and calculate. His essays are passable too. Qualifications all match. It's only that there are hundreds of positions with different names. And he doesn't know specifically what each entails. He doesn't know how to choose the best option."

Lian Nishang examined the recruitment notice and explained each department's functions in sequence. She also described the general duties of each position. This opened Li Ziyu's eyes: who knew Australian official positions were subdivided so minutely! No wonder this civil service recruitment needed several hundred at once.

"...Actually, if your friend wants to take the exam, he should consider what he wants to do and what he's skilled at. The specific work content—given the False Ming's educational standards—will be far from sufficient preparation. After passing and starting work, everyone needs retraining. So any exam is essentially identical in that regard. It simply depends on what he's willing to do."

"I see." Li Ziyu nodded.

"Speaking of the False Ming, positions naturally had distinctions between lucrative and lean, comfortable and hard. These civil service positions similarly carry such differences. Generally speaking, field work is harder but offers better income and advancement. Office work is relatively easier but lower in income with slower promotion—though technical positions, if you can develop deep expertise, also offer rapid advancement. If one is willing to work in outlying counties, conditions are harsher with some danger, but future prospects are considerably broader."

"So the Elder Council values practical work most!"

Lian Nishang nodded: "Exactly. Our Great Song's selection of officials prizes practical talent above all: enduring hardship, working hard, achieving results. Such people naturally have unlimited futures."

"I understand, I understand." Li Ziyu nodded repeatedly.

"Regarding civil service testing, much more could be said. But since your friend has studied, as long as he conscientiously prepares from the exam materials, passing shouldn't prove problematic. As for future prospects—that depends on himself." She glanced at the study room's large clock. "It's getting late. I need to head to the cafeteria."

(End of Chapter)