Working at the county level still requires a certain level of decorum. Although Zhao An had only been seconded to the office temporarily, his "file" was still specially delivered by the Revenue Department to the Personnel Office for safekeeping. If Zhao An were ever returned to the Tax Bureau, this file would undoubtedly be retrieved and sent back with him.
Just like at the Tax Bureau, the Licentiate (Tongsheng) certificate that Zhao An had paid for was never verified—not by the Revenue Department, and certainly not by the Personnel Office, which was specifically tasked with personnel management. It was possible they weren't being sloppy; in all likelihood, it simply wasn't worth the trouble to verify. After all, who in their right mind would go out of their way to obtain a fake elementary school diploma?
The perfunctory attitude of the Ganquan County Revenue and Personnel Departments secretly delighted Zhao An. He mused that if the higher-level prefectural government operated with the same level of incompetence, then obtaining a fake scholar’s certificate shouldn't be an issue either. Of course, the condition for this was that he could not serve in the county where the certificate was issued—Zhao An was at least aware enough to avoid that risk. The further away, the better; if he were to get a fake scholar's certificate in Ganquan County, he would go to a county under a different prefecture to buy a position as a clerk. If conditions permitted, going to a neighboring provi…
Chapter 17