There were leftovers scattered everywhere in the hall. The sound of firecrackers in the early morning woke Xu Qian up. There were still crackers hanging on his lips. When he looked up, he saw that he and Deng Jian were lying on the table and slept all night. As for Zhao Mengting,
, I think I went back to the house to sleep.
The only special thing is that he has a set of clothes on his body, which must have been put on by Zhao Mengting.
There was a big problem between men and women in this era. Although he and Zhao Mengting had a master-slave relationship, although Zhao Mengting abided by her responsibilities as a slave, she never treated herself as a slave, so she helped Xu Qian to sleep in the room.
Don't even think about it.
Deng Jian also woke up, looked around, and looked at Xu Qian and said, "Are we drunk?"
Xu Qian nodded.
Deng Jian said with a bit of fear, "I didn't say anything stupid last night, did I?"
Xu Qian nodded again.
Deng Jian was startled and said, "What did I say to you? What did I say? Oh my god, tell me quickly."
Xu Qian said: "I said a lot."
"Ah..." Deng Jian's face was filled with astonishment, and he blamed himself and said in annoyance: "What did you say?"
Xu Qian said: "I said everything."
Deng Jian said in shock: "Did I tell you about my affair with Widow Wang?"
Xu Qian shook his head and nodded seriously and said, "I didn't say it at first, but you have said it now."
Deng Jian's face suddenly filled with grief and anger, he slapped himself in the face and said: "I'm really mean-mouthed." After that, he said angrily: "Why are you wearing clothes, but no one is wearing clothes on me? I'm freezing to death.
.”
Xu Qian looked down upon him and said: "Do you think you are a handsome boy who is popular with thousands of girls? It is my right to have a girl wearing my clothes at night. At most, you are just hooking up with an ignorant widow."
When Zhao Mengting heard that Deng Jian was aggrieved outside, her pretty face turned red, she coughed, and said to Deng Jian: "You have such a strong body, I guess you can't freeze, but Mr. Xu is different. Mr. Xu is about to take the county examination, and he has been forgetting to eat and sleep recently.
You must not be careless in your reading."
Deng Jian said: "I still treat you as a sister, but you are so kind to one and favor the other. Now not only is your body cold, but your heart is also cold. Go and make a bowl of lean meat porridge and let me warm my body."
Xu Qian shook his somewhat confused head to wake himself up. He stood up and said, "I'm going to read a book. Call me when you have something to eat."
This year has been a bit shabby. Seeing other families visiting relatives and friends and being crowded with friends, the Xu family is deserted and miserable. Except for a stepmother who comes to eat and drink on time every day, Xu Qian feels a little bit in his heart.
Empty.
There seemed to be no movement from Magistrate Su's side, and the close relationship that had been maintained for more than a month seemed to have suddenly become distant.
When you are poor in the busy city, no one cares about you, but when you are rich in the mountains, you are known. The warmth and coldness of human relationships make Xu Qian feel a little more. He secretly curses every day, please don't let me, Xu Qian, get rich. Once I get rich, I have to watch.
Look at the faces of these people.
Since the hustle and bustle of the New Year has nothing to do with him, he is more attentive and continues to study as usual. Now he writes two eight-part essays every day. He has made a lot of progress in word choice, but Xu Qian's ambition is not limited to
As a scholar, I always feel dissatisfied.
He had almost digested County Magistrate Su's notes. In February, the county government had released the results, and the date for this year's county examination had been set. It was on the eighth day of February, and there were only five or six days left before the county examination.
.
At this time, all the scholars in Qiantang County began to gear up. Those who had already achieved fame hoped to see what outstanding figures there would be in the county this year, while those who had not yet achieved fame were determined to take a chance.
Especially those gentry families, they attach great importance to the county examination. These families have a lot of children, and there are children who want to go to school every few years. Although they are just children who pass the county examination, they are not even considered to be scholars, but this is a good thing for them.
For many people, it is an opportunity to test their achievements. Gentlemen and gentry families can establish themselves in the county by virtue of their fame. Some families even have three or four scholars, and some even have Juren and Jinshi in their families. Hangzhou
The most famous gentry here is the Yuyao Xie family, which is recognized as a powerful family in Hangzhou and even throughout Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The reason why they are so powerful is because they have a champion and a cabinet scholar?
Although the county examination is small, it is the first step leading to the government examination and the hospital examination. It is of great significance. Some famous gentry families have already made full preparations. They are also sizing up their opponents this year and starting to make plans.
However, these have nothing to do with Xu Qian. The sudden loss of news from County Magistrate Su made him calm down. He just studied hard every day and prepared for the final sprint. It’s just that his father hasn’t come back yet.
Xu Qian was a little worried, but at this time, it was inconvenient for him to ask more questions.
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Qian put on new clothes early, and Zhao Mengting packed Xu Qian's exam bag with some exam supplies, such as pens, inks and inkstones, which were all essential. In addition, she also needed
Bring enough food. I don’t know how long this exam will take. Although the county exam is not a formal exam, it is more like a general survey of the entire county, but you must be cautious.
After everything was ready, there was a knock on the door. Xu Qian opened the door, only to see a strange yet familiar face appear. The man laughed, reached out and patted Xu Qian's shoulder and said, "Xiao Qian'er has grown so big."
Already."
Xu Qian said hurriedly: "I've met my uncle."
This man is also from the old Xu family. He is the head of his hometown. His name is Xu Shen. He is a well-known wealthy family in the Xu family. At this time, Xu Shen looked Xu Qian up and down and said, "Your father has something to do. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back.
That’s why I was specially asked to send you to take the exam. Boy, I didn’t expect you to become a scholar. Hey, this world is really a mess.”,
Xu Qian suddenly had a bad impression of Xu Shen. This guy spoke openly, and it seemed like he had never seen much of the world. Such a person only relied on some extravagant wealth to become a village chief. In the countryside,
It might have some prestige, but it would be nothing if placed in the county seat.
Especially the sentence "You have become a scholar. This world is really a mess." Xu Qian was trampled into chaos with just one sentence.
Xu Qian couldn't help but ask: "Where is my father?"
Xu Shen said: "Everyone in the Xu family is angry this time. Many people have lost their jobs. The old lady almost fainted from exhaustion. Team leader Xu... ah no, your father is very worried now and is trying his best to help everyone."
Just an explanation, that's all, don't worry about these things. Your father did this just so that you can get a good name and become a master? You should take the exam well this time. Our Xu family has never produced a scholar in eight lifetimes. Now,
This hope is all placed on you."
He grimaced again and said: "To tell you the truth, it's okay if you pass the exam this time. At least you can give the old lady something to look forward to. But if you fail the exam, the entire Xu family will be in trouble."
If you don’t make a living, I’m afraid that the old lady won’t be able to bear it anymore and will lose her soul in anger. Then your father will..."
At this point in his words, he actually became smarter this time and did not say any more. He patted Xu Qian's shoulder again and said: "I don't want to do this anymore. In short, I will try my best. Those people are confused and don't know the benefits of changing my nationality. But I don't
Got it, have you brought everything? Let’s go to the examination room.”
Xu Qian knew in his heart that changing the Xu family's registration would be a disaster for many Xu family members, but this uncle Xu Shen and Xu were different. He was a wealthy family and had always been looked down upon because of his low status. Now that he had changed his registration, he was
This is equivalent to increasing his worth. Moreover, his family is rich and his nephew can also study with him. This provides an additional channel for advancement. It is no wonder that Xu Shen is so enthusiastic about him.
Originally, entering the examination room required a guarantor from the district chief, but you could also go to the yamen and apply for a note. Now that Xu Shen is here, Xu Qian doesn't plan to apply for a household registration note, and goes straight there with his uncle Xu Shen.
examination room.
Xu Shen helped Xu Qian carry the exam basket and talked about things in the countryside with great interest. However, Xu Qian was worried that killing people's jobs was like killing their parents. His father would suffer a lot in the countryside.
He sighed, and then thought, there is no use thinking about it now. The old man would rather ruin the jobs of his fellow clan members to gain a reputation by himself. He must try hard this time, not only to show the old man, but also to the old man.
The whole Xu family looked at it and let them know that Xuchang's son had a bright future. Only in this way could the dissatisfaction be suppressed.