In the afternoon, Shen Shi.
The gate of the Gongyuan was opened, and the doors of the dead corners in the east, west, north, and south were also opened, and the scholars who had been frustrated in the academy for two days came out from several doors.
For a while, it became the most lively place in the county.
Du Heng came out with the bookcase, and the sun was quite dazzling in the sky. He didn't see the sun for two days in the number room, and suddenly turned from dark to bright, his eyes were inevitably shaken, and he subconsciously blocked them.
"My son has suffered! His face seems to have lost a lot of weight. Hurry up, go home, the house has already prepared your favorite food." "
Sister! Everything is going well, but there is no cold ""
"Are you good at this topic? Are you confident to enter?"
The voices of loving mothers, strict fathers and virtuous wives can be heard in my ears, most of whom are here to take candidates home.
People were coming and going, cars and horses were jammed, Du Heng was looking forward to it, and he went around three times, but he still didn't see his family coming to greet him.
He couldn't help hissing, it shouldn't be.
Although he didn't tell Xiao Man that someone would come to pick him up when he left, he also informed him of the time for the exam in advance, and according to his temperament, he would definitely come.
This is simply a tacit understanding between the couple.
He waited at the door for a while, and seeing the crowd gradually dispersed, but Qin Xiaoman was still missing, he reckoned that no one really came.
Du Heng carried the bookcase and went straight to his own shop, and thought about the young man of his age, who felt a little bit of grievance in his heart because his wife didn't come to pick him up.
He realized it later, and actually found it quite funny.
......
The constant screams in the room, Qin Xiaoman at the door couldn't help sweating, and the fifth son of the Li family also walked around the door anxiously.
"The baby is about to be born and doesn't stay at home, but has to go to the shop to do something, move back and forth, this is something good or bad!
" The flesh and blood of your Li family, if there is any harm, it will be the flesh and blood of your Li family."
It was the first time Qin Xiaoman saw the fourth sister-in-law Qin Xiaozhu was talking about. The style of the hair, the hair on the top of the head is swaying with poor beads, as if it can be slapped on the person close to it at any time.
The adornment looks like a human being, but the mouth really doesn't stop, saying that the girl from a scholar's family doesn't know much about etiquette, but she is very mean.
With the name of a sister-in-law, she patronizes and scolds people at this point.
Qin Xiaoman saw a bit of Li Wanju in him, Qin Xiaozhu was spoiled by his mother, and now having such a sister-in-law is really a destiny.
Seeing Li Kai ignoring her at all, the fourth sister-in-law was a little bit embarrassed, and saw Qin Xiaoman at the head again.
"This is Xiaozhu's cousin, right?"
Qin Xiaoman replied.
"The two cousins still look alike. I heard from Xiaozhu that the one in your family is also a scholar?" "
Yes."
Speaking of the scholar, Li Si's sister-in-law had a bright face: "My father saved a lot during the scientific examinations in the past. Shuwen is also a brother-in-law, so I will give you some when I have time." "It is
not easy to provide a scholar for a family of farming and studying. The cost of reading tools is not low. It is difficult for you to look after the shop and take care of the farming. See It is like the wheat in the field, so it must be very hard on weekdays."
Qin Xiaoman raised his eyes sideways.
"Fourth sister-in-law, I thank you for your kindness. It's just that my husband-in-law came to study at Bairong Academy. I worship the master for his profound knowledge. I usually have a lot of homework for the books and essays given by the master. I'm afraid I don't have much time to read the other books. .”
The fourth sister-in-law of the Li family's eyes flashed when she heard the words, she didn't know that Du Heng was studying in Bairong Academy, and even worshiped under Master Xiang's school.
The Tongsheng in my family was bought with donations. At the beginning, his father also wanted to use some connections to send him to Bairong Academy. However, those people in the Academy are the most noble. They looked down on the Tongsheng who bought it. The academies do not allow children bought with donations to study.
Because of this matter, she didn't have the slightest liking for Bairong Academy, but now that she heard that Du Heng was studying in the academy, she was even more displeased.
"Really? That's amazing. This Bairong Academy is a great academy with a century-old reputation. In the past, there were many big figures. But... the world has changed a lot these years, and I haven't heard of it in recent years." Some achievements have been made."
"After all, this academy is still suitable for studying the descendants of high officials and dignitaries. Those who usually want to stand out are not as good as county schools. To put it bluntly, it is not the same where the descendants of high officials and dignitaries study. There are people in the family. Pave the way."
The fourth sister-in-law of the Li family half-covered her mouth and said to Qin Xiaoman: "We are relatives, so I'm going to tell you these things. The big signboard cages the tuition fees of scholars."
Qin Xiaoman opened his eyes wide, and said in surprise as if he had never seen the world: "Really?"
"Isn't it ? Going in is just paying the huge tuition fees, and in the end it may not be as learned as people who study outside. Look at our family, you call it the fourth brother, when the dean threw an olive branch, we definitely did not enter the academy to study. "
Qin Xiaoman nodded: "Fortunately, our family doesn't have much money, otherwise, according to the fourth sister-in-law, I would teach someone to cheat the money." The fourth sister-in-law of the Li family paused, and was about to speak again, when a baby cried from inside the room.
Then the midwife's joyful voice came out: "Mother and child are safe, you are a young master!"
The Li family's fourth sister-in-law's face collapsed when she heard the sound. She gave birth to three children in a row. They were either brothers or sisters. The young master failed to pass the incense as he wished.
Qin Xiaozhu gave birth to a son as soon as she came, and this time it made her jealous and annoyed.
She came here early in the morning when she heard the news that she was going to have a baby. She didn't come here to take care of anything. The primary purpose was to see what would happen.
As if he didn't believe that he had given birth to a son, he turned his head and ran to the delivery room.
Qin Xiaoman was also about to go in to have a look, when he was suddenly called: "Xiaoman."
Turning around, it was Du Heng who came.
"How do you know I'm here! Did you come out after the exam? I said I'm here to pick you up. This little bamboo won't be born for a long time, so I can't go away." After seeing him for two days, Du Heng smiled
: "It's okay. I went to the shop and someone told me that I expected you to come over here to take a look. How is it? Has the child been born?
" Said it was a son!"
Du Heng is a man and it is not easy to go in, so he waited outside, let Qin Xiaoman go in and take a look at the adults and children, so that he can also say goodbye to the second uncle and the others when he returns home.
The family just gave birth to a child, and Li Kai was overjoyed, but he didn't have much time to greet Qin Xiaoman and Du Heng.
Ever since they opened a shop in the county, the two families have communicated a lot, but they don't care about these vain gifts.
Since the child gave birth safely and the adults are also well, the two of them should bring the news to the elders in the village when they want to return to the village.
"Brother Zhu usually looks in poor health, but I didn't expect to have a baby very quickly. The boy weighs seven catties, and he is much stronger than our family's Chengyi." When Qin Xiaoman returned home with Du Heng
, The topic on the road cannot avoid the matter of Brother Zhu's birth.
"That's an accident, Brother Zhu was well-raised by the family and in good health. Although you look healthy and healthy, you took care of the big and small things at home in the past, and you should have worked a lot when you were growing up. When the body is deficient, it will be effective when the child is born."
Hearing this, Qin Xiaoman leaned slightly on the railing of the carriage, and let out a sigh of relief: "Then I must take good care of my body, and it won't be so troublesome to have a child in the future. The most important thing is that I can no longer be as thin as brother Yi I'm worried that I'll get sick if I don't pay attention."
Du Heng raised his eyebrows: "I think we can agree to anything, and it's okay for my brother to be weak.
" Brother." Qin Xiaoman pointed at Du Heng: "Honestly speaking."
"I'd forget about this person if you didn't mention this name, and you'll mention all the old sesame seeds and rotten millet."
Qin Xiaoman snorted a few times, Seeing that they were all far away from the county seat, he slapped his thigh: "Oh, I also said that I will go to the restaurant with you today, but I forgot about it again."
Du Heng laughed: "It's okay, let's go home and have a good meal It's the same, but it's not bad to kill a male duck."
Qin Xiaoman nodded with a smile, and said: "How about the rural exam, is it difficult?"
Du Heng exhaled lightly: "So-so, it must be more difficult than the previous county exams." The test house should be improved."
After the couple returned home, they drove the carriage directly to Li's house, told Mr. Li about Xiao Zhu's birth, and then went back to the second uncle's house to bring Xin'er.
Both families were very happy, and Li Wanju packed up her things in a panic and was about to go to the county town to see her child and grandson. She only hated that Qin Xiaozhu was not by her side when she gave birth.
Apart from other things, Qin Xiaoman was somewhat envious of Qin Xiaozhu having an old lady who cared so much about him.
However, when he was engaged in the contract, Du Heng asked about his health every day, and his treatment was not bad.
Back home, I had a good meal at night. After Du Heng passed the exam, he had a good time. The radish soaked years ago was so sour that his teeth fell out, and it was just right to fish out the stewed old duck soup.
Du Heng cooked the dinner himself.
At night, Du Heng also had a great appetite, and he ate several bowls of duck soup, all of which were dipped in a lot.
Eating dry food in the Gongyuan will not taste good, and I dare not eat too much, I am afraid that it will be troublesome to solve the internal emergency, eating and drinking in such a small room, after all, it is still a bit awkward.
The results of the college examination will be announced after half a month. There are many candidates this year. After the main examination in Qiuyang County, Xuezheng has to patrol and correct the test papers in several counties under the state capital. The officials are also turning over the papers day and night.
After taking a bath and returning to the academy, the candidates, whether they had taken the exam or not, were talking about it.
Those who have already finished can't help but talk about how to post poems, and those who are more confident even read out the poems they made during the exam for everyone to evaluate, and some say from which aspect the essay breaks the question.
The other students who had won the prize of the scholar talked about the difficulty level of the questions, the changes in the number of recruits, and so on.
In short, it was very lively, and the two days of rest did not extinguish the heated discussions about the exam.
Du Heng made a plan, the children's examination can be taken every year, the college examination is taken twice every three years, and the rural examination is taken every three years.
The timing of his Tong's examination coincided with the exam every year. Tong passed the college exam the next year, and after the college exam, there was a rural exam. Once the rural exam was over, he had to take the Chunwei Examination in the next year.
This can't help but make him fantasize that if he goes through all the scientific examinations in one fell swoop, he will be perfect.
He passed the Tongkao with a weak crown, but in fact he is not young anymore, but in a small place like Luoxia County, it is not easy to have a little fame in a weak crown, so the matter of age is naturally not talked about much.
However, judging from Bairong Academy, many scholars have already passed the Tongsheng examination, and there are many scholars who are not yet weak.
People in the family still point out that the descendants can enter the general examination before and after the weak crown, and win the title of disciple of the emperor, so that the threshold of marriage negotiation can be raised high, and a Yue family who can be supported will be selected, and they will not be in officialdom in the future. Speaking of making steady progress, at least his official career has gone much smoother.
For this reason, in the academy, although the uniforms cover up a certain family background of the scholar, but a valuable ornament that appears from time to time, talking about the scenery of the state capital, these are not a uniform that can Hidden.
It seems that there is not much difference between everyone, but in fact the starting point is already different.
Some people's goal is to become an official in the court and live a wanton life at the feet of the emperor; while some people's goal is to become a country gentry, and it is worth half their life to study hard to be admired by others.
Du Heng has long seen the importance of connections and family status. He actually doesn't have any great ambitions. It would be good if he can keep passing the exam and become an official in the capital. , during which the difficulties and obstacles are different from ordinary people.
One is that there is no official in the family, and no one paves the way; the other is that there will be no support from the Yue family in the future.
His Yue family had already helped him a lot in Luoxia County until today, otherwise, it would not have been so smooth to get to today, and if he really went up in the future, the Yue family would have more than enough heart and power.
When he came here, he really relied on his bare hands to fight the world. The young man thought that he could do everything, and even disdained the help of the nobles, but if he really had no family background to escort him, he could walk a few steps.
Of course, Du Heng didn't feel sorry for himself, and felt that his start was too bitter.
Fu Lang also sincerely likes to eat and drink, and now that he has a child, he feels very content.
Looking at those families with a good family background, it is not just a matter of coming, it is also the foundation of today's foundation that has been built by generations of ancestors, and the painstaking efforts of several generations have laid a starting point for the descendants that is higher than that of the Pinghan family.
He has been doing scientific research in a down-to-earth way all his life, and has accumulated some family property. Even if he can't jump very high since this generation, he will pass the exam in the future, become a squire, gather contacts, manage more fields, and buy some paving property. ;
When the children and grandchildren are studying, they don't have to worry about making a living. They can concentrate on studying and help the next generation, so that they will become stronger and stronger from generation to generation.
Thinking of these things, he shrinks his shoulders, and he can be regarded as slacking off for Anshun, and there are no high-ranking officials and rich salary in his life plan, and his career is full of ups and downs.
People live a lifetime, so eager to make progress and let oneself live so tired, why not, slowly manage a small life, as long as it is not going downhill, there is really no need to push yourself so hard.
In late April, Du Heng went back to the private mountain for a walk. In the past two years, the mountains and forests have been well managed, and a lot of bamboo has grown. The business of the lower shop is not booming, but it is also running smoothly.
The remaining paper on hand has been sold out, and earlier, I soaked another batch of bamboo to supply the paper for the upper pavement.
However, it is still a bit tight to have more stocks on hand. Qin Xiaoman plans to let the villagers who have private forests in the village sell them bamboo, so that they are not afraid of not having enough bamboo in their own bamboo forests.
Du Heng agreed naturally that the bamboo that had been soaked for a long time in the paper making last time may not be easy to make. The principle is that the bamboo is too old, and the best papermaking must be in Hsinchu back then.
Hsinchu is at its best during the beginning of summer. My private mountain is really not that big. No matter how many bamboos I have in a year, I can’t produce much paper. It’s a good time to buy some villagers’ Hsinchu.
As soon as the news broke out in the village, someone immediately came to ask.
Qin Xiaoman said in a very dignified manner: "The harvest is Xinzhu, fifteen yuan a piece."
Everyone knew that the Qin family collected bamboo to make paper, but the price of fifteen yuan a piece was a bit low.
"Of course Hsinchu is not as valuable as Chengzhu."
"But if he stays on the mountain for two years, he will be considered Chengzhu." "
The problem is that he didn't stay in the mountain for so long." "
We cut the self-carrying down the mountain, How about 18 cents if I get it from your house?"
After several rounds of bargaining, the price was finally settled on 18 cents a cent, and the bamboo grove at home was facing the sun, and the bamboos had already grown up and scattered leaves before the beginning of summer, and they picked and picked. Cut it off and send it to the Qin family.
They are all from the village, but they are more trustworthy than outsiders, and they come to the door to talk about anything.
Anyway, Qin Xiaoman came back from the county every day and saw that the family had sent bamboo, so he paid for it and went out.
Busy with business matters, it was the day when he was discharged from the hospital.
The two rushed to the county seat before dawn. One was going to the shop and the other was going to the academy, but the scholar who got his grades today was allowed to see the grades before going back to the academy.
Everyone knows that there are a lot of exam papers this year, but there are still as many people grading the papers as in previous years. Therefore, the workload is naturally heavier on everyone's head.
In the two days before the results came out, someone wanted to take a look at the results in advance, but Xuezheng was very busy, and he was already anxious, so it was no good to go to see the results in advance.
Not only did he not look at the results, but he was also reprimanded.
The matter spread quickly, and no one dared to touch the bad luck since then.
Qin Zhiyan got the news a long time ago, the college examination is not trivial, after all it is not as broad as the children's examination, it is a bit rude to look at the results before publishing the list, so you should avoid suspicion.
This time, of course, I didn't show Du Heng the results in advance. Besides, Qin Zhifeng was considered a little talented back then. He didn't pass the test many times in the end, so he had preconceptions and thought that Du Heng's chances of passing the test were unlikely.
The child's exam is not long before and after this hospital exam, and there is not much time to accumulate and review.
If it is said that Du Heng's children's examination results are brilliant, it is because of the years of preparation for the weak crown year, and he has accumulated a lot of money, and he must have enough time to prepare for the college entrance examination.
"It's true that the college entrance examination is higher than the children's examination, and there are not many people who come back. This time, there are already many people waiting before the people from the Academic Affairs Office come to post the notice." Du Heng stood in the crowd and saw the people around him
. Qin Xiaoman next to him stepped on his feet and jumped up. He took the person's hand and said, "It hasn't been posted yet."
As soon as the words fell, Qin Xiaoman said excitedly: "Come on, come on, I saw Xuezheng doing business. The people from the department came here with the red list!"
Du Heng followed the prestige and saw a group of four people coming.
Before he could open his mouth, Qin Xiaoman dragged him into it.
Seeing the people from the Xuezheng Office guarding the posters with two yamen guards with knives, everyone felt anxious, but they didn't dare to rush forward.
Until he said: "This year's college examination results have been released, everything can be seen at a glance, don't damage the red list." As soon as the
person who made the list left, the people who watched the list immediately surrounded him.
"I've won, I've won! I've won!"
The shouts of joy and dejected voices intertwined for a while, making the people behind who couldn't see the list even more excited and rushed forward one after another.
It's actually not the first time for Qin Xiaoman to look at the list. His father tried it before, and his younger father would also look at the list early when the list was released. Naturally, he would not let go of the opportunity to go to the county seat and pester people to come.
But every time he came back, father and younger father felt a little disappointed, he looked at the faces of the two adults, even when he came to the county town, he didn't dare to argue about what to eat and play, and finally went back after a short run.
It seems that he was used to looking at the list since he was a child and then returned with disappointment. When he saw Du Heng's name appearing on the red list, he was a little dazed and confused for a while.
After confirming several times that the name above belonged to his husband-in-law, he grabbed Du Heng's hand, even trembling a little.
Suddenly, he turned his back and stood in front of Du Heng, staring at him with wide eyes: "I seem to see you on the list. No, didn't you miss it?"
Du Heng had already scanned the list. Counting, seeing Qin Xiaoman as if he had lost his soul, he felt amused: "What do you think?"
Qin Xiaoman saw Du Heng's expression of wanting to smile, but couldn't hide the joy in the corners of his brows and eyes, and immediately knew that he was Surely you read that right.
He directly exhaled happily: "I hit it!"
Immediately, he threw himself into Du Heng's arms and hugged him tightly: "The third, it's the third! It says third! From now on, my husband will be a scholar!" People around saw the two hugging each other in
public , frowned slightly and looked over, only to hear Qin Xiaoman yelling the third, the surprise in his eyes turned into envy in an instant.
"Third? Could it be that this gentleman is the Du Heng mentioned on the list?"
"It's really a blessing, to be selected as a scholar at a young age." "
Du Xiucai is a talented person, and his future is limitless! You can reward Xiao Ke for a face." Have a cup of tea in Qingyun Building?"
Suddenly, someone came to chat, and even invited Du Heng to be a guest.
Qin Xiaoman, who was stuck on Du Heng's body, raised his head and directly refused him: "Thank you for your kindness. My husband has to go back and report to the elders first. If there is a destiny, we will meet again in the future."
After speaking, he pulled Du Heng's hand The hand ran out of the crowd.