The Hulk of the Red Chamber

On the day when the list was released, Shi Hong and the others cheered up and went to a restaurant near the Gongyuan to wait. At this moment, the teahouses and restaurants near the Gongyuan, and even the small tea stalls were full of people, some came later, and no one came. People helped to occupy the seats, so they had to find a few benches from nearby stores and sit together, chatting with each other while waiting for the announcement of the results.

Yang Shi was the first to come, and he took the seat closest to the gate, and even ordered breakfast in the restaurant. When Shi Hong came over, he saw him drinking bean curd with a basket of buns.It was just a psychological factor before, he stayed at home for a few days and recuperated, and now he has finally returned to normal.Four people arrived one after another and sat around a table. In order to relieve the tension before waiting, they simply ordered a jug of light wine, a few side dishes to accompany the wine, and several plates of dried fruit preserves. While eating, he glanced at the Gongyuan from time to time, and the servants brought by several people had already taken up positions at the entrance of the Gongyuan, waiting for the announcement.

Although Shi Hong still had confidence in himself, he was very nervous at the moment. He even put a piece of ginger in his mouth and chewed it as a piece of meat, but he didn't react.Of course, he wasn't the only one who was absent-minded. The wine in Li Yue's glass was already empty. It was also a little pale, and he kept putting a plate of fried peanuts into his mouth almost nervously, one by one, without feeling dry.

Yang Shi, on the other hand, felt hopeless this time, but seemed very calm. He poured wine for himself slowly, and from time to time picked up a piece of white-cut chicken with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, just like eating normally.

Time seemed to pass very slowly. I don't know how long it took before the gate of the tribute courtyard finally opened. A team of yamen servants came out with the list and drove away the people crowded at the door. The list with several big seals was just pasted up here. Immediately, someone saw the needle, squeezed past it, and looked at it from the beginning.

Soon, I heard someone shouting happily, and someone was sweating, starting from the beginning and searching again.

Xie Yuan had already come out. It was a man Shi Hong and the others had never heard of, called Zou Huairen. Shi Hong looked in the direction He Xi's people walked, and saw a young man about 30 years old, sitting in the opposite teahouse. When the son heard the good news, he was overjoyed, and quickly called the book boy to take the money and come out to give a reward.

The names of a few more people were reported over there. Shi Hong recognized the first two. One was also a Gongsheng from the Imperial College. He was from Jiaxing. He had been in the Imperial College for five or six years and was always in the limelight. The other was also from a famous family. His son, Zhang Chi, was a relative of Jia's family, and he was a son of Zhang's family, Jia She's deceased original spouse. The relationship was not too far away, so he should be called Jia She's uncle.However, the Jia family has not been in contact with the Zhang family for many years. I am afraid that the younger generation of the Jia family does not know that there are relatives. At least, Jia Lian, Zhang's own son, has not been to the Zhang family for so many years. .

At this time, Xin Yan quickly squeezed out from the crowd, almost stumbling towards the restaurant, shouting while running: "Master won, No. 4 on the list!"

Shi Hong's name had already been read out there, and immediately a group of people followed closely, congratulating them repeatedly. When Shi Hong heard the news, his face still couldn't help showing joy, and the group of people who were still waiting anxiously showed up. Seeing envy, each got up to congratulate each other, Shi Hong hurriedly got up to return the gift, and took out the happy money that he had prepared earlier, and asked Xinyan to distribute it. He was generous, and the happy money was rolled out of gold and silver I was so happy that those who came here kept their mouths full of pleasant words. There were a series of congratulatory messages such as conferring the title of Marquis and worshiping the Prime Minister, and generations of princes. .

The names of the names on the first list were quickly read. There was a lot of noise here, and the voices of congratulations were everywhere. A few of the winners showed more or less complacent expressions. The good news kept coming. After a while, Li Yue's book boy also ran over: "Master, I won, I won! No. 47 on the second list!"

Nowadays, there are many scholars. Compared with the time in the Tang Dynasty, a maximum of 300 people can be admitted in one exam. Today's rural exams, especially the ones like Shuntianfu, have to admit 50 people at a time, ten people in the first list, and two people in the second exam. There are [-] people on the list, and the rest are all in the third list.It was the same during the general examination. Tens of thousands of people rushed to take the exam, and only [-] were admitted.

A group of people also came to congratulate Li Yue. Li Yue grinned and returned the salute repeatedly. Over there, Lin Wei pursed her lips, waiting for the news even more nervously. Over there, Lin Wei's servant Mo Yue came back dejectedly. Ai Aiqi said, "Master, I haven't seen it on the list!"

Lin Wei forced a difficult smile: "If you don't hit, you don't hit, why are you so vague!"

Shi Hong and Li Yue looked at each other, they were both a little embarrassed, what they said at the moment was showing off, and they were suspected of stabbing people's wounds, so they could only comfort a few words, but Lin Wei shook his head and said: "It's okay, it's not It’s the first time! I’m still young now!” What he didn’t say was that when he recalled, he seemed to be too nervous in the last exam, so he raised the wrong mark. But it can't be mixed.

Yang Shi didn't expect it, so naturally he wasn't so disappointed at the moment, sat with Lin Wei, teased each other a few words, finally made Lin Wei look better.

There are also all kinds of beings on the street, each of which is different.There was a candidate with gray hair who took the exam for nearly 30 years and finally passed the exam. Now he was crying and laughing on the street, almost going crazy, and it took him a long time to wake up.Some of the misses sighed, and some even sat down on the ground in a gaffe and burst into tears.

Ever since the imperial examinations became popular, that is, at the very beginning, or in special periods, scholars are still a bit valuable. For example, at the beginning of the founding of the country, no matter how talented the former officials were, they would not immediately fall down because of your bastard spirit Bye, do something for you.Even if the tripod has been set, in order to stabilize the new dynasty, there will be a major purge of the officials of the previous dynasty. Even if they are not killed, they will not be reused.Therefore, when talent is scarce, even if you are a scholar, as long as you can stand in line in time and do some hard work, you are likely to get an official job, and there is not so much incentive to get promoted.

It's just that when the rule is stable, the world is peaceful, and the further the culture is popularized, the scholar will not be so valuable.Even since the previous dynasty, students and scholars have not been given lifelong tenure. They have to take the exam every three years. If they fail to pass, they will lose their fame. The Ministry of Officials also has the power to appoint officials.It can be said that juren is a dividing line. It is completely different to pass the exam or not to pass the exam.There is a financial subsidy from the state, and money, rice and grain are distributed every month. Ordinary families, as long as the population is not large, can barely make ends meet with this.The students below don’t need a guide to go out, they are no longer citizens, and they don’t need to serve any corvee, so they don’t have any privileges. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as a poor scholar.

Among the people who took part in the rural examination, many of them were already old, their memory and reaction ability were declining, and even their bodies could no longer support such a high-intensity examination.And even if it is because of financial pressure, the imperial court rarely recruits people who are too old. The hidden rule has always been that a person who is fifty can break the sky. After all, how long is the average life expectancy of a person these days? , Even if you are granted an official position immediately, and you can work for a few years, how much energy do you have to do things? With your salary, you don’t have to pay taxes yourself, and you have to bring a group of tenants to vote for. Isn’t this a waste of money and food from the state treasury!Therefore, after each provincial examination, there are some people who are unable to take the examination again. If they fail this time, it is impossible to have Enke in a short time. If it is not guaranteed, even the fame of a scholar cannot be preserved, and the family's years of hard work in supporting them will be wasted.Therefore, it is understandable that many people lose their composure because of this.

After talking in the restaurant for a while, Shi Hong and the others left each other. In the following time, these new recruits had to go to visit the head teacher. For Shi Hong, Lin Ruhai, who was the head teacher, was his own. Teacher, this is even more advantageous.Of course, before that, you have to go home.

When Shi Hong came home, he could still smell the smell of burning gunpowder at the door. Looking at the traces on the ground, he knew that there were a lot of firecrackers in the house. Hong smiled and untied the purse at his waist. The purse itself was exquisitely crafted and worth some money. There were still a few silver locks in it, so I let them divide it among themselves, and then entered the door.

The servants of the Shi family were very excited this day. Mrs. Qin has always been very generous to Shi Hong's affairs. When she heard that the servants came to announce the good news, after Shi Hong was admitted to the top list, she immediately announced that she had rewarded all the servants of the Shi family. Everyone can get an extra month's monthly payment, those who serve Shi Hong get two more months, and add an extra autumn coat to the servants, so happy that the servants will float when they walk, and wish that Shi Hong will go there immediately Participate in Chunwei, go to high school immediately, and there will be rewards later.

When Shi Hong entered the door, he saw Mrs. Qin's uncontrollable smile, and Shi Xiangni came over to say congratulations, and coaxed away an ivory carving pen holder from Shi Hong's hand, only then was she satisfied.

Mrs. Qin took Shi Hong's hand, and said for a while that she was very pleased, and then said: "Although it is to avoid suspicion, I just went to my cousin's house just because it is not good today, but this thank you ceremony must be well prepared. Uncle Biao is an elegant person, and I happened to see a calligraphy and painting by Dong Qichang in the study room, as well as a calligraphy and painting by Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty, and I will take it there tomorrow..."

Mrs. Qin babbled a lot, besides preparing Shi Hong for the ceremony of thanking the teacher, she also thought about what gift she would prepare for Lin Daiyu. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, isn't there a Double Ninth Festival?The crabs sent by Zhuangzi are very good, but Lin Daiyu is not very healthy, so of course she can't eat such cold things, but there are some fresh lotus root, which can be added to the festival, and then add the aged osmanthus wine or something. Well, Lin Daiyu should get rid of her clothes next year, and she should wear a few new hairpins or something, and send them back later——