Xiaoyaoshanjun

Chapter 22: Work Hard

Tian Buli was busy from noon to afternoon, and received several gifts from strangers.

After seeing off the county officials, it was already evening.

There were more than a dozen chickens, a sheep, and more than 30 kilograms of pork in the kitchen.

Tian Buli looked at the small room filled with cloth rolls, egg baskets, snack boxes, medicinal herbs, wine jars, and books.

"Sir, we won't have to worry about food and drink from now on!"

Tian Buli took out a few bags of silver and placed them beside the bed.

Hu Yuwei nodded, but his heart was very calm.

"Gou'er, call your mother over. The three of you go to the kitchen and cook with the aunt next door. If anything happens, just shout in the yard."

"Yes, Dad!"

The dog was also very happy because there was extra meat and eggs at home today, as well as sweet fruits!

Tian Buli knew that Hu Yuwei had something to say, so he took the initiative to speak after Gou'er left.

"Sir, you have recovered from your serious illness and have won the first prize in the case. There is nothing wrong with your family now. I have been disturbed for more than half a year. As I said before, I should find a place to move."

Hu Yuwei quickly said, "Don't think like that, benefactor. It's me who should go. I am where I am today because of your encouragement. Otherwise, I would never be where I am today!"

At this time, Lady Bean came into the room quickly, as if she had been waiting for a long time. She crossed her fingers in front of her, leaned against the door frame, and looked outside calmly.

"If you have something to say, just say it!" The damselfly was not polite at all and there was nothing to be afraid of.

Hu Yuwei nodded and looked at the things in the room.

"I will be a guest at the county government office the day after tomorrow. The county magistrate will test me. If I pass, I will go to the government office to take the examination for the scholar in April."

"I plan to buy back my ancestral home, but there is no room for me to live there alone. I wonder if you would like to live with me?"

When Tian Buli heard Hu Yuwei say this, he also understood the special psychology of people of this era towards their ancestral homes.

"I'll just live here. I remember that my husband's house was burned down, and the house was sold into several parts. I'm afraid what you have may not be enough, so you can take my part as well. If it's still not enough, you can keep it on credit and pay it back slowly in a few years."

Tian Buli poured all the silver in his hand, which he had just received half a day ago, into the plate and mixed it with the donations that Hu Yuwei had received.

Hu Yuwei had long known what kind of person Tian Buli was.

"Thank you very much, benefactor! Then I will give this house to you. I will stay here for a while until the new house is built."

Hu Yuwei looked at Dou Niang again and said, "I already have three sons. I will be worthy of our ancestors after I repair the ancestral house for them."

"Dou Niang, you have worked hard these years. I will write a letter of divorce. From now on, you..."

The bean lady looked at Hu Yuwei with an annoyed expression.

"You divorced your wife right after you passed the imperial examination. What will others think of you?"

Hu Yuwei paused, "I want to help you and my benefactor..."

Lady Dou scolded directly: "Brother Tian is only 19 years old and has passed the imperial examination. He will definitely become a high-ranking official in the future! I am already in my thirties. If I marry him, won't people gossip about him all day long?"

"You don't know anything. Don't worry about this. I'll find a good girl for Tian Ge'er first. You can do whatever you want!"

Hu Yuwei was also reminded of this matter and said hurriedly: "Dou Niang is right. I was confused and didn't think about this."

Tian Buli said awkwardly: "I don't care about fame, wealth and status, and I'm not cut out to be an official. I don't care about those gossips."

Besides, a lot of gossip was spread by Dou Niangzi herself. Tian Buli would never tell others how brave he was at night, let alone how big his words were.

The bean lady glared at the two men fiercely, mainly because of Hu Yuwei.

"That's it for today. I'll spend the night the same way as before dinner. I'll sell tofu to support myself in the future. You don't have to worry about me!"

Damselfly said as she walked out, ignoring the two of them.

Tian Buli said awkwardly, "I think Dou Niang is right. Sir, you are tired today too. Go to bed early. I'll go see if the meal is ready. The aunt next door will come over to cook. Just let her cook whatever you want."

"I'll go help Damselfly so she doesn't have to work so hard."

Hu Yuwei nodded and said, "Okay, I have let her down over the years."

Tian Buli quickly went out to help. The cook left after finishing her meal. She also took five eggs as a reward, and returned a laying hen and three pounds of bean cakes to the neighbor who had borrowed a chicken during the day.

After eating and drinking, the adults and children went to sleep. It was already past ten o'clock and the night was quiet.

Tian Buli and Dou Niangzi took off their clothes and went to sleep. Although it felt a bit strange, he soon stopped thinking about anything else when faced with Dou Niangzi's charming and bold attack.

A tongsheng was not considered a very powerful person, and to be honest, a xiucai was nothing either. Only those who passed the juren could be considered to have a stable chance of becoming an official.

If one is rich and powerful, a student can also excel as a juren.

His family had no power, no influence, and no connections, so even if he passed the imperial examination, he would be a poor scholar.

The imperial court in this world does not prohibit scholars from doing business. Those who pass the examination for becoming a Tongsheng can be exempted from corvée labor and will not be forced to work at will.

Those who passed the examination for the title of scholar could be exempted from corvée, grain tax and land tax, and did not have to pay a poll tax to the government. Those from poor families could also receive some rice and have their family members exempted from some corvée and land tax.

After becoming a scholar, one has to take three examinations to become the top scholar.

He went to the provincial capital to take the examination and passed it to become a juren.

He went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.

The palace examination is taken by the emperor, and the one who passes will become the top scorer.

Tian Buli and Mr. Bing got up early the next day, washed and dressed.

Tian Buli was practicing martial arts in the yard, while Mr. Bing was reading a book. He had been waiting since around seven o'clock, and after dinner, he waited until around eleven o'clock, but still no one came in.

The bean lady came out of the kitchen, carrying a pot of vegetables, picking vegetables at the door of the house and throwing the rotten leaves to the hens wandering in the yard.

"You two, you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is just because you got a Tongsheng!" Lady Dou said sarcastically, "How many Tongsheng old men and Xiucai old men are there in this county? I don't see anyone giving gifts to any of them every day!"

"Neither of you are talented, you are just daydreaming!"

Tian Buli retracted his force and said with a smile: "Dou Niang is right. Without taking small steps, how can you travel a thousand miles? Sir, you can go into the house and rest and read. I will borrow a donkey this afternoon and we will go to the county government office to take the exam."

Mr. Bing stood up and realized that his mentality was a little unbalanced.

"I was too happy. Looking at the room full of food and wine, I couldn't sleep for half the night yesterday."

He just smiled and went into the house to rest. Dou Niangzi and Tian Bulili had been making a lot of trouble in the first half of the night.

Tian Buli knew that Mr. Bing had no ill intentions and was just joking because he was in a good mood.

However, Tian Buli felt that this was not the way to go, so he walked over and sat down next to Dou Niangzi.

"Dou Niang, I made you feel great yesterday. Please give me some face for the next half month. Can we not do it for now?"

Lady Dou's face turned red. "I'm not the kind of woman who doesn't behave properly. I won't die if I don't do it. I've come this far over the years. It doesn't matter if I don't do it."

Tian Buli quickly explained: "With so many people coming and going, it's not appropriate for you to live in a small house. You can say that a small house is warm in winter, but it's already spring."

"In my opinion, let the master live in the original big house, and you go to the small house. I will continue to live in the small house with Sanwa and keep an eye on them."

"We can go to the empty house if we want to in half a month. If not, forget it. Anyway, let's give the gentleman some face now. Let's go and clean up now and let Hu'er and the others cook."

The bean lady also knew that she had to save face. "I'll listen to you. I'm not the kind of person who despises the poor and loves the rich. It's OK if you don't despise me. How could I despise you?"

Tian Buli nodded and quickly went to move things.

Mr. Bing declined twice, but after being persuaded by Tian Buli and Dou Niangzi, he returned to the north room. However, he did not live in Tian Buli and Dou Niang's bed this time, but moved to the other side.

Tian Buli helped move the bed and the bed, and also moved three hundred kilograms of books.

After lunch, Tian Buli borrowed a donkey for his teacher to ride on, and then they went to the county government office to take the exam from the county magistrate.

Among the county magistrate's achievements was education, and some of the affairs of scholars were within his job scope.

The group came to the main hall behind the county government office. The room was not small, but with more than fifty people together it looked like they were visiting relatives. Many people could only stand at the door, such as Tian Buli at the end.

County Magistrate Chen was a scholar in his forties, with black hair and a long beard, bright eyes, and a gentle manner, like an old gentleman among scholars.

There were no yamen runners or other officials in the room, only County Magistrate Chen and Kang Biyong's father, a retired juren.

The lawyer didn't talk much. He mainly introduced who was who, especially those ranked outside the top 20. Those ranked at the top didn't need special introduction.

More than 40 people were crowded into the main hall of about 40 to 50 square meters. County Magistrate Chen and Old Man Kang sat together, and the others sat on long benches and talked to each other.

They were not far from each other and could almost be said to be having a long conversation, just like a teacher tutoring and examining students' homework.

Mainly chat with the first few people, but occasionally click on the others in the field of vision.

Tian Buli was happy to stand outside and wait, without having to chat with County Magistrate Chen in the house like Mr. Bing and others.

The county magistrate seemed to have forgotten about the few people who had taken the initiative to stand outside the door and did not call them in to discuss the papers.

The third brother Liu Menjing and several others were standing outside the door, ready for action, fearing that they would be called in to chat.

Among the fifty people, some are talented, while others are incompetent.

The county magistrate did not say anything harsh, and forty-five out of the fifty people passed and successfully secured the status of tongsheng.

Including Liu Menjing and Tian Buli.

The five who failed mainly spoke with a trembling voice and could not utter a single word for a long time, or they could not even recite the basic classical Chinese texts that a school kid could know.

For those who failed, I gently comforted them with a few words of hard work. I didn’t ask them why they passed, but just encouraged them to try harder next time.

Tian Buli also breathed a sigh of relief. He was also considered one of the poor students. In fact, his cultural level was not as good as those who had studied for many years.

Yanque City is considered a large county. Qi Tianfu has a total of more than one thousand places for students. If you include the places obtained through some channels, the final number will not exceed two thousand people. If divided according to the tax share, the number will be even less.

The county magistrate quickly held a banquet to entertain the top ten best students, and the rest were forgiven and allowed to go home.

Although Tian Buli is young, he comes from a humble family and does not look like a scholar. He looks more like a handyman.

On the contrary, Mr. Bing is talented, good-looking, and has a sense of genius.

In addition, he came from a humble background, a truly poor family, and was humble and polite, so he was naturally taken seriously and was invited by the county magistrate to stay for dinner and chat.

Tian Buli, Liu Menjing and more than a dozen other poor students soon walked out of the county government office happily to eat, as if they had been pardoned.

Young Master Liu treated everyone to a meal at the restaurant and they had a happy meal. They didn't talk about poetry, but only about women.

After dinner, I went to pick up Mr. Bing and take him home. After he got home, he didn't lie down to sleep, but concentrated on making tofu.

Tiger and Leopard, who had eaten their fill, were building a nest for the hens in the yard waiting for them to lay eggs. When they saw Tian Buli go outside and come back with another bag of beans, the two brothers immediately felt bitter.

"Second Dad, why do we still need to make tofu?"

"We still need to eat in the future. If we don't do business and make some money now, we will starve in the summer." Tian Buli carried a sack into the house, "Wash your hands and come in to work! Otherwise, your mother will come out!"

The two young men got up reluctantly, not wanting to work.

But whether you go to the government office to take the exam or find someone to guarantee you, it costs money, and you have to pay various fees for the exam.

You can't always rely on others for support, you have to earn something yourself.

(End of this chapter)