They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 400 Scholar

Dou Zhongli left Qingshan County in anger and finally returned to Qingyang County.

Magistrate Lu breathed a sigh of relief upon learning this; it was good that they had left, otherwise he would have sent people to forcibly send them away.

Seeing that he was young, he could give him another chance and not send someone to Qingyang County to talk about stripping him of his title of Tongsheng (a student of the lowest degree).

Otherwise, hmph, if we tell Qingyang County, they'll strip him of his status as a student, and he'll be forever barred from taking the imperial examinations.

You still want a scholar?
Liangjia Village was filled with joy and happiness, and all the villagers were beaming with delight!

"It's a winner! It's a winner!"

"I knew the little prodigy would win, hahaha!"

"Me too, me too. Shouldn't we call you 'Master Scholar' now?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Scholar, scholar!"

"."

The villagers who came to offer their congratulations almost wore out the doorway. Everyone had a smile on their face and addressed him respectfully as "Scholar Master," calling him "Scholar Master" with perfect fluency.

Xu Zhichun glanced at the tiny "master" and struggled to suppress her laughter.

Such a joyous occasion has occurred in the village, and everyone is filled with pride. Liang Lizheng smiled and said to Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang, "When our scholar passed the preliminary examination, we didn't hold a banquet to celebrate. This time, he passed the county-level examination, which is a huge joyous occasion. We must hold a banquet to celebrate, right?"

Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

“The village head is right, it should be done.”

"That's what we were thinking too. If we're going to do it, of course we'll do it. Mingxuan is so successful, we should celebrate properly!"

Hearing Xu Zhichun say this, Liang Minglang couldn't help but turn his head to look at her. His heart softened completely. He could imagine how much pressure she had to take care of Mingxuan alone after the news of his death came. Mingxuan lived up to expectations and passed the imperial examination. At that time, she must have felt quite proud.
Liang Lizheng was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly with a smile, saying, "Good, good, good. Now that the date is set, just let us know and everyone in the village will come to help! Those with money can contribute money, and those with strength can contribute strength. This is everyone's way of showing their support. Hey, don't refuse, let everyone share in the joy."

Since Liang Lizheng had said so, Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang couldn't refuse, so they could only smile and agree.

The celebration banquet is scheduled for five days from now.

This celebration banquet was truly grand and lively, with the whole village filled with joy, and everyone participated in it as a top priority for the entire village.

Not only did they offer to help at our homes, but almost all of them brought money, vegetables from their own gardens, and some even caught chickens and brought eggs.

Even Xu, Chunfen's petty sister-in-law, sent two hundred coins and twenty eggs. She had recently given birth to a son, and although she hoped to share in the good fortune, the gifts and money were genuine.

Needless to say, they took it from everyone else. Anyone who had even a slight connection with Xu Zhichun and his group took it.

After all, life is much better for everyone in the village now, and every family has extra money in their savings that they can afford to take out.

In addition to the ten taels of silver and two chickens that the Liang family took from the public coffers, Zeng Xiaoyan and Liang Mingliang took an extra five taels of silver, and Liang Xiaoman also took two taels for herself.

Zeng Xiaojuan, Yang Ming, and Yang Xiaoan were extremely grateful to Xu Zhichun, and after discussing it as a family, they also gave him ten taels of silver.

Zhu'er's aunt and her husband also took ten taels.

The other villagers contributed anywhere from two or three taels of silver to several hundred coins, and everyone happily pooled their money together.

Xu Zhichun was stunned by the last batch of generals.

Liang Minglang was also a little surprised. "This is too much. Should we return some of it?" Xu Zhichun thought for a moment, shook his head and smiled. "Everyone has given so much. Let's make the banquet more lavish. In the future, if other families have important events and we need to give gifts, we can give more."

Liang Minglang hugged her from behind and laughed, "Hmm, you're very thoughtful. I'll listen to you."

Xu Zhichun turned her head, and the two smiled at each other and kissed.

Liang Minglang lingered, kissing her lips for a long time before pressing his body close to hers and whispering in her ear, "After the banquet, will you marry me?"

He's been too busy and tired these days, but he can wait a few more days.

Xu Zhichun's ears burned, and she nodded slightly, humming in agreement.

He knows everything. Besides, everyone thinks they're already husband and wife, so what can they do but get a divorce? They can just make do.

Liang Minglang urged, "Is it okay?"

Xu Zhichun nudged him with her elbow, "I said 'um,' didn't you hear me?"

Liang Minglang laughed loudly, "I heard it, I heard it now!"

Xu Zhichun laughed at himself.

Master Qin and Madam Qin personally came to the door, saying that they could ask the chefs and waiters from the Lotus Restaurant, as well as the servants of the Qin family, to come and help.

The Qin family also has all kinds of ingredients readily available. They have three mule carts and horse carts in total. If they need anything, they can just ask and don't hesitate to ask.

Xu Zhichun was overjoyed and thanked him with a smile without refusing.

She was really having a headache about the ingredients. After all, there weren't such large and comprehensive wholesale markets in this era. If she wanted to hold a grand banquet, it would be very troublesome to purchase many things, and she would have to buy them from many different places.

With the Qin family's help, things will be much easier.

The teachers from the county school and many of Liang Mingxuan's classmates will also be coming; it would be even better if there were vehicles to pick them up and drop them off.

Magistrate Lu, Master Shao, Assistant Magistrate Zhao, and Constable Yu will also be coming, along with many local gentry, landlords, prominent families, and merchants. The Qin family's servants are obviously more well-trained and experienced in dealing with people, so having their help will save a lot of trouble.

Xu Zhichun: "It's fine if the people who help are fine, but what is the value of those ingredients? Please make a list, Master Qin and Madam Qin. We can't let you suffer a loss."

Mr. Qin waved his hands repeatedly: "It's not a loss at all, we're more than happy to have this honor, haha!"

Madam Qin smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Madam Xu, you don't need to be so polite!"

“That won’t do,” Liang Minglang shook his head. “This is too good to be true. We can’t let you get away with this. Zhichun is right. We can’t let you suffer a loss.”

The couple agreed that they would pay for the ingredients, and the cooks, waiters, and servants from the Qin family who helped would each receive a large red envelope at the end of the banquet.

Afterwards, prepare another generous gift, and the two of them will go to the Qin family together to express their gratitude.

The Qin family's willingness to help genuinely resolved many tedious and trivial matters for them, and they deserve their gratitude.

Mr. and Mrs. Qin had no choice but to smile and agree.

On the day of the banquet, the whole village was bustling with noise and even more lively.

Guests arrived in waves, including many relatives and friends, or even people whose relatives or friends were not actually known to be there.