Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 11 What Can the Poor Family Do?
Outside the window, a ray of setting sun passed over the peach branches, casting mottled light and shadows on the blue brick ground.

The family is eating.

At the dinner table, Lu Beigu talked about the matter of moving my place of origin: "The county magistrate praised me personally and wrote me a letter of guarantee, allowing me to move my place of origin to Hejiang County."

"Is it necessary to move?" Pei Yan frowned slightly.

According to the system of the Song Dynasty, only men of color were eligible for household registration①. In other words, she and Lu Yuchi were not eligible for household registration①. Lu Yanqi was too young to be an adult, and her family was a "customer②" without any land.

If we want to relocate, I'm afraid the whole family will have to move to Hejiang County, which is a considerable expense.

"Yes."

Having supported the family alone for so many years, Pei Yan has long been accustomed to expecting the worst in everything.

She gently stirred the fish soup in her bowl with her chopsticks, her voice a little ethereal amidst the steam. "Renting a house in the county is not like renting a house in town. Even the most remote wing room has a minimum rent of one year, and it would cost at least four or five strings of cash."

Pei Yan put down her chopsticks and twisted the hem of her skirt with her fingers, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"Last month, I sold 1720 wen for embroidery, 408 wen for washing clothes, and 861 wen for picking herbs. After deducting all the miscellaneous expenses, I'm left with 2535 wen. I have to keep half for rice and salt. You'll need money for your studies, food, and lodging. I also owe the clan 28 guan (approximately 28 guan) so we're really broke."

Now the net income of ordinary people in Kaifeng is only more than 4 strings of cash a month, which is slightly higher than the income of serving in the imperial guards.

But Gulin Town is a remote town. Even with the support of water transportation, its economy is naturally not as good as Kaifeng. Therefore, even if Pei Yan works non-stop all day, he can only earn a net income of 2.5 guan a month.

The price of rice is about 70 wen per liter. Assuming that they do not engage in heavy physical labor, a family of two adults and two children will have to spend nearly 2000 wen per month just on normal food.

Therefore, when Pei Yan said to keep half of the food to buy rice and salt, she actually meant to reduce the food rations for everyone except Lu Beigu.

Lu Beigu looked at the rice in the bowl, and his vision suddenly became blurry.

He rubbed his eyes and said seriously, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will find a way to pay for the rent."

Pei Yan nodded and said nothing, but she had already made a decision in her heart.

No matter what, she would raise the money to rent a house in Hejiang County.

After all, nothing is more important than Lu Beigu's future.

"If I just move to Hejiang County, don't I need to live there for a year?" she asked after hesitating.

According to the system of the Song Dynasty, one can be registered as a resident after living and working there for one year. This means that no matter where one's original household registration is, one can transfer his or her household registration as long as he or she has lived and worked there for one year.

Lu Beigu shook his head: "I am a boarding student at the county school, which is also considered living."

He paused, looked at Pei Yan's puzzled eyes, and decided to explain the matter thoroughly.

"The hurdle here isn't actually changing your registered permanent residence, but rather whether you can enter the Luzhou Prefecture School as a student from Hejiang County and take part in the prefectural examination."

"Can I really get into the state school?"

Pei Yan's eyes widened slightly. Lu Beigu had given her too many shocks today - first he got an A in the policy essay, and now he was talking about entering the provincial school.

The brother-in-law in her memory always ranked last in the county school exams.

"Of course."

Lu Beigu's voice was steady and powerful: "Sister-in-law, from now on, I will live up to your expectations."

Pei Yan stared at him in a daze.

He still had the same handsome features, but his eyes were like the deep pool of an ancient well, so calm that it made her feel inexplicably at peace.

She suddenly realized that the Lu Beigu in front of her seemed a little different from the nerd who buried himself in books all day long but couldn't find the right method.

Seeing Pei Yan's expression soften, Lu Beigu continued to explain, "The 'Examination Procedures for Jinshi' issued to all prefectures in the fourth year of Jingde stipulated strict rules for those who did not return to their hometowns and stole household registration in other prefectures to participate in the selection process. Every autumn, the county assistant inspector must submit a tax on their performance of the duties of a guarantor to the prefecture. If a person fails to perform their duties after being guaranteed, both the prefecture and the county will be held accountable." "In other words, the significance of County Magistrate Li's letter of guarantee for relocation isn't about the relocation, but about his willingness to guarantee my future eligibility."

Lu Beigu pointed at the copied policy essay on the bag beside him and said, "Otherwise, even if you pass the provincial examination and become a juren, you may not be able to go to Beijing to take the exam."

Pei Yan was confused, but vaguely understood the seriousness of the matter: "So, County Magistrate Li means not only to transfer your permanent residence, but also to guarantee you to get that amount of money in the future?"

"That's roughly the case." Lu Beigu nodded. "While it's great that you're willing to help, I still have to work hard. If I can't pass the county exam to enter the provincial academy, or if I enter the provincial academy but can't pass the exam, then there's no question of passing the exam."

Outside the window, the last ray of twilight was swallowed up by the night.

After dinner, we cleaned up the dishes and stove.

Still in front of the only wooden table in the house, Lu Yuchi lay on Pei Yan's knees and yawned, his little face flushed by the embers of the stove, while Lu Yanqi was drooling in his sleep.

Pei Yan gently stroked her daughter's hair and suddenly asked, "This 'jie'e' you just mentioned, is it related to the son of Mr. Zhou in the town? I heard that he was very good at calligraphy and calligraphy, and passed the imperial examination two years ago, but he was unable to go to Kaifeng to take the exam."

"That's right. Although the Zhou family is wealthy, they are a vassal of the Luo family. Naturally, the Luzhou government will prioritize the candidates from this prefecture."

Lu Beigu paused and said, "There is a trick to this. The number of quotas in each state is not absolutely related to the number of candidates."

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there were few candidates, so those who passed the provincial examination could basically get a quota. But later, the number of candidates increased, so as a last resort, the "fixed quota system" was clarified in the first year of Emperor Zhenzong's Xianping reign.

This system stipulates that each state is allocated a fixed quota based on population and cultural and educational level. Large states may have dozens of quotas, while remote states may only have a few. Those who pass the state examination must rank within the quota to be eligible to go to Beijing for the examination. Those who exceed the quota will be eliminated.

What to do if you are eliminated? Of course you have to wait three years and take the exam again.

Pei Yan blinked and motioned for him to continue.

"Simply put, some states have fewer applicants but more admissions slots, while others have the opposite."

Lu Beigu dipped his fingers in the tea and drew a few circles on the table. "If there were no restrictions, students would naturally choose to take the exam in states with easier admissions. The imperial court established the dual checkpoints of native place and guarantee to curb this malpractice."

Pei Yan suddenly realized: "No wonder Mr. Zhou moved his family to Luzhou, it turned out to be for this."

"That's right." Lu Beigu smiled bitterly.

"But the rich can still relocate, but what can the poor do if they don't have a noble person to help them?"

Lu Beigu's native place was not Hejiang County, Luzhou, but Gulin Town in the Luo family's vassal area.

Although in actual implementation, students in the vassal areas all studied and took exams nearby, which did not affect their admission to the provincial school, if they passed the provincial examination and became a juren, it would hinder them from going to Beijing to take the examination.

Well, there is an unspoken rule here that cannot be brought out openly.

Because the states close to the vassal areas often choose to protect the interests of candidates with local household registration, they will stick to the ranking of the quota and eliminate candidates with similar scores but from the vassal areas and put them on hold temporarily.

Those candidates who were not rejected must also have their character examined and guaranteed by the county magistrate before they can get the "jie qu" to go to Beijing to take the exam. If the candidate guaranteed by the county magistrate does not take the exam and wastes the precious "jie qu", the chief officials at the state and county levels will be held jointly liable.

Therefore, if Li Pan had not appreciated him, according to the normal trajectory, even if Lu Beigu passed the state examination and became a juren, he might not be able to take part in the provincial examination due to the restriction of the "jie quota", wasting his time in vain.

How can we have so much time to waste in life?
Can the joy of a young man passing the imperial examination be the same as the joy of an old man who has endured decades of hard work to finally pass the imperial examination?

Of course, Li Pan's appreciation of him ultimately comes from Lu Beigu's own talent and learning, and that's the fundamental reason.

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① Hutie, which is the household registration book in the Song Dynasty, records information such as population, land, houses, and livestock.

② Customer, in ancient times, refers to outsiders.

(End of this chapter)