The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 190 The Great Test Ends
Li Zuoche's exam paper was covered with writing. He passed by Han Xin's desk and saw that Han Xin had also just handed in his exam paper. He discovered that Han Xin had also written quite a bit.

The usually taciturn Han Xin was full of confidence in the examination room.

For someone who is not good at speaking or interacting with others, this kind of fairness in the examination room is a pleasure.

Han Xin walked out of the examination hall and saw people outside wailing and crying.

"What's there to cry about? If you hadn't read more books back then, you would have just been busy drinking and socializing!"

Han Xin recognized the man who was yelling at him; his name was Cao Shen.

Xiao He walked out of the examination hall with a calm expression.

Upon seeing Xiao He emerge, Cao Can immediately composed himself and followed Xiao He away.

Han Xin stood outside the examination hall and waited for a long time but did not see the girl who brought him noodles. So he simply sat on the ground and counted the beans on the ground.

People are still harvesting beans in the fields. After the wheat harvest this summer, beans were planted in the fields.

The beans have now been harvested.

Reclaiming wasteland and farming, building homes and paying taxes—these are the shared memories of the new Qin people of Weinan.

It's unclear how Prince Fusu managed to create such a shared experience for everyone.

These memories and experiences are about reclaiming wasteland and settling down. Back then, everyone had nothing, but now they have land and a home.

When people share common memories and common goals, they can be like a rope, binding together every individual.

People became a whole, with their own property to protect, which was the land.

At least for now, dividing up land for reclamation can indeed unite many people.

For people today, being able to eat their fill and support their children and themselves is already considered very good.

As for other things, I can only barely manage to live in a better place and dress better.

And all of this... was given to them by Prince Fusu, allowing them to go from being penniless paupers to having families.

Han Xin remained seated there until nightfall.

"Han Xin."

Hearing the voices behind him, he turned around and saw a girl holding a bowl of noodles and chopsticks.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, and that familiar face, he grinned.

She handed him a bowl of noodles and said softly, "I won't be able to bring you noodles anymore."

Han Xin stopped chewing his noodles and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

She said, "My family has just settled in Guanzhong, and we don't have much food, according to my father."

Han Xin finished the noodles in the bowl in a few bites, then handed the empty bowl to her. He looked for the money on his person and found that the only money he had was a few copper coins that the village head had given him back then.

He was stunned. He was no different from when he came; he still had nothing.

The girl didn't say much, nor did she take Han Xin's copper coins. Holding the bowl, she said, "It's alright, I'll come see you again tomorrow, but you won't have this to eat."

Han Xin just smiled foolishly.

After she left, Han Xin walked along with his head down, thinking about his situation.

Han Xin returned to Tongguan and continued his arduous studies. Life was still difficult and arduous, but he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

At night, Han Xin was reading a book in his residence when he could occasionally hear crying from next door.

"I can't write it, it's too hard... it's just too hard."

"If you can't write it, then join the army. If you don't join the army, then work as a laborer in Tongguan City for another two years."

"No! I have all my skills; I want to serve you, young master."

……

Some people were crying, some were trying to comfort them; they were really noisy.

Han Xin's thoughts were interrupted as he read, and he remembered what she had said, feeling a mix of emotions.

At the other end of Tongguan City, there is a separate residence, which was temporarily entrusted to Xiao He by Sima Xin, the Prefect of Weinan.

Saying it was "managing" it was really just allowing Xiao He to live there.

Asking him to manage it was just an excuse to prevent Xiao He from refusing.

After moving in, Xiao He and Cao Can shared a side room.

At that moment, Cao Shen was washing clothes outside, talking about today's exam questions, mostly complaining that they were too difficult.

The exam questions were indeed difficult; it would be hard for someone without sufficient insight and extensive reading to answer them.

The disciples of the various schools of thought in ancient China each had their own unique learning methods.

Xiao He dared not underestimate any of the candidates in the same examination. The descendants of the Hundred Schools of Thought were not to be underestimated either, and they must have had their own extraordinary abilities.

However, Xiao He only thought about it for a moment before continuing to look at the letter in his hand.

After washing the clothes, Cao Shen hung them outside to dry and asked, "What did this letter say?"

The letter was sent by the county magistrate of Zhongyangli to Langya County through a county official.

In Langya County, there was a man named Lang, who was a good friend of Xiao He and it was he who persuaded Xiao He to come to Guanzhong.

Only when the letter from Zhongyangli reaches Langya County can it be transported to Guanzhong using the documents issued by Langya County.

This convenience arose because documents from Langya County could bypass the various prefectures and counties and be sent directly to Guanzhong.

It was truly remarkable that this letter was delivered to Tongguan County. Xiao He thought that Lang had helped him so much, and he could only repay these favors later.

Seeing that Cao Can was about to ask more questions, Xiao He put down the letter and said, "Liu Ji said he has had another daughter, haha... Liu Ji, that man..."

Speaking of the old friends in Zhongyang Village, Cao Can smiled and said, "Liu Ji is really lucky. He was chosen by Mr. Lü and has a group of older brothers from the county helping him."

Xiao He suddenly smiled, it was hard to tell whether the smile was one of helplessness or relief, and said in a low voice, "He also said in the letter that if I were to become an official in Xianyang in the future, he would let his sons Liu Ying and Liu Fei come to Guanzhong to study, and he also said that I should raise these two children."

Cao Can hesitated and asked, "How is Zhongyangli now?" Xiao He replied, "Everything is fine."

Cao Shen also glanced at the letter, and it was indeed as Xiao He had said.

They would say that everything in the county was good, but in reality, even if there were any problems, they would say they were good.

Also to put Xiao He's mind at ease, Cao Can thought about how some things in Zhongyangli County could not be done without Xiao He, so he had the idea of ​​going back.

But now that I've given up the exam and gone back, all my previous efforts have been in vain.

Cao Shen glanced at Xiao He, who was engrossed in reading, and seeing that the other was also focused on reading, he stopped thinking about it.

Three days later, another frost fell in Guanzhong, and the ground was covered in white. The frost was still firm, and people came out of their houses in the morning and left Tongguan City under the leadership of the Qin army.

Today is the third exam; there are a total of seven such exams.

The exam takes a whole month, which is very long and grueling.

These students endured the torment of wanting to know their exam results almost every day, as if they were being tortured.

The group returned to the examination hall and began the third exam. When the exam papers were distributed, the questions that came to everyone's eyes were related to taxation and grain allocation.

Those who are familiar with the Qin laws will find this type of question quite familiar.

For Xiao He, these questions seemed to have been created specifically for him.

After the Qin reforms, officials were required to be familiar with Qin laws.

Xiao He also felt that this question was not difficult for Cao Shen either.

Like the previous two exams, the exams started in the morning and didn't end until late in the evening. When everyone came out of the exam hall, they were starving.

From August until September, until the seventh mathematics exam ended, everyone felt like they had lost half their lives.

These past two weeks have been a test of what they've learned in their lifetime, and this exam is exactly as rumored.

Includes astronomy, numerology, military affairs, taxation...

There are seven subjects in total, the other three being geography, Qin law, and ideology.

Seven exams over a month had almost completely drained the students' energy and spirit.

Life after the exam was relatively easy for Han Xin.

Today, he watched a couple arguing and learned some authentic Guanzhong dialect.

Han Xin had even forgotten about the results of the exam.

Today, he doesn't have to work at the library; it's his day off.

During his rest days, Han Xin had nowhere to go.

In his spare time, he would watch the other menial workers toiling away.

Then he sat outside the study and listened to the teacher's lecture.

After listening for a while, they would even borrow books from the students here. The way children in Tongguan City studied was different from that of people in other places.

The people here take notes when they read, which greatly benefited Han Xin.

Many people give up studying after finishing their exams and spend their days playing.

Only a few people, like Han Xin, continued to study after the exam.

Han Xin observed the people of Guanzhong, especially those in Weinan. The people there were very busy, whether it was the busy farming season or the slack season.

They had endless work to do every day. Both women and men would go out to work in the morning and not return home until evening, almost every day.

Unlike Han Xin, he had one day of leisure per month.

Except for the coldest month of winter when people in Weinan do not work, they work almost every day after that.

According to the locals, there's no need to envy the wealth of Weinan, because their wealth comes from hard work; the people here live a very hard life.

In Han Xin's understanding, there wasn't actually much land in Weinan.

However, Weinan needed to support a larger population with its limited land, which required more labor, and that labor was found in workshops.

North of Weinan, at the foot of Shangyan Mountain, there are many workshops where almost half of Weinan's population works.

These people are able to obtain food after their labor.

Therefore, the people here not only have to farm but also work in the workshops.

September arrives, marking the time of White Dew.

Han Xin was on duty at the library as usual.

"Han Xin!"

Hearing the voices, he looked up and saw someone he hadn't seen in a long time—Li Mi.

If it weren't for Prince Fusu accompanying him, Han Xin would not have left Huaiyin County.

Indeed, only by stepping out can you know how big the outside world is.

Even if you don't do well on the exam, it's not a wasted trip.

Just as the rumors say, if you go to Guanzhong, you will definitely find it worthwhile. This is true, based on Han Xin's personal experience.

"How have you been?"

Han Xin replied, "Everything is fine."

Li Mi continued, "I went to Longxi last year and heard that the imperial examination had ended."

Han Xin nodded: "Mm."

"Now that the country needs manpower, I heard when I passed through Xianyang that Prince Fusu personally graded your examination papers,"

(End of this chapter)