Top Scholar

Chapter 239 County Examination Registration
After feeding his beloved student, Mr. Zhang asked with a smile, "Did you ask Linsheng to vouch for you?"

"Isn't this what we've been waiting for, sir?" Su Lu said, stroking his sleeve and playfully adding, "I've brought all the money."

"Get lost! Why don't you give me the money?!" Mr. Zhang laughed loudly. "We gentlemen are here to act as guarantors for you. Since you don't have a guarantor, let's go to the yamen together tomorrow."

"Alright." Su Lu joked with a smile. "No wonder the magistrate of the county school cursed so harshly; he cut off a huge source of their income."

Because candidates for the preliminary examination (童生) needed a guarantor from a student (生员) to take the exam, this became a way for scholars (秀才) to make money. The fee for a guarantor was usually one tael of silver per person, but with so many candidates, some could earn dozens of taels.

Moreover, the examinations were held twice every three years... so it's true that scholars are never poor.

However, the teachers at the academy would at least guarantee a student's admission once for free. If the student failed and had to retake the exam, it depended on personal connections; if those connections weren't strong enough, the student would still have to pay up.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Mr. Zhang asked softly, "By the way, what about the phonetic symbols... is there no further information about them?"

"Yes," Su Lu said with a smile. "Sir, haven't you seen the announcement for the county examination? Our master has already been promoted to Wenlin Lang."

In addition to their official titles, Ming Dynasty officials also had informal ranks, similar to later professional titles. A seventh-rank civil official was initially appointed as Chengshilang and later promoted to Wenlinlang.

Normally, after three years of preliminary examinations, one should be able to be promoted without major problems. However, Magistrate Lu was stuck for nine years. The reason was simple: the higher-ups believed that he had purchased his official position and was not qualified to be a Wenlin Lang (a low-ranking official).

At the end of last year, the provincial rewards finally came in. In addition to giving Magistrate Lu an outstanding award, he was also finally promoted to Wenlin Lang.

Magistrate Lu cried again, feeling both relieved at finally being recognized and frustrated by the meager amount of recognition he had received.

"That's all?" Mr. Zhang clicked his tongue, not even noticing. "Such a great deed in educating people only earned this little reward? Shouldn't they at least be promoted? What's the point of giving them a low-ranking position?"

“The state can only help the magistrate this far,” Su Lu sighed. “It’s also the magistrate’s bad luck. If he had received this outstanding award a year earlier during the provincial inspection last year, he would have been promoted directly. Or if the late emperor had passed away a year later…”

"Sigh, it's so easy for others to get promoted, why is it so difficult for Magistrate Lu?" Mr. Zhang sighed as well. "It's true that everything is predestined, and there's nothing we can do about it."

“But there is still hope for the master.” Su Lu added, “The prefecture and the three guards are promoting phonetic symbols. I just don’t know if his contribution will still be counted when the time comes.”

"I hope those officials aren't too heartless." Mr. Zhang, who had previously despised Magistrate Lu, now felt sympathy for him. "After all, Magistrate Lu is still willing to get things done. I heard he's going to start river management again?"

"Yes." Su Lu nodded and said, "I don't know how Huang Bingxian bewitched the master, but he has decided to try again."

"Dredging the Chishui River is such a complex project; looking across Luzhou, only County Magistrate Lu could have accomplished it," Mr. Zhang said with admiration.

~~
After a brief chat, Su Lu invited Mr. Zhang and his classmates to his home.

Mr. Zhang readily agreed and even prepared a gift. Su Lu would have been heartbroken if he hadn't invited him…

None of the classmates came empty-handed; the gifts, regardless of their monetary value, demonstrated commendable filial piety.

The meal was prepared by my aunt. However, the family had already hired two maids to help with the cooking, freeing her from heavy physical labor; she only needed to cook, which made things much easier.

Li Qiyu looked around Su Lu's spacious hall with awe. His godmother had added many fresh flowers and ornaments for the New Year, making it look like a truly wealthy household.

He exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, your house has really changed a lot! When I first visited your stilted house, it was like heaven and earth compared to your mansion now."

"Your house has changed so much, I can't even shut you up while you're eating," Su Lu said with a laugh. But he had to admit that his family had indeed undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two years.

“My brother has a home in Luzhou,” Su Dan boasted. “Once you pass the county exam, you can visit him there again.”

"Then he has to pass the county exam first!" Cheng Wanfan laughed. After growing up, his buck teeth had mostly disappeared, making him look much more handsome than before, but his mouth was still just as sharp.

“I have a better chance than you,” Li Qiyu retorted. “Don’t forget who came out on top in the year-end exams!”

“I only made a mistake once in a while; I was the one who had the upper hand most of the time before,” Cheng Wanfan said.

"Shut up, you two!" Mr. Zhang couldn't take it anymore and scolded, "There are thirty-one students in the Central Academy, and you two ranked nineteenth and twentieth respectively. You still have the nerve to show off here!"

"Yes..." The two rascals quickly lowered their heads obediently, and Li Qiyu even whispered, "That's because it's been too long since we've enjoyed the love of Chun Ting..."

“That’s right, as long as you give us some guidance, we’ll be fine,” Cheng Wanfan whispered.

"I'm not a magic pill," Su Lu said with a wry smile. "What's the use of you two cramming at the last minute?"

"Nothing else is useful, but my pre-exam tutoring will definitely help!" This time, not only Cheng Wanfan and Li Qiyu, but all the classmates said in unison.

"Sigh, can't you guys come up with something else? Maybe when I'm not around?" Mr. Zhang said helplessly, exasperated by these brats. "Otherwise, Hongzhi's father will think I'm such an incompetent teacher."

Su Youcai, who was sitting next to him, quickly laughed and said, "No, no, I was taught by my son."

“Alright…” Mr. Zhang patted Su Youcai on the shoulder and said, “Brother Yunwen, to be honest, I have also benefited greatly from your son.”

"This kid really has the makings of a teacher," Su Youcai said with a wry smile.

"So, Hongzhi, I'll trouble you to take the time to give them some guidance." Mr. Zhang then asked Su Lu, "That would be a good start and a good finish."

"Yes, sir," Su Lu replied with a smile.

~~
The next morning, Mr. Zhang led his disciples to the county government office to register.

Su Youcai was too embarrassed to hang out with his son, so he had already registered him yesterday with the yellow register. As for the required guarantor position, Su Youcai, who had taken the county examination twelve times, had no shortage of that... It was just a matter of spending some money, and the Second Master Su was not short of that silver.

The old scholar who vouched for him had already taken money from him three times, saving him the trouble of investigating his background. As a perk for a long-time client, the old scholar also found four other candidates from among those he had vouched for to mutually vouch for Su Youcai, thus solving the application requirements.

Whether it's a mutual guarantee or a direct guarantee, the guarantee is that the candidate's exam eligibility is not in question, not that they will cheat. Besides, the old scholar is much more attentive than Su Youcai; if anything were to happen, his student status would be revoked, so there's basically no risk...

The group of classmates arrived at Yaqian Street, chatting and laughing. There, they saw a long queue outside the gate of the county government office. They were all scholars in long robes, and their ages ranged from as young as ten to old men who looked to be in their forties or fifties.

Clearly, these people were all there to register, just like them...

"Good heavens, it's been three days already, how come there are still so many people?" Su Lu exclaimed in surprise.

Registration can begin on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, and today is already the nineteenth.

"Firstly, there are simply too many people taking the exam," Mr. Zhang said. "There is no age limit for taking the county exam, so people can take it indefinitely. In Hejiang County, plus the students from our two garrisons, there are two to three thousand people taking the exam each year."

"Wow!" The classmates gasped in surprise, not expecting the competition to be so fierce.

"And then there's the fact that the clerks are deliberately taking their time, forcing us to come up with a solution." Mr. Zhang didn't wait in line either. As he spoke, he led his disciples past the long queue and arrived at the gate.

"Get in line!" the gatekeeper clerk snapped. He wouldn't normally dare to be so rude to the scholar, but those registering for the children's examination were all led by scholars. If he were too polite, how would he sell 'express tickets'?
Mr. Zhang remained calm and unhurried, taking out his business card from his sleeve and handing it over.

The clerk took the card, glanced at it, cursed his bad luck, forced a smile, and returned the card, saying, "So you're a teacher from Taiping Academy. Please come in quickly."

He then opened the gate.

"Thank you for your trouble." Mr. Zhang nodded slightly and led his disciples straight into the yamen.

The people in line were naturally outraged, questioning why they were allowed to cut in line.

"They're from Taiping Academy!" the clerk shouted. "If you're so capable, let your headmaster pass the imperial examination, and I'll let you cut in line too!"

"..." The doubts immediately subsided considerably.

The archway commemorating Zhu Chuanlu still stands on the main street of the county school, showing the preferential treatment given to Zhu Chuanlu's disciples, and no one can say no to it.

~~
The area outside the government office was heavily guarded, so there were naturally very few people inside.

Mr. Zhang, familiar with the place, led his disciples to the registration office temporarily set up by the ceremonial department in the east wing of the front office.

The person in charge at the registration desk was Zhang, the clerk from the Ministry of Rites.

"Oh, isn't this Mr. Zhang from our clan?" Zhang Sili had visited Zhang Yanqiu at Taiping Academy last year and recognized him immediately, quickly rising to greet him. "You've come in person to see him off to the exam?"

"Yes." Mr. Zhang nodded and smiled. "I brought the students here to broaden their horizons and prepare for next year."

"Modesty." Zhang Sili laughed heartily, then instructed his clerks, "Prepare for Mr. Zhang's top students first."

A clerk quickly invited Mr. Zhang to sit down, brought over a stack of blank guarantee certificates, and thoughtfully offered him pen and ink.

Zhang Yanqiu then picked up his pen and skillfully began filling out the guarantee statement.

The full name of this document is "Guarantee Statement for the Examination of Children and Students".

Mr. Zhang filled in the form as follows:

Zhang Yanqiu, a student guaranteed by the government, is now guaranteed a place in the county for the education of children, Su Lu.

Age – Sixteen. Height – Five feet five inches, thin. Face – A square face, white and beardless.

System: Yongningwei Taiping Town Thousand Household Office, military registration.

Great-grandfather – Ming'an, grandfather – Dacheng, father – Youcai.

He is indeed clean and has no history of impersonation, concealment of death, substitution, or fabrication of names.

They are not descendants of entertainers, prostitutes, servants, or slaves.

If there is any obstruction, I will accept the blame without excuse.

The agreement is real.

After signing and affixing the seal, a valid guarantee of financial support for the student is obtained.

Attached to the document was a mutual guarantee agreement, signed by Su Dan, Li Qiyu, Cheng Wanzhou, and Cheng Wanfan as Su Lu's mutual guarantors.

Of course, Su Lu would also sign their mutual guarantee agreement.

With the help of the officials, the subsequent procedures went very smoothly. After submitting the resumes and personal testimonies of three generations of their family and the household registration pages in the Yellow Register, the clerks quickly registered the fifteen candidates for the examination and finally issued them tickets based on their physical characteristics.

The floating ticket is the examination admission ticket, and the county examination registration is complete!
P.S. The county exam is tomorrow, please support Qiu Ge'er with your monthly votes!!

(End of this chapter)