Top Scholar

Chapter 26 Exam starts

Of course, those are problems that the elders worry about, and have nothing to do with the teenagers.

"Brother Qiu!" His clansmen, who had gone to take the exam, gathered around and greeted Su Lu warmly, their attitude completely different from last time. No one questioned him anymore about why he had gone to take the exam.

"Good morning, everyone!" Su Lu greeted them with a smile.

"Your 'forgetting curve' is so useful! I can memorize things much better now!" the boys exclaimed in a flurry of thanks.

“Your ‘Pomodoro Technique’ is really amazing! I could never concentrate, but this has finally cured me! It’s just that my grandma is a little unhappy.”

"Hahaha, who told you to burn all the incense you could burn for a year in just one month!" The boys couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Although Su Lu was still embarrassed to teach study methods at the clan school, he still asked his father to pass on some study methods to his fellow clansmen.

However, Su Youcai understood the principle that oranges grown in the south become bitter oranges when grown in the north. With the big exams approaching, he didn't rashly teach any fancy techniques, lest he lead the boys astray. He simply used the "Pomodoro Technique" and the "forgetting curve" to guide them in time management and revision planning, and the boys already benefited greatly.

Once the boys had truly tasted the benefits, Su Youcai told them that it was Su Lu's idea.

Su Lu's image in the eyes of his brothers instantly rose to prominence. The boys were deeply moved; Qiu Ge'er was truly loyal to his brothers...

~~
Once everyone had arrived, Su Youcai led his team to set off, where they encountered the Cheng family's group at the town entrance.

The Cheng family also had ten children taking the exam, and the person accompanying them was none other than the scholar Cheng.

Cheng Xiucai didn't even glance at Su Youcai. Although the two families had become related by marriage, this marriage filled him with rage, making him feel worse than if he had swallowed a fly.

The Cheng family members also glared at the Su family members. Young people are easily influenced by their elders, and the fact that Su Lu's uncle had inexplicably married the most beautiful girl in the Cheng family infuriated them!

The Su family's sons, being from military households, were no pushovers either, and glared back fiercely at the sight. Fortunately, it was a special day, and both sets of parents quickly stopped their children from exchanging insults.

Su Youcai and Cheng Xiucai also consciously kept their distance, each going their own way on the main road, leading their teams toward Taiping Town.

Taiping Town is located upstream of Erlangtan. In addition to being accessible by waterway, it is also accessible by land via a post road.

Speaking of which, this post road was opened up during the Hongwu era when Yunnan was conquered. Boss Zhu had high standards and strict requirements, and the road was not only wide and flat, but also straightened out, so that it only took ten miles to reach Taiping Town.

However, since the founding of the country, his descendants have not been able to do what he did. The post roads have long been in disrepair and are full of potholes. If you ride in a carriage, you will be shaken to the point of having your intestines come out.

Therefore, even the Cheng family chose to walk there, although Cheng Xiucai rode in a sedan chair.

Walking along the road, Su Lu took out his "mistake notebook" and quickly reviewed the wrong questions he had compiled over the past few days. Seeing this, his brothers in the clan also pulled out their books. They memorized them as they walked, truly cramming at the last minute.

Seeing this from afar, the Cheng family members couldn't help but sneer: "You didn't study hard during the exam, and now you're cramming at the last minute? Too late!"

"What a waste of time! The competition is especially fierce this year; they've determined that no one will pass."

"Ignore them." Cheng Xiucai, who was resting with his eyes closed on the sedan chair, suddenly spoke up and scolded, "Concentrate and think. Your opponents are the top talents in the county, not these uncouth men who can only be supporting characters."

"Yes." The Cheng family members bowed respectfully, accepting the instruction, and had no choice but to shut up and find another way to calm their nerves.

~~
The mountain people are all on iron feet; they can reach Taiping Town in half an hour.

The sun had just risen above the mountains, and the morning light bathed the ancient town nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with its blue-tiled roofs and wooden buildings, in a pale golden hue.

This is the location of the Taiping Thousand Household Garrison, the most important ferry crossing on the Chishui River, and an arched bridge with stone foundations and wooden beams connecting Yongning with Bozhou on the opposite bank.

Naturally, Taiping Town was much larger and more prosperous than Erlangtan, with nearly a thousand households. There were dozens of shops of all kinds, where you could buy almost any daily necessities. There was even a brothel.

But what truly made Taiping Town famous was the Taiping Academy, built at the foot of Guanshan Mountain on the south side of the town.

This academy was first built during the Yongle period. It covers an area of ​​more than ten acres. With white walls and black tiles, ancient cypress trees planted inside the courtyard and banana trees dotting the outside of the walls, it is completely different from the rough and dark buildings in Southwest China.

Outside the academy, there were hundreds of acres of farmland. Half of it was allocated by the garrison, and the other half came from donations by local gentry.

At this time of year, the fields were devoid of crops, but teeming with people, leaving Su Lu and his group dumbfounded.

"Holy crap, how many people are there?" Little Fatty Su Lang stared in disbelief.

"At least three or four thousand," the boys estimated, then their expressions changed drastically.
"Even if only half of them are here to take the exam, that's still a couple thousand."

"Whether it's one thousand or two thousand, that makes a huge difference," the tall, thin man said, chewing his words.

“One thousand two hundred people!” A serious and clear voice rang out, and everyone saw Su Man walking proudly out from the crowd.

The surrounding crowd saw this handsome young man, dressed in a spotless white academic robe, who appeared even more dashing and extraordinary. He was practically the image they imagined themselves or their children should have in the future.

"Brother." None of the other boys in the clan dared to call him Chun-ge'er; they all obediently bowed.

"Big brother," Su Lu Su Tai quickly greeted him.

"Hmm." Su Man nodded, bowed to the elders, and then continued, "In previous years, there were only about six or seven hundred candidates, but this year there are more than double that."

"Why?" the elders asked, puzzled.

“Because starting from this year, we will select the best students to study at Heshan Academy for their final year.” Su Man patiently explained, “This will be of great help to candidates, and even to those who want to become Juren. So this year, not only those from one county and three garrisons, but also those from Yongning and Bozhou have come to apply.”

"Good heavens," Su Lu gasped, and asked, "Will they expand the enrollment?" The brothers also looked at Chun Ge'er, but he shook his head and said, "No, it's still sixty spots."

"Oh dear..." the boys cried out in despair.

“That’s normal. The imperial court hasn’t increased the number of places in state and county schools, so expanding enrollment in academies is meaningless and would only damage their reputation,” Su Man explained.

Su Luxin thought to himself, "But I can collect so much more tuition fees... But maybe, perhaps, the scholars of this era aren't as vulgar as I am."

"You should not be affected either." Su Man's stern gaze swept over his cousins, and he said in a deep voice, "Although the academy is difficult to get into, it is still much easier than taking the county-level exam. If you don't even have the confidence to pass this, then what's the point of taking the county-level exam?"

"Yes." The younger brothers quickly and obediently accepted the instruction.

"Now, those who are confident they can pass the exam, come in with me. Those who aren't, go home with your families." After saying this, Su Man turned around and strode back.

"Big brother, wait for me." Su Lu followed closely behind.

"Brother, we're here!" Su Lang and the others quickly followed.

"So you're confident now?" Su Man said without turning her head, continuing forward.

"We've got it! We've got it!" the boys replied hastily.

"The sound is too soft, I can't hear it!" Su Man said in a deep voice.

"We're confident!" the boys shouted, drawing stares from onlookers.

Although it was a little embarrassing to be surrounded by people shouting, it also gave me a subtle feeling of being the main character.

Now everyone's fighting spirit is ignited, and their confidence is increasing!
~~
With Su Man leading the way, everyone completed the registration smoothly.

Of course, registration was simple. Each person paid a registration fee of twenty coins to enter the academy and wait in line for the oral exam.

"They won't even give me an admission ticket or anything?" Su Lu painfully pulled out twenty coins, which was a huge sum of money for him.

"You'll only register if you pass the oral exam; if you fail, you can just go home," Su Man said calmly. "You don't need to pay; I've already paid for you."

"Oh, okay." Su Lu quickly handed the money to his older brother.

Su Man refused to accept it, looking disgusted. "No manners! How can you give money to your elder brother like that!"

"Thank you, elder brother." Su Lu had no choice but to put the twenty coins away again. Last time it was his second brother, and this time it was his elder brother, yet he still hadn't personally spent a single coin.

"If you really want to thank me, then I'll get into the academy." Su Man waved his hand dismissively, urging him to go inside quickly.

The oral exam was held inside the academy gate, and all those accompanying the examinees had to stop at the gate.

~~
Beneath the double-eaved mountain gate of Taiping Academy hangs a plaque with the black characters "Haiyu Yuxiu" (meaning "Beautiful Places by the Sea"), the calligraphy vigorous and powerful.

There is also a couplet on both sides, which reads:

The wind carries elegant melodies from the Central Plains, while clouds transform into sweet rain from the remote borderlands.

Su Lu and his brothers went inside and found the large front yard already packed with people. After looking around for a while, they realized the oral exams had already begun…

In front of the second gate, there was a row of desks, and twenty senior students from the upper hall, dressed like Chun Ge'er, were sitting behind the desks acting as oral examiners.

Su Man should have been among them, but he informed his teachers that he had brothers taking the exam, so he was exempted.

The twenty lines of people waiting to take the exam were of varying lengths, so the brothers split up and joined whichever line was the shortest.

The row that Su Luxuan was in had about thirty students in front of them, and they were all extremely nervous.

Those waiting for the exam were in such a state of tension, while those taking the exam were even more suffocating. They came to the desks, sat down face to face with the examiners, and were being questioned by strangers; many of them even stammered.

The examination method was also brutal. The young examiners asked aggressive questions, and if a candidate answered a single word wrong, they would be waved and told to come back next year.

Those who pass will receive a yellow bamboo plaque, and will rise with a sigh of relief, bow, and take their leave.

Those who failed left dejectedly without a word. Looking at their crestfallen appearances, they probably wouldn't have a good New Year.

Su Lu silently counted. Of the first thirty people, only nine passed; the rest were eliminated, resulting in an elimination rate of over two-thirds.

This put even more pressure on the test takers. Fortunately, Su Lu was a seasoned veteran who had experienced countless even more brutal exams, which prevented him from being affected.

He waited a full hour before it was his turn. Luckily, it was a sunny day, or he would have frozen to death.

Su Man had given Su Lu a mock oral exam beforehand, so he followed his elder brother's instructions, walked to the table, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "Senior, you've worked hard. I've heard all the rules, so there's no need for you to say anything more."

That 'senior' really worked hard; his throat was hoarse from the oral exams. Hearing this, his expression softened slightly, and he nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. Before the exam began, he still reminded him, "You only have one chance, think carefully before you answer."

"Yes, please give me the question, senior." Su Lu nodded solemnly and sat up straight.

(End of this chapter)