After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

It is said that when a chick hatches and opens its eyes, it will mistake the first chick it sees for its mother, and if it sees a person, it will mistake that person for its mother.

What does this tell us?

This illustrates that first impressions are very important, even decisively important.

Ning Nan didn't know what kind of first impression he had given Miss Zhu, but at least Miss Zhu's big, watery eyes seemed to not dislike him, and that was enough.

With Dr. Jiang as a witness, the fact that he saved Miss Zhu's life has been confirmed.

Li Yanting did indeed save her life.

Ning Nan didn't intend to lie and say that he actually carried her back. So many people in the village saw it, it couldn't be faked, and it would only make the other party angry if it was exposed, so there was no need for that.

But he truly saved that life last night.

"I've secured a huge favor."

With a huge weight lifted from his heart, Ning Nan was in high spirits.

With such a life-saving grace, getting a household registration would be a piece of cake.

As expected, Miss Zhu suffered amnesia. She didn't remember who she was or anything. Ning Nan didn't care and comforted her, saying that she could rest assured. The owner of this house was a true gentleman who didn't get close to women. With the village head and village elders as witnesses, he wanted to protect her reputation and became her sworn brother. He was a good brother. It was really good. You can treat this house as your own home.

Miss Zhu nodded, seemingly confused.

After waking up, Miss Zhu was handed over to Doctor Jiang and Yang Qiniang for care. He then gave two copper coins to Li Xing, who was on duty, and went home in the morning light.

Two copper coins flew through the air in a high arc. One was yesterday's payment, and the other was the errand fee for running around last night. Li Xing caught them with a snap, waved with a big smile, and shouted goodbye to his older brother.

On the golden dirt road, Ning Nan didn't turn around, but waved to his younger brother.

I didn't sleep much last night, and I won't be able to sleep during the day today either.

I still need to go to the field later.

Ning Nan guessed that his mother had already gone to the fields.

Grain prices have been relatively stable in recent years, generally around 1,000 wen per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice.

Thirty years ago, the Ning family fled to Lijia Village. The widow Ning and her parents-in-law sold their valuables and used the money to smooth things over, register their household, and buy twenty acres of land to settle down. Ning Nan's father fell ill and sold eight acres, leaving them with twelve acres.

The fields are planted with rice, which is harvested once a year. Each acre can only yield two shi of rice, and this is the result of his research on scientific composting and intensive farming over several years. Other people's land can only yield one and a half shi of rice a year, and they have to thank God for his mercy.

"It's a pity I just can't get hybrid rice to grow." Ning Nan rubbed his face. Recently, he has switched to rice-bean rotation, hoping that Shennong will bless him and allow him to harvest two crops a year.

Once you have a household registration, pass the imperial examinations (either the provincial or county level), and present these methods as a native of Daliang, even if the emperor is stingy, he will at least reward you with a thousand gold pieces, and might even be granted the title of agricultural official.

But if he didn't have a household registration, his imperial examinations wouldn't go smoothly, and he wouldn't dare to do it without the status of a Xiucai or higher as a shield. "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." Who knows, his achievements might be stolen by some official's brother-in-law, and he and his mother might even face death.

"Tsk, that's really shady." Judging others by his own standards, the big devil thought that if he were an official, he would be very likely to do the same thing. No bet, not even if you beat me to death.

Stepping onto the bluestone slabs, he walked north up a dirt slope, where the rising sun cast a long shadow on him.

Back home, Ning Nan hummed a little tune, shouldered his hoe, put on a straw hat, and was about to go to his own field when he suddenly remembered something.

"Alright, forget about that pretty maid."

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the powerful minister Huan Wen kept a concubine who was as beautiful as a fairy. His wife was jealous and angry. She led her men to kick down the concubine's door. With a loud crash, the concubine fell to the ground, looking like she was about to cry. Huan Wen's wife softened at the sight. After a long while, she sighed and said, "I feel sorry for her. How much more so for that old hag."

Ning Nan pushed open the door and immediately saw the pretty maid on the bed. The story suddenly popped into his mind.

She had an exquisitely delicate oval face, fair skin, and her lips had regained a lot of color, turning pink. She had almond-shaped eyes that seemed to be filled with tears. Her gaze was as resilient and clear as a water lily, yet also fragile and easily broken. She truly deserved the description "I feel pity for her."

My mother took very good care of her. She must have just wiped her face. There were still a few drops of water on the woman's bangs. The sunlight from the window shone on them, making them sparkle and add even more beauty to her already gorgeous face.

but.

In this simple little room, the woman Ning Nan felt most sorry for was not Zhu Cuicui, who was lying on the bed and looked surprised and helpless when she saw him arrive, but the woman sitting in front of the bed, sobbing slightly.

There was nothing he could do; this woman was his mother. Compared to the stunning woman in bed, he naturally cherished his own mother more.

"What? Did you bully my mother?" Ning Nan said, raising his eyebrows at the woman on the bed while carrying a hoe.

Instead of going to the fields, my mother sat by the bed, wiping away tears with her shoulders shaking. On the wooden table next to her was a porcelain bowl with some soup left in it. Ning Nan sniffed it and realized that my mother must have cooked a bowl of meat soup rice for the woman early in the morning. It smelled delicious. He wondered if there was an egg in it.

Before the woman on the bed could show any surprise, she suddenly got up from the bamboo chair, and with a thud, the bamboo chair was knocked to the ground.

"You little devil!"

The woman showed no respect for her son, cursing and shoving him away as he stood up for her. Picking up the empty bowl and spoon from the wooden table, she wiped away a tear before leaving, nodding to the woman on the bed and saying, "Rest well, Cuicui. Mother will cook for you at noon, meat it is!"

Zhu Cuiwei felt weak and was both amused and exasperated. Unable to refuse, she could only nod and say, "Okay, thank you, godmother."

Just now, while the woman was feeding him, she asked about his family situation. When he told her that he lost his mother when he was four and his father when he was seven, the woman's tears flowed like a broken beaded curtain, and she couldn't wipe them away. She kept saying, "You've suffered," "Oh, child, you've suffered." As she spoke, the woman suddenly became his godmother.

Zhu Cuiwei was a little taken aback, but considering that the other party had saved her life, she didn't object. She thought that in the future, she could let the other party receive a salary in the palace as her godmother. It wouldn't be much, but it would definitely be enough to live comfortably in her old age. As long as the other party's son wasn't too wasteful, three generations of wealth and honor would be assured.

"At least he's filial." Thinking of the woman's son, Zhu Cuiwei withdrew her gaze from the doorway.

Zhu Cuiwei couldn't quite figure out this man with his rustic manners. She hadn't studied medicine, but she had been sick and many imperial physicians had examined her. In particular, her elder brother's health was not good, just like her father's. She had sought out famous doctors all over the country to try to treat her brother's illness, and she believed she had quite a bit of experience in medicine. Yesterday, this man claimed to be a doctor, but his pulse-taking technique really didn't seem like something he had learned.

Boom, boom.

Just then, a man wearing a straw hat appeared at the door and knocked: "Hello, I'm here to take your pulse."