"New Year approached……"
"Thanks to the young master, this year will no longer be New Year's Eve in my family!"
Lin Xiaoyi was walking on the streets of Yangqu County, with a sense of satisfaction filling her brows.
The so-called New Year's Eve usually refers to ordinary people.
All year round, we barely have enough food and clothing, and the whole family is looking forward to it. They are just waiting for the head of the family to eat meat and buy some clothes during the Chinese New Year. The man in charge of the house, for the eager eyes of the old and the young, Getting up early and working hard at dusk is a kind of new year.
But this is not the most pitiful, the poorer families, at the end of the year, it is not desire but panic.
After a year of being full of debts, what I fear is that all creditors will come to collect debts at this time, pressing them like thunder. In such a family, the whole family will hide out as early as the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, leaving the old, young, women and children in a dilapidated house surrounded by drafts. The creditors were heard yelling and scolding each other in the house, and they had to wait until New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year.
Lin Xiaoyi's family originally belonged to the latter, so he started working out at the age of eight. With his cleverness, he eventually caught the eye of the restaurant owner, who asked him to run meals, start subsidizing the family's income, and even became the mainstay of the family. , but the beating by the men of the Lei family almost destroyed everything, but it was a blessing in disguise that he had his current position as a book boy.
His son has now become famous in the Bingzhou literary world. "Huanxisha" has been passed down by many scribes. The verses he picks up from every writing session are no longer so stunning, but they also reveal the richness and nobility in the poems. .
Combined with his family background, everyone praised him for being a famous prime minister in the former Tang Dynasty. Even if his life is difficult now, his innate temperament cannot be concealed, and he is becoming more and more popular.
As Lin Xiaoyi was Di Jin's bookboy and the only one around him, the attitudes of each family became closer and closer to him. The debt collector who appeared at the New Year's Eve disappeared without a trace and remained there for a long time. I won't dare to come out and wander around.
Of course, what Lin Xiaoyi hopes more is to use his own efforts to pay off his family's debts and no longer live in fear. Therefore, he is not satisfied blindly, but becomes more serious and does not dare to slack off at all.
The target this time is the No. 1 Scholar Building.
Since the Song Dynasty's national policy was to advocate literature and suppress martial arts and promote imperial examinations, the Zhuangyuan Building has become a characteristic restaurant in every prosperous city. Every autumn, business will be extremely prosperous. Countless literati come here to have a banquet and seek good luck. .
There will also be a cultural gathering here tomorrow, and the young master is invited to come here. Lin Xiaoyi came here in advance to familiarize himself with the environment. If there is any need then, he must not show his timidity.
After reporting his identity, he walked around the Zhuangyuan Building carefully under the warm welcome of the restaurant. Before leaving, the shopkeeper made sure to give a box of snacks as a gift. Lin Xiaoyi knew that all the bookboys received this, so she alone did not want to treat the young master. On the contrary, it was not a good thing. After a slight refusal, he accepted the offer and headed towards the Du Mansion.
During this period of time, he has been visiting the executioner's house frequently and getting to know the old servants of the house. It may not have any crucial role, but as long as he can talk to it more often, it may be able to deepen the relationship. The senior official had a good impression of the young master.
But this time, as soon as he arrived in front of the mansion, he saw the housekeeper in charge smiling and waving: "Xiao Yi, you're just in time. My Alang wants to give Mr. Di Lang a letter. You can take it back to the academy!"
Lin Xiaoyi took it respectfully, then offered the exquisite snacks he had just brought from Zhuangyuan Building, and said sweetly: "Thanks to Mr. Guo for always taking care of me, but small cares are not disrespectful!"
"Haha, you little baby is so well-behaved. You are worthy of being trained by Mr. Di Lang!"
During the conversation between the two, two figures flashed out across the alley. They looked at Lin Xiaoyi and found that he was a bookboy who had been walking around a lot in recent days. They looked away and shrank back.
Lin Xiaoyi knew nothing about this, so he put away the letter carefully and rushed to Jinyang Academy without doing anything else.
When we arrived at the courtyard where the young master was, we met Guo Chengshou again as expected. When Di Jin opened the letter, this man approached him without hesitation: "Duke Du, seeing how talented you are, wants to formally accept you as his disciple." ?”
Di Jin said calmly: "I don't have that good fortune, but Duke Du really loves me and plans to recommend me to Kaifeng Mansion."
Guo Chengshou was slightly startled, then nodded and said: "This is a good thing. Taking the exam in Kaifeng Mansion will increase your chances of being a tribute. Don't refuse!"
The Song Dynasty sent students to Kaifeng Prefecture. To put it bluntly, they were immigrants for the college entrance examination. Instead of taking the exam at their local place of origin, they went directly to Kaifeng Prefecture to take three imperial examinations.
This is naturally of great benefit. After all, the most concentrated educational resources in the world must be in the capital. The so-called "the law of national employment is that those who are not Jinshi will not be promoted to official positions; those who are not good at writing poetry and policy will not be promoted; those who are not studying abroad will not be promoted." Those in the capital are not good at writing poems and essays." These are all clearly recorded.
Therefore, the imperial court allowed the children of Beijing officials to take exams in Kaifeng Prefecture, regardless of their original place of origin. For example, some who had the conditions to live in the capital for a long time and studied under the Imperial Academy could also take exams in the capital.
According to incomplete statistics, the probability of passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi is at least twice as high as that in local areas. In some remote areas, the gap can even be several times higher.
Although Jinshi is originally a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops and horses, even if it is several times higher, the overall chance is still small. But facing this kind of exam that determines the fate of life, who would not want to take a bigger chance?
Only before, Guo Chengshou hoped that he would win Jieyuan in Bingzhou to clear himself of the reputation of plagiarism, but now he was obviously unwilling to do that: "Shilin's literary talent no longer needs Jieyuan to prove it. Go to Kaifeng, where This is where you become famous all over the world!"
Di Jin felt warm in his heart. Only these are true friends who would let go of their obsessions for each other's future. He nodded: "Okay! But no matter where I am taking the exam, the discussions with Wu Xie during this period of time have made me sad." I have benefited a lot!”
Guo Chengshou laughed loudly: "If you say that, I'm not polite. After the teachings of me, a talented man from Hedong, are you, Di Shilin, going to win three yuan in a row?"
"It's getting more and more exaggerated~"
Di Jin laughed and looked at his book boy: "Xiao Yi, are you willing to come to Beijing with me?"
"Going to the capital?"
Lin Xiaoyi's head was buzzing. He felt both endless yearning for the capital and reluctance to leave his family. He was stunned for a moment.
After getting along with each other during this period, Di Jin was very satisfied with this smart, intelligent and dedicated little book boy, and hoped to hire him for a long time: "It's a long way to the capital, and I'm afraid it will be a year or two before I can return. If you have difficulties at home, I will arrange to take care of you. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to force it..."
How could Lin Xiaoyi be unwilling? He quickly bowed down and said, "I am willing! I am willing to go to Beijing with the young master!"
Di Jin pulled the boy up and said, "Go tell my sister the news and ask her to prepare~"
This preparation has no profound meaning.
As a first-level criminal officer on the road, Du Yan could not leave Hedong Road at will, otherwise it would give the Imperial City Division a clue.
On the other hand, as a scholar sent to Kaifeng Mansion, it was normal for Di Jin to leave Bingzhou and go to the capital.
This is the appreciation and recommendation of famous ministers;
It’s also a perfect escape opportunity!
