Entering November, the busy autumn season is truly over.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and things in the farmland are getting quieter. It is also at this time that Dahe Village begins to recruit people to build houses.
Dahe Village planned the center of the town, and the housing extended around the market. From now on, this will be the center of Dahe Town. The houses built are for the workers who come to live in Dahe Village. Of course, they do not live for free, but have to pay rent. .
Ping'an County has also allocated funds to build a town-sized house this time. With government subsidies, the rent is relatively cheap. The yard is not big or small, and the monthly rent is only 300 cash, which is enough for a family of six, but only Only those who meet the talent attraction policy will be given priority to rent. If they can stay here for more than ten consecutive years, the blue brick house will belong to this family.
When this news came out, people in the next village were excited.
They will never earn enough money to build a brick house in their lifetime, but now, as long as they have the ability, they can settle down in Dahe Village and live in a spacious and bright house. Three hundred cash per month is a bit much. , but after renting it for ten years, the house will be their own, which is equivalent to spending thirty or forty taels of silver to buy a medium-sized property in the center of Dahe Town.
People who were still hesitant came one after another to inquire about the settlement process, and Tiezhu was too busy to keep his feet on the ground.
With Tiezhu taking care of these things, Li Zheng was much more relaxed. He was inspecting the field with his hands behind his back, mumbling something.
Cheng Wanwan was estimating this year's lotus root yield by the lotus pond when she saw Li Zheng walking slowly towards her. She thought Li was telling the villagers to take good care of their fields, but she actually heard Li Zheng endorsing her.
"Treat your home as your home, your hometown as your hometown, your country as your country, and the world as your world..."
"There is nothing to see when I go out. White bones cover the plain. There are hungry women on the road, and their babies are abandoned among the grass..."
These are all contents in the books given by Shen Dongming.
After Li Zheng finished memorizing an article, Cheng Wanwan said to him: "Uncle Li Zheng, you memorized it well. This time the assessment is stable."
A smile appeared on Li Zheng's face: "Da Shan Niang, you said I was stable, and I really believed you. You must not lie to me, an honest person."
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "Did Mr. Wei say when the assessment will be?"
"Last time I went back to the county, the adults said that the exam can be taken on the eighteenth day of every month. I can start at any time when I'm ready." Li Zheng stroked his beard, "It's better to choose a day than to hit the sun. Let's try it the day after tomorrow, Dashan Do you think I can pass the exam?"
"Of course you can." Cheng Wanwan encouraged, "But Uncle Li Zheng, don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's not like you only have one chance. If you don't pass the exam this time, try again next time."
Aunt Wang, who was passing by, nodded: "Uncle Li Zheng is too old, so it's normal for him to fail the exam. If he can pass the exam once, he can also set an example for the children in our village."
Many villagers came around to talk.
"Uncle Zheng has been reading books every day for the past few months, so there must be no problem."
"There will be government examinations after the Chinese New Year. If Uncle Li Zheng is admitted to the county magistrate's office, the children in our village will be affected, and many of them will be admitted as Tongsheng."
"Yes, yes, even if it is to make Dahe Academy famous, Uncle Li Zheng should work hard."
"The prosperity and development of our Dahe Village depends entirely on Uncle Li Zheng."
Li Zheng: "..."
It's really hard for him now that he's old, so don't put such a big burden on his head.
It's okay if he passes the exam, but if he fails, wouldn't he become a sinner in the village?
On the day of the exam, the village specially opened the Zhao family ancestral hall, allowing Li Zheng to burn incense and pray to his ancestors before everyone watched Li Zheng go to the city to take the exam.
Tie Zhu was also very nervous and drove Li Zheng to Ping'an County.
Ping'an County is the smallest county in Huzhou. It has only thirty-six villages and no town, so there is no county magistrate position. Now that Dahe Village was converted into a town, Zhao Lizheng was promoted and an examination was specially prepared for him.
County Magistrate Wei Kewei welcomed Zhao Lizheng in and placed a table in the main hall of the county government office with neatly arranged pens, inks, papers and inkstones, as well as several test questions.
Zhao Li was sitting in the hall writing test questions, while Magistrate Wei was sitting in the hall handling official duties, and the master clerk was standing next to him.
At first, Zhao Lizheng was very nervous, but he slowly calmed down, rubbed his hands, and began to answer the questions seriously.
At that time two years ago, he knew only a limited number of characters. Later, Tiezhu began to study formally, and he knew more characters, but he had fewer opportunities to write, so his handwriting was a little ugly. However, this was an exam, and he knew a lot of characters. Try to write clearly. If you fail the exam because of sloppy handwriting, it will be a waste.
This exam took Li Zheng from broad daylight to night.
It's not because the test paper is difficult, but because he needs to write the words in a regular manner, so the speed is very slow.
Wei Ke did not urge him and continued to deal with the official affairs at hand. Regardless of whether Zhao Lizheng could be the county magistrate or not, he was still the leader of Dahe Village. He, a new county magistrate, could not afford to offend him.
Time passed slowly, and the night gradually darkened.
The people in Dahe Village were busy all day and were free at night.
Many people were washing clothes and gossiping under the big locust tree, and looking at the entrance of the village from time to time.
"Why aren't you back yet? Did something happen?"
"Tie Zhu went with us. This kid is smart. If something happens, he will definitely come back to report."
"Could it be that he didn't pass the exam and Uncle Li Zheng was afraid of embarrassing his parents and fellow villagers, so he didn't dare to come back?"
"Our expectations for Uncle Li Zheng are too high. He is afraid that we will be disappointed... Hey, when Uncle Li Zheng comes back later, no one is allowed to ask about the exam."
"Yes, just pretend this never happened and don't mention it."
When the villagers were exhorting each other, the sound of wheels was heard on the main road, and soon, Zhao Tiezhu drove the carriage into everyone's sight.
Li Zheng opened the car curtain and jumped out of the car. This action was quite old and vigorous.
He puffed out his chest and walked over with his hands behind his back, waiting for the villagers to ask.
"Uncle Li Zheng, you must be tired after a hard day's work. There is a handful of dates here. Eat some."
"It's getting late. Uncle Li Zheng, please go back and rest quickly. There are still a lot of things to do tomorrow."
"I have to go back to see my grandson. Let's go."
There were dozens of people under the big locust tree, but they dispersed in an instant.
Li Zheng: "???"
These people sent him to take the exam early in the morning. If he came back so late, shouldn't he ask about the exam results? What does it mean to leave?
He turned around and asked, "Tie Zhu, what's going on with these people?"
Zhao Tiezhu scratched the back of his head: "They probably thought that Grandpa had never passed the exam, so they didn't dare to ask..."
"How could you fail such a simple test?" Li Zhengzheng blew his beard and glared.
Zhao Tiezhu: "..."
Who was the person who groaned at home every day and was afraid of failing the exam?
Li Zheng snorted coldly, "How dare you look down on me one by one? You, go from door to door tomorrow and tell them to come to our house for a drink and dinner. You must tell them clearly that it is because your grandpa became the county magistrate that we held the banquet." Well, let me emphasize, he is the ninth-rank county magistrate, a serious ninth-rank official."
So, the next day, the whole village, even the people in the next village, knew that Li Zheng from Dahe Village had been admitted to the ninth grade county magistrate, and he entertained the whole village with a banquet.
