The voices gradually faded away, and the carriage quickly reached the official road.
Sitting in the same car with Lin Yuanqiu were Lin Lixia, Lin Yugui, and their father. Lin Yuanqiu saw the two adults taking out their cloth bags and looking through them carefully, then breathed a sigh of relief, then rewrapped them and stuffed them into their arms. .
This is because I am worried about missing something.
Perhaps influenced by the two of them, Lin Yuanqiu saw his father take out the cloth bag from his arms, opened it, looked at it, and then put it back in his arms.
Although Hengxi Town is under the jurisdiction of Zhoushan County, on the long strip of terrain, one is in the east and the other is in the west, so the two places are nearly a hundred miles apart, which is nearly fifty kilometers when converted into kilometers. This is In modern times, it only takes about an hour to drive there, but now, the horse-drawn carriage takes at least four hours.
After talking for a while with Lin Yugui, who was of the same clan and classmate, Lin Yuanqiu began to doze off in a daze.
Although he has the soul of an adult, he can't bear the body of an eight-year-old child, so he feels sleepy as he is shaken by the carriage.
Seeing this, Lin Sanzhu hurriedly carried his son into his arms, then opened the big package with one hand, took out the cotton-padded jacket from inside, and wrapped Lin Yuanqiu in it.
Next to his father's chest, he could feel his father's beating heartbeat. Lin Yuanqiu vaguely heard Lin Lixia talking to his father about the conditions, "Dad, when I sign up obediently, you have to buy me a little noodle." , I want Erlangshen’s.”
Then, Lin Yuanqiu heard Lin Yugui's voice again, "Daddy, daddy, my son also wants to meet someone, and he wants the third prince Nezha."
If he hadn't been so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes, Lin Yuanqiu felt that he would have laughed out loud. They were still a group of fun-loving children, and they were about to take the county examination. It was really incredible.
…
At Shen Shi time, the carriage finally arrived at Zhoushan County, and everyone got off directly at the city gate.
It won't be long before it gets dark, so I need to find a place to stay now.
Lin Deyun looked at several inns a hundred meters away from the city gate, and immediately suggested, "How about we stay at an inn outside the city tonight and wait until tomorrow to register in the city?"
Of course, everyone had no objection. Not to mention that the accommodation fee in the inn in the city would definitely be more expensive than that outside the city. It was not easy to find an inn that could accommodate so many people at this time, not to mention that they just wanted to sleep. It's the same everywhere.
In this way, about thirty people stayed at an inn outside the city. Most of the people staying in the inn were travelers and passing coachmen, so it was a bit noisy.
For safety reasons, Lin Deyun specially allowed four people, two adults and two children, to live in the same room so that they could be taken care of.
There are two beds in the room, and a father and son can sleep on one just right.
A dreamless night.
On the second day, after breakfast, everyone brought the household registration required for registration, and then went to the county government together.
…
Chapter 41 County Examination
Although he had been to the county seat several times, this was the first time that Sanzhu Lin, the county government office, came back. When the group arrived at the gate of the government office, they saw a long line of people waiting in line. It looked like there were hundreds of people.
Seeing this situation, everyone didn't waste any time and hurriedly followed the queue and got in line.
Lin Yuanqiu discovered that there were several children about his own age in the team, presumably all coming to register for the county examination.
It seems that it was not unusual for young students to take part in the imperial examination in the Jing Dynasty. It was him who made a fuss.
The children here are lining up, and Lin Sanzhu and the others are following closely beside their children, moving forward slowly with the movement of the line.
This kind of experience is really new for people who have been working in the fields all year round. In normal times, how would they dare to hang out in front of the county government office in a big way, let alone there are more than a dozen policemen nearby at this moment. He was guarding them, with this look, as if he was protecting them.
Looking at the faces of the officers, although they are not smiling at each other, they are much better than the usual arrogance.
In fact, everyone knew that the reason why the guards changed their attitude was because they were fathers of scholars. Thinking of this, Lin Sanzhu and Lin Deyun couldn't help but feel proud.
In fact, it is normal for the government officials to just pick up the dishes. In their view, although these students in front of them are just ordinary students, they may one day pass the imperial examination and enter official careers, so if they can avoid offending, they should try not to offend them, otherwise they will It is not easy for a low-ranking official to be pinched to death by others.
The county government gave three days to register, and today was the first day with the largest number of applicants. No, after a while, many more people came over.
Fortunately, although the queue was long, the clerks in the ceremonial room were used to doing this kind of work, so they were all organized and the speed of filling out the registration form was not slow.
After waiting for almost an hour, it was Lin Yuanqiu's turn.
Upon hearing that he was an examinee from Hengxi Town, a clerk got up and went to the tea room next door.
After a while, Lin Yuanqiu saw several scholars wearing Confucian scarves and robes walking in. They were the same ones he had seen in Hengxi Town some time ago.
When the clan leader and others went to hand over the guarantee, Lin Yuanqiu and his classmates also went to the town together. It was a rule that the bailiff should always meet the person he had pledged.
Just like now, the guarantor must confirm the person being guaranteed again to prevent the occurrence of impersonation.
Lin Yuanqiu and Lin Youxing share the same bailiff, an old scholar with gray hair and beard, whose surname is Zheng.
Following the scribe's signal, Lin Yuanqiu and Lin Youxing stepped forward. Zheng Xiucai carefully identified the person. After confirming that it was the same person he had seen before, he signed his name on the security document.
After writing the guarantee document, the next step was to fill out the form. Lin Yuanqiu took up a pen and wrote down his name, place of origin, age, and the resume of the previous three generations.
After the inspection is correct, the clerk will finally issue the floating invoice.
Lin Yuanqiu took a closer look at the bill and saw the words "Personally offered the bill" at the top of the bill. In the middle of the floating ticket, his name, Lin Yuanqiu, was written.
Looking at the left and right sides of the ticket body, there are small letters written on each side: Today's Kao Tongsheng, eight years old, small body, round face, white complexion, no beard, native to Hengxi, living in Xiaogaoshan Village, great-grandfather Lin Yuanbing, grandfather Lin Dagui, His father, Lin Sanzhu, and his professional teacher, Wang Zishan, recognized Zheng Yu.
Compared with the admission ticket in the previous life, the content on the floating ticket is much more detailed.
After leaving the ceremony room, Lin Yuanqiu could clearly feel that there were more people waiting at the yamen gate. He looked into the crowd and saw his father stretching his neck to look this way. He must be looking for him. Lin Yuanqiu was busy. He ran over and said, "Dad, I've already given my name."
As he said that, he handed over the floating ticket in his hand.
After studying with his eldest nephew for more than half a year, Lin Sanzhu now knows some words. Although not many, he can still recognize Lin Sanzhu, his son's name, and his father Lin Dagui's name written on the floating ticket. .
"You have to put this away."
After reading it, Lin Sanzhu put the household registration and floating stamps into the cloth bag.
By the time all fifteen people had signed up, it was already almost midnight. They had eaten steamed buns and porridge in the morning, and everyone's stomachs were already rumbled with hunger.
The accommodation fee at the inn included three meals a day, so everyone didn't stay too much. After leaving the county government, they went directly back to the inn for lunch.
Since there are many guests at the inn at irregular times, the kitchen is kept ready all day long so that people can cook at any time. No, after seeing the group of people coming back, the shopkeeper hurriedly urged the kitchen to make the dishes quickly. Come eat.
By the way, this is the first time that so many students have stayed in their inn.
Soon, bowls of lasagna were served on the table. The noodles were topped with two fried golden poached eggs and topped with green scallions. It made people salivate at the sight, and everyone picked them up without being pretentious. I ate the noodle bowl with big mouthfuls.
Lin Yuanqiu took out a poached egg and gave it to Lin Sanzhu, as well as some noodles. The noodle bowl was bigger than his face, how could he eat so much.
But Lin Sanzhu took the poached eggs back, then took another chopstick of noodles from his son's bowl, and said with a smile: "My son has to read a book to prepare for the exam, so he can't eat less eggs."
Looking at his son's rosy face and darkened hair, Lin Sanzhu felt more and more that eggs were a great supplement.
Now that she has income from selling embroidery and persimmon cakes, Mrs. Wu no longer has money to sell eggs at home, so the children in the family have one egg to eat every day.
This was Lao Lintou's idea, and he said that it should be used to replenish the children's health. At that time, the few little ones almost laughed.
Lin Sanzhu has already made plans. He plans to go to the town to buy some chicks and raise them when spring starts next month. In this way, when the chickens lay more eggs, the whole family can eat one every day.
After eating the noodles, everyone looked at the time and saw that it was not the right time. It was still early. Anyway, there was nothing to do back in the guest room. At this time, someone suggested, how about we go for a walk in the city?
It's not easy for them to come to the county town. From yesterday to now, they haven't gone shopping yet.
"There's no time left to hang out." Lin Deyun couldn't help but remind, "Should we book the inn in advance?"
This is what Lin Youzhi specifically told Lin Deyun when he went out. According to Lin Youzhi, it is best for the candidates in the clan to live in the same inn, so that they can take care of each other. But there are so many candidates in the clan, Counting the accompanying persons, there will be more than a dozen guest rooms. If the reservation is not made early, even if there are rooms by then, they will definitely be scattered.
Don't have to stay in an inn far away from the examination room. In that case, you will be in a hurry on the day of the examination.
The examination booth for the county examination is on the back street, not far from the county government office.
Lin Deyun just took advantage of the time when the children went to sign up for the gift room to check around a few nearby inns, and found that the guest rooms in two of them were almost fully booked.
As for the remaining rooms, there are not many rooms left. It is probably because of the good location that they were booked first.
Hearing that people had started to book rooms for a month, everyone, including Lin Sanzhu, became a little anxious, worried that they would not even be able to find a place to stay, which would be troublesome.
By the way, the exam is still a month away, why are these people trying to grab it?
Everyone had no intention of shopping and couldn't wait to book a guest room first.
So, the group hurried into the city again.
Everyone first went to the inns where Lin Deyun had been and asked about it. Except for two hotels that had already been booked, the remaining guest rooms could not accommodate so many of them.
So they settled for the next best thing and went to an inn a little further away from the examination room. After visiting several inns, they finally found a suitable place to stay.
Everyone gasped when they heard the price of the guest room. It actually cost one hundred and twenty cents a day. This was tripled.
But no matter how painful it was, everyone paid the deposit without hesitation. According to the shopkeeper, the house price will definitely increase next month.
Now that they have settled on it, it is still a good deal.
After busying themselves with booking a room, they looked at the sun and saw that it was already setting in the west, so everyone hurried back to the inn in front of the city gate.
Lin Deyun has hired a carriage and horses for the return trip tomorrow. Living outside the city is convenient because there is no need to wait for the city gate to open. In this way, they can take the carriage directly back to the village early tomorrow morning.
It's just such a rare trip to the county town that I didn't even have time to go shopping on the streets, which is always a bit regretful.
Especially Lin Lixia and Lin Yugui, the disappointment in their hearts was almost overflowing. Previously, their father had promised to take them to see the interviewer first, but the result was, alas!
Fortunately, I will come back soon, and I will definitely not miss it when the time comes.
…
After registering, Lin Yuanqiu spent the next few days as before, preparing for the exam.
These days, Wu's loud voice can hardly be heard.
Just like yesterday, Lin Yuanbai and Lin Yuanhuai got into a fight over catching sparrows. When they came back, they were covered in mud and looked like mud monkeys. Even their newly made coats had a big tear. The cotton stuffed inside is exposed.
If it were normal, she would definitely not be able to escape after being beaten, but Wu, who had already picked up the broom because she was afraid of disturbing her grandson's studies, finally endured it. After all, if these two boys started to howl, My voice is not as loud as usual. Forget it, let’s put it in the account first.
Wu's operation made Lin Yuanhuai and Lin Yuanbai a little anxious. They were always worried about what big move was waiting for them, so they didn't dare to be naughty anymore. They just stayed at home. For many days, I had a great time helping to feed chickens and rabbits.
…
One month is neither long nor short, but for people like Lin Yuanqiu who are immersed in the pen and ink of books every day, it is a fleeting time.
Today is February 20th, and in seven days, it will be the day of the official county examination. To be on the safe side, they have to go to the county seat early.
Today, Mrs. Wang unexpectedly did not explain the meaning of the questions or explain the articles. Instead, she asked everyone to read the examination rules carefully several times.
In the words of Mrs. Wang, only by memorizing it can you avoid mistakes.
After that, Master Wang gave several examples of cheating and plagiarism in the examination room, and also explained the consequences of those who cheated one by one. Without exception, they not only had to be paraded through the streets in shackles, but also were punished. Losing the qualification to take the exam in the future.
Mrs. Wang also said that it is normal to fail in the county examination, and you can just work harder in the future. However, if someone secretly brings cheat sheets into the examination room in order to seek success, he will not only harm others, but also his whole family. The face of the entire clan, and even the eighteen generations of ancestors, will be completely disgraced by him.
