Fire sickle, insect repellent, oilcloth, refreshing sachet, kerosene stove, small iron pot, etc. As for the snacks, Lin Sanzhu planned to wait until the day before the exam started to buy them, otherwise they would spoil quickly in this hot weather.
According to regulations, rural examination candidates must stay in Gongyuan for nine days, and the candidates have to provide food for these nine days by themselves, so everyone brings kerosene stoves and small iron pots inside, which are used to boil water and cook rice.
…
Two days before the exam started, all the candidates went to the yamen to get their exam badges. With this, after entering the examination room, they could just look for their dormitory number according to the exam badge number.
Because the number of candidates for this provincial examination is higher than before, we are worried that there will be delays, so this year the time of the Gongyuan has been moved forward by one hour, to 3:30am, which is 11am.
This is something that all the candidates look forward to. After all, no one can sleep before entering the examination room. On the contrary, after entering the examination room early, they can lie down and sleep for a while.
Lin Yuanqiu naturally thought so too, so when he heard the sound of cannons fired from the direction of Gongyuan, he and his father hurried out the door.
There were a lot of things in the test basket and it was a bit heavy to carry, so Lin Sanzhu didn't let his son carry it. He only waited until Bingwei set up the card, then stopped and handed the test basket to Lin Yuanqiu.
Thinking of the fact that his son would have to stay in the examination room for nine days on such a hot day, Lin Sanzhu's steps lacked the briskness of the past.
Different from the previous exams, this time there was no singing part. After entering the Gongyuan, the search started.
Spreading, stripping, jumping, and everything in the test basket was rummaged through one by one. Lin Yuanqiu frowned when he saw Souzi's excessive movement. He was worried that his things would not be damaged, but he heard a "pop" and the plum wine in the small porcelain bottle fell to the ground and broke.
Looking at Souzi again, there was no expression of embarrassment on his face, and he was urging Lin Yuanqiu to take the test basket away quickly, because he was going to check the next person.
Alas, if something like this happens, you can only consider yourself unlucky.
Lin Yuanqiu found his dormitory with the test basket and found that it was in the middle of the row of dormitories, which was a little far away from the toilet at the west end. Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
When he came over just now, he saw several excrement buckets in the toilet. If they were all full, the candidates who were close to the toilet would go crazy.
Without thinking any more, Lin Yuanqiu put down the test basket he was carrying, then took out the rag and began to pack it away carefully.
After wiping away all the dust, Lin Yuanqiu didn't waste any time and merged the upper and lower boards together, then lay down on top with all his clothes on.
Only by ensuring adequate sleep can you have a clear mind, so you have to seize the time to take a nap.
…
Chapter 85 Release of List
It felt like he had just slept for a while when Lin Yuanqiu heard the sound of a gong. This was a reminder to the candidates that the test papers for the first exam were about to be handed out.
Autumn examination is divided into three sessions, each session lasts for three days. All candidates have to stay in Gongyuan for nine days. In addition, August is the hottest time. It can be said that the most difficult test in the imperial examination is the provincial examination. .
After Lin Yuanqiu put the partition back in place, the curling officers came over in pairs, carrying a load.
In the two bamboo baskets, one side contains stacks of neatly arranged papers, and the other basket contains a stack of draft paper. As the load moved, the examiner handed the papers and scratch paper to each candidate one by one.
After taking it, Lin Yuanqiu did not rush to open the paper. Instead, he first took out some items from the examination basket, and then added water to the inkstone to grind the ink.
This is something you must do before taking the exam to avoid getting ink on your exam paper.
After grinding the ink and moving the inkstone to the upper right corner, Lin Yuanqiu picked up the roll and carefully untied it.
Soon, the first question on the meaning of the classics came into view. The palace is the king, the merchants are the ministers, the horns are the people, the conquests are the affairs, and the feathers are the things. If the five are not chaotic, there will be no sound of despair...
Lin Yuanqiu immediately remembered that this was the Music Chapter in the Book of Rites. This chapter uses the five tones to metaphorize the relationship between music and politics, and compares the sound of "Gong" to "Jun", the sound of "Shang" to "Chen", and the sound of "Shang" to "Chen". The sound "Jiao" is compared to "people", the sound "Zheng" is compared to "thing", and the sound "Yu" is compared to "thing".
Come to think of it, the next thing I want to ask about this question must be what is the meaning of the sentence "If the five things are not chaotic, there will be no sound of 怗懘"?
Questions like this that clarify the meaning are not difficult for Lin Yuanqiu. As long as he remembers the explanation, he can understand its meaning. Every time the Master talked about these contents, Lin Yuanqiu would write them down with pen and ink and memorize them, so he was not afraid of questions about the meaning of the classics.
Thinking about the idea of answering the question, Lin Yuanqiu did not stop turning the test papers in his hand. Lin Yuanqiu counted the test papers from beginning to end. There were twenty-four in total. Three days is equivalent to eight test papers every day, and the papers have to be handed in at You hour on the third day. It can be seen that the time is still relatively tight, so it must be planned well.
Lin Yuanqiu mentally set a daily answer limit for himself, that is, he must complete more than eight questions, otherwise he would be a little busy on the third day.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu didn't waste any time and quickly browsed through all the test questions. Finally, I found that there were no more scriptures and ink meanings such as fill-in-the-blank questions. In addition to the six questions on classics and meanings in this exam, the rest were poetry and laws, as well as three arithmetic questions, which was considered quite satisfactory.
After knowing in his mind, Lin Yuanqiu counted out nine test papers, carefully put the rest into the test basket, then took the scratch paper and prepared to answer the questions.
But before that, you have to fill in your name, place of origin, and age at the beginning of the paper.
When the paper is handed in, the collecting officer will seal this area with paper and put his fingerprint on the seam. In this way, neither the person who copied the red paper nor the examiners will know the name and place of birth of the respondent before the results are released.
After filling in his place of birth information, Lin Yuanqiu began to formally answer the questions on the scratch paper.
If the five are not chaotic, there will be no sound of discord. The interpretation is that only by order and coordination can the music of harmony be played. After knowing the meaning, the next step is to clarify the meaning.
Although Lin Yuanqiu has analyzed the context of the meaning, he knows that the more seemingly simple the answer is, the more careful it must be treated. Furthermore, there are two thousand students taking the Qingyang County and Township Examination this time. If you want your theory to stand out among the candidates, you must have novel ideas and write new ideas.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu used the simplest and stupidest method. He first wrote down the threads one by one on the draft paper, which made it easier for him to come up with new ideas for answering the questions.
After finishing three answer sheets, it was almost noon and it was time for lunch. Lin Yuanqiu received the test papers into the test basket. Then he took out the kerosene stove, lit it, poured water from the bamboo tube into the small iron pot, and then carefully placed the iron pot on the kerosene stove.
It was hot and the water boiled quickly.
Lin Yuanqiu took out the fried rice made from his milk, grabbed two handfuls of it into the pot, and put a few pieces of dried rabbit meat in it.
The rice was originally fried, and soon became plump after being put into the pot. Lin Yuanqiu stirred it with a small wooden spoon, then added some water to the pot, and after it boiled, it was ready to eat.
The dried rabbit meat absorbs enough rice soup juice and has a special chewing aroma. Just now, Lin Yuanqiu specially put more water into the pot, so that the soaked rice with soup would be more comfortable to eat on a hot day.
While Lin Yuanqiu was eating, he saw candidates passing by the dormitory, followed by government officials. They must have gone to the hut.
Lin Yuanqiu suddenly thought that there were more than thirty dormitories in their row. In this case, wouldn't it mean that more than thirty candidates would have to relieve themselves in the toilet at the far west end?
Therefore, the candidates near the toilet were really miserable.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but feel lucky that he was still far away, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to answer the question if he was so stinky.
But what Lin Yuanqiu didn't expect was that such happiness only lasted until the morning of the third day.
As more and more "fertilizer" accumulated in the toilet, the stench finally spread to the entire aisle. Coupled with the steamer-like heat, Lin Yuanqiu, who was in the middle, also smelled the pungent stench.
Especially after he couldn't hold back and went to the latrine, the full dung bucket made him feel sick after just having breakfast.
Lin Yuanqiu couldn't understand why no one thought of fitting those big dung buckets with wooden lids, so that they wouldn't be "unbearable" intuitively.
Resisting the urge to vomit, Lin Yuanqiu tried his best to turn his attention to answering the questions.
Before today's Youshi, I still have five papers to complete, so I must not be distracted anymore.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu dipped his pen in ink and began to write poems on the draft paper according to the requirements for poems and poems on the paper.
Lin Yuanqiu had written a lot of poems about plum blossoms in his previous life, so after thinking about it for a moment, he wrote out a seven-character quatrain. After revising and polishing it, he copied it onto the answer sheet: The clear breeze in the ancient moon clears the cold pond, Only the plum tips send cold fragrance...
Lin Yuanqiu didn't cook today's lunch, but took out the hibiscus cake from the test basket and ate it.
The reason why I didn’t do it was that I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough time to answer the questions. Furthermore, it is impossible to save snacks on hot days. If you don’t eat them early, they will be wasted. In addition, the ubiquitous stench really makes people lose their appetite.
If he wasn't worried that not eating would hurt his stomach, Lin Yuanqiu might not be willing to eat these snacks.
After finishing the pastries, Lin Yuanqiu picked up the bamboo tube and drank some water, finally finishing his lunch meal.
The sun is the strongest at noon. Although it doesn't directly hit the body, it is still unbearably hot.
At this moment, everyone no longer pays attention to being gentle or elegant. Everyone takes off their clothes and takes off their clothes to feel cool.
Lin Yuanqiu couldn't see the images of other candidates. Anyway, he had already rolled up his trouser legs. As for the long coat, it had long been tucked into the waistband of his trousers, and it was no different from a short shirt.
It was almost time to apply, and Lin Yuanqiu completed all the questions. After the inspection found nothing missing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Today is the last day of the first session. After handing in the test papers, the candidates are allowed to leave the dormitory.
Lin Yuanqiu carried a bamboo tube to fill the large water tank at the entrance of the alley. While it was still daylight, he wanted to cook a bowl of rabbit meat with rice.
After handing in the papers, some guards came over to carry out several excrement buckets to be cleaned. So, tonight should be easier.
After dinner, Lin Yuanqiu prepared to go to bed early. After tonight, the second game has to start again. Only when you wake up will you be in a good state tomorrow.
Before going to bed again, Lin Yuanqiu lit the mosquito repellent and smoked it. There is no door to block the dormitory, and there are so many mosquitoes in the dormitory that if you don't smoke them, they can literally carry you away. As for after you fall asleep, just let them bite you as they please.
…
After the questions for the second session were handed out, Lin Yuanqiu speeded up the speed of doing the questions. I just cleaned the manure bucket last night, and I can't smell the smell yet.
This test consisted of essays, laws, and three poems.
Just like the first session, every time Lin Yuanqiu completed a question on the draft paper, he would copy it onto the answer sheet. This approach will prevent the situation of being too pretentious, and there will be no missed questions.
It feels like the weather is getting hotter and hotter. In fact, if you want to prevent heatstroke at this time, you can take a sip of plum wine, but your bottle has been broken, so Lin Yuanqiu can only drink more water to dilute the heat. .
After handing in the second test paper, many candidates didn't even want to stay in the dormitory at night.
Lin Yuanqiu also imitated their example, moved two wooden boards to the ground at the door of the dormitory, and then lay there in the open air.
I don't know if it's a psychological effect, but sleeping like this is indeed much cooler than sleeping in a cell surrounded on three sides.
Once people feel comfortable, they have the desire to chat. Then some candidates next door began to talk, and the content gradually started from where you are from, to today's test questions, such as how the sentence "Only a gentleman can know happiness" is used to examine the questions, and those two poems How is the composition going?
Lin Yuanqiu did not participate in the discussion. He would not do things like this that could affect emotions.
In Lin Yuanqiu's opinion, since the question has been answered, let it go.
The invigilator will not interfere with the candidates' discussions. Anyway, the papers have been collected, and no matter how much we discuss them, it has nothing to do with the results.
When the test papers for the third round were handed out, Lin Yuanqiu discovered that this round was only about policy theory.
Although there was only one test question on the paper, Lin Yuanqiu knew that the strategy titled "Yi Ji" was the most important. No, there are seven answer sheets alone.
Lin Yuanqiu did not rush to write, but first reviewed the Yiji chapter in Shangshu several times in his mind, especially the part where Yu warned Shun.
After he figured it out, Lin Yuanqiu started writing on the draft paper.
It took two days to write. After it was written, it was polished and revised, and checked for taboos. Only when it was found to be correct, the final copying began.
It is not an easy task to write more than 3,000 words in Guange style. The copying requires not only neat fonts, but also the avoidance of typos and omissions.
Lin Yuanqiu concentrated on writing from the morning until half an hour before wrapping up, and then he was able to finish copying.
Without enough time to soothe his growling stomach, Lin Yuanqiu immediately started checking after putting down the brush.
First, the name and place of birth, and then the correct answer sheets are sorted in order. The same goes for scratch paper, these must be handed in.
As soon as Lin Yuanqiu put away the test papers, the gong sounded in the examination room, indicating that the last test was over.
After handing in the test papers, everyone, physically and mentally exhausted, sat in their dormitories for a long time.
I have been preparing for the exam for three years, but I don’t know what the result will be.
Lin Yuanqiu got up and took a bamboo tube to the alley entrance to fill water. There was also some fried rice and rabbit meat. He still wanted to cook rice.
The clothes he was wearing were no different from pickles, and with the smell of sweat, it really didn't smell good, but who would care about that?
