Zhou Zixu and Chen Yutang entered the Gongyuan and began three examinations in nine days.
Lin Yuanqiu, on the other hand, wanted to take advantage of this rare free time to accompany Lin Sanzhu around the capital.
But just when he left the dormitory and was about to go to the gate, he met a person at the moon cave door. He was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe and had cold eyes. He could be someone other than Ding Dejin.
Obviously, the other party did not recognize Lin Yuanqiu. He only turned his head and glanced here, then walked away.
This person is still the same as before and doesn't like to talk to others.
But Lin Yuanqiu was wondering, today was the day of the exam, why didn't this person go to Gongyuan to take the exam?
Could it be that, like him, he didn't participate in this year's examination?
But he didn't go because he wasn't sure, but Ding Dejin was different. He was Jieyuan, and there was almost no suspense about winning the examination. Why didn't he go?
What Lin Yuanqiu didn't know was that Ding De ranked first in the county examination, the government examination, the first in the hospital examination, and the first in the rural examination. If he could get the first place in the general examination, it would be very possible to win six yuan in a row.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, Mr. Wu Jing asked him to study for three more years so that he could show off his talents in the next examination.
…
Chapter 108 Selling Paintings (1)
This time Lin Sanzhu came to the capital, but he brought out all the money Sanfang had saved in the past few years.
Originally, he was planning to give all the money to his son. Although the father-in-law had already given Yuan Qiu fifty taels, there was no reason to worry about having too much money when he was away from home.
Lin Yuanqiu naturally refused to accept it. Not to mention that he was not short of money at all. Even if he was really short of money, he wouldn't be interested in spending their third bedroom's pocket money.
Lin Sanzhu naturally knew his son's temper. If he said he didn't want it, he would definitely not take it. So after putting the money bag back in his pocket, he talked about the strange things he saw while shopping these days:
"Dad saw that man just lying down on the nail board, shirtless. By the way, the iron nails on the nail board were three inches long. Didn't you know that after the man lay down, the two people next to him actually He brought another stone fan over to him, and then asked him to hug it directly to his chest. Oops, dad felt pain in his back just looking at it. Who knew that this was not the end, another strong man with a black face appeared. He actually came over with a big hammer, then he swung it and hit the man on the chest, and guess what happened in the end?"
Lin Yuanqiu cooperated, "What's wrong?"
Lin Sanzhu clapped his hands and said in disbelief, "The last swing of the sledge hammer broke the grinding fan into two pieces. As a result, nothing happened to the man lying on the nail board. When he got up, his father looked carefully at his back. I’ve looked at it, and apart from a few red marks, there’s not even a scratch on the skin.”
Lin Yuanqiu knew that his father's chest would be shattered by the sight of it.
Seeing his father's unfinished expression, Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help laughing and said, "Dad, when my son passes the Jinshi exam in the future, we will move our family to the capital."
"Coming to the capital?"
Lin Sanzhu was happy at first, but then he shook his head:
"No, no, how can our family have so much money to buy a big house? In the past few days, my father and your Uncle Zhou have been walking around and found that everything is expensive here in the capital, so they said that kind of people are only in our Hengxi Town. It costs two cents a piece, but it costs four cents to come here. I’m so excited to get twice as long. I think the house here will be twice as expensive as ours. How can our family afford it? I don’t think it will be better then. Just buy a smaller house for your little family to live in. Dad, your mother, and your grandparents will still live in the small mountain village."
Lin Sanzhu was telling the truth. Now the total amount of money in his family does not exceed four hundred taels. It is simply impossible to buy a big house in the capital.
Therefore, it was better for him to have other expectations, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable for nothing.
Lin Yuanqiu did not continue this topic. He had been in the capital for so many days and he had not had time to go out for shopping. He did not know what the housing prices were like here, so he should wait to discuss this matter later.
Don't make promises and fail to deliver, which will make people happy in vain.
…
February 18th is the day to leave the examination room.
Zhou Xing went to Longmen to wait there early in the morning, and Lin Yuanqiu also followed him, planning to take advantage of the gap between picking up a few classmates to feel the atmosphere outside the examination room.
According to the teaching assistants, they are planning to wait until the examination is over before continuing the class.
Therefore, these few days, the very small number of Imperial College students who did not take the exam are basically in a "free range" state.
People have always heard that there are so many wealthy people in the capital that if you drop a brick, you can hit the officials who are eating the royal food on the streets of the capital. Lin Yuanqiu didn't feel this very deeply before, but now he saw a car parked at the gate of Gongyuan. Only when I saw another luxurious carriage did I truly understand what a city of one day was.
At a quarter of the hour, the gate of Gongyuan slowly opened, and then the candidates who looked tired came out.
Zhou Zixu and Chen Yutang came out together.
Seeing that his son was in good spirits, Zhou Xing felt more relieved. Just now, he heard several candidates coughing and coughing. He thought it was because it was too cold and they all caught a cold.
Zhou Xing originally wanted to ask how he did in the exam, but then he thought about it and decided to forget it. Anyway, he would know after a few more days.
Speaking of which, Zhou Xing's current mentality was also due to the influence of Lin Sanzhu. After taking the exam so many times, he had never heard Lin Sanzhu ask his son how he did in the exam.
Looking at Yuan Qiu again, he behaves calmly and speaks calmly. I have to say that Brother Lin taught his son really well.
By the way, there is also the Lin family, a large family of more than 20 people, but they are harmonious among brothers, sisters, and sisters-in-law, which shows that the elders in the family are sensible.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xing couldn't help but feel sorry again, thinking to himself, if Yurou could marry into such a family, wouldn't it be like living in a honey pot for the rest of her life?
Alas, I don't want to think about it anymore. Zhou Xing sighed softly. He couldn't force the marriage. Besides, his wife was right. Compared with the Lin family, the brother-in-law's family was indeed inferior.
As for Zhongfu, let’s not mention it.
…
After having dinner with Lin Sanzhu, Lin Yuanqiu returned to the dormitory before the Imperial College closed.
Compared with the government school, the management of work and rest time here is much stricter. In addition to the requirement for boarding students to return to the Imperial College before midnight every day, there are also stipulated times for morning reading every day.
As for Xiu Mu, there are two days in a month, on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month respectively.
As for the daily class time, it is not much different from that of the government school. The teaching assistants give lectures for half a day in the morning, and the students make their own arrangements for the other half in the afternoon. During this period, they can go out as long as they come back at the specified time.
Lin Yuanqiu lit the oil lamp, and then took out a roll of drawing paper from the bookcase. These were several ink landscape paintings he had made at home a few years ago. They were all of a size of four feet suitable for hanging in the nave.
There are also portraits of Bodhisattvas. Lin Yuanqiu plans to paint a few of them in the next few days. Then he will take them to the shop together with the landscape paintings and ask about them.
Although studying is important, making money cannot be delayed.
…
The first day of March is the day when the examination results will be released.
Shu Yan has been following his son for several years and has learned a few characters. Although not many, he still knows the three characters Zhou Zixu.
But when Shu Yan came back, there was no joy on his face, because he read the list from beginning to end several times and couldn't find his son's name.
Zhou Zixu failed the exam, and so did Chen Yutang and the others.
When the crowd at the gate of Gongyuan was no longer crowded, several people went to confirm again in person, and the result was still the same. This time, none of the five of them made the list.
Although I was a little disappointed, I felt that it was reasonable to fail. If the imperial examination was so easy, there wouldn't be so many people who devoted most of their lives to it.
Now that the list is out, it's time for Zhou Xing and Lin Sanzhu to return home.
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Xing took Zhou Zixu out. Seeing that the two of them had packed up carefully, they must have gone to meet important people.
Sure enough, when Zhou Zixu came back, he told the matter. He had a good relationship with Lin Yuanqiu, and there was nothing to hide about it.
"He is the grandson of an old friend of my great-great-grandfather. He is currently serving as a minister in the Ministry of Industry."
"Originally, my grandfather planned for us to visit people's homes as soon as we arrived in the capital, but my father wanted to wait until I took the exam."
Zhou Zixu understood what his father meant. He was thinking that if he passed the exam this time, he would no longer have to submit the messages left by his great-grandfather to other people's houses. After all, it is not easy to ask for help from others, let alone this. The relationship is separated by several generations.
Just like today, Zhou Zixu had never seen his father speak so cautiously, and he felt really uncomfortable at that time.
"Lu Shibo was a second-class Jinshi in the year of 1898. My grandfather wanted him to give me some knowledge."
Zhou Zixu's originally low mood became slightly higher when he thought that the other party would show him the article when he was free.
"Brother Lin, I will tell you Lu Shibo's advice then."
Zhou Zixu was still thinking about what the two of them had said once, and whoever got a teacher would teach what he had learned to the other person.
Although Lu Shibo confiscated him as his student, this did not prevent him from sharing the knowledge he gained with Brother Lin.
After hearing Zhou Zixu's words, Lin Yuanqiu said in his heart that he was not moved, which would be a lie.
It is not easy for ordinary people to study. Looking at Zhou Zixu's face just now, it is clear that today's trip to the Lu Mansion does not make him happy. But they were ready to tell him all the insights and knowledge they had gained. How could he not be moved?
Seeing the gratitude in Lin Yuanqiu's eyes, Zhou Zixu shook the goosebumps on his body and said, "We have agreed before. If Brother Lin gets any words of instruction from now on, he will have to tell him without hesitation." .”
Lin Yuanqiu naturally knew that Zhou Zixu said this on purpose. Otherwise, he was a peasant boy with no relatives in the capital. Apart from the assistant teacher in the Imperial College, there would be no one to educate him in his studies.
On the day Lin Sanzhu returned, Lin Yuanqiu gave him all the remaining anti-seasickness pills.
Although it was basically certain that his father would not get seasick, there was a contingency for everything, and Uncle Zhou would definitely use it.
How can a father rest assured if his son is left thousands of miles away? Fortunately, the two children have a companion and can take care of each other. This makes Lin Sanzhu and Zhou Xing feel a little more at ease.
…
Compared with those in Fu Xue, the Six Arts of Gentlemen here in Guozijian are much more formal. Like Fu Xue, the practice of "improving" and "shooting" must be learned together is not done here, and there is no student here who can only Requirements for choosing two arts.
This made Lin Yuanqiu very happy, and he quickly went to the chief of the team to sign up for his favorite "book". As for "improving" and "shooting", Lin Yuanqiu did not fall behind. Since he had already learned it before, he had to keep improving.
Different from Lin Yuanqiu, Zhou Zixu did not continue riding and shooting, but signed up for "music" and "book", and then went to the piano shop to buy a seven-stringed paulownia musical instrument. This posture showed that he was ready to learn a lesson. Field.
After finishing the three portraits of Bodhisattva, Lin Yuanqiu took advantage of the half-day afternoon to arrange his own time, and went out carrying the simple book box containing eighty words.
When she went shopping with her father that day, Lin Yuanqiu got a general familiarity with the terrain. There were more than 20 streets in the capital, including restaurants, inns, cloth shops, grain shops... selling everything.
As for which street had a bookstore selling pens, inks, paper and inkstones, Lin Yuanqiu also asked passers-by to find out.
In ancient times, calligraphy and painting were not divided into different families. I thought there must be a calligraphy and painting shop open on the street in front of the temple.
But before he reached Miaoqian Street, Lin Yuanqiu saw that there were several shops selling calligraphy and painting on Qingyu Street, where antique calligraphy and painting were sold. As for why I knew it would be a calligraphy and painting shop, no, it said so on the plaque hanging on the door.
Lin Yuanqiu looked at the painting shop called "Sibaozhai" not far from him. Looking from his side, he saw several scrolls hanging on the wall of the shop, both in terms of the whiteness of the paper and the bright colors. , one can tell that it is a new painting that has nothing to do with ancient paintings.
Thinking like this, Lin Yuanqiu did not go any further, but turned around and walked towards the "Four Treasures Studio".
…
Chapter 109 Selling Paintings (2)
In order not to let others see his identity as a judge, Lin Yuanqiu changed into a round-neck shirt when he went out today.
What he is wearing at the moment is the cross-collar cotton robe that Chunyan made for him. It is of ordinary style, and with the book box on his back, in the eyes of others, he is just a scholar of the age of Dancing Elephant.
Seeing a customer coming into the shop, the shop assistant hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. After staying in the calligraphy and painting shop for a long time, the shop assistant still had basic eyesight.
No, from the moment he saw Lin Yuanqiu, he directly classified him as a painting-selling scholar.
