Life continued as usual for Lu Lin, but the few scholars in the village were about to face a major event—the spring examination.

During this period, many people in the village have been talking about the spring examinations.

If someone in the family is in school, we're trying to keep things as quiet as possible lately, all to provide a good learning environment for the person preparing for a big exam.

The villagers were influenced by this trend, and for a time, the whole village talked about nothing but education.

"Brother Lin, a lot of people have been going to the Lu family to propose marriage lately!" Chen Xiaocai said.

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaocai, "Who are you proposing marriage to?"

"Lu Tong! There were also marriage proposals for Lu Chengyu, but Madam Tang said that Lu Chengyu should concentrate on preparing for the exam and not be distracted by this. So, most of the proposals were for Lu Tong. Everyone said that Lu Chengyu has high standards and doesn't like any of the women in the village. He wants to wait until he becomes a scholar before marrying a young lady from town."

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaocai, who was beaming with joy, and thought to himself: Chen Xiaocai has really changed a lot. Before, she seemed very gloomy, but recently she seems much more cheerful. She must have started playing with the children in the village.

"Did Zhang Dahu tell you that?" Lu Linwen asked.

"Da Hu said there are other people too."

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai, smiled, and said, "You're quite popular!"

Chen Xiaocai scratched his head, blushing slightly, and said, "No, not really."

He didn't really understand why, before, the other children in the village would avoid him, but now many people were willing to play with him and would talk to him about anything, though perhaps only because of the money and the dumplings.

Zhang Dahu and the others ate a meal of tangyuan at his house and couldn't forget it. They kept pestering him, asking when he would have work to do. If he had work, he wouldn't need any copper coins, but he wanted a good meal. However, there weren't many wild fruits in the forest recently, and Chen Xiaocai hadn't received any tasks from Lu Lin, so he couldn't say anything.

"Last time we ate glutinous rice balls, those guys were really craving them."

Chen Xiaomi, who was listening nearby, pursed her lips and muttered, "Those kids, they probably ate them."

He was given three large bowls of glutinous rice balls, and not a single one was left. If he hadn't eaten some beforehand, he wouldn't have gotten anything at all.

Most families in the village struggle to make ends meet throughout the year. Glutinous rice is expensive, and for many families, eating it is a luxury. Chen Xiaomi has been making a lot of money lately, so she doesn't feel too bad about it.

"Now that someone has proposed marriage, has Lu Tong made a betrothal?" Lu Lin asked curiously.

Chen Xiaocai shook her head and said, "No, the Lu family demanded a dowry of twenty taels of silver, which scared many people away."

"Twenty taels of silver!" Lu Lin rolled his eyes and muttered with interest.

Lu Lin thought to himself: In my previous life, the betrothal gifts had crushed many families. The betrothal gifts here are just as overwhelming! Judging from Madam Tang's mood, once she accepts these twenty taels, she probably won't let Lu Tong take much of her dowry back with her.

Chen Xiaocai blinked and said, "Twenty taels of silver! Many people in the village were scared away."

The Chen family's standard of living had improved considerably during this period. However, Chen Xiaocai didn't know much about how much money Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi had made selling wine and jam. Her impression of silver was still from a few years ago, and twenty taels of silver was still a large sum of money for Chen Xiaocai.

"Twenty taels!" Chen Xiaomi blinked.

He only spent ten taels of silver to buy Lu Lin. The money he spent on Lu Tong could have bought two Lu Lins.

Lu Lin saw Chen Xiaomi looking at him, then turned his head and smiled.

"With such an exorbitant dowry, isn't the Tang family afraid of turning Lu Tong into an old maid?" Chen Xiaomi couldn't help but shake her head.

“The Tang family isn’t worried, so it should be fine,” Lu Lin shrugged.

Tang Shi seems to have complete confidence in Lu Chengyu. If Lu Chengyu truly becomes a scholar, then Lu Tong's marriage and other matters won't be a problem. However, if Lu Chengyu fails this time, it will be more troublesome. Lu Tong's age is already somewhat dangerous here; if they wait any longer, she'll have to pay taxes.

In this place, rumors can kill. The Lu family is quite well-off, with so much land. Three taels of silver might be something they could scrape together, but if they couldn't pay taxes because they couldn't get married, they would easily become a laughing stock.

Chen Xiaocai tilted her head and said, "I heard that many people in the village like Lu Tong. Lu Tong is good-looking."

Lu Lin rubbed his chin. "Whether a girl from the countryside is pretty or not depends 30% on her looks and 70% on how she dresses up."

The Lu family was relatively well-off, and Lu Tong always dressed quite respectably. While other girls in the village had to work in the fields and their skin got tanned, Lu Tong maintained a ladylike demeanor for a long time, and her skin was well-maintained. As a result, compared to other girls her age in the countryside, Lu Tong was indeed considered to have a good complexion.

In the countryside, when people get married, they value a girl's temperament and character more. Her ability to work and her looks are secondary. However, young men usually prefer girls who are good-looking. If parents love their sons, they will help to plan the wedding. However, twenty taels of silver is still a bit high for villagers, and it is a huge burden for many.

"Forget it, this is something the Tang family should worry about, it has nothing to do with us," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "That's true."

...

In spring, everything is in need of rebuilding, and farmers are busy with their work. Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin have no land, so they have to go to the mountains.

Although she had no land, Chen Xiaocai was never idle. She spent her days carrying wheat, digging for wild vegetables and insects, and feeding chickens and geese.

The chickens and geese at home have started laying eggs, and there are leftovers after we eat them every day.

Seeing how hard Chen Xiaocai was working, Lu Lin would occasionally feel a little apologetic, but only occasionally.

With Chen Xiaomi occasionally going into the mountains to hunt, the family never lacked meat. Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi also planted some vegetables and radishes around the house, which solved about half of their food problem.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi drove the mule cart into the city.

Shopkeeper Wang was delighted to see the two men. For every bottle of jam sold, two hundred coins would go into his pocket, which could be considered a business with no initial investment. Shopkeeper Wang had made a lot of money recently. The commission was secondary; more importantly, the jam business had boosted the shop's overall business.

"This is the last batch of jam, twenty bottles in total," Lu Rong said. "In addition, there are forty jars of wine here."

Manager Wang glanced at the wine and said, somewhat puzzled, "They're all second-grade wines!"

Lu Rong said somewhat apologetically, "Because the raw materials for the first type of wine are quite precious, they are now basically unavailable."

Shopkeeper Wang nodded in understanding. Forty jars of sweet potato wine, plus jam, Shopkeeper Wang paid Lu Lin thirty-two taels of silver.

"Young Master Lu, you've been making quite a bit of money lately!" Shopkeeper Wang said with a smile.

Lu Lin gave a wry smile and said, "How can I compare to Manager Wang? This shop is always packed with customers. The jam looks profitable, but the cost is also very high. Moreover, sometimes we don't dare to make too much, because it will spoil quickly if left out for too long."

Shopkeeper Wang smiled noncommittally and said, "Young Master Lu, if you ever have anything good in the future, remember to send it to me!"

"Definitely, definitely."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, the shop seems to be doing quite well! Everyone's buying cakes?"

Shopkeeper Wang smiled and said, "It's Scholar's Cake. The Spring Examination is coming soon, and everyone wants to have good luck."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I see!"

Lu Lin thought to himself: The imperial examination was really a big deal in ancient times! At this time of year, there are things related to the imperial examination everywhere.

However, it was the same in the previous life. When the college entrance examination season arrived, many places were closed to traffic, and many parents would go to temples to burn incense and pray to Buddha for their children.

"Brother Lu, would you like to take some back with you?"

Lu Lin rolled his eyes. No one in his family was taking the exam, so eating this probably wouldn't do any good. However, this "champion's cake" looked quite delicious. He would buy some for Xiaomai to take back; Xiaomai would definitely be happy. The two little devils had been working quite hard lately.

Lu Lin followed Manager Wang's advice and packed some pastries to take back with him.

After leaving the restaurant, Lu Lin went to the street and bought steamed buns and mantou...

...

On the way back, Chen Xiaomi looked at Lu Lin and said, "Are these sweet potatoes almost gone?"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes." The store was almost full of sweet potatoes, but as the sweet potatoes were continuously brewed into sweet potato wine, the sweet potatoes in the store were quickly consumed, and now only a few scattered piles remain.

"However, it should be about time." More than 300 jars of sweet potato wine have been sold one after another.

There are now nearly three hundred taels of silver in the earthenware jar at the shop.

"Has a lot of the original wine also decreased?" Chen Xiaomi asked.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "It's almost a quarter gone." They were taking out the wine to sell case after case, and the wine was disappearing very quickly.

Chen Xiaomi blinked and said, "Why is there so much alcohol, but not so much spicy strips?"

Lu Lin said helplessly, "Because in our area, when we visit relatives and friends, we give them alcohol, not spicy strips."

Chen Xiaomi sat on the mule cart, swinging her legs, and said, "The people there are really strange. I think it would be better to send spicy strips instead."

Lu Lin: "..." Sending spicy strips? His wife's idea is really creative!

"How much silver is in it now?" Chen Xiaomi asked. Since entrusting the pottery jar to Lu Lin for safekeeping, Chen Xiaomi had rarely inquired about it. Whenever she wanted to know how much silver was in the jar, she would ask Lu Lin.

“It’s about three hundred and ten taels,” Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiaomi's eyes widened. "So much!" she exclaimed. She thought to herself, "It's a pity no one's selling land now. Otherwise, with so much silver, I could easily buy a few dozen acres and become a landlord. But if I actually bought the land, it would be too ostentatious."

Chen Xiaomi knew very well that many people in the village knew he had made money, but no one knew exactly how much.

As soon as Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi returned, Chen Xiaomai affectionately clung to Lu Lin.

Every time Lu Lin went out, he would bring back some food for Chen Xiaomai and Xiaocai. When Chen Xiaomai saw Lu Lin, it was like seeing food.

Lu Lin handed the sugar cake to Chen Xiaomai, who took a big bite and ate a large piece. Lu Lin rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: This is supposed to be the champion's cake, Xiaomai's way of eating it is a bit fierce! However, whether it is the champion's cake or the second-place cake, it is meant to be eaten.