Lin Zhongyuan remained calm.

He acted as if he hadn't heard anything, but his ears twitched. Lin Weiming, the father who knew his son well, could tell that this was a small gesture his son made while intently listening to gossip.

"..." Lin Weiming's lips twitched.

However, he didn't say anything, only listened to the gossip and discussion of those people.

I used to hear people talk about gossipy women when I listened to gossip, but these educated men, when they got together, were not much different from the village's aunts and uncles.

It was still early, and apart from a few bookworms, no one else wanted to discuss the upcoming exam.

Their attention inevitably turned to Lin Zhongyuan, the outstanding-looking but very young new examinee, and discussions began to circulate.

The voices gradually grew louder, and another person chuckled and chimed in, "Isn't that exactly right? Studying without understanding the meaning is just a waste of time. He's so young, and he was born into poverty. What's the point of wasting money on his studies? I think he'd be better off working in the fields with his father. That way, he can save some money and get married. Otherwise, his life will be wasted."

"Hehe." Surprisingly, quite a few people nodded in agreement, especially a few from well-off families, who stroked their chins and nodded, saying, "As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes. Even a rat's child knows how to dig a hole. He's just a peasant, it's not easy for him to earn a bite to eat, why be so delusional!"

"Exactly! And sending someone so young is a waste of money! Don't they realize that all the students here are at least sixteen or seventeen years old before they feel comfortable coming out to take the exam? How old is this guy? Is he short because his family is poor?" someone said sarcastically.

Lin Weiming casually tucked his hands into his sleeves and glanced at his son. Lin Zhongyuan didn't do the same, but his face remained expressionless, showing no sign of anger.

...

Before long, the county government office opened its doors. People verified the identities of the students and searched them to make sure they had nothing to hide before letting them in to take the exam.

Lin Zhongyuan was a little nervous before the test papers were handed out, but after seeing the content, he found that most of them were not as difficult as the questions that Master Cui had given him before.

Lin Zhongyuan immediately felt relieved, calmed his mind, picked up his pen and began to finish the simple questions. He also carefully considered the more difficult ones.

Soon, the first morning's exams were over.

Lin Zhongyuan had been specially trained by Master Cui, so his writing was beautiful and neat, and he wrote the questions very quickly. After finishing, he checked his work several times before handing in his paper with peace of mind.

He calmly walked out of the examination hall.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw his father waving vigorously at him, and standing next to his father, Lin Weiming, was the portly and easy-going young master Liu, who was hard to ignore.

"Hey, Zhongyuan's out." Young Master Liu quickly called out to him, "Come on up, you must be starving after a whole day of exams, right? I've already asked the chef at Zuixianlou to prepare something hot, we can have some right away."

Upon hearing the name Zuixianlou, Lin Zhongyuan couldn't help but salivate.

Ever since he had eaten at Zuixianlou, Lin Zhongyuan had been thinking about it constantly; the dishes were just so delicious.

Although my mother and grandmother's cooking is also delicious, it's still a little different.

Lin Zhongyuan was about to stride over when he was stopped by the person behind him.

"Young Master Lin, you actually know Young Master Liu? What's your relationship with Young Master Liu? Are you going to Zuixianlou to eat?" The person who stopped him was none other than the student who had been overly enthusiastic while queuing, and his voice was full of longing.

When the examiners verify their identity, they will call out their names.

Lin Zhongyuan thus learned that the student's surname was An and that he was twenty years old.

Lin Zhongyuan pretended not to hear him, pushed away An Xuezi's hand, and ran towards his father.

He wasn't familiar with this person!

Why should he be prevented from going to Zuixianlou to eat delicious food?

The food made by the head chef of Zuixianlou is delicious. If it weren't for Young Master Liu's extravagant spending, they wouldn't have been willing to spend ten taels of silver to eat such expensive food.

"Tch, this little brat's pretty arrogant..."

After boarding Young Master Liu's carriage, the three of them first went to Zuixianlou for a good meal.

Young Master Liu was already used to these delicacies and didn't think much of it, but seeing Lin Weiming and Lin Zhongyuan eating so heartily, he couldn't help but eat a few more bowls.

The three of them actually ate the entire table of food.

...

The exam lasted three days in total. Even though Lin Weiming and Lin Zhongyuan were somewhat uneasy, they still had to stay at the Liu family's house for a few days first.

It was probably because Young Master Liu's extravagant spending that he was already well-known in the county.

As soon as he appeared, many people wanted to talk to Lin Zhongyuan during the last two days of his exams, and there was no trace of the previous disdain.

However, Lin Zhongyuan ignored him completely.

This made them whisper among themselves, and some even deliberately said loudly, "This little guy is good-looking, but he has quite a temper. Is he deaf? So many of us are talking to him, but he doesn't respond to anyone."

"Need I say more? I'm afraid their family has climbed up to the Liu family, which is why they look down on people like us," someone said indignantly.

"That's right, that's the Liu family! The Liu family is probably the richest family in our county. He actually managed to win the favor of the eldest young master of the Liu family. Even if he doesn't pass the exam, he probably won't have to work in the fields." Many people's words were somewhat sour.

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