Chapter 60
Whether or not to go north in person is still under consideration, but the autumn examination in September is imminent.
The reform of the imperial examination system came too suddenly. There were less than two years from the announcement of the reform to the next imperial examination. Minus the time Lu Shang hesitated and struggled in the middle, there was only one year left.
The students in the private school had studied hard for three or four years, and Jiang Wanning had given them advanced training after the reform of the imperial examination system, so it was not a bad idea for them to take the test.
Only Lu Shang...
Jiang Wanning looked up at him and couldn't bear to imagine what the scene would be like in the Autumn Examination.
Since Lu Shang had skipped school, he obviously couldn't stay at home for too long. After having dinner with Jiang Wanning, he returned to Lu Lin Academy in dejected mood.
As the most prestigious place for study and research in Songxi County, Lulin Academy has always only accepted two types of people: boys under the age of ten who can recognize hundreds of words, and scholars under the age of twenty-five.
Although the imperial examination system was reformed last year, few children from merchant families studied hard. Although there were many candidates for the academy examination last autumn, no merchant passed it. Only Lu Shang had passed the examination a few years ago and was within the final age limit, making him the only exception in the academy.
The academy is divided into four classes: A, B, C, and D. Class D is composed entirely of young children who have never taken an examination. Originally, there were only about twenty students in the class, but after the restructuring, a new group of students from merchant families were enrolled last year. Most of them are eight or nine years old. Their families hired a teacher early on, originally hoping that they would learn a few words to facilitate their future succession in the family business, but now they have gotten a great bargain.
These children meet the admission requirements of the academy. When the emperor issued the decree, he encouraged equal treatment and education for all. As a well-known academy in Dazhao, Lu Lin Academy naturally supports the emperor's new policy. However, the admission of new students does not mean that they will be treated completely the same.
Except for Class D, the remaining three classes are all composed of scholars under the age of 25. The students in the classes are divided into classes after passing the entrance examination. There is a small test every month and a major test every year. Those who fail the small tests three times in a row will be demoted to the next grade. Those who fail five times will be advised to drop out, and those who fail the major test will be expelled directly.
Of course, if you perform outstandingly in quizzes and exams, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to Class A or Class B.
In the past three years, the total number of students in the three classes has always remained below 100, among which Class A has the smallest number of students, only about 20, while Classes B and C have 40 students each.
It is true that Lu Shangyou is a scholar, but this title was not earned by him personally. Even if he passed the entrance examination, it was because Jiang Wanning crammed for half a month before the exam, which allowed him to get into Class C at the last place without any surprise.
Others in Class C are eager to study hard to get into Class A as soon as possible, receive personal instruction from the dean, and pass the exam in one fell swoop to bring honor to the family.
But now it was Lu Shang who was in Class C——
The teacher in charge of Class C was a little old man in his seventies. His surname was Bai, and as his name suggested, he had a white beard. His temper was not as harsh as other teachers. As long as it was not too excessive, he would basically turn a blind eye and let it go. Even if Lu Shang skipped school every now and then, he would not say much unless he was caught by him.
As for Lu Shang himself, he had no great ambitions. He only hoped to pass one of the five quizzes to avoid being asked to drop out and go home. He didn't mind being embarrassed, but he was afraid that he would be kicked out by an angry Jiang Wanning, and that would not be worth it.
Yesterday's quiz was the fifth since he started school. Lu Shang had just come back from skipping school and felt a little nervous. He sneaked in through the back door and saw that the teacher hadn't come yet. He couldn't help but ask the classmate on his left, "Are the quiz results out yet?"
Xie Zongsheng looked at him silently and did not answer.
Just when Lu Shang was about to ask someone else, he heard the classroom suddenly become quiet. He looked up and saw that it was Master Bai who came over.
Master Bai sat down with the test paper in his arms, straightened his clothes, and, ignoring the nervous expressions of the people in the hall, asked with a smile, "The test results are out. Do you have any idea of what to expect?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the already quiet school became even more silent. Even Lu Shang was affected by the atmosphere and unconsciously held his breath.
Master Bai didn't let the students suffer for too long. He shook the test paper in his hand, slowly turned up a page, and read with squinting eyes, "Xie Zongsheng, A grade—how many A grades has Zongsheng gotten? Can he be promoted to Class B?"
The person on Lu Shang's left stood up from his seat, walked to the front, and took the test paper with both hands: "Master, this is the fifth time I've gotten an A grade. I need one more to be promoted to Class B. Thank you, Master."
"Okay, okay, keep up the good work..." Master Bai patted his shoulder, and after he went back, he continued to read out the next person's name.
According to past practice, quizzes will be divided into three grades: A, B and C. Grade A means excellent, which is a top-notch answer sheet, and only the top three people will be selected each time. Grade B means average, which means neither good nor bad. About half of the students in Class C will be rated as Grade B. Grade C means passing, which means they need to work harder.
If you don’t have any of the three grades, sorry, you are unqualified.
If the students in Class C were placed outside, they could be described as smart and studious, but when they came to Lu Lin Academy, compared with a group of geniuses, they could only be considered as having average qualifications. There would be two or three students who failed every exam.
However, since Lu Shang came, the number of unqualified people has to be increased by one.
The names of the students in the class were called one after another, and soon there were only four or five people left. The more Lu Shang listened, the more disappointed he felt. In a trance, he seemed to see the scene of himself being kicked out of the college, but he had clearly been reviewing seriously for several days!
Just as he was thinking about how to explain to Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu, he heard Master Bai read out: "Lu Shang, Class C, passed - Lu Shang, right? I remember you have failed four times, but you passed this time?" Listening carefully, his words were full of regret.
Lu Shang didn't care what he was thinking. After a moment of shock, he almost jumped up from his seat. He hurriedly restrained his expression, trying to maintain a humble and ashamed look, and quickly walked to Master Bai.
"Master, I am a dull student. I have failed several small tests since I entered school. Fortunately, I have worked hard to catch up and have finally made some progress. Now I can continue to study under you. Thank you, Master."
Master Bai didn't respond. He simply read Lu Shang's test paper over again, then suddenly realized, "So this quiz has a few more math questions. You did well on a few of them, but the rest... are still a mess!"
Lu Shang was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly thanked him, then took the test paper and returned to his seat.
After him, the rest of the people failed. The worst one only failed three times. No one was like Lu Shang, who was on the verge of being persuaded to quit.
Master Bai then commented on the test results and left the school after Master Jing, who was lecturing on the meaning of the scriptures, came over.
Master Jing looked around and then opened the book: "Today I will tell you about..."
As the sky gradually darkened, the sound of reading could still be heard in the academy. The children in Class D were reciting "The Great Learning" together in the courtyard, and the teacher in Class C was lecturing on "The Doctrine of the Mean" on the stage. Lu Shang had come here after having a full meal, and he had also avoided the crisis of being expelled. Surrounded by the sound of recitation, he soon began to doze off. His head nodded, and he fell headfirst onto the desk in time to catch the last rays of the setting sun.
Yes, Lu Lin Academy not only has morning classes and regular classes, but also evening classes!
From the hour of Yin to the hour of You, different teachers would come to give lectures. It could be said that except for the two or three hours of eating and sleeping, all the students in the academy were studying hard. Only those like Lu Shang who came purely to cope would seize every opportunity to skip school and classes.
Just as Lu Shang was dozing off to the sound of reading, the people in Lu's house were also getting ready to go to bed.
Jiang Wanning went to the children's rooms as usual, asked them if they had missed anything recently, and randomly checked some of their homework.
Over the years, although the children did not make rapid progress, they all exceeded the expectations when they first entered school. Take Pang Liang for example, he was originally shy and timid, but in recent years he is no longer as shy as when he was a child, but has become more conservative.
Jiang Wanning believed that she had not instilled too much nonsense in his child, and she didn't know how he became more mature. He no longer argued with Dabao, and after school he was either reading a book or following his friends with his hands behind his back, his little face tense.
If Jiang Wanning always worried about other people's homework, then for Pang Liang, she was worried whether he was learning too much and too tired. After all, Pang Liang was the only little apprentice she had accepted. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she watched him grow up. Apart from homework, a child's growth was equally important.
As for the others, Dabao and Lin Zhongwang originally just wanted to learn a few words and arithmetic. In terms of diligence, they are not as hardworking as Pang Liang, and in terms of intelligence, they are not as smart as Xiang Min. Fortunately, the five or six years of schooling were not in vain. Now, no matter which shop they go to, they are qualified to be accountants. The only difference is that they are still young and not so convincing.
However, Lu Shang had already decided on the two of them. After they studied with Jiang Wanning for another two years, they would go to work at Lu's Logistics. When the account books of logistics teams from various places were compiled, they would be responsible for the summary and accounting, which would also make Lu Shang's work a lot easier.
Xiang Min's intelligence was evident from a young age. Although she was not opposed to studying, she was not as persistent as Pang Liang. Later, she met several young ladies from wealthy families in school. She didn't know how to coax them into investing money, and she contributed her manpower and effort to open a tailor shop, only selling semi-finished clothes. In the eyes of buyers, they were more affordable than ready-made clothes, but the real profit was not known until she had done it.
Moreover, her tailor shop also provided letter writing services, which also combined calligraphy and painting. Although their works were not as lifelike as Jiang Wanning's, they were cheaper. After Jiang Wanning moved to the provincial capital, she quickly replaced her original letter stall and attracted a large number of customers to the tailor shop.
If Jiang Wanning were to ask her, Xiang Min would be more like Lu Shang, except that she balanced her studies and business better and liked both without any conflict.
After coming out of the yard with the children, it was really late, so Jiang Wanning did not linger any longer and went back to her room to sleep.
The next morning, Jiang Wanning did a set of exercises in the courtyard, then went back to the house to have breakfast, changed clothes and prepared to go to the private school.
Before leaving, she asked and found out that a flower market was opened in the east of the city today. Grandma Lu was very interested and went out with a farmhand early in the morning.
In the past two years, Jiang Wanning and Grandma Lu have adapted to the days when Lu Shang is not at home. Not to mention that Jiang Wanning is busy herself, Grandma Lu has also developed her own interests and hobbies. She used to love fiddling with flowers and plants in the small courtyard in Tang Town, and after coming to the provincial capital, she has opened up a new world.
Songxi County produces peonies, and the capital city has spawned specialized flower growers. Every five years, a flower viewing banquet is held to select a flower king, and a flower king can be sold for over a thousand taels of silver.
When Grandma Lu heard this for the first time, her eyes lit up and she immediately said, "Then I'll plant some too!"
The Lu family is no longer short of money. Although they cannot compare with the wealthy merchant families, it is still easy for them to come up with a few thousand taels. After all, who would think that money is too much?
In Tang Town, the whole family shared one yard, which made it difficult to develop their talents. But now, in her large house with three courtyards, in addition to the small garden at the back, Grandma Lu also has her own small yard. She can plant whatever she wants, and no one will say anything even if she fills the yard with flower stands.
Jiang Wanning and Lu Shang only encouraged and praised her, which made Grandma Lu more motivated.
Knowing that the old man had someone to take care of him, Jiang Wanning felt relieved. Seeing that it was getting late, she hurried to the private school.
The private school is located on Qionglin Street. It was chosen by the students' families together in order to seek good luck from Qionglin and hope that their children would have the honor to participate in the Qionglin Banquet. There are many private school shops here, so opening another nameless private school will not attract attention.
After the location of the private school was chosen, Lu Shang paid to buy it, so that he could clearly separate himself from the students' families and collect more tuition fees, avoiding unnecessary disputes caused by people using the private school as an excuse.
As for the tables, chairs, and bookcases in the private school, they were also made in a unified manner. In order to justify the high tuition fee, Lu Shang specially selected pine wood. After they were built, they were painted with a layer of red paint on the outside, which immediately improved the style.
Let’s not talk about whether the teacher teaches well or not, just think about such a good environment, is it worth the tuition fee of twelve taels a month?
Yes, the nameless private school charges extremely high fees, twelve taels per person per month, with one day off per month and a month off around the end of the year. In a year, the total tuition is one hundred and thirty-two taels, and this is just the money for the teacher's lectures. During the period of study, you have to buy all the books and writing materials by yourself.
In the past, the schools in the alleys were purely for charity, but now the private schools with the imperial examination as the ultimate goal are different.
The tuition fee was not necessarily fixed at twelve taels. Some students, like Xiang Min and Pang Liang, came directly without paying any money. Some female students only paid ten taels a month, and the rest of the students only paid twelve taels.
This is mainly because those who can afford to attend an unknown private school are all wealthy families, and no one is short of a few hundred taels of silver. As for some people saying that it is unfair to pay more or less, then your children have to take the imperial examinations, so do the girls have to take the exams too?
Jiang Wanning didn't care that much about what others thought. If you are really unhappy, just go ahead and leave.
When she arrived at the private school, the students had already finished their morning classes. Hot tea was served on her desk, and there was a soft handkerchief for washing hands next to it.
Today was a quiz. After she enforced the exam room rules, she distributed the test papers. Except for the last question which required students to express their own opinions, the rest were mostly tests of past homework. Just stating it in a different way could also be considered as training the students' thinking.
Since this is no longer an introductory school, every quiz is a preparation for the final exam, so it will definitely not be too easy. Students have different levels, so the difficulty of the answers also varies.
Two quarters of an hour after the test papers were distributed, some people had already finished one question, some were still thinking about how to answer the first question, and of course there were also some who had just glanced over it and completely gave up, lying on the paper and sighing, determined to be a troublemaker who would not answer the questions well themselves and would not let their classmates answer well.
Jiang Wanning shook her head and stopped staring at them.
With this quiz over, today's class is over.
Whether it was a private school or an academy, students were all equally depressed and frustrated after taking the exams. Only a very few of them were confident, but after listening to others' discussions, they couldn't help but have some doubts about their own answers.
Pang Liang was packing up his paper and pen, preparing to go home, when in the blink of an eye a group of people gathered around him.
"Brother Pang, do you still remember the answers from the third day? I wrote them down but I'm not sure. Please give me some advice!"
"Brother, there's still question two! You must answer it correctly, or I'll fail again!"
Although Pang Liang was the youngest among the group, the private school still emphasized first come first served. He was Jiang Wanning's first disciple, which made him the senior brother of all those who came after him. After a few years, even Feng He changed his address.
Moreover, he could become a scholar at the young age of ten, so he must have something extraordinary. He has taken the top spot in the recent quizzes and won the trust of everyone with his own ability. After each quiz, he would be surrounded by his classmates for an hour or two, and would not be let go until he had learned all the answers.
The girls were embarrassed to crowd with the boys, so they stood far away on the periphery, but they also listened carefully to the answers to the quiz.
Private schools only have classes in the morning, and students can stay in the afternoon to review their lessons or do their own things.
Jiang Wanning would stay to answer questions every two days, and the rest of the time he would just let them discuss on their own.
She collected the test papers and prepared to go home.
At this moment, someone shouted, "Master, someone is looking for you outside!"
Jiang Wanning raised her head and soon saw a stranger appear outside the window. It was a middle-aged man with two tufts of beard. He bowed to her through the window, pointed outside, and asked for a moment to talk.
She nodded slightly, called Xiang Min to help clean up the table, and she just took the test paper and left.
The nameless private school is divided into two parts, the inner part is composed of two classrooms, one is used for teaching on weekdays, and the other is for students who stay after school to rest. In addition to desks, there are also several bunk beds, which not only saves space but also can accommodate more people.
Outside was a large hall, which was usually filled with servants and book boys from various families waiting there. Later, when they saw that they were no longer needed, they stopped coming. Only occasionally a coachman came in to take shelter from the rain, and then left quickly.
As for non-student visitors, Mr. Guo is the first one.
Jiang Wanning and Mr. Guo exchanged names, then sat down on the round chair. Jiang Wanning asked directly, "Excuse me, Mr. Guo, why are you here?"
Speaking of this, Mr. Guo became excited.
He straightened his back immediately, his hands nervously pressed on his knees, and because of his excitement, he stuttered a little: "Master Jiang, I'm from Tang, Tang Town! I want to send my eldest son to school!"
Jiang Wanning wasn't surprised by his intentions, but she couldn't help but ask, "I wonder how Mr. Guo found out about my private school?"
But Master Guo lost his temper again, scratched his head, and said after a long while, "I dare not lie to Master Jiang. Actually, I have known Master Jiang's name since several years ago when the son of the Feng family in the capital was admitted to high school. I was also fortunate enough to attend the Feng family's teacher appreciation banquet at that time and saw Master Jiang from a distance once. There were so many people at that time, so Master Jiang may not remember me."
It is not surprising that he was able to attend the Feng family's teacher appreciation banquet and find an unknown private school.
But Jiang Wanning thought for a moment and asked again, "May I ask how old you are, young master?"
"My son just turned twenty this spring and has already taken the imperial examinations three times. Perhaps because he wasn't very good at his craft, he failed to make the grade three times. We've changed numerous tutors, but there's been no improvement. I'm at my wit's end and can only ask Master Jiang to accept my son!"
"Oh right! I wonder if Master Jiang knows about the Huichun Clinic. That clinic is owned by my family. We reached a cooperation agreement with Boss Lu five or six years ago and have been receiving medicinal herbs from him for several years. It's a pity that my family is not in the business world, so we haven't been able to cooperate with Boss Lu more often. But my wife's family has been in business for generations, and after several generations, we have a considerable foundation. If my son can become your disciple, I would like to facilitate the business between the Yue family and Boss Lu!"
The Guo family has been practicing medicine for generations and owns countless clinics. However, doctors are not considered businessmen in Dazhao, and even their clinics are not counted as commercial taxes, so they do not need to be registered as businessmen. Naturally, there is no obstacle for them to take the imperial examinations.
Originally, Mr. Guo looked down on the nameless private school. Not to mention that the teacher of the private school was a female teacher, the husband of this female teacher was also a businessman in the logistics business. The status of women and businessmen was not high, so how powerful could a teacher of such a background be?
As for the case that the Feng family committed, who knows if it was just a blind cat that happened to catch a dead mouse!
Unlike many other aristocratic families who were in a dilemma, Mr. Guo never considered letting his eldest son come here from the beginning to the end. Until the students in the nameless private school passed the examination and became scholars one by one, and the current emperor changed the imperial examination system to allow children of business families to take part, on the other hand, his eldest son, whom he had high hopes for, failed several times.
In the future, more and more people will take the imperial examination. Will his son still be able to pass?
As a result, Mr. Guo became anxious. After discussing with his wife for a long time, he finally decided to take a gamble and send his child to an unknown private school to study for two or three years. If he passed, that would be the best. If not, he could change to another school.
Of course, Mr. Guo could not speak openly about these shameful thoughts, and he couldn't explain why he waited four or five years before thinking of sending the child to him. He could only quickly change the subject and continue talking about the good things about his eldest son.
"Mrs. Jiang, you don't know that although my son is not good at the imperial examinations, he has a beautiful handwriting. The teachers who have taught him over the years all said that just based on his handwriting, his test papers can get a higher grade!" As he said this, Mr. Guo took out the scroll he carried with him.
Even though he didn't tell her the secret behind the delay, Jiang Wanning had guessed it pretty much right.
Fortunately, she did not have a preconceived habit. As long as the student had good behavior and his family could afford a high tuition fee, it would be the same for anyone. She calmed herself down and stood up to observe the calligraphy of the eldest son of the Guo family.
Frankly speaking, there were no gifted students in the nameless private school. Many of them had failed the academy examination seven or eight times. Even Feng He's level could be considered average among them. Moreover, given their age, their calligraphy skills were basically determined, and it was unrealistic to ask them to practice calligraphy diligently. If one of them could win the favor of the examiner with his calligraphy, that would be good too.
However, when Jiang Wanning saw the words on the scroll, she was shocked at first, and then she became suspicious.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Mr. Guo began to feel uneasy. "Teacher, look at this calligraphy... Is it not good enough?"
Jiang Wanning raised her head from the scroll and asked slowly, "Excuse me, Master Guo, which master did you learn calligraphy from?"
"Alas, my son wasn't so lucky as to learn from a great master. This calligraphy was created by him copying calligraphy on his own, practicing day after day. To be honest, I have a distant relative who runs a bookstore. He often collects calligraphy from poor students, and this is from one of them."
After hearing this, Jiang Wanning already understood something.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Guo continued, "I offered this scholar a high price of one hundred taels per piece, asking him to sell only his calligraphy to me. Over the years, he has accumulated over a hundred pieces. My son has achieved some success with these pieces, and with his diligent work day and night. It's a pity that he has only learned the form, not the essence."
After hearing this, Jiang Wanning was silent for a long time. She went to the front and got a pen and a piece of paper. She glanced at the words on the scroll, picked up the pen and wrote. In a short while, she had written a pair of words that were exactly the same as the previous one, neither more nor less, but just with more style.
Mr. Guo was stunned.
Jiang Wanning continued, "It's a coincidence. A few years ago, my family was in financial difficulty, so I went to Tang Town to find some work to supplement the family income. Fortunately, Mr. Huang, the owner of the calligraphy shop, appreciated my calligraphy. Not only did he ask me to use good paper and ink, he also offered to buy my calligraphy at the price of one tael per piece. I've been writing for five years now."
Mr. Guo subconsciously counted on his fingers. From the time he got the first copy of calligraphy to the last time, it was exactly five years.
Coincidentally, Jiang Wanning said again: "No wonder Boss Huang asked me to only write this kind of characters later. It turns out that Mr. Guo used it. I remember that I had some other calligraphy copies of my own, but they are also in Mr. Guo's house?" As she spoke, she wrote several other types of characters in the blank space.
Mr. Guo took a closer look and found that they were exactly the kinds he had collected at the beginning.
He didn't know whether to sigh at fate, but what came out of his mouth was, "But haven't I always bought it for a hundred taels? During festivals, they would put it in a red envelope, which would give at least thirty or forty taels. How did these... end up in Master Jiang's hands?"
Jiang Wanning shook her head helplessly. "It's always been one tael per post. There are rewards during the New Year, but the most I've ever received in a year is five taels. As for what Mr. Guo mentioned, I've never seen it."
No wonder Mr. Huang, the boss of the bookstore, was so enthusiastic about her. But in the last two years, when she was too busy, she could only write one post in ten days. Jiang Wanning felt guilty towards Mr. Huang and wanted to end the cooperation, but he only said that one post a month would be fine until she moved to the provincial capital.
At that time, she still thought that Boss Huang was a very nice person. It turned out that it was not the person who was nice, but the money. After a few years, I am afraid that Boss Huang must have taken kickbacks of tens of thousands of taels. Even though he was rich, it was a good thing that he was still willing to open a small bookstore.
For example, Lu Shang also received kickbacks when purchasing goods for others, but his kickbacks were calculated in a few cents, which was nowhere near as much as Boss Huang's, who could get two or three hundred taels at a time.
The matter of the calligraphy copybook, which had been confusing for a long time, suddenly became clear.
Jiang Wanning suddenly remembered that many years ago, Lu Shang had repeatedly warned her that Boss Huang was not a good person and that she should stay away from him. Although she didn't know why Lu Shang said that, it seemed like his words had come true.
Mr. Guo was furious and embarrassed. After a long moment, he slammed his hand on the table and said, "I'm going to go find Huang Lin and get to the bottom of this! I've given him at least several thousand taels of silver notes over the years. Don't worry, Master Jiang, I'll get it all back for you!"
In response, Jiang Wanning just curled the corners of her lips, neither saying yes nor no.
After a while, Mr. Guo asked nervously, "Then, Master Jiang, regarding my son's enrollment..."
Jiang Wanning asked him to sit down again, and then went over the tuition and rules of the private school. The most important thing was that after enrolling, regardless of whether or not he passed the high school entrance exam, he was not allowed to publicly advertise his private school status. Finally, she said, "Master Guo, please explain this in detail to Master Guo. If you can do this, you can come to enroll on the first of next month."
Mr. Guo was overjoyed and agreed repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I will definitely remind my son to remember it!"
"Then become my disciple?"
Jiang Wanning said, "I'm just a temporary teacher in a private school. I'm not a master or apprentice. Whether you want to become my disciple or not depends on fate."
After hearing this, Mr. Guo felt relieved. He thanked Jiang Wanning again and again before leaving the private school.
After a while, the students in the inner room also started to go out. Jiang Wanning estimated the time and simply waited a little longer until Xiang Min and the other children came out before going home with them.
The distance from the private school to Lu's house is not far, and it only takes fifteen minutes to walk. In the middle, there is a small vegetable market. The prices of vegetables and meat there are slightly more expensive, but the quality is much better than other markets. Jiang Wanning sometimes buys some vegetables and meat there.
Just as Xiang Min and the others were running out of paper and pen, Jiang Wanning took them to buy some more.
The prices in the city are far beyond what you can compare to in Tangzhen. Even the coarsest rice paper is one cent more expensive than in Tangzhen.
When Jiang Wanning first proposed bringing the children with them, the families were all hesitant. Besides being reluctant to leave their children behind, they were also afraid that they would not be able to afford the expenses of living in the provincial capital. It was only after Jiang Wanning offered to provide assistance that the families' doubts were reluctantly dispelled.
And she didn't help raise the children without any compensation.
Just like Dabao and Lin Zhongwang, after leaving the private school, they had to work for Lu Shang for ten years. The first two years were free work, and they would be paid after that. Xiang Min had to help Jiang Wanning for at least three years.
Only Pang Liang, because he was pursuing a career in government and no one could predict what his future would be like, did not say such polite words because he was Jiang Wanning's apprentice.
These replacement requirements sound a bit harsh, but the real beneficiaries are the children.
After a walk outside, when they returned home, Grandma Lu had already returned. She had found two pots of peonies of excellent quality and was changing the soil for them, waiting for them to adapt to the environment so that they could be grafted.
Jiang Wanning went to her yard to call the old lady out. The family had dinner and then everyone was busy with their own things in the afternoon.
The next day, Jiang Wanning announced the results of the quiz. As expected, Pang Liang got an A again. If Jiang Wanning hadn't wanted to test his character and was afraid that it would be too conspicuous for him to pass the imperial examination at his age, he could have actually taken part in the autumn examination this year.
Although Pang Liang still had to wait for the next imperial examination, the rest of the students in the private school did not plan to wait any longer.
In the imperial examination three years ago, Feng He and another scholar only went to the examination room to feel the atmosphere because they did not have a strong foundation. They did not actually answer any questions and naturally failed. After another three years of hard study, they took the examination with everyone else this year.
In the private school, Jiang Wanning said with a stern face, "Are you planning to participate in the Autumn Examination with this level of performance? I won't talk about your last current affairs question, let's talk about the third question! Haven't I already explained it twice? Why are so many people still unable to answer it?"
"Gao Yilin, what are you laughing at? Do you think you answered well? Just look at your handwriting. Only I would give you a close look. When you get to the exam room, do you still want the examiner to read your papers under a candle?"
Gao Yilin jumped to his feet, looked down at the earthworm-like words on the test paper, and said dejectedly, "Teacher, I was wrong..."
The students in the private school all knew that Master Jiang had a good temper. He was always gentle and graceful when teaching, which was exactly in line with their impression of a lady from a noble family. However, after the quiz -
It's like a completely different person!
After every quiz, more than half of the students in the private school would be severely criticized. They couldn't help but wonder if they were really that bad. Not only did they let down the teacher's diligent teachings, but they also felt ashamed towards their families and themselves. They were really too ashamed.
The girls wouldn't be scolded because Jiang Wanning had called out their names. Before they could even finish their words, their eyes were already red. "Master, I'm sorry. I'll review and correct my mistakes. You can scold me..."
Jiang Wanning: "...Forget it, just sit down."
The saddest thing is that there are quizzes once a month, and the day off is right after the results are out. Everyone has an answer sheet like this, and along with the teacher's criticism, it's a rare day off, and they have no energy to think about anything. They just want to study till death, and have no time to indulge in wine and women.
So much so that families with children studying in unknown private schools were surprised to find that not only did their children improve their knowledge, but they also changed a lot of bad habits of associating with drinking buddies and became more diligent and hardworking.
Killing two birds with one stone, it made everyone more determined to send their children to study.
After school that day, even though the next day was the monthly holiday, the students did not seem very happy.
Jiang Wanning was the exact opposite of them. Days without work were always wonderful. Besides, the private school was on vacation, and the academy also had a monthly holiday. By the evening, she could probably wait for Lu Shang to come home.
Although Lu Shang skipped school more and more often to go home, Jiang Wanning felt different when she had such a legitimate vacation.
Sure enough, Lu Shang came back during dinner that night.
The others wisely did not disturb them too much and left the restaurant early, leaving the space only for the two of them.
Lu Shang is going back to Tang Town tomorrow, but he doesn't want to be separated from his young wife, so he wants to take Jiang Wanning with him.
Speaking of this, Jiang Wanning put down her chopsticks and asked, "Husband, do you still remember Mr. Huang from the bookstore?"
"I remember, what's wrong?"
Jiang Wanning recounted her encounter with Master Guo during the day, and afterward, she couldn't help but sigh softly, "If I had known this would happen, I might have just sold the calligraphy to a wealthy family. Even if I didn't make a hundred taels, it would have been more than one, right?"
Back then, the Lu family was poor, and Boss Huang's calligraphy did improve the family's life a lot. Even to this day, Jiang Wanning is still grateful to him, and gratitude and anger are not incompatible.
Lu Shang was also shocked: "I thought Boss Huang making a few taels of silver was enough. How can this be considered a kickback..."
Jiang Wanning shook her head. "Forget it. Let's see how Mr. Guo handles it. Not only am I being underpaid, but Mr. Guo will probably be even more furious. Whatever the outcome, let's just leave it at that. After all, I've been receiving money from Boss Huang for several years now. It's enough for my daily needs, regardless of the amount. I'm grateful for that."
Lu Shang nodded: "I'll do as you say."
Speaking of Mr. Guo's clinic, Lu Shang added, "The logistics team does have a partnership with a clinic, but after signing the contract, I handed the clinic's business over to the Cai family in Pingshan Village. The herbs the clinic collects are too trivial, and I don't have enough time to ask around, so I just handed it all over to the Cai family. I just provide people to help transport the goods and only take the shipping fee."
"We're going to Tang Town tomorrow, so let's stop by Pingshan Village to pick up the Cai family and change the clinic's contract. I won't be involved in the acquisition. If the Cai family still needs a logistics team to transport the goods, we can just sign a long-term delivery order with them."
Jiang Wanning always listened but never spoke about the logistics team's business, and at this time she just nodded to indicate that she had heard.
The two of them each drank a bowl of mung bean soup, and after eating and drinking, they returned to the room together.
Jiang Wanning went to take a shower first. Not wanting to wait for her to come out from behind the screen, Lu Shang also finished taking a shower in the yard.
Jiang Wanning paused and suddenly realized something.
Lu Shang extinguished the two candles at the door, leaving only the one at the bedside, and took a dry towel to dry her hair bit by bit. In the process, he accidentally touched the tip of her ear and the back of her neck, causing her to tremble from time to time.
Lu Shang pretended not to know and wiped more eagerly.
After half an hour, Jiang Wanning's black hair had been completely dried. Lu Shang picked up a hairband and tied it up hastily. Without even getting out of bed, he threw the wet towel to the ground.
Jiang Wanning felt something and lowered her head slightly.
The next moment, his thin and cold lips rubbed behind his ear, then moved down little by little, rubbing the ear bone, until it reached the back of his neck, and lingered there.
At some point, the panting sounds in the room became intermittent and heavy.
Lu Shang lowered his voice, and after listening carefully, he could hear a hint of grievance: "Aning, it's been two months..."
"..." Jiang Wanning didn't know where he touched, but her waist softened and she subconsciously raised her neck, revealing her thin and slender swan neck, and her eyes were quickly filled with mist.
Lu Shang said: "Since Aning doesn't say anything, I will take it as your consent..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Wanning's mouth was blocked, and she completely lost the chance to refuse.
That night, the candles in the main courtyard bedroom did not go out until the latter half of the night. Lu Shang went to fetch some hot water first, but the room did not become quiet. An hour later, he came out to fetch some water a second time, and accidentally left two deep red tooth marks on his exposed palm.
But he didn't feel any pain at all. After taking a look, he kissed the teeth mark happily, and went back to the room to coax her softly.
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