The county exam lasted for five days. During these five days, Tian An found different ways to prepare delicious food for Zhao Yiming, and got up in the middle of the night every day to prepare lunch for him to take into the exam room.
Starting with pancakes on the first day, the food spread to various types of seaweed rice rolls, sandwiches, cold bento boxes, etc. The yamen runners who came to inspect the place sniffed several times every time.
Finally, the five-day county exam was over. The day after Zhao Yiming finished his exam, Tian An slept comfortably until he woke up naturally.
The three of them stayed in the county town for another three days, waiting for the day when the results would be announced. Early in the morning, Tian An urged Zhao Yiming to go and see the list.
Zhao Yiming said helplessly, "There are a lot of people here right now, so it's best if we go later."
Tian An thought so too. So, the three of them had breakfast and lunch at home before slowly heading out.
When he saw the crowd of people gathered in front of the list, Tian An felt that they had arrived too early.
Zhao Yiming looked at Tian An and said, "You wait on the ox cart, I'll go and take a look."
Tian An was a little unhappy and she wanted to see it in person.
Seeing her pout so much that she could drop her pen, Zhao Yiming knew she was unhappy. Without saying anything, he pulled her towards the crowd.
Tian An was small, so she squeezed in without a hitch. Zhao Yiming followed closely behind, keeping her firmly in front of him to prevent anyone from squeezing her. The two of them worked together in perfect harmony and quickly made their way to the front of the list.
However, looking at the high list, Tian An felt depressed. He felt that he had suffered a loss because of his small size!
Suddenly, a pair of large hands from behind supported her waist, and she was lifted up. The list was revealed before her. Tian An didn't delay any longer and immediately began to look for Zhao Yiming's name.
"Start from the top of the list." Zhao Yiming reminded.
Tian An was stunned, then looked at the top of the list and saw Zhao Yiming's name at a glance.
"Third place, Brother Yiming, you're third!"
As Tian An shouted happily, the crowd fell silent for a moment.
Then, they all bowed in the direction of the two people and said, "Congratulations, congratulations."
"Congratulations on being on the list."
Zhao Yiming bowed in return, "Congratulations, congratulations."
After coming out of the crowd, the two sat on the ox cart. Tian An asked Zhao Yiming, "Brother Yiming, how did you know you were at the top of the list just now?"
"After the exam, I discussed it with a few of my former classmates, and it's pretty close."
After returning to the backyard of the shop, the three of them packed up their things and went back to the village.
The provincial examination was scheduled for April 6th. The chief examiner was the prefect. The examination was held in Fu'an County, three days' journey from Jinning County.
The two decided to have Chen Qiang go to Fu'an County to explore the area first, rent a house near the exam venue, and take care of everything. They would then go there when the exam time was approaching. During this time, Mr. Han could also explain more questions to Zhao Yiming.
When Mr. Han came home from school, he heard that Zhao Yiming had returned, so he went to look for him without even going back to his room.
When he learned that he had ranked third, he was happy in his heart but did not show it on his face. "Passing the county exam is just the first step, it doesn't mean much. I have to work harder next time."
So, for the next period of time, Tian An and Zhao Yiming were busier than each other. Zhao Yiming was busy reading, while Tian An was busy taking care of things at home, in the fields, and in the farm.
After much thought, she decided to take the provincial examination with Zhao Yiming, so she had to arrange all the things at home in advance.
The second day of the third lunar month was the full moon celebration for little Gu Jinrui. It was originally supposed to be held on the second day of the second lunar month, but Mrs. Gu had a caesarian section and was in confinement for two months. Plus, February was the day of the county exam, so the celebration was changed to March.
Tian An and Granny Qin took Deng Xue to the full moon banquet. Zhao Yiming and Mr. Han didn't go because they wanted to avoid suspicion. Granny Qin was a good friend of Magistrate Gu's mother, and she was considered his elder.
When Mrs. Gu gave birth, the situation did not allow it, and Granny Qin felt very sorry for not being able to visit her. This time, at Gu Jinrui's full moon banquet, she insisted on going to see her friend's grandson.
The Gu family knew that Granny Qin was going, and they arranged a carriage to pick them up. When they arrived at the Gu family, County Magistrate Gu, Madam Gu, and Gu Jinyan were already waiting at the door.
Grandma Qin made a lot of small clothes for Gu Jinrui. She had great craftsmanship and made tiger-head shoes and hats that looked lifelike. She also made many small clothes and pants. Not only were the stitches dense, but the styles of the clothes were also novel.
Tian An went to a silver shop to get a longevity lock, a pair of small silver bracelets, and a cart of potatoes that had just been dug up.
County Magistrate Gu's eyes lit up when he saw the potatoes. Tian An's potatoes were definitely a high-yield crop! Last year, all the potatoes he brought back were reported to the court. It was said that they were planted on official land of the court, and the yield per mu reached 16 mu. This year, they were ready to start promoting them.
He had achieved good results in recent years, and with Tian An's high-yield potatoes as a stepping stone, he had won the favor of the emperor. An expedited letter from the capital arrived two days ago, saying that his transfer order to the position of Dingzhou prefect was on the way.
He would have to discuss with Tian An later and buy all the potatoes she harvested this season and bring them to Dingzhou for promotion.
When County Magistrate Gu and Tian An mentioned potatoes, she readily agreed. She couldn't finish them at home anyway, so she would sell them to anyone, and selling them to County Magistrate Gu would also make it easier for her to get the money.
The new season's potatoes had already been planted, meaning they would be ready for harvest in about three or four months. This year, she also had land on the farm to plant, so she could expect a good harvest.
March 26th had already arrived, the day Tian An and Zhao Yiming had agreed to depart. The prefectural exam was only ten days away, with three more days to travel and two days to settle down and rest.
Tian An asked Chen Qiang to rent a horse carriage in the county town two days in advance, and was now directing people to move things upstairs!
Everything was ready. Deng Yuan and Deng Xue drove the carriage. After Tian An gave instructions to his two younger brothers, he and Zhao Yiming got on the carriage.
The carriage drove out of the city gate, and after running for a day, several people chose a lakeside to stop and rest.
Deng Yuan pulled the firewood he'd prepared from under the carriage and started a fire. Tian An washed the rice and added the bacon, sausage, potatoes, green beans, carrots, and other ingredients he'd brought along to make a lazy stew. He then used a soup base to boil water and made some seaweed and egg drop soup. A simple, delicious dinner was ready.
After dinner, Deng Xue and Deng Yuan discussed the night watch. Deng Yuan had accompanied Chen Qiang on his previous trip to Fu'an County to rent a house, and he was the only one who knew the way. They decided that he would keep watch for two hours, while Deng Xue would continue until dawn, after which he would take over the carriage.
Three days later, the few of them finally arrived in Fu'an County before dark.
Deng Yuan drove the carriage with ease to the courtyard rented by Chen Qiang. This courtyard was a farmyard near the examination hall. It only took a cup of tea to get from the courtyard to the examination hall.
Because it was late, a few people ate a bowl of wonton on the roadside, went back to the yard to clean up and then went to bed.
They had been so busy traveling these past few days that they hadn't gotten enough rest. Except for Zhao Yiming, the other three fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed. Zhao Yiming was the kind of person who would remain alert even when asleep.
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