It started raining in the middle of the night, and raindrops fell on the roof of the cell.
Zhao Yiming woke up in shock, quickly got up and checked the test paper bag. After making sure that the test paper was fine, he checked the room again. Fortunately, his room did not leak.
At this moment, I suddenly heard a candidate a few blocks away exclaim, "It's over, my paper is wet by the rain."
The next second, the voice of the yamen runner was heard: "Shut up! Don't disturb others."
Zhao Yiming ignored what was happening over there, pulled over the thin blanket and continued to sleep.
When he got up the next day, the rain had stopped. He stretched his arms and legs as usual and then went to the toilet.
As I emerged from the reception room, I caught a glimpse of the candidate with the lowest number. He was still asleep, wrapped tightly in the quilt, with only his head exposed. His face was abnormally flushed, beads of sweat beaded his forehead, and he was shivering all over, seemingly cold. It was obvious he'd caught a cold from the rain the previous night and was ill.
Zhao Yiming called the yamen runners over. They immediately understood what was going on; they had handled several similar cases this morning and were quite experienced. They told Zhao Yiming to return to his cell and they would handle the situation.
Not long after Zhao Yiming returned to the dormitory, he saw two yamen runners carrying the candidate out.
He glanced up briefly before returning to his own business. Taking advantage of the rain last night, the smell of the toilet hadn't reached him yet. He quickly boiled some water, took out a packet of nut and white fungus soup that Tian An had prepared for him, poured in the boiling water, stirred it, and ate it with some pastries before starting to answer the questions...
It rained at night and was scorching hot during the day. Deng Yuan would go to the outside of the examination room every day to watch.
He came back at lunch and told Tian An that it had rained last night and several candidates had caught a cold. They were carried out of the examination hall by the yamen runners. Those with family members were handed over to their families, while those without were sent directly to the clinic by the yamen runners.
During dinner, Tian An was told that in the afternoon, the yamen runners carried several candidates out of the examination room, saying that they had severe heatstroke and were sent directly to the clinic.
Tian An wasn't worried about Zhao Yiming. Firstly, he had prepared everything for him, so he wouldn't suffer too much in there. Secondly, he practiced martial arts every day, so his physique was excellent, far superior to those frail scholars who couldn't carry anything on their shoulders or lift anything with their hands.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning, Tian An took Deng Yuan and Deng Xue to the market to buy a lot of vegetables to welcome Zhao Yiming in the evening.
After lunch, Tian An asked Deng Yuan to kill the chicken he had bought in the morning, add seasonings, bring it to a boil over high heat, and then simmer it over low heat.
He asked Deng Xue to stay at home to boil water and watch the chicken soup on the fire. Then he took Deng Yuan to wait outside the examination room to pick up Zhao Yiming.
It was still early when we got there, and the candidates had probably not handed in their papers yet. The doors of the examination room were closed, but there were already a lot of people waiting to be picked up.
The two of them found a tree, sat under it in the shade, and waited for the examination room to open.
After a long while, the doors to the examination hall finally opened, and candidates began to emerge. The two hurried forward, their four eyes searching the crowd for Zhao Yiming.
Tian An was short and not very tall, so it was difficult for him to find someone in the crowd. But Deng Yuan was taller, and soon he spotted Zhao Yiming, carrying his exam basket, among the students queuing up.
"Sir, we are here!"
Hearing Deng Yuan's voice, Zhao Yiming walked quickly towards the two of them.
Deng Yuan took the exam basket from Zhao Yiming. Tian An was about to help him, but Zhao Yiming took a step back and said, "An An, stay away from me. I smell bad."
Tian An then noticed that Zhao Yiming had an unspeakable stench. Although she said she didn't mind, Zhao Yiming refused to let her help him and always kept a distance of three steps from her.
Tian An was speechless for a while, but fortunately the courtyard was close and he couldn't walk far, and Zhao Yiming was in good spirits, so Tian An let him do what he wanted.
After returning, Tian An first let Zhao Yiming rest on the stone bench in the yard, and he went to prepare water for him to bathe.
Deng Xue had already boiled the water. After Deng Yuan brought it to Zhao Yiming's room, Tian An added some Chinese medicine bags, and then prepared shower gel and some clothes for changing before letting Zhao Yiming go in to take a bath.
While Zhao Yiming was taking a bath, Tian An and the other two were preparing dinner in the kitchen.
As the sun sets in the west, the hot temperature drops, and this is the most pleasant time of the day in summer.
In the yard, the stone table was filled with delicious dishes made by Tian An. Zhao Yiming changed into ivory white clothes after bathing and sat at the table in a fresh outfit.
Tian An poured him a bowl of chicken soup and said, "Brother Yiming, this chicken soup has been simmering for the whole afternoon. It's very nourishing. You've worked hard these past few days. Come and replenish yourself!"
Zhao Yiming also took the bowl and filled it up for Tian An: "I'm sorry for making you tired during this period of time, you should drink too."
Seeing the two of them being polite to each other, Deng Xue joked, "There's a pot of chicken soup! It's enough for both the young lady and the young man."
"Yes, yes, there's a pot!" He then picked up the bowl and filled two bowls for the brother and sister. "You've worked hard these days, come sit down and eat together!"
After spending some time together, the brother and sister knew Tian An's temper, so they said without hesitation, "Thank you, young lady. This is what we should do," and then sat down.
…
The results of the college entrance examination would not be available for ten days. During this time, Tian An spent every day learning to make purses. This was because Granny Qin had reminded her when she arrived that if Zhao Yiming passed the exam, she would have to give a reward to the yamen runner who brought the news.
She had plenty of money, but she didn't have a purse. So the next day, she took Deng Xue to buy a purse. Then, remembering what Gu Jinyan had said, that women should give men purses, she bought needles, thread, and scraps of cloth, planning to learn how to make purses during this free time.
Sewing the purse wasn't difficult, but the embroidery was. A lot of fabric was wasted, but not a single flower was fully formed. Even the embroidered grass, Deng Xue said, had a crooked thread.
The day of the results came in the blink of an eye. Deng Yuan rushed out early in the morning to check the results, while the other three stayed in the courtyard to wait for news.
Deng Xue couldn't sit still, so she ran to the door to see if Deng Yuan had come back.
Tian An took the purse he had bought earlier and asked Zhao Yiming, "Brother Yiming, how much money should I give to reward the yamen runners later?"
Zhao Yiming put down the book, looked up at Tian An, and said with a smile: "There are more than 400 people in this college entrance examination, and the top 50 are selected. How can An An know that I will definitely pass?"
Tian An said disapprovingly, "It's just over 400 people! Last time there were 600 people taking the provincial exam, and you still managed to get 16th place! You'll definitely be on the list this time too."
"Oh! The topic has gone off track. How much silver should the reward be?" Tian An quickly got back to the topic.
Zhao Yiming thought for a moment and said, "One or two taels!"
"Isn't one or two taels a little too little?" In the past, Tian An thought one or two taels was a lot, but now she makes a lot of money, so in comparison, it seems too little.
"It's quite a bit. We are a family of farmers and scholars. One or two taels of silver is enough as a reward."
There was no need to waste the money Tian An had worked so hard to earn on such a place. He hoped she would save it for herself.
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