Chapter 625 Zhao Sidan Passes the Imperial Examination
Dahe Town developed rapidly in this way.
Cheng Wanwan's new species experiment is also coming to an end. There are a total of twelve crops. Except for the crayfish, which she singled out, the remaining eleven have been confirmed to be invasive species. If they really spread in the Great Yu Kingdom, agricultural development will definitely be hindered. At that time, many people will not have enough to eat, so where will the grain be sent to the border? Wouldn't the Laji Kingdom be able to take advantage of the situation?
She had someone prepare pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began writing a memorial.
However, in order to make the existence of some modern crops seem legitimate, she secretly replaced the seeds of several of them.
Tomatoes and potatoes are her absolute favorite vegetables, but since coming to this era, she can't get them at all and can only buy some from the system to satisfy her cravings.
In addition, there were apples and strawberries, two fruits that were not common in modern times, and she added them without hesitation.
"Your subject, Zhao Chengshi, reports: Last year, an envoy from the Kingdom of Laji came to our court, presenting twelve new species as tribute. I was entrusted with this important task and have not dared to slacken for a moment. All twelve species were tested using the methods of the Ministry of Agriculture. The yellow flowers and water lilies are beautiful, but crops in their growing areas have died on a large scale... The poisonous silver chrysanthemum, though called a chrysanthemum, seems to be suitable for tea, but it is extremely poisonous... Among these species, there may be other seeds mixed in, resulting in the cultivation of other crops. I will explain them one by one..."
It took Cheng Wanwan two days to finish writing this memorial. First, she had to choose the right words and sentences, and second, she had to draw pictures. She had to carefully draw what the crops looked like and their growth process so that the Ministry of Revenue could file them for future records.
In addition, she wrote a memorial to the emperor, hoping that the imperial court would allow the people of Dahe Town to be the first to plant these cultivable crops and to raise crayfish on a large scale...
After she finished writing it, she sent it along with the translated letter to the post station and then to the capital.
Although the approval from Beijing has not yet been sent back, Cheng Wanwan has already begun preparing for crayfish farming. At the same time, she bought a lot of tomato, potato, apple, and strawberry seeds from the mall. Once the weather warms up, she will let the villagers try planting them. Strawberries are relatively difficult to grow and require certain techniques.
Besides farming, another important thing is that this year's prefectural examination is about to begin.
Two years ago, Zhao Sidan passed the county examination, but he could only be considered a half-student. Only after passing the prefectural examination this year can he officially become a student.
After becoming a student of the first level, one can participate in the provincial examination this autumn.
The year following the provincial examination was the year of the preliminary examination.
Of course, Cheng Wanwan didn't expect the boy to pass the exam in one go. He was still young, and even if he took the provincial exam next time, he would only be sixteen or seventeen years old. They could take it slowly.
“Jing Si is very intelligent. If he hadn’t started school a little late, he would have become a scholar long ago.” Master Yu stroked his beard and said, “This year, seven or eight children from Dahe Academy are taking the county examination. I hope they can all pass on their first try, just like Jing Si.”
Cheng Wanwan knew that there were several smart children in the village: Zhao Tieshuan, the second grandson of the old village head; Niqiu, the son of Aunt Wang; and Xu Xiaoshu, the youngest son of Widow Zhang… These children often ranked in the top three, so Master Yu suggested that they all give it a try.
Merchants from all directions raised funds for the Dahe Academy, and the school covered the expenses for the children to participate in the imperial examinations. The children were extremely excited to be recognized by Master Yu and allowed to participate in the imperial examinations.
Throughout February, the learning atmosphere at Dahe Academy was very strong.
In mid-February, the county examination officially began. Eight children from Dahe Academy participated in the first hurdle on their path to the imperial examination, and Master Yu personally escorted them there.
A few days later, the results came out: out of eight children, five passed the county examination, which was a very high rate.
Master Yu laughed loudly: "Those who failed the exam should not be discouraged, there will be another chance next year. Those who passed should not be arrogant, but continue to study diligently. Because your foundation is too shallow, you do not need to participate in the prefectural exam in ten days. When you are truly eligible to participate in the prefectural exam, you will naturally be allowed to take the stage."
After the students from Class C left, it was the turn of the students from Class B. They were all people who had passed the county examination in previous years but not the prefectural examination. Zhao Sidan was among them.
The county-level examination was held in Ping'an County, while the prefectural-level examination was held in Huzhou.
The house that Cheng Wanwan bought in Huzhou finally came in handy, and all twelve children who participated in the prefectural examination were arranged to live in this house.
Master Youyu personally led the team, so Cheng Wanwan didn't go with them.
She searched for a pond in the village to raise crayfish, but after walking around, she couldn't find a suitable place.
The main reason is that the village is becoming increasingly saturated with residents, and the open spaces have been divided into small plots of land by houses and fields, making it impossible to convert them into ponds.
Therefore, she had no choice but to set her sights on the neighboring village.
The nearest village, Wangjiadun, belongs to Dahe Town, and houses have started to be built on the vacant land there. She can only set her sights on Guihua Village and Chengjia Village, which are a little further away.
She didn't have much affection for either of these villages.
They had no choice but to settle for second best and chose Lijia Gou, which was even further away.
Cheng Wanwan planned to entrust this matter to Wu Xiaochui. In the past two years, Wu Xiaochui had grown at an astonishing rate and could be considered the second Manager Yan. He was impeccable in his dealings with people.
She had originally planned to have Wu Xiaochui be the accountant, but since Wu Xiaochui's talent lay in another area, she might as well let him learn to be a manager.
When Cheng Wanwan asked him to take charge of a business in Lijia Gou on his own, Wu Xiaochui was a little surprised: "Aren't you afraid I'll mess it up, Auntie?"
"What are you afraid of?" Cheng Wanwan smiled gently. "If you mess it up, we'll just arrange for someone else to assist you. It's no big deal. But I believe you can handle it. This month, let's find a place to dig ponds, at least fifty acres. We'll hire local villagers to work, so we won't need to provide food and lodging. We can pay them more..."
Wu Xiaochui nodded repeatedly, writing down the key points on a piece of paper.
He handed over his current soap workshop business to others, and then immediately went to Lijia Gou to start crayfish farming.
While she was busy cultivating new species, Zhao Dashan was working hard to promote cotton.
This year's cotton needs to be promoted throughout the country. Fortunately, when the cotton harvest was bountiful last year, Zhao Dashan led people to purchase cotton seeds everywhere. Tens of thousands of kilograms of cotton seeds are enough to spread throughout the country. Of course, the money for purchasing cotton seeds comes from the imperial court.
He carefully preserved the seeds throughout the winter and handed them over to the prefect of Huzhou, so that the prefect could distribute them. He assisted the prefect in teaching the farmers how to cultivate seedlings, transplant them, thin them out, prune them, and maintain their survival rate...
This busy period lasted until mid-March, when spring was in full bloom.
The results of the prefectural examination were also released, and unsurprisingly, Zhao Sidan passed the preliminary examination and became the top candidate in this prefectural examination.
When Zhao Sidan returned from Huzhou, he was surrounded by villagers.
"I knew Si Dan was smart; sure enough, he passed the preliminary examination and came back as a student."
"Still in first place, that's amazing, you really make our Dahe Town proud."
"I heard there's an entrance exam in the fall. Si Dan, you'd better work hard and try to be even better than your older cousin..."
Four children passed the preliminary examination this time. The oldest was seventeen years old and the youngest was Zhao Sidan. However, the other three were not from Dahe Town. Only Zhao Sidan was a native of the village, so the villagers' attention naturally focused on him.
He walked home with his chin held high and his small chest puffed out, looking quite arrogant.
"Our thirteen-year-old scholar is back!" Old Mrs. Zhao's eyes narrowed into slits with joy. "Your eldest brother is now the cotton magistrate, your second brother's business has expanded to Huzhou, and your third brother will definitely become a centurion in the army. You should study hard and surpass your three brothers as soon as possible!"
Zhao Sidan clenched his fist: "Grandma, don't worry, I will definitely do my best!"
Old Zhao chuckled and said, "Stop gossiping, Sidan, hurry up and change your clothes. Let's go pay respects to our ancestors and thank them for their blessings!"
After being fussed over, Zhao Sidan changed into new clothes, burned incense to pay respects to his ancestors, went to Zhao Youjin's grave on the mountain, and only then did he return home to have a celebratory meal with his family.
Just as the family was having a lively meal, Granny Qi hurriedly walked in from the door: "My lady, Prefect Zhu of Huzhou has arrived. He says he has important business to discuss with you, sir."
The old man is Zhao Dashan.
As the number of children in the family increased, the titles of address changed. Zhao Dashan's generation were now known as the eldest, second, third, and fourth grandpas, Xiao Zhuzhu as the eldest young lady, Xiao Zhenzhen as the second young lady, and Chenchen as the eldest young master...
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