Chapter 15 The Fairy in the Painting is Preparing
The day before the academy exam, Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing finally let Shao Yanzhe off the hook, allowing him to prepare for the exam properly.
Shao Yanzhe first returned to his dormitory to wash up and rest before leaving Wenyuan Academy to buy some dry food for the exam.
As for the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to bring into the examination hall, the original owner had already prepared them; he only needed to buy enough dry food for one day.
The provincial examination differed from the subsequent township examination. The provincial examination consisted of two parts: the formal examination and the re-examination. The results were announced the day after the formal examination, and the re-examination was held on the third day. (1)
The candidates' food supplies would be checked before entering the examination hall to see if they were smuggled in; the food supplies would be broken into pieces for inspection.
Instead of bringing easily concealed foods like biscuits or steamed buns, Shao Yanzhe bought some rice, intending to process it when he got back. He planned to simply soak it in boiling water if he wanted to eat it, which would make for a decent meal.
In addition to the staple food, he also bought some dried meat and side dishes.
After buying his things, Shao Yanzhe took them to the bookstore. He had indeed changed his mind and would continue to take the exams after passing the county-level examination.
He needed to consider that the scientific expeditions would consume a lot of money, and as a poor scholar with no physical strength, copying books to earn money was his only way out.
Since the bookstore owner knows about literary talent, something that ordinary people shouldn't know, he must not be an ordinary person either.
In that case, he figured the bookstore owner would be very happy to go to him.
As expected, when Shao Yanzhe told the bookstore owner his request, the bookstore owner immediately agreed with a smile.
"Young Master Shao, if you have any books that you have finished copying, you may send them to my bookstore. The price will be increased by 10% from the original price. What do you think, Young Master?"
Shao Yanzhe did the calculations, his eyes narrowing slightly. Although one percent might not seem like much, if many books were copied, it would amount to a considerable sum of money.
He glanced at the bookstore owner, wondering what his intentions were.
He was never the type to keep his thoughts to himself, so he simply asked directly.
"Why does the shopkeeper give me such a generous fee for my writing?"
The shopkeeper replied with a smile, "Of course, it's because the book that Young Master Shao copied is worth the price."
Shao Yanzhe nodded, disregarding whether the shopkeeper had other motives, and sealed the deal, making it impossible for him to get anything from him later.
"Alright, in that case, why don't we draw up a contract?"
As he spoke, he reached out and took a sheet of Xuan paper from the shopkeeper, picked up a brush and began to write down everything the shopkeeper had just said.
Having worked as a laborer in his previous life, he had dealt with quite a few contracts and quickly drafted two agreements.
He signed his name and pressed his fingerprint on it, then turned the contract over and showed it to the bookstore owner.
"Shopkeeper, you can take a look. If you have no objections, you can sign and put your fingerprint on it."
The shopkeeper stared at the still-wet ink on the contract in front of him, his expression stiffening.
"Young Master Shao, there's no need for this. Does Young Master Shao not trust my character? I would never go back on my word. There's no need to sign the contract, is there?"
Shao Yanzhe shook his head: "That won't do. I certainly trust the shopkeeper's character, but having a contract will make things easier for both parties in the future and will prevent any memory lapses. Signing a contract is very necessary."
Of course, it's fine if the shopkeeper doesn't sign, but I won't be coming to the bookstore to copy books anymore.
Seeing his firm attitude, the shopkeeper wanted to say no, but considering his own plans, he could only reluctantly sign his name and press his fingerprint on the contract.
"Two copies, one for you, and one for you, shopkeeper. Please keep them safe. I will come and deliver the copied books after the exam." Shao Yanzhe carefully folded the contract and tucked it close to his chest.
Afterwards, he took the Xuan paper and brush he would use to copy the book, said goodbye to the shopkeeper, and left the bookstore.
Just as I stepped out the door, I bumped into a middle-aged man. The man was wearing a robe made of the most fashionable silk fabric at the time. The fabric alone cost nearly two hundred taels of silver, which is about forty-five thousand yuan in modern currency.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at him and could sense a strong literary aura emanating from the other person, something he had never felt before.
This made him take a few more glances at the man. The middle-aged man had a strong scholarly air about him and looked gentle and refined. His beard was well-groomed, so he must be a scholar.
The middle-aged man perhaps noticed his gaze, and turned to look at him with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
His gaze swept over Shao Yanzhe's faded moon-white long robe and the headband of the same color, and he knew that the scholar-looking man in front of him came from a poor background.
Furthermore, since he couldn't sense any scholarly aura from the other person, he assumed he was just a good-for-nothing who hadn't achieved much in his studies.
After figuring it out, he gave the other person a casual glance and stepped into the bookstore in front of him.
Shao Yanzhe felt uncomfortable after the middle-aged man's last glance. He frowned, but quickly dismissed the man, thinking he was just a stranger and not worth his attention.
They ignored each other and left.
The middle-aged man had just entered the bookstore when the bookstore owner looked up towards the entrance.
Upon seeing the visitor's face, he was startled and quickly put down the book in his hand. He hurriedly walked out from behind the counter, bowed slightly, and greeted him respectfully: "Master, aren't you going to preside over this year's imperial examination? If you want to know about the bookstore, just send someone to let me know, and I will personally go and report to you. There's no need for you to make the trip yourself."
The middle-aged man ignored the shopkeeper and walked straight to the back of the bookstore.
The shopkeeper didn't mind and respectfully followed behind him.
After the two entered the inner room, the middle-aged man sat in the head seat. The shopkeeper carefully closed the door, then used a key to open a mahogany box, took out several books from inside, and placed them on the table next to him.
"Master, these are the records from the last three years." The shopkeeper said only this, then stood respectfully with his head bowed, waiting for the other party to examine them.
The middle-aged man picked up the top book and started flipping through it. The contents were not a ledger recording the bookstore's profits, but rather a list of individual names.
Following the person's name is a record of their general information. The most detailed record is of their academic and examination history, specifying the age at which they began their studies and took the imperial examinations, as well as evaluations from their teachers and classmates.
There are about a dozen such booklets, each containing the names of twenty people.
The middle-aged man spent some time quickly glancing through the batch, then frowned and said, "This batch is of very poor quality."
The shopkeeper standing in front of him lowered his body even further, his heart pounding wildly, fearing that he might be punished in his displeasure.
He bowed his head and flattered, "These students are certainly no match for you, Master! You are the top scholar, and no one is more learned than you. Therefore, these people seem rather inadequate."
The middle-aged man was quite pleased. He coughed lightly and asked, "Which of these do you think are still useful?"
The shopkeeper stepped forward, opened the book, and showed it to him: "Master, look, this scholar is a renowned talent from Wenyuan Academy, already a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations), and is currently preparing for the Juren (another successful candidate in the highest level). And this one is also quite good..."
He introduced about ten people to the man before stopping, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the man nod in satisfaction.
"Not bad, I'll give you credit." The middle-aged man was in a fairly good mood; he could at least barely get by.
He stood up to leave, but stopped after a few steps: "By the way, did those people take any benefits from the bookstore?"
The shopkeeper nodded: "I took them. Some took a few books that the bookstore gave away, and some received fees that far exceeded the market price. I also gave gifts to those who bought writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones here. As long as they entered our bookstore, I gave them benefits according to the master's instructions."
The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction: "You did a good job. After this is over, I'll take you back to Zhongdu to take over the bookstore there."
The shopkeeper was overjoyed: "I am very grateful for your help, sir. I will certainly serve you faithfully!"
"Alright, I'm leaving now. You take good care of the business."
The shopkeeper watched the middle-aged man leave before wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
He couldn't help but feel a little fortunate. He had excluded Shao Yanzhe when he made the introduction. Otherwise, if the master had found out that he had failed to complete the task assigned to him, he would probably not only have no chance to return to Zhongdu with the master, but would also have been punished.
He couldn't help but sigh. How did that scholar suddenly become so smart?
Meanwhile, Shao Yanzhe returned to the academy, put down his things, and went to find the teacher. When he arrived, four scholars were already waiting for him.
He quickly cupped his hands in apology: "I'm sorry I'm late, I've kept you all waiting!"
The Master waved his hand: "It won't be long. The five of you will form a bond. Don't be late tomorrow."
The five men bowed in unison: "Yes!"
After saying goodbye to the Master, the five of them left the room and found a place to get to know each other.
The other four are: Liu Mingyuan, the scholar in the navy blue robe; Wen Yanqing, the man in the wine blue robe; Shen Jingzhou, who is tidying up his bamboo green robe; and Su Yuheng, who is wearing a royal blue robe.
These four students performed much better than Shao Yanzhe, and they were usually humble and polite, never looking down on others.
Shao Yanzhe felt a sense of gratitude towards the Master, for the four people he had found to be his perfect match.
The five agreed on a place to meet the next day and then went their separate ways.
After returning to his dormitory, Shao Yanzhe put all the necessary items for the imperial examination into his examination basket and checked them several times to make sure nothing was missing before he felt much more at ease.
To avoid being late for tomorrow, he went to bed early and told Xuan Yao to wake him up if he didn't wake up on time.
When I opened my eyes before dawn the next day, what I saw was a black cat's paw that looked like it was about to hit my face.
"I'm awake!" Shao Yanzhe said quickly.
Xuan Yao withdrew his cat paw, feeling somewhat regretful.
Shao Yanzhe quickly packed his things, grabbed his examination basket, and left the dormitory to go to the examination hall to take the provincial examination.
A note from the author:
(1) From Baidu
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