Qin San Niang didn't know the specifics, but she told Liu Shi and the others the news.
Everyone was quite happy to hear this. After all, that was their homeland, where their ancestors were buried. If they could take it back, their ancestors in the afterlife wouldn't be bullied by the ghosts of foreign tribes! They were determined to go back no matter what! People of Liu's age were thinking that if possible, it would be best to return to their roots.
As August arrived, He Yingyuan was preparing for the autumn imperial examinations. Liao Hongying was filled with anxiety all day long. Fortunately, she had a lot of work to do and couldn't stay idle, otherwise she would have been too worried to settle down.
He Yingyuan remained calm and composed, showing no signs of pressure, which made everyone hesitant to say anything.
However, village head Chen Sheng felt that this was the source of his confidence! Look at them, and then look at his own son, oh my, it's really infuriating to compare yourself to others!
Now, he has broadened his horizons. His family has a good scholar, but it is still not as good as the one who descended from the God of Literature. He doesn't ask for much. As long as he can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, he will thank God and his ancestors!
He Yingyuan was also helpless. Should he confess that the autumn imperial examination would be postponed? What was the reason? Naturally, it was the "solar eclipse" that would occur in a few days!
So, when the autumn imperial examination was fast approaching, and everyone realized that the person in charge didn't seem worried at all, they started to get a little worried!
He Yingyuan was touched by everyone's concern for him. In his previous life, he had always been alone and his life during the provincial examination was miserable. Fortunately, Luo Huan accompanied him. The two of them ate vegetable pancakes all the way to the prefectural capital. They sold calligraphy and paintings in the prefectural capital to earn money for their journey. Unexpectedly, they encountered a solar eclipse, which was rare in decades, and the provincial examination was postponed until the spring of the following year.
But who would buy the calligraphy and paintings of impoverished students? Hungry and cold, the two decided to return to He County to regroup, and unexpectedly encountered that person.
By sheer coincidence, the man happened to see himself debating with a group of scholars at the entrance of the academy. He was impressed by the man's knowledge and the rest of the story unfolded naturally. The man became the man's confidant and followed him as he fought his way through the north, achieving victory after victory. It wasn't until the man rose to the highest position and revealed his true colors that the man he had supported turned out to be a hypocrite.
If possible, He Yingyuan would rather never see him again in this lifetime, at least not at this time...
His thoughts were forcibly pulled back, and he thought that he shouldn't let the people who cared about him worry. In this life, he had to shoulder a lot more, but he was happy to accept it.
“Hongying, I know what you’re worried about, but the autumn examination is still more than half a month away! I plan to go a day early after the Mid-Autumn Festival. We have a carriage, so even if we go a day early, it won’t be a problem.”
Seeing that he understood, Liao Hongying was relieved and turned to tell the others about it, telling them not to worry, that her husband was thinking of spending the Mid-Autumn Festival at home! For some reason, since fleeing from the war, people have become much more humane than before. They are not in a hurry to prepare for the exam in order to reunite with their families, which would never have happened before.
However, Qin San Niang wondered if it would be difficult to find accommodation if she went to the prefectural city right before the exam.
He Yingyuan smiled and said that there are short-term rental rooms in the city for candidates from other places. Although the accommodation is definitely tight, there are still quite a few short-term rental rooms available.
Upon hearing this, Qin San Niang understood. It was similar to a guesthouse in later times, where one's own house was partitioned off for rent. One could earn a considerable amount of rent during the autumn imperial examinations, which was a side business for the residents of the prefectural city!
This put the others at ease.
The family then began busily harvesting the sorghum. Sorghum truly lives up to its reputation as a very easy crop to grow, with a yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) far exceeding that of rice, yielding about three shi (a Chinese unit of dry measure) per mu. Of course, it can't compare to the harvest of Qin San Niang's time, but for the peasants of Da Sheng, this was a bumper harvest!
With a bumper harvest of sorghum, Qin Sanniang bought another batch from the village at the same price as the grain store in town, saving the villagers the cost of transportation. Why not?
The villagers happily sold half of their sorghum to them, while the other half would be their food supply for the next six months!
Brewing wine requires a lot of sorghum, and based on the principle that the more the better, Qin Sanniang asked Gu Qingshan to buy some from the neighboring village. The farmers there were naturally very happy, as they could make a sale without leaving their village. Everyone eagerly sold their sorghum to them.
In the past, there were also merchants who bought grain and went to villages such as Shiligou to buy grain. However, the price was low, even lower than that of the grain shops. In addition to the cost of the journey, they also made a profit from the price difference. Without these profits, who would work so hard to do this?
Qin San Niang didn't care about the few coins; she was buying sorghum for greater profits.
She stored the sorghum in her own cellar, secretly threw some into her spatial storage, and kept the rest in the workshop for easy access.
She wasn't worried about it being stolen. Now that Old Man Lu had taken on the task of guarding the workshop, Qin San Niang simply hired him. The two exchanged pleasantries and finally agreed on a wage of twenty copper coins a day.
Now that he was officially the gatekeeper, Old Man Lu devoted himself entirely to the workshop, patrolling it two or three times a night. Even though Aunt Qin told him that he didn't need to stand guard at night after locking the door, since there was a patrol team in the village, it couldn't stop him from his usual routine of getting up to patrol.
According to him, as people get older, they need less sleep! Getting up and moving around helps them sleep better!
Seeing this, Qin Sanniang realized that this couldn't be a long-term solution. They couldn't just keep feeding the other people, especially since the amount of sorghum and alcohol would gradually increase, requiring more guards. So she asked Chen Ming's father for help again. He wasn't part of the patrol team, not because he wasn't diligent, but because he was over the age limit.
When Chen Ming's father heard that he had been selected to work in the workshop, he was overjoyed. The whole family was happy for him. Now, the Chen family's life is getting better and better, all thanks to Da Wa's mother!
Old Man Lu and Uncle Chen Ming worked together well. Old Man Lu was shrewd and eloquent, while Uncle Chen Ming was an honest and upright man. Over time, the two developed feelings for each other, and the children and women of both families also became close to each other.
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