When Zhang heard that her eldest son had passed the exam while her second son had not, she felt a mix of joy and sorrow.
Wang's two sons failed the exam, which made her somewhat disappointed, but not too disheartened.
Xiao Yunying had already subtly reminded her and the children that reading is about the process, and knowledge requires a long period of learning, understanding, accumulation, and refinement.
In just one month, I learned barely the basics.
The main purpose of sending them to take the exam was to let them experience the difficulty level of the questions at Yunshan Academy and give them a general idea of the difficulty.
Yunshan Academy was not a primary school for enlightenment. It is good if you pass the exam, but there is no need to be upset if you don't.
Xiao Yunying spread the letter on the table and said, "Fang Rou, your two sons' grades are about the same, ranking in the middle to lower range. Sister-in-law, Chunlei's grades are at the bottom, and he barely made it into the university."
This was all thanks to Chen Yuancheng, who had someone send over past exam questions and highlighted the key points based on his own experience.
It was also Chen Yuancheng who suggested that Luo Chen and Luo Yang each create a set of test questions based on their own guesses, which they then taught to the other children in the past few days as a result of their intensive study.
They guessed many of the exam questions correctly, and their good score can be largely attributed to luck.
Without Chen Yuancheng's focus on key points and the predictions from the Luo brothers, even the Yang brothers probably wouldn't have passed the exam.
Madam Wang spoke first: "We were prepared for this long ago. It doesn't matter if we don't get into Yunshan Academy; we can study at other schools."
Luo Chen, standing to the side, said, "Chunming and the others are still young. They can study at another school for a year first, and then take the exam for Yunshan Academy next year."
Having figured things out, Zhang stopped feeling sorry for her second son and asked curiously, "Yunying, how did your three children do on their exams?"
Xiao Yunying said nonchalantly, "It's alright."
Wang pressed on, "What ranking?"
Seeing that she couldn't escape this topic, Xiao Yunying said helplessly, "Of the nearly three hundred people taking the exam, only the top one hundred will be accepted. Luo Chen is ranked twelfth, Luo Yang is ranked eighth, and Luo Li is also ranked last, ninety-first."
Zhang exclaimed, "How can you call them 'just okay'? These kids are extraordinary. Luo Li is still young, but after a couple of years of schooling, he might even be more learned than his two older brothers."
Xiao Yunying really wanted to complain, this is going to be a disaster.
She thought that even in ten years, Luo Li would not be as good as Luo Chen and Luo Yang.
It's not that Luo Li is stupid, but that the child's attention is not on reading at all.
If you ask him to do something else, he'll be incredibly clever.
Moreover, if she wasn't mistaken, the Luo brothers, Chen and Yang, were definitely hiding their true strength.
Especially for Luo Yang, with his extraordinary intelligence, only getting eighth place is really a bit low.
In front of the child, Xiao Yunying was too embarrassed to say what was on her mind, lest she hurt the child's self-esteem. She nodded and smiled, saying, "I hope so."
She carefully recounted the details Chen Yuancheng had mentioned in his letter, including when to go to the academy for the apprenticeship ceremony, what to prepare, tuition fees, and so on.
Upon learning the results of their children's college entrance exams, the group was in a hurry to return home to tell their families. They didn't linger, exchanged a few words, and then left.
In the evening, Xiao Yunying cooked six dishes and a soup as a small celebration for the children.
As Luo Xin ate the food Xiao Yunying had put on her plate, she suddenly remembered something: "Mother, what will I do when my brothers go to the academy to study?"
Xiao Yunying lowered her head and said, "Why don't you stay home and keep your mother company?"
Luo Xin breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's great, Xin'er doesn't have to leave her mother."
Xiao Yunying picked up a custard bun for her: "You're still too young. If you want to learn anything, you'll have to grow up a bit more."
"good."
Xiao Yunying asked the children what they thought: "Our home is quite far from Yunshan Academy, and it takes a lot of time to go back and forth every day. Yuancheng said that we can live in the academy, and each person can pay an extra 300 coins per month. Food and lodging are provided. What do you think?"
Luo Chen and Luo Yang exchanged a glance, understanding each other's meaning without any further communication.
Luo Chen said, "We don't live in the academy."
The three of them will have to pay an extra nine hundred coins each month.
Although the family is not short of money now, they have not forgotten how difficult the days were before, and they try to save as much as they can for their mother.
Xiao Yunying calculated the time; the carriage was faster than the oxcart, and it would still take half an hour to go round trip.
"Won't this be too tiring, and leave less time for rest?"
Luo Yang said, "We're not afraid of being tired. Didn't Mother say that we should balance work and rest? Let's just treat it as exercise. Besides, it's not that far. Getting up an hour earlier each day is enough for us."
Luo Li frowned, and the food on the table no longer tasted good.
It takes an hour to walk there and back, so it takes two hours. He had to walk for two hours every day, and his legs were ruined.
But his older brothers both said there was no problem, so he didn't dare to have any objections.
Xiao Yunying smiled and said, "Get up an hour earlier? You don't think I'm telling you to walk there, do you?"
Luo Chen stammered, "No...isn't that right?"
Xiao Yunying had almost finished eating and put down her chopsticks.
"Walking for two hours every day on mountain paths, do you think your legs will ever be able to keep going?"
Let alone the fact that they are just eight or nine-year-old children, with a six-year-old named Luo Li in tow, even adults would find it hard to walk like this every day.
She thought for a moment and then said, "We can only buy farmhands and carriages after our new courtyard is built, otherwise we'll have nowhere to live."
"You'll be going to have your apprenticeship ceremony at the beginning of next month. Before you buy a carriage, you'll need to trouble Yuan Cheng to lend you his carriage for transportation."
The weather was still cold, and the oxcart had no shade. She couldn't bear to see her children exposed to the cold wind, so she had no choice but to shamelessly ask Chen Yuancheng for a shelter.
Just as Luo Yang was about to say something, Luo Li beside him said happily, "That's great, we don't have to walk anymore."
Xiao Yunying joked, "With your short legs, your older brothers can get here in an hour, but it will probably take you two hours."
Luo Li blushed and said, "I will grow up and become tall."
Xiao Yunying coaxed him, "Yes, he's tall, taller than your older brothers."
Seeing his younger brother's happy expression, Luo Yang didn't say anything to refuse.
He could endure the hardship of walking the mountain path by himself, but he couldn't bear to let his younger brother suffer with him.
With the carriage issue resolved, she had her mother prepare the long gowns and school bags for the other children to wear to the academy well in advance.
As for tuition fees, common gifts include wine, dried meat, and grain.
She planned to prepare a small jar of wine, a string of homemade dried sausages, and some homemade snacks for each of the children.
It has its own unique characteristics without going too far. I hope the teachers at Yunshan Academy can treat the children kindly, considering the tuition fees.
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