Chapter 3120 Take the Middle
After some investigation, he met with several people who had good academic performance and good character but came from average or poor families, and persuaded them to study while working in the county government.
Isn’t it great to earn money to support yourself in your studies and also to supplement your family income?
Although they are poor, those who can still study must be from families that are not that bad at best. If their families are really poor, those who can still continue to study in the county school must be people with great perseverance. Such people have a better chance of success and naturally know how to choose what is better for themselves.
Believe it or not, Bai Shan actually convinced three people.
He felt instantly refreshed.
The county examination in Luojiang County is held earlier, just when the weather is getting warmer here and the busy farming season is about to begin.
This was the first time in many years that Zhou Lizhong entered the examination room to take an exam. Even though he had done the test paper privately according to the examination room rules as his aunt and uncle had instructed, he was still very nervous when he actually sat in the examination room.
He swallowed and pressed his chest, feeling that he was too nervous, so he took out a medicine bag and put it in front of his nose to smell it.
He inhaled a refreshing scent from his nose, and his mind became clear. He took two deep breaths and slowly calmed down. Then he put the medicine bag aside and looked down at the paper in his hand.
The county magistrate in charge of the exam swept his sharp gaze over the students seated below. Seeing the medicine bag Zhou Lizhong had put down, he walked over, bent down, picked it up, and sniffed it...
County Magistrate: ...
He felt refreshed and in high spirits. He glanced down at Zhou Lizhong and saw that he was answering questions and didn't notice his arrival at all. He twitched his lips, put down the medicine bag and went to see other students.
By noon, the exam was over. Zhou Lizhong nervously flipped through the paper again to make sure he had written down everything he could, and that it was quite complete. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and respectfully handed in the paper.
After leaving the county government office, the students sitting behind him and on his left and right immediately surrounded him, grabbed him and asked, "What did you hold in the exam room just now?"
Zhou Lizhong took out the medicine bag and asked, "Are you talking about this?"
One person quickly took it and smelled it like Zhou Lizhong did, and his eyes immediately widened.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? I seem to smell a fragrance. Is this a sachet? Why not make it into a sachet? It looks too cheap to sew it with just gauze."
Zhou Lizhong: "I just packed it in casually. My needlework is not very good, so I can't make a sachet."
"Where's your wife?"
"She's in the capital," Zhou Lizhong said, "She's the imperial physician. How could she have time to come back with me for the exam?"
Everyone: ...
The three suppressed their jealousy and sadness, while another quickly grabbed the medicine bag and said, "Let me smell it..."
With just one breath, his eyes widened.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Let me smell it..."
"It's a good thing to clear your mind and refresh your brain. What is this?"
"Mint," one person said, "You can tell there's mint just by smelling the refreshing smell."
Zhou Lizhong said, "It's a refreshing medicine pack. My aunt prescribed it for me. She said I can smell it if I'm nervous about the exam or feel dizzy."
"I just feel dizzy. Brother Zhou, do you still have this medicine bag?"
Zhou Lizhong nodded and said, "Yes, I made quite a few when I prepared them before. If you need them, I'll get you a pack later. But most of them are left at home, so there's not much here."
"Fortunately, the exam only lasts half a day in the afternoon, which is enough."
The three of them were about to cry and couldn't help asking Zhou Lizhong, "How did you answer this morning?"
The Zhou family was always confident. Zhou Man had grown up following him closely, so Zhou Lizhong was naturally confident as well. He thought carefully about his answer and felt that there was no big problem. He nodded and said, "I think my writing is good, but the handwriting is a little ugly. I basically answered everything I could."
At this time, the doctor of the county school and the county magistrate were reviewing the papers. Zhou Lizhong's paper was pulled out. The doctor looked at it one by one and curled his lips.
The county magistrate saw this and asked, "Why? Your answer was so bad?" Then it would be difficult to use the back door.
The doctor said disdainfully: "It's okay, the calligraphy here got five questions right and two wrong, but the handwriting is too ugly."
If we only talk about right and wrong, Zhou Lizhong's mistake is actually not that outrageous. He obviously mixed it up, because both articles mentioned it and the sentence structure was similar, so he made the mistake.
"But his Mo Yi is completely correct." This was beyond the doctors' expectations.
The county magistrate went to see and found that Mo Yi was right. His eyes flickered and he said with a smile, "Let's take a look at his policy proposal."
The doctor then took out his policy paper.
In fact, the requirements for the county examination are not that strict. Although it is called a policy essay, there are not many requirements for literary talent. After all, it is just an official in the county government, and too much literary talent would be inappropriate.
There are not even strict requirements on the length of the article. Although it is called a policy essay, it is actually just asking some common sense about government affairs and citing case studies to ask questions about government affairs.
Zhou Lizhong was not a literary talent, but policy essays were still his strong point.
Because his younger aunt was a compiler, his younger uncle had been a Hanlin and a Zhongshu Sheren, and his wife was an imperial physician, his understanding of some government affairs was much deeper than that of ordinary students. Moreover, at his younger uncle's request, he had read their official documents many times before and knew how to write them. He even knew what the most urgent issues of the court were. His knowledge was not much worse than that of the officials in the county government.
After reading it through, the doctor raised his eyebrows and handed it to the county magistrate.
The county magistrate was overjoyed and immediately said, "Great! It's approved. It can be classified as top-grade."
The other doctors came over to take a look. Although they nodded slightly, they still said, "The handwriting is terrible. Points should be deducted."
"There are two mistakes in the scripture, so it shouldn't be rated as top grade." Everyone went to see the county magistrate quietly. Although he understood the scriptures, he was rated as top grade. Isn't it too obvious that he is trying to curry favor with the county magistrate?
An elderly doctor stroked his beard and said seriously, "Medium is the most suitable."
The county magistrate said: "...his policy proposal is really good."
"Is there no better essay than his?" The old doctor flipped through a pile of papers and pulled out two to show the county magistrate. "The essays in these two papers are not inferior to his, and even have a bit of literary talent. The calligraphy is also flawless, and the handwriting is even more beautiful. If Zhou Li re-determines the top grade, then how should these two be rated?"
"Yes, how can Zhou Lizhong be of the same caliber as them?"
County Magistrate: "...Okay, then medium is fine."
He's just an official, and he's a member of the Zhou family. What's wrong with turning a blind eye?
Forget it, forget it. In order to avoid public outrage, and since the Zhou family hasn’t said hello to him, let’s just go by the actual results.
Zhou Lizhong was temporarily classified as middle-grade, but there was a numerology test in the afternoon, which was also very important.
The county magistrate was worried that he was biased in his studies, but who knew that he was really biased, but not in calligraphy and essays, but in numerology!
Although Zhou Lizhong's handwriting was still extremely ugly, he answered all the questions correctly, even the accounts given. The county magistrate laughed and looked at the others. This subject was rated as top-notch.
But when both sides were added together, he was still only in the upper middle position, ranking fifth. Oh, this time the county government recruited twelve officials, including yamen clerks, messenger clerks, and prison clerks.
The yamen clerks and jailers were ranked at the back by the crowd. What everyone wanted most was to be a clerk, because this was mainly the clerks and minor officials in the household office, criminal department, and work room, followed by the yamen clerks and finally the jailers.
(End of this chapter)
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