Shen Qing was already queuing up in front of the examination hall early in the morning, with four other candidates next to him. If any one of them made a mistake, the other four would be implicated. Therefore, they nervously began to check each other, afraid that something might go wrong.
Dan Yan lifted Song Kun's shirt and touched him, exclaiming in surprise, "Song Kun, why are you wearing so many layers of clothing?"
Song Kun scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "My mother said it was very cold in the examination room and there was no sun, so she told me to wear more layers."
“We’ll have to check everyone before we go in. With all these layers, how long will it take you to take them off? You might as well just wear a thick layer.” Shan Yan frowned, her tone full of complaint.
Song Kun looked annoyed. "Oh dear, it's my fault, how could I forget something like this?"
Dan Yan sighed and reached out to help Song Kun untie the belt of his clothes. "Take off the belt now so we don't waste time later."
The five huddled together, warily observing their surroundings. They themselves wouldn't carry cheat sheets, but it's always wise to be cautious. Some people, knowing their own incompetence, resort to underhanded tactics, slipping cheat sheets into others' hands or even drugging them, attempting to drag others into the scheme through shady dealings. Such examples have been common in previous years.
Shen Qinghe, in particular, was so learned that he aroused jealousy. If someone used a trick on him, his partner would also be implicated. Therefore, they were all extra careful.
After all the students had been questioned and searched to confirm their identities, they stood neatly in the courtyard, waiting for the examiner's instructions. The instructions were nothing more than some precautions for the exam, such as not cheating, not whispering, and not bringing prohibited items.
After the speech, the students picked up their number tags and found their seats according to the instructions.
The county examination was divided into five sessions. The first session was the main session, which was of utmost importance. The second session was the initial review, the third session was the second review, and the fourth and fifth sessions were consecutive reviews. All of these sessions required the submission of papers on the same day.
Looking at the exam paper in front of him, even though he already had the answers in his mind, Shen Qinghe still dared not be careless in the slightest. He was completely focused and extremely careful with every stroke of his pen. Apart from writing the words, he dared not even touch the ink.
Time passed by, and Meng Zhao and Gu Shi had sold out of the pastries they brought. "Zhao Zhao, how about I go to the teahouse and get some more pastries? There are more people now, maybe we can sell more."
Meng Zhao shook his head. "Mother, we're mainly here today to accompany my second brother during his exam, not to do business. Going to the teahouse would take a lot of time and be too much trouble. Let's just sell these pork cracklings."
The children who sold pork cracklings to Meng Zhao also gathered around, centered on Meng Zhao's stall, hawking the pork cracklings. When they were sold out, they would come over and ask Meng Zhao to pack a few more bags for them.
As the exam drew to a close, Gu became increasingly nervous, muttering to herself, "I wonder if the pancakes I brought will be enough for Qinghe. I heard that if you're unlucky, you might be assigned to a spot next to the outhouse, where the smell is so strong that you can't even write your paper properly. And last year, there was a student who couldn't finish his exam and tore up the paper of the student next to him... Sigh, I can't relax until Qinghe comes out."
Finally, at Shenshi (3-5 PM), the examination hall doors slowly opened, and candidates began to emerge one after another. At first, most of them wore happy expressions and walked briskly, clearly having done well. But the later candidates came out, the more unpleasant their faces became; some even had disheveled hair, red eyes, and walked out crying.
Meng Zhao tiptoed, her eyes searching through the crowd. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she waved and called out, "Second brother! Shen Qinghe! He's here!"
Madam Gu also spotted Shen Qinghe and quickly waved, "Qinghe! Over here!"
Shen Qing walked out of the examination room with a calm expression, not thinking about the exams that had already been taken, but focusing on the four exams to come.
As soon as he stepped out the door, he heard familiar voices. Looking up, he saw his mother and sister-in-law. His eyes instantly filled with smiles, brimming with undisguised joy. "Mother, sister-in-law, we don't live far apart, why did you come to pick me up?"
Seeing his relaxed expression, Meng Zhao felt relieved. "We were worried just staying at home, so we decided to wait outside the exam hall. We didn't just wait idly; we also sold some pork cracklings, and business was pretty good."
Shen Qinghe then noticed the stall next to him, and seeing that there were still some pork cracklings left on it, he said, "Let's sell the rest and go back together."
"No need, pork cracklings can be sold anytime. You should go back and rest. Besides, everyone coming out now is a candidate. If they get sick after eating, it will be hard to explain to us."
After picking up Shen Qinghe, Meng Zhao called the children to walk back together. On the way, Gu Shi opened Shen Qinghe's bundle, frowned, and asked, "Qinghe, why didn't you eat the meat pie I brought you?"
"I was afraid of getting food on the exam paper and also afraid of messing up my thoughts. Since it was only one day anyway, I figured that being hungry would actually make my mind clearer."
Upon hearing this, Gu's face immediately showed a look of heartache. She opened her mouth to say something, but Meng Zhao quickly took over, smiling and saying, "Alright, alright, Mother, as long as Qinghe understands. Don't worry, I'll make him some delicious food when I get home, and I promise he'll eat his fill."
Back in the courtyard, Meng Zhao first told Shen Qinghe to go back to sleep, and then asked the others in the courtyard to be quiet. She personally went to the kitchen to cook a few dishes for him, worried that he hadn't eaten lunch and that eating too much oily food at night would be bad for his stomach. So she didn't dare to cook anything fried or spicy, focusing on something light. Once the dishes were ready, she asked Shen Qingze to call him for dinner.
After resting for a while, Shen Qinghe felt much better. Looking at the steamed eggs, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, steamed winter melon with meat, assorted shrimp, and cabbage, egg and tofu soup on the table, he knew they were all his favorite dishes and were clearly Meng Zhao's creations.
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