During the first month of the lunar calendar, Meng Zhao received a whole basketful of invitations, all because of Shen Qing and the matter of becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination. Qing Shi County was a small place, and only a few people could pass the imperial examination each year. Moreover, it had not produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) for many years.
Shen Qinghe, a peasant boy with no background, was personally selected by the emperor in the main hall in the twenty-seventh year of Yongning as the top scholar of the imperial examination. In addition, he also ranked first in the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination, becoming the first person in the history of Zhengan Dynasty to achieve the triple crown.
In an instant, the name Shen Qinghe spread throughout the country, making him a celebrity in everyone's eyes.
As the place where Shen Qinghe was born and raised, Qingshi County also benefited greatly and became very famous. When the village head of Shenjia Village received the news, he was so excited that he fainted. After waking up, he hurriedly organized people to build a shrine for Shen Qinghe.
Fortunately, Shen Qinghe had anticipated this and sent a message back saying that the imperial court advocated frugality and that if he became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he would have to carry out large-scale construction in the village, which would inevitably cause controversy. The village head then gave up the idea and only sent people to repair the existing ancestral hall in the village.
However, the banquet lasted for seven whole days, and people from the surrounding villages also came to join in the fun, just like celebrating the New Year.
Everyone in the county was eagerly waiting for Shen Qinghe to return home so they could take the opportunity to build connections. However, after waiting and waiting, Shen Qinghe did not return. After inquiring, they learned that he had not returned home because the journey was too long and he was in a hurry to take up his post.
Now that's a problem, they can't find anyone to give gifts to, so they have to find another way. First, they sent the gifts to Gu's family. The Gu family naturally took the hint and refused to accept anything. Then they turned their attention to Meng Zhao. Everyone says that merchants are profit-driven. Could it be that she can also stay at home like the Gu family?
So ever since Meng Zhao returned from outside, invitations have been pouring in like raindrops. She originally intended to announce to the public that she and Shen Qing'an had divorced, but considering that Shen Qing'an had just become the top scholar in the imperial examination, it would inevitably cause some rumors if such news spread from her side, so she did not make it public.
As for the invitations, Meng Zhao did not refuse them all. Apart from those who were completely unrelated or who were obviously looking for favors, Meng Zhao would attend the invitations from those he already knew or from local gentry and wealthy families with good reputations, depending on the circumstances.
After all, business people value connections the most. If you don't give others face, they won't give you face when things go wrong in the future.
Because of this relationship, Meng Zhao's business has been going smoothly lately, and no one dares to cause her any trouble. It can be considered a reward for the good deeds she did for the Shen family.
Just now, another letter arrived from the capital. Meng Zhao opened and read them one by one. The first one was from the Gu family, which described many recent changes in their lives.
Unlike the original book, after Shen Qinghe became the top scholar, he did not suffer any setbacks. Instead, he and the second and third place scholars entered the Hanlin Academy smoothly and served as compilers.
The position of Hanlin Academy Compiler is a seventh-rank official position, which is only considered a lower-middle rank among officials in the capital. It should be noted that many second-class Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) can get a sixth-rank official position when they are first appointed. However, such positions are mostly far away from the capital. If no one is in the capital to manage them, they will be forgotten in no time. They need to accumulate seniority and political achievements before they have a chance to return to the capital.
However, those who served in the Hanlin Academy were indeed working under the emperor, and most of the Grand Secretaries in the court today came from the Hanlin Academy. In terms of career prospects, the difference was like night and day.
No matter how promising the future may be, it cannot stop the meager salary. Shen Qinghe's current monthly salary is eight shi (a unit of dry measure), which is about four or five taels of silver. In a small place, this would be enough to buy a lot of things and support a family. However, in the capital, it is a bit of a stretch, and he can't even rent a courtyard.
Fortunately, the Gu family's shop in the capital had already opened. Although she couldn't help out at the shop every day due to her status, seeing the thriving business there gave her something to do.
As for the two children's letters, they were much more ordinary: "Sister, there's a stall in the capital that sells chicken biscuits. They're so crispy and soft that the two of us can eat several at once."
“Sister, Second Brother keeps us at home reading every day and doesn’t allow us to go out. We don’t even have a chance to go out and find out about the shops in the capital for you.”
When Meng Zhao went to the capital last time, he assigned the two younger ones a task: to help find out which shops in the capital were famous, what they sold, and what their signs were. The two of them did a great job and always managed to bring Meng Zhao a lot of information.
"Sister, I'm eating a lot now and growing taller fast. If you don't come to see me soon, I'll be taller than you by the next time we meet!"
These words were clearly written by Shen Qingze. Meng Zhao snorted coldly. He really knew how to rub salt in the wound. Her height stopped at 172 cm. No matter how much she ate or exercised in the past year or two, she had stopped growing.
Meng Zhao narrowed her eyes, annoyed with herself, so she put down the letter, took out a blank booklet, and carefully wrote down many arithmetic problems, even marking them with Shen Qingze's special words.
Knowing that these questions wouldn't stump Shen Qingyu, she added a note in her reply to Shen Qingyu, telling her not to help, but to supervise Shen Qingyu's completion of the booklet and hand it in for inspection. Thinking about the hidden traps she had set in the questions, Meng Zhao felt satisfied. Hehe, time to scratch her head.
As for Shen Qinghe, she hasn't written to him since she got the hairpin back. Meng Zhao sighed. Love really is a troublesome thing. If it weren't for that unpleasant matter, she wouldn't need to avoid him now.
Picking up the intelligence her two children had gathered for her again, Meng Zhao was very tempted by the description of the capital city in the letter. People always strive for better things, and she was determined to go to the capital. Therefore, the most important thing this year was not to make money, but to stabilize her current business and find someone who could take over for her.
So she made two more trips to the Shenjia Village school. The boys, if they had any hope, didn't want to go out to work so early. After all, which family didn't want to produce someone like Shen Qinghe?
Therefore, Meng Zhao mostly chose older girls. From the time they entered school, they heard the village head and teacher tell them about Meng Zhao's kindness. Their families also talked about them every day, urging them to learn more from Meng Zhao. So after coming to Meng Zhao's side, they were all exceptionally motivated. They could read and write. With Meng Zhao by their side, he would assign them some tasks to do on a daily basis, and they did a very good job.
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