Chapter 181: Well-versed in the Way of the Go
Zhou Lang was slightly stunned. "Is this possible? Didn't they say that I have to wait three years before I can continue to take the exam?"
"Theoretically, it's not possible, but I can recommend you. You are the top student this year. We have a rule in Dayu that if a noble person makes an exception to recommend you, you can continue to take the exam for the scholar in advance. My uncle is the top Hanlin, Cui Hanlin. I'll ask him to let you take the exam this year. It's okay."
Zhou Lang's mind suddenly became active.
He thought about it and then bowed to County Magistrate Cui, "I would like to thank Lord Cui and Mr. Cui Hanlin first."
No need to wait three years!
If they could be in the same class of scholars as Zhou Qinan, their chances of winning would be even greater.
County Magistrate Cui laughed, "Okay, okay."
Then, he asked Zhou Lang, "You have made great contributions this time. What reward do you want?"
Zhou Lang said modestly, "It's all Lord Cui's blessing. I don't dare to take credit for it. Besides, Lord Cui recommended me to take the scholar examination, and I am already very grateful."
Finally, Magistrate Cui forced two hundred taels of silver into Zhou Lang's hands, saying that, apart from anything else, he had made great contributions by discovering the silver mine, so he was giving him two hundred taels of silver for the purpose of taking the imperial examination.
Seeing this, Zhou Lang did not refuse.
Received it.
Take it back and give it to your wife, and put it in the concentric lock space for future use.
Then, Zhou Lang asked about how Wan Sanniang was dealt with.
Lord Cui suddenly coughed lightly, "I intend to let Wan Sanniang return to the capital with my uncle, but Sanniang doesn't want to. She wants to stay by my side as a maid. I am still considering it."
Zhou Lang didn't say anything more.
Mr. Cui then recommended Zhou Lang to Mr. Cui.
At first, Cui Lao Hanlin did not believe that Zhou Lang's knowledge was enough to pass the exam. He thought that it was nothing special for a country boy to win the first place in the exam. How could he have participated in the autumn examination of the scholar in the same year?
I was afraid that recommending the wrong person would affect his reputation.
However, County Magistrate Cui asked Cui Hanlin to test Zhou Lang's knowledge on the spot.
In order to keep his nephew's feelings, Cui Hanlin asked a few simple questions, but he didn't expect Zhou Lang to be able to answer them.
Later, Cui Hanlin was moved by his love for talent and wrote a letter of recommendation to Zhou Lang on the spot. There were still three months left before he could take the examination for the scholar, so he asked Zhou Lang to go back and study hard and polish his skills.
Zhou Lang thanked him.
After returning home, Zhou Lang talked about the Autumn Examination with Lin Shiqi.
Lin Shiqi said, "There is such a good thing? It's great! But, dog Zhou Lang, are you able to do it? There are only three months left before the Autumn Examination."
"Don't believe me?" Zhou Lang raised his eyebrows.
"Believe it, believe it!" Lin Shiqi laughed.
Zhou Lang added, "The fact that I am taking part in the Autumn Examination cannot be spread to others for the time being. I will tell you when I pass the exam."
"good."
Originally, the couple were both low-key people.
Well versed in the art of survival.
***
The weather is getting hotter.
Tofu shops no longer work during the day. They get up early in the night and make tofu before the roosters crow.
I work all morning and rest during the day.
It's very hot.
The bean dregs in the house also ferment quickly and will go bad soon. In the past, it was not so bad in winter because some poor families would buy more at one time and eat them for a few days at home. But now it is not possible anymore because they cannot be stored and so they buy less.
If you can’t sell it, give it to friends and relatives.
The villagers were tired of eating this stuff. Finally, Mrs. Zhou suggested raising a few more pigs. This way, they could feed the pigs and eat more pork during the New Year. The leftover meat could be sold.
So, the Zhou family bought a few piglets, a dozen chickens, and raised a big yellow dog to guard the house.
I also fed a few geese.
Old man Zhou also bought a cow.
The family had quite a bit of savings, so the old couple went to a pawnbroker to look for some good fields.
He also bought dozens of acres of land.
With the current price of land, an acre of good land is worth more than ten taels of silver.
For country people, land is their foundation.
Even if they no longer do tofu business in the future, the Zhou family will still be one of the most wealthy families in Taohua Village.
There is no need to worry about having many children and grandchildren at home. When the old couple are gone in the future and the family is divided, everyone can get a share of the land and will not starve to death.
These are all great happy events for the Zhou family.
Ruan's health has also improved a lot.
In the hot summer, Lin Shiqi was tinkering with her ice jelly again and made several flavors of ice jelly.
There are watermelon flavor, mugwort flavor, and raspberry flavor.
There were many wild fruits in the mountains. After the mountain goddess made water emerge from the earth's core, it rained two months later, and the crops in the fields and the trees in the mountains all grew vigorously.
Lin Shiqi often took the little mute girl up the mountain to pick fruits and play.
Xiao Ya Niang and her classmates go to school on a day basis. They finish school early and can return home in time for dinner. In the summer, the days are long and the nights are short, so they can go to the mountains several times.
It’s cool in the mountains, and the watermelon is frozen in the spring water, which works like a refrigerator. One bite will make you feel refreshed all over.
The ice jelly made by Lin Shiqi is also very popular.
She initially made it for her family for free, mainly to take short videos and upload them.
Later, she was welcomed by everyone. Her family members and even the people who came to work looked forward to her bowl of cold ice jelly every day.
Mrs. Zhou felt very distressed when she saw this.
How much raw material is needed? If our family eats it all, it would be a waste. It’s okay to eat it occasionally, but how can we eat it every day?
It would be better to find a way to change some silver.
So he asked Zhou Laoer to deliver several flavors of ice jelly to Xu's business when he delivered tofu in the morning.
He said he wanted to give it to Manager Xu to try.
The next day, Zhou Laoer came back to say that Manager Xu wanted to buy this kind of ice jelly and came to politely ask the price.
The ice jelly made by Lin Shiqi is not worth anything at all.
Just have hands.
We said it was free and sent a few buckets to Xu's Company every day to help them cool down, and told them to chill it in well water before eating it, so that it would taste better.
As a result, Manager Xu was a kind man, so he paid her with the money for half a pound of tofu.
Mrs. Zhou was so happy that her mouth was crooked.
She saw how Lin Shiqi made ice jelly. It was not half as complicated as tofu, but it could be sold at half the price of tofu.
The fourth son’s wife really has a pair of skillful hands!
Really good.
When summer arrived, the Zhou family did something big.
It's just digging a big cellar to store things.
There was a small cellar before, which was dug casually. It was not very useful and could not hold much things.
It has now expanded several times and is clearly divided into different areas.
They also dug an escape tunnel so that if the village was attacked by bandits, they could escape to the mountains through the escape tunnel.
Of course, we don’t hope to need it that day, but we can only say that it’s better to be prepared.
The large cellar was well built, cool and ventilated. On hot days, grain, vegetables, fruits and melons could be stored in it, extending their shelf life.
Digged it in the backyard.
For safety reasons, the backyard wall was also reinforced.
It was made by pasting big stones and yellow mud together to make it wider and higher.
It is very sturdy, more than one person tall, and covered with densely-pointed tiles to prevent bad guys from climbing over the wall.
After the cellar was built, Mrs. Zhou increased the amount of moldy tofu. Fresh tofu was not easy to preserve and transport in the hot summer, so she increased the amount of moldy tofu. It was very convenient to make moldy tofu in the cellar, and the quality of the moldy tofu was also better.
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