"Don't stand there, sit down."
After Wen's mother put the bowl of medicine on the small table beside the bed, she hurried to get them a stool.
Yang Huaijin hurried over to stop her, "Aunt, please stop busying yourself. We are just here to see Brother Wen and will leave soon."
"Leaving? Aren't you staying for dinner?" asked Wen's mother.
Liu Jia smiled and said, "Aunt, Brother Yang has passed the imperial examination and will probably go back to celebrate with his family. We won't keep him here."
"Did you pass the exam? Oh my, that's great news!" Wen's mother happily congratulated him several times.
Yang Huaijin laughed and scratched his head. "I'm just lucky. This is all thanks to Brother Wen's help. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have gotten such a good score."
"By the way, Auntie, here is some silver. Take it and use it to improve Brother Wen's food."
As Yang Huaijin spoke, he stuffed a stack of silver and money into Wen's mother's pocket.
A thick stack.
Everyone present was surprised when they saw it.
But Wen's mother refused to accept it: "No, no, Third Young Master Yang, you have helped us a lot, I can't accept this, please take it back..."
As the two pushed and shoved, the banknotes scattered on the ground.
Many of them fell at the feet of several students present. Upon closer inspection, they found that the banknotes were worth one hundred taels each.
That thick stack must be worth at least several thousand taels, right?
Why would it cost so much money to improve the food?
Liu Jia and others helped pick up the banknotes and handed them to Wen's mother, but she still refused to accept them.
"Good boy, I know you have good intentions, but you shouldn't accept anything without merit. Please take back this banknote. We absolutely cannot accept it."
Wen Shijie also spoke at this time: "Yes, Brother Yang, I appreciate your kindness, but if you still consider me a brother, then take back the banknote."
"Brother Wen, I don't mean anything else, it's just..."
"I know."
Wen Shijie interrupted Yang Huaijin with a wry smile on his face: "I know you don't mean anything else, Brother Yang, you just feel a little sympathy for me."
"But Brother Yang should also know that I don't need any sympathy. This exam was caused by my own physical problems. I can only blame myself for not doing my best."
Wen Shijie said, then smiled again and said, "But it's nothing. At worst, I can come back in three years."
"Well done, Brother Wen." Liu Jia gave a thumbs up.
The people present also said this.
"Yes, Brother Wen, with your literary talent, you will definitely be able to pass the high school entrance examination in three years."
"Yeah, don't be discouraged."
In the end, Yang Huaijin had no choice but to take back the banknotes.
And at this time.
A servant hurried in from outside, saying with a happy face, "Third Young Master, you should go home quickly. The officials have sent someone to your house to deliver the good news. You have passed the first place in the first class of the exam. All the relatives have come to visit. My aunt wants you to go home quickly."
The servant had such a loud voice.
This attracted the attention of other people and children in the Shanhong Hall courtyard, many of whom were surprised: "First place in the first class?"
"The third young master of the Yang family passed the exam and got first place?"
"This is too unbelievable. Didn't he just rely on luck to become a juren?"
Someone in the crowd stopped talking.
But everyone in the house could hear it.
Yang Huaijin pretended not to hear and turned to Wen Shijie on the bed and said, "Brother Wen, I'll come see you next time."
After that, he said a few words to Wen's mother and Liu Jia and others before hurriedly leaving with the servant.
When I walked out of the yard, I could still hear those people congratulating me.
But many of them are sour.
Shanhongtang is a charity hall.
It provided temporary shelter for many children and some really poor students, and naturally, there were quite a few students who failed the college entrance examination.
inside the house.
Liu Jia and his friends all went to high school.
After Yang Huaijin left, they said a few words to Wen Shijie, then walked out of the house one after another, and were greeted with the same congratulations and flattery.
The sound carried into the house.
Wen Shijie half lowered his eyes to hide the emotions in his eyes.
Mother Wen handed him the medicine bowl. Looking at his pale face, a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes: "This is the last dose of medicine prescribed by the doctor. After you drink it, the rash should go away."
Wen Shijie didn't take the bowl: "Mom, pour it out."
Wen's mother frowned.
Wen Shijie raised his eyes, their former calmness restored. He raised the corners of his lips and said, "The next Spring Examination will not be held for another three years. Mother, we can't live here forever. This is Shanhong Hall after all. It must be left for those who need it more. We can move out after we find a place to stay."
Wen's mother opened her mouth to say something.
Finally, she sighed softly and nodded: "Okay, Mom will listen to you."
She stood up and skillfully poured the medicine in the bowl into the chamber pot in the corner.
*
"Brother Liu, did you feel that something was wrong with Brother Yang just now?"
Liu Jia and his friends walked out of Shanhong Hall, planning to have a meal to celebrate their graduation from high school.
Liu Jia is the oldest among the group.
Two years older than Yang Huaijin.
He glanced at Wang Ming who spoke.
Wang Ming was a poor boy from another place. He came to Shanhongtang after Yang Huaijin moved in. However, he was indeed talented and a very tactful person, so he quickly integrated into their group and became brothers with them.
Of course, Liu Jia arrived later.
Therefore, Wang Ming and Liu Jia have the best relationship among the few people.
Liu Jia was a little confused when he heard this: "What's wrong?"
"Those banknotes."
Wang Ming glanced around and lowered his voice slightly before saying, "One bill is worth one hundred taels. Even if he wanted to improve Brother Wen's food, he wouldn't have to take such a large stack, right?"
The student next to him laughed and said, "He has a family with the wealthy Duke Yang of Qi. It's just a stack of banknotes. For Brother Yang, it's probably nothing. What's the big deal?"
"Yes, Brother Yang is a man of loyalty."
Liu Jia also nodded: "It's very loyal. When we were studying hard at night, if it weren't for Brother Yang's bowls of tonics, and the things and food that the Yang family prepared for us during the examination, how could we have finished the exam so comfortably and achieved such good results?"
Several people nodded in unison.
Wang Ming's eyes twinkled as he asked, "Don't you think this is great?"
Liu Jia and the others frowned and looked at him: "Brother Wang, what do you mean?"
Wang Mingdao: "Didn't you see the expression on Brother Yang's face just now?"
"Guilty, and a little guilty."
"Think about it, among all of us, Brother Wen has the best literary talent. If Brother Wen hadn't had any health problems and had guessed the right questions, who do you think would be the champion at this time?"
Wang Ming looked at Liu Jia and the others, whose expressions changed slightly, and continued in a low voice: "That must be Brother Wen."
"Think about it again. When Brother Yang took out a stack of banknotes just now and eagerly stuffed them into Aunt Wen's hands, didn't he look like he was...making amends?"
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