Chapter 37: Surprising County Examination Results

The ninth day of the second month.

That day, An Xin brought six people to the door of the county office where the criminal list was issued.

At this time, there were already many candidates and their families standing here waiting for the results.

Seeing so many people, it was so crowded that there was no room for movement. An Xin turned around and asked, "Are you anxious? Do you want to know how you did on the exam?"

Li Ziyu looked up at the dense crowd in front of him and shook his head decisively, "No!"

So the seven carefree people went to the second floor of a nearby teahouse, ordered a pot of tea and cakes, and sat there eating and drinking slowly.

After watching the clerks below post the list, everyone rushed forward to see as soon as possible whether they were on the list or had been eliminated.

Until the students who passed the first round of the county examination left happily, and the candidates who were eliminated also left dejectedly.

There were only a few people left looking at the list, so An Xin and the others came down to look at the list.

On the list, qualified candidates are divided into groups of fifty and arranged in order of their scores in a circle, so the list of qualified candidates in the county examination is also called the circular list.

There were four lists like this posted, and the last one had only a dozen or so places on the list, indicating that only about one hundred and sixty people passed this county exam.

There were about three hundred students taking part in the county examination this year, and nearly half of them were eliminated in the first round. One can see how cruel the ancient imperial examination was just from the first round.

Fortunately, all six of his students were on the first list and ranked among the best. Li Ziyu and Leng Xiangbai ranked first and second, and even the other four were in the top ten.

This made An Xin laugh out loud with joy.

Li Ziyu, Leng Xiangbai and others hurriedly took their little headmistress away from there, fearing that those failed candidates and their parents would see her so smug and arrogant and throw shoe horns at her.

When Principal Wang learned that several students taught by An Xin had ranked in the top ten in the first county examination, he was initially surprised, but then became uneasy.

However, he comforted himself that this was only the first county examination, so Principal Wang was not so anxious.

The day after the results were announced.

All candidates who pass the first county examination will enter the next four re-examinations, and some candidates will be eliminated in each of them.

Five county examinations were completed.

The results will also be announced three days later.

This time the list is no longer arranged in a circle, but is arranged from top to bottom in order of ranking on a large square paper, which is called a long case.

Li Ziyu's name was ranked first, which made him the well-deserved first in the county this year.

Leng Xiangbai is still in second place.

Zhu Shijing ranked fifth in the first county exam, but now he is ranked third, only behind Li Ziyu and Leng Xiangbai.

Jiang Zhou actually managed to stabilize his Sixth Brother.

An Rui was eighth and Liu Boxing was tenth. After looking at the list, they patted their chests in relief that they were glad that they did not hold their little captain back.

Otherwise, the headmaster wouldn't say anything.

Just the expressionless Leng Xiangbai who looks like a little lamb, together with the stingy Zhu Shijing, can beat them both up and make them suffer in silence.

Doctor Su looked up at his old friend who had hurried over to ask him to give him a beating. He was worried that the old man might be suffering from some serious illness due to his old age.

At this time, he rolled his eyes at General Liu who was grinning foolishly.

Doctor Su: "I kind of suspect you're here to show off. If you don't want me to beat you up again, get out of here!"

“Hahahahaha!” General Liu laughed. “I know you are jealous. I am happy today, so I won’t bother with you.”

"Hmph! It's just that my grandson has made progress. Why is he showing off in front of me?" said Doctor Su with disdain.

The two old men were bickering when a servant came in and reported, "Master, Mr. Liu, the Zhu family sent a letter.

It is said that Mrs. Zhu's nephew and Mr. Zhu did very well in the county examination.

I specially hosted a banquet for Principal An Xiaoshan at my own Fuxiyuan Restaurant to thank him, and I also invited several other students’ parents.”

"Ouch, I forgot about this!" General Liu slapped his forehead heavily and said regretfully, "Why did the Zhu family take the lead?"

Doctor Su said casually: "My nephew Li Ziyu ranked first in this year's county exam, and my son ranked third, so why can't he be the first to hold a thank-you banquet for his teacher?

I think it's unnecessary to invite an old man like you."

General Liu stroked his beard and said, "Let's go. You, an unnecessary old man, have also been invited. I think the other companies all know that you wrote the recipe for those healthy and nutritious ingredients."

In Fuxiyuan Restaurant.

An Xin was forced by Madam Zhu to sit in the main seat.

Uncle An and Aunt An, who was busy in the embroidery shop, were also invited by the Zhu family.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Jiang Zhou's parents and his uncle who worked as a clerk in the county government were also invited to sit on the other side.

Mrs. Zhu and the head of the Zhu family happily sat next to them and chatted with everyone.

When General Liu and Doctor Su were brought in by the restaurant owner himself, after everyone exchanged greetings and sat down, plates of delicious dishes were served on the table.

Among the six boys sitting at the last seats, An Rui and Liu Boxing's eyes lit up with joy when they saw so many delicious foods being served.

Li Ziyu, Leng Xiangbai and Jiang Zhou behaved very well today because there were so many elders present.

Only Zhu Shijing had a painful look on his face as he looked at the plates of exquisite and delicious dishes being served, muttering to himself how much these dishes would cost.

No one knows a son better than his father. Before his son could speak, the head of the Zhu family said with a hearty smile, "These kids have made us proud today.

Those who used to say behind my back that I had raised a son who was a poor student, all praised me when they saw me these past two days.

We have to thank Principal An Xiaoshan for all this. If it weren't for her good teaching, we wouldn't have the opportunity to hold our heads high.

Let us all toast to Mr. An Xiaoshan."

Several other families also agreed: "That's right, if it weren't for the headmaster who subdued these brats, they wouldn't be where they are today.

To express our gratitude, we offer a toast to An Xiaoshan."

No matter how thick-skinned An Xin was, he felt a little embarrassed by the praise and said, "You are too kind. It is because of their hard work that they have achieved today's results."

Except for An Rui and Liu Boxing who were tempted by the delicious food, the other four saw their own little headmaster and said humble words with a smug expression on their faces.

"..." He couldn't bear to look at it and lowered his head to hide the smile on the corner of his mouth.

They all found that except in class, their little principal would be serious with them, but he was really cute at other times.

If An Xin knew what they were thinking, he would definitely let them experience the feeling of being hit on the palms by a ruler again.

A pleasant teacher appreciation banquet ended in a joyful atmosphere.

So everyone said goodbye politely and went back to their homes to find their mothers.

An Xin rubbed her cheeks on the way back in the carriage. Socializing with other people was not something a human should do. Her cheeks were sore from smiling during the entire meal.

(End of this chapter)