Xu Genshu had only been recovered for a few days when the provincial examination was to be held. Students from all around gathered in one place, but only a handful passed, which shows how fierce the competition was.
"Genshu, just calm down and take the exam." Early this morning, the Xu family all came to town. Besides selling food, the most important thing was Xu Genshu's college entrance exam.
Compared to the tension in his family, Xu Genshu was much more relaxed. "Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, you should all go back. There won't be many people here later, so it's not good to go out."
Every year during the exams, the roads are incredibly crowded, with the candidates' families gathering in one place, requiring government officials to be dispatched to maintain order.
“Okay, let’s go to your sister-in-law’s shop first. After you finish your exam, come over and we’ll go home together,” Grandma Xu said to her son.
"Uncle, we're waiting for you. You can do it!" Fu Man'er cried out, clinging to Xu Genshan's back.
Xu Genshu waved to everyone and walked inside.
"Oh, you're here to take the exam too?" I ran into an acquaintance while registering at the entrance; it was Xie Ming.
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"Aren't you here to take the exam too?" Xu Genshu took out his ID card and handed it to the person checking his ID.
Xie Ming smiled and said, "Yesterday I heard the students at the private school talking about whether Brother Xu would leave the school this time."
"What did Brother Xie pledge?" After the inspector verified the information, he handed over the identification tag, which Xu Genshu took and carefully put into his inner bag.
“Brother Xu will naturally not return to the private school.” Xie Ming’s tone sounded quite certain.
As they were talking, the two had finished their checks and were about to head to the examination hall. "Brother Xie, how much of a chance do you think you have?" Xu Genshu suddenly asked.
Xie Ming stopped in his tracks. "My chances of winning all depend on Brother Xu."
"Brother Xu, my examination hall is over there. I'll head over now. I hope you won't let me lose miserably. Farewell." With that, Xie Mingchao bowed to Xu Genshu.
Xu Genshu looked at his somewhat nonchalant back and said, "I haven't had any braised food the other day. After the provincial examination ends today, I'll treat you to some at Xu's Restaurant on East Street."
Xie Ming didn't say anything, but simply raised his hand and waved with his back to Xu Genshu. The people passing by became increasingly hurried, and Xu Genshu calmed down and walked towards the examination room.
There were many people from the town who came to take the imperial examination this time. Looking around, the teahouses and restaurants were all full of people. Xu's restaurant had to open earlier than usual.
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They haven't started selling stir-fried dishes yet; they mainly sell braised dishes and noodles.
"Sister-in-law, I see there's not much braised food left in that pot. I'm afraid there won't be any left to sell this afternoon," Ma Hong said, leaning closer to Liu Fang.
"Sister-in-law, could you please make a trip to your father's place first and have the orders we placed earlier delivered? Also, could you please order a few more for us to pick up later?"
This was the first time Liu Fang had encountered a situation like this. Although she was a little flustered, she was able to quickly come up with a solution. It was only noon, so she could hurry up and braise another pot so that she could still sell some in the afternoon.
Ma Hong responded and left. Liu Fang looked back at the shop, which was already packed with people.
"Boss, give me some more scallions in this noodle dish." Someone called out, and Liu Fang was about to take it when someone beat her to it.
"Uncle, the scallions are here." Fu Man'er held the bowl in both hands and darted between the tables, accurately reaching the person who wanted the scallions.
Someone joked, "Wow, such a young child is already working?"
"Uncle, I'm not a little kid anymore. Look how steadily I can hold this bowl of scallions." Fu Man'er smiled and pushed the bowl of scallions forward. The person who wanted more scallions added two spoonfuls of scallions themselves.
"What a sensible child, so reliable." Some women thought it was all very good.
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Fu Man'er politely thanked them, "Uncle and Auntie, aren't my family's braised food delicious?"
"Delicious, delicious! This is the first time I've ever eaten something like this." Many of the people eating here came from other places and found braised food quite novel.
"Besides dining in, my family's braised food also comes in special bamboo tubes that can be taken home." As she spoke, Fu Man'er ran under the counter and took out a bamboo tube. Someone with sharp eyes noticed that there were words engraved on the bamboo tube.
"Little sister, let me see what words are carved on your bamboo tube?"
Fu Man'er turned the words towards the crowd and said in a clear voice, "Rising steadily to higher positions."
Many people were astonished, "Little girl, you know these words?"
"My uncle taught me how to recognize them." As she spoke, she took out several more bamboo tubes from behind her and read out the characters carved on them one by one. They were all auspicious words.
The child's voice was clear and crisp, without any hesitation, which made everyone feel very comfortable and amazed that such a young child could recognize so many words.
"These bamboo tubes are used to store braised food. If you live far from town, you can buy some to take home as gifts or to eat yourself."
The little girl, who seemed to have learned the words from somewhere, spoke them with great enthusiasm while holding a bamboo tube in her arms.
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At first, Liu Fang and Xu Genshan didn't quite understand, but as they listened, they realized what it meant and quickly went to respond:
"This braised food is quite a unique way to eat it. If you ate meat at the store today, you can take some vegetables home to try."
"If you're giving it as a gift, we can help you choose some auspicious sayings that you'll like. They're delicious and have auspicious meanings."
The people here really enjoy the braised food. Now that they hear they can take it home, many have already placed orders, waiting to take it home after the college entrance exam.
"You little rascal." While everyone was eating, Liu Fang brought Fu Man'er over and tapped her head. "I said we wouldn't use this trick today, but I didn't expect you to bring it up."
The bamboo tube with the inscription was originally intended for use when the business opened, but today was so sudden that Liu Fang had completely forgotten about it.
Fu Man'er covered her head and pretended to be in pain. "Mother, there are many people taking the county-level exam today. We hope that Uncle will do well, and they also hope that their own family will do well."
"Look, aren't all the bamboo tubes chosen today related to exams?"
Fu Man'er was right about this; all the bamboo tubes with inscriptions had been ordered.
"Man'er, when did you learn so many characters?" Xu Genshan looked at his little daughter. Some of the characters were quite difficult to recognize; even Xu Wu might not be able to recognize them all.
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"My uncle taught me." The words on these bamboo tubes were written by Xu Gen and carved by Old Man Xu.
Xu Genshan remembered his third brother saying that his son Man'er was quick to learn to read and smart. "Wife, don't you think Man'er would be amazing if he went to school?"
Liu Fang didn't know how capable she was, but said, "Let's teach her how to use chopsticks properly first. If she can't even hold chopsticks steadily, how can she hold a pen?"
Xu Genshan, who thought his daughter was smart, immediately felt discouraged. Fu Man'er learned everything quickly, but the thing about using chopsticks was a major worry for the Xu family.
There's still a long way to go when it comes to using chopsticks.
Fu Man'er had no idea what the adults were worried about; she was busy shuttling between the tables.
In one day, the Xu family sold the equivalent of three days' worth of goods. Even the usually strong-willed Xu Genshan couldn't help but pound his arm in frustration.
However, it's all worth it. Although we can't have such good business every day, we can't miss the opportunity when it's right in front of us.
The Xu family's small restaurant opened without any firecrackers or celebrations. Thanks to the day of the imperial examination, more people learned that there was such a delicious restaurant in the town, not only for its superb braised dishes but also for its excellent stir-fried dishes.
"Father, Mother, Uncle." Xu Wen's voice came from outside, and the people who were sitting immediately stood up. The results of the academy examination were out.
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Xu Genshu didn't go to check, so his children helped him. After the children left, Xu Genshan and his wife were absent-minded, while Xu Genshu acted as if nothing was wrong, wiping and sweeping here and there.
Liu Fang walked straight to the door, and the five children in the house ran in one after another, all panting heavily.
"How is it?" Liu Fang's voice trembled slightly, and Xu Genshan also stared intently at the children.
Even Xu Genshu stopped what he was doing, his trembling fingertips revealing his nervousness.
These children were deliberately breathing heavily, which made Xu Genshan extremely anxious. Led by Xu Yi, the children stood in a row and bowed to Xu Genshan.
Congratulations, Scholar Xu!
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