Chapter 322 is in!
(Thanks to AT2001 for casting 8 monthly votes.)
The rain, which had stopped in the evening, started again around midnight.
The rain lasted all night, and when Li's mother got up early in the morning and looked at the damp ground outside, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Seeing her mother's appearance, Li Shiyue, who had gotten up early, knew without a doubt that her mother was worried about Li Wangming again.
Walking up to Li's mother, she hugged her from behind, nuzzled her head against her mother's neck, and took a deep breath of "Mother's scent." Only then did Li Shiyue look up at the fine, silvery rain outside and say to her mother, "Mother, don't worry. Even on the day of the exam, it will still rain. So what?"
This rain isn't just falling on my second uncle's head; it's affecting all the students in the prefecture who are taking the imperial examinations.
My second uncle was much more robust than the other students.
The rain is just a bit annoying, but don't worry, my second uncle will definitely be able to handle it.
Besides, Mother, who knows, the rain might stop on the eighth day.
Just as Li Shiyue had predicted, on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the day the autumn imperial examinations began, not only was there no rain, but it was also a very cool and overcast day.
Standing outside the examination hall, Li Shiyue watched Li Wangming, carrying a basket, walk into the gate of the examination hall.
These three exams, each lasting three days and two nights, for a total of nine days and seven nights, determined the fate of these students who had studied diligently for over a decade.
“Mother, let’s go back. My brother and I will come to pick you up ourselves.”
On the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, before noon, Li Shiyue and Shitou arrived outside the examination hall to wait.
Li Shiyue spent money to reserve a table by the window on the second floor of a teahouse diagonally opposite the Gongyuan. She and Shitou ordered a pot of tea and two plates of snacks, and ate while they waited.
They were late; the street outside the examination hall was already packed with people before they arrived.
Those who were short of money would simply sit by the roadside, buy a couple of pancakes, and that would be their meal.
Those who have money and are willing to spend it can do what Li Shiyue did: find a teahouse, tavern, or restaurant, spend a little money to rent a table, and not only can they sit and wait, but they also have food and drinks.
In fact, the first round of the provincial examination should have taken place at least in the afternoon of the tenth day of the month.
Li Shiyue and Shi Tou were indeed among the early arrivals. However, the imperial examination was a crucial moment that determined a person's entire life, a momentous occasion for the student, their family, and even their clan.
Such an important matter naturally requires arriving early to wait for someone to pick you up; those who arrive late risk being delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Therefore, many people arrived at the street in front of the examination hall early in the morning to wait.
Around 3:45 PM, the gates of the examination hall were finally opened wide.
Li Wangming carried his examination basket out of the examination hall gate, down the steps, and glanced outside. In just one glance, he saw a tall, imposing stone standing not far away.
Oh, and there's Li Shiyue standing behind the stone.
Thus, Li Shiyue and Shitou did only one thing these past few days: pick up Li Wangming from the gate of the examination hall and take him home, and then send him back to the examination hall to take the next exam on the appointed day.
They were brought back on the afternoon of the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, and then sent back on the eleventh day of the eighth lunar month.
Then they were brought back on August 13th, and sent back on August 14th.
On August 16th, the three sessions of the provincial examination officially concluded!
Because the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for family reunion, coincided with Li Wangming's provincial examination, Li Shiyue and his family, who were celebrating the festival in the prefectural city that year, simply had a meal at home and that was it.
After the provincial examination, Li Wangming slept soundly for a day and a night in a room on the second floor of the paper shop before he could regain his energy.
When Li Wangming woke up and faced his mother's eager gaze, he only said one sentence: "I have done my best. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to make the list."
Amidst this anticipation, Li's mother waited day after day with Shi Tou in the paper shop.
As for the others?
Li Shiyue and the others had already returned to Lijiatun, after all, in another month or so, it would be harvest season again.
Since the provincial examination began, it hasn't rained at all, and the days have become hotter and hotter, truly living up to the saying, "The autumn tiger is so hot it kills cattle."
Thanks to the river at the end of the village and the reservoir that Li Shiyue and his men had dug long ago, the crops in Lijiatun were able to get enough water.
Only in this way could a large-scale reduction in grain production be avoided during the autumn harvest season.
Zhao Yan, who had just returned from her parents' home, told Li Shiliang, "...there is a water shortage. In the end, we will have to rely on people to carry water from the river bucket by bucket to irrigate the fields."
Even so, my father said that the yield might still decrease by 30%.
Upon hearing this, Li Shiliang immediately went to tell Li Shiyue. What could Li Shiyue do?
"Tell Sister-in-law Min that if the Zhao family wants to learn from us and dig a reservoir, they should just send someone over to discuss it. Many of the women who married into the Zhao family in our village are sons-in-law of the Zhao family."
We're all related by marriage; we can't just stand by and do nothing when our in-laws are in trouble.
We'll only charge them 10% of their labor costs, and we'll teach them all the methods.
Li Shiyue looked up at the sky and said, "The sky is getting drier every year. Nobody knows what next year will be like."
Whether God will grant us a chance to eat or not depends on luck.
But regardless, this reservoir will still be useful.
Therefore, while Li Shiyue was busy with the autumn harvest in Lijiatun, and was also leading Li Wangshui, Li Shiliang and others to Zhao You's house to see where in their village it would be suitable to dig a reservoir, the day for the autumn imperial examination results to be announced in the prefectural city arrived.
The results of the provincial examinations were announced on the eighth day of the ninth lunar month.
The main gate of the examination hall was packed with people, making a great commotion as if the whole city had come.
Li's mother, along with Shi Tou and Li Wangming, sat on the second floor of a teahouse diagonally opposite the examination hall. The boy's grandfather was a ninth-rank scholar of classics in the prefectural school, and his father was an eighth-rank military advisor in the prefectural government.
Coincidentally, the place where they were sitting was the same place where Li Shiyue and Shi Tou had sat when they were waiting for Li Wangming outside the examination hall a few days ago.
After taking a sip of tea, Zhou Anzhi turned to look out the window. "Come out!"
Upon hearing this, Li's mother hurried towards the gate of the examination hall. She saw the gate open, and constables with swords at their waists pushed aside the crowd at the entrance to clear a path for the yamen runners who were posting the results.
"Wangming, let Shitou go down and squeeze in to take a look."
“Aunt Li, there’s no need to trouble Brother Shi. My servants have already gone there.”
We'll just wait here.
Besides, if someone wins the lottery, the government will definitely send a messenger to deliver the good news.
The wait wasn't long, only about fifteen minutes. Li's mother gripped the teacup tightly with her fingers, her heart filled with anxiety. She wished she could squeeze into the crowd herself to see clearly!
The sound of footsteps echoed as the Zhou family's male servant ran up the stairs with a beaming face, arriving in a few steps at the table where Li's mother and the others were sitting.
"Erlangjun, I'm so happy!
It worked! It worked!
The smaller one is clearly visible!
My lord has won!
It's thirty-fifth place!
"well!"
The male servant was perceptive; after announcing the good news to his own master, he cupped his hands and said to Li Wangming, "Master Li, congratulations!"
My lord has won!
He's ranked forty-seventh!
"I congratulate you on your marriage!"
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