"Knock knock knock!"
"Congratulations to Huang Dehai of Huangjia Village for passing the imperial examination! Please come out and receive the county government's blessing!"
The blessing bestowed by the county government by the official in charge of announcing good news is a relatively common custom in this world.
Each person who passed the imperial examination would have a set of special clothing prepared by the county government for them, which would be delivered to their family by the official in charge of announcing the good news.
This outfit was specially made by the imperial court and was a symbol of status; no one else could wear it except for specific individuals.
For example, if an ordinary commoner wore the clothes of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, it would be a very serious crime, and he might be dragged to the county government office and beaten half to death.
The robes worn by those who passed the imperial examinations were a symbol of their status and represented the court's recognition of the students.
Each scholar's robe was embroidered with the name of its owner, so not only could others not wear such robes, but even scholars themselves could not easily exchange them.
"Sir, Huang Dehai is my son. Please come this way!"
These past few days, Old Huang has been strolling around the village entrance whenever he has free time, and he immediately goes to greet the officials who come to deliver good news.
The two groups exchanged pleasantries as they walked toward Old Huang's house.
Some people who had received the news had already gone to Old Huang's house to get things started.
On this day, all the villagers of Huangjia Village came to watch the excitement. From the moment they learned that the messenger was coming to the opening of the ancestral hall to worship the ancestral tablets, it only took one morning.
At noon, the Huang family set out seven or eight tables of food.
On one hand, they entertained the officials who came to deliver the good news, and on the other hand, they entertained the relatives of the Huang family who came to offer their congratulations, as well as the elders of the clan.
After seeing off the messenger who brought the good news and entertaining the relatives who had arrived earlier,
On the second day, the Huang family formally hosted Huang Dehai's classmates and friends, and invited his mentor from the academy.
Because it was unknown when the messenger would arrive with the good news, the celebration for relatives and friends was only held on the second day after the messenger's arrival.
Organizing a continuous banquet is no easy task; it lasts from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
During this time, once the food on the table is finished, it must be replenished.
Guests who come to the banquet, whether they know each other or not, are all guests as long as they sit at the table.
Whether someone brings a cabbage or two pounds of pork, they are treated the same.
After learning that the messenger had arrived, Huang Dequan and his wife closed their shop, bought a large amount of ingredients, and rushed back to Huangjia Village.
If you have a cook at home, you don't need to spend a lot of money to hire someone outside.
The vegetables in Old Huang's garden were almost completely consumed by this continuous feast.
The purchase of meat and eggs alone cost ten taels of silver.
Fortunately, in addition to ordinary people, some merchants from the town and Huang Dehai's classmates came to offer their congratulations.
Even the county magistrate heard the news and rushed over early.
It was only because of the gifts from these local gentry and wealthy families that the Huang family was able to recoup some of their costs; otherwise, they would have definitely lost money by hosting this banquet.
The Huang family couldn't afford a three-day banquet, so they only held it for one day before ending it early.
Then the family discussed Huang Dehai's trip to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
It's impossible to let him go alone, since no one knows what dangers he might encounter along the way.
"Third brother's wife, I heard you know some martial arts. Why don't you accompany him to the capital for the imperial examination this time?"
Old Huang still felt that it was safest to have his third son's wife come along.
The Huang family has a mix of old and young members. The eldest son's family is busy with their business, and the second son's family also has a stall in town. Even if they could spare some manpower, given the second son's family's personality, it wouldn't make much difference whether they went or not.
After much thought, Lin Xue was the most suitable candidate.
Firstly, Lin Xue doesn't need to do anything at home, so whether she's home or not doesn't have much impact on the Huang family.
Secondly, the third son's wife is clever and resourceful, and she also has some martial arts skills. If she encounters a few ordinary robbers, they would not be a match for her.
Thirdly, the third son's wife went to town and brought back a large yellow ox, went to Donglin County and brought back five horses, and went directly to Linzhou Prefecture and helped her son pass the imperial examination in one fell swoop.
The entire Huang family unanimously believed that Lin Xue was there to bring good fortune to their family and was Huang Dehai's lucky star.
With Lin Xue by their side, if the third son fails the exam again, they might as well not have this son at all.
With this in mind, the whole family unanimously agreed that Lin Xue should accompany Huang Dehai to Beijing for the imperial examination.
After reaching a conclusion, the Huang family resumed their normal lives, while Huang Dehai visited the teachers at the school with gifts to express his gratitude.
The Huang family was preparing things for Lin Xue and her companions to use on their journey, as they wouldn't be back in ten days or half a month.
It would take at least a month to travel from Huangjia Village to the capital.
This is even while traveling by horse-drawn carriage!
"Mom, my second brother, second sister-in-law, and father are all here at home. Why don't you come with me to the capital for a trip?"
"Third son's wife, it's not that your mother doesn't want to go with you, but look at our chickens, ducks, and geese, none of them can be separated from your mother's care!"
"I won't go this time. You and Lao San can go together. Once Lao San gets a government position, our whole family will go with him to his post!"
"Mother will definitely not refuse when the time comes!"
Seeing that she couldn't persuade Old Mrs. Huang, Lin Xue had no choice but to give up. Taking advantage of the time she still had, she didn't want to do embroidery anymore these past few days, and instead spent her days running into the deep mountains and forests.
Every day they would bring back some game, which Old Man Huang and Old Woman Huang would make into jerky to eat on the road.
Then I wanted to search for more spices. How should I put it, this era was still too backward. Ordinary people didn't have many spices available, so the food they made tasted just average.
Only the chefs in restaurants and hotels know how to use Sichuan peppercorns and star anise.
There's nothing more refined than that.
Time flies, and more than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Xue also selected two horses from her home, and Old Man Huang personally found a familiar carpenter to build a sturdy carriage for her.
The carriage is ready, but we still need someone to drive it.
Now, the Huang family is in a dilemma again!
Although the third daughter-in-law could drive a horse-drawn carriage, it was a tiring and undignified job, so they couldn't let their youngest daughter-in-law do it.
Just when Lao Huang's family was in a dilemma, Lin Xue directly suggested that they buy a servant who specialized in driving horses.
Upon hearing Lin Xue's idea, Lao Huang's family was visibly taken aback.
"Third son's wife. It's not that we don't want to buy servants, but the banquet we held recently has already emptied our savings!"
"We haven't sold all the gifts that the local gentry and wealthy families sent, so we don't have the money to buy servants right now!"
Old Huang was a little troubled. Although he knew that his third son's wife must have money, it was money she earned herself, and he had no face to bring it up!
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