095, County Examination Results
095, County Examination Results
"If it's not enough in a while, ask Mingfei to come out and get it. Don't be polite with your aunt. This is the first time that Mingfei brings his friends to our stall to eat." Liu Sanniang put the bowl of braised meat on the tray, and took another bowl to fill it with some braised vegetables and braised eggs. She also took a bowl to fill it with a large bowl of bone soup, and scooped up a large bowl full of bones.
Seeing that his mother was about to scoop some meat into the bowl, Lu Mingfei quickly called out to her, "That's enough, mother. I also ordered a clay pot of rice from my adoptive father. This is enough for us. I came out after having breakfast this morning, so it's just Zhuoran and Lingxuan who are eating."
"Oh, okay." After hearing her son say that it was enough, Liu Sanniang brought the tray to her eldest son.
When Lu Mingfei brought Ye Zhuoran into the yard, only Zhang Lingxuan was sitting there. On the table was a bowl of rice in a clay pot with the lid still on and a plate of braised pork buns.
The three of them sat down around the table. Ye Zhuoran glanced at the children running around and playing in the yard, then turned around and asked Lu Mingfei, "Don't they want to eat?"
"They had breakfast at home before leaving, so don't worry about them." Lu Mingfei took off the lid of the clay pot and used a large spoon to pour a bowl of rice for Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan respectively. He placed it in front of them and said, "You haven't eaten here before, have you? This is the clay pot rice and braised pork biscuits that have been selling very well in my adoptive father's shop recently. The sausage and bacon on the rice are all made by us. They are very fragrant when steamed with rice."
"I've eaten this meat before. Didn't you give us some before the New Year? I took it home and asked our cook to fry it just as you said. My father and mother said it was delicious." Ye Zhuoran picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, and said to Lu Mingfei.
"Oh, then I'll pack some for you later and you can take them home to eat." Lu Mingfei usually ate a lot of snacks that Ye Zhuoran brought, so he was never stingy with Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan.
"No, no. I just said it casually. Don't think I'm asking you for something." Ye Zhuoran waved his hands hurriedly.
"I didn't take it as an honor. It was what I wanted to give, haha." Lu Mingfei couldn't help laughing.
Zhang Lingxuan picked up the spoon and scooped a mouthful of rice into his mouth. He was a little surprised and continued to scoop a second mouthful into his mouth.
Lu Mingfei had already had breakfast before coming out, but now that he was having dinner with Zhang Lingxuan and Ye Zhuoran, he couldn't help but pick up the chopsticks and eat a few bites with them.
After the three of them had breakfast, Lu Mingfei left the children in the store with Zhang Qi. When he came out, he greeted his adoptive father and mother, and took two gift baskets of sausages and bacon to the carriage. Then he got into the carriage of Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan, and the three of them left together.
***
When they arrived here, they found that half of the street was filled with carriages and pedestrians. Their carriage had not even reached the Fengtian Prefecture Government Office when the road ahead was already blocked.
The three men had no choice but to get off the carriage and walk over.
However, there were no seats left in the nearby restaurants and teahouses, so the three of them simply stood on the roadside waiting for the notice to be posted at the government office.
"Ah! How come it's been so long and the results haven't been posted yet?" Ye Zhuoran's legs were numb from standing. If he didn't want to know whether he passed or not, he would have wanted to go home.
"It should be soon, just wait a little longer." Lu Mingfei found Ye Zhuoran's impatient and frantic look amusing. With such little patience, why did he have to come here so early to wait?
But since they were already here, he couldn't say anything to discourage Ye Zhuoran. However, after this experience, he thought to himself that next time he came to see the list, he would definitely not listen to Ye Zhuoran and would definitely come later to see the list so as not to stand on the roadside waiting for a long time.
Zhang Lingxuan turned his head to look in the direction of the yamen, waiting for the servant they sent to bring back news.
The two servants who came with them had already squeezed to the front to wait to see the list. The position where the three of them were standing was a little distance away from where the list was posted in front.
The main reason was that there were too many people in front, and Lu Mingfei didn't want to squeeze in, so he pulled Ye Zhuoran to stop him from going in. If Ye Zhuoran didn't go, Zhang Lingxuan would have stood here with them and waited.
The sun rose slowly in the east, and its sunlight filled the entire street.
I don’t know how long the three of them stood there before the voice of “The notice has been posted!” was heard from the front.
As soon as these three words were uttered, the people in front began to surge and everyone squeezed forward to look at the list.
There was a surge of people in front, and there were too many of them. Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lingxuan each held one of Ye Zhuoran's hands to prevent him from going over there to join in the fun.
"There are too many people ahead. Let's wait and go. There's no rush." Lu Mingfei was afraid that the large crowd ahead would lead to a stampede, so he held Ye Zhuoran back and stopped him from going. If so many people rushed in, they would have space to hide on the periphery, but it would be difficult to squeeze out from the crowd.
Zhang Lingxuan was simply worried that Ye Zhuoran would run ahead and be squeezed by others.
The three of them waited for a while until Zhang Lingxuan and Ye Zhuoran's servants came running back. They had been dressed neatly when they first arrived, but when they came out after reading the list, their hair was disheveled, and one of them had even lost a shoe.
But both of them had smiles on their faces and looked happy.
"Master, Master, you've made it!" Ye Zhuoran's servant, Fucai, shouted, "Master, you're ranked eighty-ninth!"
"Master, Master, you are ranked fifteenth." The second person to speak was Zhang Lingxuan's servant Fifteen.
After reporting their young master's ranking, Fifteen also did not forget to tell their young master's classmate, Mr. Lu's ranking, "And Mr. Lu, your name is on the list too. You're number one! You're at the top of the list!"
"Wow, Mingfei, you're amazing!" Ye Zhuoran was just happy that he and Zhang Lingxuan were on the list. When he heard that Lu Mingfei was ranked first, his eyes widened in disbelief, then turned into a look of surprise. He grabbed Lu Mingfei's arm with both hands and asked happily, "Did you hear that?"
"You're at the top of the list! Number one in the county exam!"
At this moment, Ye Zhuoran was genuinely happy for his classmate who got first place on the list, without any jealousy at all.
"Could there be someone with the same name as me who also took the county exam?" Lu Mingfei was worried the servant might have made a mistake, and that he would be disappointed. He had thought he would pass, but he hadn't expected to place first.
"There's no mistake. Fucai and I checked the name and the seat number you gave us several times. It's your name, Mr. Lu." Fifteen said affirmatively.
Fucai also said with certainty that they were not mistaken, it was the top of the list.
However, Lu Mingfei still felt a little unsure, but he couldn't say that he suspected others were mistaken, so he changed his approach and said, "Then when there are fewer people around, let's go to the front and see if Senior Brother and Cai Renjun have passed."
"Okay, we'll go over and take a look later." Zhang Lingxuan understood what Lu Mingfei meant and nodded in response.
Ye Zhuoran was eager to rush into the crowd, but Zhang Lingxuan held him with one hand, preventing him from running into the crowd.
At this time, they were standing behind the crowd, so they did not hear the people standing in front of the list talking about the person at the top of the list.
"Who is this Lu Mingfei? Why is his name at the top of the list?"
"I've never heard of that name."
"Who is this person?"
“…”
At this time, no one standing at the front of the list knew who the candidate named Lu Mingfei who took the top spot was. The first place in this year's county examination was actually taken by an unknown candidate.
Cai Renjun, who was standing in the crowd, heard people around him asking who Lu Mingfei was. He saw the name at the top of the list and was in disbelief, thinking he had seen it wrong. But he rubbed his eyes and opened them again, only to find that the words "Lu Mingfei" were still written on it.
What was even more unbelievable to him was that he did not find his own name on any of the posted lists!
"This must be a mistake!" Cai Renjun didn't believe that he couldn't even pass a mere county exam, and he didn't believe that Lu Mingfei would get the first place in the county exam!
Suffering a huge blow, Cai Renjun was a little dazed. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.
It was the servant behind who was quick-witted and caught their young master in time, "Young master, are you okay?"
"Go away!" Cai Renjun pushed away the servant who was supporting him and staggered away.
Seeing this, the servant behind hurriedly followed and helped his young master.
Among those who came to see the list, many left with a look of bewilderment and disbelief. These candidates who left with such disheartened expressions were generally those whose names were not on the list.
Those who left with a smile were all candidates on the list.
Lu Mingfei, Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan waited until there were fewer people looking at the list in front before they came to the front to look at the list.
The first thing Lu Mingfei saw when he arrived here was the three words written on the top of the list, and the exam number behind it. When he confirmed that the name on it was indeed his name, and the exam number also matched, he was sure that the name on it was correct and it was his.
"Mingfei, this is really your name! You are at the top of the list!" Ye Zhuoran pointed at the name on the list, grabbed Lu Mingfei's arm with one hand, and said excitedly.
When the people around heard the two sensitive words "Ming Fei" and "top of the list", they all turned to look at the three young men standing in front of the list.
"Shh, keep a low profile." Lu Mingfei noticed that the people around them were looking at them. He made a gesture with his finger on his lips, reminding Ye Zhuoran to speak more quietly.
Just at this moment, he saw the name of their senior brother Fu Boming on the list. Without waiting for the people around to come and talk to them, he quickly pulled Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan away.
After coming out of the crowd, Ye Zhuoran realized that he had spoken out of turn. He apologized to Lu Mingfei with a look of regret, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"I know, you don't have to apologize, it's not a big deal." Lu Mingfei knew that Ye Zhuoran was not that kind of person, because when the servant said that he was at the top of the list, Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan did not show any envy or jealousy, they were simply happy for him.
So such a friend, he does not think that Ye Zhuoran just shouted that voice on purpose. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
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