092, after the test
092, after the test
There are five examinations in total in the county examination, one each day for five consecutive days. Candidates arrive at the examination hall before dawn and hand in their papers before sunset.
If the candidates had looked radiant after the first two exams, then after the last two, most of them had lost their glow, leaving only a look of exhaustion and gritted teeth.
This is indeed the case. I took five exams in five consecutive days. I went out before dawn every day and returned home after sunset. Most of the time was either on the way to queue up to enter the examination room or answering questions in the examination room. After working like this for several days, even the most energetic person would run out of energy after so many days.
After the last day of exams, the candidates who walked out of the exam room all felt relieved.
Walking out of the examination room, Lu Mingfei saw his father and adoptive father waiting for him at the entrance. Seeing them there, he felt a bit surprised but not surprised at the same time. He paused for a moment, then walked towards his father and adoptive father, smiling and asking, "Father, adoptive father, why are you here?"
"We thought your exams would be over today, so I'll come with your adoptive father to pick you up." Lu Youtian reached out to take the small basket from his eldest son's hand. Looking at his tired face, he knew that his eldest son must be very tired after taking exams for so many days.
"Go back to your adoptive father's house for dinner today. Your mother, your adoptive mother, and the other boys like Mingrui and Mingcong are waiting for you at your adoptive father's house." Boss Lu reached out and patted his adopted son's shoulder. Looking at his eldest son who was growing fast and was as tall as them, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
Knowing that their adopted son was going to take exams these days, they didn't dare to disturb him.
After waiting for a long time until the day when his adopted son finished his exams, Lu Qingfeng followed Lu Youtian to pick up his adopted son.
"Okay, I'll go say hello to the other classmates first, and then I'll go with you." Lu Mingfei brought his father and adoptive father to the people who were waiting for him, said hello to Ye Zhuoran, Zhang Lingxuan, and their senior brother, and they all left together.
When the few of them went back, Ye Zhuoran, Zhang Lingxuan and their senior brother rode in a horse-drawn carriage, while Lu Mingfei got on their family's donkey cart and went with his father and adoptive father.
The horse-drawn carriage was in front, and their donkey-drawn carts followed slowly behind.
During the days when they took exams, they went into the exam room with Cai Renjun in the morning, but after the exam, Cai Renjun never waited for him or left with them.
Lu Mingfei usually handed in his paper late, unlike the other students who handed in their papers and left early. Cai Renjun was one of those who handed in his paper early and left the exam room. He knew that Cai Renjun looked down on him, and since everyone was taking the exam together this time, and he was leaving the exam room so late every day, Cai Renjun must have a lot of complaints about him.
However, he did not comment on Cai Renjun's behavior of not waiting for him in front of other classmates.
After all, it is other people's freedom to wait or not, and he has no right to ask others to wait for him.
Although they studied under the teacher and were classmates, he and Cai Renjun and his friends never got along. He knew why Cai Renjun disliked him. It was simply because his family was poor, and he, a poor child, refused to curry favor with Cai Renjun, the rich young master. He studied hard and often received praise from the teacher. Naturally, the arrogant young master Cai Renjun was very unhappy with him.
Lu Mingfei himself didn't want to be someone else's younger brother, so he and people like Cai Renjun were destined not to be able to play together.
In comparison, he still preferred to be friends with people like Zhang Lingxuan, Ye Zhuoran, and their senior brother, who were upright, sincere, and kind. At least when they were studying together, the other party didn't look down on him just because his family was poor. They were just classmates, no one was superior to the other, and everyone treated each other as equals.
If the five of them hadn't guaranteed each other this time, they wouldn't have taken the exam with someone like Cai Renjun.
However, this incident also taught them that people with different beliefs should not get along with each other in the future, so as to avoid getting tired of each other and affecting their mood for the exam.
Seeing Cai Renjun's behavior and attitude towards him this time, Lu Mingfei felt a little regretful that he had generously given the exam materials to their teacher and asked their teacher to share them with other classmates.
...But never mind, the county exam is over anyway.
If he passed the county exam this time, he would definitely not vouch for someone like Cai Renjun next time he took the provincial exam! He would definitely not be so generous as to share his information with others in the future! Unless they were very good friends!
Lu Mingfei separated from Ye Zhuoran and his friends in the carriage halfway and took a donkey cart back to his adoptive father's house.
***
When the three of them came back, his mother and stepmother had already prepared dinner and were waiting for them to eat.
"elder brother!"
"elder brother!"
"Why!"
As soon as they entered the house, Lu Mingfei received a warm welcome from his two younger brothers, and there was a small human-shaped pendant on each side of his legs.
"Hurry up, both of you. Your eldest brother can't walk." Boss Lu picked up both his own son and Lu Mingrui.
Xu Yueniang, who was in the kitchen, heard the noise outside and came out to see that her husband and Lu Youtian had gone out to pick up their adopted son. She smiled and said, "You're back! The dishes are just ready. Come and eat."
"Yeah, okay." Lu Mingfei went to wash his hands and came into the kitchen. Seeing his mother cooking here, he called out, "Mother."
"Hey, you're back." Liu Sanniang smiled when she saw her eldest son. She didn't ask him how he did on the exam. Anyway, no matter how he did, it was already over. They would know when the list was posted in half a month.
"Brother." Zhang Qi, who was helping to light the fire in front of the stove, stood up and greeted his elder brother who had returned with a reserved look on his face.
Zhang Xiaobao was still squatting in front of the stove, looking up at his brother who had returned.
Now the two brothers also follow Lu Mingrui and Lu Mingcong in calling the eldest brother "Big Brother".
Although their surname is not Lu, and the Lu family has not said that they will adopt the two brothers, but in their hearts, the two brothers have already regarded the brother who took them into the Lu family as their own brother.
"Well, helping to light the fire? Not bad." Lu Mingfei reached out and patted Zhang Qi's shoulder. Seeing the dishes on the table next to him, he asked his mother: "Mother, are we going to take it out?"
"You don't have to come. Just sit down and rest for a while." Seeing the eldest son reaching out to serve the dishes, Liu Sanniang said hurriedly.
"It's okay, I'll just take it out. It's just serving dishes, not a job." Lu Mingfei was already carrying the dishes out the door while speaking.
Seeing her eldest son bringing out the dishes, Liu Sanniang's face showed an expression of helplessness yet a little relief.
"Put it down quickly, put it down, we'll take it."
"Don't move, don't move, don't turn over!"
Soon, the voices of Xu Yueniang and Lu Mingfei talking were heard outside.
Lu Mingfei didn't let his stepmother take the food from his hands, and he disappeared in a flash.
Xu Yueniang, who was behind, saw her eldest son carrying the dishes into the house, so she came back to the kitchen and told Liu Sanniang about this.
The last dish was served and they all sat around the table to eat.
Today's meal was very rich, with soup made from old hen, braised pork elbow, stir-fried pork belly with bean sprouts, braised sea bass, braised tofu and stir-fried cabbage, as well as a large pot of cooked rice.
I was very hungry in the examination hall these days. Although I ate two big bowls of rice every day when I got home, I relaxed today. The food was especially to my taste. Lu Mingfei ate three big bowls of rice and drank a big bowl of chicken soup before putting down his chopsticks.
Xu Yueniang hadn't eaten with her adopted son recently, so she wasn't too sure how much he ate. Seeing that there was still some chicken soup in the pot, she asked him, "Would Mingfei like another bowl of chicken soup?"
"Thank you, stepmother. No thanks. I'm very full and can't drink anymore." Lu Mingfei shook his head.
"Don't tell him to eat. He usually only eats two bowls of rice, but he has already eaten one more bowl today." Liu Sanniang said with a smile.
"Hey, today's food is so delicious." Lu Mingfei chuckled. He hadn't noticed it just now, but now that he put down the bowl, he realized his stomach was bloated.
Seeing that her adopted son was indeed full and everyone else had finished their meal, Xu Yueniang turned to Liu Sanniang and said, "I'll put the remaining bowl of chicken soup in a small jar and give it to you to take back. Can you heat it up for Mingfei tonight?"
"No, no, just keep it for yourself." Liu Sanniang waved her hand.
"Why should we be polite? This pot of soup was originally cooked to nourish Mingfei." Xu Yueniang glared at Liu Sanniang, and regardless of Liu Sanniang's refusal, she got up and went into the kitchen to get a small pot, and poured the remaining chicken soup into it.
After dinner, Liu Sanniang and Xu Yueniang cleaned up the things on the table together, and took the half-filled can of chicken soup and a stack of sesame cakes that Xu Yueniang had packed for them, and prepared to take the children home.
That day, Lu Mingcong wanted to go to someone else's house to sleep, but his father stopped him and didn't let him go.
Seeing the child clamoring to go with them, Liu Sanniang said, "Why don't we let Mingcong come to our house?"
"Leave him alone and let him sleep at home for two nights," Xu Yueniang said. She knew her adopted son had just come home from taking exams a few days ago and was tired, so she didn't want to send her son to the Lu family's courtyard and disturb his rest.
Seeing that Xu Yueniang and her husband would not let their children go with them, Lu Youtian and Liu Sanniang had no choice but to take their four children and leave.
When they got out of the house, his father asked him to ride on the donkey cart with his brothers. Lu Mingfei waved his hand and said, "No, no, I'll just walk behind you. Walking will help me digest the food. I'm very full."
"Okay, then you walk slowly, let's walk slowly." Lu Youtian also knew that his eldest son had eaten a little too much today, so he pulled the donkey in front and let his wife and eldest son follow behind.
Lu Mingfei walked with his mother and talked to her all the way.
The sun had already set and it was getting dark. The candidates who had left the examination hall had already gone home. The carriages and sedan chairs on the road passed by in a hurry, and there were not many pedestrians.
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