Chapter 115 Hot Pot Chicken After Failing the Exam
Ten days after the provincial examination ended, the results were finally released.
This exam was indeed quite difficult, and there were many candidates participating. Even Guo Baiwen himself wasn't very confident.
However, compared to the last time I took the provincial examination, I now have at least the title of a Xiucai student, so I can relax a little.
The list of successful candidates was only about fifty people. Even after the last name was called, many candidates who hadn't heard their own names lingered, unwilling to leave.
Only after watching helplessly as the officials in charge of announcing the results packed up the gongs, tables, and chairs and left did they return dejectedly from in front of the list.
Guo Baiwen didn't hear his own name called this time either.
Although I felt a little disappointed, after taking some time to process it, I managed to calm myself down.
Just as I was about to head back with the other students who were checking the results, I hadn't gone far when I saw two candidates in the crowd who were clearly in their sixties, and they were crying with their heads in their hands.
The piercing cries made onlookers turn around.
These were all candidates who had passed the provincial examination. Many of them, concerned about their image in front of others, had managed to maintain their composure, but upon hearing these cries, their eyes reddened and their noses twitched.
Not daring to look again, Guo Baiwen's originally slow steps quickened unconsciously.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard the increasingly loud crying behind him, and he couldn't help but raise his sleeve to wipe his eyes.
When they returned to the inn, Chen Baoyue saw his red eyes but didn't say anything; she just patted his head.
This made Guo Baiwen feel a little embarrassed.
He lowered his eyes, not daring to look at her, and could only mumble a protest, "You're treating me like a child again..."
Passing the provincial examination is certainly desirable, but failing is also common.
The two teachers, Guo and Cao, at Yangzheng Academy had to take the imperial examinations for many years before they could finally pass and achieve official rank.
Guo Baiwen had previously remarked that the fact that there was no age limit for the imperial examinations was a rare and wonderful thing, but now that he himself has become one of the candidates, he feels that it is not such a good thing.
If there are restrictions, even if you fail repeatedly, you will have to give up when the time comes and try other things instead.
But regardless of age, anyone who registers can take the exam. Of those who have already reached this stage, how many will choose to give up halfway through?
Most people probably think, "Let's try again, what if I pass?" But whether it's taking the exam or applying for it, the money spent is a considerable expense for ordinary people each time.
When Guo Baiwen packed his things and went back to the county town with Chen Baoyue, he couldn't help but sigh.
If it weren't for the sign-in system providing a safety net, he really wouldn't have had the confidence to continue taking the exam.
At this moment, Lin Zhongbin's words to him unconsciously came to mind, and his heart became even heavier.
The carriage was even more silent on the way back than it had been on the way there.
When we returned to the county town, although the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, the streets still retained the festive atmosphere.
When Grandma Guo saw them return, before she could even speak, she stuffed a mooncake into each of their hands. "You're finally back! These newly made mooncakes are waiting for you to try them!"
She specially made mooncakes with pickled mustard greens, salted pork and salted egg yolk flavor from the salted pork she had just made. At first, they tasted a little strange, but after a few more bites, she found that they were less cloying than sweet mooncakes.
The two of them had just gotten off the carriage when they were given mooncakes. Now that they were standing there, they could only obediently take a bite each.
I have to say, "This tastes really good!"
"Right!"
Grandma Guo looked at the two of them with a smile, handing them two cups of sugar water while casually saying, "It's just an exam! As long as you do your best, there's no need to be discouraged by one failure."
Upon hearing this, Yang Qiaomai and Guo Xiaohua, who were busy nearby, couldn't help but look over as well.
Since no one had come to deliver good news about the provincial examination, everyone naturally knew what was going on; becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) was not an easy task.
But the fear is that their own brother/shop owner doesn't think that way, and when it comes to saying something to comfort them, they can't think of anything to say for a moment.
Just as they were thinking of pretending nothing had happened, Grandma, true to form, immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes! If you don't succeed the first time, you can always try again! Brother/Shopkeeper, you'll definitely pass the exam in the future!"
Upon hearing this, even Guo Baiwen, who had been feeling somewhat depressed, couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth, "--I know, I know."
Rather, it was something he hadn't expected to pass both the preliminary and provincial examinations so easily.
This exam wasn't exactly a failure, as it gave him some direction for what he would study next.
There are so many talented people here. He had only managed to pass the previous exams by luck, mostly ending up at the very back. Now that the provincial exam only admits the top fifty, it has brought him back to reality.
It's impossible not to feel disappointed, but it's not enough to discourage me from taking the exam again.
After he finished speaking, Grandma Guo carefully examined his expression and, after confirming that there was really no problem, she also laughed heartily.
"That's Grandma's good boy!"
The Guo family had hot pot chicken for dinner. It just so happens that the weather has turned cold recently, and the spicy hot pot dishes that are usually only available in winter and spring have started to be added to the menu.
Now that there was a ready-made soup base, Grandma Guo specially caught two chickens and invited Chen Youtian and Chen Zhonghua to join her. The whole family sat around the table and enjoyed a lively meal.
This can be considered a way to make up for the Mid-Autumn Festival that we couldn't reunite with our families in the previous few days.
Besides the two chopped chickens, there were several plates of vegetarian dishes such as green vegetables and tofu.
Guo Baiwen didn't like the dried chili sauce here, so he made his own sesame sauce sauce instead.
"Although we didn't prepare any mutton in advance today, this hot pot chicken is still delicious." Grandma Guo specially picked up a few pieces of chicken leg meat and put one in each of the three children's bowls.
Chen Youtian originally liked spicy food, and after taking a couple of bites, he couldn't help but say, "I never thought of using chicken for hot pot before. It has a different flavor compared to mutton."
Grandma Guo smiled from ear to ear, urging everyone to eat more. "Don't be stingy with your food. If you're not full later, I made some hand-pulled noodles at noon, which are still in the kitchen. You can cook some more and eat them slowly after you finish eating these."
Xiaohua nodded eagerly, "Yay! Hand-pulled noodles!"
During his time away from home, Guo Baiwen missed nothing more than the hand-pulled noodles that Grandma Guo made herself.
The noodle soup sold outside always tastes a bit off.
But as the meal was in full swing, Guo Baiwen suddenly had an idea: "Why don't we start offering this hot pot chicken in our shop later?"
When the weather gets cold, everyone wants something hot to eat.
It's the perfect time to enjoy hot pot.
"We won't say we'll prepare a lot beforehand," hot pot dishes are easily categorized as snacks, but if we make a hot pot chicken, we can attract customers who want to eat slowly, just like other restaurants. "Let's prepare enough dishes for a few days based on what we'll eat today, and see how things go."
If it sells well, we can prepare more later.
"The broth for this hot pot chicken is the same as that for the vegetables. Compared to eating vegetables alone, this hot pot chicken that several people can share might attract more different customers."
With six people in total, they can still have some left over after two servings of hot pot chicken and one serving of noodles.
"Several people can share a hot pot chicken and add some noodles. We can also add some of our hot pot vegetables to the pot. I think some people will want to try it."
That's true. "If we're going to use chicken for the hot pot, we'll need quite a few chickens every day. For the first few days, we could barely supply enough ourselves. But later on, it won't be enough for just a few farmers to buy so many chickens."
Near Xiuning County, no one had ever heard of anyone raising so many chickens.
However, this was just a test. Not to mention the Chen family, the Guo family already had nearly twenty chickens in their courtyard in the south of the city.
Because they were just testing the waters, they initially only prepared three chickens. The Guo family was generous with their feed, and each chicken was plump and healthy. Now, they were using the large iron pot in the house to cook and stew the chickens.
Once it's almost cooked, scoop out some of the broth from the blanched vegetables and let it soak in the broth. The chicken will only become more and more flavorful as it soaks in the broth.
Half a chicken, along with some miscellaneous side dishes, is sold as a hot pot chicken dish.
Since this is the first time making it, even if the six servings of hot pot chicken don't sell, my family can still finish them for dinner.
When the small pot was set up in Guo's restaurant, Grandma Guo thought it would be kept until the evening, but before noon was over, all six portions of hot pot chicken had already been sold out!
Moreover, when the stall was closing at noon, many customers came over to ask if they still had this hot pot chicken for dinner, intending to order one in advance.
After all, the chicken was first stir-fried with sauce, and then the broth from blanching vegetables and side dishes were added. As it simmered on the small stove, it only became more and more flavorful.
Moreover, if there aren't enough side dishes, you can add some hot pot vegetables and noodles. Three or four people can eat their fill from one pot.
When you do the math, this price is much cheaper than pork ribs or lamb hot pot.
So, right after closing up shop at noon, Grandma Guo hurriedly told Yang Qiaomai to go to Guojia Village to buy chicken.
There were already twelve servings of hot pot chicken ordered in advance for lunch alone.
Based on this calculation, at least ten chickens are needed per day.
The chickens at home are barely enough to last until tomorrow. If they really start selling well, they'll have to ask around in other villages besides Guojia Village to see if anyone raises chickens.
Before setting up her stall that evening, Yang Qiaomai brought back another fifteen or sixteen chickens, barely enough to make up the quota for the next two days.
When Grandma Guo closed up shop that night and started calculating on her abacus, she discovered that these few pots actually made her more money than the hot pot she had sold for half a month.
If you deduct the cost, the shop made more than three taels of silver from selling twenty servings of hot pot chicken today.
Even though Guo Baiwen said that in four or five days, the surrounding restaurants would probably launch similar hot pots, it's still good to be one step ahead and earn more money!
Now that they no longer had to worry about whether they could sell the goods, the Guo family members got busy to make business easier in the next few days.
Guo Baiwen had originally received a month's leave from the prefectural school because he had participated in the provincial examination. Now that he had failed the exam and returned to the county town, he originally wanted to relax, but he was conscripted by Grandma Guo.
However, once you get busy like this, there's really no time left to wallow in self-pity.
The next day, I went to ask around in several surrounding villages. Each household bought one or two, and by pooling our resources, we could buy a dozen or so from one village.
After that, they would take turns going to other villages to buy things, paying a few coins more than others, but that should still be enough to make ends meet.
Guo Baiwen spent several days running around with his cat, Mao Mao, to deal with the chickens.
Although the autumn sun had tanned him a bit darker, the lingering resentment in his heart finally dissipated completely after seeing Grandma Guo's increasingly wider smile and the shop's steadily growing income over the past few days.
Things will get better eventually.
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