Chapter 187 Ranking
Jiang Luli not only brought back the printing press, but also brought back the master who was in charge of printing.
I saw that the masters' faces were as pale as paper and their bodies were trembling slightly. It was obvious that they had experienced a lot of bumps on the road.
Gu Jiayue looked at the masters in such a state, and a wave of pity welled up in her heart. She frowned slightly, her eyes full of concern, and said softly, "How about letting them rest for a while? They can continue tomorrow."
"In that case, they might not be able to make it in time for tomorrow's exam. Besides, I tripled their wages." Jiang Luli shook his head slightly.
The master who was working nearby heard the conversation between the two and quickly stopped what he was doing and looked up. Although his face was still grim, he managed a smile and said quickly, "It's okay, it's okay. We are just carriage sick and will be fine in a while."
He lowered his head and continued working. But he was thinking, who wouldn't want money? That's triple the pay! If he just gritted his teeth and persevered, he'd get a generous reward.
Seeing that the masters themselves had no objections, Gu Jiayue naturally didn't say anything more.
The printing room was filled with a faint smell of ink.
The two stayed inside for a long time, carefully observing the entire printing process.
Sometimes they frowned, sometimes they nodded slightly, and they communicated from time to time, discussing whether there was any room for improvement.
"In fact, if conditions permit, it would be better to replace these clay embryos with copper embryos, which will be more durable." Gu Jiayue tilted her head slightly, staring intently at the clay embryos on the printing press, and said thoughtfully.
Jiang Luli's eyes were deep and bright. "Indeed, but there are too many words, and I can't find so much copper at once."
"We can make do with it here, but you can try using copper for the things you take back." Gu Jiayue raised her head and looked at Jiang Luli.
Everyone knew Jiang Luli's identity.
Jiang Luli didn't mention it himself, and Gu Jiayue wouldn't ask.
In the eyes of the two, a prince is not as good as the president of the academy.
Thanks to the efforts of the teachers, all the students in the school received their test papers as scheduled the next morning.
The early morning sun gently shines on the roof of the school, giving this quaint building a layer of golden glow.
This exam does not include the second class of the Imperial Examination, after all, they still have to prepare for the debate competition.
It’s not too late to take the exam after the debate competition.
The main reason was that the school did not have enough teachers to supervise so many classes at the same time. After all, the imperial examination for Class 2 lasted for three days.
When the children in the Enlightenment School received the test papers, they didn't know what they meant.
The teachers stood on the podium with serious faces and majesty in their eyes.
The children were not allowed to turn pages of books or talk to each other.
The classroom was very quiet, and the only sound was the occasional chirping of birds outside the window.
The clever children wrote with impetuous energy, their eyes fixed on the test paper, their pens dancing across the paper, as if immersed in a world of knowledge that belonged only to them, completely oblivious to the passage of time.
However, those children who had poor receptive abilities and did not learn well were scratching their heads and cheeks in their seats, their faces flushed with anxiety.
Their hands were gesturing randomly on the test paper, and they accidentally got ink everywhere. The spots of ink were just like their confused mood at the moment.
Some children simply gave up. After writing everything they could, they leaned back on the table, closed their eyes and dozed off leisurely, as if the test had nothing to do with them.
This exam only includes mathematics and liberal arts.
Firstly, time is too tight to print so many test papers; secondly, the children have not had much time to study, and too many tests may be counterproductive.
After the exam, all the teachers gathered in the conference room.
It was already evening, and the light in the conference room was dim, with a few oil lamps emitting faint light.
The teachers sat around a long table, each of them having dozens of test papers in front of them.
They all lowered their heads, picked up their red pens, and began to correct the papers carefully.
For a moment, the only sound in the conference room was the scratching sound of red pen scratching across the test paper.
With strength in numbers, we finally finished correcting all the test papers before it got completely dark.
At this time, the night outside the window has completely fallen, and stars are twinkling in the night sky.
"Principal Jiang, Master Du, you are the homeroom teachers of the introductory class. Take your class's papers home and sort the scores from high to low. We'll discuss this together after school tomorrow."
At work, Gu Jiayue was even more ruthless than usual.
She stood in front of everyone, her posture straight, her eyes firm, and her tone filled with unquestionable majesty.
"Master Huo, even though there are only two people in the imperial examination class, we can't relax. Their learning progress is different, and we have to think of a way." She frowned slightly, her eyes revealing worry and concern.
Originally, Gu Jiayue was the head teacher of the Imperial Examination Class 1, but some adjustments were made after students from Wutong Academy and Huaqing Academy arrived.
She became the head teacher of the Imperial Examination Class 2, responsible for managing those stubborn people who refused to submit to anyone, and handed over the Imperial Examination Class 1, which consisted of only two people, to Huo Junyu.
Huo Junyu held two light test papers in his hands, and he could see the gap between the two at a glance.
His heart seemed to be torn into two, one half was hot for Zhang Chuyan's excellence, the other half was cold for Gu Yuhe's mediocrity.
He sighed slightly, a helpless look on his face, and said softly, "Okay."
Actually, Gu Yuhe wasn't completely useless; at least he was good at math. But his role model was Zhang Chuyan, who had perfect scores in every subject.
This comparison makes him seem very mediocre.
It was completely dark when Gu Jiayue returned home.
The village was silent, with only the occasional barking of dogs breaking the tranquility.
But everyone in the Gu family was waiting for her to eat.
Looking at the completely untouched food on the table, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.
Although there were no lights on, the moon and stars in the sky illuminated the courtyard very brightly. "Grandma, you don't have to wait for me from now on. I'm always busy."
Grandma smiled kindly and invited everyone to eat. "What's the big deal? We won't be home until dark anyway. Eating later has its advantages. We can eat less in the morning and save money."
Grandma's voice has a strong rural flavor, which makes people feel extremely kind.
Gu Jiayue was amused by her grandmother and laughed out loud, while Gu Yuhe, who used to be chattering every day, was very quiet today.
He sat silently by the side, with his head lowered and a hint of uneasiness in his eyes.
He even helped wash the dishes diligently after dinner, which made grandma very happy.
"Our Yuhe has finally grown up." Grandma said with a smile, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.
Gu Jiayue smiled faintly and said nothing, seeing through it but not saying it out loud.
She knew in her heart that the child knew that he had not done well in the exam again.
After dinner, everyone in the Gu family sat in the yard to enjoy the cool air and chat.
The moonlight was like water, sprinkling in the yard and covering the ground with a layer of silver gauze.
Grandpa fanned himself and said, "Yesterday I went to see the village chief, and he helped me look at it. The day after tomorrow is a good day for moving."
In fact, most of the things in the old house of the Gu family have been moved out, leaving only some commonly used items.
I didn't move there directly because according to the rules in the southwest, you need to choose a date to get things done.
It's not just weddings or funerals, but also big and small events. Some families who are superstitious about these things even have to choose a suitable day before going on a long journey.
Grandpa is one of those people who believes in these things. So he went to see the village chief yesterday.
The village chief has a perpetual calendar at home, which records many things.
The village chief calculated for a while and concluded that the day after tomorrow would be a good day. So the Gu family decided to officially move in the day after tomorrow and then hold a housewarming party.
The day after tomorrow? It happens to be the day of the debate competition.
"That's great. Let's all go watch the debate together this morning, and then go to the new house to eat. That way we won't have to waste the villagers' time for two days." Gu Jiayue's eyes lit up and she said excitedly. After discussing it for a while, they all agreed that it was feasible.
Gu Yuhe did not participate in any of this. He was always paying attention to Gu Jiayue's expression.
But Gu Jiayue didn't even look at him, which made him even more uneasy.
Did I do well in the exam? My second sister wouldn't give me a definite answer.
With a nervous mood, Gu Yuhe slowly closed his eyes and prayed silently in his heart.
On the second day, the morning sun shone into the village as usual, but everyone couldn't help but feel that the atmosphere today was a little different from the past.
Gu Yuhe, who had taken the exam once, had a lot to say. He curled his lips and thought to himself, this is called post-exam syndrome, it will be fine after the papers are handed out.
Either dead, or alive, or hanging in the middle, half dead.
But there are only two people in their class, so he will be first no matter what.
Huo Junyu felt a little tired when he saw Gu Yuhe, who looked as if everything was just a passing cloud.
He shook his head helplessly and said, "I did well in the first round of the exam. I scored 100 points in both mathematics and liberal arts. I'll give you a reward of one tael of silver."
When Zhang Chuyan heard this, his eyes lit up instantly.
He looked at Huo Junyu in disbelief, then looked at the paper and silver in his hand.
One ounce of silver? Could he get one ounce of silver so easily? His hands trembled slightly, and an indescribable joy welled up in his heart.
No wonder the ancients said that there is a golden house in books.
The ancient sages did not deceive me.
"Keep up the good work." Huo Junyu also attaches great importance to this student.
His eyes were full of expectations. With Zhang Chuyan's talent, it was not impossible for him to pass the imperial examination.
But the prerequisite is to keep working hard and studying hard.
"Yes, thank you, Master." Zhang Chuyan felt the weight of the silver in his hand and was extremely happy.
My sister was sold for three taels of silver back then, and now it would take thirty taels to redeem her.
In the past, he would have felt that his life was hopeless, but now he felt that he could still give it a try.
If he took the test once a month, he would be able to collect enough money to redeem his sister in three years.
No, he can go to Mingren Hall to help out during his holidays. The teacher said he could be paid. That way, he could save a lot of money.
The silver felt warm against my chest.
Don’t be afraid, sister. I’ll come and pick you up.
"Gu Yuhe, 59 points in liberal arts, 88 points in mathematics. Total score 147 points, second place."
In fact, Huo Junyu wanted to talk about the last one.
But I also felt that this was too harsh. After all, there were only two students in this class. Whether they did well or not, they would always be first.
One is a reciprocal number and the other is a positive number.
Looking at the gap between Gu Yuhe and Zhang Chuyan, it is impossible for Gu Yuhe to surpass Zhang Chuyan.
So we can't always put Gu Yuhe last, right?
"Come on, take your paper and reward."
Gu Yuhe was feeling a little elated. After his careful calculations last night, he was ready to be treated as the last one.
But not only did Mr. Huo not rank him last, he even gave him a reward!
He shook the five hundred coins in his hand. It was a big string and looked more dazzling than Zhang Chuyan's one or two taels of silver.
"Try harder next time. If your score is lower than this time, I will put you at the bottom of the list, and you won't get any reward."
After giving a sweet date, Huo Junyu also did not forget to hit the person with a stick.
I'm afraid this guy will think that he can just be the second in command and draw a salary without working hard.
Gu Yuhe, overwhelmed by the surprise, finally came to his senses and nodded seriously. "Don't worry, Master Huo, I will definitely work hard."
[The content of Chapter 177 was mistakenly posted as Chapter 187. It has been corrected. Sorry, sorry, this may be due to the trouble of saving manuscripts. Hehe.]
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