Chapter 273: Appreciating Talent
Chang Zhi was young and had the best chance of winning the imperial examination. Many people in Pingzhou City paid attention to him, and his father Zhou Shuren also became famous.
In particular, the neighbors who had always looked down on the Zhou family came to their house frequently and asked them in various ways how they educated their children.
Zhulan felt happy. At the same time, she saw clearly that the ancients were quite thick-skinned. They did not mention the cold reception Zhulan received when she came to visit them. They treated her as warmly as if she were a neighbor of many years.
Zhulan has not forgotten that this time when they moved here, there are more children in the house and it is very lively. How could the neighbors who live just across the wall not hear them? They have been gossiping about the Zhou family a lot!
Zhulan is not the type of person who doesn't bear grudges. She knows nothing about anything no matter how many times she asks. The neighbor hasn't come to visit her after she registered several times. Why didn't she tell him? Doesn't he know what's going on?
A few days before the college entrance examination, gambling was opened in Pingzhou City, and the bets were still on the small three yuan.
Zhulan was not panicking at first, but she could not help but feel panicky as Dong and Xuemei at home kept muttering to themselves, and Zhulan also became panicky.
Zhulan was panicking but she still had to reassure her daughter-in-law and her daughter-in-law, so she could only nag Zhou Shuren at night. Zhulan nagging so much that Zhou Shuren became uneasy!
The college entrance examination is over, and Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. It was more stressful and tiring than when she took the college entrance examination herself!
When the results of the college entrance examination were released, before anyone came to announce the good news, the servants of Sister Dong's house came and announced the good news in advance. "My master asked me to wait for the results early in the morning. As soon as the results came out, I came to announce the good news. Young Master Changzhi ranked first, and Young Master Changlian, who was a student on government stipend, ranked twelfth, also passed."
Dong grinned, "Mom, my husband is a scholar now."
Zhulan took out a silver coin from her purse and gave it to the servant, "Thank you for your hard work. Take this with your tea."
The servant took it with both hands and said, "Today, many people are vying to go to guard the list. All of them know that Pingzhou City will have a junior top three winner. Even if it is not a junior top three winner, it will be a junior scholar, and the reward will definitely not be small."
If he wasn't the housekeeper's nephew, he wouldn't have been able to survive!
Mrs. Dong also hurriedly took out a silver coin and handed it to the servant, "Use this silver coin to drink some wine and warm yourself up."
The servant still remembered the master's instructions, that if the wife's brother-in-law passed away, he should invite someone to come over. "The master said that in three days, the family will prepare wine and food, and invite Mr. Zhou Xiucai, Mr. Chang Lian and the students of the imperial academy to come over for a drink."
Mrs. Dong was proud, because this time they did not come to visit on their own initiative, but were invited.
Zhulan replied, "I will definitely be there in three days."
"The younger one will go back first."
Not long after the servant left, the person who brought the good news arrived. The Zhou family had another student who was born on government scholarship. Zhulan prepared a lot of wedding money, not only for the person who brought the good news, but also for the people nearby who came to celebrate the happy occasion.
After that, the Zhou family kept announcing good news. Jiang Sheng ranked better than Chang Lian, sixth. Xuemei cried with joy, and kept repeating, "Finally passed, finally passed the exam."
Chang Lian was the last one to report the good news. The other two clan members were unlucky and only ranked in the top 20 this year. One of them is 25th and the other is 30th. If they had ranked in the same order as in previous years, they would have almost certainly made the list, but they were just unlucky.
However, the two students from the Ming generation had a good attitude. They were envious, but they also had confidence that they would pass the exam next time.
The Zhou family produced three scholars today, and the whole street was in an uproar, especially because of the youngest scholar. Including the son-in-law, the Zhou family has four scholars, and all three are not very old. No matter how bad their luck is, they can at least produce a successful person. Everyone knows that the Zhou family is no longer just a family of scholars.
Zhulan did not wait for Zhou Shuren to return with his son and son-in-law, but instead entertained people who kept coming to congratulate her.
Wu Li also came, "Congratulations."
Zhulan's smile was a little stiff, "I'm happy for you."
The Wu and Li families envied the Yang family. The Zhou family now had two more sons who had become successful. The Zhou family would be different in the future, and the Wu family would still have to rely on their eldest grandson!
At noon, the Zhou family didn't have time to eat, as they sent off wave after wave of people who came to congratulate them and were curious.
In the afternoon, Zhou Shuren returned with his two sons and son-in-law. Zhou Shuren was very happy. He felt a great sense of accomplishment as a father today. No matter how many sour words were said, he was cheerful. Today, Changzhi made him proud.
Zhulan laughed, "Look how happy you are."
"Is there?"
"Of course you did. You were smiling all the time."
Zhou Shuren laughed, "I am indeed happy. Xu Jinshi will also meet the two boys tomorrow."
These two guys are so lucky. Bai picked him and Zhulan as their parents, which changed their fate. Now they have caught the eye of Mr. Xu!
Zhu Lan asked, "Didn't you say you wanted to meet Jiang Sheng?"
Zhou Shuren wiped his face and shook his head. "Xu Jinshi has an age limit for selecting apprentices. Jiang Sheng is over the age limit, and Jiang Sheng also wants to return to the county. I wrote a letter to my in-laws. Considering that Chang Lian became a scholar and there are three scholars in our family, they should be able to accept Jiang Sheng."
Zhulan, "I hope to accept Jiang Sheng. He will be taken care of by our in-laws in the future. We won't have to worry about Xuemei wherever we go."
"kindness."
At dinner that night, Jiang Sheng drank too much. He had been holding it in for so many years, under so much pressure all for the title of scholar. He had been through so much, and he started crying after drinking too much.
Zhulan felt sad when she heard Jiang Sheng laughing. It was not easy for Jiang Sheng to have his parents' attitude changed just for the title of scholar. Fortunately, he survived this year. If not, the Zhou family would go further away and Jiang Sheng would face more and more pressure in the future.
Xuemei couldn't help wiping away her tears. She was the one who understood best how hard her husband had worked. Now everything was fine and over.
The next morning, Jiang Sheng felt embarrassed, "I ruined the atmosphere of the celebration yesterday. I'm here to give Chang Lian and Chang Zhi a gift as compensation."
Chang Lian waved his hands quickly, "Brother-in-law, please stop talking here. I understand."
He really didn't care, instead he was glad that he got through it.
Chang Zhi said: "We all know that my brother-in-law was crying out of joy, so how can it be said that he ruined the atmosphere?"
Jiang Sheng felt warm in his heart. The Yue family gave him warmth and support. Without the Yue family, there would be no Jiang Xiucai today. People should be content with what they have. He is very content now. As for whether he can become a judge in the future, he is very tired after the great joy and does not have the energy to support himself to take the exam.
He wanted to wait a few years until someone in Yue's family became a successful man, and then he could take the exam slowly. This time he finally didn't have to push himself so much, and he wanted to have some leisure time.
After dinner, Zhou Shuren took his two sons to the academy.
Jiang Sheng was not jealous. Instead, he smiled and went out to shop with Xuemei.
The two young men of the Ming generation in the clan had to go home first. Zhou Shuren was not at home, so Zhulan took Zhou the eldest brother to see them off. Zhulan also brought back some wine and cloth for Zhou Wangshi.
Li also bought some things for her parents and brought them back. To express her gratitude, Li made meat-filled buns for the two boys as dry food.
After seeing off the carriage, Zhulan felt relieved. Finally, she had nothing to worry about. She hadn't gotten a good rest in the past few days and was ready to go back and catch up on her sleep.
When Zhulan woke up, Zhou Shuren was lying on his side reading a book. Zhulan turned to the side and asked, "Why did you come back so early?"
Zhou Shuren put down the book in his hand, "Mr. Xu left Chang Zhi behind, and Chang Lian and I returned."
Zhulan perked up, "Did Xu Jinshi accept Changzhi?"
Zhou Shuren had long guessed that Changzhi would be kept. "Changzhi is very smart and focused on his studies. Xu Jinshi thought that Changzhi has the potential to become a great man. Xu Jinshi loves talents and accepted Changzhi without waiting for me to ask. He also said that Changzhi's thirteen-year-old status as a scholar was already impressive enough and there was no need for him to take the provincial examination too early. Even if Changzhi could pass, he would be too young and would easily waste his time. It would be better for him to stay in the academy and study hard."
Zhulan sighed, "Mr. Xu has considered Changzhi very carefully."
Zhou Shuren said, "Xu Jinshi is indifferent to fame and fortune. Compared with Wu Ming, he likes Changzhi more. Moreover, Xu Jinshi has the habit of traveling around. He will take Changzhi to study around. With Xu Jinshi's guidance, Changzhi will get the most suitable education for him."
These are what he could not give. He could teach Chang Lian but not Chang Zhi, because he was utilitarian and ignorant, and had no artistic conception for books and poems.
Zhu Lan asked, "What about Chang Lian?"
He must be very disappointed. Although he doesn't say it, he is eager to study under a famous teacher in his heart.
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(End of this chapter)
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