Shopkeeper Shen snorted and laughed: "I don't think so."
He whispered gossip to Xu Wenqu: "This guy is called Xu Xian. I heard he has some talent. Because you have the same surname, people often link you to him. Why do you call him 'Little Xu Siyuan'? When I see his arrogant look, I feel that this is definitely not the right name!"
Tang Shiyue couldn't help laughing and said, "Maybe he is just full of poetry and books and is arrogant."
"No," Shopkeeper Shen shook his hand. "He's arrogant. He doesn't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is. If he has a little talent, he won't be like this. If you don't believe me, let's make a bet."
Tang Shiyue rolled her eyes at him and said, "Why should I bet that he's the top candidate? It's not like there's no one in my family taking the exam!"
Shopkeeper Shen couldn't help but smile, "That's right."
They kept staring down as they talked, but when everyone came out, they didn't see the three of them.
Xu Wenqu was a little surprised and said, "I thought Yang'er would come out as the top star."
Fourth Uncle Tang respected Xu Wenqu very much and usually didn't dare to talk to him. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mr. Xu, is Ayang's knowledge better than Arong and Achen's?"
"Not really," Xu Wen said, "Yang'er is calm and decisive. He won't check again and again after he's done it, so he'll come out earlier. Rong'er is cautious, and Chen'er...is a little lacking in confidence, so they'll be slower, but the second card should all come out."
...
...
Half an hour later, the second card was placed, and sure enough, all three of them came out together.
Several people hurried forward to greet him. Manager Shen went over and picked up Huo Qiyang, muttering, "Ayang is still a baby! Sitting in the cold wind for a whole day is really not something a human should do."
Huo Qiyang shook his head and said to Tang Shiyue, "Sister, it's not cold."
Xu Wenqu asked: "What is the topic?"
"Ahhh!" Tang Shiyue said anxiously, "Don't ask after the test! It will make you nervous!"
Xu Wenqu held his forehead with his hand and said no more. He returned to the Sifang Restaurant where they were staying. He heard a commotion from a distance. After entering, he saw several scholars surrounding a scholar in the middle like stars surrounding the moon. The scholar was none other than Xu Xian.
Xu Xian was reciting something loudly. It should be the essay he wrote in the exam room. When he recited a few sentences, the people around him praised him.
Several people stopped and listened.
Tang Shiyue couldn't tell whether it was good or bad, so she looked at Xu Wenqu. Xu Wenqu didn't comment, just listened to a short part, and said, "Go upstairs and have a rest, it's not interesting."
A few people walked to the back. When Xu Xian was feeling very proud, he saw Huo Qiyang who was being hugged.
Huo Qiyang's seat was right across from him at the time. When he was having lunch, he suddenly smelled a salty aroma that upset him. He was holding a grudge in his heart, and when he saw it, he couldn't help but sneer, "Since when can a baby who has not been weaned take the exam?"
Huo Qiyang was indeed tired and was leaning on Manager Shen's shoulder. When he heard this, he looked up at him and said nothing.
Tang Shiyue really wanted to retort.
But she really had no idea about the level of the people in her family, and was afraid that they would really lose to Xu Kuang Kuang in the future, so she didn't say anything. Instead, Xu Wenqu glanced at her, stopped and said, "You are so frivolous before the results are announced. How will you cope with yourself in the future when you become famous?"
Xu Xian was furious: "Who are you to dare to curse me like that!"
Xu Wenqu continued to walk forward, and replied coldly: "Xu Qing."
Xu Xian said angrily: "You..." He suddenly stopped talking.
Xu Siyuan, whose given name is Xu Qing and whose courtesy name is Wenqu, could this person be Xu Siyuan? But Xu Siyuan had already passed the imperial examination, so how could he possibly come to take part in the county examination? Could it be that he had heard of his talent and deliberately came to mock him?
But no matter how he thought about it, he didn't dare to catch up.
Tang Shiyue was immediately pleased when she saw Xu Xian's constipated expression. She chased after Xu Wenqu and asked, "Sir, sir! How is his article?"
Xu asked about the channel: "Not bad."
She asked, "Can I win?"
Xu Wenqu hesitated for a moment and said, "That's about the same."
He explained to her gently, "The admissions process is very open. Seventy percent of people will be accepted. Then, for the first round, the number will be reduced by twenty percent. After that, the number will decrease in each round. In the end, only about fifty people will be left."
He patted her head and said, "He can win the game, but he may not be able to stay until the end. He is definitely not as good as Rong'er and the others."
After coaxing her for a while, he said, "You've been tired all day, let's eat something good tonight."
Tang Shiyue then said "oh" and went to the kitchen.
Shopkeeper Shen found it a little funny, thinking Xu Wenqu was just coaxing a child. Xu Wenqu had already closed the door and asked a few apprentices to recite the articles in the examination room. After taking a look, he said, "Not bad, if there are no accidents, they will all pass."
After each examination in the county, the results would be announced, which was called "fa'an". Because the names on the examination papers were sealed, only the seat numbers would be written in a circle when the results were announced, which was called "yuan'an".
Those who are within the top 50 are in the first circle, which is divided into two layers: the outer circle is for the top 30 and the inner circle is for the top 20. In the middle of the outer circle, the first place is written one character higher, and the others are listed in order from the left. Therefore, those who are not in the circle are called "out of the circle".
In the middle of the circle, the word "中" will be written with a red pen. The vertical stroke of this word "中" should be longer on the top and shorter on the bottom, like the upper part of the word "贵", to express an auspicious meaning.
When you hear the sound of blowing or beating, it means a crime has occurred.
Tang Shiyue refused to listen to the advice and squeezed in to take a look himself. Then he was confused by the "No. 8 Tian" and "No. 5 Chen". Tang Shirong took a few glances, frowned, and went to look at the spare list next to him.
Yuan'an is the top 50 in this exam. They will be given a higher seat in the next exam, which means their seats are closer to the examiner and the invigilation will be stricter.
But all those who completed the case and those on the waiting list can participate in the next round, and the rest are eliminated. As expected, about 30% were eliminated.
Tang Shiyue was squeezed and staggered, so Tang Shirong pulled her hand and squeezed out, whispering to Xu Wen: "Ayang and I are both on the round table."
Xu Wenqu raised his eyebrows and glanced at Tang Junchen, who lowered his head and said nothing. Tang Shirong then said, "Achen is seventh on the reserve list."
Xu asked the channel: "What's your ranking?"
Tang Shirong coughed and said, "First. Ayang is 22nd."
Tang Shiyue, who didn't understand at all, was overjoyed: "Really?"
"Hush!" Tang Shirong patted her gently, "There's more to come."
Tang Shiyue quickly covered her mouth, her eyes widened.
Xu Wenqu found it interesting and did not remind her that she was actually first in this round and her ranking would not be bad if there were no accidents later. He just stood up with a smile.
After four consecutive exams, Tang Shirong had been firmly in first place, Huo Qiyang had been fluctuating between tenth and twentieth place, and Tang Junchen's ranking had slowly risen and he finally made it into the circle.
Until the last announcement of the results, all admitted candidates are arranged horizontally according to their ranking and their names are used to announce their results, which is called a "long case".
Tang Shirong's name was indeed at the top of the list.
But what was surprising and surprising was that Huo Qi Yang's name was actually second!
Tang Junchen was ranked 50th. Because there were 50 candidates in the county exam, a red pen would be used to draw a hook under the 50th place, like a chair, indicating the end. Therefore, the 50th place was jokingly called "sitting on the red chair", which was also very conspicuous.
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