Chapter 74: Sent to the Examination Room [VIP]
Huang Dongsheng and Tian Baolai drove a mule cart to take Zhao Xiaofu and his mother to the government office.
At this time, some candidates have begun to be inspected by the officers and are entering.
Zhao Xiaofu jumped off the mule cart, took the package handed to him by his mother, and thanked Huang Dongsheng and the others.
Mrs. Xu straightened her son's clothes and patted his arm. "Xiaofu, I'll watch you go in."
Before Zhao Xiaofu entered, Huang Dongsheng hurriedly pulled out a pair of rabbit-skin kneepads from his pocket and handed them to him. "Brother Xiaofu, even though it's already April, it's still a bit chilly early in the morning and at night. My mother made these kneepads for you. You know every household in our village raises rabbits now, so don't refuse."
The pure white knee pads are free of impurities, the rabbit fur is soft and warm to the touch, the hems are made of silk thread of the same color, and even the straps are made of the finest silk cloth.
You can tell at first glance that a lot of thought went into this.
Zhao Xiaofu took the kneepad and looked at Huang Dongsheng. "I'm going to sell this out in the future. Thank your parents for me."
Huang Dongsheng raised the corners of his mouth, and he felt a little embarrassed about what he had done.
In fact, he also had his own little thoughts when he gave Zhao Xiaofu the knee pads.
If Brother Xiaofu really passes the exam to become a Tongsheng, then they will have something to sell these knee pads for later.
Just like the old scholar in the city wrote a poem for Qingyudou.
Every candidate must verify their identity before entering, and check their bags and clothes to see if they are carrying any smuggled goods.
Just look, in front of Zhao Xiaofu, there was a middle-aged man who was thrown out by the police because he had cheat sheets hidden in his clothes. He was disheveled and looked quite embarrassed, and he was also banned from taking the imperial examinations in the future.
Many candidates who were discovered like him knelt in front of the yamen and kowtowed and begged the officials to give them another chance.
The examiner stood at the door, gazing at this group of lowly people. He clasped his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, "The Emperor is so kind that he will not pursue the past of three generations of your ancestors. Do you understand what this means?"
The crowd knelt on the ground and could not hear anything, they just kept begging.
"This is where your generation starts. If you pass the exam, you'll be able to change your family and have a chance to turn your life around. But you idiots are taking advantage of this and don't even realize it. You're even trying to cheat by cheating. I'll have you guys kicked out."
Zhao Xiaofu, who was being examined, couldn't help but frown when he heard this.
Liu Chuang and his colleagues held swords and had ferocious looks on their faces. Before they could make a move, the group of people had already scattered like birds and beasts.
Liu Chuang was a little surprised to see Huang Dongsheng leading the mule. Although they were acquaintances, he was not allowed to greet him as he was on duty, so he pretended not to see him and continued to maintain order with his colleagues.
Mrs. Xu watched her son enter the examination room safely, and her heart finally settled down a little.
Tian Baolai was driving the carriage in front, while Huang Dongsheng sat in the covered carriage with Xu and talked.
"Aunt, don't worry about Xiaofu. My cousin's husband said he will definitely pass the exam. What you should worry about now is how to earn money to support Xiaofu's trip to Beijing to take the exam."
Ever since her husband passed away, Xu has lost her backbone. If it weren't for her son, she would definitely have followed him.
Now, hearing Huang Dongsheng talking to me about making money to support his son's imperial examinations, it was like a wake-up call.
She used to be a slave, and the Cui family paid a fixed monthly allowance to her family. Since she and her son were restored to free status, the family has had no income.
Not only did he have no income, his son didn't even have a decent desk.
She is an incompetent mother.
If her son really passed the examination to become a Tongsheng, he would definitely have to take the Xiucai examination in the future. Then she would have to earn money for her son to continue his studies and not hold him back.
Xu pursed her dry lips and looked up at Huang Dongsheng: "Dongsheng, can I take your rabbit home to raise?"
Huang Dongsheng told Xu that after Qingming Festival, all the rabbits in the village would be moved to the rabbit house and raised, and there were already regular workers raising the rabbits.
Hearing this, Xu felt a little depressed, but she cheered herself up again and decided to go back to her old job instead of raising rabbits.
"Aunt, I see that the pair of knee pads you gave me are a bit plain. I wonder if your parents have hired an embroiderer. I used to work in Cui. I am very good at embroidery and can make many patterns." Xu quickly changed her words and recommended herself to Huang Dongsheng again.
Xu and he had the same idea. If they wanted to sell the handicrafts, they had to have an embroiderer with good embroidery skills to lead the women in the village.
Their family had asked Yang Wenying before, but Wenying had taken on the embroidery work of Shopkeeper Lu in Baihe Town, and she had to squeeze out time just to provide the patterns, not to mention taking the trouble to guide the embroiderers in the village.
So, at Yang Wenying's suggestion, he took the opportunity to mention this matter to Aunt Xu.
I didn't expect Aunt Xu to be so capable. It's just like someone offering tea when you're thirsty and a pillow when you're sleepy. It's just what I want.
Huang Dongsheng excitedly raised his buttocks, and before he could stand up straight, his head hit the roof of the covered wagon. The loud bang was so loud that even Tian Baolai, who was driving the wagon in front, heard it.
"Dongsheng,
"Cousin, it's okay, it's okay."
Tian Baolai responded.
Huang Dongsheng told Xu about his mother's situation. As for the salary, except for 500 coins a month, Xu could get 10% of the rest.
Mrs. Xu was also excited and banged her head. "Dongsheng, can you make the decision on this matter? Will your parents agree?"
Huang Dongsheng bared his teeth and said something flattering: "To be honest, we have already discussed this matter at home. We were just worried that you would not agree. After all, you will be the mother of an official in the future, an old lady."
Xu was so amused by the brat in front of her that she almost cried. "You're talking nonsense! No wonder everyone in the village says you're a smooth talker. When we get back to the village, I'll discuss this with your parents."
"Okay."
The mule cart stopped at Dongshikou, and Xu asked Huang Dongsheng what he wanted to buy, after all, he ran his own shop.
"Wenying gave me some money and asked me to bring her twenty chicks to raise." Huang Dongsheng got off the car with a basket, and did not forget to wave and say hello to Qin, the owner of the bun shop.
When Mrs. Xu heard this, she also got off the mule cart and said, "Come on, I'll help you choose."
This noisy guy doesn't look like someone who can pick chicks.
As soon as the two entered the East Market, the vendors in the market were particularly enthusiastic in recommending their products to them.
However, the two men had a clear purpose and walked straight to the stall of the woman selling chicks.
There was hay in the two baskets on the left and right, and the fluffy little chicks gathered in the baskets, chirping and making a lot of noise.
Xu immediately grabbed two and examined them carefully. The woman said quickly, "Don't worry, sister. My chickens are easy to take care of. They are all very energetic."
"Then I have to take a closer look too. Why, are you selling this chick and taking it home to guarantee its survival?"
"Big sister, look at what you said. Whether it can survive depends on how you raise it. People will get sick after eating grains, let alone chickens. Besides, my chickens are not expensive."
"How much is one?"
As soon as the woman made the offer, Xu frowned and pulled Huang Dongsheng away.
"Big sister, you're not buying this sincerely, are you just playing around?"
Mrs. Xu stopped and glared at her. "You think I'm a child who can be fooled? Eggs are two cents each, and you want three cents for these chicks. What? Your hens are also paid for hatching eggs? Two cents each, sell them quickly, and I'll buy twenty."
The woman, who was about to sneer, immediately stood up and warmly held her back when she heard that Xu wanted to buy twenty. "Sister, please don't leave. We can negotiate the price."
Xu and Huang Dongsheng squatted down again.
The woman held Xu's hand and gestured twice, "Sister, this price is for you. The hens sit on the brood for free, but I have to support my family. Two cents a chicken is really too low."
Xu withdrew her hand and said, "Another five cents."
"The maximum reduction is two cents."
"Dongsheng, let's go."
"Okay, okay, I'll go with the price you mentioned. Come over and choose."
After Xu finished choosing, she reminded the two not to tell anyone the price.
When Huang Dongsheng returned to the mule cart with a basket of chicks, he told his cousin about Xu's achievement of buying twenty chicks for fifty cents.
Tian Baolai immediately gave Xu a thumbs-up and said, "Aunt, you are the one who helped me. If Sister Wenying knew about this, she would definitely be happy."
Huang Dongsheng put down the chicks and went into the bun shop to buy some hot vegetable buns for everyone to fill their stomachs.
When the mule cart passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, Huang Dongsheng got off because he had to open the shop for business.
Tian Baolai continued to drive Aunt Xu and the chicks back to the village, and then went to the countryside to collect spring bamboo shoots, mushrooms and other fresh vegetables.
When Xu handed the chicks and the remaining money to Yang Wenying, Yang Wenying looked at the remaining ten copper coins in disbelief.
It turns out that old ginger is still spicy.
"Are you home alone?" Mrs. Xu didn't see Chen Yao.
Yang Wenying separated the chicks from the grown chickens, closed the fence door of the chicken coop, and turned to reply, "Ayao has gone to the rabbit hutch to help. You need her for something."
Xu nodded and said goodbye to Yang Wenying, heading towards Huang Jiajian's rabbit house.
As far as the eye could see, the strong laborers in the village were putting up the beams, with red cloth tied in the middle, and Huang Songbai throwing grains and copper coins above the beams.
The villagers who came to help build the structure received this good omen from below and were all grinning from ear to ear.
The rabbit house is almost completed, and the next step is to choose an auspicious day to start construction.
Xu walked in through the open door and saw wooden boards that were fitted together tightly to enclose dozens of areas of the same size.
Mrs. Zheng, her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Yu, Ma Dajiao and others in the village were all spreading hay in the wooden fences and wiping off the dust.
After collecting the rabbits raised by each household, their job is to cut grass to feed the rabbits, clean up the feces in the rabbit houses in time, and ensure ventilation and odor removal.
Everyone was so happy when they thought that when the Huang couple collected the rabbits, they would let each of their families keep one rabbit.
Several people were busy and enthusiastically greeted Xu who came in. When they learned that she was looking for Miao and Shen Yao, they immediately showed her the way.
"Go on in, pass through the small door, and the room on the far right is where Miao and A-Yao work."
Office?
The words sounded fresh. Not only were the words fresh, but even the structure of the rabbit house was eye-catching to her.
Rabbits are raised in the front, and the windows on both sides can be opened to ventilate and dissipate the smell. The middle is separated by wooden boards. There is another row of houses in the back, which is very bright. Embroidery frames, various needles and threads, tables, chairs and benches are placed in the houses.
Xu found the room on the far right and saw Chen Yao and Miao at the door.
"Ayao, Dongsheng's mother, I hope I didn't disturb you." Xu was a little hesitant, not knowing whether she should go in.
Miao immediately stood up and led the person into the house, closing the door.
After learning about Xu's purpose, Miao and A Yao looked at each other. It was the first time they met someone who complained that the wages were too high.
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