The registration and guarantee procedures for the academy examination are similar to those for the prefectural and county examinations. The examination is held in person by the provincial education commissioner and rotated in various prefectures within the province. Students can participate in the examination according to the nearest prefecture according to their household registration.
So there is actually no exact time. After all, the order of "rotation" determines the examination time in each prefecture.
But it is probably limited to June and July, and ends before the provincial and autumn examinations in August.
This year, Wei Shu got the exact information and confirmed that the examination time in the provincial capital would be in July. There were still about three months of preparation time, which was not particularly tight.
Chen Cui also wanted them to stay in Cuiwei for a while longer. After all, taking into account the time gain in the academy, the three young men taking the exam would have nearly twice as much time to review their studies. So the original plan was to let them do the same as the ones before them and go there when the exam was about to start. The families of Zuoyou Wei were already very familiar with the city, and Wei Shu had also rented a small courtyard, so there was no need for them to go there in advance to adapt.
But plans cannot keep up with changes.
After the results of the previous prefectural exam came out, Shen Cui did not hide the good news and went into the city to share it with the Shen family.
In the past two years, Shen Da has been promoted from a small manager to the owner of a store, and Shen Er has also been promoted from the second in command in the kitchen to the first in command.
The promotion of the two not only doubled their monthly salary, making life easier for the Shen family, but also meant that their network of contacts reached a new level.
After the county examination in February, rumors that Cuiwei had taken advantage of Qingzhu and had luck to produce a top candidate in the county examination spread over time. Some people even found out that Cuiwei's headmistress was a woman, and they looked down on Cuiwei even more... Shen Da and Shen Er both heard some of the rumors at their workplaces.
The two brothers were so angry that they didn't dare tell Zheng about this, for fear that Zheng would get anxious if she knew. After discussing it, the two brothers asked Li, who was a cautious person, to come and ask about it.
Chen Cui told them not to worry, saying that after the provincial exam, their students would get good grades, which would dispel the rumor.
So after the results of the provincial examination came out, Chen Cui went back to Chahu Lane to announce the good news.
She didn't need to say anything, Shen Da and Shen Er naturally helped her promote it.
Now no one believed the previous rumors anymore, but unexpectedly the result of the publicity was too good, and Cuiwei Academy became famous in the county town - an academy that had been established for two years and had only four permanent students, three of whom had already won the title of Tongsheng, and their results in the county and prefectural examinations were all shockingly good.
No matter how recent such academies were, how simple their facilities were, or how remote their locations were, they became the objects of great attraction for people at that time just based on their achievements.
Soon, people began to inquire about the exact address of Cuiwei Academy.
Chen Cui needs to activate the time gain here, and no outsiders can disturb her. There are almost no outsiders coming here, so this gain has been used very smoothly, and the gate of the academy is usually open.
But after becoming famous, many people came to visit him.
Some people are better and know to knock on the door when they arrive, but some people are completely impolite and just walk in when they see the door is open, which makes the time gain invalid.
Later, Chen Cui kept the door closed every day, but the consequence was that someone would come and knock on the door from time to time.
They didn't have any bad intentions. They just had children who were about to go to school, so they wanted to come and check out Cuiwei's actual situation and find out whether Cuiwei would accept students.
Shen Cui had no plans to upgrade the academy recently, and since the four student places were fully booked, she naturally declined.
But since the other person had come specially to her house, she had to entertain him for a while.
She can't concentrate when socializing, and her focus will drop over time. Moreover, the number of times they had to get up and open the door for social events increased, which was noisy and affected the mood of Shen Cui and other people in the academy.
Throughout May, the time buff was effective for less than half of the time.
Chen Cui was fed up with it, so she put up a wooden sign saying "No Trespassing" at the door and posted a notice that there was no plan to expand the number of students for the time being, but it still didn't stop those people's enthusiasm - after this period of time, it was not only the city people who knew about Cuiwei Academy. When the villagers saw so many city people coming here, they couldn't help but ask them what they were doing there.
After asking around, I found out that the academy in my village was so powerful that there were three masters of studying under the tutelage!
Those city dwellers who came here because of the reputation of the place would tell the villagers what they knew, and of course they would also ask about other things and exchange information with the villagers.
Only after asking this did I find out that the 'little Sanyuan' three years ago, although he was Qingzhu's student, was actually the son of the Mu family!
Some people in the village are also gossipy. They don't stop talking about this, but also say something else, saying that Chen Cui, the head of Cuiwei, used to be a rude and unreasonable person, and even her own son looked stupid. Anyway, both the mother and the son were despised.
I don’t know when it started, but both mother and son became different people. One was well-educated, kind-hearted, and opened Cuiwei, while the other was Cuiwei’s first student. Who knows, he will become a master student next year!
Tongsheng are also highly respected among ordinary people. Even in some remote villages, private schools are opened to recruit students, and admission places are very fierce.
Here in Cuiwei, everyone is a student, and it seems that fame and honor are free!
Earlier, Wei Shu and Wei's parents talked about Cuiwei's uniqueness, and successfully concluded that the old house where Cuiwei lived was a Feng Shui treasure land.
If they have such speculation, others will naturally have it too.
I don’t know how, but Cuiwei has become a well-known Feng Shui location with many outstanding people and beautiful scenery.
Some people even say that every flower, tree, stone and brick here are full of spiritual energy!
Some people don't believe this, but there are many people who can't even read and love to listen to this kind of mysterious gossip.
Besides, I'm just here to hang out. If I can get some so-called spiritual energy, I'll make a profit. If I can't, forget it. I won't lose anything.
Everyone in the village has some friendship with Shen Cui and Zhou. Some old people even take advantage of their seniority, saying that they watched Shen Cui grow up and don't treat themselves as outsiders. Sometimes they bring relatives and friends from other villages to come and take a look, and sometimes they are entrusted by some distant relatives to ask if they are recruiting students. As for the notice that says they are not recruiting students for the time being, people there are illiterate and it is useless!
Shen Cui politely explained that her school was not recruiting students for the time being, and the reactions she received were mixed.
Most people knew that there were no new students and did not ask any questions. Some people were like sticky candy and boasted, "My relative's children are so smart, you should at least meet them and test them..." Then they persevered and took their children to Cuiwei.
Some even said directly, "We are all from the same village, so why not recruit them? What's wrong with letting my child come and sit in on the class? You even ate at my house when you were a kid!"
In fact, according to Chen Cui's personality, when she meets those who are annoying and unreasonable, she doesn't want to be nice to them at all. There are even some extreme ones who make her want to beat them up directly.
But there was no way. Some things became very troublesome once they involved human relationships. Moreover, scholars nowadays wanted to have a reputation. As the head of the academy, she represented not only herself, so she could only suppress her temper.
Later, even the confused old lady in the village was implicated - others heard from somewhere that she had a good relationship with Zhou, so they coaxed her to bring the person to Cuiwei.
For her, the treatment cannot be taken lightly or seriously, and it is hard to explain clearly. It is said that old people are like children. Dealing with this old lady is a hundred times more tiring than Chen Cui raising four kids!
This quiet place, his own academy, has become a check-in spot for internet celebrities in later generations.
Now the plan to move the academy, which was said to be discussed later, was officially put on the agenda - right now the three of them were just students, and after the academy examination, Cuiwei would produce three scholars at once, and I'm afraid the school would be even more crowded!
Shen Cui discussed it with Lao Buyu first. Lao Buyu had said before that the teaching would last for three years, but if Shen Cui hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten about it.
"Anyway, I won't leave. I'll go wherever the academy goes. All the arrangements of the academy will be subject to the dean!"
With his consent, Shen Cui took time out to go back to the Shen family that day.
As soon as they met, Zheng looked at her and said, "Why do you look like this? Someone who doesn't know would think you're taking the exam in person! You're almost thirty, why don't you make me worry?"
Although Zheng complained, there was genuine heartache in her eyes.
After letting Chen Cui in, Zheng opened the box and took out a box of snacks for her.
"Your second brother's employer gave it to us. There were two boxes in total. One box was divided between their two families, and the other was given to us as a gift. We couldn't bear to eat it, and wanted to give it to Erpang some time."
The Shen family members all went to work, and Teapot Lane was quieter than the Academy. Shen Cui felt better, took off her shoes, found a comfortable position to lie on the kang, and said listlessly: "Then I'll take it back to Erpang."
"Don't move it around, just eat it here. I remember you also like to eat this kind of exquisite snack." Zheng directly removed the seal on the snack box, opened it, took out a piece and handed it to her.
In public, Chen Cui is the head of the academy, and everyone will consult her when they encounter matters they are unsure about.
Over time, Chen Cui also took on this responsibility. Like this time when she encountered a lot of unreasonable bastards, she was really annoyed, but she didn't reveal it to others. When the teenagers asked about it, she told them not to worry and said she could handle it.
But she didn't know what was wrong with Zheng and she didn't want to pretend anymore. After eating the fragrant and soft milk cake, Shen Cui said angrily, "Mom, I may not be able to stay in the village anymore."
Zheng was just smiling, but when he heard this, his eyebrows raised, "Who made things difficult for you?"
She looked like she was going to fight someone, so Shen Cui quickly said that it was not a problem. "They just came to watch the fun, to visit, to ask if we were recruiting students, and some even wanted to steal our academy's plaque in the middle of the night and sell it for money... I want to open the academy in another place."
"So that's it." Zheng was relieved. "Those people just saw that our academy has a shallow foundation and that you are the one in charge, a woman, so they thought we were easy to bully! Otherwise, why didn't they go to places like Qingzhu Academy to make trouble? It's right for you not to get angry. If you really get angry, those people will spread that we have just produced a few students and we are so arrogant, which is not good for the reputation of the children... But in fact, the village is not a good place. There are all kinds of people here. In the past, it only had the benefit of being quiet. Now that quietness is gone, there is no need to stay there. Where do you want to go?"
Chen Cui told Zheng about her previous plan, "Wei Shu and the others have become close brothers with Er Pang, and they don't want to be separated. And after Er Pang passes the county exam next year, the prefectural exam and the imperial exam will both be held in the prefectural city."
I heard that she wanted to go directly to the provincial capital to set up a college.
In fact, Zheng secretly hoped that Chen Cui would move the academy to the county town so that it would be closer to them.
Even if Erpang wants to study during the day, they can't disturb him, but they can come over for a meal from time to time.
If they go to the provincial capital, it will take several days to go back and forth. She and Mr. Shen have a family to take care of. Normally, it is okay for them to go to the village, but if they go to the provincial capital... the time they have to spend together is really limited.
She groaned in silence, and Shen Cui was also quietly waiting for the answer. After all, he took possession of someone else's own daughter's body, and Shen Cui really respected Zheng as her own elder and had to listen to her opinions.
After a while, Zheng said, "Water flows to the lowest place, people go to the highest place! The Wei brothers ranked first in the county exam, and our Erpang is no worse than them. He will definitely pass the exam next year! He will only be thirteen next year. Who can be assured if he is left alone outside? You must go with him. If you just move to the county town now, you will have to go through it again later. You might as well go directly to the prefectural city!"
After that, she asked worriedly, "I have never been to the capital. How much does it cost to open a school there?"
After saying this, without waiting for Shen Cui to reply, Zheng anxiously got up to open the boxes and search for the silver and money box.
Chen Cui hurriedly stopped her, "Don't worry, mother. I have been saving money these years. I don't have much, but I can still afford a few dozen taels. And I just need to rent a yard that is not smaller than the old house."
After hearing this, Zheng stopped looking for anything anxiously, but stood in front of the box without moving. Chen Cui got off the kang and pulled her over, and found that Zheng, who was always strong-willed, had red eyes.
Shen Cui took a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, "If you don't want to...then I will just move the academy into the city first?"
Zheng took a handkerchief and wiped her eyes quickly, and said viciously in the same tone as usual: "Don't tell me these things. I thought you were just a lazy girl who could do nothing but eat and wait for death. Now you are really grown up and can stand on your own. Just run your academy well and train our Erpang and other children to be talented. You don't have to worry about other things. When Erpang becomes an official in the future, you must bring me and your father to your side to enjoy the good life! Then we will have many days to reunite!"
Chen Cui's discomfort was soothed, and Zheng finally forced ten taels of silver on her, saying that this was not a gift from Shen Da and Shen Er, but was saved by old man Shen and her from doing odd jobs after she came to the city. She could give it to whoever they wanted, and told her to accept it with confidence.
Before returning to the village, Shen Cui spent some money in the city to buy some gifts and then went to visit the head of the village.
The head of the village still has a lot of prestige in the village. With his presence, the unhealthy tendencies in the village have been temporarily curbed, allowing Chen Cui to activate the time gain on a daily basis.
But why do we say temporarily? Chen Cui had inquired before. The head of the village had a son who was an old student. He had taken the exam for more than ten years but still had not passed the examination to become a scholar. He also had to take the college entrance examination this year.
She had never asked the head of the village for help before because she was grateful for the favor and owed him a favor. If the head of the village's son failed to pass the imperial examination, she was afraid that the head of the village would use this favor to make trouble.
But now that we have decided to move away, we are not worried about anything happening here in the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
