The examination seats for the county examination could not even be called rooms - it was just a large shed temporarily set up in the open air, with a number of smaller sheds underneath.
The separated area is really small and not windproof. It only serves to block the candidates' line of sight and prevent them from peeking and cheating. No wonder Wei Shu was the first one to come out and remind them that it is really small and cold inside, they can't even stretch their legs and feet, and the ink they grind is in a semi-solidified state.
At this time, the advantage of Mu Erpang's short stature and short legs came into play. He sat just right inside and was indeed not uncomfortable at all.
However, since she had known about the many inconveniences, Shen Cui had of course thought of a solution.
First of all, Mu Erpang was wearing a few more pieces of clothes than usual. Although he could only wear single clothes and not interlayers, one more piece would make him warmer. Moreover, the cuffs, collar, and trouser legs of his outermost overshirt and trousers were sewn with a row of buttons.
The buttons are usually not buttoned, and he would wear the wide-sleeved style that scholars often wear nowadays. After sitting down, he buttoned all the buttons, and the cold wind immediately stopped getting into the collar and cuffs, and it also made it convenient to write at the back.
After fastening his buttons, Mu Erpang also got the test paper. He was not in a hurry to look at the questions. Instead, he counted the test papers first, then looked at the handwriting to make sure there was no blurriness or mistakes on his paper, and then he started to look at the questions.
Mu Erpang was very confident about the question about the content of the original book. Almost as soon as he saw the question, he already knew how to answer it.
After reading it once, I could already hear the sounds of other candidates grinding ink and writing.
The noises were extremely subtle, but they seemed magnified several times in the examination room where one could hear a pin drop.
Mu Erpang remained calm and looked at the paper again.
When the sun had risen completely, Mu Erpang felt his hands and feet were completely warm, and then he began to grind ink and put pen to paper - he had carefully read all the questions three times, and every word was already engraved in his mind, so there was no way he would make mistakes in reading the questions.
So once he started, he wrote the paper very quickly.
For a dozen papers, others would stop writing because they were tired, needed to think, were nervous, etc., and usually they would just stop and start writing.
But for Mu Erpang, who has been working hard day and night for the past few years, this intensity is not much different from his usual practice.
As he wrote, he relaxed and forgot that this was a county exam. He felt just like he was writing questions in his own academy.
After writing more than a dozen pages in one breath, it was not yet noon. Mu Erpang checked them again to make sure he had made no mistakes.
In fact, he could have handed in his paper at this time, but he was still not impatient. He waited for a while. Time passed until the afternoon. Seeing that several people had already handed in their papers, he followed suit and handed in his paper.
The dragon gate was wide open, and a large group of parents gathered outside to pick up their children for the exam. Some of the more concerned ones even brought their entire family, young and old, out.
Based on Mu Erpang's understanding of his mother, she would always pick up and drop off students for exams, and he would definitely receive the same treatment.
But this time his mother didn't come in a carriage, the target was too small, and he was short, so he couldn't find her for a while. But it didn't matter. Mu Erpang thought that his mother was a patient person and would definitely not rush to squeeze in. She would most likely wait in the open space outside the crowd, somewhere like where there was a tea stall.
However, what he didn't expect was that there was still an hour before the deadline for handing in the papers, and not many people had come out of the examination room. Some anxious parents, seeing some people coming out first, would come up to ask what the exam was about. Is it difficult?
Most of the candidates are teenagers or young adults, and adults generally do not dare to go too far.
Mu Erpang, a half-grown boy with an innocent look on his face, became the one who was caught and questioned non-stop.
Fortunately, brothers He Qing and He Yan came out soon.
They had been guarantors together and got along well. When the two brothers saw that he was surrounded, they immediately "rescued" him. When they heard that he was looking for his family, the two tall and strong men squeezed him in the middle and helped him out like Moses parting the sea.
After squeezing out, He Qing and He Yan first found their uncle who came to pick them up - a burly man who stood out in the crowd.
Then three people worked together to surround Mu Erpang and finally broke free from the encirclement.
As expected, as soon as he walked out of the crowd, Mu Erpang saw Shen Cui waiting on the side.
When Shen Cui saw that the three young men had slightly disheveled hair and sweaty faces, she guessed that they had helped her son get out.
Since they helped, Shen Cui invited them to finish their tea at the tea stall next door.
Uncle He was an honest man, and he quickly said, "It's just a small matter, ma'am, you don't have to be polite."
"You're welcome, just a bowl of tea. It's just right for me to have a chat with the two He brothers."
He Qing and He Yan also liked to stay with Mu Erpang, so they looked at Uncle He with interest.
Finally, Uncle He nodded and asked Chen Cui to invite them to have tea.
The tea stall owner sold tea, but also simple snacks like steamed buns, steamed bread, and sesame cakes. Thinking that the children must not have eaten well in the examination room, especially since He Qing and He Yan had to hurry back to the village, Chen Cui also asked for something else.
More and more candidates came out of Longmen, and gradually the tea stall became lively.
Later, Huang Junping and Zhang Zian were also brought over by their families. After all, it was considered a face-saving thing, so when their families came over to ask if they could share the table, Shen Cui nodded and agreed.
The stall owner first served each of them a bowl of hot tea, and then brought them steamed buns and sesame cakes.
Mu Erpang didn't feel very hungry. He had finished writing by noon and ate the fried rice prepared by Chen Cui. The taste was still lingering in his mouth.
But if he didn't move, He Qing and He Yan would definitely feel embarrassed to eat, so he first took one portion for Shen Cui, then took one portion for himself, and then pushed the plate towards the He family.
He Qing, He Yan and Uncle He all thanked them first, and then just took the steamed buns to eat.
Huang Junping and Zhang Zian's families arrived late, so the food had not arrived yet.
Huang Junping was a man who could not stop talking. He suddenly said, "The first question in today's scripture-posting competition..."
Before he could finish his words, He Qing and He Yan, who were eating steamed buns, and even Zhang Junping, who had just drunk some tea, all changed their expressions and stopped what they were doing at the same time.
Mu Erpang said, "Brother Huang, we have just finished the first exam, so there is no need to rush to communicate. If you know that you did not perform well in the last exam, it will not help and will only affect your performance in the next exam."
Huang Junping glanced at him sideways, "Since it's an exchange, the more the better. Why should we distinguish between early and late? Or is it that you, Brother Mu, didn't perform well, so..."
Having said this, he paused deliberately and raised his lips, looking even more arrogant and complacent, as if he had predicted that Mu Erpang, who had only studied for three years, would not be able to get good grades.
The adult who was following Huang Junping didn't say anything, but laughed along, as if he was very proud that his family had a capable child.
The youngsters were bickering, and it was not easy for the adults to help directly, so Chen Cui said, "There are so many people here, we have rested enough, finished our tea, and the food is easy to take, so why not just take it and eat while walking, and give this resting place to others."
Uncle He, He Qing and He Yan all nodded. Chen Cui asked the stall owner for some oil paper and wrapped the remaining sesame cakes and steamed buns.
After watching them get up, Zhang Zian whispered a few words to his family, who then went to apologize to the stall owner, said they didn't want any more food, and then left the tea stall.
Before Shen Cui and the others had gone far, Zhang Zian took a few quick steps and caught up with them.
Mu Erpang was about to say goodbye to He Qing and He Yan, but when he saw him coming, he smiled and said, "Don't review the questions when you go back. My mother said that if you pass the exam, you pass it. Forget about it for now. If you can't forget it, try to think less about it and concentrate on preparing for the next one. When all the exams are finished, we can have a good discussion again."
He Qing, He Yan, and Zhang Zian's faces returned to normal. They agreed to meet at yesterday's seat before the exam tomorrow, and then go home.
At the Shen family's side, Shen Cui had already come back once in the morning and forced Mr. Shen and Zheng to eat breakfast and lie back on the kang.
After all, they were not young anymore. They had not slept for most of the night. Although they were worried about Mu Erpang after lying down, they fell asleep soon after.
The two elders felt much better after slept for a while. They asked Mu Erpang about his health but did not dare to mention the exam.
Seeing how cautious they were, Mu Erpang took the initiative to say, "My first exam went pretty well."
The two elders finally calmed down, and Zheng went back to preparing more dishes for dinner.
After each of the first few examinations before the county examination, a round list will be issued, and seats and hall numbers will be assigned based on the ranking of the round list.
Because names are not written on the circular case, only seat numbers are written - the more familiar people are, the farther their seats are, and they don't know each other, so most people only know their own scores when looking at the circular case.
So when it came to the second exam, before entering, Huang Junping proudly told the other four people that he had done very well in the first exam and his hall name had been raised.
In fact, at this moment, everyone is thinking about their own future and has no time to care about others.
But since he specifically mentioned it, Zhang Zian, as his classmate, would definitely congratulate him.
Although He Qing and He Yan didn't like him, they echoed him helplessly.
Huang Junping's words were not actually meant for the three of them. After he finished speaking, he stared at Mu Erpang.
Mu Erpang was still standing in the first place. Although he was short among the crowd, he looked inexplicably calm.
He just turned his head to Huang Junping, pretending not to hear him and not noticing the way he was staring at him.
Huang Junping raised his lips and sneered. It was rumored that Mu Hanshan was extremely stupid in the first ten years. He was able to study in Cuiwei only because he had a powerful mother. In total, he only studied for three years. He was indeed a fool.
I can't even say the words of congratulations right now. I guess I must be feeling panicked and jealous, right?
There followed a series of procedures such as singing a guarantee, confirming a guarantee, and being named and searched. Five people entered the venue one after another. Huang Junping, who was still smiling, suddenly found that Mu Erpang's seat number had also been moved up, and it was moved before his?
But Huang Junping really doesn’t know the exact time - he is still a long way from Mu Erpang’s position!
The second test was against Mo Yi, which was still Mu Erpang’s strong point.
However, he could not enter into a state of trance this time, because he was sitting right below the chief examiner, the county magistrate.
Wei Shu had said before that some people could not withstand the majesty of the county magistrate and made big mistakes in panic.
Mu Erpang's stronger-than-average psychological quality allowed him to bear the pressure, but he was more cautious and wrote slower when writing the test paper.
This time he finished writing after noon, and no one had handed in their paper yet.
After he dried the ink and finished checking, he finally felt too embarrassed to crunch the fried rice in front of the magistrate.
The magistrate, who was standing behind him and saw him writing for a long time, smiled softly and told him in a low voice to hand in the paper when he finished, and there was no need to force himself to stay here. Only then did Mu Erpang hand in his paper ahead of time.
He was very experienced this time when he came out of the goal. He trotted out of the crowd without giving anyone a chance to talk to him.
Chen Cui was still waiting for him at the tea stall, but because he came out particularly early this time, the mother and son stood for a while and went home without waiting for He Qing or He Yan.
In the third game, Mu Erpang took the test on the meaning of the classics in the same old position.
In the fourth round, he was tested on the combination of calligraphy, calligraphy meaning and sutra meaning in the old position.
Because he had taken several exams in a row under the magistrate's nose, he was able to relax more and more and enter a state of ecstasy. When it was time for lunch, he started to eat fried rice.
There was only one round left, and it was about the test of poetry, which was what Mu Erpang was least good at.
This time when he entered, Mu Erpang's expression was much more solemn than before.
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