In the evening, Wei Shu and his friends returned from the provincial school. They had already taken some time to check the rankings, and when they came back they bought a lot of food, thinking of celebrating properly.
Because this is not just the achievement of Mu Erpang alone, it is also the glory of the entire academy!
From then on, when people mentioned Cuiwei, they never heard the name of the academy again. They only knew that a "little Sanyuan" had come from the academy - a "little Sanyuan" who only started to learn at the age of ten and passed the exams at the age of thirteen. No matter what, people would be in awe of the academy.
After Chen Cui found out about the results at noon, she asked A Yao to buy some groceries. Together with the things the boys brought back, dinner was much more sumptuous than usual.
At the same time, there were a few more pots of fruit wine on the dining table.
Due to technical reasons, the alcohol content of the wine at that time was not very high, and the fruit wine only had a slight alcohol flavor and was specially for women and children to drink.
Lao Buyu used to say that fruit wine was sweet water and not really wine.
This time, while eating, my eyes couldn't stop glancing at the fruit wine.
Chen Cui immediately understood and poured a cup for Lao Buyu herself. She used tea instead of wine and said to him, "I toast to you, Master. Er Pang's current achievements are all due to your careful cultivation."
Lao Buyu happily raised his cup and drank it in one gulp, then said, "Master, you are too polite. Hanshan's achievements today are not only due to my contribution, but also to your efforts and the joint efforts of everyone in the academy. And I have to thank you for sending me such a well-behaved, smart and diligent student!"
With Chen Cui taking the lead, Mu Erpang naturally had to respect him.
After this round, Lao Buyu also encouraged the others, "I am happy today not only because Hanshan achieved good results, but also because his good results are the result of our joint efforts. Don't think too much."
Mu Erpang is indeed different from him. After all, he learned everything under him.
But the other young men in the academy were also his students, and Lao Buyu didn't want them to think that he was favoring some over others, so he made a special explanation.
Wei Shu, Wei Xi and the others hurriedly said no, "We all know how the master treats us. Today, Han Shan has won the 'Little Three Prizes'. Not only you, but we are also happy and proud from the bottom of our hearts!"
They all regarded Mu Erpang as their own brother, so they did not feel any jealousy or resentment, but were only happy for him!
As they were talking, everyone took turns toasting Lao Buyu.
Most of the last few bottles of fruit wine went into Lao Buyu's stomach.
When everyone was drunk, Lao Buyu gave his final speech. On the one hand, it was certainly an affirmation and encouragement to Mu Erpang, and on the other hand, it was also a warning to him not to get carried away by success.
Because he had drunk a bit of wine, and he really cared about Mu Erpang, Lao Buyu even used himself as an example, saying sincerely: "When I was young, I was also praised for my extraordinary talent, so I became arrogant and thought that fame and fortune were within my reach, so there was no need to spend too much effort. I wasted many years in a daze. As a result, even though I passed the imperial examination, I didn't get any fame."
When talking about the past, there were more tears in Lao Buyu's eyes.
Outsiders thought that he had been fooling around for ten years and still managed to pass the imperial examination. What a glorious scene and fortune this is!
In fact, he felt extremely upset back then, because the higher he took the exam, the more he realized how strong his peers were.
He regretted it so much at that time. He knew that his talent was no worse than others, but he neglected his studies and thus failed in everything.
If he had been as diligent as his teacher expected during those ten years, he could have brought out his best and strongest side to compete with them and strive for a good ranking!
The most regrettable thing in the world is probably "I could have".
As a result, during the imperial examination, he became more and more depressed and drank to drown his sorrows. This is why he wrote such a poem, which was reported to the authorities and he was immediately demoted to a penal rank.
Lao Buyu never regretted this matter. Anyway, he didn't like being restricted, and he thought that being an official was not suitable for him.
But the regret he felt before was so deep in his bones that after all these years, every time he thought of it in his dreams at midnight, he felt uncomfortable.
So he looked at Mu Erpang and said with great seriousness: "You must take me as a warning, understand?"
Mu Erpang nodded immediately and said, "Don't worry, sir. I know that even the top three places have a bit of luck, but luck doesn't always come. Besides, my classmates in the academy are so outstanding and diligent, how dare I relax? And I will also warn myself not to be too concerned about gains and losses in the future, just like our academy motto, 'Do what your heart desires'... Do your best and keep a normal mind!"
Lao Buyu patted his shoulder comfortingly, and his eyes became red again.
Seeing that Lao Buyu was likely to lose his composure, Shen Cui quickly asked the boys to help him back to the house to rest.
It was more than enough for several people to support a half-drunk Lao Buyu.
Mei Ruochu did not follow them, but stayed behind and said to Shen Cui: "The headmaster should let Hanshan study in the mansion later, right?"
Chen Cui nodded naturally, and thinking that Mei Ruochu would not specifically ask her about such things, she told him to speak freely.
Mei Ruochu explained to her the procedures for entering the provincial school.
First of all, official schools do not charge tuition fees, but they are divided into prefectural schools and county schools. Scholars can enter prefectural schools and county schools. Everyone knows that the larger the public school, the better, so everyone prefers to go to public schools.
However, the number of places in the provincial school is limited. Those who perform well in the exam can naturally take a place. Those who perform averagely in the exam will have to use personal connections to get a place, and the starting price is usually 10 to 20 taels.
Mu Erpang ranked first in the college entrance examination, so he naturally got a place in the provincial school, which saved him a lot of money.
Then two guarantors are needed, one of whom is to find a student on the provincial school stipend and pay the stipend insurance fee. The other is government-provided insurance, which also requires payment of premiums.
Cuiwei Academy has no shortage of students on government stipend, so the previous steps can be skipped, but the subsequent public insurance premium must be paid.
In addition, you should prepare some small gifts for the professors and instructors in the prefectural school. The things don't have to be expensive, usually just tea, snacks, wine, cloth, etc., but they should at least show your thoughtfulness.
There are also a series of fees such as red seal fees, book fees, and examination paper fees. Since Mu Erpang was a day student, the only thing he didn't have to pay was accommodation.
These fees are also unified at the county school, but here in the provincial capital, everything is expensive, so the various fees are several times higher than in the county school, and each fee starts at a hundred coins.
Shen Cui was a little stunned by the long list of expenses. She frowned and asked, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
These expenses are definitely not worth anything to the brothers Wei Shu and Wei Xi, so there is no need to mention them to her specifically.
But Mei Ruochu had never had any property. When he first arrived in Cuiwei, even the gifts that came to his door were won at a lantern riddle competition. They didn't mention it before, and Chen Cui had no idea that she had to pay so many fees in the provincial school.
"It was me who asked Brother Wei and the others not to mention it in the academy. They didn't deliberately hide it." Having said this, Mei Ruochu continued with a little embarrassment: The dean did not charge me for food, accommodation and living expenses, and let me live and eat for free in the academy, and also helped me with luck. I am already very grateful, how can I tell you all this and let you spend money on me? The reason I bring this up today is because Hanshan is going to enter the provincial school. I thought you might not know the name of it, so I told you so that you can prepare the money in advance. ”
Chen Cui ignored his questions and still asked him how he had dealt with the expenses before.
At this point, Mei Ruochu did not hide it anymore and explained, "Now that I am no longer unlucky, I can do many things freely. When I was unlucky before, I could still set up a stall to write letters and documents for people. Later, when I was lucky, I cooperated with some poetry societies and bookstores to help people polish manuscripts, set topics, and write poems... I received some royalties, which I used to deal with part of it first. Later, when the subsidy for the students in the imperial academy was issued, I was not so embarrassed anymore."
Mei Ruochu said as he opened his purse for Chen Cui to check.
Chen Cui didn't look closely. She just took a quick glance and confirmed that there were a few small silver ingots, then she felt relieved.
Mei Ruochu finally tried to find out: "I have told the headmaster everything, and I have nothing to hide. Do you think... can I pay for the board and lodging like Brother Wei and the others?"
It turns out that after saying so much, he still has this idea.
Shen Cui smiled and said okay!
Mei Ruochu just smiled a little more, and then heard Chen Cui counting on her fingers and said, "Since you want to calculate it clearly, then I will calculate it for you clearly. In Ah Shu's words, you teach them in the academy every day, which is equivalent to half a teacher, and you are an assistant teacher in our academy. They pay him ten taels of money a month, so I have to pay you half of it. In addition, there are some odd jobs in the academy. You always say that you are old and used to doing work in Hongle before. You rush to chop wood and fetch water. You do no less work than Ah Yao, so I have to pay you a wage for odd jobs. And you help Er Pang write lesson plans and come up with poetry topics, so it will be calculated according to the royalties given to you by the poetry club and the bookstore. And you acted as a guarantor for him, but he was unwilling to collect the insurance premium... I am not very good at arithmetic, but I will probably have to pay you more."
Mei Ruochu said nothing and hung the purse back around her waist.
Chen Cui smiled and said, "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I took the money from Ashu and the others because their families don't need it. But you don't have the support of your family, and studying is the most expensive job nowadays. You will have to take exams step by step in the future, so save the money yourself first. If it's not enough, you should tell me, don't carry it yourself. There is a long way to go, why do you have to calculate it so clearly now? When you really have enough money in the future..."
Shen Cui paused, and inexplicably thought of the joke that Zheng had told her when she returned to the county town at the beginning of the year, and then continued with a smile: "Just make me a heavy gold necklace, and I will wear it around my neck every day. Whenever people ask about it, I will say that it was given to me by a promising student in our academy!"
Mei Ruochu smiled so much that her eyebrows curved and she said softly "Okay".
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