After the other young men settled Lao Buyu, Wei Shu also came to talk to Chen Cui.
"I just heard from Ah Fei that the Cui family pays for rent and board and living expenses on an annual basis, but my brother and I have been paying monthly. I don't want you to worry about the money, so I thought we would do the same as Ah Fei and pay for the whole year in one go."
Wei Shu said this with some embarrassment, and then said that it was his poor thinking. After all, he was worried about Wei Xi at the beginning, so he arranged for the fees to be paid on a monthly basis. I didn’t think too much about it afterwards.
It’s not that he still doesn’t believe in Chen Cui or Cui Wei.
Chen Cui told him not to think too much, "I really didn't worry about the money. You all delivered on time without me urging you. Sometimes it was only when you gave me the money that I suddenly realized that a month had passed. Besides, our academy was originally a makeshift team, and we have come to where we are today step by step. There are no such big rules. You can follow the previous ones."
Wei Shu refused and said, "The fees of the academy outside are paid annually, and Hanshan will be enrolled in the government school, so there are many places that need money, so you should keep it."
Chen Cui would also feel guilty. He thought the same as Mei Ruochu, worried that she would not be able to pay the money that Mu Erpang wanted to pay, so they were all like this.
This was also Wei Shu's good intention, and it also saved him from having to pay it every month, so Chen Cui appreciated his kindness.
But in fact, the young men's worries are completely unnecessary. There are three people paying for board and lodging at the academy, and the income is thirty taels every month.
Moreover, because the young men were mostly not in the academy during the day, the expenses were much less than before. Fifteen to twenty taels of silver per month were enough to cover the food, drink, and living expenses of all the people in the academy, as well as to purchase pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.
In addition, the system also gave them a [Library]. Whenever they wanted to find a book, Chen Cui would rush to help, and then take it out directly from the library, saving a lot of money.
As a handyman, A Yao had Cui Wu Niang insisting on paying her wages.
Therefore, Chen Cui could save about ten taels of silver every month. After deducting the rent for the academy for the new year that she had just paid, she still had fifty or sixty taels saved, which was enough to cover the tuition and miscellaneous fees in the provincial school.
But it is no wonder that Mei Ruochu and Wei Shu would worry about these things, because apart from food and study supplies, Chen Cui was willing to let A Yao buy some chicken, duck, fish and meat frequently to nourish the growing teenagers. She was also willing to give them better paper that cost four or five cents a piece and pens that cost a few cents a piece. She saved as much as possible in other aspects.
It was just as she had thought before, her family's financial situation was too limited, and she had to save money for future uses that she didn't even know about.
Especially after Zhou went to the capital, she would mention a lot about the customs and culture of the capital in her letters. Compared with the prices there, all the expenses in Qingzhou Prefecture were considered low.
In the future, she would definitely follow Erpang to the capital, where she would have to spend money in many places. In addition, Cui Fei's plan to propose marriage also reminded her that she had to save money for the betrothal gift.
Later, Chen Cui began to prepare small gifts and pay various fees according to the instructions of Wei Shu and Mei Ruochu. In addition, her fat son won the top three places in the imperial examinations and was admitted to the provincial school, which was a big happy event. They had few relatives and friends in the provincial city, so they asked Cui Wuniang to come over for a meal and gave some red eggs to the neighbors nearby... This part cost a total of five taels of silver.
The Shen family in Yongning County certainly couldn't do it so simply. When Mu Erpang just passed the county exam and ranked first, Zheng was already thinking about setting up a few tables.
Now that Mu Erpang has achieved the title of scholar, one can imagine how happy Zheng and Old Man Shen will be. They will definitely organize a big celebration, and maybe even hold a grand ceremony to worship their ancestors and give their respects.
So when Chen Cui wrote back to announce the good news, she asked the familiar escort agency to also deliver five taels of silver.
Chen Cui spent ten taels of silver in total, and by the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, all the procedures for Mu Erpang to enter the provincial school were completed.
Chen Cui also wanted to make him a new robe. After all, he was a young scholar now. Moreover, the scholar robe he was wearing recently was made for him before Zhou left last year. He had worn it until now and it had turned white from washing.
Mu Erpang refused. He was no longer a child who didn't know how to do things. He knew that he had spent a lot of money to attend the provincial school and there was no need to spend any more.
But if he said that, his mother would definitely have other things to persuade him, so Mu Erpang just said, "This dress was made by my sister-in-law. It's more comfortable than the ones bought outside. I'm used to wearing it. Besides, when it comes to dressing up... Brother Mei's clothes aren't that good either. How dare others look down on him?"
This young steward had a lot of reasons for being fair, so Chen Cui didn't try to persuade him anymore. She gave him a few small silver ingots, probably about two or three taels of silver, and asked him to use them to spend in the provincial school - the rice sent by the students on government stipends was directly handed over to the school canteen, which deducted a portion of it as processing and storage fees, and the rest was more than enough for Mu Erpang to eat. But you still have to spend your own money to exchange for meal tickets to buy the food.
"Mother doesn't know how much the dishes cost, but don't be short on food and drink. Ask me for more after you've spent all your money. Otherwise..." At this point, Shen Cui couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, "Otherwise, when you take the provincial examination again in a few years, if they still write 'short' on your ticket, don't complain to me!"
Mu Erpang's cheeks turned red. Since this was a "big life event" related to growing up, he didn't argue with his mother on this matter and put the money into his pocket.
If a thirteen-year-old scholar entered the provincial school, in other families, the parents would definitely be a little worried, and the more careful ones might even send their own children from other places.
On Cuiwei's side, since everyone else was already a student of the prefecture, Shen Cui felt relieved and did not think of following.
On the day of enrollment, Mu Erpang was taken to the provincial school by Wei Shu and others. He paid a hundred dollars, completed the registration, and then received a booklet.
It is equivalent to a modern university handbook, which briefly introduces the provincial school and then lists some rules.
Mu Erpang didn't need to look closely, because Cui Fei, who had been rooted in the provincial school for several years, was a living manual. It was thanks to his guidance that Wei Shu and Mei Ruochu quickly became familiar with the provincial school.
It was the same this time. Cui Fei acted as a guide and took Mu Erpang around the provincial school first.
The provincial school is really big. It is the first time that Mu Erpang has seen such a big place. It has everything, including screen walls, screen doors, corridors, corner pavilions, flower beds, platforms, lotus ponds, etc. It is shaded by green trees, and all kinds of carefully planted flowers and plants are extremely lush. In addition to the super-large classrooms that can accommodate hundreds of people and the Six Arts Garden where students can practice piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, there are also Cuju fields and archery fields for students to strengthen their bodies in their spare time.
The archery range made Mu Erpang's eyes light up. He had been practicing archery for several years, and he had always practiced on the small target given by Wei Shu.
He didn't expect that there was such a spacious venue in the provincial school. There were more than a dozen archery targets lined up in a row. Just looking at them made him itchy.
It would take half an hour to walk through it all.
Mu Erpang smelled the sweet osmanthus fragrance and thought to himself that it was no wonder that everyone wanted to enter the provincial school. Studying in such an environment was actually a kind of enjoyment.
At this moment, he was even thinking that when he had the ability in the future, he would also run his own academy as well as this - his mother was always staying in the academy, and this kind of environment would definitely make her more comfortable.
Due to a moment of distraction, Mu Erpang walked slower and was bumped from behind by someone.
He quickly said sorry and stepped out of the way.
As a result, the other party looked up at them, immediately lowered his brows, shrank his shoulders, and walked away quickly. Like a mouse seeing a cat!
Mu Erpang looked at the others in confusion, and Cui Fei explained: "The man just now was Li Rufeng."
Mu Erpang nodded in understanding.
Last year, Li Rufeng took the initiative to gamble with Cui Fei, but he lost. He should have dropped out of the provincial school.
But the Li family did not sit idly by. The head of the family came to apologize in person and returned Cui Wuniang's dowry shop, which took the entire New Year period.
Finally, Cui Fei agreed not to mention the bet between them - whether Li Rufeng dropped out of school or not, it didn't matter to Cui Fei at all. What he wanted to fight for from the beginning was the revenge of the Li family for bullying his sister in the early years!
And since those shops were indeed of great significance, he just did them a favor.
However, although he himself did not mention it, the other people in the prefectural school would not suddenly lose their memory. No one was willing to count with Li Rufeng, and they would make sarcastic remarks from time to time.
Li Rufeng himself is a very ambitious person, but he is forced into a corner by his family, so he only shows up occasionally on important days like today when new students are enrolled.
They had already mentioned these things in their own academy, so Mu Erpang also knew about this.
Afterwards, they didn't talk much and went to the classroom together.
The Fuxue is not like some other sophisticated academies that divide classes into small classes such as "A, B, C, D" and "Heaven, Earth, Mystery and Yellow". Instead, they all attend large classes. As for whether they can keep up and what the learning progress is, it all depends on the scholars themselves.
However, in order to facilitate distinction, scholars who entered in the same year would be arranged to sit together.
Newcomers like Mu Erpang will be arranged to sit at the front, which is considered a preferential treatment.
After entering the classroom, Mu Erpang naturally saw Ren Shun and Zhao Xiuwen, and the three of them sat together.
Before I had time to say anything after I sat down, the professor walked in with a roster in his hand.
There is no roll call at the provincial school on a daily basis, but there is an exception when new students come. Not only will the professor call the roll, but he will also call on a few new students to ask questions. It not only allows the scholars to get to know each other, but also allows them to have a brief understanding of the level of the freshmen.
As Mu Erpang was the top candidate in the college examination, he was naturally the first one among the freshmen to be called.
The professor knew that there was a talented person among the freshmen this year who had won the top three honors in the imperial examinations, but it was only now that he realized that Mu Erpang was so young. The students in front of him gave gifts to the professor, so the professor did not have to meet them in person. Therefore, he was more friendly to Mu Erpang and only asked him a few routine questions.
Although Mu Erpang was not good at writing poetry, he had no weaknesses in other areas, so he answered the question quickly.
The professor smiled even more, asked him to sit down, and then ordered the next one.
"Chen Aoshuang."
After waiting for a few moments, no one answered and the professor's face suddenly fell.
Mu Erpang turned his head and looked, but he really didn't see Shen Aoshuang in the classroom.
She simply didn't show up on the first day of school. This Chen Aoshuang is really too arrogant!
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