In November, Chen Cui finally sewed a decent coat for Mei Ruochu.
It was still jet black in color, with crooked stitching, embroidery with no clear pattern, and even the two sleeves were not of the same length.
Anyone who takes a quick look at it will feel that the good material has been ruined by the shoddy workmanship.
But Mei Ruochu didn't mind. He would wear whatever Chen Cui made for him.
The process of making a coat is much more complicated than a belt, so it can add 10 points of luck.
There is only one downside. The outer shirt needs to be changed and washed frequently, and you must take it off at night when you sleep, so you have to wear it for two months before the 10 points of luck are permanently added to the attributes.
However, the night was the time for Mei Ruochu and Mu Erpang to be alone. Because Mu Erpang was there, Mei Ruochu's single-digit luck value did not lead to any bad luck. It's just a few points missing right now, so it's not a big deal.
Plus, with the replacement of his three belts, he would steadily increase his points by 15 points every month. By the time he had worn all the belts made by Chen Cui, he would definitely be able to reach the passing line.
Shen Cui ignored him for the time being and focused her attention on Wei Xi.
Last winter, Wei Xi had cured his cough and eliminated the root cause, so it hasn't recurred this year. But people with weak constitutions are always prone to minor illnesses in winter.
To prevent the problem from getting worse, Shen Cui bought some tonic medicine for him.
However, his current physical fitness is almost at 70, which is already a level that surpasses that of ordinary people, so the effect of the medicine is gradually weakening, and it cannot increase the value, it can only prevent him from getting sick.
By December, Shen Cui was relieved to see that he had not caught a cold once, and turned her energy to cooking to improve the short-term memory of Wei Xi and Wei Shu, who would also be cooking next year - Mei Ruochu didn't care whether he ate or not, he already had a photographic memory.
Just let Wei Shu and Wei Xi eat it first. They eat more and digest it slowly, so the effect will last longer.
After Laba Festival last year, Wei Shu and Wei Xi had already set out for home. This year, one had to take the county examination in February and the other took the prefectural examination in April, so it was definitely not suitable for them to travel all the way. So they wrote a letter home in advance and sent it back to the capital, and discussed with the two elders of the Wei family to stay for the New Year.
The two elders of the Wei family knew long ago that Wei Shu had also gone to Cuiwei. The two brothers were living in the same place, and they firmly believed that Cuiwei was a "feng shui treasure land", so there was nothing to worry about. They just attached some more banknotes in the reply letter, allowing the two of them to buy some food and daily necessities for the New Year.
Before the Chinese New Year, Chen Cui's cooking skills were successfully upgraded to level 2, and various home-cooked dishes appeared in the recommended recipes.
Likewise, the points required for materials have also increased.
When reviewing before an exam, the most obvious effect is on short-term memory, so Shen Cui chose to cook [Scrambled Eggs with Cabbage], which is also a dish that can improve short-term memory.
Because she has reached a new level, the dishes she cooks now are no longer appetizing, but the watery cabbage and chopped eggs are definitely not delicious.
But this dish was actually quite popular at the dinner table - Wei Shu and the others could see her visible progress and none of them were dissatisfied.
Mei Ruochu would occasionally taste a few bites. After all, it was a product of the system, so there couldn't be any gravel or strange bones. He didn't have to worry about hurting his teeth, so why should he be picky?
The Chinese New Year period is a critical time for preparing for the exam. Chen Cui also has to serve as the time gain switch and cannot leave her post without permission, so she lets Zhou be the representative to be responsible for buying New Year's goods and gifts for the family.
During the Chinese New Year last year, Shen Cui gave Zheng money directly. Later, Zheng wanted to return it to her privately, but Shen Cui refused to take it. So Zheng exchanged the money for eggs and vegetables and sent them to her. So I won’t give them any money this year, but will buy them some things that they can use.
Zhou has been trained well after this year, so Chen Cui is very confident in letting her take care of the matter.
Money was tight last year, and although Mei Ruochu came along this year, because Wei Shu was also at the academy every day, the Wei family gave him double the living expenses, so the burden was much lighter than before.
Chen Cui gave Zhou ten taels of silver - in fact, ten taels was definitely not enough to spend, but she was worried that she gave too little, so Zhou secretly paid out of her own pocket to make up for it. Although her work was much easier than before, it was still hard-earned money.
Zhou took the money and went to buy things, including food, daily necessities, and clothes. She bought a lot of things and made a bill for Chen Cui to check.
New Year's Eve came in a blink of an eye. Everyone in the academy had a reunion dinner. There were no entertainment activities for the rest of the time, and they continued their daily study as usual.
On the first day of the new year, as usual, Chen Cui took Mu Erpang and Zhou to the city to pay New Year's greetings and have lunch.
Zheng knew that the matter of the academy was important, so she told her that it would not be a big deal if she did not go back on the second day of the New Year. Anyway, she and Old Man Shen were the only ones at home on the second day of the New Year. Even if Shen Cui did not go back to her parents' home, as long as the two elders did not mention it to others, no one would say that she was impolite.
Chen Cui stayed at home peacefully, and after the New Year, it was time to register for the county exam.
Wei Shu attended in front, and it was Qingzhu Academy that handled the formalities. This was the first battle for the students of their own academy, so of course it was the headmaster Shen Cui who was in charge.
To register for the county examination, the candidate must first be a registered resident of the county, and must also be guaranteed by five fellow examinees and a student on government stipend.
It is actually not difficult to get a student to act as a guarantor. There are students in the county who specialize in this. Lao Buyu also has friends in this area. All you have to do is give enough money.
As for the five-person guaranty, academies like Qingzhu Academy don't have to worry about this, because there are almost the same number of people coming to the academy every day, so the students of the academy can just directly make the guaranty.
But for a small academy like Cuiwei, it would be difficult to deal with the situation where only Wei Xi was involved.
Because one person cheated, the other four will also be implicated. Who dares to be a guarantor for a stranger? But at present, Cuiwei is still unknown and lacks credibility.
Although if you spend some money, you can also ask the chief clerk in charge of registration at the county government to help find someone to guarantee your life.
That little bit of money is nothing to the Wei family, but as the saying goes, strangers cannot be trusted. Wei Xi will definitely not cheat, but who can guarantee the other four?
Mei Ruochu usually doesn't talk much, but he rarely expressed his opinion at this time: "For this kind of thing, you still have to find someone who knows the ins and outs of it. For example, when I participated in the county examination in my early years, the people in our academy didn't want to cooperate with me, so our headmaster helped me find someone from outside. As a result, he met a person who, when he was reviewing, heard a saying that copying the content he didn't know on his body can make those things integrate into the body and not forget. As a result, he didn't take a clean shower before the exam... Fortunately, when he searched his body, someone found out, and found out that he didn't do it deliberately, so there was no big repercussions. He was just banned from taking the imperial examination for three years, and then the rest of us were kicked out."
His statement of "just driving them out" left everyone speechless.
Although Wei Xi would definitely not be as unlucky as Mei Ruochu, the matter was of such serious importance that no risk could be taken.
At this time, Wei Shu still retained his status as a student of Qingzhu Academy, which showed its benefits.
He went straight into the city to Qingzhu and asked his former classmates who remained in the academy about the number of students who would graduate from Qingzhu Academy this year - what a coincidence, there were four!
After finding out the number of people, Lao Buyu went to talk to Ling Qingming as a representative of the academy.
Since Qingzhu was originally looking for another person, I thought this matter should go smoothly.
But because of what happened to Wei Shu earlier, Ling Qingming was still holding his breath.
He couldn't vent his anger. After all, he was the one who arranged and planned all the previous things. He thought he had it all planned out and was one step ahead.
He didn't expect things to develop like that. Nothing good happened to him.
After waiting until this moment, Lao Buyu came to discuss this matter with him. Ling Qingming said with embarrassment: "It does take five people to form a guarantor, but after other academies in the city learned about this news, they also wanted to arrange for their students to form a guarantor with us. Although you are my junior brother, everything has a first come first served."
This is pure nonsense. Every year in Qingzhu, the fate of each person is decided after the Chinese New Year, and outsiders have no way of knowing. No one would get the news before Cuiwei.
"Instead of guaranteeing someone you don't know anything about, why not choose someone from our academy? That kid is Wei Shu's biological brother, so we know him inside out." Lao Buyu actually knew what was going on and knew Ling Qingming was just playing tricks, so after he finished speaking, he immediately asked, "Let's not beat around the bush in front of others, just tell us what you want to say."
In any case, it is impossible for Ling Qingming to go back on his word and ask Wei Shu to return to Qingzhu. This would contradict what he said before. He wants to save face, so he won't be so fickle and change his mind every day.
Ling Qingming thought for a while, but couldn't think of any good exchange conditions for a moment - what was there worth planning for a makeshift team like Cuiwei Academy?
But he didn't agree, and Lao Buyu refused to leave.
He suggested seeing him off several times, but Lao Buyu smiled and said, "There's nothing to do when we go back anyway. The New Year isn't over yet, so we brothers can get together."
In terms of shamelessness, Ling Qingming is far less thick-skinned than Lao Buyu.
Lao Buyu pestered him all day long, and followed Ling Qingming wherever he went.
Ling Qingming finally gave in and agreed to the guarantee, but he also said, "You owe me a favor for this."
Lao Buyu agreed without hesitation, "I'll keep on paying it back."
Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, and those who are thick-skinned are not afraid of those who care about their reputation. If things really become difficult to deal with later, he will just continue to owe the debt. Too much debt is better than too much trouble.
After completing the registration process, Wei Xi received the floating ticket, which is equivalent to the admission ticket in later generations.
However, there was a lot more information written on the float, including a detailed description of his height, body shape, appearance, whether he had a beard, and whether he had birthmarks.
In this way, even if Wei Shu looks 70% similar to him, it is impossible for him to take the exam for him. It can also be regarded as an anti-cheating measure in this era.
In February, Shen Cui took a few young men to take the exam.
Mei Ruochu originally said he didn't want to go because he was afraid that his unlucky constitution would bring disaster to Wei Xi.
But no one gave in, saying that he thought too much. He had been having less and less bad luck recently, so it was obvious that his luck had changed!
So take him along.
Because at this time last year, Chen Cui had already brought Mu Erpang and Wei Xi to see them off to the exam once, and had also heard Wei Shu's post-exam experience and various insights, so everyone was mentally prepared, and the atmosphere was not as solemn as it was last year when everyone was in the dark.
Wei Xi's mood has also been very stable. After a series of procedures such as singing guarantee, acknowledging guarantee and body search, he glanced in the direction of his own carriage. Knowing that Chen Cui and the others were there, he felt more at ease and went in.
After he entered, the Wei family's carriage did not leave. The young men brought books to read, while Shen Cui observed Wei Xi's actions on the translucent light screen in front of her.
The academy has been upgraded, so she could also see Wei Xi's Q version figurine outside the examination room, and watched him being led into the examination room and sitting in his seat.
Until the test papers were distributed, Wei Xi concentrated on writing. His mood was actually better than before. He was no longer nervous and everything went smoothly.
Suddenly, a prompt popped up from the system. Before Chen Cui could take a closer look, someone groaned outside the carriage. She lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see Mei Ruochu, who had gone to buy breakfast nearby, lying flat on his back next to the carriage.
The horse was also frightened and raised its hooves high.
Fortunately, the Wei family's coachman was experienced and he tightened the reins to control the horse and prevented its hooves from stepping down.
Mei Ruochu rolled on the ground, climbed to the side, and patted his chest and said, "That was a close call!"
This sudden change happened in the blink of an eye, and Shen Cui was so scared that her heart was in her throat.
At this moment, she finally saw the content of the prompt that just popped up - [System prompt: Luck value of training subject No. 4 -20. 】
Shen Cui:! ! ! Can sending someone to take an exam also lower their luck value? ? ?
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