Chapter 33 Xu Guangqi

  The county examination was an examination presided over by the county magistrate. To obtain a student's status, the child had to report to the county government office, fill in their name, place of origin, age, and three generations of family history, and obtain a guarantee from the county granary that they were not impersonating someone else or hiding a mourning period (if there was a parent's funeral within 27 months, they could not take the exam, otherwise it would be called "hiding mourning"), and that they were not the children of actors or slaves. They also had to have four villagers and one scholar recommend them before they could take the exam. Students who excelled in their studies and achieved first or second place obtained the status of a student, which allowed them to participate in the imperial examination.

  So, Zhang Chen's exam this time is crucial. If he can't get a good score, he won't even have the qualification to participate in the imperial examination... It's like being sick and not having enough money to even qualify for hospital treatment...

  The county government office had already been set up, and when Zhang Lei and Zhang Chen arrived at the entrance of the county government office, they met many fellow examinees who were also there to take the exam. The street in front of the gate, which was several zhang wide, was packed with people and horse-drawn carriages. Dozens of guards were maintaining order with a tense atmosphere.

  It's still early, and even though we've been rushing to get here for quite some time now, it's only just dawned. There's still a while before the exam at noon. Zhang Lei said, "Younger brother, let's go over there and grab something to eat, so you won't be hungry during the exam."

  "Didn't we eat something before we left?" Zhang Chen didn't have any particular feeling, as he had eaten more in the past few months than in the previous decade or so. So even though this morning's breakfast was last night's leftover beef fried rice, it still tasted very delicious to him.

  But Zhang Lei was different, he grew up in a modern metropolis, in an era where waste exceeded consumption, leftover rice was already a nostalgic memory of the older generation, something he had always despised. So now he still starved.

  "Come on, eat up! Have an egg for breakfast and you'll be energized for the exam this afternoon. Here, eat!" Zhang Lei ordered a few tea eggs, a bowl of soy milk, and a plate of pickled beef from a street vendor they found that was open. Looking around the entire stall, their table already looked like a luxurious feast.

  After having breakfast, Zhang Chen took the things that had been prepared long ago and went in to take the exam. The chief examiner of this examination was Yan Jue, the newly appointed county magistrate.

  Dozens of candidates poured in, with some like Zhang Chen in their early teens and others in their 40s or 50s who were already past their prime. It was estimated that even if he passed this exam and everything went smoothly afterwards, it wouldn't be long before he ended up six feet under.

  In the courtyard of the county government office, two rows of small rooms were set up with wooden boards separating them. If Zhang Lei could see this, he would definitely say that this is the prototype of a public toilet in later generations.

  When the candidates came in one after another, Yan Jue finally appeared. He first gave a passionate but somewhat dull speech, saying how great he was back then and that the candidates couldn't cheat. Then, when the time was almost up, he checked each candidate's ID information before sitting down at his own seat and said, "Begin."

  At this time, each candidate's desk already had a stack of paper on it. Zhang Chen had also skillfully ground the ink and poured water into the inkstone. With Yan Jue's command, a large bronze bell in the middle of the courtyard emitted a clear and crisp sound. Then, a scroll unfolded behind Yan Jue, with eight characters written on it: "邦畿千里，维民所止".

  This is a sentence from "Xuan Niao" in the Book of Songs. "Xuan Niao" is an article in "Shang Song", which was sung by the king of the Song State when he offered sacrifices to Wu Ding, the high ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, and praised his achievements in reviving the dynasty. "The suburbs are a thousand miles away, where the people live."

  Zhang Chen thought for a moment and then started writing quickly as if possessed by a spirit.

  Across from him, there was a dandy young man with a greasy face, who knows which family he belonged to. When everyone else was diligently doing their questions, he pulled out a small silk pouch from his clothes, poured out a handful of rice, and then took out a fan, gently opening it up, but on the ribs of the fan there was a small Western-style mirror.

  He carefully looked at the rice grains through a Western-style mirror. It turned out that the family had already prepared everything in advance, bribing the examiner to get the test questions and then inviting a master forger to engrave the article on the rice grains with a fine brush, and during the exam, they would use the Western-style mirror on the fan to arrange the rice grains and copy down the article.

  After half an hour, he finally pieced together an article neatly, and couldn't help but stretch his waist, with all the joints cracking, then felt a tickle in his nose, and let out a sneeze towards the pile of rice in front of him...

  Next to this unlucky guy, there was a bald and fat man with a big build. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he quickly lifted his clothes, and I started writing down what was on it in a hurry.

  After finishing dinner, Zhang Lei felt that there was nothing to do. Zhang Chen had to take the exam until afternoon, and he would come back to pick him up then. Thinking about it, there was nothing to do at home either, so he decided to hang out here for a while.

  Compared to the town, Nanchang County is naturally much more prosperous. Moreover, today is a big day for exams, and small vendors are even more active. As soon as it dawned, the small stalls on both sides of the street began their busy operations. The aroma of steamed buns wafting through the air enticed passersby's appetites, while the fine rice wine made people linger. Even Zhang Lei, who had just eaten not long ago, felt hungry again.

  After walking around the street for a while, it was unknowingly noon. I found a decent hotel and walked in to give myself a good treat.

  A delicious roasted duck, paired with high-end grape wine, Zhang Lei ate very comfortably. After drinking and eating his fill, he prepared to take out his wallet to pay the bill, but found it empty.

  "My god, at this time, the thief's technique is really damn good. Even with a rope tied tightly, they can still take it away." He couldn't help but feel extremely depressed.

  He looked around, it was the busiest time in the restaurant, several waiters were shuttling back and forth in the crowd, completely ignoring this place, looking over there, the accountant was also working hard with his head down, and the boss was nowhere to be found.

  After a while, Zhang Lei calmly stood up and then ran out quickly.

  Time rewound to a few moments ago, Su San, in his early twenties, had been wandering around this county town for over ten years, occasionally doing some despicable things like stealing chickens and dogs, with business as usual, and has never lost his hand until now.

  Today, he just ate a few pieces of dog meat begged yesterday in the broken temple where he lived, and started his day's work. The sun shone down warmly from the sky, making people want to sleep, but for tomorrow's good food and drink, he had to muster up his spirit.

  Not far from the broken temple, he saw a rich young master with a bulging wallet, walking left and right, looking like a novice who had come for the first time. Su was very happy and followed him without hesitation.

  After turning several streets, he finally found a good opportunity to make his move.

  The purse in his hand did not disappoint him, and the few pieces of silver could be worth several taels, which was a huge fortune for him. However, there was also a neatly folded piece of paper in the purse, which turned out to be various incomprehensible drawings when unfolded. He didn't bother with it and casually stuffed it into his pocket, preparing to go exchange some clothes first.

  Just as he arrived at the entrance of the tailor's shop, a girl holding a precious sword blocked his way. "Su San, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Hand it over."

  "What's with you?" Su San subconsciously clenched his fist around the wallet in his hand.

  The girl sneered: "Hmph, don't pretend with me, I saw it all, you just stole that young master's wallet."

  "Ridiculous, which eye did you see it with?" Su San sneered, curling her lip in disdain.

  "You're still being evasive. If you say you're innocent, then have the guts to let me search you. If there's no silver on your person, that will naturally prove your innocence." The girl said, still not letting up.

  Su San heard this and, with a sly smile, spread his hands apart and said: "Come on, beauty, I'm ready." He was convinced that under the bright daylight, no girl from a respectable family would dare to search him.

  The girl silently drew out the precious sword in her hand.

  "Wow, no way, girl! I have no grudges with you in the past or present. It was you who let me search you, so it's not necessary to resort to violence, is it?" Su San shouted.

  "Cut it out, where did you think you were going? You're so dirty and smelly, I wouldn't dare touch you." The girl used her treasured sword to pick the wallet off Su San's body, and that bundle of IOUs also fell to the ground.

  The girl curiously picked up the crumpled paper and found that the pattern drawn on it was so intricate and precise, unlike anything she had ever seen before. "This mechanical drawing is incredibly detailed, even Uncle wouldn't be able to create something this good. Why not take it to show him?"

  She thought for a moment, "No, this is the young master's thing, it should be returned to him. The Buddhist scriptures also say that if there is fate, people will come together from thousands of miles away, and if not, even if you get something, you'll lose it. It's better to send it back to the young master."

  "Let you off this time, but if there's a next time..." The girl glared at Su San and walked away with the thing in hand.

  Su San sighed and continued to look for her next target.

  The girl walked on the street for a while before she saw Zhang Lei's figure.

  "Here is your wallet. I saw it being stolen and helped you get it back." The girl said, handing the wallet back to Zhang Lei.

  Zhang Lei was taken aback and didn't expect the money bag to be returned. He took the money bag and sincerely thanked her, saying: "Thank you, heroine."

  The girl took out that drawing again and said to Zhang Lei: "I'm not some kind of female knight, just call me Xu Min. I also found this, is it drawn by you?"

  Zhang Lei suddenly remembered that he had also brought the drawings of the bed with him, and as he took the drawings from Xu Min's hand, he thanked her repeatedly.

  "Your Highness, Xu Min has an impolite request."

  "You helped me get back my wallet, so I should thank you, it's nothing," Zhang Lei said.

  Xu Mindao said: "I just looked at your drawings, my uncle might be very interested in them. Why don't you follow me to see my uncle? He has been studying these things for decades and if he sees this drawing, he will probably be very happy."

  Zhang Lei heard that there were still people who liked to study mechanics, and he was also very excited. He asked: "I don't know what your uncle's name is? It seems that he and I are fellow enthusiasts."

  His name is Xu Guangqi.

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