August 12th returned home, August 28th announced the results

  Early in the morning, when there was some light in the sky, Mrs. He got out of bed, hastily washed and dressed, and began to sweep the yard. Fang Xin also got up at this time and heard his mother say: "After washing, drink some porridge."

  Fang Xin nodded in response, then went to drink porridge, but saw his mother He Shi sweeping the yard with a usual expression, although it was ordinary, he had been waiting anxiously, his hands were shaking slightly.

  Fang Xin couldn't bear it and immediately said: "Mother, I'll go take a look."

  "All right, bring some money with you." Mother He said, actually she was already very satisfied with her son. Recently, her son's studies had made great progress, and she was also pleased to see it, although she knew that passing the imperial examination once did not necessarily mean success, but there was still hope.

  Giving money to a son is like having some spare change in case he wins the lottery, or running into someone who also won and buying them a drink or two. What if An Ke has no money on him?

  Fang Xinyi smiled and took over the five strings of copper coins, without saying much more, and went out the door.

  He didn't go to see the list, what's good about it anyway, if he got in, he would naturally get in. The school administration specially sent over a congratulatory letter, along with a set of blue clothes and a headscarf, and even a deed that had already been prepared long ago.

  Poor scholar? Is the scholar really poor? Like Zhong Shujia, the government will grant a field, ranging from 15 mu to 5 mu. Near Jiangfu, one mu of good land is equivalent to 10 taels of silver, and 15 mu is equivalent to 150 taels of silver. Even if you don't farm it yourself, you can still collect rent and support your family's food and clothing for a year. Unless you're extremely wasteful, you won't end up in dire straits.

  Needless to say, adding an official name would make him a ninth-grade official. It's also considered having an official position.

  Fang Xin didn't mind, and walked onto the street. It was just in time for the monthly temple fair, and the streets in front of Cheng Zhongmiao Temple were filled with small stalls. Many people went up to trade, and it was a bustling scene perfect for doing business.

  Fang Xinye followed him into the house, and these people took out all sorts of things: copper lamps, porcelain vases, wooden chairs and tables, old clothes and quilts. Of course, ordinary people wouldn't recognize them, but they could still find some good stuff inside.

  Fang Xin had almost zero knowledge in this area, and it was extremely difficult for him to find good stuff. However, Fang Xin didn't mind, he just browsed casually, and occasionally found something that moved his heart. He bought it, spending only a few coins, a matter of ten or twenty cents.

  If it were Li Rui, he would also be reluctant to buy it, after all, no one knows if it's worth buying. But Fang Xin is different from Li Rui, this small amount of money is not a concern, even if he buys the wrong thing, he will just laugh it off.

  If you're not afraid of the ruling class of this world, wealth and nobility are at your fingertips. This is also a one-sided lesson he was given last time - in a territory as small as a prefecture, there exists a powerful being like the Dark Earl, and this world is so vast. Who knows how many great powers exist beyond the heavens?

  It's really foolish to think of being arrogant on someone else's territory.

  But even so, taking a little bit is still an effortless matter. So there's no need to be stingy about it.

  He had bought a few things and was about to leave when the Jade Ruyi suddenly moved, causing Fang Xin to be taken aback. As the stars opened by the Jade Ruyi grew more numerous, the objects within its gaze dwindled in number, until there was hardly any information left. At this moment, he felt that something was amiss.

  Tracing back to its origin, it was just an ordinary woman's home who set up a small stall at her doorstep and sold some old items.

  One by one, I took them out to look, and most of them didn't seem to have any meaning. Finally, I saw a piece of broken jade, and suddenly I realized that this was the thing. It was a bit strange, so I picked it up to take a closer look, and found that it was a jade seal, but with a small corner missing.

  Since ancient times, copper seals have been used for daily use, silver seals for lower-ranking officials, and gold seals for those above the seventh rank. Jade seals, however, are only qualified to be used by dukes and marquises. Suddenly, he thought: "I wonder what kind of seal this is, hopefully it's intact."

  "How much does this thing cost?"

  The woman looked him up and down, saw that he was a young man in coarse clothing, and said: "You give me ten cents, then."

  Fang Xin knew that although it was a flawed jade, its quality alone far exceeded the price, so he said: "Alright, ten cents then. Where did you get this thing from?"

  He said, without even haggling over the price, took it down, wrapped it up well and put it in his bosom.

  The woman had some suspicions, looking at the situation, and thought she was selling it too cheaply. She said: "My husband was washing in the river and touched this thing by chance. Oh dear young man, what is this thing?"

  Fang Xin said: "I don't know either, but I just like it."

  After handing over ten cents and leaving, after getting up, seeing the woman's somewhat reluctant expression, he lost interest in continuing to stroll around. He was about to head back when someone suddenly shouted: "Li Rui, come have a drink with me!"

  Fang Xin was somewhat surprised, looking back, it was a thirty-year-old or so scholar named Bai Liu, who had a good relationship with Li Rui from the same town. In fact, he had previously taught Li Rui many academic subjects for free, but now he still hadn't become a Xiucai after taking the exam four times.

  He was sitting in a small hotel, ordering a few peanuts, a small dish, and several liang of rough wine to drink.

  From his original memory, this person was quite talented and learned. Unfortunately, he repeatedly failed to become a scholar-official, without which he would not have had any status or opportunities.

  Fang Xinye went up and touched it, but said: "Come on, a big plate of chicken nuggets, a dish of dried fish, and another glass of wine!"

  "Oh, as expected, going to work at the Shen family's residence of Magistrate Shen is a different story altogether. I won't be polite either." Bai Liu smiled and said: "You just called for a small cup of wine? You might not even get drunk by the time the list is announced."

  "I'm not good at drinking, I can only drink this much." At this time, Fang Xin was still wearing a coarse linen Confucian robe, which was very suitable for the occasion. The two of them sat down and began to savor their food and drink with relish. A half-chicken dish was served, which was delicious, but the dried fish had a strong flavor that Fang Xin didn't like.

  These things, about twenty or thirty taels, Fang Xin naturally didn't take to heart, but Bai Liu was moved again and asked: "You work at the Shen household, how many taels do you get per month?"

  Fang Xin said: "Not counting working at the Shen family's house, if it were so, then there would be no need for me to test this scholar. However, every month I will still get three taels of silver."

  He was paid thirty guan a month, and now he's talking about one tenth of that.

  "Three passes, it's not bad, the small officials in the city's literary department are just like this." Bai Liu let out a sigh and said gloomily: "If I had this job, I would be satisfied too."

  "How can this be? Having really served as a low-ranking official and ordinary person, it's already unbearable."

  "Alas, I'm not afraid of bad luck. I started taking the imperial exam at 14 and have taken it four times already, but still haven't passed. If I pass, I'll just become a low-ranking official from the ninth rank. If I don't pass, I'll just find some other job. Reading books is great, but it's hard to survive without rice!" Bai Liu said, taking a big gulp of wine.

  If one passes the imperial examination as a xiucai, the government will grant them land. At the end of each year, they can also go to the government office and receive some meat, about 10 catties per person. It's just that the quality of the meat may vary. In this way, even if one studies for ten or twenty years, their family won't starve. But if one doesn't pass the imperial examination, they will naturally have no means to support themselves. How can a poor family possibly afford to raise someone who does nothing?

  Fang Xin remained silent, not saying a word, eating his chicken and peanuts on his own, without even touching the dried fish. But Bai Liu, on the other hand, was delighted with the dried fish, savoring it slowly with wine, and said: "It seems you're not nervous at all."

  "I'm still young, if I don't succeed this time, there's always next time!" Fang Xin said.

  "However, your mother can't wait for much longer. My mother has been hoping I'd become a scholar since ten years ago, and after waiting for ten years, it still hasn't happened. Now it seems like she won't be able to wait for several more years." Bai Liu said in a low voice, seemingly slightly drunk.

  Just then, a rustling sound came from afar, and many people started making a fuss. Bai Liu's hand shook slightly.

  "It's out! It's out!" Indeed, such voices were heard, and in this era, everyone was concerned about this news, even if they had nothing to do with it. The news spread throughout the city instantly.

  Bai Liu seemed to want to stand up, but got halfway and then sat back down heavily, apparently not daring to look. Ten years of exams had accumulated too much pressure for him, his mouth was even trembling slightly.

  Fang Xin looked on, thinking to himself that if he hadn't descended upon them, Li Rui and Bai Liu would be a pair of miserable brothers who could only sit opposite each other, with a plate of peanuts and a bowl of coarse wine. I reckon Li Rui won't even become a scholar within the next ten years!

  At this moment, a group of people holding red paper for good news rushed to the students' dormitory, while the students were waiting in confusion or welcoming, listening to the verdict of their fate.

  After more than ten minutes, the winner was overjoyed and distributed bonuses. At this time, no one would be stingy. As for those who didn't win, there were many situations: some remained calm, some lost their composure on the spot, some didn't make a sound, and others even fainted or fell ill.

  At this moment, Bai Liu's body shook even more violently, causing the table to shake slightly. Fang Xin looked up and saw that three people were walking towards them with red papers in their hands. There were almost no students living here, only Li Rui and Bai Liu's homes. As they approached Bai Liu's home, everyone inside had already heard the noise and leaned against the door.

  That white-haired old mother of the Bai family, who was over twenty years old but looked like a thirty-year-old woman, stared at the newcomer with her eyes fixed on him.

  When the messenger of good news passed by without any pause, Bai Liu's whole body shook and he almost couldn't sit still.

  "What's wrong, Brother Bai?"

  "It's okay, I'm going home. It seems like you're poisoned. Alas, it's all fate! " Bai Liu clenched his teeth, pale-faced, muttering to himself. Seeing him still standing there, he forced a smile: "I'm fine, you go, hurry back!"

  Fang Xin didn't want to provoke him either, so he bowed and followed him out the door. By this time, someone had already noticed what was happening and hurriedly followed Fang Xin to see the commotion.