Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 56 Han Ziyu's Kindness
Ji Yun kindly reminded me, "Let's not talk about others, just talk about myself. Last year, I entered the prefectural school with the third-highest score in Jiang'an County. At that time, I thought I would definitely pass the prefectural exam and become a Juren. But the first time I took the exam, I was hit hard on the head by the ranking! Ouch, my forehead was bruised! I have never ranked so low since I was born!"

Because Ji Yun came from a wealthy family and her father was a bookseller, she received the best education here from a young age. Instead of attending a private school, she was taught by a private tutor.

This is why Ji Yun was able to attend the county school at such a young age and pass the county examination for Jiang'an County last year.

But as he said, the exams for state schools and county schools are completely different in difficulty.

After all, those who can enter the state school are all the best students from the county schools!

Ji Yun finished the perilla drink in one gulp, smacked his lips, and said.

“After the Qingli era of education, each county school had at least two hundred students. Only the best among them could enter the prefectural school, which was full of the top students from each county school for at least ten years. Just imagine how fierce the competition was.”

Lu Beigu listened silently.

At this point, it was too late to regret refusing the recommendation; one could only continue down the path of the imperial examinations until the very end.

Moreover, he doesn't regret it.

As a top student among top students, Lu Beigu knows very well how to study and is even more aware of how much room for improvement he has and how fast he can improve.

Given time, he will definitely have a chance to pass the provincial examination and become a Juren this year, and it's not impossible for him to even become a Jinshi.

Is passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) far more promising than spending one's entire life as a county clerk?
To reiterate, no matter how difficult the state exam is, can it be more difficult than becoming the top liberal arts student in a province with a population of over 100 million?
The population of the Song Dynasty is only slightly over 100 million.

Lu Beigu was very confident in himself.

As the saying goes, "I have met many geniuses, but they all call me a genius."

"understood."

Lu Beigu nodded and finished the last piece of bean cake.

When I looked up, I saw the shop across from the teahouse carrying things out, mostly wooden furniture. Several laborers were shouting and carrying it, which woke up my dozing old man.

"Are they moving across the street?"

Looking at the shop with the "Jiepu" lantern hanging above it, Lu Bei asked a question.

The old man replied, "The shop's lease and land deeds have all been pledged to the pawnshop. Now that we can't repay the money, we naturally have to move out. Otherwise, how can the pawnshop be sold?"

The so-called "shop license" refers to the business license of shops in the Song Dynasty, while "pawnshop" refers to a pawnshop. Because commerce was developed in the Song Dynasty, these items could also be used as collateral for credit. However, according to the law, a third party was required to collect the deed tax and notarize the transaction.

"Red contract or white contract?"

"Bai Qi, the person urgently needs the money."

If it is notarized by the government, it is called a "red deed," meaning that the government has affixed its red seal. If it is notarized by a brokerage firm, it is called a "white deed," which has a lower tax rate but less legal validity.

The owner of this shop must have run into some trouble, probably needing money urgently, so he mortgaged the property deed and the shop's transfer certificate together, going through a brokerage firm, just to get more cash.

Lu Beigu looked at the location and guessed that this was the shop that Feng Jinhua had her eye on. It was indeed much larger than the butcher's current meat shop, probably about two-thirds of an acre, which was more than 400 square meters. It would cost at least a hundred strings of cash.

He wasn't very interested in this kind of shop, after all, he hadn't thought about opening a big restaurant. He taught his sister-in-law how to cook and let her run a small eatery. If foodies liked it, it would be good to turn it into a private restaurant, which would be both profitable and easy.

In fact, other counties would certainly not have the purchasing power to support private restaurants, but Hejiang County is different.

Hejiang County is one of the most prosperous transshipment ports in southern Sichuan. With the Yangtze River and Anle River as its two important waterways, water transportation is extremely convenient. It is like a T-junction for water transport in Sichuan. There are a large number of merchants coming and going in this place all year round, and there are definitely many people willing to pay for the food.

At this moment, Ji Yun asked, "By the way, tomorrow is the Buddha's Birthday. Brother Lu, are you free to go with us? It'll be more lively with more people."

According to the "Past and Present Cause and Effect Sutra", when the Buddha was born, nine dragons spouted water to bathe him, so later generations poured fragrant water on the Buddha statue as a way of commemoration.

After Buddhism was introduced to China, the Buddha Bathing Festival gradually became localized, and by the Northern Song Dynasty, it had become a fixed festival and an important event for the whole nation to participate in.

From the perspective of public participation, the Lantern Festival is now definitely in a class of its own, while festivals such as the Ghost Festival, Laba Festival, and Buddha Bathing Festival are probably in the second class.

In short, it's a great day for relaxation and entertainment, and the county school will also be closed tomorrow for Buddha's Birthday.

There's a reason why these people from Luzhou all travel to Hejiang County to watch the Buddha Bathing Festival.

Famous temples in Luzhou, such as Yanfu Temple, which is carved with a monkey-faced human figure on a pilgrimage, and Taishan Temple, which is also famous for its stone carvings, had not yet been built at this time.

At that time, the only famous temple in Luzhou was Yunfeng Temple, which was built by Master Tianran during the Jianlong era. However, Yunfeng Temple was known for its quiet meditation and was not keen on holding celebrations such as the Buddha Bathing Festival.

Therefore, most wealthy and leisurely families in Luzhou who are also Buddhists will come to Hejiang to participate in the Buddha Bathing Festival held by Fawang Temple.

Lu Beigu replied, "Actually, after hearing what you all said, I'd like to go and take a look, but the county exam is coming up soon, so I plan to study at the county school."

"You're fine in the morning, but starting from the morning onwards, you definitely won't be able to concentrate on your studies."

At this moment, Han San Niang said with great certainty, "I have been in Hejiang for four years to celebrate the Buddha's Birthday. It is no exaggeration to say that the noise is deafening. Even if you stuff your ears with cotton, the various noises will still make it impossible for you to concentrate on your studies."

"."

In fact, they underestimated Lu Beigu's determination to study. Before he transmigrated, his family was poor and his parents didn't have time to take care of him. When he was a child, Lu Beigu studied in the vegetable market.

However, there's no need to say this aloud, lest others think it's just arguing for the sake of arguing.

"Anyway, if Brother Lu is interested in attending the Zen Gathering held at Fawang Temple this afternoon, you can ask Ji Yun to come find me. I can bring one more person with me, since I don't know anyone in Hejiang County anyway."

This is the second time I've heard the term "Zen Forest Gathering".

Should I go or not? Lu Beigu pondered for a moment.

Han Ziyu's goodwill was quite obvious. In fact, the children of truly established families are different from the children of businessmen. The children of businessmen, especially those who suddenly become rich, often have the characteristic of being snobbish and fond of the rich.

If a family has maintained its prominence for decades or even centuries, then it will not care much about the wealth or poverty of others, since no one can be richer than itself. Instead, it will value other things more, such as potential.

For Han Tzu-yu, as long as the other party has some worthwhile qualities to befriend and there is no irreconcilable conflict of opinion, then befriending them with small favors is a low-cost and potentially high-return endeavor.

After all, the Han family is large and powerful, and their way of doing things is different from that of ordinary families. For them, these small favors that they can give away easily are a bonus, even if they are given away ten thousand times, as long as they are returned even once.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Han," Lu Beigu replied. "If I wish to attend the Zen Forest Gathering, I will certainly look for you."

Ji Yun then laughed and said, "Maybe we don't even need Brother Han to lead the way. I think Brother Lu is a lucky person; perhaps he can get the gold beans and go straight there!"

"Golden beans?"

“Yes,” Ji Yun explained, “Besides the directly invited guests, if someone eats a golden bean, they can use it as proof to go to the Zen Forest Gathering. However, the chances are quite low; there are only a few golden beans out of tens of thousands of beans.”

“That’s interesting,” Lu Beigu said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)