Top Scholar

Chapter 25 Judgment Day Arrives

It was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, at the third quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM

Having finished reciting the last sentence of the *Doctrine of the Mean*—"Its repeated admonitions and exhortations are deeply earnest; how can scholars not devote themselves wholeheartedly to them?"—[the text continues with a separate, unrelated sentence:]

With extraordinary perseverance, superhuman energy, and scientific methods, Su Lu finally memorized all the textbooks for six years of elementary education in one hundred days! He accomplished this seemingly impossible task!
His father and brothers were by his side. Even Su Tai, who was usually a heavy sleeper, had stayed up until this moment, just to witness his younger brother's moment.

The second brother hugged Su Lu tightly, crying like a 160-pound child. "Waaah, Qiu-ge'er has really had it so tough..."

Su Youcai's nose also tingled, and he said in a muffled voice, "To be honest, I didn't believe at all that you could persevere to the end. I didn't believe you could accomplish this feat!"

"Without your unwavering support, how could I have possibly accomplished this?" Su Lu was also moved by his father and brothers' excitement, and said with a thick nasal voice, "Thank you, Second Brother, thank you, Father, thank you all..."

He really should thank his family. For the past hundred days, his father taught during the day and tutored him every night. In the last two weeks, he devoted himself entirely to his son, his eyes dark with exhaustion. They truly gave their all and deserve immense credit!
Besides working at the distillery, Su Tai also took over all of Su Lu's original work, and in his spare time, he went up the mountain and down to the sea to provide him with nutrition, and made pine oil lamps, pine soot ink, banana leaf paper for him...

Besides, I have to listen to his lectures, and even let him snore at night. Without my second brother, how can he study?

Not only the second brother, but the eldest brother's contribution was also significant. There's no need to go into the details of what happened before, but just in the last half month, Su Man not only gave up his room entirely to Su Lu, but also bought him a pound of cooking oil and a foot of wick so that he could use an oil lamp for lighting, instead of having to study with the window open in the dead of winter, which could have made him sick from the cold.

Then there's my aunt. From day one, she fed him one egg a day, for a total of one hundred eggs. She secretly hid these eggs while feeding the chickens. Because of this, the family's "old, eggless hen" was scolded countless times by my aunt.

Later, when my aunt went to the county to take care of my other aunt, my other aunt finally became the head cook. She went out of her way to give Su Lu extra nutrition, making him eat three eggs a day. One was boiled, one was made into a soup, and one was stir-fried with lard!
And then there's Xiao Jinbao, who's always been very sensible and never bothers him while he's studying. That's really remarkable for a three-year-old who has no self-control.

Oh, and my uncle too, he was the one who said I could take time off to study...

Su Lu mentally gave his thanks, then suddenly burst out laughing, "I haven't even taken the exam yet, isn't it a bit premature to get excited like this?"

"Haha, it seems so," the second brother said embarrassedly.

"No, it's not early at all!" Su Youcai pressed his hands on Su Lu's shoulders, staring intently at his son with dark circles under his eyes.
"Whether you pass the exam tomorrow or not, I believe that with your perseverance and ability, you will definitely make something of yourself in the future!"

"That's what I think too," Su Lu nodded emphatically. "But we should still try our best to pass the exam."

"Haha, of course! What has my son been working so hard for these past hundred days?" Su Youcai laughed loudly, "Isn't it all to get into Taiping Academy?"

"It will definitely work!" Su Tai shouted, raising his arms.

~~
Su Youcai opened the schoolbag he had packed for Su Lu and showed his son the contents one by one: "This is the copper ink box that I used when I took the county exam. It's already filled with ink."

As he spoke, he opened a small square copper box containing glossy black ink, which didn't smell as bad as usual.

"This is the first batch of tung oil ink that my father has kept hidden away. It is black and glossy, long-lasting and not easy to fade. The ink does not easily settle after grinding."

"Keep the lid tightly closed when not in use. When you need to use it, just flip the lid over and pour the ink onto it; it will then function as an inkstone. Be careful not to pour too much at once, or the ink will be too heavy when writing." He then took out half an ink stick and added:
"The ink in the box should be enough. We should also bring the remaining tung oil ink, just in case."

"What about water?" Su Lu asked. "Aren't you going to bring a water bottle?"

“There’s no need to bring extra water,” Su Youcai said. “There’s always a way to make an exception. Saliva will do just as well.”

"That's true." Su Lu nodded, thinking to himself that if you didn't find it disgusting, that thing did indeed look quite like a water jet...

At this moment, Su Youcai picked up a brand new calligraphy brush, removed the cap, and handed it to Su Lu, saying, "This is a Baiyun brush, which is most suitable for writing small regular script. I have already prepared the brush for you. Try it out."

Su Lu hurriedly took the brush with both hands, unfolded the yellow clay paper as he would during an exam, opened the inkwell, dipped the brush, and began to write. He felt the brush move as smoothly as silk, each stroke precise and effortless, and his characters looked much more beautiful! He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

"I didn't know there were such useful calligraphy brushes! Why didn't Father bring them out sooner?"

"Haha..." Su Youcai laughed and said, "There's no other way, we're poor. We have to use our resources wisely."

“That’s true.” Su Lu agreed wholeheartedly, unaware that he had been tricked.

Later he learned that the worn-out pen could actually be repaired, and that his father knew how to fix it...

"Alright, hurry up and wash up and go to bed. We have to get up very early tomorrow," Su Youcai said with a big yawn.

"Yes." Su Lu replied, quickly packed his schoolbag, but did not go to bed immediately. Instead, he made the most of the time to review for the last half hour.

He still has one last night of reviewing his sleep memory. Every bit he can memorize is important; maybe it'll be on the test.

Every second before the exam should not be wasted...

~~
The first rooster crow of the next day woke Su Lu; the day of the entrance exam had finally arrived!

He couldn't fall asleep for a long time last night, even more nervous than the night before his college entrance exams... which is understandable. There are so few options these days, this is the only path with light ahead.

If he failed the exam today, he would likely never have a bright future... However, after waking up, reason regained control of his body. Su Lu closed his eyes for another half hour to consolidate his memories from last night.

Half an hour later, he calmed down completely and quickly got out of bed.

After he finished washing up, his aunt had already brought him breakfast.

Candidates receive special treatment: their main course is a bowl of hot, oily egg noodles, along with a piece of auspicious steamed cake.

Steamed rice cake is a local specialty, made by steaming sorghum rice mixed with glutinous rice, and filled with red bean paste.

Before the exam, students at Shuzhong Middle School would eat a piece of steamed cake to bring good luck in 'striving for high school admission'...

Even the side dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots carries the auspicious meaning of "rising higher step by step." The aunt's painstaking efforts are evident.

While Su Lu was eating, his aunt prepared the clothes he was going to wear.

Today, the academy will conduct an oral exam, which is also an interview, so we definitely need to pay attention to our appearance.

Su Lu immediately put on his New Year's clothes. Actually, they weren't new clothes, but a light blue cotton robe that his older brother had made for him the year before last. He had always worn his two older brothers' hand-me-downs since he was little, and he had never worn new clothes before...

However, Chun-ge'er was careful with his clothes, and his aunt had thoroughly washed and starched them for him. After putting on the straight robe and tidying it up properly, he still looked quite good.

The aunt helped him comb his hair, tied it with a black soft scarf, took two steps back, looked her nephew up and down, and exclaimed, "Whose handsome young man is this? He's one of the best in the surrounding villages."

Su Lu touched his thin chin and said with a wry smile, "Auntie is joking. My elder brother is the most handsome young man in the surrounding area. I am well aware of my appearance."

"Don't believe me if you don't want to." His aunt adjusted the jade-colored silk belt around his waist and encouraged him, "Do your best on the exam! I'll be waiting for your good news!"

Su Lu nodded emphatically, left the study, and went to the main room to say goodbye to his grandparents.

"Grandpa and Grandma, your grandson is going to take the exam!" Su Lu bowed deeply.

"Go ahead, go ahead." Grandma, unusually perceptive, smiled kindly and said, "It's okay if you don't pass the exam, you'll still be Grandma's good grandson."

"What are you saying?" The old man glared at his wife, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "Don't be a coward! If you're a coward, don't even leave this house!"

As he spoke, he raised his voice and asked, "Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!" Su Lu quickly replied, his loud voice echoing across Erlang Beach.

~~
After bidding farewell to his grandparents, Su Lu turned and left the main room.

As dawn broke and the morning star cast a chilly light, Su Lu took a deep breath of the crisp air, which carried the scent of fermented wine, and stepped down from the stilted house.

His father, brothers, and uncle also set off together, displaying the spirit of brothers fighting tigers together and fathers and sons going into battle together.

Su Youcai went to see the examinee off. Today, Su Lu wasn't the only one going to take the exam; there were quite a few children from the clan school going as well.

Uncle was going to pick up Chun-ge'er... The students of Taiping Academy started their Lunar New Year holiday today, and the empty classrooms were perfect for the entrance exam.

As for why the holiday wasn't started a day earlier or the exams were scheduled a day later to avoid conflict, it's obviously to use the students as free labor. The returning students would have to stay an extra day after their holiday to help organize the exams before they could go home for the New Year.

Only Su Tai went there purely to accompany Su Lu during the exam. He carried Su Lu's schoolbag across his shoulder, and the bamboo basket on his back contained water bottles and lunch for the four of them.

The town wasn't big, and the four of them arrived at the entrance of the clan school in no time. There they saw a large group of people already waiting there, men, women, and children with their families, making it as lively as a New Year's celebration.

Su Lu couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Why are there so many people?"

"There's no work in the fields at the end of the year, and the distillery is closed. Everyone's just sitting around with nothing to do and wants to take their kids to exams." Su Youcai gave a wry smile. Of course, that wouldn't work; he wasn't leading a group to the market. He raised his voice and said:
"I said yesterday that only one adult per family can accompany their child to the exam!"

After speaking, he called out the names of nine children in total. Including Su Lu, a total of ten members of the Su family took the exam for Taiping Academy this year…

"There are only twenty children in the clan school, aren't there? Why do half of them have to go?" Su Lu asked, puzzled.

“Taiping Academy is too difficult to get into. Who would wait until the last year to take the exam like you?” Uncle said, “People usually take the exam two years in advance. Practice makes perfect. Maybe if you take the exam a couple more times, you will pass.”

"That makes sense." Su Lu nodded. It would be wonderful to be able to take the exam twice. Even if he didn't pass this time, the experience he gained would definitely be useful next time.

Then I heard my uncle sigh and say, "Furthermore, in the early years, everyone was quite enthusiastic about sending their children to school, but later they found that they couldn't pass the imperial examinations to become scholars, so many people were unwilling to let their children continue their studies. At most, they would study for a year or two to learn to read, and then they would come down to work."

“So there will be fewer and fewer children in the future. When this batch of children stops attending school, it will be a problem whether the clan school can continue to operate.” The eldest uncle said worriedly for his second brother.

P.S. Qiu Ge'er's 100 days of intensive training have ended, and the exciting martial arts tournament is about to begin! Thank you all for your support; you're all still as skilled as ever! Please continue to vote and keep reading!
(End of this chapter)