The Legend of the Farm Girl

The Yun family felt a little disappointed that they didn't find the Li family. It wasn't because they had lent them the ten taels of silver, but because the two families had lived together for so many years and had a friendship of sharing weal and woe. In this unfamiliar place, the two families knew each other well and could trust each other.

Yunfang comforted her mother and said, "Mom, we are not familiar with the county town yet. Once we have enough time and become more familiar with it, we will definitely be able to find Grandma Li and her family. Let's go and ask about Tingfeng Academy tomorrow and see what the requirements are for admission."

"Okay, but Yunfeng and I will go tomorrow. After all, he is going to study at the academy. You can practice embroidering handkerchiefs at home. You haven't embroidered handkerchiefs in real life for a long time, so you still need to embroider a few times."

Yunfang nodded and said, "Okay, Mom, let Yunfeng go with you tomorrow."

The next day, Yunfang was at home embroidering a handkerchief while looking after Yunying. Yunying is now three and a half years old. She is very beautiful and can sit quietly if given something to eat. Because she loves to eat, she has grown white and plump, and is very cute.

Yunfang thought that her mother and brother would be out for a long time to inquire, but she didn't expect that they would come back in less than half an hour.

When Yunfang's mother came back, she told Yunfang everything that had happened today.

The mother and son didn't know who to ask, so they thought of going to the side of the academy first. When they arrived at the academy, they saw the gatekeeper outside. Yun Fang's mother went closer and asked the gatekeeper what the requirements were for entering to study.

The gatekeeper said that you can't get in this year. Tingfeng Academy only recruits students in the spring every year. They are divided into Tongshi class, Yuanshi class and Fushi class according to their levels, which are for Tongsheng, Xiucai and Juren respectively.

The doorman also said that the Tongshi class has the largest number of students. There are four classes according to age: one class for those under ten years old, one class for those aged eleven to thirteen, one class for those aged fourteen to seventeen, and one class for those aged eighteen to twenty. Those who are over twenty years old and have not passed the Tongsheng examination will not be accepted by Tingfeng Academy.

Yun Fangniang also asked about the tuition and rewards. It was the same as what the treacherous broker said. The tuition was five taels per month, and the reward was given to those who ranked in the top three in the exam within the corresponding age range.

After listening to her mother's introduction, Yunfang felt that the various systems of this academy were very reasonable. No wonder it became one of the best academies.

"Mom, if that's the case, let my brother study at home first. I will study with him, so don't worry."

Yunfang's mother knew Yunfang's current level and was more than capable of teaching Yunfeng. She nodded and said to Yunfang, "It's almost the eighth day of the first lunar month. Do you have confidence, Fang'er?"

Yunfang smiled and replied, "I might be worried about embroidering clothes, but there is absolutely no problem embroidering handkerchiefs."

Time flies and it is the eighth day of the first lunar month. Yunfang's mother holds Yunying and takes Yunfeng to cheer for Yunfang.

When they arrived at Linglong Embroidery Workshop, Yunfang gave her name and was led into the large house in the backyard. Many people were already in the house. The familiar embroiderers were talking to each other in a whisper, and when they saw Yunfang come in, the voices in the house became louder.

I only heard people talking about how this girl, who looked only about ten years old, dared to compete with those embroiderers who had been doing this for more than ten years or even decades! She was probably a newborn calf that was not afraid of a tiger!

Some people even ridiculed her, saying that they didn't know what the girl's parents were thinking. At her age, she was probably trying to embroider a tiger but ended up looking like a cat! Don't let her get so frustrated that she can't even pick up an embroidery needle anymore.

These people spoke louder and louder, but Yun Fang ignored them. Once she showed her strength, it would naturally be better than any excuses.

After Yunfang came in, many embroiderers came one after another. When they saw Yunfang, they showed different expressions. In the end, there were about 80 embroiderers. It can be seen that the treatment of Linglong Embroidery Workshop is really good, which attracted many embroiderers to compete.

As soon as the 9:00 hour arrived, a gentle and handsome man came in with the shopkeeper Ma and three very imposing women. The door of the house was immediately closed. Just as the shopkeeper Ma said, those who were late would not have any chance at all.

The moment these people came in, the room fell silent. The elegant and handsome man said, "I am the young master of Linglong Embroidery Workshop. You should all know Shopkeeper Ma. The three people behind me are famous embroiderers in my Linglong Embroidery Workshop. The four of us will appreciate your embroidery works together, and finally the five most suitable people will be selected to join our Linglong Embroidery Workshop."

After hearing what the young master said, the whole room was filled with a tense atmosphere.

The young master looked around and was a little surprised to see Yunfang. He said playfully, "How could a child this old come to apply for a job?"

Shopkeeper Ma explained quietly to the young master for a while, and the young master nodded and said, "Okay, then I will arrange the test questions next."

Yunfang was a little nervous when she heard the young master talking about herself, and she had no idea what the shopkeeper Ma had explained. When she heard that the young master was going to assign test questions, she forced herself to calm down.

What she didn't know was that Shopkeeper Ma actually had the power of initial screening, and she would not allow any embroiderers she thought were not qualified to participate in the assessment. Otherwise, if everyone who wanted to join Linglong Embroidery Workshop came for the assessment, there would have to be more than two hundred embroiderers coming today.

She heard from Yunfang's mother that Yunfang had delivered embroidery works to the Shanhai Embroidery Workshop in Deping County. The Shanhai Embroidery Workshop was incomparable to the Linglong Embroidery Workshop, but some of the handkerchiefs produced by the Shanhai Embroidery Workshop were extremely vivid in style and had spread to Yiqing County.

So she gave Yunfang this opportunity.

"The blank handkerchief, embroidery needle and thread are in front of you. The theme of this test is 'The peach tree is flourishing and its flowers are bright and beautiful'. You need to compose the pattern yourself and embroider it within a quarter of an hour."

Yunfang had read the Book of Songs and knew the meaning of this sentence, but some embroiderers who had not been well educated did not know how to start.

Yunfang thought that she must design a design with deep meaning and include good wishes for the newlyweds.

Time was running out, so even those who didn't understand the meaning of the sentence started to work, embroidering the peach blossoms bigger and more colorfully.

Soon, the time was up. Some embroiderers who wanted to embroider the flowers better had not finished yet and wanted to continue embroidering, but were asked to leave by the shopkeeper Ma.

The young master said to the rest of the people, "Put out the embroidery patterns. Let the three embroiderers take a look first. Those who are allowed to leave can leave."

The three embroiderers looked first, mainly looking at the embroidery skills. When embroidering a handkerchief so quickly, the quality of the embroidery skills can be best reflected.

The three embroiderers began to check at the same time, and soon many people were eliminated by them. One of the embroiderers came to Yunfang and was surprised to see the handkerchief embroidered by Yunfang. She was so young, but her embroidery skills were so outstanding. The layout of the entire embroidery content was also excellent. She nodded and thought to herself that this little girl might really be able to stay in the end.

Yunfang was recognized by the embroiderer, and many people were surprised. However, the results were already announced, and the eliminated people were asked to leave after only a glance.