You are my golden finger

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, a group of children still visit each household to wish each other a happy new year.

Lin Xijin's home was a must-visit place for every child in the village. She simply asked Chuntao and Qiuyan to carry the lucky bags filled with copper coins, peanuts, melon seeds, and sugar cakes out of the hall in two baskets, giving one bag to each child. Before the hour of Si, the baskets were already empty.

As soon as the Si hour arrived, the sound of gongs and drums resounded through the sky, and Zhangshutou became lively. People were dancing lions and dragons, singing operas, and selling all kinds of small things, attracting people from all over the village.

Shiziwo held three days of lion and dragon dances and opera performances as usual, and then the dragon and lion dance team was invited by various villages and towns, and they were overwhelmed until the Lantern Festival when they stopped receiving orders. The dragon and lion dance team made a lot of money. A small part of the money was kept in the village for replenishment, and most of it was distributed to the team members.

Xinfeng and Xihui gave the five silver coins they were given to Lin Xijin like offering treasures. Of course, Lin Xijin would not accept them, but she was also very happy, thinking that she had found spiritual sustenance in these children.

Ye Jinlin got two taels of silver, and Lin Xijin asked Xihui to keep it for him. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Ye Jinlin took Chuntao and the convoy to Kyoto, and Xingwen and Xingwu also went with him.

Ye Jinlin said that Xingwen had a calm temperament and good abilities. Lin Xijin asked Xingwen and the original guards to stay in Kyoto to maintain the operation of the Kyoto store. Anyway, Shangguan Rui was watching, so nothing would go wrong. Ye Jinlin was going to bring Xingwu back to the capital to open a branch in early February.

Chuntao also planned to withdraw to the capital city to open a branch of "Wulin Cosmetics" because Lin Xijin felt that she was not strong enough at the moment and it was better to rely on a big tree. If she gave a little profit, someone would open up all the connections and she would not have to worry about anything, so she still adopted the previous cooperation model with Madam Wu and others.

At the end of last year, Lin Xijin bought another farm of more than 1,000 mu in the county, with paddy fields, dry land, and low hills, which was exactly what she wanted. She arranged for high-yield rice, corn, sorghum, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and medicinal herbs, and also opened a winery and pig farm. She also helped the general's mansion settle more than 200 demobilized veterans, and everyone got what they wanted.

In the city, he bought two shops and a quiet courtyard with three entrances. Because Master Liang thought that Xihui, Xinfeng, Xingcheng, and Xiaowen were good at studying, he planned to let them take the Tongsheng exam at the end of February. Although Lin Xijin thought that these children were still young and there was no rush, she knew that Master Liang had a high salary and wanted to prove himself, so she agreed.

You can live in the courtyard you bought in the county for the county exam, but you have to stay in the city to study or take the prefectural exam, academy exam, or provincial exam. It is not convenient to stay in an inn all the time. Besides, these children are still young and need someone to take care of them. This is why Lin Xijin wants to buy a courtyard and open a shop in the city.

The ancients said: "Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run." Lin Xijin felt that although she was only a sister, she was worried about her mother and could not escape her mother's care in this life, so she had already accepted her fate.

In early February, Ye Jinlin and Chuntao returned with the people sent by Xingwu and Madam Wu of the capital. Madam Wu's shop was also ready, and it was quickly renovated according to the drawings given by Lin Xijin. They went to the government office to get the official seal for the deeds, and also handled the procedures for Lin Xijin's two shops. Lin Xijin was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

One of the two shops sells "Lin's ready-made medicine" and the other sells "Lin's food ingredients". Shangguan Rui still gets 20% of the profit, because with Shangguan Rui around, he has less worries. The shopkeeper and the doctor were also found by Shangguan Rui. However, this time Lin Xijin sent Pinellia and Polygonatum to the shop to learn.

The shopkeeper and clerk of "Lin's Foodstuffs" were selected from the retired veterans. Two people were selected from each of the original shops and Ye Jinlin led them to open a new shop in the capital. Each shop also added three new people. With the old leading the new, the shops were busy but not chaotic, and moved forward in an orderly manner.

On February 16, three shops opened at the same time. Three strings of firecrackers went off at the same time. There was no need for any publicity. As soon as the signs were put up, customers flocked in and money rolled in.

At the end of February, Master Liang took Xihui and four other boys to participate in the county examination. Lin Xijin brought a few girls, Qiuyan, cook Zou and two guards to the county. Everyone went there a day in advance so that the boys could have a good rest.

The next morning, Lin Xijin and Master Liang sent several people to the entrance of the examination room, asked them to check to make sure there were no omissions, sent them into the examination room, and then went home to wait.

After three days of exams, Lin Xijin took An An and Qiu Yan to pick up the boys. Seeing the candidates being carried or helped out of the exam room, she couldn't help but feel a little worried. After a while, the guards came back with the four boys. Although they looked a little tired, they were all a little excited, which showed that they all did well in the exam. This shows that one must learn martial arts as well as literature, so that they can be strong and withstand the high-intensity imperial examinations.

"Brother! Brother!" After not seeing them for a few days, An An was very excited to see them.

Several people touched An An's head soothingly.

"Brother is tired, let's go home." Lin Xijin said.

The security guard hurriedly drove back to the yard.

Three days later, everyone ate breakfast and went out to see the results. The entrance to the county government office was crowded with people, and the boys, with their agile bodies and martial arts skills, quickly squeezed to the front.

Soon, the yamen runners shouted for everyone to make way, and soon the county examination results were posted. Several people opened their eyes wide to look for their names.

"Xihui, you're on the list! Number eight."

"Xinfeng, you're on the list too! 12th place."

After a long time, I found Xingcheng's name again.

"Xingcheng, you are number twenty-six."

"Haha, Xiaowen, you are second to last." Xingcheng shouted.

So the four of them squeezed out frantically, shouting as they ran: "Sister, Master, we are all on the list! We are all on the list!"

Lin Xijin and the teacher looked at each other, a little unbelievable. The county exam only selected 30 people, and these four people were on the list?

"Are they all on the list?" Master Liang asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Master, we are all on the list." Several people ran up to the Master and answered excitedly.

"There are too many people here, let's go back and talk about it." Although Lin Xijin was happy, he was still rational.

Back in the yard, the four boys bowed to Master Liang. Lin Xijin also bowed to Master Liang to thank him for his teachings to the children.

"Miss Lin, I think the credit for these guys making the list this time should go to you. The two math problems in the list are the reason why they stand out. Without your math lessons, they wouldn't be able to do them. You also taught them a lot of knowledge and expanded their horizons. You are their mentor and friend!"

"Master Liang, you are too modest. Without your extensive knowledge and dedicated teaching, these children would not have achieved what they have today!" The two men praised each other for a while.

Several people were eager to return home and wanted to go back immediately to report the good news to the villagers, so they packed up and went back home.