The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The three of them sat in the carriage and ate by a small stove. Although the conditions were simple, the food tasted particularly delicious.

While picking fish bones for Yunlin, Min Xi said, "Tao Yuan is also studying at the academy, right? He probably doesn't know about his father's high school. Do you know where his classroom is?"

Yun Ji said, "I'll just tell him later. Actually, we can go home this afternoon, so it's okay not to tell him. He'll know when he gets home."

"Oh, yes, it's almost the end of the month and we'll have a holiday. Then Lin'er and I will wait for you here after school." Min Xi said, "Are you allowed to audit the class? I'll attend your class for an afternoon and see what class your teacher is teaching."

Yun Ji readily agreed: "It should be possible. I will go and tell the teacher."

After lunch, Yun Ji took Min Xi and Yun Lin to the dormitory to get their things and put them back on the carriage. They planned to go home directly after school and not have to go back to the dormitory to pack their things.

Before class, Yun Ji brought Min Xi and Yun Lin to his classroom, asked them to sit in the empty seats at the back, and gave them a book. When the teacher came, he took the initiative to tell the teacher that his two younger brothers were waiting for him to go home and attend the class together.

Although Yun Ji was the oldest in the class, he was also the most diligent in his studies. The teacher believed that his level was far beyond that of a scholar and was particularly tolerant of him. He glanced at Min Xi and Yun Lin who were sitting in the back and nodded without objection.

Yun Ji nodded to Min Xi who was sitting behind him, indicating that it was okay, and then sat back in his seat with peace of mind.

Min Xi found that the lessons taught by the teacher at Wenchang Academy were not more profound than those taught by Tao Hong, and he could understand them all. Yun Lin was very well behaved, sitting quietly listening to the teacher's lecture, nodding his head constantly. After the class, Min Xi asked him, "Lin'er, did you understand what the teacher said?"

Yunlin shook his head: "I don't quite understand."

"I saw you nodding while listening, so I thought you understood it all." Min Xi laughed and rubbed his head.

Yunlin said, "I understood what I nodded."

Min Xi held him in his arms and rubbed him: "Our Lin'er is really good!"

After the class, the three went to call Tao Yuan to take a carriage back to the city. Tao Yuan saw Min Xi and Yun Lin and asked in surprise: "Why are Brother Nine and Brother Lin here? You don't have class today? Did someone in my family pass the exam?" This kid's mind was working very fast.

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "By the way, your father passed the exam! Grandfather gave us half a day off today."

"Really?!" Tao Yuan jumped up, "That's great, that's great!"

He was so excited that he turned around a few times before he regained his senses and asked, "Where are my brother and cousin?"

“They didn’t hit it.”

Tao Yuan sighed, "It's a pity. It would have been great if both of them had passed the exam. With three Jinshi in one family, including my grandfather and my father, that would make five. With me, that would make six. We could catch up with the Zeng family in the Song Dynasty."

Min Xi just smiled after hearing this. This boy is quite confident, but it is good to have such confidence.

Yun Ji laughed at him: "Each time the examination only admits less than 300 people, and your family wants to take three of them. Aren't you a little too greedy?"

"What's the big deal? The imperial examination is to select talented and virtuous people, not to select only one person from each family." Tao Yuan said with a look of disdain.

Yunlin said: "Brother Yuan, aren't you in a hurry to go home?"

"Go, go, go! Go home quickly to congratulate my father. And then I hope I can pass the imperial examination and get top scorer!" Tao Yuan ran forward excitedly.

On the way back, Tao Yuan looked at the food box in the car, opened it and took a look: "You guys brought some delicious food with you? You ate alone without even calling me!"

Min Xi smiled and said, "When I came, you had already had lunch, so I didn't call you."

Tao Yuan was angry: "Humph! You're eating alone!"

"This is the food from Yunxiang Restaurant. If you want to eat it, go to the restaurant. I'll treat you." Min Xi said.

"That's more like it!" Tao Yuan's face finally brightened up.

When they returned home, the Tao Mansion was much quieter than when they left. Most of the guests had left, but some close friends were still there. Yun Ji went to congratulate his second uncle and grandparents before returning home.

After the joint examination, the palace examination will be held on March 15. Those who are admitted to the joint examination are called tribute students. They will take the palace examination, which is personally selected and presided over by the emperor. The examination only tests "current affairs policy". After the examination, the grade will be assessed. All the tribute students who participated in the joint examination were admitted, but their grades were different, namely first, second and third class.

Tao Jingzhi ranked second, was granted the title of Jinshi, and was appointed as the Director of the Ministry of Rites, in charge of school affairs. He had taught before, so this was equivalent to entering the Education Bureau, which was also a professional match.

In March, the real spring arrives. The temperature rises, the weather gradually becomes warmer, and the trees, flowers and plants begin to sprout.

Min Xi lifted the thick layer of wheat straw covering the flower bed in the yard and checked it bit by bit. He wondered if the lavender he planted last year was still alive after a winter.

Last fall, Min Xi sowed the lavender seeds he brought back in the yard. He planted some on the ground and in flower pots. The germination rate was not high. After sowing so many seeds, there were only dozens of seedlings in total.

Min Xi took good care of it. When winter came, he moved the lavender in the pot into the room. Because there was a ground heating system, the temperature was higher. Recently, new buds had begun to sprout, but they were a little weak. He didn't know whether they could bloom and produce seeds this summer.

The seedlings in the flower bed were covered with a thick blanket of wheat straw, but it is hard to say whether they can survive the winter. After all, the temperature in Beijing is too low in winter. If they can survive, it means that these seedlings can almost adapt to the climate in Beijing.

Min Xi had finished learning the Four Books and was now studying the Five Classics. To take the examination for a scholar, he not only had to memorize the Four Books and Five Classics, but also had to learn and read the books of various philosophers. There was less than a year left, and time was a bit tight for Min Xi, so he had to study late into the night by lamplight.

For Yun Ji, it was actually a lot easier. After all, he had already learned all this before. Now he just needed to review his lessons and read the book in more depth.

In addition to reading and memorizing, Min Xi also needed to practice writing. Writing was too difficult for Min Xi, because he was not very good at writing. The eight-part essay written in the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty was actually a good thing for him, who was not good at writing, because there was a fixed pattern and he just had to fill it with content.

The wording of this classical Chinese is really difficult. When he first started writing, Tao Hong commented that it was too colloquial and too colloquial. He could only read more and practice more, and slowly, he could write like that. Every time, Tao Hong thought that his idea was good, but his writing was a little poor, and asked him to practice more.

Eight-legged essay is similar to an argumentative essay. It has learned the wording of the ancients. Although it is far from a brilliant work, it can be considered an essay.

The most difficult thing was poetry, after all, it really required talent and talent, and Min Xi's poems always looked like doggerel. Whenever Tao Hong saw his poems, he couldn't help but knock on his head, wondering why he was so stupid and had no spirit at all, and couldn't even grasp the rhythm of the rhythm.

This was difficult for Min Xi, as he could not write any poems, and it was good enough if he could recite a few. Unfortunately, writing poems could not be filled with content like writing eight-part essays, so every time he wrote a poem, he would just make it up randomly, and it was good enough if he could finish it.

Although Yun Ji's poems cannot be considered masterpieces, they are at least well-balanced and can hit the point.

Min Xi said that his poems were shit, but Yun Ji always tried to find the bright spots in his poems and tried to praise and encourage him.

Min Xi saw him trying hard to find the right words and felt that she was really making things difficult for him. "Forget it, I just don't have a knack for poetry. I'll read more."

Yun Ji comforted him: "Writing poetry does not account for a large proportion of the Tongshi exam. As long as the essay is good and the poem is average, it will not hinder your examination as a scholar."

"I will try my best not to sound like a doggerel." Min Xi shrugged. The more he learned, the more he felt that it was unlikely that he could pass the examination to become a scholar. The main reason was that the time was short and there were many things to learn. The key was that he was still taking the exam in Yingtian Prefecture, which was the capital city, a place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery, and there were too many excellent scholars.

"If I fail to pass the exam to become a scholar next year, I don't want to take the exam anymore and plan to do something else," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji was shocked: "What do you want to do?"

Min Xi said: "Make something useful, and I will need your financial support when the time comes."

Yun Ji felt it was a pity that he didn't take the imperial examination, but he still supported his behavior unconditionally: "Of course there is no problem."