The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Li Hefeng was a famous child prodigy in Jurong County, and there was no dispute that he was the first in the case.

Min Xi talked to him about this guy's ability to remember everything he saw. This was really too much of an advantage. Others had to memorize a book by heart, but he only had to read it once. How much time he saved.

When Li Hefeng heard that Min Xi had been to Europe, he was extremely envious and pestered Min Xi to tell him about the customs and culture of Europe. He stayed at Min Xi's house for three days in a row and was reluctant to go back even for meals, so he ate at Min Xi's house for free.

Min Xi was in a dilemma. If he ignored it, he thought this was a potential stock. But if he paid attention to it, he would have no time to study. Fortunately, Tao Xing came back in time and said that he had rented a house in Yingtian Prefecture, which was near the examination venue, and asked Min Xi to move there quickly.

Min Xi then said to Li Hefeng, "Brother Li, I still have to take the provincial examination. My family has already found a house for me to go to Yingtian Prefecture to prepare for the provincial examination. I really envy you for not having to take the provincial and imperial examinations anymore."

Li Hefeng said: "Actually, I also wanted to take the exam, but the teacher said there was no need to go and give the opportunity to more people."

"That's how it should be!" Min Xi said with a smile.

Li Hefeng said with great regret: "It's a pity that I can't have a long talk with Brother Min. Brother Min is full of stories. He is many times better than people like us who can only think behind closed doors. It's so enviable."

Min Xi said, "Don't be too envious. We are the opposite. I travel thousands of miles first and then read thousands of books. You read thousands of books first and then travel thousands of miles. Different paths lead to the same destination."

Li Hefeng sighed, "But no matter how many miles I travel, I'm afraid I can't go to Southeast Asia and the West. I don't know if I will have the chance to hear Brother Min talk about your experiences in the future."

"Of course there will be." Min Xi said.

Li Hefeng's face lit up: "See you at the provincial examination, and we'll rent a house together then."

Min Xi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I don't know if I can take part in the provincial examination yet. But I will definitely be able to go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination in the future. When the time comes, come to Beijing to find me. Go to Yunxianghao and leave a message for the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper of any Yunxianghao store will do. They will let me know and I will definitely come to find you."

Li Hefeng asked curiously: "What is the relationship between Brother Min and Yunxiang?"

"The owner of the Yunxiang is my sworn brother. We went to Europe together. I am now the manager of the Yunxiang, and they all know me."

"Oh, is that the seventh brother in your story?" Li Hefeng was very interested. He was also very interested in the other protagonist.

"Yes, that's him."

Li Hefeng said excitedly: "Okay, I will definitely go to the capital to find you then. But I believe we will still meet during the provincial examination, Brother Min, study."

"Then I'll take your advice, brother." Min Xi bowed.

Min Xi took Diego and Tao Xing to Yingtian Prefecture to take part in the provincial examination. The rented house was very close to the examination site and was surrounded by candidates taking the examination. The environment was quite quiet. Min Xi took the time to memorize the lessons and left all other matters to Tao Xing and Diego. He didn't even go to say hello to the Yunxiang branch of Yingtian Prefecture.

For Min Xi, the provincial examination was easier to handle than the county examination, as it only consisted of three examinations.

The first round is to post scriptures, which mainly involves copying scriptures from memory. More than three paragraphs need to be copied from memory, of which "Book of Filial Piety" and "Analects of Confucius" are required, and one of "Book of Rites" and "Zuo Zhuan" must also be selected. The rest are to be selected from classics such as "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites of Zhou", "Book of Etiquette", "Book of Changes", "Book of History", etc., or you can choose none of them. They are all designated paragraphs and you need to copy them from memory.

This exam was about memory and calligraphy. So Min Xi was memorizing the book with all his might. It was really a pity that he didn't know enough when he needed it.

Fortunately, compared to writing poetry, this situation is still controllable. At least there are traces to follow, and as long as you put in the effort, you will basically not make mistakes.

Since arriving in Yingtian Prefecture, Min Xi has stayed at home without going out except for registration. He studied day and night. It was March, the best time of spring, but he didn't dare to go out for an outing even for a single day.

The provincial examination is held in April. The first two sessions also take one day, while the third session takes two days and requires one to spend one night in the examination room.

The requirements for the prefectural examination are more stringent than those for the county examination. Candidates are not allowed to bring anything into the examination room except the examination guidelines. Pens, ink, paper, and inkstones are all provided by the examination room. Lunch and water are also provided by the examination room.

Min Xi lined up before dawn. Under the guidance of the guide boy, he found his seat number, checked his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and waited slowly for the exam time to arrive.

When the test paper was handed out, Min Xi quickly looked through it and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were all paragraphs he was familiar with. He quickly wrote down the paragraphs that he was not very familiar with, and then wrote the paragraphs that he was familiar with.

After finishing writing, he slowly copied it. Calligraphy was also the focus of the test. He had been practicing Taige style for the past two years. Although he could read it, he was still far behind the real masters. He hoped that the examiner would not be so strict with the students so that he could pass the test.

Min Xi memorized four passages in total, including The Book of Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius, and The Book of Rites, and selected a passage from The Book of Songs. In this case, if you know everything by heart, then the more you write, the better. However, for those who are not familiar with the passages, the more you write, the more mistakes you make. So sometimes writing less is a form of self-protection.

After the first exam, Min Xi breathed a sigh of relief because the next two exams were much easier for him.

The second part was essays, which required writing an eight-part essay based on the contents of the Four Books and Five Classics, imitating the tone of the sages and conveying their thoughts. This did not allow for free expression and adding one's own thoughts. For Min Xi, although his expression was limited, he was still able to cope with it overall.

After the first exam was over and the results were announced, Min Xi ranked in the 50th place. This ranking was not high, but not too low either, because the provincial exam only admitted about people every year.

The second test was essay writing. The chief examiner Lou Zhuo started his inspection from the inner circle and soon saw Min Xi. He did not say anything, just took a glance. This ranking was neither good nor bad, but he still qualified to enter the college entrance examination, so Lou Zhuo was not worried about Min Xi.

After the essay test, Min Xi ranked 18th in the second round.

The third exam, policy essay, was what he was really good at. The third exam lasted two days, and he had to stay overnight in the exam room, with bedding provided by the exam room.

Spending the night in the examination room, Min Xi truly experienced the difficulty of taking the imperial examination in ancient times. It was such a narrow cubicle that people could not lie straight inside and could only sleep curled up. There was no door, and although it was already April, it would still be quite painful if it encountered windy and rainy weather. Fortunately, it did not rain during their exam this time, but it was a cloudy day.

When Min Xi was lying on the narrow seat in the cubicle, he was thinking of Yun Ji. He was taller than himself, and he thought that the cubicles in the examination room in Beijing would not be much bigger than the ones here. How much suffering he would have suffered.

When he was thinking about Yun Ji, Yun Ji was also thinking about him at the same time. The two of them could be said to have a tacit understanding.

Although the examination room conditions were not good, Min Xi answered the policy essay very well, because the topic was about the court's maritime defense and taxation. Min Xi was very familiar with this, and he listed his thoughts one by one.

After the third exam, Min Xi went back and slept for a day. It was really too painful to sleep in the cubicle and he didn’t get enough rest.

When he woke up and went out to talk to the candidates from Jurong County, he learned that some people had caught a cold in the examination room. After hearing what they said, Min Xi realized that he had one more quilt than others. It seemed that the chief examiner Lou Zhuo had taken special care of him and gave him an extra quilt. He had to thank his uncle Tao Lizhi for this.

A few days later, the results of the provincial examination were posted. Tao Xing was the one who went to look at the list again. Min Xi and Diego were waiting outside the crowd. Tao Xing started from the front and just after reading for a while, he shouted loudly: "I passed, Master Min, ninth place in the A class!"

When Diego heard this, he grabbed Min Xi's arm and shouted excitedly: "Boss, I passed, I passed!" Although it was Diego's first time to experience the Ming Dynasty's examination, he knew that such a long and solemn examination was absolutely a very important matter for the boss, so he slowly felt the atmosphere of the examination and integrated into it.

When Min Xi heard the ranking outside the crowd, he couldn't help but laugh. This result was better than expected. Could he really pass the exam and become a scholar?

After the provincial examination, the next step is the academy examination.

I have to write a letter to Yunji quickly to tell him that I can’t go back for the time being because I still have to take the college entrance examination. I hope he won’t be disappointed!