The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Also going south this time is Tao Yuan, who will also go to Yingtian Prefecture to take part in the provincial examination this year and is a competitor of Min Xi.

Tao Yuan is a cheerful boy, a lively guy. With him around, the journey becomes more enjoyable.

This year is the year of the big examination, and the scale of the examination is incomparable to the academy examination, because passing the examination to become a juren is like truly leaping over the dragon gate, and the status of a scholar is completely different.

Xiucai was only the entry level of scholars, and there was a saying of poor Xiucai, but there was never a poor Juren, because once you passed the Juren exam, it was equivalent to achieving class leap and being directly equated with the ruling class. The next step for Juren was Jinshi, which allowed you to directly become an official. Even if Juren failed to pass the Jinshi exam, they could still be candidates for officials in the local area, or serve as some local officials, and their words carried considerable weight.

Once you pass the imperial examination, countless landlords and gentry will come to you to curry favor with you, and money and land will flow into you like water, so it is impossible to be poor.

Therefore, all the scholars tried their best to pass the examination. Most of the candidates for the examination were minors, with very few adults. However, the candidates for the examination for the Juren were both young and old, and some were still taking the examination even when they were in their sixties or seventies.

As soon as Min Xi got off the boat, someone came up to greet them: "Mr. Min, you are finally here. I am sent by Manager Qiu to pick you up. My name is Li Bao."

Min Xi looked at the newcomer and was very surprised. "Thank you! Manager Qiu is so thoughtful. There are five of us. Can we sit down? This is the son of our second uncle, and also our cousin. He also came back with me to take part in the provincial examination."

Li Bao was stunned for a moment: "So it's my cousin, nice to meet you. Please forgive me, I thought there were only three of us and only drove one carriage, but it doesn't matter, I will go and rent another carriage."

Li Bao quickly rented a carriage, took five people with him, and headed for Yingtian Prefecture.

Li Bao was very talkative. "This year is the year of the big exam. As early as May and June, many students came to Yingtianfu to stay and prepare for the exam. The inns and room prices in Yingtianfu have risen sharply, and the prices change every day. Seeing that the situation was not right, Manager Qiu quickly rented the waterside pavilion from last year in advance. Since he rented it early, it was much cheaper. After Master Min arrived, he still lived in the same place."

"Shopkeeper Qiu is so thoughtful!" Min Xi sighed. He didn't even say hello to Shopkeeper Qiu, but who knew that he would take the initiative to rent the house in advance. It can only be said that he was really thoughtful and it saved him a lot of trouble.

Tao Yuan was a little excited: "Brother Jiu, this time I can live in the waterside pavilion because of you. I came back too late for the exam last time, and all the houses in the good areas were rented out. The inn I rented was dirty and shabby, and the key point was that there was a stinky ditch nearby, full of mosquitoes. I stayed in Yingtian Prefecture for more than a month, and my whole body was covered with prickly heat and bumps. It was really miserable."

Min Xi smiled and said, "You are not taking advantage of me, but your brother Ji."

"That's all thanks to you. If you hadn't come to take the exam, Brother Ji wouldn't have thought of asking someone to rent a house for me in advance." Tao Yuan said.

Min Xi looked at him and couldn't help laughing. It was indeed true.

Tao Yuan stroked his chin and said, "Brother Ji treats you better than us cousins. To be honest, it's a friendship of life and death. I'm not jealous, it's my duty."

Min Xi smiled and said nothing.

They didn't get back to Yingtian Prefecture until dark, and they were actually allowed to enter the city. Because there were many students going to the provincial capital to take exams during this period, the city gates were closed much later than usual.

It is extremely hot in Yingtian Prefecture in July. If people stay in this environment and do nothing, sweat will automatically come out of all the pores on their body. They will be sticky all day long and wish they could just soak in the water and never come out.

After dark, they entered the city and were taken directly to the waterside pavilion they rented last year. They didn't know if it was an illusion, but even though it was a waterside pavilion, it didn't feel very cool at night.

Tao Xing was familiar with the procedure. He lit up the wormwood to repel mosquitoes and waited for the two masters to wash up and go to bed.

In the second half of the night, a cool breeze blew slowly from the water surface, and I finally felt cooler, and I slept soundly until dawn.

Tao Yuan was very satisfied with this place. The place he lived in was spacious and comfortable, and someone specially prepared breakfast for him instead of buying it outside: "I am really enjoying life following Brother Jiu. If I can't pass the imperial examination this time, I will really let down such good conditions. Brother Jiu, let's pass the imperial examination together!"

Min Xi ate his breakfast and said with a smile: "I am here mainly to broaden my horizons. The important thing is to participate."

Tao Yuan said, "Don't say that. Grandfather said that you wrote a good essay and you will definitely pass the exam."

"I'll do my best." Min Xi nodded.

Min Xizhen didn't think he could pass the exam. After all, all the scholars in Jiangsu Province gathered here, and the admission rate of the candidates was terribly low. There were many scholars in Jiangsu Province, and there were only more than 2 admission quotas, while there were more than 985 candidates. The admission rate was less than %, which was about the same as the admission rate of universities.

Min Xi studied hard for twelve years but failed to get into a 985 university. Now he wants to pass the imperial examination after only studying for a few years. This shows that he does not take the scholars of this era seriously.

On the contrary, the number of admitted students in Shuntian Prefecture where Yun Ji is located is similar to that in Jiangsu Province. The number of candidates there is less than that in Jiangsu, and the admission rate is higher. From this point of view, people with Beijing household registration have had an advantage since ancient times.

This was not the first time that Tao Yuan took part in the provincial examination, so he was quite familiar with it. He specially explained to Min Xi the ins and outs of the provincial examination, as well as some techniques for the examination, such as eating as little as possible during the examination so as not to defecate, because there would be small buckets for urination in the examination rooms, but to defecate one would need to go to the toilet, and one would have to be accompanied by the examiner. A feces stamp would be placed on the test paper, which would affect the examiner's impression of the candidate and would affect the result. Usually, papers with feces stamps would not be accepted.

Min Xi thought about it and realized that one provincial examination lasted three days, and three examinations would last nine days in total.

In theory, candidates can leave the room to rest after each exam. However, there are too many candidates in Jiangsu, with more than 10,000 candidates taking the provincial exam. After each exam, checking the entrance is a time-consuming and laborious task. If it rains and is muddy, the exam will be delayed. Therefore, candidates are not allowed to leave the room until they have finished three exams.

Entering the exam one day in advance means that the time is almost ten days. Even if he eats a small amount during these ten days, he cannot avoid going to the toilet. Unless he becomes an immortal instantly, it is simply too inhumane. He plans to just pass the exam this time and never take it again, no matter whether he passes or not.

The autumn examination was approaching and Yingtian Prefecture was extremely lively. Tao Yuan, who loved to join in the fun, could endure the loneliness and studied peacefully in the waterside pavilion.

Although Min Xi also focused on studying, he would still go out for a walk every few days to feel the examination atmosphere in Nanjing, and occasionally buy some vegetables and cook a few dishes himself.

He likes stir-fried meat with mugwort stems the most. This dish seems to be only available in Jiangsu and has a special fragrance. In the modern times when he lives, it is rarely seen in other places except Jiangsu and Zhejiang, not to mention in the Ming Dynasty.

Every time Tao Yuan ate the food cooked by Min Xi, he would eat an extra bowl of rice, but he would still say, "Brother Jiu, don't go out to buy food and cook for yourself. Time is running out. Make good use of the time to read more books."

"It's okay. What matters to me is participation. Besides, this can be considered a combination of work and rest. If you just study blindly, you will become stupid." Min Xi was not as determined to pass the imperial examination as other candidates. He did not care so much about gains and losses.

So when he entered the examination room on August 8th, he had to prepare all the necessary items for the examination by himself, including writing brushes, inkstone, clothes, and food.

In this kind of weather, you have to bring food that can be stored for ten days or so. Otherwise, if the food goes bad and you get sick from eating it, that would be a disaster.

Min Xi made a lot of naan, which is a salty flatbread that can replenish the salt lost through sweating. He also prepared maltose because Tao Yuan said to eat as little as possible to avoid having to defecate after eating too much. When he really can't stand it, he can replenish sugar to avoid dizziness due to hypoglycemia. If he has hypoglycemia, then he will have no chance of taking the exam.

In addition, he also brought a lot of meat and eggs. In addition to pork jerky, Min Xi also roasted some duck in sauce. Compared with ordinary roasted chicken and duck, this kind of dried duck is not afraid of spoiling and can be kept for several days. Eggs can be brought raw, because there will be a small stove in the examination room for candidates to heat food, and Min Xi can cook eggs for himself.

In addition, he also brought noodles and vegetables, and prepared mushroom oil so that he could cook noodles and not have to eat dry food for every meal.

Tao Yuan looked at what Min Xi had prepared and said, "Brother Jiu, are you planning to cook for yourself in the examination room? If you do that, how will you have time to do the questions?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. My main concern is participation. Don't starve yourself just for a few exams."

"Forget it, I'll just eat something dry." Tao Yuan is different from Min Xi. He has never done housework and doesn't know how to cook.

On the eighth day of the eighth month, they carried their exam baskets and bags, and after strict inspection, they entered the examination room and found their own rooms.

The entire cell is less than two square meters. For the next ten days, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating will all be solved here. This is not the first time Min Xi has come here, so he does not feel unfamiliar. However, the thought of living here for such a long time makes him feel particularly miserable.

Min Xi discovered that there were many people around him who brought vegetables and rice like him. Those people were veterans of the provincial examinations and had gained experience. One could imagine how lively the examination hall would be when it was time for lunch.

After staying in the dormitory for one night, the examiner came to hand out the test papers on the ninth day of the first lunar month. In three days, we had to write three eight-part essays on the Four Books, four eight-part essays on the Five Classics, and a test poem.

Although the required number of words was only 200 to 300, writing seven eight-part essays was enough to make one feel overwhelmed, not to mention the poem. So three days seemed long, but in fact it was very tight, not to mention that one had to spend time preparing food.

Min Xi racked his brains in the narrow cell and finally filled out the answer sheet to his satisfaction.

After handing in the paper, Min Xi took a bath and changed into clean clothes. He felt like he had gone bad in the past few days. Then he cooked himself some noodles and had a hot meal.

The mushroom oil he fried was so fragrant that it made the examinees around him cry. Min Xi was not stingy and gave some to the people next to him so that everyone could taste the mushroom oil. In this way, he got to know several scholars.