Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

Hearing the noise, the father and son put down what they were doing.

The originally damaged bamboo fence on the south side of the Ye family's yard has been basically repaired and replaced by Ye Xiaozheng at home these days.

Ye Changyan and his father walked towards the gate of the courtyard and heard the noisy sound getting closer.

“Dongdongqiang…Dongdelongdongqiang…Dongdongqiang…Dongdelongdongqiang…”

The sound of gongs and drums came from far away, and soon, the loud sound of gongs and drums and noisy voices could be heard.

Ye Changyan pushed open the gate and saw groups of villagers surrounding three people dressed in official uniforms. The first officer was holding a shiny gong in his left hand and a gong hammer in his right hand, beating the gong hard.

The officer walking in the middle had a flower drum hanging around his waist. He held drumsticks in both hands and beat the drum rhythmically to the sound of gongs.

The last officer walking was carrying a long pole with a big red flower on the top and red firecrackers wrapped around the back.

"This is the Ye family..."

When the crowd arrived outside the gate of the Ye family's courtyard, they heard several people shouting in the crowd.

"Excuse me, is this the residence of Mr. Ye Changyan?"

The officer in front saw two people standing at the gate of Ye’s courtyard, so he took two steps forward and asked respectfully.

Ye Changyan and his son didn't react for a moment, then they saw the village head squeezing out from the crowd.

"Brothers, this is... this is..."

As he said this, he pointed at the officer and saw Ye Changyan standing at the gate of the courtyard with a pot brush in his hand.

"This is Mr. Ye Changyan... hehe..."

Upon seeing this, the official struck the gong hard and sang loudly to announce the good news.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ye Changyan, you have passed the examination!"

While singing the congratulatory words announcing the good news, he struck the gong vigorously, and the drummer also followed the rhythm and beat the flower drum vigorously.

“Crackle… crackle…”

The officer carrying a long pole lit the firecrackers on the pole, and for a moment, gongs and drums sounded and firecrackers blasted.

The villagers who heard the news cheered warmly.

"Please come in quickly, please come in quickly..."

Ye Changyan finally reacted. He didn't expect that his original body had passed the examination and became a scholar. This was a happy event from heaven. He immediately and enthusiastically invited the officers and villagers into the yard.

Ye Xiaozheng, the third son of the Ye family, also gradually changed his initial surprise into a bright smile, and was busy inviting everyone into the yard.

"What happened!?"

Just then, a shrill woman's scream came from behind the crowd outside the yard.

"Make way, make way, Aunt Lian, this is great news, your Sanlang has passed the imperial examination and is going to marry a scholar."

A middle-aged woman in the crowd noticed Lian and her two children squeezed outside the crowd, so she quickly pushed through the crowd and shouted at Lian.

Lian and her two children were busy in the fields when they heard a noisy sound. Looking around, they saw a large group of people heading towards their yard. So Lian and her sons hurriedly packed up their things and prepared to go over to take a look. But before they got close, they heard the deafening sound of firecrackers.

When Lian heard the sound of firecrackers, he was distracted for a moment and thought someone was dead. He hurried home and saw that the crowd had surrounded his house and he couldn't squeeze in. So he shouted at the top of his voice.

When the crowd saw Lian coming back, they hurriedly made way for her. Lian held her son in her left hand and her daughter in her right hand and ran quickly towards her yard.

Only then did she see her husband and eldest son, surrounded by several officials, looking at her. Lian's heart was pounding. Seeing that her husband and son were safe and sound, she felt a little relieved. Lian cast an inquiring look at her husband Ye Xiaozheng.

"Dad, what happened?"

"Mother, what a great joy! Our Sanlang has passed the imperial examination and become a scholar!"

Ye Xiaozheng saw his wife pulling her two ignorant children and looking at him in panic, so he hurriedly ran towards his wife and children with uncontrollable joy on his face.

After hearing the good news from their husband/father in person, Lian and her two children's shocked faces gradually turned into heartfelt smiles.

Although Lian came from a peasant family, she was also a respectable person. She quickly asked her youngest son to go to the grocery store at the entrance of the village to buy some dried fruits and cakes, and asked her daughter to boil some water to entertain the messenger who came to announce the good news and the villagers who came to watch the fun.

After some simple arrangements, Lian was all smiles and busy greeting the women and daughters-in-law from the village who came to watch the fun.

Ye Changyan and his father welcomed the officers into the main hall. Since the main hall of the Ye family was not big, only the head of the village and some prominent men of all ages in the village followed them into the main hall. Everyone else gathered in the yard to watch the fun.

"Mr. Ye, according to the regulations, we need to verify your seal and yellow book first."

Although everyone in Shanglin Village knew Ye Changyan, and the head of the village personally introduced him, it was unlikely that there was an impostor. However, the leading officer still strictly required to verify Ye Changyan's identity. The sealed volume was the candidate's certificate with the official seal of the government, and the yellow book was the household registration certificate.

"It should, it should..."

Ye Xiaozheng responded quickly, and asked his wife to go to the east room to get the yellow book, while asking Ye Changyan to get the seal.

After a while, the seal and the yellow book were taken out. The officer took them carefully and checked the information carefully. After confirming that they were correct, he took out the document respectfully and handed it to Ye Changyan.

Everyone in the Ye family and the villagers who came to watch looked at Ye Changyan and the document in his hand with excitement, as if a heavy burden was placed on Ye Changyan's hands.

After Ye Changyan unfolded the document and carefully checked it, he confirmed that the original body had indeed passed the examination. Seeing everyone's expectant eyes, Ye Changyan nodded to his parents with certainty.

Everyone's face was filled with joy. After a while, the villagers who were watching the fun outside the yard lit the firecrackers they had prepared spontaneously. The crackling sound of firecrackers enveloped the entire Shanglin Village.

After completing the relevant procedures, Ye Xiaozheng, at the suggestion of the village head, temporarily prepared a red envelope and handed it to the official who came to announce the good news. The official smiled brightly, and the group led by Ye Xiaozheng and Ye Changyan then sent the official who came to announce the good news out the door.

There are very few people who study in the whole Shanglin Village. Ye Changyan is the only one in Shanglin Village who has passed the imperial examination and become a scholar. Even in the neighboring villages, there are only a handful of people who have passed the imperial examination and become a scholar.

A scholar appeared in the village, which was a cause for celebration. The villagers gathered in the Ye family's yard and were reluctant to leave. Soon, Wulang Ye Changge came back with the newly bought dried fruit snacks. While eating melon seeds, the villagers could not stop praising Ye Changyan for his promising future and Ye Xiaozheng and his wife for their good fortune.

It was not until the sun was high in the sky and it was time for dinner that the villagers stood up and prepared to say goodbye. Before leaving, the villagers asked Ye Xiaozheng for wedding wine, all wanting to share in the Ye family's good fortune.

Ye Changyan said sincerely that his grandfather had just passed away and the whole family was in mourning, so he expressed his apologies and hoped that his friends and neighbors would understand.

Everyone was pulled back from their joy, but after hearing what Ye Changyan said, instead of getting angry, they all gave him a thumbs up and praised him as a filial and good child. If Grandpa Ye knew about this in his afterlife, he would surely be very pleased.