Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

Chen Lang naturally didn't know about these struggles in the court.

He only knew that if he passed the imperial examination, he could no longer do business. If he wanted to continue doing business, he either had to be talented or find a backer.

Chen Lang is unable to do the latter method for the time being, and he is not planning to do it.

To quote a female celebrity from a parallel universe, I am from a wealthy family, why would I marry into one?

Chen Lang just wants to be someone else's supporter and is not prepared to rely on others.

After all, relying on mountains will cause them to collapse, relying on the sea will cause it to dry up, and relying on gods or ghosts is not as good as relying on yourself.

So Chen Lang has and can only take the first path.

Although he doesn't have much money, he has the support of bigwigs like Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi and others.

The people downstairs of Fuyang Building were all scholars. Standing here, Li Xiuzhi felt ashamed of herself.

Chen Lang sensed Li Xiuzhi's uneasiness, squeezed her hand, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, my lady. Don't look at how loud these guys are. Even if they gather together, they are no match for your man."

For the first time, Li Xiuzhi felt that Chen Lang’s “arrogance” was an advantage.

At least after he said this, Li Xiuzhi was not so panicked anymore.

"Brother Chen, I finally see you. You made me look for you for so long."

The family turned around and saw Xu Fei running towards them.

Guoguo called out sensibly, "Uncle Xu Fei."

Xu Fei corrected him seriously: "Call me brother."

Guoguo looked at Chen Lang with a confused face.

Chen Lang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You call me brother, and you let my daughter call you brother, isn't that a generation gap?"

Xu Fei chuckled and said, "It's their own business. It doesn't affect anyone."

Chen Lang was helpless and too lazy to correct her. He said, "You came at the perfect time. I have to attend a poetry gathering soon and I wanted to ask you to take care of Xiuzhi and Guoguo."

Xu Fei waved towards a nearby figure, and moments later, the clinic's apprentice came running over. "Teacher, what's going on?"

Xu Fei said, "I have a task for you. Keep an eye on my sister-in-law and niece. If anything happens, you'll be the one to blame!"

The apprentice patted his chest and said, "Teacher, don't worry. With me here, nothing will happen."

Chen Lang looked at the apprentice who was about the same age as Chen Silang and said, "Brother Xu, is this okay?"

Xu Fei leaned close to Chen Lang's ear and whispered, "Don't think he's unreliable just because he's young. He's very capable."

"And look around, there are so many constables around, no one would dare to cause trouble here."

"At most, we should be on guard against petty thieves."

Chen Lang nodded, pulled Li Xiuzhi to the side, and explained something.

Li Xiuzhi gave the purse to Chen Lang and kept two taels of silver on herself so that she wouldn't feel too bad even if it was stolen.

After resolving his worries, Xu Fei led Chen Lang towards the Fuyang Building.

There are three notice boards in front of the building, and the waiters at Fuyang Building would post poems on them from time to time for people to refer to.

Those who passed the poetry and prose test would be led into the Fuyang Building by a special person, and they would all smile so hard that their mouths would stretch from ear to ear.

But more people stood in front of the building, scratching their heads and sighing.

They also wanted to get in, but they couldn't write good poems.

More importantly, if you want to post your poems on the notice board, you have to pay.

It costs one penny to apply it once.

For students from poor families, this money is not cheap.

Post more poems and essays. If they can get in, it will be a psychological comfort. If not, it will be a serious matter.

But students from poor families did not dare to post their poems and essays rashly, and children from merchant families did not dare to post them rashly either.

They don't care about money, but they care about face.

Posting poems on the notice board was equivalent to a "public execution". If they were badly written, you would be ridiculed to death.

Word of mouth will also have an impact on academic performance.

So the poems and essays that finally appeared on the notice board were generally acceptable.

Chen Lang looked at it for a while and felt relieved.

The level of these poems and essays is only slightly higher than that of Zhang Zongchang.

After all, it was only an examination for students and scholars, not for the top scholar. Even if the students were talented, it was impossible for them to write a famous piece of writing under such circumstances.

That's not necessary.

If you really want to write, you have to write it in the provincial capital or even in the capital.

County town? Not worthy!

Chen Lang originally decided to "copy" an entire poem by Tang Yin, but now he has changed his mind.

It seems that I only need to copy a few sentences.

Chen Lang pinched his chin and fell into deep thought.

Seeing Chen Lang frowning and not saying anything, Xu Fei concluded that he was worried about his poetry, so he dragged him to a secluded place, and after making sure that there was no one around, he stuffed two pages of paper into his hands.

"Brother Chen, these poems were written by my good friend. He promised me personally that I would give them to you. He would deny any future inquiries."

"So feel free to use it."

Chen Lang blinked: "This... is not good."

Xu Fei said, "There's nothing wrong with it. Do you think all those children from merchant families are capable of writing and composing poetry? Most of them are hired by hired guns."

"But you must memorize these poems first, and then burn the originals."

"Once we get to the Mansion, we will face other tests. I heard that the County Magistrate and the Chief Clerk are in charge of the tests today."

"As long as you can make it through tonight, you'll most likely be qualified to take the entrance exam. From then on, you'll have to walk the path on your own."

Chen Lang smiled and said, "Brother Xu, I appreciate your kindness, but hiring a ghostwriter to write poetry is really not reliable."

"Let me put it this way. Even if I rely on these poems to get through tonight, it will be difficult to get a guarantor from the academy students."

"It's impossible to get a place in the examination just by relying on the county magistrate's words."

"As for poetry, I have already made up my mind."

Xu Fei blinked. "Really? Brother Chen, this concerns your future and destiny. Don't force yourself just for the sake of face."

Chen Lang said, "Just wait and see."

The two returned to Fuyang Building and came to the display cabinet for writing poems and essays. After paying one penny of silver, they received a pen and a piece of paper.

Pick up the pen, dip it in ink, and write.

[People laugh at me for being too crazy, I laugh at them for not seeing through me.]

[I don't see the tombs of the heroes of Wuling, and I don't have flowers or wine, so I just hoe the fields.]

After reading this poem, Xu Fei clapped his hands and praised it: "Wonderful, wonderful!"

"I didn't expect Brother Chen to be such a great poet. I'm really just showing off my skills in front of an amateur."

"Especially the first two lines of this poem, I believe they will become the quatrains that students will compete to recite."

After Chen Lang put down his pen, the waiter at Fuyanglou took the poem away and posted it on the notice board.

At the same time, the clerk behind the desk also copied the poem and sent it to the mansion.

When the poem was posted on the notice board, the crowd outside the building began to commotion.

Just as Xu Fei said, after reading the first two sentences, most students felt that they had met the author too late.

Especially the older students, their eyes were red with anger.

I worked hard to study for a better future, but I was looked down upon by my fellow villagers.

People laugh at me for being too crazy, and I laugh at them for not seeing through me, which allows them to have a strong release of their emotions!

If anyone laughs at me in the future, I will use this poem to respond to him!