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

The county magistrate was not a very good official, and the questions he asked stumped Chen Lang.

He really couldn't think of any famous birthday poems at the moment.

He could remember some sentences, but the county magistrate wanted a complete poem.

It's a bit troublesome.

Especially since I am currently under the attention of the whole audience, the pressure is even greater.

When Zhao Xiongwei saw Chen Lang’s frown and bitter expression, he immediately felt relieved.

The poem just now was indeed not written by him.

Now, facing the county magistrate's test, he showed his weakness.

Today's poetry reading can completely solve this problem.

From now on, tofu will become exclusive to the Zhao family. In time, the Zhao family is very likely to become the fifth largest merchant in Nanhe County, on par with the Xu family, Zhang family and other merchants!

Even if he fails to pass the imperial examination in the future, he can still live a more comfortable life than the prefect or even a fifth-rank official in the court by selling tofu!

The more Zhao Xiongwei thought about it, the more excited he became, and he almost laughed out loud.

After a cup of tea...

The county magistrate said, "It's almost time. Who will come first?"

A student volunteered, "Sir, I'll go first!"

Then he recited a poem.

After hearing this, everyone had strange expressions on their faces.

Because the quality of this poem is really too low.

It's only slightly better than doggerel.

However, this student did not think that what he wrote was bad. Instead, he felt that it was a masterpiece that came out of his own inspiration, and he looked forward to praise from everyone present.

"Well, next." Seeing that the county magistrate's face turned a little pale, the chief clerk hurriedly asked the self-satisfied student to leave.

The student was very anxious and said, "Sir, this poem of mine is very good. How about I read it to you again? Can you listen to it carefully?"

The county magistrate clenched his fists.

The chief clerk immediately said, "Come here, drag him out."

"Sir, let me read it again...read it again..."

The student was dragged out of the mansion by several servants.

Then several more students came on stage and recited their own works.

It's a little better than the first one, but not much.

However, they were not dragged out by the servants, but were just pushed into a corner and not allowed to speak.

Such treatment basically indicates that their results in the entrance exam will not be very good.

So these students had bitter expressions on their faces as if they had chewed coptis chinensis.

Seeing Chen Lang hesitate to speak, Zhao Xiongwei sneered, "Chen Tongsheng, you haven't expressed your opinion yet. Is it because you can't write it?"

"Now that I admit that my poems were written by someone else, I can get a lighter sentence."

"If you keep talking tough, you'll end up ruined!"

Chen Lang glanced at him and sneered, "Zhao Linsheng, are you so impatient to kill me?"

Zhao Xiongwei angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? You're clearly seeking fame and reputation, yet you blame others for targeting you?"

Chen Lang said with a half-smile, "I just said it casually. Why are you so angry? You must be feeling guilty."

Zhao Xiongwei's face darkened and he said, "Chen Lang, stop interrupting!"

"Or read out your poem and let everyone comment on it."

"Or just admit that you hired someone to write that poem for you."

Chen Lang said, "Mr. Zhao, how about we make a bet?"

Zhao Xiongwei said, "Bet? Are you crazy? Why should I bet with you?"

Chen Lang said: "Because of tofu."

Zhao Xiongwei's expression suddenly changed, and he flicked his sleeves heavily and said, "I don't understand what you are saying."

"Either recite poetry or get out of here. Stop making trouble here."

Chen Lang said calmly: "Don't be impatient, it's not too late to draw a conclusion after listening to my bet."

"As long as you write better poetry than me, I will no longer be involved in the tofu business and will give you the entire market."

"But if you hadn't written me, I wouldn't want you to return the tofu recipe. You can still use it."

"As long as you can lift the blockade of the grain store for me."

"If you're afraid you can't write better than me, you can ask your classmates to write with you. If anyone writes better than me, I'll admit defeat."

The two men's conversation was not loud, and the hall was spacious, so the county magistrate, the chief clerk, and the two scholars sitting at the top could not hear clearly what they were talking about.

Zhao Xiongwei gnashed his teeth and said, "Chen Tongsheng, you are too arrogant! I have been a student on the imperial academy for seven years. How can I be worse at writing poetry and lyrics than a mere student like you?"

Chen Lang smiled: "Since you are so confident in yourself, do you want to take this bet or not?"

"Take it!" Zhao Xiongwei said fiercely, "Don't cheat if you lose!"

Chen Lang said: "Words are not enough, written evidence is the most reliable."

Zhao Xiongwei immediately walked to the table and quickly wrote a contract.

Seeing this, the county magistrate frowned and asked, "What are you two up to?"

Chen Lang bowed and said, "Sir, I made a bet with Zhao Linsheng to add some spice to this exam."

Scholars often used this kind of so-called prize to test their talents. The county magistrate didn't take it seriously, but just urged Chen Lang to write a poem quickly.

Chen Lang said, "Sir, I have already written the poem in my mind, but I dare not read it aloud."

"I'm worried that after reading this poem, Zhao Linsheng will immediately regret it and refuse to acknowledge the bet he made with me."

Zhao Xiongwei was so angry that he was about to die. He cursed, "Mr. Chen, you are too arrogant!"

"Today I will make you realize that there are always people who are better than you and there are always things better than you!"

After exchanging a few words with the magistrate, the chief clerk said, "What the magistrate wants is for you two to write your poems on paper and hand them in for us to judge."

Zhao Xiongwei said: "Your Excellency's order!"

He immediately went to the table and quickly wrote a poem.

Then he put down his pen and said coldly, "Mr. Chen, it's your turn."

Chen Lang walked to the table and did not rush to write a poem. Instead, he gestured to Zhao Xiongwei to sign his name on the bet.

A bet that is not signed is just a piece of waste paper.

After Zhao Linsheng signed his name, Chen Lang put the contract away and quickly wrote a poem.

Before Zhao Xiongwei could read it clearly, the poem was taken away by the servants.

However, the last sentence of the poem written by Chen Lang made Zhao Xiongwei fall into great anxiety.

Because that one sentence alone is more literary than my entire poem!

Zhao Xiongwei could only pray silently now that the quality of Chen Lang's entire poem was not high, so even if there was one outstanding sentence, it would at most be a tie with himself.

After taking the works of the two from the servants, the county magistrate first looked at Chen Lang's work.

The first thing that catches your eye is the beautiful handwriting.

"Well, your handwriting is quite good." The county magistrate praised.

The chief clerk picked up Zhao Xiongwei's work and compared it with Chen Lang's. "Chen Tongsheng's calligraphy looks better than Zhao Xiongwei's."

The county magistrate smiled and said, "Just this handwriting alone will earn you a lot of impression points when you take the exam."

The chief clerk was also very good at guessing his superiors' intentions. He could tell from the magistrate's tone that he had a very good impression of Chen Lang, so he immediately agreed, "A man with such good handwriting wouldn't hire someone else to write for him."

"Zhao Xiongwei, I'm afraid this is intentional slander."