The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

The place where the exams are arranged is in a row of rooms on the east side of the academy, so parents can only wait in the reception room at the entrance of the academy.

When he finally sat down, Zhang Pingan observed that there were more than 80 students taking the exam today, divided into two classroom exams. There were seven rounds of exams in the whole month of June, and the exam papers were different for each exam. If there were more than 80 students applying for the exam each time, then there would be probably more than 600 students applying in total. Bailu Academy only admits 30 students each year, which is about a ratio of 20:1.

About a quarter of an hour later, all the students sat down and the papers were distributed. There were three teachers at the top to supervise the examination. They were very strict and no one whispered to each other. Reputation was very important in those days and cheating was a very serious matter. The examination room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After Zhang Ping'an got the test paper, he first glanced at it from beginning to end, looked at all the questions, and found that they were basically familiar to him, so he felt relieved.

The first half of the questions were about classics and current affairs, which mainly tested whether one had a solid foundation of knowledge. Zhang Ping'an was very good at this. After taking a deep breath, he slowly began to write the answers, writing every word carefully. In ancient times, there were no stationery like today that could be used to make corrections at will. When marking the papers, if one saw ink blobs all over the students' papers, it would greatly affect the score. This was something that Master Luo had repeatedly emphasized before. It is better to write slowly than to write quickly and make a mess of the paper.

The second half of the questions were regulated verse, arithmetic and test poems. One of the arithmetic questions was "If there are two people sharing the money, there are three more, and there are three people missing, how many people are there and how much money is there?" This was probably at the level of a fifth-grade primary school student in his previous life. The answer could be obtained with a little thought. For Zhang Ping'an, it was a free point question, and he finally answered "Five people, thirteen coins."

After finishing the arithmetic, the only questions left were regulated verse and test poems, which were relatively weak points. Zhang Ping'an stretched his wrists and continued to answer the questions. He did not think of copying famous poems from his previous life. Writing poems tests spirituality and understanding. The ancients liked to compose poems impromptu, so in the end one must have real skills, otherwise he would be exposed sooner or later. The higher the praise, the harder the fall. Zhang Ping'an understood this truth deeply.

The two poems centered on spring and peach blossoms were just average, and the answers were only rhymed, not outstanding.

After answering all the questions, Zhang Ping'an looked up at the hourglass above him. There was about a quarter of an hour left before the papers were collected, so he hurriedly checked them again from beginning to end. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jin Bao, who was sitting on the upper right, scratching his head with an anxious look in his eyes, obviously stumped by the test paper.

I guess it’s over!

"Time's up, stop writing!" The teacher sitting in the center of the upper seat said, seeing the hourglass running down. His voice was soft but commanding, and all the students stopped writing at the same time. The two teachers sitting on the left and right began to collect the papers. Only after they had collected all the papers could all the students leave.

Jin Bao sat in the front row and was the first to leave. Zhang Ping'an, Liu Shengyuan, Luo Fu'an, and Luo Fugui followed. After they met, Jin Bao was almost in tears and said in a sobbing voice, "What should I do? I don't know a lot. I'm definitely not going to pass this exam."

As she spoke, she was about to cry. Zhang Pingan quickly comforted her, "Jinbao, please don't cry. So many students are watching us. It would be embarrassing if you cried now. The result is still uncertain."

Luo Fuan also looked unhappy, and said with a sad face: "There are many things I don't know either, alas!"

Luo Fugui and Liu Shengyuan looked a little better, but they also complained: "The other things are okay, but the teacher said very little about regulated verse and poetry, and we didn't practice much either. We can only answer the questions mediocrely, and it's good enough if we don't make mistakes, let alone be outstanding."

Zhang Pingan also knew that there was no way to avoid this kind of thing that happened in the countryside school, so he could only soothe her gently, "Anyway, we've all done our best. Now it all depends on the results. We still have the remaining three academies to prepare for, so let's go back first."

The few of them then walked out together, met Zhang Laoer and others in the lounge at the gate, and prepared to return to the county inn.

Jinbao and Luo Fuan are both carefree people. They were sad for only a short while. On the way back, they were fully recovered and started muttering about what to eat for lunch. Jinbao's father and Luo's father were amused and helpless. They were just thinking about how to comfort the two children, but now it was no use.

After lunch, Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan, the two best students, discussed and suggested to practice regulated verse and poetry writing in the afternoon, even if it was just to write a few as a backup. This way, at least they would have some ideas for the exam and their brains wouldn't be completely blank.

Seeing that his children were studying hard, Jinbao's father specially bought roast chicken and snacks for them.

In a blink of an eye, it was the next day. Everyone got up early and took the bus to Qingsong Academy to take the exam. The process was similar to that at Bailu Academy, but the atmosphere made everyone more comfortable. Zhang Pingan thought that, in the words of his previous life, it was probably because these two academies were more down-to-earth, so everyone was not so restrained.

Four days passed unknowingly and all the exams were finished. The results of Bailu Academy, Qingsong Academy and Wenzhu Academy were all out. Now only Jingui Academy, the last one to take the exam, has not released the results.

Among the five, only Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan were admitted to Qingsong Academy, and they were at the bottom of the list. The other three did not make the list. Jin Bao cried for half an hour on the day he learned the result. He could not accept the result of being separated from his good brother Pingan.

Luo Fugui also had a depressed look on his face, but Luo Fuan was fine. He knew that his level was average and he just took it as a try.

Although Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan were very eager to go to Bailu Academy, they knew that the competition was so fierce that it would be great if they could be admitted to Qingsong Academy.

Zhang Laoer and Liu's father were also satisfied, but since the others did not make the list, it was not appropriate for them to show too much happiness.

Father Luo suggested, "Why don't we find a restaurant tonight and have a good meal? We're going back tomorrow. We've finally come to the county town, so we should reward the children no matter what the outcome."

Father Liu nodded and said, "That's right. I'll be the host today. You guys have been treating us all before and bought so much food for the children. Today, it's my turn anyway."

Mr. Liu was a person who did not like to owe favors to others. As his children studied in different academies, they would interact less and less with each other in the future. This final dinner was just a return favor.

Seeing that Father Liu was sincere, Zhang Laoer and his companions found an ordinary mutton restaurant on the street and sat down. They ordered a hot pot and a few side dishes, estimating the total cost to be around 100 to 200 Wen.

People rarely eat out in the countryside. They have been rushing to take exams these days, so they just stay in the inn. It’s the first time to eat mutton hotpot in a restaurant in the county town, and it feels quite fresh.