The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Sun Bomin continued, "This time, on our way north by boat, we passed through Zhangzhou Prefecture and met Chengcai and Jianzi. They're thinking of you and hope you'll write back often. Chengcai said Jianzi is a good student and very hardworking. He often studies with the pen you gave him when he passed the imperial examination. He has great potential to become the second scholar of the Hong family."

After a pause, he said with relief: "I think Jianzi is a polite boy, much better than Cowboy."

Sun Shan was happy. It seemed that Cowboy had become the most useless kid in Sunjia Village. Every kid was better than Cowboy.

Hearing that Jianzi was studying hard, Sun Shan was very pleased. He smiled and said, "Okay, Dad, when you write back, please bring some papers with you so that Jianzi can have an extra copy for reference."

As the magistrate of Yuanlu County, Sun Shan quickly mastered the precious books and materials in the county school.

In the county examination last month, in order to balance the questions, Sun Shan referred to the papers of previous years and the papers of the county school, and came up with a standard test paper.

Of course, a decent list of county examination candidates was also produced.

There is a lot of valuable information in the study now, so I asked someone to help copy it out and send it to relatives and friends in need.

Sun Shan had already planned to collect useful study materials from time to time and send them back to his hometown for students to refer to.

A little adds up to a lot. Maybe by the time I retire, Sunjia Village’s collection of books will be full.

Sun Bomin was also happy to hear that Sun Shan cared so much about Jianzi's studies.

He said cheerfully, "Jianzi has a promising future. Scholar Hong is very happy. Your teacher has been so kind to you. We should be grateful and repay him."

Sun Shan nodded repeatedly: "Father, I know what to do without you telling me."

While reading the letter, Sun Shan chatted with Sun Bomin, Su Shi, and Yun Jie'er.

Sun Shan wanted to play with the little fat girl, but she ignored him and stayed in Su's arms.

He quietly peeked out, his round eyes rolling around, peeking at Sun Shan from time to time.

Whenever Sun Shan looked over, the little fat girl would immediately bury her head in Su's arms, which made Sun Shan very angry.

Thinking about how affectionate Xiao Heimei and Gui Ge'er were just now, I felt even more envious and jealous.

Speaking of Jianzi's studies, Sister Yun thought of Huming: "Brother Shan, you definitely don't have time to teach Huming. Should we invite a teacher to come to our house, or...?"

Hu Ming ate and drank his fill, took a bath and then went to bed.

The little guy has a lot to do every day. He was so excited to see Sun Shan today that he cried, shouted and squeezed.

After taking a shower, I couldn't hold on any longer, so I had to go to bed.

Before going to bed, he said to Sun Shan in a serious tone, "Foster father, I will come to pay my respects to you early tomorrow morning."

I don't know where this little guy learned so many rules, and he even knows how to greet people.

Sun Shan carried Hu Ming to bed and waited until he fell asleep before leaving.

Sun Shan said without hesitation, "Send Hu Ming to the county school, and let him study with the students from Yuanlu County."

There are enlightenment classes in Yuanlu County School.

Sun Shan definitely can't teach. Hiring a teacher alone is not only expensive but also unsociable.

Of course, the most important thing is that even if Yuanlu County has money, it cannot hire a talented and knowledgeable teacher.

Sun Shan's third-class Jinshi degree was the highest academic qualification in Yuanlu County.

Sun Shan considered himself mediocre, and the other teachers in Yuanlu County were even more so. He thought it would be better to send Hu Ming to the county school, where he would not only learn knowledge but also learn the ways of dealing with people. He would also get to know different classmates, which would be very helpful for gaining life experience.

Speaking of Hu Ming, Sun Bomin said admiringly, "Shanzi, you had a good eye. You saw at first sight that Hu Ming was a promising student. The teacher said Hu Ming was smart and hardworking. If he was taught well, he might have a bright future."

Your village chief, Grandpa, sighs every time he sees Hu Ming and then looks at the boy from Sun Village. "Comparing the cowboy to Hu Ming, one is heaven and the other is earth. There's no way they can compare."

Sun Shan laughed again. Sun Bomin had mentioned cowboys many times tonight. It seemed that he had a lot of objections to them.

Yes, at such a young age, he actually conspired with Uncle Sun to cheat his family. He is really naughty.

Sister Yun also smiled and said, "Brother Shan, Hu Ming was already concerned about studying the first day he arrived in Yuanlu County. Haha, I think he'll come to pay his respects to you tomorrow, and he'll definitely be asking about the school."

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "It's good to like reading, but you can't become obsessed with it. I need to talk to Hu Ming sometime and encourage him to develop other interests and hobbies. He shouldn't be so obsessed with books all day. I'm afraid he'll turn into a bookworm."

Su listened to Sun Shan silently and curled her lips again.

No matter how good Hu Ming is at studying, he is still from the Yang family, so what does he have to do with the Sun family?

To put it nicely, he is an adopted son, but in the end, he is still raising someone else's son. He cultivates other people's sons into talents, but in the end, he still benefits others.

If Hu Ming eats more, his grandson will eat less, and Su feels very sad.

However, Shanzi had said before that he raised Hu Ming to satisfy his dissatisfaction so that Shanzi's future career would be smooth.

When Su thought of this, she had to endure it no matter how unhappy she was.

He looked at the eldest brother with his eyes wide open in his arms, and the fat little girl who was secretly looking at her father, and felt even more depressed.

How can it be a girl? Why can't it be a boy?

God is unfair, my ancestors didn’t bless me, and my father-in-law is even less helpful.

Su is so hateful!

Su couldn't help but ask, "Shanzi, tell me honestly, are you having a smooth time as an official? You look thinner and darker than before. Is it very hard?"

Huangyang County occasionally hosts gatherings of "masters" and "ladies," where the county's so-called "prominent families" gather to eat, drink tea, and eat sunflower seeds.

As the first old lady of the native Huangyang County, Su was naturally invited.

Su had seen the new county magistrate. He was a fat-headed, pot-bellied, and useless drunkard.

Compared with Sun Shan, there is a world of difference!

Why are others so prosperous as county magistrates, while her Shanzi is so skinny as a county magistrate?

Su didn't understand.

The only reason is that Shanzi is not living well in Yuanlu County.

The smile I put on when entertaining my cousin Chen just now was a forced one.

Sun Shan was startled, put down the heart in his hand, and pulled up Su's thin and black chicken claw hand.

Who knew that the little fat girl would use her white and chubby little hand to push Sun Shan's hand that was touching the big gold bracelet far away, her eyes rolling around.

He said cautiously, "Don't touch her, she's mine."

Sun Shan was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily and squeezed the little fat girl's hand: "Okay, grandma is yours. Daddy won't touch her."

Sister Yun glared at the little fat girl and said helplessly, "Brother Shan, Xiaoxiao hasn't seen you for a long time, so we're a little unfamiliar. We'll be familiar by tomorrow, Brother Shan, don't mind."

Sister Yun specially brought Sun Shan’s golden crown with her.

I was thinking of asking Brother Shan to use the big golden crown to lure the little fat girl tomorrow.

Su slapped the little fat girl's hand and scolded her with a smile, "This is your father, you silly girl. Your father doesn't even recognize you. You usually look so smart. Why doesn't your father want you anymore?"

Sun Bomin said cheerfully, "Our granddaughters are shy about strangers. Once they get to know each other, Shanzi will have to hold them even if she doesn't want to. If we don't hold them, they'll cry so loudly that you can hear them from far away."