To get rich quickly, you need to be simple and rough

The old scholar nodded continuously when he saw the article written by Shen Yujin. He thought that the article was well written and he must pass the examination for the position of a student.

It just so happened that there would be a county exam in February of the following year. The old scholar said to Shen Yujin earnestly, "I've read your essay and it looks good enough. You can try your luck in the county exam next February. I can only teach you so much, but I can certainly help you get the scholar exam with a joint guarantee!"

Shen Yujin bowed deeply: "It is all thanks to your cultivation, sir. I am very grateful!"

Shen Yujin was fully preparing for the exam. Shen Fu's face darkened and he called the whole family together for a meeting: "You usually have so many complaints, blaming me for favoring Jin'er! But who among you knows how much this child has sacrificed for this family!

I've already used up a whole box of brushes. Let me tell you, Brother Jin is going to the exam to fight for his life! Whether our Shen family can change its status depends on this one move. Don't bother Brother Jin from making progress!

If you hinder Jin Ge's future, don't say I'm ungrateful! Jin Ge is doing this for everyone. As long as Jin Ge passes the imperial examination, the children will benefit from their marriages in the future! Don't yell in the yard anymore, don't delay Jin Ge's studies!

Especially you naughty boys, each of you should know your own limits! Don't wait for me to deal with you!"

Shen Fu's pre-exam mobilization meeting was very effective. Now every member of the Shen family wanted to lift their feet when walking, for fear that any noise would make Shen Fu fly into a rage.

Shen Yujin was cursing in his heart. The imperial examination was not a good job at all. It was too tiring. He drank spiritual spring water and took ten-ingredient tonic pills every day.

This is a very grueling job, requiring repeated attempts to understand the examiner's style. This is the Shen family's weakness. While making money is no problem, their connections in the court are rubbish.

He can only contact some marginal people. Last time, Shen Fu spent 100,000 taels of silver to deliver the letter. It is conceivable that the Shen family can't help at all in this regard!

Shen Yujin had no choice but to spend fifty points to let the system find out the examiner's style.

Then I practiced questions like crazy at home, repeatedly practicing articles and studying past exam papers over and over again.

Shen Yujin put in the same effort as preparing for the college entrance examination, studying hard day and night. Shen Fu asked the kitchen to cook a small meal, and the fire in the kitchen was sealed with charcoal. In the evening, the housekeeper would personally bring Shen Yujin a midnight snack.

A bowl of hot pork trotter noodles, the pork trotter is stewed until soft, the noodles are hand-rolled with eggs and flour, chewy and smooth, paired with the broth made from pork bones and old hens, it is so delicious that it will make your eyebrows drop.

Following Shen Yujin's instructions, the kitchen prepared the Laba garlic, which was sweet and sour, and a dish of eight-treasure side dishes was crispy and chewy, with a crunchy bite.

The old butler left the room after delivering the meal. Shen Yujin took out a bag of wild pepper and noodles from the space.

In fact, life in ancient times was simply boring. People worked from sunrise to sunset, there was no entertainment, no shampoo, no shower gel, and no flush toilets.

Even taking a bath was a major undertaking. It was relatively easy for wealthy families like the Shen family, but for the poor, having enough to eat was a luxury. In good years, they could have two extra meals of dry rice, but in normal times, they only had various porridges, with no oil or water.

All the eggs at home had to be sold in the city in exchange for oil and salt. Salt was very expensive in ancient times, and the old brine used to pickle pickles had to be reused. Even if white hair grew on it, the brine had to be boiled into salt and reused.

In ancient times, there was no such thing as waste. Housewives in every household were very good at making ends meet. They would save every scrap of cloth and glue it together with glue to make shoe soles.

What shoes do ordinary people wear? Cloth shoes? That's completely wrong. They don't have that much cloth to waste. Cloth shoes are commonplace, and they're for running errands.

People who are skillful and dexterous can usually weave straw sandals. When it is cold in winter, they will make a pair of cotton shoes with cloth. Some families weave the straw sandals into a fully wrapped shape and stuff some rags and reed flowers inside.

The people have never lived a prosperous life. In times of peace and prosperity, they can still have a few full meals, but when there is chaos and war, it becomes a miserable time.

Shen Yujin ate the pig's trotter noodles slurpingly. In a short while, he had finished a big bowl of noodles. Shen Yujin picked up the wild pepper.

He continued to sit at the desk studying eight-part essays. The housekeeper knocked gently on the door and came into the room to clean up the dishes. Shen Yujin saw the housekeeper pause there, wanting to say something but hesitant, and asked hurriedly: "Uncle Zheng, what's wrong with you? Is there something wrong?"

The housekeeper spoke cautiously, "Master, I didn't dare to disturb you, but the melons planted on the hillside are all red, but some of them have only leaves but no fruits, and the vines are withered.

The old servant wanted to ask the young master to see what to do with those things. Shen Yujin became interested. To be honest, he really wanted to relax after working so hard these days.

It's a good thing to have a harvest. I can go check on the harvest tomorrow. Shen Yujin put down the book and said, "Uncle Zheng, I understand. I'll go check on the fields tomorrow. It's a good opportunity to change my mind. These days, everything I read is like a book."

Butler Zheng left, and Shen Yujin read for a while and blew out the four oil lamps.

This is because the Shen family is well-off and has many oil lamps. Many poor students are reluctant to light oil lamps at night and their glasses are damaged by overwork. Studying has always been a costly and physically demanding task since ancient times.

Shen Fu was reluctant to let his grandson suffer, so he used lamp oil made from the finest sheep fat, which cost 70 wen per catty. He was also worried that Shen Yujin's lamp would burn too little and strain his eyes, so he bought a lot of lamp oil. Every month, Shen Yujin's lamp oil cost him two taels of silver.

If he used rapeseed oil as lamp oil, Shen Yujin's nostrils would be black every day. The winter in Jiangnan was cold and damp, so Shen Yujin lit the stove in his house early in the morning, using only the finest silver frost charcoal. The charcoal alone cost seven taels of silver a month.

Shen Yujin asked the housekeeper to order a batch of iron furnace tubes from the blacksmith shop. Carbon gas poisoning is no joke.

Now everyone in the Shen family has this kind of charcoal stove in their room. It is convenient to use hot water and the room is not so humid.

Now at least the Shen family's bedding is dry. In the past, the bedding and clothes would easily grow hair in winter.

Shen Yujin lay on his bunk bed and couldn't help sighing. He had already laid a thick mattress, but the hard bed under him still made Shen Yujin uncomfortable.

This is not as comfortable as a Simmons mattress. It's really a torture to come to ancient times. The pillows are not comfortable either. The square pillows are so hard. There are actually people who like jade pillows or something like that.

Shen Yujin wanted to spit in his face. What's the difference between that and sleeping with a brick as a pillow? Getting a good night's sleep was like being tortured.

Shen Yujin was unique in using rice husks to make pillows, and asked his second aunt to make them into the shape of pillows in later generations so that he could sleep peacefully.

Whoever wants to use the wooden or jade pillow can use it. Sleeping with them will definitely cause cervical spondylosis!