Ugly girl only wants to farm

Zhang Xuyang then leaned closer, looking serious: "Qi Yu, did you see clearly? If it really is cheating, these people have committed a serious offense."

Qi Yu shook his head: "I'm not too sure either. I glanced at the handwriting and it was not much different from mine. When I was about to take a closer look, the person quickly put it away. To be honest, I also participated in the provincial examination before, but I failed in the end. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so what if I commit a big taboo?"

Meng Jiuhe quickly comforted him: "You don't need to be discouraged, you can just go for the next one."

Qi Yu nodded: "I don't have much to worry about. I was young at the time and thought that if I failed the exam, I could take it again in three years. But now, although the county school looks prestigious on the surface, it is actually like a makeshift troupe, which is a bit disappointing."

Meng Jiuhe: "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Xuyang looked around and pulled the person back to the courtyard: "Let's go sit down and warm our hands by the fire first. It's better to sit down and talk things over than to stand here like a pillar."

When the three of them returned, Xu Chaoyan was somewhat surprised to see them back. Usually, they would have returned much earlier at this time, and she was planning to go to the alley entrance to check on them.

"Wife, it's rare for Brother Qi to come over today. Please prepare some hot soup and invite him to stay for dinner later."

Xu Chaoyan nodded: "You all go ahead and get busy. My sister-in-law and I will prepare it in a bit."

The three of them sat down in Meng Jiuhe's small study. Xu Chaoyan quickly lit a charcoal fire, brewed a pot of tea for them, and picked out a few roasted sweet potatoes.

"It's rare for you to come to my home, so please don't mind the simple meal and warm your hands first."

Before leaving, Xu Chaoyan gently closed the door for them, without disturbing their conversation.

After rinsing his throat with a cup of tea, Qi Yu finally spoke: "On the surface, the county school seems to attract countless students from all around, but that's just to fool those outsiders. The previous teachers were quite knowledgeable, with several of them being scholars, but in recent years, their teaching has become increasingly perfunctory, which is why I say it's a makeshift operation."

Zhang Xuyang looked surprised: "Then aren't we just wasting our time and racking our brains to get into this county school? It's all in vain."

Meng Jiuhe's face was expressionless at the moment. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "How did you know?"

Qi Yu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said helplessly, "My family is poor. I originally wanted to go to the prefectural school a long time ago, but I couldn't go for various reasons. I took the provincial examination a year ago, but I failed in the end. Before, I copied books to supplement the family income. After school, I was often the last one to leave. Once, I saw the teacher sneaking out of the back door. I happened to overhear someone giving him money, saying that he was going to let a few spoiled brats enroll."

“At the time, I didn’t pay much attention. I always got first grade in the assessments, but the teacher always told me to work harder next time. I thought my essays were pretty good, but I always fell behind others in the assessments. I didn’t know why.”

Zhang Xuyang slammed his hand on the table in anger: "This is outrageous! Does this mean whoever pays the most gets the top grade? People like us from poor families will never have a chance to get ahead and will just be used as pawns by others."

Qi Yu waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down: "Actually, I don't care about the grades in these assessments. As long as I can pass the provincial examination which is held every three years, that's fine. No matter what grade those spoiled brats get in the exams, we'll find out what they're really made of once we take them out for a spin. It's just a bit disheartening though. Those people have a conscience. They also studied hard for decades to become successful candidates, and only gave up when they couldn't pass the exam in the end."

Meng Jiuhe: "So you mean that the teacher lied about your grades, claiming they belonged to those spoiled brats, to fool their families, and then they willingly gave you money in the end?"

Qi Yu nodded: "You could say that. Anyway, they're just here to learn to read and broaden their horizons. What can they possibly achieve when the time comes? They can't even pass the simplest preliminary exam. What do you think they can do? That's not what I'm worried about. What I'm worried about right now is that the teacher clearly promised to recommend me to the prefectural school. I heard there's an old scholar who's been taking the imperial examinations for over ten years teaching there, and an old official from the Hanlin Academy who's retired and returned to his hometown. He's occasionally invited to give lectures. The old official is very knowledgeable, but his temper is a bit eccentric."

Zhang Xuyang poured him a cup of tea: "From what you're saying, we made a mistake coming to this county school, and we're just wasting our time here. Why didn't you say you were close to us earlier? It would have saved us from wasting our time here."

Qi Yu looked ashamed and said, "Gentlemen, I didn't mean to hide it. It's just that I wasn't sure at the time. After observing these days and considering the exam questions, it's probably true. I was just guessing and it's not good to tell you this rashly. But it's not too late for me to say it now. You just need to pay a little attention. We still have to wait two years for the provincial exam."

Meng Jiu and the other two nodded and fell into deep thought. Qi Yu looked hesitant as he left, but finally spoke up.

"There's one more thing I want to say. If the Master asks you to write essays in the future, be careful, lest you be used by someone with ulterior motives and have your work substituted."

Zhang Xuyang's mouth dropped open in astonishment: "You can do that? I've never heard of such a thing, it's unbelievable!"

Qi Yu: "There's a lot more to this than meets the eye."

Qi Yu did not stay for dinner, saying it was getting late and he had to pick up his mother. After she left, the two remained silent in the study for a long time.

Zhang Xuyang then spoke up: "Brother Meng, what do you think we should do? We went to great lengths to get into this county school, but in the end, it was all for nothing. These past few days, I've been telling you that we already knew what the teacher was talking about. He's been talking about it for days, and those bunch of idiots in front of us can't even read it properly. I've been wondering for a long time, and now it turns out that these people all got in through connections and don't understand what the teacher is saying at all."

Meng Jiuhe also noticed this phenomenon. He thought that the teachers here thought their foundation was weak, so they started with these simple and easy-to-understand explanations.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "I don't know what to do right now. Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. There are still two years until the next provincial examination. Let's study hard during these two years and give it a try. My wife and younger sister work very hard to earn money to support the family, and I don't want to let them down. Besides, even if we pass the provincial examination, there are still the metropolitan examination and the palace examination. It's a long road with so many people participating. To be honest, I'm not confident that ordinary people like us can stand out from the crowd."

When it was time to rest at night, Meng Jiuhe lay in bed thinking. Xu Chaoyan called him several times but he didn't hear her. Suddenly, a pair of soft, boneless hands gently pinched his waist twice. Meng Jiuhe then reacted and patted her lightly twice.

“My dear wife, it’s getting late. You should get some rest. Don’t you have to set up your stall tomorrow? It’s your day off tomorrow, so I’ll go with you.”

Xu Chaoyan moved a little closer to him: "What are you thinking about? I called you several times but you didn't hear me."

In the darkness, their breaths could be heard from each other. After dark, the outside was eerily quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Meng Jiuhe then asked the question that had been bothering him: "Wife, why do I study? After the provincial examination every three years, there's the metropolitan examination and the palace examination. I have no confidence in myself at all. Wouldn't that be a waste of your and my sister's hard work? A scholar is useless. How about I find a job as an accountant? We can just live a simple life as a family."

Xu Chaoyan was surprised that this person suddenly had the idea of ​​dropping out of school. This was just like a rebellious teenager in modern times who felt hopeless about the future, thought that studying was useless and wanted to enter society early to mature. How could this be allowed? She had to quickly dissuade this person from this idea.

She insisted that Meng Jiuhe try to take the provincial examination. If he passed, he would be exempt from taxes and corvée labor. Passing the provincial examination would also mean becoming a candidate official in the imperial court, with the opportunity to be appointed to an official position. Although it would only be a low-ranking eighth or ninth grade, it would still be better than being an ordinary citizen.

She rested her head on Meng Jiuhe's chest, her small hand slipping under his clothes to gently scratch his back, trying to help him relax. Listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, she softly comforted him, "Husband, don't overthink things. Although reading and writing are meant to help us understand the world, we've studied diligently for decades just to prove ourselves. No matter the outcome, at least we tried. There are still two years until the provincial examination, so you should prepare well. Besides, I haven't been restricting you. You can copy books and help me set up a stall if you want. How much does an accountant earn in a month? Are you willing to spend your whole life holed up in the village?"

After listening to her words, Meng Jiuhe fell into deep thought. His wife was right. Was he really willing to stay in the village and toil in the fields for the rest of his life? His family had a weak foundation in the village, and with his parents gone missing and his relationship with his second uncle's family strained, he would inevitably suffer the contempt of those people if he wanted to continue living in the village.

His parents' greatest hope was to see him bring honor to the family. It was true that he was narrow-minded and was ready to give up at the slightest setback. He was not as insightful as his wife. After she understood this, he was able to let go of his resentment.