The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the entire capital city felt noticeably quieter.

In this world, the autumn imperial examinations are held in early September, lasting for three consecutive days.

During the examination period, all eating, drinking, and relieving oneself were done in the examination hall, which was similar to Shen Cao's impression of the imperial examinations.

The place, which is usually crowded with students, now only has two or three students in it.

At mealtimes, you can occasionally see a few students dining in restaurants and on the streets, but at other times, you rarely see students gathering like before.

With less than two weeks until the exam, everyone was in a state of intense study, and few students went out to attend banquets anymore.

The entire Shen family became unusually tense, and everyone spoke in hushed tones, especially when Shen Chen was present.

According to the Grand Tutor, Shen Chen is studying longer and longer, and turning off the lights later and later at night.

Shen Cao had been subtly hinting to her older brother these past few days that he shouldn't work too hard.

However, listening is one thing, doing is another.

I agreed readily, but the dark circles under my eyes are getting worse and worse.

In front of Shen Chen, Shen Cao sometimes exchanged glances with Grand Tutor Zhou. Both of them knew that he was influenced by the rumors that had been circulating some time ago.

I'm afraid that if I get a bad grade this year, I'll embarrass Grand Tutor Zhou.

Looking at Shen Chen's current appearance, Shen Cao couldn't help but recall her own past life, when she was about the same age as him and took the college entrance examination.

Like him, she gets more and more nervous as the exam approaches.

I couldn't even sleep the night before the exam.

Naturally, he did not perform at his normal level.

All she can do now is cook some good food for her older brother, stew some soups and stews to help him recover.

When it comes to exams, no one can help you.

As for relaxing before the exam, she thought it was just nonsense.

You can only truly relax after the exam; before the exam, you really have to study as much as you can, even just a little bit.

Early this morning, Shen Cao took Shen Wan to Caishikou in the capital and saw chestnuts for sale.

Shen Cao specially bought a small basket to make some chestnut cakes so that her older brother could eat some when he was hungry.

She picked out another black-boned chicken, intending to make some chicken soup to nourish her older brother.

Grand Tutor Zhou has been busy with the autumn imperial examinations these days, and he's nowhere to be seen all day.

After buying the ingredients, Shen Cao realized that she seemed to be out of ginseng at home.

She took Shen Wan to Wan'an Hall in the capital.

Shen Yu'an happened to be checking the accounts at Wan'an Hall today. He had just been about to leave when he saw Shen Cao.

"Cao'er, what brings you here? Are you feeling unwell?" he said, greeting the two of them.

Shen Cao shook her head. "No, the exam is coming up soon, so I'm just buying some ginseng and making some chicken soup for my older brother to nourish him."

Shen Yu'an pursed her lips slightly, a hint of jealousy in her voice, "I see."

“My grandmother was talking to me yesterday, saying she missed you.”

Shen Cao sensed a hint of sourness in Shen Yu'an's tone. She smiled and pointed to the basket on the ground, "Today, Wan'er and I went to the market and saw some freshly harvested chestnuts."

"You like chestnut cake the most, right? I'll send it to you when I make it."

"I'll give you a share of that chicken soup too. That black-boned chicken is big and fat, the soup it makes will definitely be delicious."

Sure enough, Shen Yu'an's lips curled up when he heard Shen Cao's words.

"It was definitely worth the love and care I gave you." Shen Yu'an suddenly paused and beckoned the shopkeeper over.

"Go and get the ginseng I've been saving."

Shen Cao shook her head, "Cousin, regular ginseng is fine."

Shen Yu'an ignored her and waved for the shopkeeper to get it.

A short while later, the shopkeeper came out carrying an exquisite box.

Shen Yu'an took the box, opened it, and handed it to Shen Cao.

It was a thick ginseng root, thicker than an adult man's thumb.

Every single root of the ginseng was preserved intact.

"Does he look familiar?" Shen Yu'an's voice came from next to Shen Cao.

Shen Cao looked at it carefully again. "Sister, it's the ginseng we dug up back then," Shen Wan's voice rang out in surprise.

Shen Cao then remembered that this ginseng seemed to be the one she had dug up years ago.

“Cousin, don’t I remember you sold it? You said you sold it for four hundred taels of silver.”

It happened to be right next to the house where the Shen family restaurant was located.

"Four hundred taels of silver, young lady, you really dare to dream. This ginseng must be worth at least a thousand taels, and it's a hundred-year-old ginseng."

The shopkeeper, somewhat surprised, began to explain to Shen Cao.

The shopkeeper was unaware of the ginseng's properties and assumed Shen Cao was unaware of its value, which is why he offered to explain.

Before Shen Yu'an could stop the shopkeeper from speaking, he touched his nose guiltily upon hearing his words.

Shen Cao then looked at Shen Yu'an.

"Well... I thought this ginseng was rare, so I didn't plan to sell it."

"I just casually said a number."

"Perfect timing, you need to use ginseng to make chicken soup, so you can take this ginseng and use it."

The shopkeeper was ashamed. What kind person would use a century-old ginseng to make chicken soup? This century-old ginseng can be a lifesaver in a critical moment.

Shen Cao knew the value of a century-old ginseng, so naturally she wouldn't use it to make chicken soup.

She returned the ginseng to Shen Chen, saying, "Cousin, this ginseng is useless to me. Let it stay at Wan'an Hall to save lives."

"Just give me some regular ginseng."

Shen Yu'an smiled, picked up the ginseng, and handed it to the shopkeeper, telling him to keep it safe.

"Go and pack some ginseng for Cao'er, and add some other medicinal herbs."

After the shopkeeper agreed, he was about to leave when he heard Shen Yu'an's voice, "It needs to calm the nerves and nourish the brain."

Shen Cao was touched by Shen Yu'an's thoughtfulness.

She immediately decided that when she made chestnut cake, she would add some of his favorite salted egg yolk and pork floss filling.

"To be honest, without that ginseng, we wouldn't have known each other so long ago," Shen Yu'an sighed.

"Yes."

"Cousin, do you think we would have met again if it weren't for that ginseng?" Shen Cao asked curiously.

“Hmm…” Shen Yu’an thought for a moment.

“Sister and Young Master Shen will definitely meet, because you are destined to meet,” Shen Wan said very seriously.

Her earnest expression made Shen Cao and Shen Yu'an burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, Wan'er is right, we were destined to meet." Shen Yu'an smiled as he looked at Shen Cao.

Some people are destined to become friends and family.

Carrying the medicinal herbs, Shen Cao and Shen Yu'an parted ways at the entrance of Wan'an Hall.

Shen Yu'an has to go to other stores to check accounts today; he's been quite busy lately.

Shen Cao took Shen Wan home.

"Sister, can I learn business from Brother Shen?" Before Shen Yu'an's figure disappeared from sight, Shen Cao suddenly heard Shen Wan's voice.