Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Since the results would be released in two days, Zhang Xixi and her friends planned to stay in the county town for a few days.

The next day, Zhou Yuhao took Zhang Xixi to inspect the business and check the accounts.

Zhang Wenbo then led Zhou Yujie and the others to inquire about the various academies in the county town, and even took them to a teahouse to exchange knowledge with the students.

Zhou Yujie and his classmates had never met other students before, and were only in that small, desolate village, so they lacked experience and social skills.

Zhang Wenbo hopes they can go out more, broaden their horizons, and make more friends.

After discussing it with Zhang Xixi and the others, they decided that if all three of them passed the preliminary examination, they would be allowed to study in the county town.

Therefore, we need to find out more about the academy and the character of the teachers there.

Zhang Xixi and Zhou Yuhao walked around for a while and then didn't want to leave!

"Just how many shops have you bought in the county town?!"

"There aren't many, only a dozen or so. Are you tired? Let's go inside and rest for a bit!"

Zhang Xixi stopped in her tracks, looking at the small general store in front of her. "This is yours too!"

Zhou Yuhao nodded, "Yes!"

"No, why did you buy so many small shops, more than a dozen of them? These shops not only have low profit margins, but they are also difficult to manage."

Zhou Yuhao was embarrassed. "At the time, these were the only shops that sold them, so I bought them. Besides, the people in charge of these shops were all my people."

"Aren't your people in the Northwest?"

Zhang Xixi was puzzled; why would a soldier come here to be a businessman?

Zhou Yuhao quickly explained, "Some of my brothers were wounded in battle and had to retire. The court only gave them a pension, which is hardly enough to support their families. So I brought them here. At least we can open a shop and have some income to support our families."

These are all people who have survived countless near-death experiences on the battlefield. These people who protect our country must be taken good care of.

Anyway, we have so many sweet potatoes and dividends at home, so this little bit of money is just a way to thank them for their enthusiasm.

“Then we won’t need to check the accounts of these shops anymore; let them manage them themselves. If any of our brothers encounter difficulties, they can go to the village, and I’ll find them work.”

"Then thank you very much, my lady!"

Zhang Xixi waved her hand, "Don't be so polite, let's sit in the teahouse next door, we're all tired from walking!"

Zhou Yuhao nodded in agreement, "Okay!"

I was originally planning to introduce my wife to my brothers, but she's tired, so maybe next time!

The third day in the county was the day the results were announced. Zhou Yuhao and his friends got up early and found a good spot at the announcement site so they could see the results as soon as possible.

Although we knew that based on the results of the top three lists, the three children were sure to pass the preliminary examination, but not seeing the final results always made us uneasy.

Erbao was quite relaxed; he was confident he would pass the exam.

Zhou Yujie and Zhang Zehui looked around nervously, wondering why the results hadn't been released yet. The last two exams were a bit difficult, and they didn't know if they would pass.

A voice announced, "The results are out!"

Everyone pushed forward, and Zhang Xixi was held protectively in Zhou Yuhao's arms.

It's so crowded and uncomfortable!

Fortunately, they were standing at the very front, and Zhang Wenbo immediately looked down the list.

Fifth place: Zhou Zirui.

"Erbao passed the exam!"

Next, in 15th place is Zhang Zehui, and in 20th place is Zhou Yujie.

"They all passed the exam!"

"Really? Then let's go out!"

Zhang Xixi and the others followed the flow of people out.

Suddenly, an official came and announced that the top twenty students on the list could be recommended to study at Tianlu Academy, which was a prestigious academy second only to the county school.

"Brother, have you heard of this Tianlu Academy?"

Zhang Wenbo shouted, "What! I can't hear you!"

"Let's talk about it when we get back!"

Zhang Xixi gestured for everyone to go out first, as there were too many people and it was too crowded!

Back at the teahouse, Zhang Xixi asked the same question again.

This time, Zhang Wenbo heard clearly, "The dean of Tianlu Academy is Lord Zheng, the former prefect of Lingzhou. He is a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). The teachers there are all Xiucai (successful candidates in the county-level imperial examination) and Juren (successful candidates in the provincial-level imperial examination). The students include those who did not pass the examination, Tongsheng (successful candidates in the county-level imperial examination), and Xiucai. I don't know about the others."

"However, I heard from them that this college treats all students equally and has no prejudice against any particular group."

"This is good news!"

Zhang Xixi said, "Otherwise, I'm really afraid that my children will be bullied!"

Zhang Wenbo inquired about all the academies in the county and felt that Tianlu Academy was the most suitable for the children.

"Then let's go to this academy. Yujie, the three of you come with me to the county government office to get your student certificates and find out when school starts."

Zhang Xixi and Zhou Yuhao went out for a stroll and bought some things for their family, especially candied hawthorns for Dabao.

They'll be heading back today, barring any unforeseen circumstances. They've been away for several days and miss their families quite a bit.

Zhang Wenbo and his friends found out that school wouldn't start until next month, so they went to the bookstore to browse around.

After they finished their stroll, they met up at the teahouse.

"Brother, does the academy provide accommodation?"

Now that she knows when school starts, Zhang Xixi needs to make arrangements for their lives.

"The academy has accommodations and food facilities. All students live there and are not allowed to leave. They get two days off every ten days."

"That's good!"

Zhang Xixi thought to herself, "Isn't this just modern closed management? So it existed in ancient times too!"

"Then let's go have lunch and then head back!"

"Let's go!"

After lunch, they drove back to the deserted village.

Along the way, the villagers I met all asked me if I had passed the exam.

Zhang Xixi and the others told the truth: they all passed the exam!

The villagers were overjoyed!

If Erbao and his siblings were able to pass the exam, wouldn't their children also have a chance to pass the preliminary exam?

In no time, almost everyone in the village knew that Zhou Yujie and his classmates had passed the imperial examination for the position of child scholar.

Zhang Xixi and her group went to the Zhang family first and chatted with Chen and the others for a while.

Not long after he returned home, Zhou Dashan and several clan elders arrived.

"Yuhao, I heard that Yujie and Erbao both got into university!"

Seeing Zhou Dashan and the others' excited expressions, Zhou Yuhao quickly replied, "They all passed the exam."

Zhang Xixi also greeted, "Brother-in-law, cousins, please come in and sit down."

After the group came in, Zhou Yuhao explained the details of the exam to them.

"Great! This is the hope of our village!"

Zhou Dashan was also very happy to hear that Erbao and the others could go to school in the county.

“Zixuan is studying at the county school. I’ll have him go with you when school starts so you can look after each other.”

"Won't this interfere with Zixuan's studies?"

Zhou Yuhao waved his hand and said, "No, it will only take a little while."

The group praised Zixuan a few more times, which made Zhou Dashan beam with joy!

Speaking of Zhou Zixuan, he is Zhou Dashan's proudest grandson.

He passed the imperial examination last year, ranking fifth, and was recommended to study at the county school.