The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

......

In conclusion, although the Zhuge clan members were kept extremely busy during the wedding banquet, it was a very successful event overall.

In particular, every dish at this banquet was delicious.

Even Wang Yi's father, Wang Zhe, who owns a restaurant, praised Aunt Wu's cooking skills.

Moreover, what about the others?

For this reason, after the guests left, there was not much food left on the round table under the pergola.

Besides, none of the people who came to the banquet expected that they would each receive a sample of soap before leaving.

Although there are four or five kinds of soaps in the exquisite cloth bag, the size of the bag is only about one-third the size of a fist.

Even so, those who received the return gifts were overjoyed.

In particular, the wealthy households in the town, who frequently traveled to and from Linxi County, had heard of soap, a precious item that had suddenly become popular in Jingling Prefecture.

Among these people, the families of Zhuge Yunren's future mother-in-law and Zhuge Yunchun's future husband were the most surprised!

Even if you beat them to death, you never expected the Zhuge family to be so generous today.

However, it must be said that this action made their families look very prestigious in front of other wealthy families in the town.

Meanwhile, the three village chiefs of Chenjia Village, Zhangjia Village, and Lijia Village were riding back to their villages on donkey carts.

Perhaps stunned by Zhuge Village's grand gesture today, the three of them did not look too good.

"Have you noticed that there are now six cows and three donkeys in the cowshed of Zhuge Village?" At this moment, the village chief of Lijia Village, who was sitting at the innermost part, spoke up with a dazed look on his face.

Upon seeing this, the village chief of Zhangjia Village continued:

"That's not all. When I went to the outhouse in Zhuge Village today, I was surprised to find that the outhouses in their village are separated for men and women. Even the inside of the outhouses was clean, and the smell wasn't too strong. In addition, there was always a bucket of water available for flushing the outhouses..."

He paused for a moment, then continued speaking softly:

"When I was wandering around, I was surprised to find that there was a carriage in their clan school. Although it looked very dilapidated, it was still a carriage!"

You should know that there are strict regulations regarding vehicle use in the Great Xia Dynasty.

Even if you have money, you may not be able to buy a horse unless the price is four or five times higher than the original price.

That's not all. After buying the horse, you also have to report it to the county government. If there are no scholars in the family who have passed the imperial examinations, they will generally not be allowed to use a horse-drawn carriage.

Of course, money makes the world go round!

If enough money is spent, the county magistrate may make an exception and turn a blind eye for the sake of the local economy.

Hearing Village Chief Zhang's sour words, Village Chief Li also felt a tightness in his chest:

"Well, it's because Zhuge Village has a relative who's a fourth-rank official in the capital. With just that one condition, he can buy whatever kind of animal carriage he wants."

"Hey, I'm just marveling at how wealthy their village is! They have cows and donkeys, and they even have a horse-drawn carriage hidden away. Wow, it seems like Zhuge Village is on its way to prosperity!"

At this moment, the village chief of Chenjia Village, who had been mostly silent, finally couldn't help but speak up:

"Why are you only focusing on these things and not seeing anything else?"

Village Chief Li: "......???"

Village Chief Zhang: "......???"

Looking at the bewildered Village Chiefs Li and Zhang, Village Chief Chen sighed helplessly and then spoke earnestly to them:

"Haven't you noticed that even ordinary villagers in Zhuge Village don't wolf down so much delicious food at banquets? Don't you find that strange? Also, I observed for a while, and whether it's adults or children in their village, there's not a single fault with their dining etiquette..."

What does this mean? "

Village Chief Li: "...The people in that village are rich and powerful, and they're used to eating this kind of food. Ah, I'm really envious!"

Village Chief Zhang: "...I think Brother Li is right. However, I feel that Zhuge Village is getting too arrogant these days. If they continue to be so extravagant and wasteful, what good will it do to have a relative who becomes a fourth-rank official in the future?"

"Yes, they even used such a fine red cloth to cover the dining table. I was extremely careful while eating, afraid of accidentally getting the cloth dirty. I would be heartbroken if I did," said Village Chief Li, rubbing his frightened chest.

"Oh, me too! But have you noticed how beautiful it is to watch the people in town eat? Hehe!"

"..."

As Village Chief Chen watched Village Chiefs Li and Zhang chatter away, acting as if he didn't exist, he had only one thought in his mind: They're as stupid as oxen, and he really can't get them to cooperate.

However, there's no other way. Zhuge Village is no longer what it used to be, and Chenjia Village alone is certainly no match for it. So, the only way forward is for these three villages to work together to even have a chance.

Thinking this, Village Chief Chen calmed the tightness in his chest that had just been caused by the two men.

Then, he began to speak:

"You two, be serious and stop thinking about these trivial things."

As he spoke, he gave Village Chief Li and Village Chief Zhang a warning look, and then continued:

"Actually, if you observe carefully, you will find that those two old scoundrels, Zhuge Fengcang and Zhuge Fengtian, seem to place particular importance on etiquette and moral education in their village."

Therefore, I suspect that their village must have trained in this area beforehand, just so they could present their best to us villages today...

Furthermore, at today's banquet, it was one thing for the main table and the side tables to be separate, but in fact, all the men, women, and children from Zhuge Village sat at one table.

Furthermore, I even noticed that at many tables, the mothers and daughters-in-law were only serving food to the girls in their families, while the boys sat quietly waiting, as if they wouldn't dare to pick up their chopsticks until they received their parents' permission...

Even after they could start eating, the first thing she did was to put a portion of the best dish on the table into her own sisters' bowls, then their parents and grandparents'. Only after all that was done would she sit down and enjoy her meal by herself.

The more he thought about it, the more eerie the Zhuge Village seemed to be.

In those three villages, which family didn't cherish their sons like treasures, while raising their daughters casually until they got married?

In contrast, Zhuge Village insisted on doing the opposite of what they did.

In short, Village Chief Chen couldn't understand Zhuge Village's baffling actions.