The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

After saying that, he took out two silver notes from his purse and handed them to Ziqing and Ziyun respectively.

"Master, what are you doing? We still have some money left over." Ziqing and Ziyun waved their hands repeatedly.

“This is not given by me, but it is what you deserve. According to the rules of the clan school competition, in addition to the individual awards, the other two participating students will also receive a share of the silver rewards obtained by the clan school.”

"The total reward this time is 100 taels. Each of you three will get 20 taels, but the teacher will get much more, 40 taels. I bet the clan school is going to regret it to death, haha!"

Because none of the teachers were willing to lead a team, the clan school decided that the money earned from winning a prize would belong to the teacher, while the rest would be left to the clan school.

However, because of the outstanding academic achievements of Zhuge Village, no one paid any attention to it.

"I don't need the Master's money. I have 100 taels of silver myself," Zhuge Yunshu refused.

After all, she really has a lot of money, haha.

"Take them all, follow the rules," he said, then addressed the other two.

"We all benefited from Yun Shu's success. As the onlookers in the town would say, this is called 'winning without lifting a finger,'" Master Li said with a chuckle.

He's come to terms with it now. So what if he wins without effort? It's all about luck, you know.

Zhuge Yunshu, considering Master Li's temperament, readily accepted the twenty taels of silver and added, "That's right, senior brother, this is what you deserve. It's all about participation. Don't be shy, consider it a reward for your hard work these past few days."

The brothers Ziqing and Ziyun exchanged glances and said embarrassedly, "Then we'll shamelessly accept it."

The two of them planned to see what Junior Sister Yun Shu liked when they went shopping and buy it for her.

To be honest, although their family was relatively well-off, it was still compared to other people in the village. Seeing so much money, especially in banknotes, was something they had never experienced before.

“We only have one hour, otherwise we won’t reach the village before dark,” Master Li reminded us.

Zhuge Yunshu also felt that time was tight, but she had her own things to do, so she suggested, "Master, senior brother, I had arranged with my uncle to do something. Do you think we could agree on a meeting point and then each of us could go our own way?"

Master Li thought about it and agreed. Everyone wanted to buy different things, and going together would be a waste of time.

After parting ways with Master Li and his two senior brothers, Zhuge Yunshu quickly found his uncle and asked him to take the handwritten books he had previously given him to the bookstore in town.

"Dahua, your uncle has been too busy and hasn't had a chance to go to the bookstore to ask about the price of copying books for you," Zhuge Laigui said apologetically.

"Uncle, I already guessed that your restaurant was busy. We're all family, no need to be so polite. Let's hurry to the bookstore, the teacher only gave us an hour."

After saying this, Zhuge Yunshu followed his uncle Zhuge Laigui to the bookstore in town.

Zhuge Laigui brought Zhuge Yunshu to the largest bookstore in town, and he greeted the bookstore owner skillfully.

"Laigui is here. Did Manager Wang ask you to buy storybooks again?" the bookstore owner said with a smile, clearly familiar with his uncle, Zhuge Laigui.

"Shopkeeper Shen, I'm not here to buy storybooks today. I actually have something to ask of you." Zhuge Laigui scratched his head sheepishly.

"Oh, Brother Lai Gui, just tell me what's wrong, and I'll do my best to help," Manager Shen said cheerfully.

Zhuge Yunshu looked around the bookstore. Although it was already afternoon, it was bustling with people, and it was clear that business was booming.

Today is the day of the clan school's literary gathering. Many restaurants in town have closed, but this bookstore has not and continues to do business as usual.

"Manager Shen, I'd like to ask if you accept handwritten books here?" Zhuge Laigui asked apologetically.

Upon hearing this, Manager Shen immediately perked up, his smile widening even further. "Not only do we accept them, but we're also quite short of them. However, according to the rules of the bookstore, we will divide the copied books into three levels: A, B, and C. First, we need to examine the writing materials before discussing the price."

"By the way, Brother Laigui, do you know any scholars who want to sell their copybooks and writing materials?" Shopkeeper Shen asked curiously.

"To be honest, shopkeeper, the writing brushes and ink I'm selling are from my little niece. Don't let her young age fool you; she's quite the teacher's favorite when it comes to calligraphy," Zhuge Laigui explained.

Upon hearing this, Manager Shen quickly looked at Zhuge Yunshu and asked, "Young friend, what is your name?"

Zhuge Yunshu stepped forward and bowed, "Greetings, Manager Shen, I am Zhuge Yunshu."

Upon hearing this name, Manager Shen was startled. "You wouldn't happen to be Zhuge Yunshu, who participated in the clan school literary gathering today, would you?"

"That eight-year-old prodigy who ranked third in calligraphy, first in arithmetic, and first in classical studies."

Shopkeeper Shen was very surprised. He didn't expect that the genius who became famous at the clan school literary gathering today would come to their bookstore to sell books.

Despite his surprise, Manager Shen remained professional and politely said, "Young friend, please bring out the writing brush and ink for copying the book so I can take a look and estimate the price."

Zhuge Yunshu quickly put down the book and took out seven early childhood education books from it.

They were opened one by one and shown to Manager Shen.

"Not bad. For someone your age to write like this, you must have put in a lot of effort. The characters are neat, the pages are clean, and overall, your handwriting already has its own style. If you keep practicing, you'll achieve great things in time. How about this, our bookstore will price it according to the Class B standard. We'll pay half a string of cash for the 'Hundred Family Surnames' and the 'Thousand Character Classic,' and one string of cash for each of the remaining five books. Is that acceptable to you?"

Zhuge Yunshu was stunned when she heard the price. She didn't expect Manager Shen to give her so much. Even though she knew that her uncle Zhuge Laigui had spent a string of cash to buy a handwritten copy of "Youxue Qionglin", she never expected Manager Shen to give her this price.

“Of course,” Zhuge Yunshu quickly replied.

At such a good price, it would be abnormal not to agree.

"Manager Shen, do you still accept these kinds of early childhood education books? If so, will they still be priced the same?" Although Zhuge Yunshu hesitated, she still voiced her question.

This issue is crucial as it relates to her future money-making endeavors.

Shopkeeper Shen squinted and nodded repeatedly, "Of course, our best-selling books are early childhood education books. Besides, in addition to this bookstore in town, we also have branches in the county and prefectural cities. We don't have to worry about selling our books; we buy as many as we can."

Manager Shen also had his own considerations. He looked at Zhuge Yunshu, an eight-year-old girl who could solve mathematical problems such as "the cup on the river" and "the chicken and the rabbit in the same cage". In addition, with her reputation as the first place winner in the clan school competition, why would he worry that her handwritten copy would not sell well?

He's a businessman; he won't do business that's bad for him.

Moreover, such a young prodigy will undoubtedly have a bright future, so making friends with her wouldn't be a bad thing.

Zhuge Yunshu looked around the bookstore and noticed that many printed books were unsold, which puzzled him greatly.

"Shopkeeper Shen, I would like to ask, aren't most books nowadays engraved and printed? Why is there still such a high demand for handwritten books?"

She guessed that perhaps the number of printed books was small and the price was high.

Shopkeeper Shen was quite surprised to hear this: "How could they all be printed? The imperial court has restrictions on this, and the cost of printing books is high, so they are expensive. Generally, high-ranking officials and nobles buy more of these books, while ordinary scholars mainly buy handwritten copies, which are cheaper and more affordable."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yunshu realized it was exactly as she had guessed, which suited her perfectly.

While they were talking, Manager Shen had already prepared the money and handed it to Zhuge Yunshu.

"Young friend, this is six taels in total. Take it. Next time you need to copy books, just bring it here. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price," Manager Shen instructed.

"Don't worry, Manager Shen. I'm just afraid you'll think it's too much."

Listening to Zhuge Yunshu's words, Manager Shen didn't take them seriously. How much more could it be? He was still just a child.

And so, with his bulging purse in his pocket, Zhuge Yunshu bid farewell and left, much to the reluctance of Manager Shen.