After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

After more than a month in Class A, the long-awaited monthly exam for Class A finally arrived.

Yes, it's the monthly exam that the students in Class A have been looking forward to.

Ever since Qiu Feng set his sights on Jiang Xiaoqi, he has stopped eating the meals his aunt sent him, which were the special meals prepared by the female teachers at the school.

Every day when Jiang Xiaoqi went to the canteen, he would follow closely behind, always sitting opposite Jiang Xiaoqi in the canteen, never hiding himself from her.

However, he originally wanted to sit on the side, but Tan Hao and Zhao Hongxuan had already taken both seats, which was really annoying.

He had heard about the Zhao family's background from his father. As the only son of a prefect, he should have been familiar with the officialdom and the relationships with various families long ago.

That noon, Jiang Xiaoqi had just sat down after getting her lunch when Qiu Feng came over with his own lunch.

He placed the food on the table, looked at Jiang Xiaoqi, and asked softly, "Jiang Mingfei, the monthly exam is in two days. Will you be able to take the top spot like you were in Classes B and C?"

Jiang Xiaoqi glanced at him, then lowered her head to eat, not answering. After all, this was the Nth time he had asked her that question, and she didn't want to answer!

Qiu Feng felt awkward but wasn't angry. He then said, "You feel in your heart that it might be you, but you're too embarrassed to say it?"

Oh, I get it, I get it~ On the surface, they don't care about the rankings, but in reality, they're already itching to give it their all, and maybe they're even studying late into the night~

Zhao Hongxuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "There's nothing wrong with studying late into the night. Which of those in Class A who haven't yet passed the preliminary examination isn't studying late into the night?"

Even those who pass are still working themselves to the bone for the provincial examination, aren't they?

Several students from Class A who had not yet passed the preliminary examination quietly withdrew their eavesdropping ears and pretended to be very busy.

Upon hearing this, Tan Hao nodded silently. Although he was also curious about the monthly exam results, he wasn't as enthusiastic as Qiu Feng.

After all, the exam hasn't been taken yet, anything is possible, and everyone should just do their best.

Besides, Jiang Mingfei was so calm, so I, being a few years older, should be more composed. It's just a monthly exam at the clan school.

We should broaden our horizons further, such as the provincial examination, the prefectural examination, and even the metropolitan examination and the palace examination!

Jiang Xiaoqi finished the last bite of rice and put down her chopsticks.

"Enjoy your meal, everyone. I'm going back to the classroom now."

After saying that, he left the bowls and chopsticks for Wenbin to clean up, got up and left.

"Ugh! You!"

Qiu Feng was speechless. He had seen people who were indifferent to him, but he had never seen anyone so disdainful of him, the son of a prefect.

Jiang Xiaoqi: Nonsense, your family is on the Empress's side, while the Jiang family is on Consort Liu's side... no, now it's on the side of the Imperial Concubine.

Even if he is young and doesn't need to take sides, just because his surname is "Jiang" means he's already on the side, even if he doesn't.

There were kinship ties, business partnerships, and later a cement business.

There was no way around it; this thing was too special. After the Liu family presented it to the emperor, the emperor was overjoyed and richly rewarded the Liu family.

Of course, Jiang Changqing was credited for this achievement, but that's all.

What? Why wasn't Jiang Mingfei's name reported?

Yes, you can, but it's not necessary.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that the inventor of cement and the builder of the first cement workshop was a child from a branch of the Jiang family.

Regardless of whether the higher-ups believed it or not, even if they did, the reward given to commoners would only be some gold, silver, and land.

But since the credit was given to Jiang Changqing, he was finally promoted before the age of fifty.

He was promoted directly and is now a fifth-rank official, Tongzhi, still in Xinghe Prefecture. He simply removed the sign of the prefectural governor and put up the sign of the Tongzhi prefect, which was very convenient.

Of course, the cement house wasn't given away for free. The Jiang and Liu families promised that after Jiang Xiaoqi passed the imperial examination at the county level, they would connect him with a famous Confucian scholar from the south to guide him until he passed the metropolitan examination.

If passing the county-level imperial examination was like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge, then passing the provincial-level imperial examination and the metropolitan-level imperial examination was not a matter of personal effort.

At least the imperial gazettes that the system previously refused to obtain were simply not worth mentioning to the Liu family.

Not only can they get it, but they can also get the latest and most complete version.

Having connections in the imperial court is advantageous for the imperial examinations. Trading a cement block for a one-on-one tutoring session with a great Confucian scholar is quite a good deal.

After all, these great scholars are not short of money; you can't get into the fold of these famous teachers just by throwing money at them.

They would say: Gold is dazzling, silver is dull and white, and copper coins smell fishy!

Although gold, silver, and copper coins are indispensable in every aspect of eating, drinking, and relieving oneself, alas, one should still be aloof when it comes to being noble.

It's as if loving money is tasteless and damages the integrity of intellectuals.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt that she would not become that kind of scholar.

He yearned for knowledge, and he also yearned for gold and silver.

Although the prescription was submitted, the Liu family did not deduct his share of the profits.

Of course, this document was forcibly taken from the Liu family, and no one except the head of the Liu family knew about it.

All that is known is that this recipe came from the husband of her daughter who had married into the family. Apart from those from the royal family and the imperial court, her family was to give more than half of the profits to the Jiang family.

After all, her family had gained tangible benefits and honors, which made the emperor rely on and trust her even more. Liu's daughter in the palace was even made a concubine before she gave birth.

All of this cannot be bought with money.

What's wrong with giving away 20% of the 30%?

That originally belonged to someone else. The Liu family has already taken the lion's share in terms of reputation, so of course they should give up the lion's share of the profits.

Jiang Changqing received the 20% and, without pausing for a second, delivered it directly to Jiang Xiaoqi.

Look, some people have received titles and rewards, some have been promoted, and some have received promises and money.

Triple win!

Lin Feng's small workshop is now more like an experimental resettlement camp, where everyone does their work at a leisurely pace and produces cement.

Most of the time, he was working with the craftsmen that Jiang Xiaoqi had recently hired from various places to research all sorts of strange and unusual things, such as rotten leaves, bean dregs, and oil cakes.

Lin Feng's main task is, of course, to teach Jiang Xiaoqi martial arts, and now he has added eight teenagers to the team.

In just over a month, they actually discovered two or three promising talents, who were not much worse than Li Mo, which was quite rare.

Returning to the monthly exam for Class A, he really didn't know if he could take the top spot again.

Although he had achieved first place in both Class B and Class C, his classmates in Class A were different.

Among them were many students who had passed the preliminary examinations, and most of them had already passed the county-level examinations.

Two days passed quickly, and the monthly exam was fast approaching.

When the exam papers were handed out, they were mock exams of the same difficulty as the county exam. I was a little surprised, but it also seemed reasonable.

After all, most of the people present had taken the county-level examination, so for the students who had not, this was a mock exam once a month.

For students who have already passed the county examination, this is a chance to review and learn something new, since it is said that the questions for the quarterly examination are based on those for the prefectural examination.

Those were mock exam questions designed for students preparing for the provincial examinations.

Later annual examinations, also known as the yearly examinations, would even include some questions from the provincial examinations, in preparation for the students to take the county-level examinations.

Grind the ink, dip the brush, flatten the rolled paper, and Jiang Xiaoqi calmly began to write.