Chapter 185 He Shujin Fails the Exam

Chapter 185 He Shujin Fails the Exam

The days passed one by one, after Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, it was October in the blink of an eye.

Sun Shan had been at Hong's School for more than half a year.

I had another monthly exam yesterday. Today, when I saw the red "A" on the test paper, I felt quite satisfied, which proved that my knowledge is very solid and reliable.

Mr. Hong answered all the test questions correctly and received praise from his classmates.

After dinner, I read for a while.

Senior Brother Hong Jian came in from outside. Judging from his appearance, he should go wash up. He smiled and said, "Ashan, you are still reading. It's late at night. You should go to bed early."

Sun Shan nodded and said, "Brother Jian, I understand. I'll go after I finish reading it."

Hong Jian really admired Sun Shan's persistence in studying. He followed the routine and repeated the same actions every day. He never felt bored and was very patient with loneliness.

Mr. Hong privately told Hong Jian that Sun Shan was a good student and had a great chance of passing the imperial examination, and asked him to get along well with him, discuss problems with each other, and learn from each other to make progress.

Hong Jian came from a poor family, and the reason he was able to study at the Hong School was entirely due to the support of Hong Xiucai.

Once, Mr. Hong returned to his hometown and saw him practicing calligraphy. He asked him where he learned it.

Hong Jian answered innocently that he learned it from the master in the temple.

After that, Hong Xiucai tested him several more times and felt that he had the talent to study, so he told Hong Jian's parents to take him to the county town to study.

You don’t have to pay for tuition and food, your parents just need to support you in living expenses.

Hong Jian's parents were grateful and agreed immediately.

Hong Xiucai is the most promising person in Hongjia Village. Because of Hong Xiucai, no neighboring villages dare to bully Hongjia Village.

In addition, Hong Xiucai was kind and generous, and he repaired ancestral halls, bridges and roads, so the Hongjia Village respected him very much.

Hong Jian was also very grateful to Hong Xiucai. If he had not been noticed, he would not have had the opportunity to receive formal education.

When he arrived at the school, Uncle Hong and Aunt Zhang, members of the Hong family, were very caring and often helped him.

When Mr. Hong said that Sun Shan was a good student, Hong Jian naturally believed it.

When the two of them were in the same room, Hong Jian could better understand Sun Shan's dedication to reading.

Every time I look at Sun Shan's monthly exam papers, I am amazed. I answered every word correctly. The questions on the meaning of the scriptures are even more concise and to the point, with every word hitting the point, without a single word of nonsense.

I don’t know whether Sun Shan was still young or was an open-minded person, but whenever they discussed academic matters, he spoke frankly, which made Hong Jian admire him very much.

Just ask yourself, you can’t teach others as unreservedly as he does.

Sun Shan had no idea what Hong Jian was thinking. After more than half a year, he finally finished reading and understood the "Daqian Code".

These legal provisions are really a headache. Every time I encounter something I don’t understand, I have to look up the dictionary and try to understand the meaning of each word.

If you really don’t understand, you can only ask Mr. Hong.

Hong Xiucai asked in astonishment: "Sun Shan, why are you reading the Daqian Law?"

According to the law, there is no examination for the scholar category. If you want to take the examination, you have to wait until the juren category.

Scholar Hong didn't want Sun Shan to waste his time reading books randomly. He suggested that he first learn the Four Books and Five Classics thoroughly, and then read them after he passed the examination.

Sun Shan also said in a very simple way: "Master, my eldest cousin also read this book. He finished reading it before he took the exam to become a scholar. I thought about how my eldest cousin passed the exam to become a scholar, and I will learn from him to do the same."

His triangular eyes flashed and he looked at Mr. Hong innocently, as if asking, "Am I very smart?", waiting for Mr. Hong's praise.

Hong Xiucai was stunned for a moment, and felt that what Sun Shan said made a lot of sense. Just follow how other scholars take the exam, follow their successful path, copy their successful path, and make yourself a successful person.

Hong Xiucai asked again: "What other books does your cousin read?"

Sun Shan replied: "A lot of books."

He repeated all the history, poetry and other things.

Sun Shan continued to explain: "Master, I will read slowly now. When I take the exam for the scholar, I will have finished reading all the books."

Hong Xiucai agreed and said, "That's right. You don't have a lot of schoolwork right now, and it's not too stressful. It's most appropriate to watch it now."

So he was very happy to help Sun Shan explain the provisions. If he encountered a passage that Hong Xiucai didn't understand, he would go and ask his classmate and good friend: Huang Xiucai, the only scholar in Huangyang County at the end of the street.

Sun Shan had met Huang Xiucai, but he never expected that Hong Xiucai and Huang Xiucai were classmates. They both passed the examination for the title of Xiucai one after another, but never made any progress. After repeated failures in the examination for the title of Juren, they both gave up and stopped taking the examination.

The two often discussed academic matters and teaching methods, and Huang Xiucai would occasionally bring his students over to exchange ideas with the students of Hong's School.

The two people did not have a bad relationship because of competing for students or comparing grades. Instead, they got along happily.

Mr. Hong didn't understand Sun Shan's question, so he asked Mr. Huang, but neither of them understood it, so they went to ask their friends in the county school until they figured out the problem.

Sun Shan admired this "seeking knowledge" attitude very much. Learn knowledge, ask if you don't know, and learn if you can't.

Sun Shan put away the Daqian Code and went out to wash up. While brushing his teeth, he thought about what happened when he returned home the day before yesterday.

A letter from Aunt Sun.

One good news, one bad news.

The good news was that Uncle Sun's son Qing'er was asked to work in the city. She helped him find a job as an apprentice, learning how to mount calligraphy and paintings.

This job was introduced by my cousin He Shujin's wife Liang Mengyao.

Don't underestimate the work of mounting calligraphy and paintings. The requirements for this profession are very high. One of the requirements for becoming an apprentice is to be able to read.

If you can't read, and someone gives you calligraphy or a painting, you won't be able to understand it and can't tell left from right. How can you do your work?

Moreover, the people in this industry are all well-educated and have spare money. If you do a good job, not only will you get high wages, but you can also get rewards.

If they are not blood relatives, they will not be brought into the industry.

When Uncle Sun saw how much Aunt Sun was doing for the Sun family, he held Qing'er's head and made him kowtow several times facing south.

Aunt Sun's sorrow was also relieved. Her two sons were both working in the capital and had bright futures. She seemed to be ten years younger.

Of course, Uncle Sun jumped out again, speaking sarcastic and sarcastically.

Aunt Sun even knelt down in front of Huang and kowtowed, crying and crying, asking Huang to tell Aunt Sun not to forget the third wife, as Guang'er was about to leave the school and she also needed to make arrangements for him.

The couple attacked from both sides, and made Uncle Sun, Aunt Sun, and Huang lose their good mood.

Finally, under the authority of the village chief, the couple kept silent.

However, the bad news was that in the autumn examination in September, my cousin He Shujin failed.

But after a few days of being depressed, everyone returned to normal.

He Shujin is still young and still has a chance.

What's more, there is a scholar as a backup, so everyone's expectations of passing the imperial examination are not too high.

Sun Dagu's letter also said the same thing.

Sun Shan also once again realized the difficulty of the imperial examination.

My eldest cousin has been smart and hardworking since he was young, and his family is well-off. It was difficult for him to get into a good school in the provincial capital. Comparing my own resources, I understand that the imperial examination is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

The only thing we can do now is to try our best and give it a try. There is no other choice.