Chapter 218 The County Examination Ends
After eating the wontons, I walked back to Hong’s School.
As soon as I stepped into the yard, Mr. Hong called me to the study.
Hong Xiuquan asked very gently: "Ashan, why did you come back so late? Are the test questions difficult?"
Zheng Hongwen and Liang Can, who had gone to take the exam together, had returned long ago. Hong Xiucai waited and waited, but Sun Shan never showed up.
Sun Shan answered confidently: "Master, I have finished all the questions for today's exam. They are all the ones you explained before."
He also explained why he came back so late.
Mainly, I wrote the answers in the morning and copied them in the afternoon, which wasted a lot of time.
Hong Xiucai nodded with satisfaction: "This is a good way to do it. You should answer the questions in time. You don't need to be fast, and you don't need to be the last. In our exam, we should take our time and write down all the correct answers."
Sun Shan hummed and said in agreement, "Master, I understand. I will answer the questions well."
Seeing that he was in good condition, Hong Xiucai thought that he had answered the questions well, so he waved his hand and told him to go back to review.
There are still three games left, so I have to hurry and absorb the knowledge into my brain.
After Sun Shan left, he returned to the classroom to review.
The best place to study is in school. The atmosphere in school is special and it is easy to learn.
Therefore, it is very difficult to study while working. Sun Shan made full use of his time in school and passed the imperial examination.
The next day was just like the first day. They gathered outside the examination room early in the morning. With the experience of the first day, Sun Shan became more calm.
Today's test is about the meaning of Mo, which is a simple question-and-answer question centered on the meaning of the classics and their annotations. The candidates are asked to explain and annotate paragraphs or sentences from the Four Books and Five Classics.
Sun Shan checked and found that there were 50 questions.
This is still a lot of questions.
However, Sun Shan was already familiar with the scriptures and textual annotations, so it was not difficult. As long as he wrote well and made the test paper neat, the probability of getting a high score was very high.
Sun Shan completed it very smoothly.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t eaten the lunch that I was forced to buy. Today’s lunch is even worse than yesterday. It’s just mustard greens and rice porridge. Eat it if you like or not. If you don’t want to eat it, get out.
On the third day, the exam will focus on the meaning of the scriptures. That is, candidates will write essays based on sentences from the scriptures to explain the meaning of the sentences.
In fact, it is just writing eight-legged essay.
Sun Shan found this difficult at first, but he studied with Hong Xiucai for more than two years and also did intensive exercises by writing three pieces every ten days.
Simple scriptures were no longer a problem for Sun Shan.
It just so happened that the county exam was the easiest, and Sun Shan was very confident that he could get a high score.
On the fourth day, students will be tested on the meaning of Mo Di, the meaning of classics, and poetry.
The content of the Mo Yi and Jing Yi exams was similar to the previous two days, but there were fewer questions. As for poetry and prose, the score accounted for an even lower proportion, and it was just for embellishment, and you would pass if you could rhyme neatly.
Of course, if you write exceptionally well, the examiner will be more likely to give you a high score after seeing it.
Poetry and prose can be considered Sun Shan's weakness. Even though he is familiar with so many poems, the poems he writes are still very mediocre.
Sun Shan was not seeking to amaze the audience, he just hoped that poetry would not become a question that would cause him to lose points.
Give the public points without any trouble.
By the time he finished writing, it was already afternoon. Sun Shan looked at the sky and decided it was time to leave.
The candidates had already handed in their papers and left one after another, so it was too late for Sun Shan.
After handing in the test paper, I looked at the county exam lunch that I hadn't eaten yet and felt a little sorry.
I can’t tell the younger generation about the exam meal in the future, after all, I didn’t eat a single bite.
Without practice, there is no right to speak.
When he arrived at the entrance to the examination room, he was still the last one to arrive. This meant that once everyone was gathered together, he could open the door and let the dogs go, not let the people go.
Sun Shan picked up his exam basket, slowly stepped over the gate and walked out of the examination room. The door behind him was closed heavily, just like on the first day.
Sun Shan took a deep look at the gate and prayed sincerely that he would never step in again.
From the beginning of childhood enlightenment at the age of 6 to taking the stage at the age of 13, the results of six or seven years of hard study can only be tested by these four exams.
Sun Shan felt that studying was really tiring, and that this was only the first step to a thousand miles, and he would have to accumulate more steps in the future.
He sighed deeply, walked weakly on the street, and slowly walked back to Hong's School.
Before he took a few steps, he was stopped by his second brother-in-law Zheng Hongyuan and Zheng Dalang, who dragged Sun Shan into the bookstore.
Zheng Dalang asked anxiously, "Shanzi, how did you do in the exam? Why did you come out so late? Hongwen came out a long time ago. Hey, I saw that he didn't look very well, so I didn't dare to ask him how he did in the exam."
Sun Shan was speechless. He didn't dare to ask his own son how he did in the exam, but he dared to ask me how I did. Aren't you afraid that I will cry if I don't do well in the exam?
My second brother-in-law Zheng Hongyuan asked worriedly, "Shanzi, did you do well in the exam? I just saw Hongwen, his eyes were red, and I don't know how he did. I don't even dare to ask."
Sun Shan was speechless. His second brother-in-law was just like his father Zheng Dalang. It seemed that biological children were the most important, and his cheap brother-in-law was irrelevant.
Sun Shan said expressionlessly, "Uncle Zheng, second brother-in-law, don't worry. The county exam is not difficult, and Brother Hongwen will definitely pass it. He was just too worried and suspicious during his first exam, so he was in a bad mood."
Zheng Dalang was not comforted at all. He said to Sun Shan, "Shanzi, don't lie to me. I know my son. It looks like he didn't do well in the exam. Oh, forget it, I'll come back next year."
My second brother-in-law also said: "Hongwen has tried his best. It's not his fault if he didn't do well in the exam."
Sun Shan's face was filled with black lines. He was sure that Hongwen did not do well in the exam even before the results were released. He felt really sad for Brother Hongwen.
What if someone did well in the exam, but after Zheng Dalang and Zheng Hongyuan’s bad words, it becomes bad now? Who can he cry to?
Sun Shan decided not to get entangled with the two of them. He talked for a long time, but only talked about Brother Hongwen. He didn't care about him at all. He didn't want the bright moon to shine in the ditch.
He shook his head and said, "Uncle Zheng, Second Brother-in-law, please don't tell Brother Hongwen that he didn't do well in the exam, otherwise he will be very sad."
Zheng Dalang rolled his eyes at Sun Shan and tapped his head: "Do you think I'm a fool? I definitely won't say that in front of him."
Sun Shan was speechless. Since he didn't want to say it in front of him, he chose to say it in front of me.
Zheng Hongyuan also echoed: "Shanzi, don't worry, our family won't mention it. We will talk about it after the results come out."
Sun Shan was not worried at all. He said to the father and son, "Uncle Zheng, second brother-in-law, I am going back to the school. The teacher may look for me and ask me about my situation. If I don't go back, he will be worried."
Zheng Dalang nodded and said, "Go back and be careful."
My second brother-in-law Zheng Hongyuan took out a large bowl filled with porridge from under the cabinet.
He smiled and said, "This is the top scholar porridge. Take it back to the dormitory and drink it. After drinking it, you will become the top scholar. I wanted to invite you to drink it at home, but Lixia said not to disturb you before the exam.
After the exam, hey, my Hongwen just drank and looked gloomy. Hey, I don’t dare to ask you to drink at my house. Shanzi, take it back and drink it. You must finish it before you can pass the exam. "
Sun Shan glanced at the huge bowl of porridge that was twice as big as his face, and felt both moved and helpless.
The so-called top scholar porridge is made by adding lean pork meatballs, pork liver slices, pork intestines, pork heart, and pork kidneys into the porridge and cooking them. It is then sprinkled with peanuts, chopped fried dough sticks, and a little ginger, onion, and coriander.
Pig offal is also called "zadi", which later became "jidi".
Add the word "zhuangyuan" to it and it becomes "zhuangyuan jidi porridge".
It is the most popular among students and their parents. Eating a bowl of it before or after exams indicates good luck in high school.
Zhuangyuan Jidi porridge is really delicious, especially the fried dough sticks soaked in porridge, which are even more delicious.