Chapter 255: First Place in the College Examination

Chapter 255: First Place in the College Examination

When they arrived at Kuixing Tower, it was already crowded, so Sun Shan and his friends walked to the Qinxiang Tea House across the street and found a seat.

Many of the teahouses near the announcement of the results were filled with people; it seemed like everyone had come out to join in the fun.

The reason why they are just here to join in the fun is that obviously many of them are not candidates.

Sun Shan looked around and saw a man opposite him looking at him, and they bowed to each other.

That was Zhang Yue, the county's top judge. He had been in Zhangzhou for so long, but this was the first time they met.

Zheng Hongwen, Huang Zhiyuan, Qin Shaofeng and Master Xiao Hong were much more lively. Along the way, they happened to run into some scholars they had recently made friends with. After greeting each other, they chatted for a few minutes and then went their separate ways.

Sun Shan could clearly feel that the candidates were very nervous.

Everyone craned their necks while maintaining their composure and stared at the announcement of the results.

Oh, I was really nervous before the results were announced.

Suddenly, someone came over, saw Sun Shan, bowed and said, "Oh, what a coincidence, you are here too."

Sun Shan looked over suspiciously, and when he got a closer look, he found that it was from the next room.

The two of them sat together against the wall for three days without saying a word to each other.

Sun Shan quickly stood up and returned the greeting, and the two introduced themselves to each other.

It turned out that the guy in the next room was a native of Zhangzhou Prefecture, named Li Xinyun. He looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, neither tall nor short, with a well-proportioned build, and looked like an ordinary scholar.

Li Xinjun smiled and said, "Brother Sun, let's talk when we have time. I'll find someone first."

Sun Shan responded, "Goodbye, Brother Li."

Sun Shan couldn't help but laugh. He didn't expect that he could make good friends in the examination room. He was next to the stinky boy, and Li Xinjun was next to him, who was next to the stinky boy.

Zheng Hongwen and others looked at Sun Shan curiously.

Sun Shan told everyone how he met Li Xinjun, and everyone laughed.

Huang Zhiyuan said cheerfully: "You two are brothers in distress, haha, you are so destined to be together."

Sun Shan also felt that Li Xinyun's environment was not much better than his. They all smelled the stench for three days.

However, Li Xinjun is obviously stronger than Sun Shan. He looked very energetic just now, not like Sun Shan who was seriously ill.

Time passed little by little, and the scholars gathered together and talked to each other.

Five students from Sun Shan sat at one table, and Hong Xiucai, Sun Bomin and others sat at another table.

Two pots of tea had been served on the table, but the results had not yet been announced.

Zheng Hongwen looked outside cautiously. There were already yamen runners maintaining law and order on the notice wall, but the person who posted the notice had not come yet.

He asked in a low voice: "How many candidates are there for the college entrance examination this time?" In fact, he already knew the answer and was just making small talk.

Without thinking, Master Xiao Hong said, "There are more than 600 students taking the examination this time."

After saying this, Master Hong became even more worried.

Daqian has been established for more than 30 years, and the number of students who have passed the imperial examination has increased year by year, which indicates that the number of people taking part in the imperial examination has also increased year by year, and the examination has become more and more intense.

Huang Zhiyuan sighed and said: "More than 600 people are still because our Zhangzhou Prefecture has a weak literary atmosphere. I heard that Guangzhou Prefecture has at least to people."

Sun Shan was amazed when he heard this. He thought that his cousin had ranked in the top ten out of more than 2,000 people, which was really excellent.

But such an excellent person still couldn’t pass the imperial examination. It’s sad to think about it.

Sun Shan asked curiously, "How many people did our Zhangzhou Prefecture admit in this college entrance examination?"

After being in a daze for so many days, Sun Shan still had no idea about the situation of this college entrance examination.

Qin Shaofeng stretched out a hand and raised three fingers: "35 people!" After saying that, he sighed heavily.

Sun Shan's eyes widened, and he wanted to shout: Ouch! 600 people were admitted out of 35, and the admission rate is only 5-6%. This is too low.

If 150 out of 45 candidates are admitted in the provincial examination, the admission rate is 30%.

But when it came to the college entrance examination, his score dropped so sharply?

Zheng Hongwen said with a bitter face: "There are not many candidates from Zhangzhou Prefecture, so naturally not many people are admitted. Even though there are only 35 people, I heard that other prefectures have more candidates than us, and the number of admitted people is only a few more than us, except for Guangzhou Prefecture."

This means that Guangzhou Prefecture has a large number of candidates and a large number of admitted people, and the number of places allocated is much higher than that of other prefectures.

Just like the college entrance examination, the number of places for Peking University and Tsinghua University (including recommended students) in the provincial college is much higher than that in other cities.

Zheng Hongwen paused and continued, "It is said that the academician wanted to reduce the number of places in Zhangzhou Prefecture, but he did not reduce the number of places because he saw that Zhangzhou Prefecture is poor and has bad water. If we don't produce more scholars, it will become even poorer and worse, so he said. I heard from others that if you can't pass the exam to become a scholar in Zhangzhou Prefecture, you will have no chance of passing it in other places."

At the same time, Sun Shan also understood why Huangyang County had not produced any scholars for so many years.

Only 35 people were admitted out of hundreds of candidates, and among these hundreds of candidates, very few had their registered residence in Huangyang County.

The number of admitted students is small, and the number of candidates taking the exam is small, so naturally there will be no talented people.

Alas, upon hearing this news, Sun Shan despaired again. It seemed that he really would not be able to pass the exam to become a scholar this time.

Everyone hung their heads and didn't want to talk anymore.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. Everyone immediately raised their heads and looked towards the place where the results were posted.

There were crowds of people there, and suddenly many yamen runners appeared to maintain order.

Then the sound of gongs and drums began, and it seemed that the results were really going to be announced.

Sun Shan saw Sun Boming, Zheng Hongyuan and Uncle Hong sitting quietly and not looking at the list.

He asked suspiciously, "Brother Zhiyuan, Brother Shaofeng, where are your two book boys?"

Huang Zhiyuan and Qin Shaofeng stared at the list and went back without looking back: "We have been waiting under the list for a long time."

Sun Boming and Zheng Hongyuan finally understood what beating the gongs and drums meant.

Sun Bomin asked anxiously: "Shanzi, Dad is going to check the list too."

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Dad, don't go. There are too many people. It's crowded and dangerous."

Sun Boming thought about it and decided that it was right. There were so many people here, so he should not squeeze in. Besides, Shanzi said that it would be difficult for him to make the list this time. He came out just to watch the fun. It didn’t matter if he didn’t go to see the list.

Zheng Hongyuan also wanted to go and take a look, but since his father-in-law wasn't going, he didn't go either.

Although I wanted to know the results, I was afraid that my younger brother would fail the exam and faint from disappointment, so I decided to just look after him first.

As for Uncle Hong and Scholar Hong, they were much calmer. They sat in their seats drinking tea, not moving a muscle.

Uncle Hong smiled and said, "There are too many people down there, so I'd better not go even though I'm old. If I win, someone will come and tell me the good news."

In other words, if it doesn't work, it won't come, so everyone just wait quietly.

Sun Shan saw the students around him looking around, and finally many of them couldn't help but go down to look at the list themselves.

Sun Shan's heart was pounding. He wanted to go but didn't dare to.

Even though I was mentally prepared to fail, I was still nervous and scared when the answer was revealed.

Sometimes I think it would be nice if there was no answer, and sometimes I think it would be nice to know the answer as soon as possible.

Ups and downs, sweet and sour, bitter and spicy, all kinds of feelings come to my mind.

He sighed heavily, waiting for the list to appear not far away.

Suddenly, there was a tremor in Kuixing Tower and endless noise.

Sun Shan and his five companions quickly leaned over to look.

Then I heard someone coming from not far away: Congratulations to Mr. Lu Yuming for winning the first place in this college entrance examination! "

Congratulations came from Kuixing Tower.

Zheng Hongwen excitedly held Sun Shan's arm and said, "Lu Yuming, it's actually Lu Yuming."

Before Sun Shan could ask which Lu Yuming it was.

Zheng Hongwen added: "The first place in our prefectural exam is amazing. I heard that he also ranked first in the county exam. So he must be one of the top three."