Chapter 297 Returning to Zhangzhou Prefecture to Study
November passed and December came in a blink of an eye. No matter how sad or frustrated Sun Shan was, he still had to continue taking the exams.
I took the exams at all the recognized second-rate colleges.
Sun Shan was exhausted from the exam and his eyes were dull.
My second cousin He Shuyu patted his chest in fear and said, "Shanzi, seeing how you looked after the exam, I think it's a good thing that I can't study. I can't stand taking exams every day."
Poor Shanzi, he was devastated by the imperial examination at the age of thirteen.
He Shuyu thought that his elder brother He Shujin looked miserable after taking the provincial examinations twice in a row.
Now that he saw Sun Shan, he realized that his elder brother was not that miserable.
Sun Shan looked even more tragic than He Shujin. His face turned blue and it was scary.
Aunt Sun and Uncle He had no idea that the exam would be so difficult.
They had all taken the same exams as He Shujin. Except for the provincial examination, He Shujin's academic career was generally very smooth.
As for the provincial examination, I was a little depressed and my body smelled a little bad, but I recovered after a few days of rest.
How could there be someone as confused and dull-eyed as Sun Shan?
Aunt Sun thought it was a good thing that her eldest brother Sun Boming was not there. If he had seen Sun Shan like this, he would have been heartbroken.
Aunt Sun asked uncertainly, "Shanzi, are you okay? Do you want to see a doctor?"
Sun Shan, who had just finished his last exam, waved his hand and said, "Aunt, I'm fine. It's just that the exams were too intensive and I overworked my brain, so I feel a little dizzy. I'll be fine after a night's rest."
Aunt Sun came up and touched Sun Shan's forehead, then touched his little hand. Although he looked a little miserable, his body temperature was still normal.
Feeling a little relieved, he said, "You should have a good rest. I'll call you out for dinner when it's time. I'm going to make some soup now to nourish you."
If you overuse your brain, make "Gastrodia elata stewed with pig brain soup".
Eat pig brain to replenish the body.
Aunt Sun hurried to buy pig brains, hoping she could still buy them now.
材准备：猪脑、猪展肉各200g 天麻12g 川芎5-7g 桂圆肉3颗 红枣半颗 生姜片、花雕酒适量（
Uncle He asked tentatively, "Shanzi, are you really alright? I think we should get a doctor to come and take a look at you."
Oh, Shanzi looks so miserable. He has been so cruelly destroyed at such a young age. So pitiful.
Uncle He recalled his own school days. Every monthly exam was even more stressful than Sun Shan's now. He deeply understood the pain of exams.
He was just about to ask a doctor to take a look, but when he turned around, he saw He Shuyu with a playful look on his face, and he instantly became annoyed.
Although this poor student's grades were as bad as mine, he never worried about his poor academic performance. He gave up at a very young age and knew that he would not be able to learn well no matter how hard he tried. He happily completed the 6-year extreme education of the clan school and then decided not to continue studying.
I have never seen He Shuyu worry about the exam as much as I did back then.
Uncle He hated poor students who took studying easy, so he patted He Shuyu's shoulder heavily and said viciously, "What's so funny? Shanzi is in that state, and you are still laughing? Just wait and see whether I will beat you to death or not."
He Shuyu was stunned by the sudden slap.
He didn't do anything, why was he beaten by his father?
He Shuyu said aggrievedly: "Dad, I am not smiling at all. I was born with a smiling face. I smile before I smile. Don't wrongly accuse me."
Uncle He could see that He Shuyu was lying, and he got even angrier. He slapped her on the shoulder again and said viciously, "Still trying to argue, right? I'll beat you to death."
He Shuyu quickly left, he could feel that his father was really angry.
He admitted that he did laugh just now.
But that was not ridicule, it was just pure laughter. First of all, Shanzi's sloppy triangle eyes were really funny. Secondly, it was funny that Aunt Sun and Uncle He treated Sun Shan like a baby, a tiny baby who had not been weaned. It was a bit funny.
In order to avoid being beaten by Uncle He, He Shuyu had to leave quickly and stay far away, not even caring about his son.
Sun Shan's head felt swollen and he felt weak. He smiled and said, "Uncle, I'm fine. I'm going back to my room to rest."
Looking at the boy who was looking around curiously, Sun Shan thought that he must have no idea what had just happened.
After a few days of rest, the results came out one after another in mid-December.
Sun Shan thought that it was embarrassing enough that the four first-rate academies failed the exam, but now all the second-rate academies failed. Perhaps it cannot be said that all of them failed.
Those who are exempt from tuition fees cannot pass the exam, and those who are admitted will be charged high fees.
The academy that was most friendly to him was Samik Academy.
This is a clan ancestral hall of the Jiang, He and Li families in Guangzhou Prefecture.
Students are recruited from the Jiang, He, and Li families, as well as a small number of students from other families.
And Sun Shan happened to be admitted to their academy.
The tuition fee of the academy is 50 taels per year, and accommodation, living expenses, paper, ink, writing brush and inkstone are calculated separately.
In comparison, the tuition fee of Yuehua Academy, one of the four major academies, is half the price, making it the cheapest of the academies Sun Shan was admitted to.
The Jiang family, the He family (not the He family of my eldest cousin He Shuyu), and the Li family are small families, not big families.
The ancestors of the three families were good friends and classmates and they all passed the imperial examinations together. When they returned to their hometown when they were old, the three ancestors discussed it and pooled money to set up a college.
The "San" in Sanyi Academy means that it was founded by three families.
Gradually, the academy became better and better, from a small private school to an academy, and finally ranked among the top ten in Guangzhou Prefecture.
At the beginning, they only recruited children from three families. Later, they felt that the source of students from three families was too single, so they gradually recruited students from other families.
The admission rules are similar to those of the four major colleges. Excellent students can study for free, students with better qualifications pay to study, and the worst students have to buy a place.
In the eyes of Sanyi Academy, Sun Shan's qualifications were decent enough and he could be given the opportunity to go to school.
Sanyi Academy produced three Jinshi, ten Juren and countless Xiucai in the new dynasty.
In the short period of 31 years of the Xin Dynasty, three Jinshi were produced. Overall, it was still a good academy.
I heard that the three Jinshi were quite powerful in the court, so many students applied for the exam.
Some people may think that there is nothing great about only three Jinshi scholars coming out.
However, since the Xin Dynasty, Zhangzhou Prefecture has not had a single Jinshi.
This means that a small Sanyi Academy is superior to all the academies in Zhangzhou Prefecture.
Sun Shan would not underestimate the strength of Sanyi Academy.
If it's 50 taels a year, the Sun family can afford it.
But Sun Shan was still very hesitant. The tuition fee of 50 taels a year was still too expensive for the Sun family. Adding the expenses for accommodation, living, writing brushes, ink, paper, and social etiquette, it would cost at least 120 taels a year.
Even if Aunt Sun and Uncle He were willing to pay for Sun Shan's studies, it would be difficult for the Sun family to cover the daily expenses.
Sun Shan sighed, and finally decided not to continue his studies and return to the Zhangzhou Prefecture School to study.
He came from the countryside and read books that were too expensive and not worth reading.
He didn't want his studies to make his already bearable life even more difficult.
Sun Boming and Su are not young anymore and should not continue to endure hardship.
Sun Shan once thought about making money while studying.
But he is not a person who can do two things at once. Reading requires the most pure reading. His aptitude is average to begin with, and if he is disturbed by chaotic things, he really may not be able to continue reading.
He needed to concentrate on studying without distraction, and it was really difficult for him to study and work at the same time.
Sun Shan thought that he was only 13 years old now, and would be 14 after the Chinese New Year, so he was still far from "graduating from university" at the age of 23.
He still had ten years to devote himself to his studies.
Thinking about his original goal of passing the imperial examination before the age of 23, he has now achieved it ten years ahead of schedule, so he does not need to be so anxious to make money.
Sun Shan thought that if he went to the provincial school, he could study purely and his family's living standard would not be reduced, and would be better than before he passed the imperial examination.
Sun Shan thought that he should do what he could, not just do his best.