The things happening in Anshui Prefecture were unknown to the northern borderlands.
The northern borderlands were also unaware of what was happening in Anshui Prefecture.
At that moment, Jiang Sheng was standing guard at the entrance of the academy with her older brothers. Surrounding them were other equally nervous scholars' families, staring eagerly at the academy's front gate.
After a long while, the two wooden doors slowly opened.
Under the watchful eyes of the masses, a scholar who looked to be around thirty years old rushed out of the academy. He had an excited expression and immediately after exiting, he let out three loud shouts back towards the interior.
Within the crowd, a woman also rushed forward eagerly. She barely steadied herself before the scholar embraced her and spun her around three times right there.
"Mother!" One cried.
"Husband!" The other sobbed.
At this moment, no one admonished them for being indecent or overly emotional.
To endure the entire nine days of the imperial examination was an accomplishment in itself, a perseverance in and of itself.
"For this exam, nearly five hundred scholars from Anshui Prefecture came, but only a little over three hundred were able to persist to the end," Zheng Ruqian whispered into Jiang Sheng's ear.
The other scholars either had frail constitutions from studying too diligently and could not endure the full nine days, or after persevering for several days could no longer continue writing and angrily abandoned their brushes and left.
Although only a few dozen of these three hundred-some scholars would eventually stand out in the end, the fact that they withstood the complete nine days of imperial examinations, six of those days without even being able to lie down and only managing to doze while sitting upright, was no easy feat.
Jiang Sheng pursed her lips and said nothing.
Unlike Zheng Ruqian and the others who were concerned about enduring to the end, she was more curious about the subtle ripples in the air surrounding the scholar couple.
It was as if some strange thing was seeping out from within their bodies and diffusing all around them.
Unfortunately she was too young and had no one to teach her - she did not know that this thing was called "two hearts beating as one".
After the thirty-year-old scholar exited, more and more scholars continued trickling out from the academy, some with high spirits, some dejected, and some even had to be carried out.
The siblings' hearts were in their throats once more.
After nine consecutive days of exams, the first six days had already caused Xu Mo to become gaunt. They had heard the test essays in the final three days were extremely difficult, with the pressure causing several scholars to nearly vomit blood. They did not know if Xu Mo could endure it.
Fortunately, amidst the surging crowds, Xu Mo appeared carrying his exam basket.
He had indeed become thinner, but having done so much physical labor at the dilapidated temple, although his body was slender it was full of vitality, a different kind of lean build compared to those who were sickly and frail.
Seeing his younger siblings, he quickly smiled.
But Jiang Sheng did not rashly charge forward again. Instead she cautiously eyed the exam basket, seemingly afraid of knocking something over.
Xu Mo laughed, "It's empty, I already poured it all out."
With three consecutive days of exams, the small chamber pots would always fill up. And since the scholars could not leave the exam site, after each exam ended the prefectural attendants would help empty them out.
But with so many scholars taking the exams, there were a limited number of attendants. By the time the exams ended there would always be some scholars who had not been able to empty them in time, and would have to go to the latrine area themselves to pour it out.
Luckily for Xu Mo, right when the exam ended, Attendant Yuan happened to be passing by. Since they were acquainted, he kindly helped Scholar Xu empty out his chamber pot completely.
"That's great, no need to worry about big brother's piss and shit!" Zheng Ruqian said with a foolish grin.
After being glared at by Jiang Sheng, he stifled his smile and earnestly reported, "Big brother, I bought a courtyard residence in Xiaofu Village and dug a cellar, stocked up on lots of ice too. Also hired a bunch of people, from now on specially transporting all kinds of valuables."
Although the cost was two thousand taels, with only eight hundred taels of silver left.
"Big brother, Wen's medicine hall already has its own reputation, and has started making a profit," Wen Zhiyun said in a low voice.
Chang Yan spread his hands, "Eldest cousin went to Mount Tai, so I'm helping manage the Wang family affairs."
Although there were no earnings on paper, the benefits of managing the entire clan were immeasurable.
Even Jiang Sheng tilted her head and said, "Big brother, all the preserved fish and meat from the workshop have been sold. With the weather getting hotter, output will decrease again. Auntie is getting ready to research other things."
Xu Mo gave a slight nod. While he was enduring writing in the academy, his younger siblings had not been idle.
Each of them was striving forward, whether in small or large strides. Whether there were monetary profits or none, as long as they had progressed compared to their former selves, it meant time had not been wasted.
"Very good, all very good," Xu Mo gazed towards the north, "I believe little brother will be doing very well too."
The siblings boarded the carriage and returned to Hairpin Courtyard.
Unlike the examinations for child and scholar students, the imperial examination was the final local hurdle and thus given more importance and attention. Therefore, the time it took to post the results was longer.
While it took half a month to post child and scholar student exam results, the imperial examination results would take over a month.
After returning to Hairpin Courtyard, Xu Mo did not let down his guard just because the exam was over. Instead he continued studying the Four Books and Five Classics, even rereading books from his childhood.
He was as diligent as he had been before the exam, with no weakening of his motivation to learn.
Jiang Sheng pulled along second, fourth, and fifth brother to secretly spy for half a day before finally sneaking away with a twist of her hips.
Xu Mo had said before that to learn is endless, to learn until old age. And now he was demonstrating this to his younger siblings through action.
Zheng Ruqian clenched his fist. "I'll go hire people right now and strive to get the route from Anshui Prefecture to Danyang Prefecture up and running before big brother's results are posted!"
Wen Zhiyun also seriously hugged his medicine kit. "I need to make a trip to Xieyang County. I've noticed some issues while taking the pulses of patients recently. I need to go consult with Doctor Wu."
Chang Yan spread his hands. "Then I'll get the Wang clan affairs properly taken care of before eldest cousin returns."
The previously lively courtyard regained its tranquility.
Jiang Sheng stood in the yard, strangely feeling a bit unaccustomed to it.
She had never liked studying before, and was quite satisfied with running a workshop. But her brothers' diligence made her feel ashamed. After hesitating for a bit, she returned to her room and picked up the commonplace book big brother had given her, seriously flipping through it.
That night.
Auntie Zhang made chicken noodle soup, bringing bowls to the children. Seeing them slurping away like little piglets, she smiled happily. "This chicken soup was made with the freshest old hen, simmering for half a day over the stove until the bones and meat were falling apart, stewing out a rich chicken flavor. Then I used eggs and flour to hand make the noodles to go perfectly with the soup. The taste is authentic!"
If this was normal, Jiang Sheng would have already been nodding while shoveling it into her mouth.
But today, she remembered a white boiled noodle dish she had read about in the commonplace book, and mumbled softly, "Auntie's noodles are delicious, but Jiang Sheng read about white boiled noodles in a book that can also make people insatiateable. I wonder what they taste like."
Zhang Xianglian was taken aback, unusually disinclined to admit defeat. "How could white boiled noodles possibly taste good?"
Jiang Sheng scratched her head, describing from memory, "The book said to first cure a small chicken for a day, then dry it until it's dehydrated. Finally grind it into powder and mix it into the dough. Even cooked in plain water it would be extremely savory."
How could you dry and grind a chicken into powder, then mix it in the dough?
