No one switched identity certificates, no one snatched test papers, and no one framed and slandered others.
This provincial examination was destined to be fair, a true contest of talent and knowledge.
But for Xu Mo, it was also unfair.
Not only was his ailing body, but more so the group of examinees who entered the exam hall with him, most of whom were between seventeen, eighteen, and twenty-two or twenty-three years old.
They had studied for over a decade, enduring the hardships of studying behind cold windows, and had long integrated all knowledge points.
They may have even taken the provincial exams several times before, and were thoroughly familiar with what would be tested.
But Xu Mo had nothing.
At twelve years old, dragging his crippled body, burdened with a heavy promise, with the knowledge accumulated by his single hand, he was staking everything on this exam, pushing forward relentlessly.
His four younger brothers were all rather heavy-hearted, not knowing how this provincial exam would unfold.
Only Jiang Sheng was exceptionally excited. As soon as the crowds of examinees' family members lingering at the gates of the Examination Institute dissipated, she rushed over and threw her arms around Zheng Ruqian's arm, "Second brother, let's go buy some goods quickly. After eldest brother gets first place in the provincial exam we'll go back and sell them for money!"
Zheng Ruqian: "..."
His silly little sister thought getting first place in the provincial exam was like picking eggplants and beans in their village's market stalls, where you just reached out and grabbed them whenever you wanted.
How could it be so easy?
But he didn't burst Jiang Sheng's bubble of anticipation, instead looking to his other younger brothers, "Eldest brother still has three full days of exams ahead. It's useless for us to linger here at the Examination Institute gates, so why don't we go take a look around?"
Chang Yan and Wen Zhiyun had always been well-behaved little followers, while Fang Heng nodded his straw hat-covered head lightly a couple times.
Anshui County, as the core city of the entire county, was naturally extremely prosperous. Even the markets were divided by category.
The meat and vegetable sellers were in one market, the cloth and shoe sellers in another, and even the spice and dried goods sellers were split off into their own separate area.
The commoners of the county city who wanted to buy something need only pick the right market—they could basically choose whatever they wished.
But as a result, competition also increased.
If you're too expensive, I'll just go next door to buy. If the next door's quality isn't good, then I'll switch to another shop.
Fortunately the county city had clear regulations that prices could not be lowered past a minimum, otherwise that would be intentionally disrupting the market and punishable by caning if caught.
Zheng Ruqian took his younger siblings around the county city's markets, and discovered that while the goods of the county city were expensive, the quality really was excellent. Even a randomly chosen piece of meat had beautiful marbled patterns, and the five flower pork[1] had such distinct stratified layers of fat and meat, half fat and half lean—truly a rare treasure.
But no matter how well-raised a pig is, there will always be unsightly pieces of meat, as well as a few pieces that are too fatty or too lean. Yet in the market, they couldn't find a single such piece.
Zheng Ruqian wanted to ask about this, but was afraid of hitting a wall. His eyes shifted as he whispered a couple sentences into his fifth younger brother Chang Yan's ear, then patted his shoulder, "I'm relying on you for this."
Chang Yan: "..."
Oh well, it was for his older brother, so he'd sell his looks.
Chang Yan stood in front of a pork seller auntie with his outstanding looks on full display. In a refined and elegant manner, he said, "Sister, may I ask you some questions?"
The seller auntie was in her thirties, stout and sturdy, with a greasy piece of pork in hand. She could pass as Chang Yan's mother, so being suddenly called "Sister" made her a bit unhappy.
But glancing at Chang Yan's fair cheeks and rosy little mouth, she was momentarily stunned. She then tossed aside the five flower pork in her hands, repeatedly rubbed them on her apron, and said, "Little brother, what do you want to ask?"
"Sister, the meat here looks so beautiful—the marbling is so clear, and it's freshly red and tender." Chang Yan flashed her a grin. "It's just that the best cuts of this pig all seem to be here. Where did the rest of the meat go?"
The seller auntie was charmed dizzy by his smile. "Where else could it go? Either ground up for meat buns, or sold cheaply to the rural counties and townships."
"I see, thank you so much for answering my questions, sister." Chang Yan gave her a perfect courtly bow, then gracefully took his leave.
If not for his worn, dusty padded coat, one might have mistaken him for some young master or miss out experiencing life among the commoners.
The seller auntie craned her neck watching until Chang Yan's figure disappeared from view, only then thoughtfully licking her lips and going back to continue butchering pork.
Watching from a corner, Zheng Ruqian shook his head again and again, resenting the unfairness of heaven.
If only he had been born with peerless looks...
Then right now, he should be living as a young master in some brothel in Slanted Sun County, the kind who sleeps all day and is busy all night.
Thinking this, he resigned himself—being uglier was fine too.
Zheng Ruqian smiled widely as he looked at Chang Yan, "Fifth brother's efforts are much appreciated. I'll be relying on you for things like this from now on."
The corner of Chang Yan's mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything.
Zheng Ruqian started mumbling again about the pork leftover after the best cuts were taken away. "If it's cheap enough, I could buy it in the county city and take it to sell in the rural county. That wouldn't be a bad idea."
Goods entering the county city were taxed, but leaving it was tax-free.
The pity was that it was already April, and the warming weather meant meat could no longer keep as well. The four or five days of travel would be plenty for a fresh cut of pork to rot and spoil, even generating maggots.
The siblings left the market and continued wandering the main streets.
Zheng Ruqian's eyes were like rulers, taking the measure of everything wherever they went. Whenever he saw something new, he would ponder whether it could be sold, whether it could be taken away, whether money could be made from it.
Jiang Sheng was even happier, like a curious little bunny finding everything fresh and interesting.
Until they stopped in front of a Leisure Residence.
The familiar signboard, unfamiliar architecture, unfamiliar servers and proprietor.
Jiang Sheng belatedly recalled that Manager Bai had said Leisure Residence was a chain restaurant, with branches all over the country.
The one in Slanted Sun County was merely a tiny branch.
One look at the grand store in the county city made it clear. This magnificent, opulent two-story building, with its carved beams and painted rafters, and the many servers bustling to and fro inside, were on a whole different level.
She just didn't know whether Anshui County's Leisure Residence got its ingredients from the same source, and whether they could cooperate.
Just as Jiang Sheng was pondering this deeply, someone suddenly pushed her from behind, telling her to move aside.
Zheng Ruqian and his three younger brothers stood a bit farther away, only shoved aside without being knocked flat on their backs like Jiang Sheng, legs in the air.
Right after, four or five servant girls walked over and spread out their arms to block the riffraff behind them, leaving only the wide open road ahead revealed.
Jiang Sheng was still somewhat bewildered.
A sedan chair stopped in front of Leisure Residence.
The hastily summoned proprietor brought over some servers, extremely respectfully saying, "Greetings to Third Young Lady, please come to your reserved room."
There was no movement from inside the small sedan.
One servant girl stepped forward, respectfully drawing aside the curtain and sticking out her arm to act as a human handrail.
Only then did a slender jade-white hand extend out to rest on the servant girl's arm, followed by a foot slowly lowering to touch the ground.
Still sprawled on the ground, Jiang Sheng's eyeballs practically bugged out.
Last time, seeing the pearl on the shoe buckle of a young master from the Jiang family in Slanted Sun County had seemed extravagant enough. She didn't expect to have her eyes opened even further today. Not only were lifelike lotus leaves embroidered on these shoes, but every dewdrop on the lotus leaves was actually inlaid with pearls!
By the time the shoes touched the ground, revealing the full skirt hem, the lustrous, gleaming silk fabric and the vivid embroidered lotus flowers were clear signs of the wearer's extravagance and nobility.
Jiang Sheng gulped. Her mind was full of: If converted to silver, how much would this be worth? If converted to food, how many beggars could it feed?
