The provincial examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge. This moment is the time for the sprint. The last exam of the provincial examination began amid the mixed emotions of the students.
There were a total of more than 900 students taking part in the initial provincial examination. About 600 were eliminated after the first round, and more than 100 were eliminated after the second round. Now, there are only more than 200 people left to take part in this final exam, and more than 100 people will be eliminated in the end.
The last exam is a policy essay. The so-called "policy" is to pick a problem in current affairs and ask you to come up with an idea. For example, if the topic is "control floods", you have to come up with ideas and methods around controlling floods. Your words must be reasonable and meaningful. The so-called "theory" is to discuss and comment, such as discussing whether a black cat or a white cat can catch mice; or commenting on a certain historical figure. These are easy to say and difficult to say, as long as you can make sense and justify your own arguments.
There were more than 200 participants in the last exam. Zhu Ping'an won the first place in the last judging, so he sat near the front. The environment was also exceptionally good. His seat number was Jiazi. Of course, the seat number didn't matter much in this exam, because the results of the last exam would be announced based on the comprehensive scores, and the candidates' real names would be announced.
When the examination papers were handed out, the examiners held up a wooden board covered with red paper, on which were written the three policy essay questions. It was said that there would be five policy essay questions in the joint examination and subsequent examinations.
These three questions cover a wide range of topics. One is about water control, one is about the herdsmen in Anfu, and the other is about clean government.
Policy papers not only need to have policies and theories, but also need to be able to show off and sing praises in meaningful policy papers. In the article on flood control, Zhu Pingan started with Dayu's flood control, Anjing Mumin started with the emperor herding the people on behalf of the emperor, officials were granted titles by the emperor, and shepherded the people of the world, and clean government started with worrying about the world first and then enjoying the world. It was a brilliant and beautiful article... ...
He first conceived the idea in his mind, and then began to draft it in neat small regular script. By the time he finished drafting the three policy essays, it was time for food to be provided in the middle of the provincial examination. The food was not very tasty and he could only swallow it with difficulty. After filling his stomach, he drank a bowl of hot water, then tidied up the table and took a nap on it.
After dozing off for about half an hour, I felt refreshed when I got up, as if I had been revived.
After carefully checking the draft from beginning to end and confirming that there were no mistakes, he dipped his pen in ink and began to copy the draft word by word, neatly and seriously, in small regular script onto the answer sheet. The words were like swimming dragons, riding the wind and waves from the sea, adding a lot of color to the article. Zhu Ping'an's heartfelt gratitude to the old man who fished early in the morning became deeper and deeper.
I will definitely repay the gift of the book with gratitude, and I will definitely repay the old fisherman when I have the chance in the future.
After Zhu Ping'an had copied the three policy essays neatly and carefully on the test paper, some people had already started to hand in their papers. Zhu Ping'an carefully checked the copied answer sheets twice, and after confirming that they were correct, he pulled the small bell at hand to indicate that it was time to hand in the papers.
This time, the papers were handed in earlier than in the previous times, and about four to five out of ten people had handed in their papers. When I left the examination room, I saw Xia Luoming from Tongcheng and Feng Shanshui from Susong again. The other people who were with them also looked familiar, but I couldn't remember their names.
"Brother Zhu, how is this going?" It was Feng Shanshui from Susong who took the lead and asked with a folding fan in his hand.
It seems that it has been the same since ancient times. Every time you leave the examination room, your fellow examinees will ask you how you did on the exam. This is probably the second time they have asked this question, and it faintly reveals his lack of confidence.
Zhu Pingan returned the greeting with a bow and replied with a faint smile, "It's OK."
Feng Shanshui of Susong was slightly stunned when he heard this. It seemed that the last time he was asked, he just answered that he had done all the questions. When he was asked again, he just said that he only wanted to do Sunshan. But after the results came out, he heard that he was on the top list. So he answered that he was on the top list. What about this time? This time he said it was OK, which was obviously much more confident than last time. Of course, OK also sounded humble, but the degree of humility was obviously different from last time.
Over there, Xia Luoming of Tongcheng heard Zhu Ping'an's answer, and his arrogant look changed slightly, and then he became arrogant again. He was determined to win the top spot in this provincial examination. The only ones who could compete with him were Feng Shanshui of Susong, Wang Jin of Taihu, and the top ten winners of other counties. As for Zhu Ping'an, although he had some talent at a young age, he was still not qualified to participate in the competition for the top spot.
"Brothers, how do you feel about this?" After Zhu Ping'an answered, he asked.
Tongcheng Xia Luoming said nothing, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
The others also smiled but said nothing.
Only Feng Shanshui from Susong, who was standing in front of him, opened his fan, fanned it twice, smiled slightly, and said, "I am just like Brother Zhu last time, and I will not fail the exam."
"My brothers are too modest." Zhu Ping'an shook his head and smiled, then bowed and said goodbye, "I wish you all success in the imperial examinations. I'll take my leave now."
"Haha, go ahead..."
Feng Shanshui and others laughed, thinking that they must have remembered Zhu Ping'an's nickname of "glutton" and "modern-day prime minister". They were also used to him rushing to leave to find something to eat after every exam. This was not a lie. The previous two times, someone saw Zhu Ping'an sneaking to the street to bargain with the shopkeepers after the exam.
Of course, Zhu Ping'an was no exception this time. He found a fragrant shop on the street, went in, thought for a moment, ordered two of the most popular foods, two meat patties, and bought a jar of wine, and packed them all up to take back to the inn.
When I opened the door of the inn, I found that the vixen was still there.
As usual, as soon as Zhu Ping'an pushed open the door of the inn, he smelled a fragrant breeze, and then his hands were empty.
"There is wine and meat, hehe... It seems that my little benefactor did well in the exam again..." The witch sat in front of the table, holding a jar of wine in her hand, looking at Zhu Ping'an with a smile.
"Well, it's okay." Zhu Ping'an nodded.
"Sour scholar..." The evil woman laughed angrily upon hearing this.
After dinner, Zhu Ping'an began to read by lamplight again, which made the seductive woman on the bed complain.
"You bad guy, you've already finished all three exams, but you still don't let me sleep peacefully..."
Zhu Ping'an just shrugged slightly, said nothing, and continued reading his book.
Not getting a response, the vixen let out a coquettish cry and fell asleep in boredom.
It was late at night and everyone was quiet. The only sounds were the cuckoo's singing outside the window and the sound of the witch tossing over in the bed. Zhu Ping'an, who was reading by lamplight, curled his lips slightly when he heard the sound.
It should be soon.