During the exam period, time always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, another three days had passed. It was almost noon, and the whole Huaining County was bathed in warm sunshine. The streets were crowded and noisy.
In the distance, a simple and honest young man, surrounded by a group of people, was rushing towards the county government office with a helpless look on his face.
"Hurry up, Ange. If you're slow, we won't be able to get a good position."
"That's right, we are still waiting to see you make the top of the list again."
"Do you have confidence in this battle?"
Uncle Zhu Shouren and others surrounded Zhu Ping'an, who had a helpless look on his face. They teased Zhu Ping'an in a joking tone as they walked, and did not give Zhu Ping'an time to answer. After one person finished teasing, another person would follow suit, which could be said to be a barrage of teasing.
"I..." Zhu Ping'an was interrupted before he could utter the second word.
"Don't worry, An Ge'er. It doesn't matter if you don't pass this time. After all, the last A-list score was enough for An Ge to return home in glory..."
"Hahaha, that's absolutely right..."
The students and scholars from the same town were like chicken blood, pulling and dragging Zhu Ping'an, singing and dancing all the way to the county government office.
Zhu Ping'an looked at his uncle Zhu Shouren and fellow villagers with helplessness. Why did it always feel like the eunuchs were anxious while the emperor was not? And it was almost the same as the first time the results were announced. He was still being dragged and hurled forward by everyone. No, it seemed even worse than last time. At least they didn't make so much noise on the road last time.
The county government had not yet posted the list of the second high school entrance exam, but the crowd was already so dense that there seemed to be more people looking at the list than in the first exam.
"Look, Ang'er, it's all your fault for being greedy and wasting time. We are squeezed out again." The people traveling with him complained as they looked at the crowded crowd.
"I seconded the motion. Even if you have no confidence, you shouldn't give up on yourself like this."
"If I can defeat you with just one move, how can you be so frightened that you dare not come?"
The students who were taking the exam were anxious to see the list. When they heard someone complaining that Zhu Ping'an was late because of his greed, they immediately started to blame him.
"Don't blame me, don't blame me. I will apologize to you on behalf of my nephew."
At this time, uncle Zhu Shouren stood up, like a kind-hearted elder who helps the younger generation shelter from the wind and rain. He stepped forward and took all the blame for Zhu Ping'an.
"Brother Zhu is truly a kind-hearted elder..." People looked at Zhu Shouren with admiration.
Zhu Ping'an really didn't know what to say. This morning, he was returning from reading policy papers by the river. He didn't see any delicious snacks on the way, so he went to the lobby of the inn and ordered a cheap side dish, a small dish of braised pork, and a bowl of rice porridge. Before he started eating, his uncle and his friends came and insisted on taking him to see the list. It was still early before the list was announced, and he had just ordered the food, so he had to finish it. He couldn't waste it. As soon as he finished eating, they dragged him here like last time. On the one hand, he didn't ask them to wait for him; on the other hand, the list hasn't been announced yet; besides, he knew from the last time he saw the list that it was big enough and the words were big enough to be seen clearly even from the outside.
They really are making a mountain out of a molehill.
The man who opened the market last time is opening the market again. This time, Zhu Ping'an is in the book, but the description of Zhu Ping'an at the back of the book is as follows: This boy is thirteen years old and is from Xiahe Village. On the way here, he wrote a poem at Changting: Once bitten by a snake, birds are heard everywhere; outside Changting, beside the ancient road, a line of egrets fly into the blue sky. He currently lives in the firewood room of a certain inn. He is greedy and sleepy. He ranked first in the first county exam, but according to reliable information, he was lucky. Now he is opening the market, saying that this boy can be ranked first, ranked second, or fail... ...
When uncle Zhu Shouren saw this, his eyes lit up, he put his hands into his sleeves and fumbled around for a while, then took out a few ounces of silver and put it on Zhu Ping'an's failed certificate.
The fellow villagers and students who were traveling with him all joked that they were trying to get a good start, and they all bet their silver and copper coins on Zhu Ping'an to fail the exam, more or less, but no less than one hundred coins.
Under their leadership, others who were originally a little bit on the sidelines and did not know the situation, also bet on Zhu Ping'an failing the exam. Just kidding, being bitten by a snake, hearing a bird cry, what? He was lucky the first time, if he can make the list again this time, wouldn't it be like the rising sun in the west
Upon seeing this, the person who opened the odds lowered the odds of failing by three times before the situation was finally stopped.
"Brother An, come and place your bet too. Hahaha, we know each other. Well, that's right. If we fail the exam, at least we can get some money as compensation. That's great." The fellow students from the same hometown who were surrounding the betting area saw Zhu Ping'an also coming over and wanted to place a bet. They couldn't help but laugh as if they suddenly realized something.
"Young man, this betting needs to be stopped." The person who opened the betting thought that Zhu Ping'an was going to fail the exam and was worried about losing all his money, so he couldn't help but speak up.
"Oh, that's a shame. I was going to bet on the top of the high school list."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Pingan shook his head and said lightly.
When he heard that Zhu Ping'an was going to be ranked A, the person who opened the market showed joy. Finally, someone was ranked A. This way, he wouldn't lose too much.
"Although the trading has to be suspended, it is fate that we meet again. This is just an exception." The man who opened the market called Zhu Ping'an, looking familiar.
"Thank you very much. Three taels, first place." Zhu Ping'an gently placed a piece of broken silver on the first place list and bowed to express his gratitude.
"Hey, my son, why do you let your uncle say that to you..." When uncle Zhu Shouren saw that Zhu Ping'an had placed three taels of silver on his own top-ranked score in the imperial examination, he could not help but shook his head and sighed at the misfortune of his family.
Others also laughed at Zhu Ping'an for pretending to be rich.
Just then, a gong sounded, and the clerk who posted the recruitment notice came forward, surrounded by yamen runners, holding the list.
The crowd was noisy and stared at the clerk who was posting the list, urging him with his eyes to post it quickly.
As expected, the list was posted soon.
As the list was posted, people looked at it with all kinds of expressions, some happy, some sad, some even screaming and crying.
"There is no 'Ding Chou', really not..." The fellow villagers stared at the list for a long time and were delighted.
"Well, haha, five taels of silver are in my pocket." The student who bet five taels of silver on Zhu Ping'an who failed the exam could still earn five taels of silver with odds of one to one, and he was immediately overjoyed.
"Hush, calm down, we don't want to repeat the mistakes of yesterday, the A list and the top list have not been posted yet."
At the critical moment, it was uncle Zhu Shouren who stood up again, looking calm and composed, reminding everyone not to follow the same mistake as last time and to learn from past experience.
"I... ... "
Zhu Ping'an called everyone and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Don't be sad, An'er. Let's wait for the top ranking." Someone comforted Zhu Ping'an with a happy face.
Zhu Ping'an looked helpless.
After a while, another gong sounded, and another clerk came to post the list.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and the others read it carefully again, over and over again. Finally, one of them couldn't help but look happy, and said with a twitching mouth:
"See? There is no 'Ding Chou'..."
As soon as the words were spoken, there was jubilation all around.
Uncle Zhu Shouren also kept nodding his head.
There is no "Ding Chou" on list B, no "Ding Chou" on list A, and the first place on the list is not "Ding Chou", which means that Zhu Ping'an failed the exam.
Failed the exam...
I made a wish in the temple and waited day after day, and finally, this day came true.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and other students almost shed tears of happiness. Although three of the six fellow villagers who took the second exam also failed, Zhu Ping'an also failed. At least we all made money, but Zhu Ping'an not only failed, but also lost all his family fortune.
"Ang'er, don't be sad. Well, at least we have gained some experience this time."
"That's right, don't cry, An Ge'er, I'll pay for the trip home this time."
"Don't cry, my dear, your uncle is here."
Uncle Zhu Shouren and others surrounded Zhu Ping'an and tried to comfort him. Some offered to persuade him to learn from his experience, some offered to pay for his trip home, and the uncle also acted like a kind and benevolent elder.
People's comfort can be summed up in one sentence: Don't cry, Angora, stand up and stroke your arm.
It would be fine if you just heard the sound, but what are you laughing at
At this moment, Uncle Zhu Shouren and others felt so superior to Zhu Ping'an that they were in such a good mood.
Just as everyone was overjoyed, they heard a timid voice:
"Ahem, um, um, my seat number for this exam is 'Jiaxu'..."
Jiaxu?!
etc... ...
Nima
Everyone looked up and saw the word "Jiaxu" was extremely eye-catching on the A list... ... as if it had turned into two whistling slaps.
Listen, the sound of a broken heart...
People covered their chests and looked down in disbelief at the silly boy surrounded by them...
My heart is broken and my face hurts. What a bummer! Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you changed your seat number
(Today, there is a problem with the network connection. I can't connect until now. Sorry. I am very grateful to the book friend "周妖瞳是肉包子" for reminding me of the heavenly stems and earthly branches in the text.)