Ge Xiaomao rushed into the door, looked at Fang Yun happily, then bent down, supported his knees and gasped.
"Sit down and take a rest." Fang Yun said.
"How come you don't care at all? He's the No. 1 student! Oh, and you're even ranked top! Our Jing country has never had a top-ranked student. People say our Jing country is unprecedented. Now, people in the Academy of Literature are saying that you've broken the precedent!"
"Really double A?" Fang Yun was surprised. He thought that he could only get a B by asking the Holy Word.
"Of course! It's written clearly on the golden list. Without the confirmation of the Semi-Saint, the list will never be released. By the way, I could have come earlier, but after watching a good show, I arrived late." Ge Xiaomao said with a smile.
Yang Yu leaned against the door frame of the main room and listened carefully. She couldn't help but want to know more about Fang Yun. She liked to listen.
"What's the good show?" Fang Yun asked.
"You know Fang Zhongyong, right? Before the results were announced, everyone thought he was the top candidate. No one thought it was you. Fang Zhongyong was fine, he was just unhappy, but his father threw a tantrum, questioning whether there was a problem with the county exam and demanding an examination of the papers. He was like a shrew. It happened that County Magistrate Cai came out, and County Magistrate Cai said that he had something to say at the literary meeting. If Fang Zhongyong could also write a poem that sounded like Mingzhou and had all the words of the sage correct, then he would go and ask for the sage's judgment again."
"Then what?"
"Then everyone was shocked. A poem as good as Mingzhou's could be produced by even a Jinshi or Hanlin scholar. How many poems by a semi-saint could be as good as Mingzhou's? His father was scared, and his father also knew that without the approval of a saint, you would never get a double first place. Fang Yun, how come you are so talented suddenly?" Ge Xiaomao said excitedly and admiringly.
Fang Yun pretended to be surprised and said, "Didn't I tell you before the exam? I met my teacher and he opened my eyes to many things, so I understand a lot of things."
Ge Xiaomao said with a smile: "Can you tell me who your teacher is? He can enlighten you, so he must be a great scholar at least? Is he a semi-saint?"
"I don't know about that either." Fang Yun said helplessly.
"By the way, what about Liu Zicheng?"
Before the exam started yesterday, Ge Xiaomao and others found out that Fang Yun had been beaten, so they came to Fang Yun's house this morning to ask what happened. Fang Yun briefly told them what happened. These classmates felt very sympathetic towards him, but there was nothing they could do.
"Let's not talk about it first. I passed the exam and he doesn't dare to do anything to me. By the way, how are you guys?"
Ge Xiaomao said happily: "Lu Lin also passed. Although he ranked 19th, not as good as you, he was also envied by his classmates. Mr. Sun also went there, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. Now many parents want to send their children to his private school. Alas, Mr. Sun's tuition is going to increase again."
"That's good. After visiting all the holy temples tomorrow, I will go see Mr. Sun." Fang Yun said.
"But it's a pity for Liang Yuan. He said that if he fails the exam this time, he will not take it again. He doesn't want to run his father's rice shop, but he has to do it. But Liang Yuan has a good business sense, so don't worry about him."
Fang Yun nodded and chatted with Ge Xiaomao. They also talked about inviting the saint to speak and writing poetry. Fang Yun shared some of his own insights, which made Ge Xiaomao ecstatic and he took notes carefully.
Soon, more than a dozen people came to the gate of the courtyard carrying things.
"Nephew, I'm here to congratulate you!" Fang Yun's uncle walked in with an extremely exaggerated expression, holding a big pig's head in his left hand and two strings of two thousand copper coins in his right hand, which was equivalent to two taels of silver.
Fang Yun didn't expect that even his uncle would become so generous. The money of Jing Country is not the same as that on Earth where money is worthless.
Here, you can buy a big bun with three copper coins. In terms of food, three copper coins are almost equivalent to more than one yuan in the era of soaring prices.
All in all, one tael of silver in Shengyuan Continent is roughly equivalent to three hundred yuan.
Fang Yun and Yang Yuhuan had been working hard to make money, but they had only saved thirteen taels of silver before taking the imperial examination. Even though their eldest uncle's family was a butcher and relatively wealthy, the money they had saved at home was only four or five hundred taels at most.
In Ji County, four or five hundred taels of silver are enough to buy a nice house in the county town.
"Uncle, aunt, aunt..." Fang Yun called out everyone in one breath and asked them to sit inside the house.
These relatives all brought gifts and money, and just four families of relatives gave nearly four taels of silver.
Before Fang Yun's mother's relatives could sit down, more than a dozen relatives from Fang Yun's father's side came in, all with gifts dozens of times more than usual.
In the words of Fang Yun’s uncle, even a fool knows that Fang Yun will at worst be a juren in the future.
Once you become a juren, with a little bit of connections, you can become an eighth-rank official. If you work hard, you can even become a third-rank official.
Fang Yun received these relatives very politely, without any arrogance of a future juren. Those relatives were also all reasonable and no one dared to be arrogant in front of the double-class tongsheng who "broke the precedent in Jing State".
Fang Yun originally wanted to receive these relatives and friends, but Yang Yuhuan reminded Magistrate Cai that there was a literary gathering there. Fang Yun hurriedly apologized to his relatives and friends. His relatives did not blame him, but urged him to leave quickly and not to delay the literary gathering for the students.
Fang Yun rushed to the Jixiang Restaurant. There were not many people on the street. Many people were still in front of the Academy of Literature. Fang Yun's relatives and friends learned that Fang Yun had passed the Tongsheng exam and immediately took money to buy things and went to his house.
Passing by the alley he walked yesterday, Fang Yun stopped, looked around, took a deep breath, and continued walking towards the Jixiang Restaurant in front.
Before Fang Yun could enter, Zhen, the shopkeeper of Jixiang Restaurant, came out. Seeing Fang Yun, his face turned pale and he said angrily, "Didn't I tell you not to come? Get out right now. The county magistrate is upstairs. If you alarm him, you will suffer the consequences."
Fang Yun was stunned for a moment, then he realized what was happening, showed a strange expression, and asked: "Didn't you go to the county academy to see the results?"
Shopkeeper Zhen said impatiently, "The annual Tongsheng Literary Meeting is held here. I'm so busy, why would I want to go to the Academy of Literature? I told you this morning that you are not allowed to enter the Jixiang Restaurant. If you take another step forward, I'll have someone break your legs!"
Fang Yun thought of what Shopkeeper Zhen said in the morning, his face darkened, and he said, "Shopkeeper Zhen, don't go too far! I am Fang Yun, a student who is going to the county lord's literary gathering. I want to enter this restaurant, and you can't stop me!"
"I can't stop you? I... What did you say? You became a student? It's so funny! Are you crazy? Don't I know what you are like? Get out of here right now! Do you hear me?" Shopkeeper Zhen didn't believe Fang Yun at all.
Fang Yun has worked in the Jixiang Restaurant for more than two years. At first, Manager Zhen thought that Fang Yun might have a bright future, but as he got to know Fang Yun better, he looked down on Fang Yun more and more. He even asked his son, who was a student, to take the exam over Fang Yun. His son believed that Fang Yun would never pass the exam in his lifetime, so he became more and more indifferent to Fang Yun. Because he wanted to marry Yang Yuhuan but failed, he became even more harsh on Fang Yun.
Fang Yun said coldly: "Since you are the owner of the Jixiang Restaurant, if you don't let me in, I won't go in. When Magistrate Cai asks you, you should tell the truth that it was you who drove me away. Goodbye."
Fang Yun originally wanted to use Magistrate Cai to teach Shopkeeper Zhen a lesson, but then he suddenly had an idea and came up with a better way.
Fang Yun took out a handful of copper coins from his purse and said loudly to the passers-by: "Everyone coming from the south and north, do you see the money in my hand? I will give you a riddle. I will give the money to whoever answers it first! Don't miss it if you pass by. It's a waste of money. Anyone who doesn't take it is a fool!"
People nearby were immediately attracted and soon more than ten people gathered. People in the distance saw people gathering together and immediately ran over to see what was going on.
The Jixiang Restaurant is located on the most prosperous street in the county. Soon, a large crowd of people surrounded it, and people on the second floor nearby also looked down.
Wang Yuanjun was sitting by the window. He looked out the window and couldn't help but smile and said, "Your Excellency, it's Fang Yun."
"What's going on?" County Magistrate Cai walked over and looked down, and the others also walked to the window and looked down.
Fang Yun was seen standing in the crowd, turning over twenty copper coins over and over in his hands.
"Hurry up and solve the puzzle! Are you going to regret it?"
"Hurry up and tell me."
"Isn't this guy Fang Yun? He just got the first place in the double-A case, why is he here playing?"
Shopkeeper Zhen, who was standing by, had been watching coldly, but when he heard these words, he broke out in a cold sweat and was stunned for a moment. He couldn't believe that Fang Yun had really passed the examination and was the first in the case.
Fang Yun said loudly: "I will now make a riddle out of a crooked poem. You have to guess an object that every household has. Okay, listen to me: it has a pointed head and a thin body, white as silver, weighs not a centimeter, has eyes on its buttocks, and only recognizes clothes, not people. Who knows what this thing is? If you guess it right, you will get a prize."
County Magistrate Cai, who was on the second floor, couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "How did Shopkeeper Zhen offend him? This Fang Yun, his mouth is sharper than a knife."
"You are so good at scolding people. You deserve to be a top-ranked student." An elegant old man in his fifties said with a smile.
At this time, someone in the crowd raised his hand and shouted, "I know, it's a needle! It's a sewing needle! Aren't the eyes of a needle on its butt? Of course, a needle only recognizes clothes and not people."
"The answer is correct! This money is yours! You have eyes on your butt, you only recognize clothes and not people, you are a needle!" Fang Yun said, pointing at Shopkeeper Zhen.
Those who knew Manager Zhen burst into laughter.
Someone started to make a noise, "As expected of you who is the top of the double-A case, you are so talented that you can even write poems to insult people! Shopkeeper Zhen, why are you silent? Turn around and let us see if you have eyes on your butt!"
Now even those who didn't know Manager Zhen knew what was going on and started laughing.
At this time, Duan Hu, who had gone out to buy groceries, came back and saw Fang Yun and shouted, "Fang Yun, congratulations on being the top student in the imperial examination! You are from our Jixiang Restaurant, and your door will be trampled in the future. When you win the first place in the imperial examination, I can say that I am the friend of the first place student."
Shopkeeper Zhen had offended many people, and someone immediately said sarcastically: "The champion knows Shopkeeper Zhen, but Shopkeeper Zhen may not know the champion. In the eyes of Boss Zhen, even the university scholar is nothing."
Shopkeeper Zhen wiped the sweat from his forehead with trembling hands, and cursed Duan Hu's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart. If Duan Hu had come a moment earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Shopkeeper Zhen looked at Fang Yun in panic, secretly sighing that it was indeed the case that scholars kill people without using a knife. This was too ruthless. The top-ranked student in Jing country wrote a poem in front of his restaurant, scolding him for "only recognizing his clothes and not the person". The brand of Jixiang Restaurant was completely ruined.