After the county magistrate Qi returned, a notice was posted outside the county office for the county exam on February 13, asking students to sign up at the county ceremony room.
From the tenth to the twentieth of the first lunar month, it is the Lantern Festival. These days, Mr. Lin had been away from the library for vacation, and he planned to encourage the students to study after the festival. But after seeing the notice, I felt the urgency of the exam again, so I asked my son to call Cui Xie home and told him the key points of the day's strategy and theory.
Policy theory is nothing but a matter of time. Either speaking bluntly about current affairs, or borrowing history to describe the present, it will eventually fall on the word "practical". In the past two years, the major event of the imperial court was that the little prince violated the border, and the major event in Qian'an was the earthquake, or else it was the grain tax. These little Confucian boys do not require to write any far-sighted strategies, as long as they follow the current decrees of the imperial court and add some extensions.
Cui Xie is also a person who has been working on the main theme blackboard newspapers and propaganda posters for many years. He fully understands what Mr. Lin means - it doesn't matter if the article is not well written, as long as you stand upright, you can honestly hide any fancy thoughts. If you accidentally write something that goes against the main melody of the court, the county magistrate will not dare to take him even if he is biased towards him.
He lowered his head and solemnly assured: "Don't worry, sir, this disciple understands what to write and what not to write."
Mr. Lin took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, smiled and said, "It's good that you understand. I have drawn up a few topics. You can write one or two articles every day when you go back. I will check on you when the Lantern Festival comes back."
… It’s okay, it’s just winter vacation homework.
Just these few small essays, and his high school language, mathematics, foreign history, and land administration each have a winter vacation homework, and there are a lot of papers and workbooks that can't be compared!
Cui Xie went home with his new homework to write, and he wrote this one week before the exam. According to his past review experience, he can no longer read books during this time, and he needs to think more and integrate what he has learned.
So he separated a small room in the east wing, took the homework from Mr. Lin as exam questions, and took four hours of mock exams every day after school.
There are only ten days left in the countdown to the exam, and he is getting more and more nervous about his review. Even when the travel journal of the county magistrate of Qi was printed in February, he did not have time to arrange any publicity.
On the Ju'anzhai main store, the shopkeeper Ji was asked to find someone to change the side portrait of the county magistrate on the envelope into a larger one, stick it on a wooden board and stand outside the store; there are three books in each reading room in the library. , posted a series of promotional pictures along the outer wall of the corridor; the guys in Tongzhou have opened a branch, and they also painted a large picture and hung it like the main store, and asked Master Liu to help promote it among local big households and literati.
To be honest, if "Cui Meiren'er" wasn't him, he really wanted to use the largest font to write "Shocked! High-definition big picture of Cui Meiren's private house exposed" came out, then there would be no need to match the picture, and sales are guaranteed. .
However, even with such a subtle and low-key publicity, "Qi Zhiyuan's Anthology" quickly set off a wave of sales.
The Qian'an County Library is the best sign of the magistrate of Qi, and any reader who has one or two taels of silver on hand is willing to find out and buy a copy to support the magistrate.
At the beginning, the shopkeeper of the subtotal in Tongzhou was afraid that the sales would not be good, so he bundled it with Qiu Shi Yan Mo. Later, when it was sold and sold, it was discovered that readers simply bought it by looking at the cover, and bought it only as a travel guide and landscape painting, regardless of the text inside. They simply unbundled the book from the ink and promoted it as a color picture album with characters.
This book is so exquisitely printed that it was brought into Beijing by merchants who were looking at Qian'an color-printed books just a few days after it came out.
Although there are no pictures of heroes or beauties in the book, there is only a middle-aged magistrate in a clear state, but the entire book is almost printed in color, and the paper is thick and white, and it feels high-end to the touch. Moreover, the articles in this book are also fresh and cute, and the pictures are all far-flung mountains and beautiful waters. When they are taken out, they show that the owner has an elegant taste, which is different from those laity who read books just to see heroes and beauties!
Just after the trial was over, the book was sold into Beijing, and it became so popular. The conference test list has not been released at this time, and all the students are not allowed to return to their hometowns. They have nothing to do in the capital. Those from the south and the three sides who rarely buy official color-printed books will buy them wildly and bring them back to their hometowns.
The four new recruits who took the exam in Qian'an County once again felt the horror of being forced to watch during last year's township exam and could only avoid living in a mountain temple.
They made a quick decision, greeted their fellow Juren seniors, and fled to another Qingjing temple outside Beijing. The remaining few juren really don't know anything, and they have nothing to say when they are arrested. They can only praise the good governance of the county magistrate's library that allows people to read books for free.
The handsome and handsome, long-bearded, and worried about the country and the people, the county magistrate Qi became the representative of a good official in the eyes of the people of Beijing.
The Ministry of Personnel was selecting officials below the fifth rank who should be promoted, and Qi Sheng was so prominent that the people from the Literature Selection Department couldn't help but bring him up. The left servant Geng Yu asked him in person and had a good impression of him, so he asked the director: "What book did he publish? Is it to interpret the scriptures or record the county's government affairs?"
It's not, it's a travelogue, or this book... A travelogue with a mediocre pen. But the book seal is pleasing to the eye, and the scene is well remembered. This person is also good-looking, but it is a pity that he was not born in the right way.
Li Chun, the waiter on the right, said with a chuckle, "Is he from Qian'an again? Since Qian'an has produced a Cui Meiren who can print books, how can everyone be able to publish books."
Xu Chuan, the person who launched him, replied: "It's not just publishing books, Qi Sheng's article also mentioned the Qian'an prodigy who had previously published books. He wrote an article about repairing the Qian'an library, which is the first in the book. In the article, it was written that the library was a bequest of Cui Shentong’s deceased mother. It used to be a bookstore, and it was rented to outsiders. He took it back last year, and even donated the house and books to Qian’an County to build a library.”
Geng Yu said thoughtfully, "When I asked Mr. Li the other day, he didn't seem to be able to remember the name of the person who donated the house. Could it be that he can forget the article he wrote? Or did he add this one later? ?"
They didn't know that the same person was behind the publication of these books, and after discussing a few words, they couldn't guess the truth. As he was talking, one of the staff members mentioned: "The color book from Qian'an is better, after all, it is the source of the real color printing. Ju Anzhai, who published this book, heard that he bought a full set of Cui Meiren's engravings and drawings. The painting is also better than others."
"Isn't it the study that published "Six Talents Criticizing the Three Kingdoms"? That's the true biography of Cui Meiren! I think Cui Meiren is an incognito and changed to a painter in his home."
"Why do you need to keep your name incognito? Besides, the Three Kingdoms has only just released the tenth volume, and the pictures in it are all old pictures, but they are printed more vividly. When will it exceed the number of original editions, and then I really bought his family. Engrave it!"
…
After all, it was impossible to determine where the Qian'an county magistrate should be transferred. Geng Yu withheld his name and said, "Leave this for me first, and then push a few people. By the way, where is his anthology for sale?"
Mr. Xu said, "This bookstore is only open in Qian'an and Tongzhou. It's not easy to buy it outside now, so Xiaguan should bring the book from home to the adults."
After the dynasty changed, Director Xu's book was sent in. Li Chun, the right servant, was also a servant and a student, and he had to go to the East Palace after going to court. Because he could not hold meetings to elect officials when he was not there, Geng Yu closed the door and read the book quietly for a while.
Qi county magistrate's writing skills are not too strong, but because he is a person with a real landscape in his chest, his writing is also fresh and graceful, which complements the full volume of light-colored landscapes. Occasionally there are a few big pictures, and the characters are also very handsome and elegant, and they are very beautiful.
After reading this book, Shi Lang Geng's impression of him was a little shaken - what he saw that day was really a thin and featureless official, not such a beautiful man who was like a spring moon willow
He closed the book with a complicated expression, and wanted to ask Li Yu, the imperial censor of the Right Capital, what the magistrate looked like. However, before this thought was put into action, he was called by the chief assistant Wan'an, who handed him a file in person, and said genially, "This is a student of mine, so I can see how to arrange a foreigner. Let it go. It's best not to be too harsh."
Geng Yu had always looked down on this "Long Live Court Elder", so he answered "yes" lightly, took a look at the file, and couldn't help but gasped - what kind of relationship did he have with Qian'an today? The ministry had just been promoted to the magistrate of Qian'an, and after reading Qian'an's book, he saw the father of the little righteous man who donated the academy in the book
Seeing that his expression was wrong, Wan An asked him, "Why, do you know this Cui Ju? Could it be that there is something wrong with his usual behavior?"
He is still a little self-aware of his disciples, but for the sake of their understanding and filial piety, he turns a blind eye. But Geng Yu was really worthy of his surname. He was someone who dared to keep an eye on Shangguan. It would be embarrassing to ask him to pick out the fault on the spot.
The filial piety given by Cui Ju from the left and right is not much, and Wan Shou Fu simply said generously: "If he is really unacceptable, I ask you to just get rid of him, and you don't have to look at my teacher's face!"
Geng Yu lowered his head and said, "Shoufu has been overly concerned. Xiaguan has only heard of his son's name, and he was a little surprised when he saw that it was his file."
Wan An smiled and said, "So that's the case. This Cui Kuo was born a good son, what's his name? But he is good at writing poetry?"
Geng Yu said: "His son should be called Cui Xie. He didn't write any poems, he just donated a yard to the county to build a library, and the county magistrate wrote it down in the anthology."
Wan An couldn't help sighing that this son was better than his father, and his father hadn't even sent the yard to him as a teacher - he hadn't even seen a room! After such a comparison, his favorable impression of this protégé became less and less, and he remembered that his immediate boss, Liu Jue, had never dealt with him, so he also said in a businesslike manner, "Although this Cui Ju is my protégé, he is also Liu Cifu's subordinate. The clerk, I want to ask you to look at the arrangement."
Geng Yu didn't plan to arrange him this month. He went to the Wenxuan Division with the file in hand, and called a director: "Insert it into the batch to be pushed next month. This was sent by Master Wan, and he also asked someone to go to the house. Let's inquire."
Cui Langzhong's future hangs in the bureau of personnel. He sees someone coming to investigate, but he doesn't see the transfer. But not to mention that Wan Shoufu is not someone he can hold accountable at will, just relying on the nicknames of "Long Live Court Elder" and "Xie Di Xiang Gong", he does not dare to go to Wan's house in the light of day, for fear of contaminating his own reputation.
With great difficulty, he went to visit his teacher when no one was there, but Wan Shoufu wanted to stretch him, and he didn't even see him. Only a housekeeper came out to entertain guests, and he didn't see the kindness he had when he came to visit with a gift last time. He hung his eyes and said, "Master Cui gave birth to a good son, but unfortunately, the son is not like a father."
Cui Ju suffered from this humiliation and nearly smashed the outer study when he got home. Fortunately, he worked hard to cultivate his qi, and finally managed to endure it. He went to the yali the next day, transferred to the household department to inquire about it, and then learned about Qian'an County.
He thought that Cui Xie was not good at business management and sold the bookstore, but he didn't expect that he would give birth to a stomach clinging to the top at a young age and dedicate the academy to the county magistrate. Relying on the library building built by his bookstore, Qian'an County has produced three more jinshis this year - Guo Yong and Wang Pu, who were newly admitted to the juren last year, and they came out during his tenure. I heard that Master Geng, the Zuo Shilang, took a fancy to his ability to educate the people.
Then Qian'an County wrote an article and printed a book, touting that unworthy son!
Cui Yu figured out this, and she trembled with anger, wishing she could go back to the time when the old lady just gave Cui Xie the title deed of the bookstore for more than a year. If he had called someone back then, if he had donated the bookstore and even donated the old house to Qian'an County to build a library in his own name, wouldn't these praises now be all his
Where is the son who donated the hospital to build a library, the merits are not recorded on the father's head, and the reasoning that the magistrate who has taken up his family's property has benefited in vain!
He was not the kind of person who could show his face and make a fuss. He just went to the restaurant outside and had a boring drink, thinking about how to call his son back to Beijing for disposal. In the evening he returned to the backyard drunkenly, called a newly married concubine to serve, and fell asleep. But this anger and drunkenness hurt the liver, and the next morning, I was so burned out that I couldn't get sick.
The concubine, who had not done anything before, was so frightened that she cried and went to ask his wife. She told him about the son's offering to the bookstore and the county magistrate's promotion from him last night, and knelt down and begged her to forgive her sins.
How can Madam take care of her? The lady doesn't even want to take care of the master!
She was thinking about the bookstore that was supposed to be the cash cow of the Cui family or the stepping stone for Cui Ju's promotion, but she couldn't see these ignorant concubines in her eyes. She stretched out her hand to push the person away, stumbled back into the room, gritted her teeth and called the next person: "Go, go and drag Cui Liang, the dog that deceived the parents, and beat him with a hundred bats, and then go send a letter to my parents' house. - The master was bullied to the point of being bullied, and he didn't dare to speak. The servant took my wife as a fool to play, I can't bear it anymore!"