kingnovel Chapter 1167 Do you know what it means to receive?
Chapter 1167 Do you know what it means to receive?
The thing the students had been worrying about for days had finally arrived.
"The second round of interviews, haha, the second round of interviews..."
Several students burst into tears after reading the first few words of the notice.
Because of Huai Gongwang, all those who had finally passed the imperial examinations and become scholars had to suffer.
"It's true what they say, 'If the higher-ups fart, the lower-ups run themselves ragged!' At this moment, they were so angry that they didn't care about anything else, and they cursed loudly at the gate of the government office: 'Do those officials know how much money it costs to take an exam? The corrupt officials' money is money, but our common people's money isn't money, is it? Eating, drinking, defecating, writing materials, everything costs money. They make it sound so easy, but who really sees the hardships we common people endure?'"
"My family has already spent all their money on my education, and this re-examination came so suddenly, isn't it forcing me to borrow money...?"
"Borrow? How are we going to pay it back? If we fail the exam this time, the government might even ask us to pay back the previous land taxes. They're trying to kill us!"
As the words fell, it was like a drop of ink falling into clear water; powerlessness and resentment spread through the crowd.
After a moment, someone murmured, "I thought... Lord Shen would consider the plight of us poor students, but I didn't expect... all officials are the same."
All officials are the same...
Everyone shook their heads and sighed, as if they had accepted this cruel reality.
"No, no... everyone, Lady Shen... seems different." Suddenly, a different voice rang out from in front of the notice, "Come here quickly, look at this line! Examinee rights and... subsidies?"
"subsidy?!"
Upon hearing that there was a subsidy, everyone's eyes lit up.
Some people strained to get in, while others couldn't squeeze through and could only guess from behind: "It's probably just two steamed buns and a bowl of water or something, nothing special."
After all, for officials, "rewarding" them with two steamed buns is a "generous reward".
Even so, they were still somewhat curious about what the "subsidy" mentioned in the notice would be.
But for some reason, the people in the front row remained silent after reading the notice, which made the people in the back row anxious and they urged, "What kind of 'subsidy' did the government give? Why is no one saying anything? Is it meat buns instead of steamed buns?"
They tried to find some humor in their predicament, thinking that meat buns weren't so bad after all, since they at least had meat in them.
After a long silence, an incredulous voice rang out from in front of the notice: "No, it's not a meat bun..."
Upon closer listening, there seemed to be a hint of confusion in the voice.
"What is that?" the crowd on the periphery asked hurriedly.
"What is it? Move aside, all of you, let me read it to you!"
At some point, a young man dressed in unusual attire squeezed into the crowd, quickly pushed aside the few people in front of the notice, and turned to face the crowd.
The people in front of the notice stumbled as he pulled them, but they were in no mood to question him. Instead, they rubbed their eyes and said, "Brother, brother, please read it..."
The contents of the notice were too unbelievable; they dared to look at it but not to believe it, and dared to believe it but not to speak of it, for fear that they had misread it.
The young man raised his chin and smiled, beginning his self-introduction: "Gentlemen, my name is Xin Ji, and I will also be participating in this re-examination. I will read the announcement to you."
"..." Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.
Is this guy crazy? Who wants to know his name?
"Young master, please read it quickly!"
Xin Ji curled his lip. "What's the rush? Don't you understand the principle that good things are better waited for than rushed? Wait, let me take a good look first."
"..."
Everyone clenched their fists.
Fortunately, Xin Ji could read several lines at a glance, and finished reading the proclamation in just a few breaths.
He suppressed the surprise in his eyes, cleared his throat and said, "In order to rectify the atmosphere of the imperial examination in Liuyang Prefecture and to remedy the malpractices of the recent embezzlement case, the prefectural re-examination is scheduled to be held in seven days... Alright, you can read the rest of the text yourself. I'll just read the part about subsidies."
"..."
The crowd's fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
For some reason, I always feel like this guy deserves a beating.
Under the impatient gazes of the crowd, Xin Ji finally began to read out the details of the subsidy: "All participants in the re-examination can pick up a set of exam stationery at the 'Student Service Station' next to the Examination Yuan, which includes—two calligraphy brushes, one ink stick, one inkstone, ten sheets of test paper, one paperweight, one brush washer..."
As everyone listened, their expressions gradually shifted from impatience to disbelief.
Xin Ji smiled and spoke their minds: "Oh, you're quite well prepared. Gentlemen, have you ever seen a prefectural examination like this before?"
Have you seen it?
Everyone shook their heads without even thinking.
Xin Ji smiled again: "You've never seen what's coming next. Listen up—everyone participating in the second round of testing can receive a food supply before entering the venue, which includes—ten rice cakes, five salted eggs, two strips of dried meat, and two jugs of water..."
After saying that, he commented again: "Not bad, these three kinds of food can be stored for a long time and are not easy to spoil. If you are not used to them or are worried about getting an upset stomach, you can also eat the food you brought."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became even more blank.
Is the key point that these three foods "don't spoil easily"?
The key point is the food itself! It's not steamed buns or dumplings, but real rice, eggs, and meat!
Greatly shocked, the crowd, following the principle that "there's no such thing as a free lunch," asked the question that had been bothering them: "Young master... do we have to pay for these?"
Xin Ji rolled his eyes: "The notice says 'receive,' everyone. Do you know what 'receive' means? It means 'take it for free'! It means 'why not take it if it's free'! It means 'get it without paying a price'! Do you understand? And the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in front are also free. The government office is giving them to you for free. You can even take them with you after you've used them and don't have to return them!"
"what?"
"what?!"
"what?!"
"ah?!!"
Immediately, a chorus of "Ah!"s filled the air in front of the notice.
Some people thought they were hard of hearing and misheard, some thought Xin Ji was talking nonsense, and some even pinched themselves hard, wincing in pain.
Before they knew it, more and more people had come to watch the spectacle, and the scene became increasingly chaotic. Just as things were about to get out of control, Xin Ji slammed his fist on the bulletin board and roared, "I haven't finished reading it yet! Are you all going to stop listening?!"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "There's more?!"
"Of course, this is nothing." Xin Ji deliberately covered the notice completely so that others wouldn't see it first, and then said, "All those who participate in the re-examination can receive round-trip travel expenses according to their place of household registration. In addition, the government will set up a 'Candidate Inn' next to the Examination Yuan. Candidates can stay there the day before the re-examination and must leave the day after the re-examination ends... Alright, all of these are pre-examination benefits."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this.
Pre-exam benefits?
Does that mean...?