kingnovel Chapter 167 Zhang Jieyuan
Chapter 167 Zhang Jieyuan
Zhang Xinshu is only 13 years old this year, but he was able to pass the imperial examination in the capital and even won the first place in the provincial examination.
It’s number one.
Although she had long thought that Zhang Xinshu would become an official in the court, she did not expect that he would be so well-educated now.
Juren has many more privileges than Xiucai.
The first is to be exempted from corvée and taxes, receive a monthly salary, be qualified to be an official, and when taking part in the imperial examinations, receive a lot of financial subsidies.
The most important thing is that there is judicial immunity, which allows one to not be present, not go to court, not kneel, not be tortured, and sometimes even be exempted from the death penalty.
The Autumn Examination is held every three years. So, next spring, doesn't Zhang Xinshu have to take part in the Spring Examination, also known as the Imperial Examination?
Isn't it too young to enter the court at the age of 14? Will he be taken advantage of by the officialdom?
Seeing that school would be over soon, Zhao Yuanzhen decided to wait for him to come back at the storytelling shop.
I have been busy making money every day and have somewhat neglected my youngest son. I need to reflect on myself.
Looking at the storybook, waiting for Zhang Xinshu to finish school.
"Xin Shu, you're back?"
"Mom, you're back."
Zhang Xinshu was so happy. His mother came back at the perfect time, as his imperial examination documents had just arrived.
"Well, I heard that you won the provincial examination. You didn't even tell me about such a big thing."
"Mom, you weren't at home when the list was released, so I thought I'd wait until you came back to tell you. Now that the list is released today, you're home too, isn't that great?"
"You are too introverted, but also too good. You are only 13 years old, and not only did you pass the provincial examination, you even won the first place. How can you be so amazing? I am so surprised and proud."
Zhao Yuanzhen touched his head and praised him.
"Mom, these are all the books you gave me. I have read them all and benefited a lot from them. Thanks to the good teaching of my teacher, I was lucky enough to pass the exam and become the top scholar."
The book given by Zhao Yuanzhen brought him many surprises in all aspects. It far surpassed the thoughts of that era and improved people's ideological realm a lot after reading it.
"That's because you are so talented and can understand it better. You did so well in the exam. I have to reward you well. Tell me, what do you want?"
Sensible children should have better rewards.
"Mom, I don't want anything."
He really doesn't want anything. He has food and drink, and he has money. He doesn't have any major material needs.
"You are so young, how can you not have desires? No, you must want one. Think about it slowly and tell me when you have made up your mind."
You're just a kid, you're only 13, it's not okay for you to be so conservative.
"Okay, I'll think about it."
"Well, think about it carefully. The family is going to hold a full moon banquet the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come back?"
"Of course I have to go back. I will go to the college to ask for leave tomorrow and go back in the afternoon."
It is natural to go back and attend the full moon banquet for one's own nephews and nieces.
"Okay, then be careful when you come back tomorrow. I have something else to do at home, so I'll be back soon."
Zhang Xinshu has his own horse and can ride back.
"Okay, Mom, go slower and be careful."
"Okay, got it, I'm leaving."
"Well, goodbye, mother."
I returned to the village and informed everyone to come over for the full moon celebration the day after tomorrow.
This time, we will have about 30 tables for the full moon banquet.
Zhao Yuanzhen bought all the tableware at the mall, they were all very cheap. She also bought tables, chairs and benches, as they would be used in the future, and it would be troublesome to borrow them from time to time, so she decided to buy them herself.
Confirmed the menu with the kitchen.
There are 12 dishes in total, 4 cold dishes, 4 stir-fried dishes, and 4 stews. They are basically meat dishes and the portions are generous.
Rice is the staple food.
For fear that there are not enough cooks at home, the 10 cooks who make instant noodle seasonings will come over tomorrow to help with the preparation of the banquet.
When I got up in the morning, I saw people slaughtering chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep in the yard.
Cooking beef and slaughtering sheep is fun, and at the party you must drink three hundred cups.
I have a roast kiln at home. I kill the duck, clean it, marinate it at night, and roast it the next day to make a crispy roast duck.
Use mutton offal and fine vermicelli to cook a mutton offal soup, which tastes delicious and very tasty.
Appetizers and fruits should also be prepared.
Prepare 6 kinds of fruits, all of which are available at home.
Oranges, apples, Anguo pears, grapes, cherries, and dates.
We offer 4 kinds of desserts.
Cloud cake, peach blossom cake, hawthorn cake, and jujube and yam cake.
Also prepare some candies as there will be a lot of children coming.
Write down everything that needs to be prepared, tell the cook the dishes, snacks and fruits, and remember to wash them and lay them out early tomorrow.
In the afternoon, Zhang Xinshu, Zhao Yuanlan, Yue Hongmian and others came back together.
"Brother, sister-in-law, you are here, please come into the house."
"Well, I'll take a day off tomorrow, so I came early today."
"Okay, your room has been cleaned for you, you can move in anytime."
"Thank you for your concern, little sister."
Then everyone went back to their rooms to put their things away and wash up.
After dinner, Zhao Yuanlan started playing mahjong again.
Zhang Xinshu, Zhao Yuanlan, Yue Hongmian and Zhao Yuanzhen, the four of them played until after 12 o'clock in the evening.
Zhao Yuanzhen felt that she was not overthinking it. She was just unlucky. It was quite bad. She didn't get what she wanted. Every time she hit someone, they would fail.
Her good luck must have been absorbed by this broken system. When her points are enough to buy what she needs, she must solve this hidden danger as soon as possible.
Work hard to make money.
She lost more than ten taels in one night, and this was when one point was worth one cent. It can be seen how badly she lost.
I feel sleepy and I don’t win any money, so I’m not going to play anymore and just go to sleep.
The one who won the most was still Zhao Yuanlan, and the couple went back to their room happily to sleep.
As expected, I can’t stay up late. When I woke up the next morning, I kept yawning and looked like I couldn’t wake up.
I bought myself a cup of refreshing coffee and I felt much better.
After breakfast, everyone started to get busy.
First put the tables, chairs and benches in place and wipe them clean.
Because the temperature will be 16 degrees, neither too hot nor too cold, the weather will be clear and there will be no wind.
The banquet was set up on the cement road next to the soapberry tree.
Then place the washed fruits on the plate and arrange the pastries on it.
There is a big pot of tea on the table, brew the tea and put the cups away.
Put various candies on a plate and add some melon seeds.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the guests to arrive.
The first to arrive were the old house. Sun Zhangshi and Zhang Sandao both came early to see if there was anything they could help with.
"Dad, Mom, there's nothing to do. Just sit down and take a rest. We have almost finished the work."
"Okay, just call me if you need any work."
Zhang Sandao indeed searched for a long time, but found nothing to do, so he found a table and sat down to rest.
Mrs. Sun Zhang went to see her great-grandson and great-granddaughter. The older people get, the more they like children. She would come to see them whenever she had nothing to do. The two little ones were chubby and very cute.
Later, more and more people came. Some female relatives would go to see the children, while others would drink tea and chat outside.
The busy farming season was over and there was nothing to do, so many people came. It had been a while since so many people got together, so it was particularly lively.
The maids also kept a close eye on the table, adding tea and water, filling the fruit plate, etc.
Yue Hongmian also went to see the two babies, gave each of them a pair of gold bracelets, and gave Li Zhijuan and Qian Xiaohui 500 taels of silver each.
The two thanked their aunt again and again.
"Thank you, aunt."
"No matter how polite you are, we are all family."
At the wedding, all the gifts given by the guests were put into the warehouse by Yue Hongmian herself. The gifts given by the three Zhang Xinbai brothers were all top-notch, and any one of them was worth a fortune, especially the dressing table with a large mirror. She really liked it. It reflected a person very clearly, which was much better than a bronze mirror. It must have been very expensive.
Therefore, when I found out that they had a child, I decided to show my appreciation.
In the main room, the women were chatting and playing with the children.
At a quarter past eleven, the dinner was about to begin. As the host, Zhao Yuanzhen naturally had to say a few words.
"First of all, thank you all for coming to the full moon banquet of my granddaughter Zhang Ziyou and grandson Zhang Zipei. Secondly, I want to share a good news. Our Xin Shu participated in the provincial examination a few days ago and won the first place. Congratulations to our Xin Shu."
Zhao Yuanzhen led the applause.
When the villagers heard that their son Xin Shu had turned out to be a juren, they were extremely excited. This was the child of their Zhangjia Village, and if the child had a promising future, it meant that their Zhangjia Village had a promising future.
The village chief came over excitedly, took Zhang Xinshu's hand and kept praising him.
"Good kid, very good, your future is limitless. At such a young age, you have passed the imperial examination. You will definitely become a prime minister in the future. My Zhang family will rise. Wait, I will open an ancestral hall tomorrow and write this matter in the family tree. You are a good kid with great prospects."
Zhang Xinshu felt a little embarrassed. No matter how steady he was, he was just a 13-year-old boy.
"Thank you for the compliment, Grandpa. I will continue to work hard."
"Well, okay, okay."
The old village chief stroked his beard and smiled with a look of satisfaction.
"Fire the cannon and let the feast begin."
Zhao Yuanzhen was calling out, firecrackers were lit, and the dishes from the cafeteria were served.
First, there are four cold dishes: crispy roast duck, braised beef, braised meat platter, and mouth-watering chicken.
Then there were four dishes: braised pork, braised spare ribs, pork with preserved vegetables, and blanched prawns.
There were four more dishes: pickled fish, beef in sour soup, boiled pork slices, and angelica lamb stew.
Finally, there is the mutton offal vermicelli soup specially prepared by the kitchen.
Some red rice is added to the rice, so the cooked rice can be considered festive red rice.
The people who came to the banquet were all staring with wide eyes. Although their lives had improved a lot since they escaped from the famine, they still had to live frugally and save money, so they had not had meat for a long time.
We usually only buy a little meat to eat during festivals, but who would have thought that for a full moon banquet, there would not only be fruits and pastries, but also a 12-course banquet. Usually, banquets in the village only have 6 or 8 dishes.
12 dishes is really a big feast.
As for the dishes served, I don’t know what many of them are called, but it’s obvious that they are all meat dishes, and the portions are quite large.
Some of them were just halfway through their meal when the little girl came over to add more food.
This is the first time I have had this feast since I was born.