OFTLHFRO C74

Chapter 74 How About Eating Soft-Shelled Turtle?

At home fiddling with moldy tofu… which was actually fermented bean curd, Luo Mingchen was surprised to see Master Mo personally come over.

After all, the two boys had always behaved quite well. Aside from the time they got into a fight with classmates once, they had never given him any trouble afterward. So Luo Mingchen couldn’t figure out why Master Mo would suddenly come visiting.

However, after washing his hands and bringing a pot of tea into the main hall, Luo Mingchen suddenly thought of one possibility. Smiling, he said, “Master Mo, have you come to buy some fruit? Apologies, I’ve been rather busy these days and completely forgot about that matter. I’ll send some fruit over to you later.”

Hearing this, Master Mo paused, then said helplessly, “I haven’t come for the fruit.”

“Then what is it?”

While speaking, Luo Mingchen poured him a cup of tea.

Master Mo said, “Student Huo Yuhui has been studying very diligently at the academy, and not only that, his natural talent is also quite good.”

Hearing him praise his child, Luo Mingchen nodded happily and said, “Xiaohui really does love reading.”

“I mean to say, your family isn’t among the very poor, so for the sake of the child’s future, perhaps this year he could try taking the county student exam. If he performs normally, passing as a tongsheng shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Really?”

Luo Mingchen was delighted. “Then how do we register?”

Seeing his reaction, Master Mo knew Huo Yuhui hadn’t mentioned it at home. “There’s no need to rush just yet. What I want to say is that since this would be his first time taking the exam, if he gets nervous or if this year’s questions are unusually hard, it’s possible he won’t pass. He likely didn’t tell you because he’s worried about wasting family money.”

Luo Mingchen nodded. “Xiaohui is like that. He often worries about the family.”

“Still, it’s common for the first exam to be uncertain. He’s bright enough that it’s worth spending some money for him to try. If he waits until next year and then fails, it may end up wasting several more years. Advancing from tongsheng to xiucai is much harder. Some people try for seven or eight years without success. And as for juren—that is even more difficult.”

Master Mo did his best to explain thoroughly, so that Luo Mingchen wouldn’t set his expectations too high and risk becoming deeply disappointed, which might then cause the boy to also lose confidence.

“I understand. Whether or not he can pass, the first year is just to test the waters and gain experience. If he succeeds, that’s excellent. If not, then we’ll try again next year.”

Luo Mingchen had gone through the university entrance exams in his previous life. Here, the examinations were even harder. He certainly wasn’t under any illusions that one could pass them easily.

Hearing this, Master Mo slightly nodded. “That’s exactly it.”

“Then how do we register? Where is the exam held?”

“Since last year, apart from the Spring Imperial Examinations, all are held in the county seat. The tests are only two or three days apart, and in another half a month the exam will begin. I happen to have here a letter of recommendation. If you take this to the county yamen and pay the exam fee, that will suffice.”

Luo Mingchen was slightly taken aback. “Only one letter?”

Master Mo answered as tactfully as possible: “Student Huo Xiang is also intelligent and quick-witted, but his handwriting needs much more practice. He’s still quite young. It would be fine for him to study another two years before attempting it.”

“…Alright.”

Luo Mingchen knew Master Mo was already being very tactful, so he didn’t press further.

It didn’t really matter anyway.

Just as Master Mo said, Huo Xiang was indeed still very young—his baby teeth were just beginning to fall out. Whether he sat for the exam now was immaterial; the important thing was that he could read and wasn’t illiterate.

After all, the real purpose of studying was to seek understanding.

Of course, only if Huo Xiang were truly unable to continue would Luo Mingchen let him choose a different path.

Here, the imperial exam system was the fastest way to rise in social status.

Even passing simply as a xiucai granted considerable prestige—for example, Lin Qingfeng.

So long as one did not behave foolishly, one could later teach children in a school or work as a bookkeeper—far easier than doing manual labor.

After sending Master Mo off, Luo Mingchen stored away the fermented bean curd and collected the sun-dried radish strips dangling from the tree branches in order to pickle them.

When the brothers came home from school, Luo Mingchen called them over.

“Xiaohui, this afternoon Master Mo came by. He said you should try taking the county student exam this year.”

On hearing this, Huo Yuhui lowered his eyes slightly and said, “Little Papa, I think it would be better if I studied another year before taking the exam.”

Knowing he simply wanted to save money for the family, Luo Mingchen reached out to tousle his small head and said, “It’s alright. It’s only the tongsheng exam, not the xiucai or juren level. Think of it as just getting familiar with the examination environment.”

Well…

Hearing that last part, Huo Yuhui didn’t know how to reply.

“Be good. Tomorrow morning we’ll go register. After all, Master Mo personally delivered a recommendation letter.”

Luo Mingchen thought to himself, no matter how expensive the registration fee might be, it certainly wouldn’t cost as much as two hundred taels of gold, right?

With things said this far, Huo Yuhui could only agree. “Alright.”

If possible, he naturally wanted to try.

When Huo Yan returned from accompanying Xiao Lin and Hua Niang to look at houses, Luo Mingchen told him about it.

“Then let him take the exam.”

Luo Mingchen said, “Actually, I was wondering—shouldn’t we prepare some kind of special food to eat for the occasion?”

Huo Yan gave him an indescribable look. “Are you suggesting ashes from an incense burner?”

Hearing this, Luo Mingchen’s mouth twitched. “…What I meant was, do you have things like Scholar Cakes here? Who would want to eat ashes? Wouldn’t that cause diarrhea?”

“There should be something like that, though I’ve never tried it. Do you have such customs where you’re from?”

Luo Mingchen said, “Back where I come from, before exams we’d eat fried dough sticks and eggs. It didn’t matter whether it really helped; it was for psychological comfort.”

Huo Yan added another stick of firewood to the stove. “Then let’s give him fried dough sticks and eggs.”

“You also grade by ranks here?”

“They’re evaluated as Class A, B, C, or D, and then divided into first, second, and third tier.”

After a brief silence, Luo Mingchen tentatively suggested, “Then what about eating soft-shelled turtle?”

The two looked at each other for a moment. Then Huo Yan said, “That works too.”

Having settled on the exam eve menu, the next morning, after delivering the tofu, the couple went to the market to buy several large soft-shelled turtles.

There was still plenty of time before the exam, so they could eat them slowly.

Afterward, they stopped in at the shop to tell Wen Liuyun that if the stock sold out, they wouldn’t be able to restock until the afternoon.

Hearing that they were taking Huo Yuhui to the county government to register for the exam, Wen Liuyun froze for a moment, then smiled gently and said, “Alright.”

Looking at him, Luo Mingchen suddenly thought of something. “You’re a xiucai too, aren’t you? If you’d like to take the exam, we could lend you some money.”

After all, he was one of their own shop’s people, and Wen Liuyun clearly seemed more capable than Lin Qingfeng. Both his character and learning were worth investing in; if he could pass as a juren, their store’s fame would rise as well.

Completely unprepared for Luo Mingchen to say this, Wen Liuyun pressed his lips together, then explained, “I’ve already been expelled from the academy. Without a recommendation letter from a teacher, I may not sit for the examinations.”

“There’s such a rule?”

Luo Mingchen truly couldn’t understand.

Huo Yan asked, “What happened—did you commit some offense?”

Wen Liuyun gave a bitter smile. “It was more or less the crime of not giving gifts.”

Luo Mingchen genuinely couldn’t comprehend. “Then why not transfer to another academy? I think Master Mo from Baiye Academy is a good man.”

“Master Mo is indeed fine, but before I couldn’t even afford the tuition gift. Now I plan to save enough silver to study under him for a few years. Perhaps then I might earn a recommendation letter.”

As he said this, his gaze was incredibly resolute.

Luo Mingchen was surprised. “It will take several more years?”

“Boss Luo, you may not know. Letters of recommendation for xiucai are limited in quota. A teacher cannot simply issue them at will.”

Hearing this, Luo Mingchen could only think: “…You people truly have it tough.”

But Wen Liuyun merely smiled, no longer as despondent as before.

Since that was how it was, Luo Mingchen let the subject drop. Together with Huo Yan and their three children, he went to Yuelan County. After registering, they could even stroll around and buy a few sets of winter clothing.

 

Note-

 

• Tongsheng (童生, “child student”): An examinee at the entry level who sat local qualifying exams; those who passed advanced toward licentiate status. 
• Shengyuan/Xiucai (生員/秀才, “licentiate”): A government-recognized student who passed academy-level entry exams, gaining stipends, status, and eligibility for higher exams. 
• Juren (舉人, “provincial graduate”): A candidate who passed the triennial provincial exam (鄉試), qualifying for national-level testing and provincial-level appointments. 
• Gongshi (貢士, “metropolitan graduate-candidate”): A candidate who passed the metropolitan exam (會試) in the capital and was shortlisted for the palace exam. 
• Jinshi (進士, “presented scholar”): The highest civil degree granted after the palace exam (殿試), forming the pool for central government appointments. 
• Jieyuan (解元, “provincial first”): The top scorer of the provincial exam, ranked first among all Juren in that province. 
• Huiyuan (會元, “metropolitan first”): The top scorer of the metropolitan exam, ranked first among all Gongshi. 
• Zhuangyuan (狀元, “champion”): The first-place finisher of the palace exam, the pinnacle individual honor among Jinshi. 
• Bangyan (榜眼, “eye of the list”): The second-place finisher of the palace exam, ranked just below Zhuangyuan. 
• Tanhua (探花, “plucker of flowers”): The third-place finisher of the palace exam, completing the elite top three. 
• Wuju ren (武舉人, “military provincial graduate”): A martial-track candidate who passed the provincial-level military exam, qualified for higher martial exams. 
• Wujinshi (武進士, “military Jinshi”): The highest military-track degree after palace-level martial exams, leading to military appointments. 
• Enke (恩科, “grace examination”): An extraordinary additional exam session ordered by the throne outside the standard triennial cycle. 
• Yuanshi (院試, “academy/commission exam”): A key qualifying exam organized by the provincial education authorities that admitted candidates to licentiate status. 
• Xianshi/Fushi/Zhoushi (縣試/府試/州試, “county/prefectural/subprefectural exams”): Local stages of the apprentice exams used to filter candidates for licentiate enrollment. 
• Baogong/Tribute pathways (貢生/拔貢/優貢, “tribute/select students”): Recommendation or quota-based routes sending talented licentiates to higher schools or exams without repeating all lower stages.