Traveling through the farm, I just want to earn money by farming

Chapter 178 The eldest son of the Guo family

Chen Changjiang's family had three acres of high-quality farmland and three acres of low-quality farmland, and the same was true for Chen Changshui's family. Neither family rented land from wealthy families, and the surplus after paying taxes each year was enough for the family's living expenses. This was also thanks to the new emperor's compassion for the people and his reduction of some taxes. Otherwise, according to previous decrees, the family would have had to save as much as possible to barely survive.

"I thought the harvest would be bad due to the floods this year and late planting, but it turned out to be quite good." The village chief looked at the rice in the threshing ground. Every grain was golden and plump, and his cloudy old eyes became much clearer.

"How was the harvest in previous years?" asked Mr. Yu.

The village chief knocked on the pipe in his hand and said, "The harvest depends on the weather. When the weather is good, it's better. But in the past few years, when there were natural disasters and man-made disasters, every family couldn't expect to have enough food. Just being able to survive was good enough."

Old Master Yu also knew how heavy the taxes were during the reign of the previous emperor, and with the successive years of natural disasters, the people were truly living in misery.

"The harvest is good this year, and the new emperor is benevolent and considerate of the people. There's hope for the future."

"Yes, yes, I did a rough calculation. After paying taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, my family still has a lot left. Now that we have money to earn, we can live a good life."

The village chief said "yes" three times in a row. In his heart, the days he has now are really something he could not have imagined before. What else is there to be dissatisfied with?

Seeing that he was happy, Mr. Yu couldn't help but sigh in his heart. What ordinary people want is the simplest thing: to have enough food to eat, clothes to wear and a house to live in.

After this busy period, it was already the Cold Dew season and the Chen family welcomed their regular customers.

This regular customer was not someone else, but Mr. Xue and Xue Mingxiang and his group.

"Hello, elder sister. How are you feeling these days?" Old Madam Xue took Old Madam Chen's hand and asked about her recent situation.

Old Lady Chen smiled and said, "Thanks to you, you're in good health. You must be tired from the bumpy ride. Come in and rest your feet."

"I just came over and saw that your new house has been roughly built. Can you move in before the New Year?"

"We're just trying to get people moving in before the New Year. Changshui and the others are helping out there every day, counting the days."

"That's great! I'll come back next year when the new house is built and live in your house. Please don't find me annoying."

Old Madam Xue and Old Lady Chen were chatting happily and didn't pay any attention to the younger generations.

As soon as the younger generations arrived, they kowtowed to her and greeted her, then took Xue Mingxiang and the others away to chat about the fun.

Old Mrs. Chen pretended to be angry: "You are making our relationship become estranged by your words, aren't you? I would be happy if you were willing to live here every day."

Madam Xue said, "I'm really not polite when you say that."

Xiang Ling saw that a distinguished guest was coming, so she had already moved chairs and a small table into the yard. When the guest sat down, she quickly served him hot tea and snacks.

Old Madam Xue watched calmly, feeling satisfied that the people trained by the Chen family were actually quite good.

The two of them sat together drinking tea and chatting about recent news, feeling very comfortable.

"I feel more comfortable here with you, elder sister. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me because I planned to live in the village when I came here, but unfortunately your new house is not ready yet." Old Lady Xue said with some regret.

Old Lady Chen clapped her thigh and said, "This is not a big deal. Did you see the school when you entered the village?"

Madam Xue nodded: "I see, it is large and simple, beautiful and elegant."

"There are rooms reserved for students in this academy. Right now, only a few teachers and the Xue family boys live there; the rest are empty. When it was being built, my daughter Qing Ning mentioned that three rooms were reserved: one for the teachers, one for the men, and one for the women. Each room has a bathroom, a dressing room, and even a small kitchen. I suggest you just live in the women's room. Just let Qing Ning know."

Madam Xue smiled upon hearing this. "That's fantastic! I was just worried. My granddaughter is determined to become Mr. Wu's disciple. When she came here, she told me that if she didn't have a place to live, she would live in a carriage."

"Ms. Xue is a good and sincere girl. Now you don't have to worry about these little things. She can study literature with the teacher and have the children to accompany her. Isn't it a good thing that you have someone to accompany you too?"

"Yes, yes, it's a good thing. I'll ask someone to ask Qing Ning and the village chief. If they agree, we won't be polite." Old Lady Xue was happy and immediately asked someone to do it.

The two old ladies here were chatting happily, and the group of children over there was even more lively.

"Hello everyone, this is my cousin Xue Jingming. He is returning to the capital with us this time. I'm afraid I'll have to stay here for a while." Xue Mingxiang bowed slightly to everyone, and then introduced a young man next to him to everyone.

Xue Jingming exchanged greetings with everyone before saying, "Sorry to bother you all."

Guo Xinjun asked, "Brother Ming is taking part in next year's provincial exam? I wonder what subject he's taking?"

"Yes, my dear, I am taking the Mingjing exam."

Guo Xinjun showed approval. The current imperial examinations are different from what later generations interpreted. The imperial court's imperial examinations are not bound by any rules and recruit talents from all walks of life.

The regular examinations at the imperial court today include the scholar, mingjing, junshi, jinshi, mingfa, mingzi, mingsuan, yishi, sanshi, kaiyuanli, daoju, etc. However, the requirements for the scholar exam are extremely high, and very few students apply each year. The current emperor seems to be considering abolishing the scholar exam.

(Note: This scholar is not the scholar we know in later generations. According to records, after the abolition of this subject in the Tang Dynasty, "xiucai" became a general term for those who studied and took the imperial examinations.)

Meng Er looked at Guo Xinjun and smiled, "I remember you also took the Mingjing exam, and even came in first."

Xue Jingming could hardly contain his excitement upon hearing this. He quickly stepped forward and bowed deeply to Guo Xinjun. "Sir, are you the eldest son of the Guo family? I've heard that he was exceptionally intelligent since childhood. By the age of three, he could recite over ten essays. At such a young age, he became the first person in our dynasty to pass the Mingjing exam before reaching the age of twenty. I have long admired him, but I never expected to see him in person today. Please accept my humble greeting."

Guo Xinjun dragged him up and said, "I'm not worthy of this. I just have some experience in the Mingjing subject."

Xue Jingming now saw that Guo Xinjun was very enthusiastic. If it weren't for the fact that there were so many people around and it was difficult for him to do anything excessive, he would have gone up to him and hugged him tightly.

This news was extremely exciting for Xue Jingming, but it was a great shock to the Chen brothers. They usually followed Mr. Wu, and occasionally Guo Xinjun would give them lectures on their behalf. They only knew that he was knowledgeable, but they didn't expect that he was actually a top scholar.

What great fortune had befallen their family? At this moment, besides shock, I felt an immense admiration and respect for them.

Although Qing Ning and the others didn't know much about the imperial examinations of the current dynasty, they had a general idea that not everyone could become the top scholar.

Guo Xinjun looked at the group of people with burning eyes, and glanced at Meng Er helplessly. He was the only one who had a mouth.