Chapter 45

A monthly exam paper made Shen Cui so worried that she couldn’t even finish her breakfast that day.

She had intended to consult with Lao Buyu, but before she could start, Lao Buyu said, “The two children have been working hard recently. I was thinking of organizing a test to assess the students’ progress. Master, what do you think…”

Before she could seek help, the system prompted: [Please independently complete the task of setting the exam paper.]

Fine, she had to figure it out on her own.

After thinking for half a moment and still having no clue, Shen Cui opened the system store to take a look.

Hey, as expected, there was something for sale!

For 500 shopping points, she could buy a test question bank called “Five Years of Imperial Examinations, Three Years of Simulated Exams.”

Before, Shen Cui was worried that one set of questions wouldn’t be enough to assess two students with completely different progress levels. This question bank, however, allowed her to distribute different levels of difficulty to different people. She could directly set the difficulty level in the system, or it could be randomly assigned based on the students’ abilities.

The primary difficulty level corresponded to the content from enlightenment to the county exam.

The intermediate level was for the provincial and prefectural exams.

And if she wanted a high level of difficulty, it would be like the exam for the top scholar.

In the current imperial examination system, those with outstanding articles would be circulated among literati, gaining fame across the country.

But ordinary people had no access to this kind of information, making it difficult for them to get involved.

This question bank was definitely one of a kind, without any comparison.

If it were a one or two hundred-point item, Shen Cui would have hesitated for a second, but because it was expensive, she hesitated.

The daily tasks issued by the system didn’t often require shopping points, but whenever Shen Cui’s shopping points were close to a thousand, the system would issue a task that required them.

Thanks to his ‘blessing,’ Shen Cui had now escaped from the level of Hell’s Kitchen God and had risen to a level 1 novice chef. He had also done a few things for the children, such as embroidery and other things, so his female skills were also about to level up.

After the cooking level was upgraded, the recommended recipes were also changed. For example, the recommended recipe for level 1 was “Pan-Fried Vegetable Cake,” which required a minimum of 80 points. The daily reward was only 50 points, so making it once would result in a loss of 30 points.

The advantage was that the things she made began to show “normal quality,” and the “failed quality” almost never appeared.

The provided bonuses were also more powerful. Last time she made a vegetable cake, it significantly improved the short-term memory of the person who ate it.

That day, Mu Er Pang’s reading efficiency had greatly improved, and Wei Xi, who was already talented, had almost reached the point where he could remember everything after eating.

Of course, the effect was short-lived, lasting less than an hour, as the cake was digested in the stomach.

Shen Cui had also thought about taking advantage of the system, calculating the days and thinking that the system would have to fork over some points for her. So she spent a few shopping points to purchase some books that she would definitely need in the future.

She thought that as long as she was willing to spend, the system would show some mercy. However, she didn’t expect that today it would force her to spend 500 shopping points.

If she didn’t buy it, this would be a monthly occurrence, and as the two children progressed in their studies, the exam papers would become increasingly difficult.

Top of Form

If she bought it, she would feel uneasy, not just once, but twice. She had thought that the money she had on hand was definitely enough for the whole family’s needs.

But studying really burned money. Every month, the children’s pens, ink, and paper were all expenses, and because of Wei Xi’s presence, the quality of these items couldn’t be too low.

When Mu Er Pang first started learning, he used paper that cost one wen each. Now, he used paper that cost two wen each.

It seemed cheap, but if all the paper was calculated, it would only be enough for the three of them for about ten days.

Every month, just buying paper would cost six or seven taels of silver, not to mention the more expensive pens and ink.

The other day, Lao Buyu even said that Mu Er Pang should start learning arithmetic like “The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art,” and the consumption of paper would inevitably become more severe.

She couldn’t take ten taels of silver from the Wei family each month and then ask them to provide teaching materials again, right? She really didn’t have the face for that.

And in a few years, Mu Er Pang would start the imperial examination, progressing step by step from the county level to the prefectural level, and even to the capital. If she didn’t save money now, she would really be at a loss in the future.

So Shen Cui forced herself to save four or five taels of silver every month. Where it wasn’t enough, she could only rely on the system store.

Her reliance on shopping points was increasing, so she didn’t dare to spend too much.

Nowadays, when she thought about things, she was used to staying in the academy. The two children studied hard in the hall, and she moved the rocking chair to the courtyard to half-lie down.

The system said helplessly, “Host, I find that the personalities of you Blue Star people are quite stubborn. You were very stingy from the beginning, and I thought it was because you were poor at that time, so you planned three steps ahead for every step. But I didn’t expect that, now that you are the academy master, your stingy habits can still persist until now.”

“Don’t overuse that term. I’m not stingy, I’m frugal!” Shen Cui retorted.

The system no longer spoke in an official tone in front of her, chuckling lightly with a teasing tone. “It’s hard. It was hard when you didn’t have money, and it’s hard now that you do. Indeed, although the daily tasks of the academy give you shopping points every day, you still have to spend them to buy teaching aids.”

Shen Cui muttered softly, “I used to think that the Wei family was generous and gave so much silver, but I really didn’t expect that these things would be so expensive nowadays. Ten taels of silver can support a Wei Xi for a month without any shopping points. I can save six or seven taels a month. It’s really life-threatening to support three students without using shopping points.”

“Hmm, does the host need silver again? Otherwise, I can…”

Shen Cui quickly said, “Stop.”

After crossing a level, she had indeed gained a lot of dividends. Otherwise, according to the original pace of self-study relying on the system, Mu Er Pang might still be studying enlightenment literature at this moment, and he wouldn’t have started on the Four Books and Five Classics like he was now.

But Shen Cui also knew that being greedy for too much would not be beneficial— the academy’s daily operations were starting to run at a loss due to the overleveling.

If she crossed another level, she really might not be able to cope.

And she had probably figured out the system’s routine. The system wouldn’t let her do anything other than being a accompanying parent. Even if it did, it would probably just let her recruit students and collect tuition fees.

Who knew where she would find another Wei Xi, someone who was low maintenance and had money?

As she hesitated, she saw Wei Shu again.

Seeing him again, Shen Cui suddenly remembered that another month had passed, and it was time for him to visit Wei Xi again. It felt like “a few days in the mountains, a thousand years in the world.”

Seeing him again, Shen Cui looked at him for a long time, and suddenly made up her mind to buy the “Five Years of Imperial Examinations, Three Years of Simulations” question bank directly.

Wei Shu’s appearance hadn’t changed much from when he last came to Shuiyun Village, except that there was a hint of sadness between his eyebrows.

After asking about the county exam with Mu Yunchuan last time, he didn’t ask any more questions.

It was impossible to say that he wasn’t disappointed, but another voice in his mind told him that Mu Yunchuan was originally such a genius that passing a county exam would be effortless for him. It was as normal as eating and drinking, without any experience worth sharing. Wasn’t this a very normal thing?

He considered Mu Yunchuan to be a close friend. Did he really want to distance himself from him because of such a trivial matter?

The struggle between reason and emotion had made Wei Shu restless these days.

“What’s wrong, Master Wei? You look like you’re in a bad mood,” Shen Cui asked.

Wei Shu raised his head and saw Shen Cui asking, so he said, “It’s nothing, I just encountered a problem in my studies. I’ll think about it more and I’ll figure it out.”

Shen Cui had a general relationship with him, so she didn’t inquire further.

Thinking of her plan, Shen Cui said, “Master Wei, you’ve come at the right time. The two children are going to have a small test later. Would you be interested in participating?”

The topic changed so quickly that Wei Shu was stunned for a while. “Your academy’s exams invite me to participate?”

Shen Cui said, “Yes, although it’s an exam at our academy, it’s still about the same things. Scholars from all over the world can do it. There’s no distinction between our academy and yours.”

Wei Shu couldn’t help but ponder.

Like their Qingzhu Academy, there were also exams every once in a while.

But the academy master had clearly instructed that the exam questions should not be leaked, not even to family members. If it was discovered later, the person would be expelled from the academy.

Of course, Qingzhu Academy was not the only one that did this. Other strict academies also did the same.

This was another difference between Cuiwei and other academies.

He looked towards the hall and felt a bit more admiration for Lao Buyu for the first time.

“Lao Buyu teaches without distinction. I didn’t know before that his mind was so broad. Since I’m off today, I’ll go and thank Lao Buyu in person.”

Since he was going to thank Lao Buyu, he would definitely have to expose the fact, so Shen Cui just said directly, “Um… he naturally didn’t disagree, because I made the test paper.”

Wei Shu was speechless. Previously, he would have definitely mocked Shen Cui for overestimating herself. With so little ink in her belly, how could she dare to set an exam for a serious scholar?

But Wei Shu truly regarded her as an elder, so Wei Shu suppressed the urge to mock her.

“Anyway, just give it a try. As you said, today is a day off, so no matter what kind of questions you do, just treat it as relaxation.”

The muddle-headed Wei Shu actually listened to him and went into the hall.

As the invigilator, Lao Buyu gave him his own desk to use.

Soon, Shen Cui randomly selected three sets of questions from the question bank. Mu Er Pang would definitely get the simplest one, while the Wei brothers would get intermediate difficulty, equivalent to preparing for the imperial examination in advance.

After everyone was seated, Shen Cui began to distribute the test papers.

At this point, Wei Shu still felt that it was a bit of a joke. But when he received the test paper, he was immediately attracted by the first question.

“In greatness, there is no boasting of one’s abilities; in humility, there is the possibility of success; and in brilliance, there is the presence of knowledge.”

This was a famous passage from the Analects of Confucius praising Emperor Yao, definitely not something made up!

Wei Shu then focused his attention and began to take the test seriously.