Chapter 202 2/3

Li Qingzhi felt that this time he wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep.

Among the many candidates, Li Qingzhi was quite tall, standing out like a crane among chickens.

Moreover, his energetic demeanor drew envious glances from those around him.

“Is that Li Qingzhi? He looks very spirited.”

“There were rumors that he was in poor health, but he seems quite robust now.”

“He must have done well in the exam.”

“Judging by the essays he’s written in the ‘Anjiang Collection,’ he surely won’t fail this provincial exam.”

“My teacher thinks he might even rank first.”

“The top scorer in Jiang’an Province? That would be incredible!”

…

When Li Qingzhi returned home, he had another good night’s sleep before heading back to the examination hall for the next session.

It rained during the third session. Although it was only a light rain, it still caused considerable inconvenience, worsening the candidates’ conditions.

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival saw the scholars taking the provincial exam in Jiang’an Province unable to reunite with their families. The bad weather also prevented them from enjoying the moon.

Even Du Yongning, who was young and healthy, struggled. Li Qingzhi even saw him gnawing on a piece of ginseng.

In modern times, ginseng is relatively cheap due to cultivation, but in Daqi, it was very expensive. Du Yongning could afford it thanks to his wealthy family, giving him a slight advantage.

However, Li Qingzhi had the biggest advantage, as the harsh conditions of the examination hall hardly affected him due to his “golden finger.”

When the three sessions were finally over, Li Qingzhi left the examination hall looking just like his usual self.

Du Yongning was envious: “Brother Li, I didn’t expect you to be in such good health!”

“I have a good appetite, so my health is good,” Li Qingzhi replied.

Thinking about Li Qingzhi’s incredible appetite, Du Yongning fell silent.

While Du Yongning could still stand in the examination hall, as soon as he saw his servant outside, he collapsed into his arms. His servant and the Du family’s attendants quickly carried him to a sedan chair to take him home.

Li Qingzhi didn’t think Du Yongning was truly that weak; he was probably just exhausted and wanted some pampering.

Jin Xiaoye had once again arranged a sedan for Li Qingzhi. When he got home, he saw Chang Zhan and Jin Xiaoshu.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“Mr. Li, today is the day you finished the provincial exam. We came to see you,” Chang Zhan replied.

Jin Xiaoshu grinned: “Brother-in-law, how did the exam go?”

“I did my best. Now it’s up to the examiners,” Li Qingzhi said with a smile.

Chang Zhan and Jin Xiaoshu had set off early that morning and arrived by noon.

Upon arriving in the provincial capital, they heard that many candidates had fallen ill during the exam, which worried them, especially Jin Xiaoshu.

Jin Xiaoshu always thought of Li Qingzhi as frail.

Seeing him in good health now, Jin Xiaoshu finally relaxed.

Chang Zhan had prepared a sumptuous meal to celebrate Li Qingzhi finishing the exam. During the meal, Li Qingzhi chatted with Chang Zhan and Jin Xiaoshu.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye had been in the provincial capital for over a month. During this time, there had been some minor issues in Chongcheng County, but they were all resolved.

As for what kind of issues…

At the Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop, the husband of a married female worker came to cause trouble, claiming that the workshop had spoiled his wife. He said that before she worked there, she did all the housework, but now she acted like a lord and refused to cook.

The issue was easily resolved when Fang Jinniang suggested that he divorce his wife if he was unhappy. The man didn’t want a divorce and left in a huff.

In those days, it wasn’t easy for ordinary people to get a wife!

Later, Sister Wang talked to the female workers, saying that if anyone at home bullied them, they should tell the workshop, and the women of the workshop would go and deal with it.

In present-day Chongcheng County, the female workers at Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop were very confident.

They earned a good amount of money, often more than the men at home, so naturally, no one dared to give them a hard time.

Of course, there were a few exceptions with very soft personalities or unconventional views. For example, one female worker gave her wages to her husband to take concubines. Sister Wang couldn’t do anything about such cases.

Juwei Zhai also encountered some problems. Someone tried to buy up all the chickens and ducks from the nearby farmers, driving up the prices to sell them at a higher price to Juwei Zhai.

However, Chang Zhan didn’t give in and chose not to buy from them, even if it meant selling fewer braised chickens and ducks each day.

He increased the amount of braised pork and various tofu products instead, which wasn’t a big deal.

In the end, it was those who bought up the chickens and ducks at high prices who couldn’t hold on. Keeping the poultry meant consuming a lot of grain daily, which they couldn’t afford. They eventually had to sell the chickens and ducks to Juwei Zhai at normal prices.

The issues at the school were more interesting.

When Li Qingzhi left Chongcheng County, he entrusted Chongcheng Primary School to Qian Changsheng.

Qian Changsheng loved his job, spending most of his time at the school.

Additionally, he was very kind to the students, often buying snacks for them as rewards.

One girl developed a crush on him, and her parents even sent a matchmaker to inquire about his feelings.

“Changsheng is worried about this happening again, so he plans to grow a beard,” Chang Zhan said.

Li Qingzhi felt a bit sorry for Qian Changsheng, but Jin Xiaoye said, “Changsheng would probably look good even with a beard.”

Jin Xiaoye had seen Qian Fugui, who, despite being in his fifties and having a beard, was still very handsome.

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Anyway, everything in Chongcheng County was fine without him and Jin Xiaoye. In one or two years, the first batch of students from Chongcheng Primary School would graduate, and the glass and soap businesses would be well-established. They would then have a pool of reliable people to employ.

That day, Li Qingzhi ate a lot and went to bed early. The next morning, Chang Zhan and Jin Xiaoshu had already returned to Chongcheng County.

However, they said they would come back when the provincial exam results were announced.

The provincial exam results were usually announced in early September.

Some scholars who lived nearby returned home after the exam and planned to come back for the announcement, but those who lived far away stayed in the provincial capital to wait for the results.

Chongcheng County was neither too far nor too close to the provincial capital, but Li Qingzhi decided to stay in the provincial capital to await the results and to teach his family standard Mandarin.

Jin Xiaoye could already speak Mandarin, though her accent remained, which wasn’t a big deal.

As for the others, under Li Qingzhi’s insistence on speaking only in the local dialect at home, they gradually picked up some Mandarin.

During this time, Li Qingzhi secretly met Qian Fugui.

From Qian Fugui, he learned that the production of glass was increasing. The craftsmen had collected and re-fired the transparent glass, beginning to produce glass panels. However, due to impurities, the transparency was not very high.

The craftsmen were working on improvements.

Additionally, they had intentionally made some green glass. Qian Fugui planned to turn it into jewelry and also to experiment with making glass Buddha statues and other ornaments.