Chapter 148: Chóngwén Academy 3/4

Unfortunately, fried peanuts were expensive now, so people didn’t put them in anymore.

Jīn Xiǎoshù finished the rice balls in a few mouthfuls, then took out a kettle filled with tea water and drank some tea. After eating, he felt rejuvenated and continued to row the boat forward. “Brother-in-law, these rice balls are really delicious. I’ll buy another one on the way back for us to eat.”

He was already full now, but he would probably be hungry again on the way back.

“Alright, later, you can go to your sister’s place for a big meal,” Lí Qīngzhí said.

“I’ll definitely eat more then! Brother-in-law, Chang Zhan’s cooking is really amazing. Ordinary things become extremely delicious when he makes them.”

Jīn Xiǎoshù left Lí Qīngzhí near the Chóngwén Academy and then left.

Carrying a box and wearing a backpack, Lí Qīngzhí entered the Chóngwén Academy.

With only two months left until the academy exam, he really needed to study hard now, and there weren’t any other tasks that required his attention for the time being.

He had already given suggestions to County Magistrate Gǒu and mentioned the matter of building a school. County Magistrate Gǒu had already gone to work on it, but this wouldn’t be resolved quickly. Leaving aside other issues, the first step to building a school was to have land and a building!

Moreover, with only Lí Qīngzhí and Zhū Qián managing the school, it seemed a bit lacking. Besides, it was currently the time to harvest summer crops…

Lí Qīngzhí felt that this matter could only be resolved after he finished the academy exam.

For now, he should focus on studying.

Zhou Shāncháng had already instructed earlier, so Lí Qīngzhí quickly found him and then went to the room assigned by Zhū Xúnmiǎo, where he would stay with Zhū Xúnmiǎo.

The accommodation conditions at Chóngwén Academy were quite good. Each room was about forty square meters, with two beds and wardrobes on both sides, and a desk in the middle.

Zhū Xúnmíao had been living here for some time now, and he was quite well-off financially… Lí Qīngzhí found that even if he didn’t bring anything with him, he could live comfortably here.

“The academy doesn’t allow servants to be brought in, but you can pay people from the academy to help with housekeeping and laundry…” Zhū Xúnmíao introduced Chóngwén Academy to Lí Qīngzhí. “The meals at the school are divided into three categories. The cheapest option includes one dish, one soup, and rice for each meal, which doesn’t cost much. Then there’s a slightly more expensive option with two dishes, one soup, and a substantial main course. The third option is to pay for the kitchen to cook for you… I have two dishes and one soup for lunch, and I pay for the kitchen to cook for me in the evening. Lí Qīngzhí, why don’t you join me?”

“Sure,” Lí Qīngzhí agreed with a smile.

Although Lí Qīngzhí said he came to study, he didn’t go to the classroom like Zhū Xúnmíao.

He mainly stayed in Zhou Shanchang’s library to read books, and when he had questions, he would ask Zhou Shanchang.

This learning style was more suitable for him.

There were indeed many books in Zhou Shanchang’s library, and many of them were ones Lí Qīngzhí hadn’t read before. As he looked around, he even found a complete set of “Ānjiāng Collection”.

Well, maybe not a complete set, but since a certain issue from ten years ago, every issue had been collected, but there were none from before that.

Lí Qīngzhí opened one of them and started reading.

The quality of the articles in this “Ānjiāng Collection” was really good. Reading more of them would be beneficial for academic research and writing.

As Lí Qīngzhí was reading, Peng Jingliang arrived.

Just like Lí Qīngzhí, Peng Jingliang didn’t attend classes either. He mainly followed Zhou Shanchang to read books. Seeing Lí Qīngzhí reading the “Ānjiāng Collection”, Peng Jingliang said, “Brother Lí, the new issue of the ‘Ānjiāng Collection’ has arrived. Let’s read it together! After reading it, I still need to transcribe it!”

Zhou Shanchang was strict with Peng Jingliang, making him transcribe the “Ānjiāng Collection”, wanting him to learn more and also to practice his handwriting.

Peng Jingliang would often complain about this, but after complaining, he would still diligently complete the tasks assigned by Zhou Shanchang.

Lí Qīngzhí knew that Governor Zhang had helped him submit his work, but he knew for sure that there wouldn’t be anything from him in this issue.

When Governor Zhang went to submit the work, the current issue must have already started printing!

Printing books back then wasn’t as fast as it is in modern times!

But perhaps in the next issue… there might be his articles.

By the time Chóngwén Academy received the new issue of the “Ānjiāng Collection”, people in the provincial capital had already read it.

In a tavern in the provincial capital, a group of scholars were discussing the articles in the “Ānjiāng Collection”.

Most of these scholars had come to the provincial capital to take the imperial examination, and a few were already qualified scholars who had passed the examination.

Their level was average, so naturally they wouldn’t criticize the articles in the “Ānjiāng Collection”; they only praised them.

“This poem is really well-written!”

“The sentences in this article are cleverly crafted!”

“Zhou, after you finish reading it, can I borrow it to transcribe it?”

…

As they were chatting, someone asked Dù Yǒngníng, “Brother Dù, I heard you submitted your articles to Ānjiāng Academy? I wonder if we’ll see your masterpiece in the next issue.”

Dù Yǒngníng smiled, “I did submit them, but it’s just a trial. It’s not certain if they will be published.”

Although Dù Yǒngníng said so, he felt quite uncomfortable inside.

He had given gifts to the teachers at Ānjiāng Academy and received news that his articles should be published in the next issue of the “Ānjiāng Collection”.

Naturally, he was happy and had mentioned sending his articles to Ānjiāng Academy to others.

However, just after he mentioned it, he received news that his articles wouldn’t be published in the next issue of the “Ānjiāng Collection” anymore. They probably wouldn’t be published in August either. But they would try to arrange it for later… 

At the end of August, the imperial examination would begin! If his articles couldn’t make it into the July issue of the “Ānjiāng Collection”, or even the August issue, what was the point of being published later?

He wanted to make a name for himself before the imperial examination and get a minor recognition!

Dù Yǒngníng knew that aiming for the top three honors was basically impossible, but getting the minor recognition should be feasible.

But now there was an unexpected turn of events…

Dù Yǒngníng wasn’t feeling too good, but he had to restrain himself in front of others…

Lí Qīngzhí stayed in Chóngwén Academy for five days and then asked Zhou Shanchang for leave, preparing to return to Chóngchéng County for a while.

He planned his schedule: he would study for five days, rest for two days, then study for another five days, just like in modern times, with weekends off.

During his break, he would return to Chóngchéng County to see his wife and children, chat with people, and recharge.

On Saturday morning, as usual, he read books at Zhou Shanchang’s place, and at noon, Jīn Xiǎoshù came to pick him up.

Lí Qīngzhí took the books borrowed from Zhou Shanchang and boarded Jīn Xiǎoshù’s boat.

He would stay at home all day tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, he would return to the provincial capital with Jīn Xiǎoshù in the morning.

“Xiǎoshù, how’s the business for the braised meat in the provincial capital?” Lí Qīngzhí asked.

“It’s booming, brother-in-law!” Jīn Xiǎoshù said. “Xiuniang [his sister-in-law] is demanding more and more braised meat! By the way, we can’t call her Xiuniang anymore; everyone calls her Ah Xiu now.”

“Shall we go take a look?” Lí Qīngzhí suggested. He planned to buy something that Chóngchéng County didn’t have in the provincial capital and bring it back for Lí Dàmáo and Lí Èrmáo, and at the same time, he could see how Ah Xiu’s business was doing.

Most things available in the provincial capital were also found in Chóngchéng County, but Lí Qīngzhí saw a pair of ceramic foal paperweights in a pottery shop here that looked quite cute, so he bought them and decided to bring them back for Lí Dàmáo and Lí Èrmáo.

After making their purchases, they went to the braised meat shop in the provincial capital.

The braised meat shop was opened by Fang Xiuniang, but the name of the shop was still “Juewei Zhai”.

As Lí Qīngzhí approached, he noticed people queuing up to buy braised meat:

“Sister Āxiù, I’ll have half a braised chicken!”

“Sister Āxiù, I want some braised tofu.”

“Sister Āxiù, I’d like to buy some vegetarian chicken!”

…

“Sister Āxiù?” Lí Qīngzhí looked at Jīn Xiǎoshù in confusion.

Jīn Xiǎoshù explained, “Brother-in-law, she claims to be a widow whose husband passed away. Everyone calls her Sister Āxiù.”