Times have changed. Li Zhouzhou had never expected that her husband would pass the imperial examination so soon. At that time, he advised Xing’er and the first wife to ease off and endure some anger. But now there is a better way to go, so he has to adapt.

　　In a few years, the eldest branch of the family will be established and will want to split up. What will happen to Xing’er’s life?

　　”I, I’m nervous, and I can’t say anything more than you can. How about I call Wang Shitou over and you talk to him?”

　　”You speak for yourself.” Li Zhouzhou refused. “You used to be smart and talkative, why are you so stupid now? Your mother-in-law and father-in-law are worried about the division of the family property and the livelihood of the farmers. It’s good enough if you solve that problem.”

　　Without dividing the family, we hired people to do the farm work.

　　That’s good.

　　Wang Shitou was not a filial son, otherwise he would not have secretly bought a stove without his mother’s knowledge. The main contradiction was resolved, and the rest was easy to deal with. Xingge’er’s family could earn more than 100 taels a year, and he would keep half for himself and take half back. Not only his father-in-law and mother-in-law, but also the first wife’s family would be happy.

　　”Give your eldest sister-in-law some profit. She has many children, and you earn more money. She will make concessions for the sake of her own children. Don’t divide the family. Your eldest brother will also send food to your family in the prefecture during the slack season. Don’t be too calculative and be more kind. Your life will definitely get better and better.”

　　”Don’t be stingy and cheat your sister-in-law. Follow that example.” Li Zhouzhou spoke more harshly.

　　Xing Ge’er thought of Li San and immediately shook his head and said, “I’m not that kind of person!” His father had sent him cheap food for so many years, and he was so angry about it. How could he do the same thing as that bad guy?

　　After returning home, Xing Ge’er first talked to Shitou, but before he finished speaking, his mother-in-law heard him and said that he was causing trouble again. He should try his best to have another child for Yuanyuan to keep company. Xing Ge’er felt wronged and was more determined to leave. Otherwise, he would not be able to have children and would not be able to stay in this family anymore.

　　So they followed Zhou Zhou’s words and said that they would not divide the family property. They would keep half of the 100 taels of silver a year and give the other half back to the family. This way, if the eldest sister-in-law’s child wanted to learn to read and write, there would be enough money…

　　The sister-in-law’s heart moved.

　　Who in the village would not envy Gu Zhaozhong for his status as Mr. Gu?

　　The only thing is that the family will not be divided. The two elders of the Wang family were able to listen attentively and let Xing Ge’er explain what Li Zhouzhou’s original words were.

　　As a result, it turned out that Li Zhouzhou had really pointed out a good path for Xingge’er, and all the bumps and bruises he encountered on the road of doing business were swept away.

　　”Can you really earn a hundred taels a year?” asked Wang’s mother-in-law.

　　Xing Ge’er said, “Zhou Zhou said that in the first year he and his uncle worked together, they sold everything every day and had nothing left. After deducting the monthly expenses and his husband’s tuition, they had about 90 or 100 taels. Zhou Zhou told me all this because he believed me.”

　　No wonder the Li family has returned with generous gifts over the years. Even the banquet for Fu Bao’s hundred-day banquet was a big deal.

　　”Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, if you don’t trust us, we can just sign a document and pledge our loyalty, right?” Xing Ge’er said. He was honest and would never let his sister-in-law down. “It’s hard for me to get pregnant. Maybe Yuanyuan is the only one in this life. I really don’t want to let Yuanyuan down.”

　　Wang Shitou felt sad, and he cursed and swore that he would never be like Li San, otherwise he would have no descendants. Then he was beaten by his mother and accused of talking nonsense.

　　She knew her son could never be as heartless as Li San.

　　Finally, it was decided that even the eldest daughter-in-law had no objection and supported it.

　　In early April, Wang Shitou and Xing’er went to Fuxian with Uncle Li. Li Da took Gu Zhao’s letter and drove a mule cart with the couple. His family wanted to give up the lease of the Fuxian yard, and there were things that needed to be packed up and put away, which he went to do.

　　The matter was resolved neatly.

　　When the owner of the Jinyu Restaurant, Xu, saw Li Da coming, he bent over and congratulated him with a smile: “Congratulations to Mr. Gu’s father.” After hearing the purpose of his visit, he immediately invited the boss.

　　Li Da was not good at dealing with his boss, so he directly delivered Gu Zhao’s letter.

　　The boss was a shrewd man and it was impossible for him to swallow up the entire business. Besides, it would not be a loss to be on good terms with Mr. Gu, so he agreed without thinking. Mr. Gu’s letter contained detailed information, saying that the other party was selling in the west, and he could do his expensive business and also arrange a banquet, so he would make the lion’s share.

　　Wang Shitou and Xingger saw that their uncle had become a different person when he handled things. He took them to rent a yard and even talked to the owner of the pork shop, Mr. Zhu, in a very friendly and lively manner, calling him their brother. They almost didn’t recognize that this was their taciturn uncle.

　　Why has the change been as big as Zhou Zhou’s?

　　The couple’s yard is more spacious than the one the Li family rented before, but the Li family wanted to be close to Qingping Academy, so it was expensive. They live in the western residential area, less than two minutes’ walk from the butcher shop. The yard is large and lively, and the annual rent is eleven taels.

　　Wang Shitou gritted his teeth for two years and he brought money.

　　This yard was introduced by Boss Zhu, so we don’t have to worry about the owner not renting it out after renewing the contract.

　　Boss Zhu was very welcoming when he knew that this was a relative of Li Fulang’s family. He was even happier when he knew that he would be making braised food in the future. This way it would be much more convenient for him to eat braised food in the future.

　　Li Da arranged everything for his two younger generations. He brought in tables, stools, large iron pots, and other things that were used for his business, as well as beds, wardrobes, tables, etc. They would not be worth much if sold, and it would definitely not work if taken back, so he gave them all to the two of them.

　　”Work hard, don’t be stingy with leftovers, if they’re broken, it’s better to throw them away than to sell them, and make food diligently and cleanly…”

　　When Xing Ge’er came, he had heard Zhou Zhou’s experience, but when he heard his uncle tell it again, he listened obediently. When everything was done, the business of Jinyu Restaurant was not under Su Gou Wa’s name, so naturally there was no need to pay taxes. Xing Ge’er would be responsible for paying taxes for the business he did.

　　It is impossible that the Li family has done everything for them and still has to pay taxes.

　　Li Da explained everything, and the two remembered it. He then took the couple to do business for another seven days. Seeing that the ingredients were in the right order and the taste was right, he felt relieved and said, “Yuanyuan, I will deliver it to you when the time comes. It is estimated that Zhaoer will be back in another month, and then we will have to go to the prefecture and county.”

　　During these seven days of business, the couple’s anxious hearts were at ease when they saw the business was selling quickly. After closing the shop and counting the money, they immediately felt at ease. It was just as Zhou Zhou said.

　　When uncle was about to leave, Wang Shitou and Xingger gave him the money they had earned in the past seven days.

　　Li Da waved his hand and said no, “Just live a good life in the future. Even if it’s just Yuanyuan, don’t make any messes.”

　　”I know uncle, I won’t do anything rash,” said Wang Shitou.

　　No one knew that after Gu Zhao’s arrival and Li Zhouzhou’s intervention, in the previous life, because Xing Ge’er couldn’t give birth to a second child, and under the nagging of her mother-in-law, Xing Ge’er’s temper became worse and worse. He quarreled with Wang Shitou all day long and became a couple of grudges. Now, away from the gossips in the village, the urging of her mother-in-law, the couple’s efforts for business, and the clamping of the Li family, Wang Shitou dared not have other thoughts and accepted his fate of having only one son.

　　Li Da did not go back directly. Instead, he took a detour to Yanjia Village to help Zhou Zhou deliver a message to Xiao Shu.

　　It was already the end of the month when we arrived at Xiping Village.

　　”…Xiaoshu is pregnant and has been pregnant for more than five months.” Li Da came back to see Fubao first. He washed his hands and held Fubao. Fubao kept crying and he loved him very much. He took the time to say a few words to Zhou Zhou.

　　Li Zhouzhou calculated the days and suddenly said: “…”

　　Xiaoshu asked for it when he accompanied me to Wannan Prefecture for the exam last year, probably when we were waiting for the results to be announced.

　　”I told him how the prefecture and county businesses were handled and gave him the money. He refused at first, but then he started crying and said he still wanted to do business with you, but he didn’t know where his husband would be transferred to in the future.” Li Da laughed so hard that his wrinkles deepened. He lifted Fubao up high, and Fubao giggled with joy. Li Da also laughed, “Our Fubao is brave and not afraid.”

　　Fubao chuckled.

　　Li Zhouzhou sighed. He also wanted to do business with Xiaoshu.

　　But there’s nothing I can do.

　　After selling the braised pork recipe to Jinyu Restaurant, Li Da got eight hundred taels of silver. Li Da listened to Zhou Zhou and gave Xiao Shu one hundred taels of silver. Li Zhou Zhou had said before that he would give a share to Xiao Shu, but now he couldn’t do it, and he might not see Xiao Shu for several years, so he gave the silver to Xiao Shu.

　　All this friendship.

　　”I forced it on you. I asked you why you and your brother Zhou Zhou were so estranged. Did you not consider your brother Zhou Zhou as a family member? As soon as I said that, Xiao Shu took it.”

　　Li Zhouzhou started laughing.

　　It’s the end of April now, isn’t it time for the palace examination, my husband?

　　Capital city, imperial palace.

　　In the Zhengji Palace, Emperor Kang Jing sat on the dragon throne. The chief eunuch Wang Zetian crouched over and handed over the list. “Your Majesty, the results of the palace examination are out.”

　　”Hmm.” Emperor Kang Jing took the list and looked at it casually.

　　Wang Zetian understood, and he stood up and shouted loudly towards the outside of the hall: “Call all the scholars into the hall.” His voice was long and reached the square outside the hall.

　　There were more than 200 Jinshi waiting outside the hall. At the end of March last month, all the Juren of the 55th year of Dali Kangjing gathered in the capital to take the Gongshi examination. It was different from the process of the previous dynasties. In the past, as long as you passed the Juren examination, taking the Gongshi examination was just a process. It was highly unlikely that you would be eliminated. All of them were Jinshi.

　　It’s just a ranking.

　　It was different in the Dali period. There were some changes. Half of the candidates who took the imperial examination were selected, and the remaining half were destined to be Juren. They would be transferred to local positions starting from the lowest ninth-rank official, which would be a fate of probably the ninth or eighth rank. However, it was better than the donated officials and there was room for promotion.

　　If you pass the imperial examination, you can be a Jinshi, and the lowest rank official is seventh.

　　That’s the gap.

　　In the 55th year of Kangjing, there were 410 candidates for the imperial examination, and half of them were selected as Jinshi. Gu Zhao, Zheng Hui, Yan Jinxin and the other Jurens were among them. They waited for almost half a month after the list was announced, and then they were summoned to the palace to study the rules for a day.

　　After that comes the palace examination.