Chapter 103

The registration and guarantee procedures for the academy exam are similar to those for the prefectural and county exams. The exam is presided over by the superintendent of education and is held in rotation in the various prefectures of the province, with candidates participating based on their academy registration.

Therefore, the exact timing of the exam is not fixed, as the rotation schedule determines the exam dates for each prefectural city.

But it generally falls in June or July, ending before the autumn exam in August.

This year, Wei Shu inquired and confirmed that the exam in the prefectural city would be in July, giving them about three months of preparation time, which was not particularly urgent.

Shen Cui intended to let them stay at Cuiwei Academy longer, as the additional time spent at the academy could nearly double their study time.

So the original plan was to let them go to the prefectural city just before the exam, like the others.

The Wei family was already very familiar with the prefectural city, and Wei Shu often rented a small courtyard there, so there was no need to go early to adapt.

But plans can change.

After the results of the prefectural exam came out, Shen Cui shared the good news with the Shen family.

In the past two years, Shen Da had risen from a junior manager to the manager of a shop, and Shen Er had moved up from being the second in command in the kitchen to the head chef.

Their promotions not only doubled their monthly income, but also made the Shen family’s life better, and at the same time, their social circle expanded.

After the county exam in February, rumors about Cuiwei taking advantage of Qingzhu and getting lucky spread and intensified over time.

Some even heard that the head of Cuiwei Academy was a woman and looked down on Cuiwei even more…

Shen Da and Shen Er heard some of this at work.

The brothers were furious, but they didn’t dare tell Zheng Shi about it, fearing she would be upset.

After discussing it, they asked Li Shi, who was prudent, to inquire.

Shen Cui told them not to worry and said that after their students achieved good results in the prefectural exam, the rumors would naturally be debunked.

So after the prefectural exam results came out, Shen Cui went back to Teapot Lane to share the good news.

Without her needing to say much, Shen Da and Shen Er naturally helped spread the news.

Now no one believed those rumors, but the result of the publicity was overly successful, and Cuiwei Academy became famous in the county—a two-year-old academy with only four resident students, three of whom had achieved academic success.

Their results in the county and prefectural exams were also outstanding.

Such an academy, regardless of its short establishment, simple facilities, or remote location, became the object of admiration for the people.

As a result, some interested parties began to inquire about the exact address of Cuiwei Academy.

Shen Cui intended to increase the study time, so she couldn’t be disturbed by outsiders.

In fact, there were almost no outsiders coming, so the increase was very convenient, and the academy gate was always open.

But after gaining fame, more and more people came looking for them.

Some were more polite and knocked on the door when they arrived, but some were rude and just walked in when they saw the door open, causing the time increase to fail directly.

After that, Shen Cui had to keep the gate closed daily, but the consequence was that people would come and knock on the door from time to time.

They didn’t have any ill intentions, they just had children who were ready to enroll and wanted to inspect the actual situation of Cuiwei and inquire about enrollment.

Shen Cui didn’t plan to upgrade the academy recently, as the four student slots were full, so she naturally refused.

But since they came all the way to the door, she had to entertain them for a while.

During these social interactions, Shen Cui couldn’t focus, and her concentration would decrease over time. Moreover, with frequent interruptions and noise from opening the door to entertain guests, Shen Cui and the others in the academy were affected.

By the whole month of May, the time enhancement effect was less than half complete.

Shen Cui was annoyed by this and put up a wooden sign at the door saying “Do not enter for strangers” and posted a notice that they were not currently accepting new students.

However, this did not deter the enthusiasm of those people—after this period, it was not only the people in the city who knew about Cuimiao Academy, but also the villagers who saw so many city people coming and were curious about why they came.

After inquiring, they found out that their village academy was so powerful, with three scholars!

The city people who came to admire the academy would also inquire about other things with the villagers, exchanging information.

It was only through such inquiries that they found out that three years ago, the person who achieved the “Little Three Scholars” was not only a student of Qingzhu but also the son of the Mu family!

Some villagers were also gossiping. Not only did they mention this, but they also added a few more things. They said that Shen Cui, the head of Cuiwei, used to be a tough and unreasonable person, and her son looked foolish.

Anyway, the mother and son were both unsavory characters.

It was unknown when, but the mother and son had changed. One became knowledgeable and kind, and opened Cuiwei, while the other became Cuiwei’s first student, who might become a scholar next year!

Scholars were highly respected among common people, and even in more remote villages, they would directly open private schools and compete fiercely for enrollment spots.

But at Cuiwei, everyone was a scholar, as if academic achievements were free!

Previously, when Wei Shu and his parents talked about Cuiwei’s uniqueness, they concluded that Cuiwei’s old residence was a feng shui treasure land.

They had such speculations, and so did others.

Somehow, Cuiwei became a well-known Feng Shui treasure trove, with outstanding people and excellent land.

Some even say that every flower, tree, stone, and brick here carries spiritual energy!

Some people don’t believe this, but many people don’t even know how to read but love hearing these mysterious rumors.

People just come here to hang out, and if they happen to encounter the so-called spiritual energy, it’s a gain. If not, they’ll just move on; there’s no loss.

The villagers have some relationship with Shen Cui and the Zhou family. Some old people boast about watching Shen Cui grow up, treating her like their own, sometimes bringing friends and relatives from other villages to visit, or asking if she’s enrolling students.

As for the notice saying they are not currently enrolling students, those who can’t read don’t care!

Shen Cui politely explained that they are not currently enrolling students, and the reactions varied.

Most people, upon hearing this, didn’t ask much further. Some bragged, saying, “My relative’s child is so smart, there’s no need to discuss it. Just meet them, test them…” and then insistently brought their child to Cuiwei.

Some were more straightforward, saying, “We’re from the same village, what’s the big deal about enrolling? Let my child come and listen. You even ate at my house when you were young!”

In fact, with Shen Cui’s temperament, when faced with those annoying, unreasonable people, she didn’t want to give them a good face at all.

Some of them even made her so angry that she wanted to kick them out directly.

But there was nothing she could do. Some things became very complicated when it involved human relationships. Besides, scholars nowadays value their reputations. As the head of the academy, she represented not only herself but also had to suppress her temper.

Later, even the already confused old lady in the village was involved. People didn’t know where they heard it, but they knew she was close to the Zhou family, so they persuaded her to bring people to Cuiwei.

It was really hard to deal with her, and she couldn’t be reasoned with. They say old people are like children, but dealing with this old lady was a hundred times more exhausting than educating four brats like Shen Cui!

The quiet place of their own academy had become a like popular spot for internet celebrities to visit and take photos in modern era.

Now, the plan to move the academy that had been put on hold was officially put on the agenda—currently, they were only students, but after passing the county exam, Cuiwei would produce three scholars in one go, making the academy even more bustling!

Shen Cui first discussed with Lao Buyu. Lao Buyu had said before that they would teach for three years, but if it weren’t for Shen Cui’s reminder, he would have forgotten about it completely.

“I’m not leaving anyway. Wherever the academy goes, I’ll go. I’ll follow the head of the academy’s arrangements!” After getting his consent, Shen Cui made a quick trip back to the Shen family that day.

As soon as they met, Zhengshi looked at her and said, “Why do you look like this? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you took the exam yourself! You’re almost thirty, why do you still worry people like this?”

Despite her complaints, there was genuine concern in Zhengshi’s eyes.

After Shen Cui entered the house, Zhengshi opened a box and took out a box of snacks for her.

“These were given by your second brother’s in-laws. There were two boxes in total, one for each family, and the other as a gift for us. We didn’t have the heart to eat them, and we were planning to send them to Er Pang when we had the chance.”

The Shen family had all gone to work, and the tea pot alley was quieter than the academy. Shen Cui felt a little relieved. She took off her shoes, found a comfortable position on the kang, and lay down, lazily saying, “Then I’ll take them back for Er Pang.”

“Don’t bother bringing them back and forth. Just eat them here. I remember you also like these fine snacks.” Zhengshi directly tore open the seal on the snack box, took out a piece, and handed it to her.

In public, Shen Cui was the head of the academy, and everyone would ask her for advice on uncertain matters.

Over time, Shen Cui also took on this responsibility. Like this time, encountering several unreasonable troublemakers, she was really annoyed, but she didn’t reveal a hint of it to others.

When the young men asked, she told them not to worry and said she could handle it.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel like pretending in front of Zhengshi. After eating the fragrant and soft milk cake, Shen Cui said somewhat angrily, “Mother, I might not be able to stay in the village anymore.”

Zhengshi, who had just been smiling, raised her eyebrows at this, “Who’s bothering you?”

She seemed ready to fight someone, and Shen Cui quickly said it wasn’t a matter of being bothered. “It’s just that there are people coming to watch the fun, sightseeing, asking if we’re enrolling students, and even some who want to sneak in at night to steal our academy’s plaque to sell for money… I want to move the academy to a different place.”

“That’s it,” Zhengshi relaxed. “Those people see our academy as having a shallow foundation, and they see that the one in charge is a woman from a family, thinking we’re easy to bully! Otherwise, why don’t they go to places like Qingzhu Academy to cause trouble? It’s right for you not to get angry. If you really did, those people would spread rumors that our family became arrogant as soon as a few students came out, which wouldn’t be good for the children’s reputation… But actually, the village is not a good place either. There are all kinds of people there, and before, we only enjoyed the tranquility. Now that tranquility is gone, there’s no need to stay there. Where do you want to go?”

Shen Cui then told Zhengshi about her previous plan, “Wei Shu and the others have become close brothers with Er Pang and don’t want to separate. And after Er Pang passes the county exam next year, the provincial exam and the imperial exam will all be in the capital.”

Zhengshi heard that she wanted to move the academy directly to the capital.

In fact, Zhengshi secretly hoped that Shen Cui would move the academy to the county town, so they would be closer to them.

Even if Er Pang had to study during the day, they wouldn’t disturb him, but they could still come over for a meal from time to time.

If they went to the capital, it would take several days back and forth, and they would have to take care of Shen Lao and their whole family. It was okay to go to the village as usual, but going to the capital… the time they could spend together would be truly limited.

She pondered in silence, and Shen Cui also waited quietly for the answer. After all, she had taken advantage of their daughter’s body, and Shen Cui did indeed respect Zhengshi as her elder and had to listen to her opinion.

“After all, water flows to low places, and people go to high places! The Wei brothers will be the first in the county exam, and our Er Pang is no worse than them. He will definitely pass next year! He’s only thirteen next year, leaving him alone outside, who can rest assured? You must go with him. If you just move to the county town now, you’ll have to go through it again later, so it’s better to go directly to the capital!”

After saying that, she worried again, “I haven’t been to the capital. How much money will it cost to open an academy there?”

Before Shen Cui could reply, Zhengshi anxiously got up to search for the money box.

Shen Cui hurriedly stopped her, “Mother, don’t worry. I’ve been saving money these years. I don’t have a lot on hand, but I can still come up with several dozen taels. And actually, I only need to rent a yard that’s not smaller than our old house.”

After hearing this, Zhengshi stopped anxiously searching for something and stood in front of the box without moving. Shen Cui got off the kang to turn her around and found that Zhengshi, who had always been strong, had tears in her eyes.

Shen Cui took out her handkerchief to wipe her eyes, “If you don’t want to… then I’ll just move the academy into the city first?”

After wiping her eyes with the handkerchief, Zhengshi used the same tone as usual, but with a hint of fierceness, “Don’t talk to me about this. Before, I thought you were just eating and waiting to die, useless for anything else. But now you’ve really grown up and can stand on your own. Just focus on running your academy well, nurturing Er Pang and the other children into talents. You don’t need to worry about anything else. When Er Pang becomes an official in the future, he’ll bring me and your father to enjoy the blessings by his side! There will be plenty of reunions then!”

Shen Cui’s discomfort in her heart was soothed. In the end, Zhengshi still forcefully gave her ten taels of silver, saying that it wasn’t from Shen Da and Shen Er’s filial piety, but the money she and Shen Lao had saved from odd jobs after she went to the city. She could give it to whomever she wanted and told her to accept it with peace of mind.

Before returning to the village, Shen Cui spent some money in the city to buy some gifts and then went to visit the village head.

The village head was still very respected in the village. With him intervening, the village’s bad practices were temporarily curbed, allowing Shen Cui to have more time to open the academy.

But why did she say temporarily? Shen Cui had inquired earlier that the village head had a son who had been a scholar for many years but had not yet passed the scholar exam. He was also going to take the imperial exam this year.

She had never asked the village head for help before, fearing that it would be taken as a weakness. But now that she had decided to move, she was not afraid of what the village head would do in the future.