The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 586 - 575: The Reason

Chapter 586: Chapter 575: The Reason

Manbao and the other two had exerted the strength of nine oxen and two tigers to squeeze out, only to find that getting out was even harder than getting in.

By the time the three emerged, their clothes were wrinkled, and their hair was in disarray.

Manbao straightened his hair and happily said to Mr. Zhuang, "Teacher, Second Junior Brother has passed the exam."

Mr. Zhuang was surprised. "Really?"

"Truly, as soon as the list was posted, we spotted it at first glance."

Mr. Zhuang’s eyes widened, his heart pounding violently. "At first glance, which means..."

"Second Junior Brother is particularly lucky, he’s the very last name on the list, the first one we saw."

Mr. Zhuang: "..."

Mr. Zhuang’s excitement gradually returned to calm, and an unexpected joy eventually swept through him. He was very happy and couldn’t help but stretch out his hand to pat Bai Shanbao’s head, praising, "Well done, well done. Although it’s the last place, you enrolled two years earlier than we planned."

This was an exam for academic study, not the imperial examinations, so Mr. Zhuang felt that the ranking wasn’t so important, especially since Bai Shan was still so young. Being in the prefectural school, he had countless possibilities.

He encouraged him, "Once you get to the prefectural school, study well with the teachers there. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come back and ask me. In two or three years, you will surely catch up with those ahead."

Bai Shan had also shaken off the gloom of being the last one chosen and nodded vigorously.

He knew that there were many good teachers in the prefectural school, whose knowledge was not less than Mr. Zhuang’s. Having the guidance of so many teachers at once would certainly accelerate his improvement.

Moreover, he had more advantages than other students: he was younger, and he had Mr. Zhuang standing behind him.

But Bai Shanbao was also loyal and said to Manbao and Bai Erlang, "After I return from my classes at the prefectural school, I will teach you."

Bai Erlang declined politely. "I think it’s sufficient to attend Teacher’s lessons."

Manbao, thinking of Teacher Mo’s lessons, said, "I can discuss with you, but let’s skip the classes; I’m very busy."

Bai Shanbao sneered at them, "I think you’re just being lazy. Be careful, or you might not be able to catch up with me later."

Bai Erlang wasn’t at all bothered. "I can’t catch up with you in the first place."

Manbao said, "I don’t care, for what I know, you don’t, and what you know, I might be able to learn."

Bai Shanbao, who didn’t understand medicine and only knew a little about herbs: ...

After a pause, he asked, "Are you going to be a doctor in the future?"

"I don’t know yet; I just feel happy saving people," Manbao said. "There are so many things I want to do; I might not necessarily become a doctor."

Zhou SiLang immediately chimed in from behind, egging him on, "Manbao, being a doctor is great. If you can master medical skills, you can buy a shop in the county and open a pharmacy. We’ll sell all the herbs we grow to you cheaply. Think about it, how many doctors are there in our county? For each patient you see, even without prescribing anything, you earn eight wen. That’s a trade with no capital. Besides, you’ll earn from selling medicine."

Manbao asked, "If it’s so good, why don’t you study it, Silang?"

"Me? Better not," Zhou SiLang said. "I think growing herbs and selling them to you doctors is fine by me."

He had been curious too, but when Manbao brought out acupuncture charts for him to memorize, Zhou SiLang gave up within days.

He hadn’t even fully recognized all the characters. Just looking at those words made his head ache and his brain dizzy—to the point of being unable to think.

Mr. Zhuang said, "Okay, now that we know the ranking, there’s no need to stay here any longer. Let’s go back, and for lunch, I’ll treat you all at Ganxiang Pavilion."

The group was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but cheer. Zhou SiLang also instantaneously forgot about medical studies and said excitedly, "Teacher, the place must be packed today. Should I go ahead and reserve seats?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile, "That would be good, reserve an extra seat, I’ll invite Mr. Lan to join us."

Zhou SiLang happily acknowledged.

Instead of going home, Mr. Zhuang had Daji take Manbao and the other two home, instructing them to read books at home. He went with Zhou SiLang to invite Lan Cheng from the Lan Family.

Manbao and the others, innocent and naive, agreed and happily climbed onto the carriage, deciding to buy some treats on the way home as a private celebration.

Zhou SiLang didn’t think much of it and after dropping Mr. Zhuang off at the Lan Family’s residence, zipped off to Ganxiang Pavilion to reserve tables.

But upon entering the Lan Family’s home, the joy on Mr. Zhuang’s face faded. He entered the study with Lan Cheng, and his first question was, "What’s going on, how did Bai Shan get selected?"

Lan Cheng paused for a moment, then asked with a smile, "What, you don’t trust your own student? You think he shouldn’t have been selected?"

Mr. Zhuang replied with a wry smile, "I’m certainly aware of his aptitude, but on the last major question, he started off fairly well but ended up a bit off the mark. The examiners have always frowned upon arrogance, and his incomplete answer was followed by a sharply worded rhetorical question. No matter how well he did on the initial part, the examiners wouldn’t have selected him. Besides, as his teacher, I know that what he did write wasn’t anything extraordinary."

Lan Cheng nodded and said, "If it were in previous years, he definitely would’ve been rejected, but things have been different in the last two years."

He paused thoughtfully before continuing, "After the floods in Yizhou, the prefectural school lost many students."

Mr. Zhuang was taken aback. "They..."

Lan Cheng said somberly, nodding, "Some of them perished when the calamity struck, and many more during the relief efforts. Of those who survived, disheartened, most left the prefectural school to return to their villages or went elsewhere to study."

"Then why did you only select one hundred and fifty this year? I’ve seen that you haven’t been accepting many in the past two years, either."

Lan Cheng shook his head. "The one hundred and fifty is just the official number. Besides that, this year we’re going to take an additional fifty students, all children of officials of rank six and above within Jiannan Circuit, aged beyond fifteen and twenty-five."

Mr. Zhuang was astonished. "So many? Then..."

"They won’t be registered immediately. Only after passing the first exam will they be formally listed; otherwise, they all have to pay a significant tuition fee," Lan Cheng explained. "Actually, this year’s situation is a bit better; there were quite a few candidates. Last year and the year before, we didn’t reach full enrollment despite having relaxed the requirements, but there were just a few who passed."

"Some of the well-known talents would rather go to Guannei, Jiangnan, or Shannan to study than stay in Yizhou. It’s been only two or three years, so it’s not very noticeable, but in another two or three years, the number of students we send to the Imperial Academy will diminish, as will those competing in the imperial examinations, and the decline will become evident."

"Bai Shan’s paper wasn’t very well written, but he does have two strengths others do not possess."

Mr. Zhuang raised his eyebrows. "Which two?"