The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 944 - 923 Efforts

Chapter 944: Chapter 923 Efforts

Zhou Wulang succinctly reduced forty-six people to four. Manbao felt there was no need to specifically inform Bai Shan and Bai Erlang about this, so when she returned and saw them deeply engrossed in their studies, she said nothing and decided to talk about the topic when free.

Regardless, whether the competitors were formidable or not, they had to give their all during and before the examination.

Such things could be discussed after the exam; it was better to focus on getting along with classmates for now.

After all, they had been admitted to the Imperial Academy in the same manner.

The four of them studied until late into the night. Mr. Zhuang, feeling the pressure of limited time, thought that studying at night was less effective than in the morning. Therefore, he looked at the time and said, "It’s past 9 p.m., go wash up and get some sleep; we’ll rise early tomorrow to study."

Exhausted from a day of reading, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang nodded repeatedly and stood up.

Manbao also stood up.

Early the next morning, Manbao was awakened by the sound of reading outside her window. She crawled to the window and looked out to see the gray dawn; Bai Shan was standing under a lantern, pacing back and forth as he memorized his text.

Manbao turned and flopped back onto the bed, moaning with a headache, "It’s not even light yet, why get up at all?"

That being said, it was impossible to sleep with such a disturbance.

Manbao had no choice but to get up, wash, and soon found herself sitting on the railing, yawning as she watched Bai Shan.

Bai Shan had just finished reciting a section and invited Manbao, "Would you like to recite together?"

Manbao shook her head, "Can’t you recite in the garden? Must you do it right under my window?"

"The teacher is up already."

Manbao quickly retorted, "That’s because the teacher is older and sleeps less."

"Oh, so the teacher is old~~~"

Manbao immediately corrected herself, "The teacher was disturbed by you."

After finishing speaking, she turned back only to realize the teacher had not gone out; he was inside, reading by lamplight. Sensing Manbao’s gaze, he looked up from his book.

Manbao turned back, addressing Bai Shan, "Fine, I’ll join you in reciting. Where is Bai Er? Why didn’t you call him?"

"I did call him, but he wouldn’t wake up."

Bai Shan was under a lot of pressure and had subconsciously wanted to rise early; he had woken up at dawn.

He took a walk and saw the lights were on in the teacher’s room but both his classmates’ rooms were still dark, signaling their "oversleeping."

As both their junior brother and senior brother, he felt it necessary to encourage them to study. So, he began reciting beneath their windows, although it seemed effective only for Manbao.

There was no response from Bai Erlang’s room; it was unclear whether he was in a deep sleep or was pretending.

Manbao followed Bai Shan to a new spot, and they moved to a small garden to recite.

Daji lit a lamp for them and placed some mosquito-repellent spices at their feet, then found a railing to sit on and closed his eyes to rest.

Bai Shan and Manbao sat facing each other.

Recalling that Bai Shan had just been reciting from The Analects, Manbao asked, "Why are you still reciting this and not The Great Learning or The Doctrine of the Mean?"

"Review the old to realize the new. I’m going over it once. If there are parts I can’t remember, it’s better to look them up early. Didn’t you and the teacher say that many citations in this exam would be from The Analects?"

Manbao nodded and joined him in reciting from where he had left off.

After they finished reciting the twenty Chapters of The Analects, the day had already dawned.

The two of them walked back to the courtyard from the small garden, when they happened to meet Bai Erlang who had just washed up and come out. He said, "I had a terrible dream last night. I dreamt that someone was reading The Analects in my ear continuously, and they even chased me to the edge of a cliff, insisting that I recite along. I clearly remembered it, but I just couldn’t start speaking. I was so anxious that I broke into a cold sweat and still couldn’t speak. Eventually, with no other option, I was thrown down the cliff. It scared me to death!"

Bai Shan: ...

Manbao burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this.

Bai Erlang looked at her in annoyance and said, "Why are you laughing? I had a nightmare and you still laugh. I’m guessing it’s because you kept forcing me to recite The Analects yesterday that I had such a dream."

He glanced at their clothing and noticed dew on the hems of their trousers. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "What have you two been up to so early in the morning?"

Bai Shan replied, "The garden."

"What were you doing in the garden so early?"

"Reciting," Bai Shan said. "I’ve already been through The Analects once today."

Hearing this, Bai Erlang wailed, "That’s too wicked. How early did you have to get up, Manbao? Help me later."

Manbao shook her head, "I had already annotated the remaining Chapters of The Analects for you last night. I marked the phrases that need special attention with a circle in front. You can recite them on your own. This morning, the tutor is definitely going to discuss policy essays and poetry with you. I need to be at the traditional medicine shop. I’ll help you when I come back in the afternoon."

Clearly, Bai Erlang would have preferred Manbao’s coaching over the tutor’s, given the different pressures he faced. So, he looked at Manbao pitifully, hoping she would cancel her plans at the shop for now, particularly since they had just arrived in the capital. A delay of a few days to see patients wouldn’t matter, would it?

Manbao ignored him, turned around to go back to her room, and added, "I have already promised the patients, one should not break their word, especially not a doctor."

Manbao packed her basket and, after a thought, picked up a copy of The Great Learning to put in it, deciding to help Bai Shan delve into this book later, which might come up in the exams.

Aunt Rong also had the breakfast ready.

Everyone came out to have their breakfast and then dispersed, some to copy scriptures, others to review their lessons.

Zhou Wulang also left home with nine books under his arm, deciding to test the waters first.

Daji continued his usual routine and dropped Manbao off at the entrance of Jishi Hall.

Manbao stepped down from the carriage using the mounting block, turned around, and took the basket from Daji’s hands, "Go back now, come back to pick me up after lunchtime."

Daji nodded, watched Manbao with her basket walk into Jishi Hall, and then turned the carriage to leave.

Young Manager Zheng hadn’t expected Manbao to arrive so early and hurriedly greeted her with a smile, "Young Doctor Zhou, why have you come so early? The other doctors haven’t arrived yet."

Manbao smiled, "I came to make some preparations in advance."

Soon she would have her own consulting room, and naturally, she wanted to make some preparations beforehand.

Young Manager Zheng led Manbao to the consulting room previously used by Doctor Gu, and said with a smile, "Doctor Gu’s stuff was moved out yesterday. From now on, this consulting room will be yours."

Behind a thick curtain was a consultation desk, a stool in front, and a chair behind.

Behind the chair was another curtain, which hid two small beds separated by another movable curtain.

Manbao looked around in amazement; this setup was much better than anything in Yizhou City.

In Yizhou City, they usually sat in the open, and the consulting room only had two very small rooms that could each fit only one bed. Only patients who needed to undress, or those who couldn’t sit or stand, were moved into the consulting room.

Manbao asked, "Are all the medicine shops in the capital like this?"

Young Manager Zheng, who hadn’t been to other places, was a bit unclear about what Manbao meant but simply nodded uncertainly, "Yes."

He paused, thinking Manbao might have some dissatisfaction, and smiled, "If Young Doctor Zhou has any special requests, let me know, and I’ll arrange it."