Chapter 127
Since the Wei family has been too busy to take care of themselves in a short period of time, there is no need to worry that they will come to the door, so Li Ling has given up his worries and can concentrate on preparing for the exam.
Of course, Li Le'er and Li Tong were even more relieved. The big battles in Jiangbei County before scared them, fearing that there would be endless troubles in the future. Now that Li Ling brought such news from the yamen, they also relaxed and could live a good life.
So within two days, Li Ling built a relatively spacious courtyard near Yaqian Street through Yaxing, which was two inches, enough for the seven of them to move in. When they were completely settled, Li Le'er and Li Tong were busy in charge of internal and external affairs at home, so Li Ling was able to devote all his attention to reading and writing, and he didn't have to worry about anything else, which made him feel like he was going back to the college entrance examination in his previous life.
In this way, he made considerable progress in the art of writing. After two months of continuous thinking and research, he really turned the strengths of those top scholars, Jie Yuan and other imperial examination masters into his own use, and perfectly combined them with the foundation of the Four Books and Five Classics he mastered.
If the articles written by Li Ling during the previous college examination were still awkward and there was a sensible separation between himself and others, then by the end of July, Li Ling's articles had become one, and they could cooperate with each other's words and sentences. Sometimes several articles made Wei Liang applaud, saying that if this article is really considered, it would be a foregone conclusion that he was admitted to the juren.
This naturally made Li Ling very happy and his confidence became more and more. He began to look forward to how to improve after passing the imperial examination and go to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
In addition to academics, Li Ling has gained a lot in business.
Although Zongheng Bookstore has only been open for two months, its reputation has been completely established in Hengzhou Prefecture. Not only is it a prefecture city, but many people in other counties have heard of such a special bookstore. Some scholars have also specially come to the prefecture city to see the quiet environment of the bookstore and the convenience of the two high-end members.
From June to July alone, Zongheng Bookstore had a net income of thousands of taels of silver. Although there was the income from selling alcohol and food in the store, more of it came from membership and the sale of books. Among them, the best sellers were the two hard works of Li Ling, Fengshen and Bao Gongsen. Especially the latter, although only one volume was obtained, it had already made many readers in the city praise it and could not forget it.
Later, Wan Lang specially sent someone to deliver a letter to Li Ling to urge the manuscript, saying that recently there were always relevant readers in the bookstore to ask if Bao Gongshou had published the next volume. Obviously, as long as Li Ling wrote the second volume, once it was published, thousands of copies could be sold.
In fact, Li Ling really took the time to write the content of the second volume during this period. After careful consideration, he simply combined the plot of the famous raccoon exchange for prince and wrote a novel. In this story, he let Zhan Zhao, Wu Shu and other important characters appear one by one, and the overall story is more tortuous and thrilling than the previous two novels. Until the end, it involved the intention of Xiangyang to rebel.
After writing such a novel of more than 100,000 words, it took him two months to send the manuscript to the Gujia Bookstore, and then printed it there, and finally sent it to the Fucheng for sale.
This is also a key to the fact that Zongheng Bookstore is not very competitive now. It does not have its own bookstore yet. If you want any book, you either have to find someone to print it locally, or you need to print it in Jiangcheng County and send it there. The cost of books is obviously higher than that of Wanjia Bookstore in Fucheng. If it weren't for the membership system and the storefront of Li Ling's novels, I'm afraid I wouldn't make much money in two months.
But now, just by judging from the accounts sent by Wan Lang, Zongheng Bookstore has earned more than 2,000 taels of silver in the past two months. Three people and one cent, Li Ling got six or seven hundred taels of silver. In this way, this is much better than just writing books to make people publish it. The money obtained can also solve Li Ling's concern for going to the provincial capital next time. He no longer has to worry about the money he has to go to the provincial capital.
In this way, August will soon enter, and there are less than ten days left before the provincial examination. It is time to officially set off and go to the provincial capital.
That morning, Li Ling came to the county government again. This time he came as a candidate who participated in the provincial examination, and there were more than 50 other people, all of whom were outstanding in the county’s students, or newcomers who had just passed the imperial examination.
There are a few of them who are familiar with him, such as Xu Cang and Fang Zigui, who are his friends and those of the same year. Even those who had no relationship with him before, after knowing his identity, they were all polite and intentionally approached. After all, Li Ling is now a celebrity in the county. Whether it is dealing with the banker, the various stories in the county government, or the recent rumor about his actions in Jiangbei, it is awe-inspiring.
The greetings between the people did not stop until the magistrate of Wei came in, and then everyone looked at the county magistrate with a serious expression and waited for him to speak.
Today's Wei County Magistrate was also very serious. After sweeping all the candidates, he said: "The provincial examination is the key battle for you to achieve your achievements. I believe that there is no need for me to talk too much. Today I will invite you to the county government. I only have one thing to say, that is, when you go to the provincial and rural examinations, you are fellow villagers, and you should work together and help each other. Even if there are any conflicts and rifts before, don't remember it in your heart. Whether it is this exam or when you enter the official career in the year, the friendship of fellow villagers like this is extremely precious."
"The adults have taught me that students should remember them in their hearts, be united in morality, and work together to conduct national examinations." At that moment, a student from the county school said on behalf of everyone, and others nodded seriously to express their agreement.
The magistrate of Wei then smiled: "If you think so, I will feel at ease. Then I wish you can get a high school entrance examination in the countryside, so that I can get more scholars and Jinshi in Jiangcheng, and more promising ministers in Dayue in the future."
"Students, thank you for your encouragement. We will do our best to live up to your high expectations!" The candidates expressed their opinions again, and were very excited, as if they would not return to their hometown if they failed this provincial examination.
Then, the magistrate of Wei invited them to the inn next to him, and held a banquet to promote their journey. At the table, they toasted them one by one, which moved the candidates so much that they burst into tears and tears were about to come out.
Li Ling knew very well in his heart the intention of Wei County Magistrate doing this. One reason was that he really needed to produce several juren and Jinshi to decorate the county's storefront. After all, in the past few years, Jiangcheng County has not even had a juren; the other was to prepare for the future, because the future of Wei County Magistrate is quite broad, and he might be promoted in less than two years. It would be good to have such a group of disciples here.
When the banquet ended, Wei Liang kept Li Ling again. He first encouraged him a few more words as usual, and then handed him a few books: "When you go to the provincial capital, remember to read all these articles well, and then figure out the purpose of them, especially the author's views on the words of the saints, and keep them in mind. It will definitely be of great benefit to apply them in your own text."
Li Ling took the articles, but he didn't see any signatures on it, but he quickly understood it in a daze. Obviously, these were some articles from the head exam of this provincial examination, and they were obtained by his teacher using his relationship.
This can be regarded as a great gift and is also of great importance to his provincial examination.
You should know whoever is, even if it is fair and fair, it has its own likes and dislikes. This is more and more obvious in the article. If an examiner encounters an article that is inconsistent with or even contrary to his ideas, he will definitely not show mercy. Even if you write well, you may be dismissed. But if you match his wishes and agree with his views, even if there are any shortcomings in other places, it can be covered up and pass the test smoothly. This entry and exit may determine the success or failure of the provincial examination.
So even Li Ling was moved by it and couldn't help but thank him again: "Thank you for your advice from the teacher..." Such articles are not easy to write. Even Wei Liang would probably take a lot of effort to get it. From this we can see that he cared and attached great importance to Li Ling.
"No need to do this. I'm just adding icing on the cake after all. Whether you can win the test in one fell swoop depends on your own ability. I hope you can do your best and don't let yourself feel regretful in the future."
"Yes, the students are urgently taught by the teacher."
"Also, don't spread these things, just know them yourself."
Li Ling nodded seriously immediately. Indeed, such articles cannot be known to outsiders, otherwise they might be regarded as cheating by those who are interested.
I was ready to stop doing everything. On the third day of August, it was time to leave Jiangcheng and leave home again.
Li Yue'er looked tearful again. Although there were too many people at home this time and she didn't have to go to the Gu family, she was still full of reluctance and pulled her brother's sleeve: "Wuwu, brother, why don't you let me go with you?"
"Be good, I will be back soon. Just wait at home." Li Ling said with a smile and touched the other person's fat face.
"But you took Brother Mo Yun to the provincial capital..." The little girl tasted a little.
Li Ling smiled bitterly, while Li Moyun opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He did not go to the county government office to serve, but stayed at home to help and listen. This time Li Ling was going to the provincial capital, so he could really feel relieved to take him with him.
"How can this be the same? He is accompanying me to the exam and can help me a lot." Li Ling persuaded him for a while, and the little girl let go of her hands and reluctantly let go.
Then Li Ling looked at his sister and Li Tong again: "Sister, Uncle Tong, I'll leave your home to you. If you really have any difficulties, you can go to the bookstore to find Gu Ge, or to the county government. If you have a teacher and the others here, you will definitely not suffer any losses. If..."
"Okay, Brother Ling, you can go with peace of mind. Come back from a juren exam. We will naturally be fine at home." Li Le'er laughed and realized that his younger brother had grown up.
Chapter completed!