Zhao Yan was thinking about it to himself, when he saw his younger sister Xiao Nier coming out of the house crying, and asked in a sobbing voice, "Second brother, water ...... Is the water boiling, my mother said if it boils...... Only...... You can make dumplings. ”

"What's wrong with Little Nier, was you reprimanded by your father or your mother?" Zhao Yan pulled Xiao Nier over, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes for her, and asked with a smile.

It's okay not to mention it, hearing Zhao Yan say this, the little girl's tears fell more diligently.

"It's little Nier...... accidentally knocked over the eldest brother's inkstone, the eldest brother pushed Xiao Nier, and Xiao Nier accidentally tripped over the eldest mother, and was said by the eldest mother...... Woowoo woo ......"

Speaking of this, Zhao Yan already knew in his heart, and couldn't help but take the little girl with pity, and coaxed: "Little Nier don't cry, you are so cute, the eldest brother and the eldest mother definitely didn't mean it, the second brother will come back next time to bring you candy to eat, okay?" ”

"Hmm." Little Nier nodded obediently and barely stopped crying.

Pulling the little girl to sit down, Zhao Yan told her a little joke, making the little girl giggle, and she had long forgotten Fang Cai's grievances.

After a while, seeing that the water in the pot was boiling, Zhao Yan got up and walked towards the hall, seeing that it was noon, he was already hungry, he had been in this world for so long, he had never tasted the taste of dumplings, and he didn't know how it compared to the next generation.

It's just that before he came to the door and didn't enter the house, Zhao Yan heard the uncle's voice from the house: "Don't make any noise, can't you spend the New Year with harmony?" Da Lang, since you are the eldest brother, you should have the appearance of an eldest brother, and you can't be like the same in the future. ”

"Mother's ......" Zhao Qi was seventeen years old, but he didn't have a bit of maturity and stability, and after being said by his father, he turned his head to seek refuge from his mother like a child.

The Wang family doted on her precious son the most, and when she saw this, she crossed her waist and said to her husband fiercely: "What's wrong with Da Lang being the eldest brother?" The eldest brother has to let the younger brother and sister climb on the head and pee and pee? Da Lang's inkstone was newly bought, and the first time I used it, I was knocked over by Xiao Nier, and I pushed her and said a few words to her. You, the father, only know that to outsiders, if the inkstone is broken, who will write the Spring Festival couplets? Except for Da Lang, who can recognize words? ”

Just for Xiao Nier, Zhao Quan and Liu, who are parents, quarreled with Wang, but both sides had restraint, and the voice was not loud, at this time I heard Wang say this, Liu suddenly stopped, I saw her throw the rolling pin in her hand, and was about to let go of her voice and 'talk' with Wang, when she heard a hoarse voice outside the door that was in the period of voice change and shouted: "I'll write." ”

Zhao Yan pushed the door in, and saw that except for the cheap father, the rest of the elders had a sense of surprise on their faces, and he didn't care, he went straight to the table to spread out the red paper, grabbed the brush that was placed in the bowl to clean the ink, turned his head and asked Zhao Qi, who had not turned a corner in his head: "Big brother, I use your pen and ink inkstone, don't you care?" ”

"No...... I don't care. Zhao Qi saw the coldness in Zhao Yan's eyes, and subconsciously took two steps back before stammering.

Zhao Yan realized that all the people present were his elders, and if they were to show their faces, they would definitely be called 'disrespectful and unfilial' in this era, so he eased his face, nodded at Zhao Qi with a smile, and then picked up a pen and wrote it on the red paper.

When she lived in her uncle's house before, the eldest lady Wang often picked her nose and eyes at Zhao Yan, but Zhao Yan endured it, after all, Wang was an elder.

But just like what he just said, can you pee on the head of the younger generation if you have a high seniority? What's more, little Nier is only eight years old.

Zhao Yan was not angry in his heart, but he was not good at refuting him directly, so he had to write a slightly hidden warning and admonition of the vice Spring Festival couplet.

After a while, Zhao Yan put the pen back in the bowl, picked up the written Spring Festival couplets and blew them gently.

"Shanglian: Father and son filial piety are far away, Xialian: brothers, friends and brothers, Gongren and loving family style, Henglian: family harmony." After Zhao Yan finished reading the couplet he had written, he respectfully asked the Wang family who was full of astonishment: "Auntie, is my nephew's writing okay?" ”

Wang's face was a little flushed, and she didn't know if she was ashamed, or because she understood the meaning of the words, Zhao Yan was angry, but she still nodded subconsciously.

Liu Shi, who was in the third room next to him, praised: "Xiaolang's words are really beautiful, which is like Dalang's writing and crawling with dogs...... Well, Da Lang's writing is also good, I'll mix some paste and paste it on the door. Family harmony, family harmony, hehe. ”

In the blink of an eye, I returned to Jiuzhou Town for more than half a month, although this year was unsatisfactory, but in the end, everyone got together for a serious reunion dinner.

It is now the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, and the time and place of this county test have already been posted on the bulletin board in front of the fourth gate of the state city. The county trial is scheduled for the tenth day of February and will be held in the state school, less than half a month ago.

A few days ago, Li Fuzi found four scholars who participated in the county examination for Zhao Yan to marry him, and then accompanied Zhao Yan to the state government room to fill in the book of confession, mutual knot, and knot, and everything seemed to be going well.

On the tenth day of February in the 11th year of the Ming Dynasty, it is advisable to move, bury, and mourn, and it is advisable to open, open the market, and travel.

At the time of the third watch, Zhao Xin woke up and saw that the lights were already on in Zhao Yan's house, and when he entered the house, he saw that he was sitting on the kang in a daze, thinking that he had no bottom in his heart about this county test, so he comforted: "Xiaolang doesn't need to worry, you have only been studying with Master Li for a few days?" It doesn't hurt if you don't get it. ”

Zhao Yan squinted his eyes and smiled when he heard this, he was not worried, he hadn't woken up yet.

The lights of the third watch and the fifth watch of the chicken are when the boy is studying. Zhao Yan always thought that this was a metaphor, he always had to sleep enough to be energetic when he studied on weekdays, but he didn't expect that the county exam required five watches and began to enter.

What time is five? It's just four or five in the morning.

The candidates who participated in the county examination are close to home, and it is good to say that it is not much later to get up again in the third and fourth watches, and the candidates who are far away from home and have no money to live in the state city inn are unlucky, and they don't know how long they can sleep in one night.

After complaining in his heart, Zhao Yan rubbed his face and began to get dressed. After he finished washing, Zhao Xin had already warmed a few hard-boiled eggs that had been boiled yesterday, and the father and son wiped out the eggs in twos and threes, and then walked towards the state city in the dark.

The city gate of the Ming Dynasty is generally closed at five o'clock (more than eight o'clock in the evening), and opened at five o'clock in the morning (more than four o'clock in the morning), but today is a special case, the people who came to participate in the county examination do not know how many, if they do not open the city gate early, they can only use bamboo baskets and other things to drag people to the city, and they do not know how much time will be delayed, and the four city gates have not been closed all night.

It is only three miles from the old state town to the state city, almost a stone's throw away, and along the way, Zhao Yan saw that the four fields were pedestrians with torches and lanterns, which were naturally the students who participated in the county exam, otherwise no one would be idle and run out in the middle of the night to find excitement.

Entering the state city, these scholars and servants, with lanterns and torches, converged from the four gates to the state school, if you look at it from a high place, it has the posture of a hundred rivers and seas.

Before arriving at the state school, it was already crowded, although Zhao Yan ate and drank well every day for a short time, his body still looked a little weak, and he had to look for the four candidates in the crowd under the support of his cheap father.

The number of scholars who took the examination may not exceed 1,000, but the total number of family members and entourage who sent them here was no less than three or four thousand, and they all gathered in the open space in front of the state school.

It will be the fifth watch, and the officials of the state government will finally come out to maintain order. These officials waved the water and fire sticks in their hands, and finally isolated the irrelevant people with great effort, and Zhao Yan saw the four brothers at the gate of the state school.

"Brother Liu, Brother Wang, Brother Li, Brother Qian, you will make it easy to find in the next while." Zhao Yan put the basket on the ground, wiped the sweat on his face, and looked at the four young men in their twenties and smiled.

Brother Qian among the four is the son of Dr. Qian, a famous doctor in Jiuzhou Town, named Qian Liangcai, Xu is the inheritor of his father's doctor's generosity, and his temperament is very gentle, seeing Zhao Yan's sweaty appearance, he smiled and took out the sweat towel in his arms and handed it over, and said in his mouth: "I stayed in the city the next night, and I came earlier, fortunately thanks to the support of Brother Liu's servants, I was less tortured." ”

A young student with a cynical smile on his face next to him smiled when he heard this: "It's just a trivial matter, why worry about it." ”

This young man's name is Liu Jing, the eldest son of the Liu family in Shicao Wei Village, Liu Zhongshi, the servant of the household department, is his grandfather, and he also has an uncle named Liu Xuan, who is the secretary of the Henan Provincial Inspectorate, and can be regarded as the son of an official eunuch family.

Among the other two, one is named Wang Xian, a distant relative of Wang Yewang's family, and his family background is mediocre. The other person is named Li Xun, who is not comparable to Liu Jing.

Li Xin, the ancestor of the Li family in Mujiazuo Village, was the veteran who followed the Taizu Zhu Baba to fight the world, and after the founding of the country, he was awarded the title of Chongshan Marquis for his merits, and the hereditary Jinyi Wei commanded the affairs, and later changed his name to Li Xinchong. He was originally from Feng County, Xuzhou, and later moved to Shenzhou in the name of the town, and his family collected 12 volumes of war exploits.

Later, because Li Xinchong was involved in the Lanyu case, he was clicked by Boss Zhu, and the marquis was also removed, and only the hereditary Jinyi Wei commander was handed down.

Now, Li Xun's father, Li Xuan, doesn't know which big tree he climbed, and he really entered the Jinyi Wei as a Jinyi official with real power, and the official rank is four grades, which can be regarded as carrying forward the lintel of the Li family again.

Li Xun is the second son of the Li family, unless his eldest brother has an accident, he has no chance to inherit the hereditary golden rice bowl of Jinyi, if he wants to get ahead, in addition to joining the army, there is only one way to take the imperial examination, and now it seems that he chose the latter.

According to Li Fuzi, he had a little kinship with the Mu family and the Li family, and he was friendly with the town's doctor Qian, and he also had an old relationship with someone from the Liu family in Shicao Wei Village.

Zhao Yan chatted with a few people for a while, and then saw that the door was wide open, and a scribe from the state government room stood in front of the door, announcing the start of admission with full of energy, and read out several rules in the examination room, such as no carrying cheat sheets, no impersonation for the exam, and so on.