Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

After leaving Zhang Chang, Fang Zheng Yi chatted happily with the three examiners.

The conversation mainly focused on parenting, although the examiners' sons were mostly older than him....

However, Fang Zheng Yi's advanced ideas of 21st-century-style intensive parenting clearly received unanimous praise from the three examiners.

Tutoring and such were just child's play!

Things like writing a hundred poems a day, writing twenty essays, reciting two books to build a foundation.

Running ten miles barefoot in the snow to build willpower.

Practicing piano and painting for three hours a day to cultivate temperament.

Giving three hundred public speeches before the age of fifteen to cultivate the ability to speak in court.

The three examiners listened to various cases as if intoxicated.

They thought to themselves that it was no wonder Fang Zheng Yi could pass the imperial examination at just over ten years old! And be so eloquent in court!

With such strict family discipline, it was not surprising that he could pass the imperial examination. I could do it too!

Two of the examiners excitedly expressed their intention to have another child and raise them again!

The remaining one planned to go back and experiment on his grandson.....

After all, with such secret techniques, it would be a great pity not to implement them after hearing about them today!

Their own sons had already grown up and were not easy to discipline!

Realizing that too much time had passed, the group exchanged brief greetings and returned to the examination hall to continue invigilating.

Fang Zheng Yi smacked his lips, seeming somewhat unsatisfied.

I haven't even talked about quantum speed reading and right brain development.

You guys are so excited after I only mentioned a little bit of the basics, you're such trash!

He shook his head regretfully and returned to the examination hall.

Fang Zheng Yi was too lazy to care about Zhang Chang's side. Seeing his state, his mentality had already collapsed.

It wouldn't be appropriate for him to wander over again. Now that the other examiners were still on his side, if he were to make the same mistake again, the other examiners would inevitably report him.

There was no rush to screen the reporters, there were still nine days.

The main problem now was how to pass the time. Invigilating was too boring!

Fang Zheng Yi didn't know what to do.

Look at the scenery? There was no scenery to see, just this little bit of stuff in the examination hall.

Read the candidates' essays? He wasn't interested!

Catch cheaters? It was too difficult to cheat! Probably not easy to catch.

Then he could only observe the candidates and the examination hall when he had nothing else to do.

At this time, most of the candidates in the examination hall were in a state of deep thought, but obviously there were still a few people who were slacking off.

Picking their fingers, touching their inkstones, playing with their pens, or leaning against the wall pretending to sleep.

Most likely, they felt hopeless about passing the examination and came to experience the process.

Fang Zheng Yi looked at those slacking candidates with appreciation, especially their appearance of scratching their heads and not being able to squeeze out a single word! My youth is back!

Some things, some people, can evoke empathy even across thousands of years.

Slacking... it has to be said that it is a great artistic behavior that transcends time and space!

However, after watching for a while, Fang Zheng Yi quickly became bored.

These people are too low-level, they can't even spin a pen!

Then he began to observe the rows of examination booths aimlessly, and this observation actually revealed something!

Examination booths are usually divided into bottom booths, small booths, old booths, and mat booths in private.

The booths are arranged in rows, the old booth is the booth in the middle, and the small booth is the booth that is not large enough, making it more uncomfortable to be in.

Due to measurement errors during construction, the booths at both ends are naturally prone to small booths.

As for the bottom booth, also known as the stinky booth, it is obviously next to the latrine.

Dozens of people use the same latrine, and there is no flushing toilet, so the impact of this location on the examination can be imagined!

As for the mat booth, it is a booth temporarily built with mats when there are not enough examination seats, but this situation did not occur in this provincial examination.

Countless candidates hope to draw the old booth and avoid the bottom booth and the small booth.

Interestingly, the probability of candidates sitting in the bottom booth wearing patched clothes is surprisingly high!

Fang Zheng Yi shook more than thirty rows of booths, and among them, more than twenty rows of bottom booth candidates were wearing single clothes with patches!

However, according to previous observations... the proportion of children from poor backgrounds in the entire examination hall is not high, and at first glance, it should only account for about 20%!

The probability of poor children appearing in the bottom booth is so high, then there is only one possibility, there is something fishy about drawing lots to choose a seat! Those with connections at home can get a slightly better seat, at least reducing the probability of being selected for the bottom booth.

However, Fang Zheng Yi didn't do much, just smiled helplessly.

Reality is like this, the examination hall cannot truly be absolutely fair, the competition inside and outside the examination hall has always been linked together.

Children from poor families are destined to have more obstacles than children from wealthy families.

Although everyone is on the starting line, some people ride bicycles, some people drive sports cars, and some people fly airplanes.

Some people are even at the finish line.....

As for those who rely on their legs, they can only put in several times more effort than others to exchange for a trace of "equality."

This has always been the case throughout history.

After looking at a few more rows, Fang Zheng Yi was tired and prepared to return.

At this time, it was noon, the sun was high, and the temperature was not low.

The official uniform was thick and hot, and even Fang Zheng Yi, who was trying to walk close to the shade against the wall, was sweating all over.

But this is not the most important thing.... The important thing is that a faint smell of urine began to emanate from the air....

Obviously, someone couldn't hold it in and started to relieve themselves.

Naturally, they wouldn't choose to go to the latrine to relieve themselves. Under the seat board of each booth, there was a small bucket to serve as a urinal.

They all solved it directly in the small bucket, mainly to save time and reduce some trouble.

But the fishy and foul smell inevitably still wafted out.

Fang Zheng Yi had inquired about this point, and fortunately, he had made mental preparations in advance.

But when he was really in the examination hall, he couldn't help but regret it. If he had known, he shouldn't have taken on this broken errand!

How could the latrine in the examination hall be as good as the one at home! He hadn't used the toilet for a long time when he went to Jianjiang, and when he returned home, he couldn't wait to hug the lovely toilet and kiss it a few times.

Damn ancient sanitary environment! He could never escape it! Now he had to suffer this ordeal again... Uncomfortable!

On the way back to the office, Fang Zheng Yi took a few turns and looked at a few more rows.

He happened to catch sight of a reporter sitting in the bottom booth.

He remembered that this person was named Qin Shan, an extremely ordinary reporter in the newspaper office, who was also somewhat silent.

At this moment, he was blushing and struggling with something, completely unaware of Fang Zheng Yi not far away.

After struggling for a moment, he bent down, took out the small bucket from under the seat board, placed it on the seat board, and knelt on the board facing the wall, rustlingly unbuttoning his belt.

Fang Zheng Yi looked stunned, feeling a little angry in his heart!

You motherfucker are next to the toilet and still urinating in the booth!

Besides, what's the point of putting the food and urinal prepared for you together!? The reporters of Banshan Newspaper can't be so unhygienic!

After Qin Shan finished urinating with a look of relief and put the small bucket under the table board, Fang Zheng Yi walked over angrily and whispered, "Qin Shan! What the hell is wrong with you? Why don't you go to the latrine?!"

Qin Shan raised his head in surprise, and when he saw that it was Fang Zheng Yi, he blushed on the spot!

He didn't expect that his private operation would be seen by Fang Zheng Yi....

He lowered his head and murmured, "Sir Fang... isn't everyone doing this?"

"The latrine is just a wall away from you! Can't you just hang a sign and go?"

Qin Shan raised his head, his eyes full of doubt, and tentatively asked, "Sir... don't you know?"

"Don't know? I don't know what?" This time it was Fang Zheng Yi's turn to be puzzled.

Seeing this, Qin Shan couldn't care about anything else and quickly explained, "Sir, you absolutely can't go to the latrine."

"If you go, your examination paper will be taken away. The examiners will think that the candidate lacks perseverance, or that going to the toilet is too unlucky and may put a shit stamp on the paper."

"No matter how well such a paper is answered, the examiners will not look at it... that is equivalent to taking the exam for nothing!"

"Alas, it's just to prevent such accidents from happening... so you absolutely can't go!"

Huh? Fang Zheng Yi was stunned.

He had inquired about many common things about the imperial examination, but no one had ever told him about such unspoken rules.

Invalidating the paper because of shitting is too inhumane, what is this!?

Can't you just let people shit in the bucket! How can you stay in the examination hall then?

"What is a shit stamp? Why don't I have one?!" Fang Zheng Yi's face was full of question marks.

"It's a small seal without any words engraved on it, used to print a black mark on the examination paper, this is called a shit stamp, it's all an unwritten rule..... The seal should be prepared by the examiner himself." Qin Shan couldn't figure out why Fang Zheng Yi didn't know about this, did he not have this rule when he participated in the provincial examination?

"Well, you continue writing."

Fang Zheng Yi turned and left, pondering about this so-called shit stamp in his heart.

He didn't expect that there would be such an unreasonable thing in the examination hall...

But thinking about it carefully, it shouldn't be that strict. The examiners are also human, and they can't help but understand the candidates!

You can't just put a stamp on someone's test paper if they go to the latrine!

It's easy to go at night... but the exam starts again at dawn.

This day is definitely not easy to get through... after nine consecutive days of exams, how many candidates will be left? If the candidates don't eat, they can get through it, but after three days of not eating much and sleeping against the corner of the wall, can people still be well?

Fang Zheng Yi asked himself, he couldn't stand it!

The exam tests talent, not the capacity of the large intestine and the tightness of the chrysanthemum, what the hell!

After nine days, wouldn't the reporters under me be ruined?!

Although he didn't want them to pass the exam, since they had all entered the examination hall, he would help them to the end!

If you don't dare to go to the latrine, you don't dare to eat, wouldn't my abalone, beef jerky, and instant noodles be prepared in vain?

Fang Zheng Yi hurried back indignantly, preparing to ask Zhang Dongxiang about this situation in detail.

On the way back to the office, I broke into another sweat. By the time I got inside, my body was sticky and uncomfortable.

Zhang Dongxiang, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. After a brief inspection after the examination started, he returned to his office. At this moment, he had a cup of tea in front of him, leisurely reading a book.

Seeing Fang Zheng running back, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Why did you come back instead of proctoring the exam?"

Fang Zheng didn't answer, but instead asked, "Hey! Third Uncle, is there any place to take a bath in the貢院?"

"Bathe?" Zhang Dongxiang was amused when he heard this.

"Ah, yes, bathe!" Fang Zheng replied.

"Master Fang... What bath are you talking about? You can go home in three days. Just wash up simply! There are no such facilities here!" Zhang Dongxiang took a sip of tea and said lightly, "It's only three days. You don't bathe every day, do you?"

"Otherwise? Don't you bathe?" Fang Zheng blinked.

"Uh... I bathe every five days! Hiss... Don't tell me you have a cleanliness fetish?" Zhang Dongxiang asked suspiciously.

His colleagues normally bathed every five days. Now that the weather was hot, they washed every three days. Usually, they only washed their face and feet and simply wiped their bodies.

Very few people bathed every two days. They weren't royalty, why were they so particular?

As for once a day, wasn't that just a pure cleanliness fetish?

"........." Fang Zheng was speechless. He could understand the common people not bathing, but he didn't expect these court officials not to bathe either.

"It's so hot, don't you wash after sweating?"

"Just wipe it with a wet cloth. I say, Master Fang, this is the貢院, not your home! Who doesn't go through this?" Zhang Dongxiang looked displeased and put down the book in his hand.

He looked at himself as if he were a plague. What was going on?

Fang Zheng thought to himself, no wonder he always smelled a strange smell when he went to court! It turned out that it was because you old fogeys didn't bathe!

"What exactly is the matter with you coming back! If there's nothing else, go back to proctor the exam!" Zhang Dongxiang picked up the book again, his expression slightly annoyed.

"Yes! I want to ask what's the deal with that shit stamp? Why do candidates get stamped when they go to the toilet?"

Zhang Dongxiang put down the book again and sized Fang Zheng up and down suspiciously.

"What's there to ask? It's always been like this! Don't you understand the rules of the provincial examination?"

"Also, don't say shit stamp, just call it a stamp, it's unrefined!"

Fang Zheng looked disdainful. Was it refined to pee in the examination cell? Pretending!

"I know what the rules of the provincial examination are, but there's no explicit regulation for this stamp! Isn't doing this considered deceiving the emperor?" Fang Zheng said lightly.

"Be careful!" Zhang Dongxiang's expression gradually became serious: "How can this be considered deceiving the emperor!"

"Every examination in the past has had this rule! It was like this when I took the provincial examination, and it's still like this now!"

"The imperial examination selects not only the candidates' talents, but also their character!"

"Everyone in the court has endured this, haven't you? Everyone has to suffer this!"

"Besides... the examiners are not completely unsympathetic to the candidates' difficulties... Examiners will not stamp those with sudden illnesses or stomach pains."

Fang Zheng frowned and said, "What a joke! Is there any meaning to such suffering and endurance?"

He received suffering education in his previous life, and he's getting this again in this life!

Suffering itself has no meaning, but it seems that there are always people who are willing to whitewash suffering as a virtue.

"If all the officials in the court have suffered like this, then they should abolish this rule. You know the taste of suffering better than anyone else. How can you condone this unhealthy trend and torment generation after generation of candidates?"

Hearing him say this, Zhang Dongxiang's expression unexpectedly softened, his tone also became smoother, and he replied patiently: "Scholars, temper their minds and strengthen their bodies. Talent and endurance are indispensable... This is just a small test, it's nothing at all. If you can't even endure this little bit of suffering, how can you achieve great things in the future!"

"Do you understand?"

Fang Zheng pondered for a moment.

"I understand, sucking up is the key to great things!"

"......"