Talk about the world of mortals in detail

While Zheng Yiming was engrossed in reading, the little beggar he met outside the Gongyuan before was waiting anxiously outside a noodle stall.

The little beggar obviously listened to Zheng Yiming's words. When he was asked to find a place to eat something hot, he would actually look for it, and when he was asked to find noodles, he would actually eat noodles. Of course, this was also because Zheng Yiming lived in poverty and knew that five cents was enough to make money. If you want to have a delicious meal, it's probably some noodles.

The little beggar had eaten some broken cakes and drank water before, and he had gained some strength. Although he was still shivering, he was able to find food by himself. He searched many places in the city and finally found a noodle stall that was willing to make a meal. Give him a bowl of noodles.

There was no one else in the stall at this moment, but the little beggar didn’t dare to sit on the table. He just kept staring at the steaming pot on the cabinet cart over there.

The stall owner's idea was simple. He only had the condiments for a bowl of noodles. After finishing this order, he would close the stall and go home, and he didn't care whether he was a beggar or not.

"Oh, the noodles are good!"

The stall owner took out the noodles and was about to put them in a bowl when the little beggar spoke quickly.

"etc!"

"Um?"

The stall owner was a middle-aged man. He looked at the little beggar suspiciously. He paid for making noodles for a beggar first, so he was not worried about freeloading. I wonder what the little beggar was calling?

But at this moment, the little beggar stood up holding on to the street wall. As soon as he stood up, his eyesight felt slightly dark, but he still hurried over and handed over his broken bowl.

"Tanjiatou, put it in this bowl. Don't dirty your bowl."

The stall owner hesitated for a moment and looked at the bowl. The bowl was not small, but the mouth of the bowl was broken in several places, but the bowl was polished very brightly.

"OK!"

After that, the stall owner put the noodles into the little beggar's broken bowl, then put the appropriate condiments on it, sprinkled some chopped green onion, and finally poured two tablespoons of soup on it.

During this process, the little beggar's eyes were filled with longing. He took out a pair of slightly crooked chopsticks from his arms and wiped them repeatedly with dirty clothes.

"Okay, it's time to eat!"

"Hey hey hey!"

Before the stall owner could say anything else, the little beggar had already picked up the bowl and hurriedly squatted in the corner again. His hands were trembling slightly as he picked up the noodles. After blowing on them for a few times, he couldn't wait to stuff them into his mouth.

Even though an ordinary person's appetite should be greatly reduced when he is sick, as a little beggar who has been unable to eat a full meal for a long time, this kind of carefully made pasta is a rare luxury, and the pain cannot affect his desire at this moment.

After one mouthful of noodles, the little beggar shed tears. He forgot how long it had been since he had such a hot mouthful of noodles.

"Hiss, sizzle, sizzle."

The little beggar squatted there and ate deliciously. Even if the noodles were still very hot, he could always put them into his mouth as quickly as possible.

The stall owner wiped his hands behind the cabinet cart, looked over and said something else.

“Let’s eat at the table”

"Oh, this, cough, that's enough."

The little beggar spoke with noodles in his mouth, and then started to eat again. The bowl of noodles, which was quite heavy, was completely eaten in a while. Ordinary adult men would not be able to match his speed even if they were very hungry.

Seeing the little beggar drinking the last bit of noodle soup and chopped green onion into his stomach and still licking the bowl, the stall owner finally couldn't help but speak again.

"Here, there's no more noodles. Do you want some more noodle soup?"

The little beggar raised his head.

"I, I only need five cents."

"Oh, I don't need any money, just give me the bowl!"

The stall owner took the bowl directly from the beggar, put it on the cabinet cart, added some seasonings, a spoonful of soy sauce and a little extra lard, sprinkled with chopped green onion and poured a bowl of noodle soup.

But this time the stall owner put the bowl on the table aside, and then looked at the little beggar who was looking at the bowl eagerly.

"Come, sit down and drink, I won't chase you away!"

"Um"

The little beggar sat down hesitantly, blowing on the steam of the noodle soup and enjoying the rare taste. At the same time, he looked up at the stall and wrote down the "李记" on the sign.

After finishing the meal, the noodle stall owner closed the stall, and the little beggar helped push the cart for a while. However, when the shopkeeper came home and called the little beggar later, he ran away with the broken bowl.

——

At nightfall, the little beggar returned to the Gongyuan area. Mainly because after dark, he had a way to crawl into the Gongyuan and find a candidate compartment to sleep.

No matter how strict the management of Gongyuan is during exams, no one will go in and hang out at night on weekdays.

When the little beggar came back tonight, he found that there were officials guarding the buildings around the Gongyuan. However, his physical condition today was better than usual, so it was not a problem for him.

Those government officials didn't pay too much attention to the guard. The little beggar ducked and ducked, and then entered the Gongyuan as he wished. He found a compartment near the inner end and curled up to sleep inside.

Today, he had a bowl of noodles and an extra bowl of soup. The little beggar felt much better, his body was no longer so cold, and his sleep was much sweeter than before.

And just a small alley away from the little beggar's wall is the internal government office in the Gongyuan area. There is usually no one there. During the imperial examination, officials sent by the imperial court and officials from the state all work here.

Although it was already dark at this time, the officials in charge of the imperial examination were far from going to bed and were busy marking the papers.

Just like the Gongsheng Examination, the officials' examination papers were also divided into multiple places. One table per official in the outer hall of the government office was divided into seven or eight tables, but there were no walls to separate them. In the inner hall, there was only one chief official of the imperial court sitting there. Inside, theoretically he can also grade papers, but most of the officials below will be able to do the work.

Guyana's imperial examinations, just in terms of marking, the ugly part is that the system is relatively backward, the nice thing is that the marking officials have a lot of autonomy.

The leading point is the speed of grading.

Most of the essays written by Gong students are put aside by the marking officials after a casual look. The efficiency is much faster than many candidates imagine.

An official was reading Gong Sheng's article. He glanced at the paper in front of him and frowned slightly at the not-so-outstanding handwriting. He glanced at it again and read the first half of the article. The article didn't make sense.

In Dayong's case, when encountering this kind of paper, the marking officer would still have to endure a lot of torture to read it, and it would have to be circulated to many people. There is no such thing here, the official just pulls the paper aside, not bothering to take a second look. .

The next paper was quite satisfactory. The official shook his head and put it aside after reading it.

Next one.

The official's eyes lit up slightly when he saw the handwriting on the paper. The handwriting was neat and neat but also had a sense of agility. He couldn't help but use more concentration when reading the article.

After reading it, the officials also showed joy on their faces.

“Several adults, come and read this article!”

As long as the surrounding officials were not busy, they all got up and walked over. In this case, there was probably something good to say.

When everyone gathered to take a look, there were many voices of admiration.

"Not bad, the handwriting is beautiful!" "The writing is smooth and the scriptures are quoted just right!"

"What's rare is free understanding, not just copying what the book says!"

"It's really wonderful! I haven't seen such a wonderful article tonight!"

"Indeed, I have no one to compare with!" "The same goes for me!"

The officials outside sighed in admiration, and then the first official who had just read the article got up and went to the inner hall.

The officials in the inner hall were drinking tea and reading a book. When they heard a knock on the door, they asked someone to come in. When they looked up, they saw someone walking over carrying a paper.

"Sir! This article has beautiful handwriting and outstanding content. It can be said to be the best since the official graded it today. Please take a look at it!"

"oh?"

The official put down his teacup and book, took the article and read it. The handwriting was indeed eye-catching, and when he read the article again, it was indeed extraordinary.

Pingzhou is not a great place for academic studies. The writing skills of candidates have always been ranked in the middle and lower reaches of Guiguo, but the level of the article in front of me is obviously a bit outstanding in Pingzhou.

"Who is this person?"

The chief officer looked at the end of the paper and saw the candidate's signature.

"Xiahe County, Zheng Yiming?"

The sound was not very small but not very loud either, but it actually woke up the little beggar in the compartment of Gongyuan.

Although he was a homeless man begging for food, the little beggar had also attended a private school and knew some words. He had memorized the words "Zheng Yiming" when he saw the note in the book during the day.

Obviously separated by two walls and a small alley, normally speaking voices should not reach the Gongyuan side, but the three words "Zheng Yiming" were so bright to the little beggar that they woke him up from his sleep.

It was just that he couldn't hear anything when he woke up, but the little beggar couldn't sleep now, so by some mistake, he got up and walked out of the Gongyuan, touched the alley at the back, and got close to the back wall of the government office with faint lights coming from the eaves above.

Now the little beggar could vaguely hear the voices inside.

And this time, there were not only the chief officer and the official from before, but two more.

"Is this Zheng Yiming the son of an official family?"

The official next to him thought for a moment and shook his head.

"It shouldn't be the one with the surname Zheng." "Yes, he is just an ordinary scholar. He took part in the provincial examination before and did not make the list."

The chief officer nodded.

"The article is well written, but it's just that Jie Yuan, Ya Yuan, Jing Kui and Ya Kui have already decided on the candidates, so it's not easy to handle."

"Uh, so it ranks seventh?"

The chief officer frowned again and shook his head.

"The quota for Pingzhou Gongsheng students is only thirty-five. There is no place for him this year. I think if he can still do well in the next provincial examination, he will be ranked at the top!"

"Ah? But sir, didn't we just decide on the top fifteen people? Although some people have been decided on the following ones, they don't ask for rankings. What's wrong with that?"

Some officials wanted to speak, but the chief officer looked at him and stopped talking. The latter shook his head and said.

"I'm afraid it's inappropriate for an article like this to rank him at the bottom. I also love talents. If Zheng Yiming is really talented, he might be among the best next time!"

I'm afraid this isn't love for talent, but love for money, right?

The officials knew it well, but they didn't say anything. After all, everyone had a share in the benefits. It's just a pity that this wonderful article was written!

After a while, the other officials left, leaving only the chief officer and a local official. At this time, the chief officer spoke more relaxedly.

"According to Dagui's rules, the article about Jie Yuan is inscribed to the capital. Don't the Wang family want to show their face in the Ministry of Rites? Let them show some sincerity. This article is so wonderful that it is rare in other states. Maybe the emperor can do it too. Check it out!”

As he spoke, the chief officer glanced at Zheng Yiming's paper again.

"Take the paper with you. If it is ready, let Mr. Wang make a copy for himself. His handwriting is much worse than this."

"I understand!"

The official picked up the paper on the table, folded it, and then left.

Outside the official wall of the Gongyuan, the little beggar clenched the corners of his clothes when he heard this, but he did not dare to make any noise. He sneaked out of the Gongyuan again and huddled in the corner of the street, waiting until a carriage came out of the Gongyuan. Followed.