At the hour of Si, Shen Huaizhi arrived at the prefectural office and waited alongside the other Xiucais who had arrived earlier. The Xiucais, dressed in indigo robes, moved with every gesture conforming to the rules of etiquette, attracting quite a few onlookers from the crowd.

At the hour of Si, the main gates of the prefectural office swung open. Led by the officials, the ninety Xiucai entered one by one, gathered in the main hall, and were escorted to their seats by maidservants.

The Education Commissioner sat high on the dais, flanked by officials from the prefectural office. Once all the Xiucai had taken their seats, maidservants adorned with pearls and jewels and carrying trays entered one by one, moving gracefully through the banquet hall. Once the food and drink were served, the maids quietly withdrew.

The Commissioner of Education raised his cup and declared in a loud voice, “I raise a toast to you all. May you all make your mark from this day forward and reach the heights of success.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Looking at the dishes on the table, Shen Huaizhi was somewhat surprised. He had expected some sort of delicacy, but to his surprise, while they looked impressive, they didn’t taste as good as the braised pork Lin Yue had made in a bowl.

The banquet ended quickly, followed by the flower-pinning ceremony. Led by the Commissioner of Education himself, they proceeded to the Minglun Hall within the Academy to pay their respects to Confucius.

The ninety Xiucai crossed the Pan Bridge in front of the Dacheng Hall of the Minglun Hall one by one. As the name suggests, the Pan Bridge is a small bridge over the Pan Pool. Though small, only Xiucai were qualified to cross this bridge and enter the hall to pay three bows and nine kowtows to Confucius. Only after paying homage to Confucius were they considered true disciples of Confucius and followers of Confucianism.

Once everyone had paid their respects to Confucius, today’s banquet came to a close. The Commissioner of Education offered a final reminder before rising to take his leave.

“Once you return home, remember to register at your local county office.” 

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

When Shen Huaizhi returned to the inn, the room was empty. Shortly after he had left that morning, Lin Yue had taken Shen Zhengchu out.

“Father, let’s go out for a stroll. We’ll have lunch and then come back. Since Huai-zhi is at the banquet, let’s treat ourselves to a nice meal too.”

It must be said that Lin Yue had a knack for spending money. Having only been to the prefectural city twice, he had already picked out a restaurant renowned for its wine from among the many eateries. Moreover, this restaurant was also famous for its pastries, so they could take a look at what kinds of pastries they sold while they were eating.

Clove-flavored wontons, sliced perch, red salted beans, stuffed melon, Guanghan cake, five-spice cake, and a pot of osmanthus wine—the proprietor’s personal recommendation.

“Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. This osmanthus wine is freshly brewed, meant to be served tomorrow. Today, we’ve brought out just these few pots for our guests to sample.”

Lin Yue glanced around and saw that the guests at several tables in the main hall had all ordered wine, so he followed suit. He didn’t trust the shopkeeper’s words, but as a diner, he trusted the crowd—if so many people had ordered it, the taste must be good.

He didn’t usually drink, but today he had a small sip to accompany Shen Zhengchu. “Father, how does it taste?” 

“Good. The osmanthus flavor is subtle, but the aroma of the wine is stronger. It’s delicious.”

Shen Zhengchu drank extremely slowly, taking a long time to finish a single cup. Seeing Lin Yue down his in one gulp and then shake his head, it was clear he wasn’t used to drinking.

Lin Yue didn’t notice; he was busy eating his wontons. Each bite of wonton came with a piece of fish—delicious. The stuffed melon was rather ordinary; Lin Yue took just two bites and had already tasted most of the ingredients inside.

As for the pastries, the five-spice cake had a slight bitterness due to the added herbs, but it was decent overall. As for the Guanghan cake, Lin Yue only realized upon its arrival that it bore a striking resemblance to osmanthus cake; it also had a licorice flavor, likely because the dough was kneaded with licorice water.

Lin Yue and Shen Zhengchu each tasted only a single piece of the Guanghan cake before setting it aside, intending to pack it up later to take back for Shen Huaizhi to eat. They had just heard the shopkeeper say that this Guanghan cake was typically given by friends to scholars traveling to the capital to take the imperial exams, playing on the pun “Guanghan” meaning “passing the exams with flying colors.” Although Shen Huaizhi hadn’t taken the exams yet, he could still try it as an early blessing.

After lunch, Lin Yue took Shen Zhengchu out for another hour or so, visiting nearly ten pastry shops of all sizes and stopping at countless street stalls selling sweets along the way.

Back at the inn, Shen Zhengchu saw that Shen Huaizhi had returned and went back to his room. He couldn’t fathom where Yue had found the energy to wander around for so long; even he, who worked hard every day, was feeling a bit tired.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, was fine—though his feet were a bit sore. Just as he was thinking of taking a break, Shen Huaizhi spoke up, asking if he wanted to go out again. “I heard there’s another bookstore in the east part of town with quite a few anthologies. I’d like to check it out. Are you coming?”

Lin Yue: “……” He’d just come back from the east side of town.

“Let’s go. I wouldn’t feel right letting you go alone.”

It wasn’t until after he’d asked that Shen Huaizhi noticed Lin Yue rubbing his leg. He didn’t rush to leave; instead, he walked over to Lin Yue, helped him up, and sat him down on the bed. Then he sat down beside him and began massaging his feet.

Lin Yue nearly jumped up. “Hey, don’t do that—I’ll do it myself. We’re supposed to go to the bookstore; if we delay any longer, we’ll be late.”

Shen Huaizhi shook his head. “I’ll just buy two books and be right back. We’ll have plenty of time. You rest at the inn; I’ll be back as soon as I’m done.”

“No need. I’ll rest after you bring them back. Otherwise, I’ll be worrying the whole time. I’ve just been to the east side of the city—I know it better than you do. Let’s go and come back quickly.”

Shen Huaizhi couldn’t persuade him otherwise, so he simply applied a bit more pressure to his hands and gave Lin Yue a thorough massage for another fifteen minutes before the two of them headed out again.

The bookstores in the eastern part of the city were larger. In addition to anthologies for the imperial examinations, they also carried a wide variety of writing supplies—ink, paper, and inkstones. There were over a dozen types of calligraphy brushes alone. The two asked about the prices and, seeing that some were even cheaper than in their town, were immediately tempted to buy. However, they worried they didn’t have enough silver on them, so they refrained from making a purchase.

Shen Huaizhi bowed slightly to the shopkeeper and asked, “Excuse me, shopkeeper, do you have any collections of examination essays here?”

The shopkeeper raised his hand and called out, “You’ve come to the right place. The shelves over there are full of them—especially *The Selected Works of Emperor Zhaoming*, *The Collected Works of Nengyu*, and *The Collection of Enlightenment*—these are the most suitable for studying composition.”

Lin Yue asked, “I wonder what the price is?”

“Rest assured, sirs. My bookshop has been in business for many years, and I pride myself on treating everyone fairly. The *Zhaoming Wenxuan* is two taels of silver, while the *Nengyu Ji* and *Qiwu Ji* are one tael each.”

It really doesn’t seem expensive at all!

Lin Yue was startled by this thought. When had he become someone who could spend four taels of silver without batting an eye? After two trips to the provincial capital, he’d already spent more than half of the money he’d earned from his street stall. It seemed he’d have to go back to selling at the stall once the autumn harvest was over; otherwise, he wouldn’t even have enough money for a snack.

After spending four taels of silver on books, Lin Yue still had three taels and a few hundred wen left. Thinking about heading home first thing tomorrow morning, he felt much more relaxed.

“Come on, let’s go buy some paper and ink sticks. They’re much cheaper here than in town.”

Recalling the book-copying job he’d promised Mr. Liu, the proprietor of the town’s bookstore, Shen Huaizhi nodded in agreement. There really wasn’t much ink left at home, and there was quite a bit of text to copy this time. He’d found time to copy some of it a few days ago, but there was still a long way to go—he’d definitely need to buy two more blocks of ink.

Shen Huaizhi: “Shopkeeper, I’d like three more ink sticks, two rolls of paper, and a goat-hair brush.”

He chose the cheapest items available. In just a moment, the shopkeeper had calculated the total: “That comes to six hundred and eighty-eight wen.” When Lin Yue paid, he also picked up a brush and haggled with the shopkeeper for quite a while before finally buying it for seven hundred wen.

After finishing their shopping, the two returned directly to the inn, had a simple dinner, and turned in for the night. Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Yue and his two companions left the prefectural city.

By noon, the three had reached the borders of Youjiang County. Since the county town lay on the route back to Linshui Village from the prefectural city, they decided not to rush home but to visit the county town first for convenience.

It was Shen Huaizhi’s first time at the county office. To their surprise, the guard at the gate was quite courteous. Upon hearing that Shen Huaizhi was a registered Xiucai, he immediately smiled and said, “Please wait a moment, Xiucai. I’ll go report to the Magistrate right away.”

Before long, the guard returned. “Please follow me, Xiucai. The Magistrate is waiting for you in the main hall.”

Shen Huaizhi glanced back at Lin Yue and said softly, “You two go ahead and have lunch. I’ll wait for you here.”

Lin Yue quickly replied, “You go on in. We’ll wait for you in the alley diagonally across the street. I spotted a noodle shop over there earlier; we’ll have lunch there once you’re done.”

Once Shen Huaizhi went inside, Lin Yue and Shen’s father hurried off to the noodle shop in the mule cart.

To their utter surprise, Shen Huaizhi emerged from the county office before Lin Yue had even finished his noodles. Lin Yue: “Huh?”

“How did you get out so fast? Is everything okay?”

Shen Huaizhi shook his head with a smile, felt the pouch in his bosom, and said nothing.

Lin Yue immediately relaxed and laughed, “Come on in. Their mutton soup noodles are delicious.”

Once the three of them were back on the mule cart, Lin Yue asked eagerly, “Quick, tell me what happened. Weren’t you supposed to register? How did you get out so fast? Father and I were worried sick.”

Shen Huaizhi took the pouch from his bosom and handed it to Lin Yue. “Keep this for now. It was quick because of a lucky coincidence—the magistrate’s son was also taking the provincial exam. When I went in just now, they were in the middle of registration, so they registered me along with him.”

Scholars who passed the Xiucai examination had to register at the local county office to enjoy their rights, such as exemption from taxes and corvée labor, and the privilege of not having to kneel before officials—especially since the provincial exam took place in August, and the tax collection period began at the end of the month. If he didn’t register promptly, he’d still have to pay taxes this year.

“Huh? So the magistrate’s son passed as well?”

Shen Huaizhi nodded, sounding somewhat wistful. “He did. In fact, he came in third place in the provincial exam.”

Lin Yue nodded in acknowledgment, showing no interest, and lowered his head to examine the pouch in his hand. “Wow, is this a grant of fifteen taels of silver?”

Shen Huaizhi chuckled along with him. “Mm-hmm. I am riding on the coattails of the magistrate’s son. I hear that in previous years, those who didn’t enroll in the county academy were only awarded ten taels of silver, while those who did were paid monthly for a total of three years, up until the provincial exams. That adds up to fifteen taels. But since the county academy requires tuition fees, it all evens out in the end.”

“Then we’re really lucky. Five taels of silver is enough to buy three mu of land.” Lin Yue hadn’t been interested a moment ago, but now he was sincerely grateful to the magistrate and his son.

Shen Huaizhi laughed along with him. “I’ve already thanked him. The magistrate is very approachable. He even suggested I buy more land—one Xiucai degree exempts fifty mu of land from taxes. Let’s go back and ask the village head if anyone in the village is selling land.”

The last time the Shen family had bought land was right after they split the family estate. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had much money back then. Shen Zhengchu and Song Xunchun had worked hard for several years and managed to buy only eight mu of dry land and eight mu of paddy fields. This time, they would finally be able to buy more.

Shen Zhengchu was overjoyed. “Great, great! Let’s hurry back and make your mother and Lingzhi happy too. I’ll go see the village chief tonight to ask. If there’s no prime farmland available, buying some wasteland will do—we’ll clear it once the autumn harvest is over.”

Lin Yue was also delighted. “I still have some money left. If possible, let’s buy as much farmland as we can.”

Land is the lifeblood of farmers; as long as they have spare cash, there isn’t a single one who doesn’t want to buy it. The bricks and tiles Lin Yue had been eyeing earlier didn’t even come close to competing with the idea of land. As for the house, he figured they could make do with whatever they had.