The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

The substantial renovation made the new house lack aesthetic feeling, and looked like a fortified barrier, which made Rou Niang and Xiao Sui'er shake their heads.

They think that the house should have the appearance of a house, making it as uncomfortable as a big prison, and besides, this is a new house for marriage, even Ms. Yan will not like it after seeing it.

Su Jin went around the whole house, and found that it was indeed as they said, and it really didn't look like a house, so he asked them how to remedy it.

Rouniang Huanniang and Xiao Sui'er discussed it for a long time, and the only conclusion they came to was: Now that the house has been built, it is impossible to rebuild it, so we can only make a fuss about the layout; for example, transplant more flowers and trees to cover the exposed bluestones. For example, the screen walls built after the second entrance of the backyard were used as barriers to block counterattacks were all changed into rockery and so on.

Su Jin agreed one by one, as long as it doesn't affect the overall defense measures, it's fine.

So everyone went out to purchase separately, and transported a large number of large trees that had already grown into large carts and transplanted them in various places in the courtyard. In a garden, cut down the original ugly jujube trees and pagoda trees, and plant some peach blossoms, bamboos, vines, etc...

There are so many people and so much power. In one day, the house has changed a lot. The barrier that originally had a bit of stern air, under the shade of green trees and red flowers, looks much softer and more pleasing to the eye.Although Xiao Sui'er and Rou Niang are still not satisfied, this is the only way to go under the current situation.

On May [-]th, Su Jin led people to do the final tidying up of the new house. In addition to cleaning up some waste soil and branches, he also had to arrange it quickly.

Although the wedding date is on the [-]th, at this time, the red lanterns must be hung high, the red cloth and satin red carpet should be laid out, the double happiness must be posted everywhere, all kinds of incense candles, incense tables, furniture and utensils must be purchased new. All in all, there are simply too many trivial matters.

In the afternoon, Su Jin woke up from a nap, and when he got up to wash, he heard the clang and clang of gongs and drums outside; Su Jin thought it was the drummers that Xiao Sui'er had invited, and when he arrived near the house, he first played Brush the sense of presence, so I don't care.

All of a sudden, I heard someone rushing in with thumping steps. As soon as they entered the door, they shouted out of breath: "My lord...it's amazing...it's amazing."

Su Jin put the wrung-out towel on the rack, frowned and asked Zhao Hu who ran in, "What's the fuss, what happened?"

Zhao Hu swallowed his saliva and said, "It's amazing."

Su Jin was flustered by his bullying, could it be that something happened to Rou Niang Xiao Sui Er and others who went out to do errands and shopping?

Su Jin became nervous, and quickly asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

Zhao Hu stammered and said: "I got hit...I got hit, sir, you got hit."

Su Jin asked in a daze, "What's the matter? I'm out of my head."

"You have won the Jinshi. I heard that you are still No.1. A large group of officials outside came to congratulate you. You heard the sound of gongs and drums, and you are all nestled in front of you." Zhao Hu suddenly spoke sharply.

Su Jin yelled, a stone fell to the ground in his heart, thinking that something bad happened, but it turned out that he had passed the provincial high school exam.

Su Jin yelled: "Go and tell the old lady." After saying that, he ran to the front yard, and after passing Erjin's martial arts training ground, he heard the noise of people in front of him. Congratulations to the No.1 member of the undergraduate provincial examination of your master Sujin High School, congratulations..."

Su Jin walked through the lush tree path to the front hall. As soon as he entered the door, he was blown by the hot wind, but he saw the bustling house full of people. Wang Chao and several maidservants were busy entertaining guests by making tea and water. The yard was still full of people, those dancing lions and hydrangeas, those playing gongs and drums, and those clamoring for rewards, all in a mess.

As soon as Su Jin entered the door, several officials sitting in the hall immediately got up and saluted, and one of them said loudly: "Hey, Duke Huiyuan is here. Congratulations. I, Lao Lu, are lucky to come again to announce the congratulations to Duke Huiyuan. It’s not like I broke my promise. Haha.”

Su Jin hurriedly cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Mr. Lu, I have to work hard for you again. I really don't feel sorry for going."

Lu Suiyuan sat forward, took Su Jin's arm affectionately, and stretched out his thumb, saying, "Niu, you are really a cow, I know you live up to everyone's expectations. As expected, you will be the leader in the provincial test. My old Lu admires you."

Su Jin hurriedly said a few words humbly, and ordered to watch the rewards. Hundreds of common people who followed the officials of the Ministry of Rites to announce the good news inside and outside the door all had a big red envelope, thanked them happily, and gradually dispersed.

Su Jin also ordered people to seal up a dozen cloth-wrapped silver taels and put them in the hands of Lu Suiyuan and the accompanying dozen or so officials from the Ministry of Rites.

This time, Lu Suiyuan insisted on not accepting it. Not only did he not accept it, but he made a wink, and everyone in the entourage took out gifts or silver taels to give to Su Jin.

"What is this for?" Su Jin was a little confused.

"Congratulations, Master Su High School Huiyuan, how can we congratulate each other without a gift? It's a small thing, and I invite my subordinates."

Su Jin hurriedly waved his hand to refuse, Lu Suiyuan pretended to be angry and said: "If you think highly of my old Lu, please accept it. If you don't like these things, you can smash the beggars with it."

After saying this, Su Jin had no choice but to accept it. Lu Suiyuan saw that Su Jin was a little embarrassed, and leaned closer to Su Jin's ear and said, "You deserve this gift, do you know? Huang Shilang from the Ministry of Rites opened the handicap." , I, Lao Lu, don’t bet on anyone, just bet on you, Mr. Su, and he really won. He bet 100 taels, and came back with 600 taels. Huang Shilang almost took off his pants after losing. How can I win it? It is reasonable to send some congratulations, don't take it to heart."

Su Jin rolled his eyes and thought, "It's no wonder I believe you, who is stupid enough to open such a handicap?"In the whole Song Jieshi, there are so many people who are full of economics, even Jieyuan has more than a dozen, how to open the market?Besides, even if the handicap was opened, how would you tell me about the gambling within the Ministry of Rituals?Mostly because after being a Jinshi in high school, he will be an official in the court, especially since he has won the Huiyuan, and he is in sight in the future. This gift is just a meeting gift. "

In any case, it is always a good thing for someone to give a gift. After receiving the gift, Su Jin sat down and chatted with Lu Suiyuan and others in detail. Only then did he know that this time the emperor hand-picked Huiyuan, and the results only came out in the morning. Everyone in the Ministry of Rites was outside the palace. Hou Zhi waited all morning.

Su Jin worked hard again, Lu Suiyuan waved his hands and said with a smile: "It is our honor to run errands for Su Huiyuan, and many officials will come to congratulate him soon, so I will leave first; I also remind Su Huiyuan that tomorrow morning, The imperial court will send soldiers and horses to escort all the new scholars to the palace to participate in the palace examination, so you have to go to bed early tonight, so as not to lose energy tomorrow."

Su Jin was startled and said, "Do you still want to have a palace test?"

Lu Suiyuan smiled and said: "Yes, the emperor personally set up the questions and answered the questions on the spot. If he can get No. 1, he will be the number one scholar in the undergraduate course. He is the envy of Guangzong Yaozu. If you have an opportunity, it’s useless to go.”

Su Jin said: "What?"

Lu Suiyuan stared and said, "Isn't that obvious? Tomorrow's imperial examination champion is none other than Su Huiyuan, and the others are just a foil. Su Huiyuan is a big winner. Hey, I think Get up, hurry back and start another bet with Huang Shilang and the others, this time I want to bet 1000 taels, and I must win Huang Shilang to take off his pants."

After all, he laughed loudly, bowed his hands again and again, and left.

Su Jin was overjoyed, and rushed to the back hall to announce the happy news to Mrs. Wang. Before her buttocks were hot, the officials outside congratulating came one after another; There were too many, and many officials who didn't know each other came to congratulate them one after another, and the congratulatory gifts they gave were also richer than each other.

Su Jin secretly lamented that he has done several important things such as food affairs, but he has never received such courtesy. Now he is just a high school for the scientific examination, with a halo on his head, and immediately he is treated differently from before. This shows that the imperial examination Being an official is really a benchmark for everyone to measure others. What matters these days is not what you do, but what status you have and how much courtesy you receive.

After a busy afternoon, they finally greeted the guests and sent them away. The officials were well-behaved, they all knew the date of the palace examination tomorrow, and they all expressed that it was inappropriate for Su Jin to arrange an evening banquet.

After sending people away, Su Jin sat down on a chair and gasped for breath. He realized that the formalities of being greeted and sent to officials were more tiring than handling food affairs. , but also believe it and show sincerity.

Su Jin's mouth was a little numb, and a fake smile that lasted too long was a bit hurtful. He sighed secretly that his skills on the outside were still far behind. Everyone at the table is generally at ease; this is also a kind of kung fu, and it seems to be a compulsory course.