Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 2 Fat Fatty Zi Zhijian

Knowing the test format of the eight-part essay, Wang Daoqiu found the Four Books and Five Classics in the library and began to search for which book and chapter the two eight-part essay questions came from.Then based on these clues, we will search for Mr. Zhu Xi’s comments on this chapter.

Because it was just soul traveling and could not take physical objects in and out, Wang Daoqiu could only memorize these notes in the library and then use his own consciousness to bring them back to the examination room.Fortunately, Wang Daoqiu also studied literature in his previous life, and his memorization skills were very good, so he quickly memorized these things and brought them back to the examination room.

As soon as he returned to the examination room, he first wrote down what was on his mind on scratch paper, and then took the time to rest.After all, this little scholar's body is too weak now, and he may burp again at any time, let alone let him write eight-legged essays now.And if the consciousness of the little scholar collapses, the skill of writing eight-legged essays will not be in the consciousness of the 21st century liberal arts dog.

After writing everything in his mind on the draft paper, Wang Daoqiu used the little scholar's body to curl up and lie down.

The next morning, he didn't get up early and start thinking hard about the questions like other candidates. Instead, he slept there to replenish sleep for his severely depleted body.

It wasn't until noon that he felt his back hurt from being so hunched, so he rang the bell of his room and signaled the invigilator to come over and that he had to go to the hut.

The office manager heard the bell and came over. Seeing Wang Daoqiu with a sleepy look on his face, he secretly sighed that this candidate was too lazy. Eighty percent of his supervisors were donated by his family!
Although he despised him, he still obeyed the rules and took Wang Daoqiu to the hut.

Over there in the hut, Wang Daoqiu first got into a large bed, and then he did some simple personal hygiene at the water tank at the door of the hut to refresh himself, then went back to the room to eat something and drink some water. Then go back to sleep.

During the entire day that followed, Wang Daoqiu did nothing but eat, drink, and sleep.This made the patrol officer in charge of this area even more certain that this boy was an uneducated prison student who relied on donations from his family.As a result, the patrol officer despised Wang Daoqiu even more. Every time he passed by Wang Daoqiu's cell, he would shake his head and "tsk-tsk" incessantly.

During the whole day, except for getting up to eat, drink and have diarrhea, Wang Daoqiu just lay there and slept until the moon was at the top, surrounded by only the chirping of insects and frogs, and the weather cooled down.He then got up again and went to the hut to tidy up his hygiene.Then we rode in the middle of the night, and the guard who patrolled the field just sat at the end of the row of rooms, just to see if the candidates didn't leave their rooms. If you didn't ring the bell, he wouldn't come to your room at all.Wang Daoqiu took off his outer gown, shirtless and began to do the questions.

After a whole day's rest, Wang Daoqiu, a frail little scholar, returned to normal, and now his mind is extremely clear.So he took advantage of the cool weather and started writing eight-part essay.

The little scholar's brain is capable of making small three-dimensional tests, and now it's an open-book test.To put it bluntly, it’s just a matter of copying Zhu Xi’s annotations memorized from the library into the test paper according to the format of eight-part essay. Isn’t this simple?

So in just over two hours, Wang Daoqiu not only did all the two questions that the young scholar had not done, but also went back to the library several times to check the questions that the young scholar had originally done.After finishing all this, he began to sleep again, waiting for the test to be turned in tomorrow.

On the second day, Wang Daoqiu resisted the urge to hand in the papers in advance so that he could go back and take a shower early. He waited until the large group of people started ringing the bell to indicate handing in the papers before he rang the bell and asked the guards to come over and collect the papers.

After handing in the papers, Wang Daoqiu took the exit card and walked quickly to the entrance of Gongyuan.The first session of the provincial examination lasted for two days and three nights, in August in the south of the Yangtze River, in a small cubicle only about two square meters in size.Moreover, ancient scholars were very particular about their image. They had to wear long gowns and maintain their appearance no matter how hot it was.

It's the eighth month of the Zhejiang lunar calendar, which is also the ninth month of the Gregorian calendar in later generations. At this time, you are nesting in a small room of two square meters, wearing a long gown, without air conditioning or fan. How much sweat do you have to sweat that day?I believe that southerners or northerners who have spent summers in the south must have a deep understanding of this.

You have to sweat so much in a day and you are not allowed to take a shower in the examination room. You can imagine how smelly and uncomfortable this person must be.Anyway, Wang Daoqiu now felt as if his body was coated with a layer of paste, and he felt uncomfortable all over.

After handing in his exit card and leaving the Gongyuan, Wang Daoqiu raised his legs and walked quickly towards the inn in his memory.But he had just left the Gongyuan and hadn't even walked a few steps!A big hand patted his shoulder from behind, and a plaintive voice came from his ears: "Brother Liangzhen, why did you just come out? Brother, I have been standing at the door waiting for you for a long time."

Wang Daoqiu had the impression that these two words "Liangzhen" were given to him by his mentor at his private school when he was crowned before he came to take the provincial examination.

When he heard someone shouting his name from behind, Wang Daoqiu hurriedly turned around, and what caught his eyes was a fat man.This fat man looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. His face was full of flesh, he had a three-dimensional chin, and his eyes were almost squeezed into a line because of the fat. He looked very happy.Searching the memory of the young scholar, Wang Daoqiu found out that this fat man was named Jiang Li, also named Zhijian.He is the youngest son of the head of the Jiang clan in his own village. His family is a landowner and a factory owner. He has more than 700 acres of paddy fields, more than 400 acres of mulberry gardens, a raw silk processing plant and an oil pressing plant. He rents the land every year for raw silk and oil pressing. The money he earns is at least a thousand taels of silver, and he is the number one rich man in the village.

This Jiang Li is one year older than Wang Daoqiu, and he is also very smart. Except for his father, Jiang, he regards him as the hope of the family and focuses on nurturing him. He is also very strict in daily life.But his father was busy and often had to go out to deal with things.And once his father leaves, his family will become a loving mother and a loser.

Therefore, although Jiang Zhijian is smart, his hard work is never enough, and his academic performance is naturally difficult to make a qualitative leap. He only passed the college entrance examination last year, while Wang Daoqiu was the top candidate in the college entrance examination last year.So since last year's college examination, Fatty Jiang regarded Wang Daoqiu as his idol and often came to Wang's house to study with Wang Daoqiu.

The fat man is very enthusiastic and has a good heart. He really wants to make friends with Wang Daoqiu, the head of the case.But the original young scholar Wang Daoqiu was a little aloof, or maybe he was a little hating the rich. Anyway, he didn't think highly of this fat man in his heart.So he usually treats fat people with the most enthusiasm, that is, giving them the most basic courtesy and ignoring them.

And this fat man was also mean. The original Wang Daoqiu didn't want to see him so much, but he still licked his face and moved closer.It was the same this time when I came to Hangzhou for the provincial examination. Fei dragged Wang Daoqiu with him and insisted on helping Wang Daoqiu pay for the hotel room, but the original Wang Daoqiu was aloof and refused.

The little scholar is a noble person, but as a liberal arts dog in the 21st century, he is still willing to look at the rich second generation who does not think that he is rich and is willing to pay for poor people. If the three views are consistent, then Let’s be friends!
After retrieving the little scholar's memory, Wang Daoqiu smiled and said to the fat man: "Brother Zhijian, let's go quickly. Don't stay here. We both stink so much. Go back to the inn and wash up."

"That's right, that's right. It's been a toss-up for the past two days and three nights. Fatty has never suffered such a serious crime since I was born! Come on, hurry up, dear brother Liangzhen, after taking a bath, I'll treat you to a meal for my brother!"

"Okay, you can eat, but we agreed that it can only be a few home-cooked meals, and you can't order anything too good. If you spend too much money, I will feel uncomfortable eating."

"Hey, Brother Liangzhen, you're talking about you, why are you always like this? We are brothers, and there must be loyalty between brothers. What's mine is yours, isn't it? Hi, you're talking about you."

........................

Wang Daoqiu and Fatty just chatted all the way and walked quickly to the inn.

Back at the inn, looking at Wang Daoqiu and Fatty who were tortured for two days and three nights, the shopkeeper, with a white towel on his shoulders, came over with a smile and said hello: "You two gentlemen, thank you for your hard work. The shopkeeper knows the gentlemen. Today is the provincial examination, so I told the boys to boil hot water early in the morning. Young men can add as much hot water as they want. Those who are used to washing in cold water can use well water..."

"Okay, okay, waiter, stop talking nonsense. Brother Liangzhen and I are both young and in good health. How can we use hot water in this weather? You go get us two large buckets of well water and put them in the bathroom. We can go up and get some to change. Come down and wash your clothes. In addition, you can ask the kitchen to stew an old duck for us, a braised crucian carp, a Dongpo pork..."

"Okay, okay, Brother Zhijian, these dishes are enough for the two of us."

Seeing the fat rich man getting angry and ordering food randomly, Wang Daoqiu rushed up to interrupt him.Then he turned back to the waiter and explained: "The three meat dishes Mr. Jiang ordered just now, plus two vegetarian dishes, and a pot of glutinous rice wine will be enough."

"Hey, okay, sir, don't worry, go take a shower. You can eat the little bag after you wash it."

After Wang Daoqiu finished speaking, the waiter promised professionally.The fat man wanted to order more, but Wang Daoqiu just wanted to wash off his sticky body quickly.So he didn't care what the fat man was complaining about that the food was too little, he grabbed the fat man's arm and went to the guest room upstairs.

(End of this chapter)