My diary of transcendence from the heavens

Chapter 20 20. Gain fame and return to the village in fine clothes

When Zhao Xuanqi came out of the restaurant, the rain had stopped, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the warm sunshine shone on his body, which made him feel very comfortable.

A clerk informed him that the merit disk produced by the government had been completed and Zhao Xuanqi needed to go to the Yamen in person to claim it.

Zhao Xuanqi was confused: "Is it that fast to make a famous album? It usually doesn't take about a month to make it?"

The man cupped his hands and forced a smile on his tense face: "For ordinary people, it will naturally take a month, but the first status is special, so the county magistrate ordered us to hurry up and make it."

"That's it." Zhao Xuanqi suddenly realized.

He and the clerk came to the Yamen, where he successfully claimed his merit disc, which contained his information, name, place of birth, parents, etc., as well as the most important nominations: "No. [-] child born" and "No. [-] scholar."

The honor plate is not only a symbol of status, but also a symbol of status. From today on, he is no longer an ordinary person, but a "scholar" with a great reputation.

Although they are only the lowest-level taxis, their status has surpassed that of ordinary people and they enjoy various benefits.

"This world has an even stronger monopoly on reading. Not only is the cost of studying more expensive, but private schools only accept people from nearby villages. It is dozens of times more difficult to study than in the previous life, so fame is more valuable and you get more benefits." Zhao Xuanqi Standing in the yamen, checking the benefits of meritorious service, my heart moved.

There are children and scholars in this world, and their benefits are very high.

Tongsheng, this is the most basic merit. Obtaining this merit means that you will never have to work in the fields again.

After all, if you know how to write and read, you can usually work as a bookkeeper in a restaurant, or write letters for others. In the village, children will do the work in places that require writing, such as carving letters for sacrifices or erecting monuments. There are many ways to make money, and they are respected by people. .

For a long time, Tong Sheng has often presided over sacrifices and other matters, and Tong Sheng's status in the village will become higher and higher. Tong Sheng can generally serve as the village chief and clan elders.

I am even exempted from corvées and taxes.

With the title of Tongsheng, you basically enter the wealthy class. In this era of widespread illiteracy, you can rely on culture to make money and live a more prosperous life.

As for scholars, that is even more extraordinary.

The whole family of five is exempted from taxes and corvee, and even if the family only farms, they will be richer than others.

If you don't kneel before the magistrate, your status will be greatly improved.

The law provides preferential treatment. Once you make a mistake, the government will not be able to punish you immediately. Instead, it will need to strip you of your reputation before you can be successfully punished.

The process of depriving one of his or her honors is very cumbersome and requires reporting to the government at various levels. Therefore, as long as the scholar does not commit a serious crime, he will basically not be punished.

In terms of criminal law, if you enjoy fair treatment, you will basically not die unjustly.

Moreover, the criminal law still has preferential treatment from the government. If a gangster beats an ordinary person, he may only be beaten, and at most he will pay a few copper coins. But if he beats a person who has the reputation of being a scholar, then at least he will be punished. He was sent to a jail cell for a month and dealt with severely.

Moreover, the title plate is equivalent to a road guide. Scholars are no longer simply restricted to the place of birth. They can travel around at will without being punished by the government, which is equivalent to having a certain degree of autonomy.

You can also go to the government every month to receive some grain money as welfare salary to subsidize your family.

Excellent scholars can also teach in academies and be respected by others. Anyone who sees them has to call them "Sir" or "Master". They can also open their own private schools, have a high status, and can crush ordinary people in terms of income.

There are many benefits, and it is not the kind of "poor scholar" mentioned in the previous life.

It can be said that with the reputation of being a scholar, it is difficult for you to be poor. After many years of business, you are at least a small landlord.

Zhao Xuanqi learned through inquiry that in this imperial examination, only 50 people passed the examination as scholar, and 200 people passed the examination as boy student.

The imperial examination is held every three years, which means that in the huge Shixi County, it takes only three years for 50 scholars and 200 children to be born.A large part of these people are wealthy families, as well as aristocratic families. People who were truly born into poverty can be counted on one finger.

He murmured to himself: "It is too difficult for ordinary people to stand up. There are no scholars in several villages near Zhaojiacun, not even a child. It is difficult to study, and it is even harder to pass the exam. It is as difficult as reaching the blue sky."

I walked out of the Yamen feeling refreshed.

Once you have achieved fame, you will no longer be ordinary in the future.

It's like Sun Monkey took off the tight curse on his head, and the world is free and free from now on.

Finally, we are no longer the lowest common people!

In the next half month, Zhao Xuanqi became a busy man.

Various teachers in the academy sent him congratulatory gifts, and various officials in the yamen, as well as yamen servants, also lined up to celebrate and send congratulatory gifts to him for being the first in two schools.

Even merchants from various streets near the academy, as well as ordinary families, continued to come to the academy to celebrate.

Including scholars from the same period, some students whom Zhao Xuanqi did not know also came to give gifts.

The title of scholar is actually not that important. After all, you cannot be an official. What is important is number one, ranking first.

The first scholar is different from the ordinary scholar. Ordinary scholars will not receive this kind of treatment.

Sending congratulatory gifts is not necessarily a sign of flattery. There is another meaning of congratulations, which is to gain literary flair.

From the perspective of the common people in the Northern Wei Dynasty, anyone who can get the first place in the exam is definitely a Wenqu star who comes down to earth, and is accompanied by literary grace. If you give gifts to such people, they will be full of literary grace. Maybe you can get good grades in the future, and so can your descendants. Get a good grade!
This kind of superstitious behavior is actually very common. Not to mention the feudal ancient times, even in the modern world of previous lives, there were many similar superstitions.

For example, if someone is admitted as the top scholar in the province, the family will be completely famous. Many unrelated people will be willing to support you and queue up to give you gifts, just to gain some reputation.

Although the scholar is not as good as the provincial number one scholar in his previous life, he is still number one in the county. The next step is to take the exam for civil servants. If he succeeds in the exam, he can become an official. If he ranks high in the exam, he will be a high official. , which is not much worse than the provincial champion in his previous life, and it is normal to receive such treatment.

People around are rushing to curry favor with the top-ranked scholar, which is equivalent to a kind of investment. Once he wins the election, it may bring huge benefits to himself in the future.

Zhao Xuanqi ranked first, and he was born into a poor man. It was a good time to provide help in times of need, so he was naturally the first to bear the brunt. If there were no accidents, he could definitely join the bureaucracy.

……

With his fame, Zhao Xuanqi naturally moved out of the academy and rented a house next door to the academy. All kinds of thank-you gifts were piled up in the house.

Sending thank-you gifts is just a local custom. If you accept a gift and others appreciate your kindness, it does not mean that you will owe others a favor. This is a mutual debt, so Zhao Xuanqi accepted all the gifts. Not accepting them would mean looking down on others.

With these subsidies, Zhao Xuanqi finally had some money and finally put on a clean gown. In the past half month, he had eaten and drank enough, and his face and blood had improved a lot. He looked rosy and energetic. good.

When the time was free, he finally had time to return to the village!
He couldn't wait to tell the good news to the villagers that I had passed the exam and everyone's efforts were worth it. I didn't let everyone down!

Zhao Xuanqi rented a carriage and rushed towards Zhaojia Village quickly.

When he came to the county a year ago, he was terrified and his future was uncertain.

A year later, when he returned to the village, he was full of joy, having achieved both fame and fame, and was well-dressed.

(End of this chapter)