readsfreenovel Chapter 317 Ancient Farmer Scholars 9
Chapter 317 Ancient Farmer Scholars 9
Liu Yuxi rambled on and on, it was unclear whether it was because he had been drinking or because the past six years had been too repressive.
Fortunately, he wasn't drunk and didn't say anything he shouldn't have; most of his advice was to the children.
He sent the children to rest, and he also washed up and went to bed. He had to attend the "Deer Cry Banquet" tomorrow. Once he got through this last hurdle, he wouldn't have any important business to attend to.
There's not much to describe about the "Deer Cry Banquet." According to Liu Yuxi's ranking, he was practically sitting outside the door. Even when the prefect questioned him, he couldn't get a word in edgewise. He simply went with the flow until the end and then went home.
We prepared many gifts and went to thank several teachers. Our sons are still studying, so we can't let these relationships be broken.
Then the family would set a date and hold a banquet. Basically, all the scholars would hold a banquet to celebrate, and those who lived nearby would inform each other to stagger their dates. If a family was poor, the banquet would be simple; if a family was wealthy, the banquet would be more lavish.
Why hold this banquet? For those from well-off families with connections, it's simply a way to maintain social relationships. For those from humble backgrounds, the benefits are numerous: they can expand their network and receive a lot of gifts. If they're greedy, they can really make a fortune!
In a prefecture, there are only fifty successful candidates in three years. Just imagine how rare that is. If a village produces a successful candidate, it really benefits the whole village. Yes, not only the successful candidate's clan, but also the surrounding villages, since there are many marriage ties between villages.
Some small landlords, local gentry, and even some merchants, even if they don't usually interact, can become connected as long as they can establish a relationship (living in the same county town is considered a connection, after all, they are from the same hometown).
When a scholar holds a banquet, everyone will definitely come uninvited and bring generous gifts. Most people with some wealth will also include a congratulatory gift of 20 to 200 taels of silver in the gift box.
When a top-ranking scholar holds a banquet at home, the local county magistrate will condescend to attend. Why? Because a higher ranking means a greater chance of passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations). Once you pass the Jinshi examination, the lowest official position you'll be appointed is county magistrate. So why not take this opportunity to make connections? Wouldn't that be foolish?
Liu Yuxi's ranking was relatively low, so naturally the banquet was scheduled for the latest time. This was the unspoken rule. Fortunately, there weren't many other successful candidates living in the prefectural city. He attended several other people's banquets first, and then held one at his own home.
The guests at these banquets, apart from the guests of each host family, were all pretty much the same. The only difference was the amount of their gifts. Of course, if you didn't compare them side by side, the gift lists were all about the same. This is the wisdom of the Chinese people.
The ingredients for the Liu family's banquet were sent from the village. There were no delicacies from land or sea. The only two delicacies were mushrooms picked by the women of the village and dried bamboo shoots that they usually dried.
The only slightly rare dish was spicy crab. It was still more than a month before the best time to eat crabs, but Liu Yuxi swapped the crabs from his own pond with those from his spatial dimension; those were all plump and full of roe.
As for chili peppers, he had already planted some on the estate, but not much, just enough for his own family and the people on the estate. Besides, not everyone can handle spicy food, so the spicy crabs he arranged were only mildly spicy.
The dishes were all prepared by the family's own chef and servants. And you know what? Even though they were all home-style dishes, several of my classmates actually asked me for the recipes when the banquet ended!
After finishing everything, Liu Yuxi went to stay at his own estate for a while. He didn't want to use his brain at all; he just wanted to rest, clear his mind, and spend his days fishing, eating barbecue, and crayfish.
During this time, I also met with several other scholars from the vicinity of the prefecture city a few times. There was no other way; Fengzhou Prefecture was very close to the capital. If an ordinary carriage traveled fast, it would take half a day to get there, and even if it was slow, it would only take a day.
Therefore, the other candidates who wanted to continue participating in the provincial examinations were not in a hurry to go to the capital. As mentioned earlier, people in ancient times did not have many forms of entertainment, and there were many things that scholars were not allowed to do.
What to do when there's nothing to do? Well, you can only stay in touch with your classmates from the same year! You're all of similar social status, you have common topics, and when you don't have anything to talk about, you can discuss academic matters. If you all go to take the imperial examination, you can travel together. If you pass the examination and become an official, you'll have a ready-made network of connections. What great friends you'll have!
So even though Liu Yuxi wasn't planning to take the imperial examination, he still attended the gathering. Regardless of whether these scholars could pass the imperial examination or not, they were all better than Liu Yuxi. The friendship between these fellow graduates at this time was something that would last a lifetime!
He maintained his persona of being dull-witted and honest—well, not really a persona, really, compared to others, he was indeed quite simple-minded.
Although his own path in the imperial examinations would end once he passed the provincial examination, he still had three twelve-year-old students in his family. Moreover, one of them almost passed the county-level examination at the age of twelve.
Even if these children all become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), or even just become Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations) like their father, that would still be four Juren in one family! What if the next generation is like this? In just a few generations, the Liu family's reputation will rise.
People in ancient times always considered things ten steps ahead. Liu Yuxi himself might not achieve much in the future, but he wasn't the type to cause trouble. Therefore, he got along very well with his classmates and fellow students.
After being invited by several people, he invited a few others to his farm. Coincidentally, these people all came from relatively well-off families and had little experience with rural life other than spring outings. So Liu Yuxi arranged for them to have a day trip to a farmhouse.
The arrangement was for the estate where flowers and medicinal herbs were grown, and a soap workshop was set up. The workshop would be closed for a day, and the main recreational activity would be fishing.
Then they were treated to a lobster feast. At this time, crayfish didn't exist in the Daqing Dynasty. Of course, when he introduced them, he called them "little red shrimp." In a feudal dynasty, the word "dragon" was taboo. Spicy, garlic, and thirteen-spice crayfish—all kinds were served in large quantities.
And then add some barbecue, grilled fish, grilled pheasant, grilled rabbit, grilled potato slices, grilled eggplant, grilled green beans, grilled bread slices...
After a day of playing, to use a scholar's words, it was quite a wild experience! The ingredient called "little red shrimp" was a bit ugly and unsightly, but it was still very delicious. When we left, each of us took a basket with us, and of course, we also made a recipe.
It wasn't until almost the New Year that Liu Yuxi returned to the prefectural city with two cartloads of ingredients. Although the children would go to the estate to play for a day during their holidays, they were all relieved when their father came home.
With their father away, the brothers had to handle all the household affairs. But with the Lunar New Year approaching, they were still unsure about the appropriate New Year's gifts to give to each family.