diskusbooks Chapter 134 College Examination
Chapter 134 College Examination
The prices in the provincial capital were high, and most of the students were from poor families with average financial conditions, so the timetable for the college entrance examination was very tight, and we arrived in Yingzhou City only two days in advance to give everyone time to adapt.
In a blink of an eye, it was the third day of the exam. Everyone got up at the hour of Yin. Although the inn was not too far from the exam venue, everyone was worried about being late at such an important moment, so they simply got up early.
It is estimated that it will be sunny these days. Zhang Pingan just prays that he will not be assigned a bad number, otherwise the weather will definitely be bad enough to make him suffer.
Yesterday, Zhang Laoer heard that students in the provincial capital have to eat Zhuangyuan cakes and Jidi porridge before taking exams, so he rushed to buy some. These ordinary cakes were very expensive because they were given good meanings. Jidi porridge was nothing special except that it had a few more lotus seeds and red dates than ordinary porridge.
Zhang Ping'an was particularly careful about food before the exam. If he ate something unclean and had diarrhea in the exam room, it would be troublesome. Not only would it waste time, but the examiner would also give him a shit stamp, which would affect the final evaluation. So he refused to eat anything and let Zhang Laoer and Liu Sanlang share the food.
"It would be a waste if you give it to me," Zhang Laoer felt very sorry, but then he thought about it and thought that what his son said made sense, so he could only bear the pain and eat it.
"Dad, it doesn't matter who eats it. You can still buy it for me after I finish the exam. Besides, so many people have bought the top scholar cake, but there is only one top scholar. It shows that there is no point in eating this cake," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.
Zhang Laoer couldn't argue with his son, so he picked up the exam basket and said in a deep voice, "Let's go, Dad will take you to the exam room!"
Everyone in the academy set out together, holding lanterns. On the way, they met other students who were taking the exam. There were people holding lanterns in front and behind. Soon they arrived at the examination room. Looking around, the number of people was similar to that at the provincial examination, ranging from young men of twelve or thirteen to old students with white hair.
Zhang Pingan walked over to line up, and Zhang Laoer followed him and said, "Don't be nervous, do your best on the test!"
"Yes! Dad, I know. Please give me the exam basket. I can go back and take a nap now," Zhang Pingan nodded.
Zhang Laoer refused to leave and insisted on watching his son go in first, rubbing his hands together.
Zhang Pingan smiled helplessly when he saw this: "Dad, why do I feel like you are more nervous than I am? You should go back first. You will affect me instead!"
Zhang Lao Er hesitated and said, "Will it really affect you? I just can't help it. If you think it affects you, I'll stand back."
"Forget it, then you just stand here."
Only then did Zhang Laoer laugh.
It was almost half an hour later that it was Zhang Ping'an's turn. The person checking him was very thorough. He crushed all his food and even his hair bun, which was ripped open. He was asked to take off his outer clothes during the body search. Zhang Ping'an even felt his balls being pinched. It was really embarrassing!
After a lot of effort, I was finally let in after the examination. However, this time I was not as lucky as the county and prefectural examinations. The examination room I was assigned was only six or seven meters away from the stinking cell. I could only make the best of it!
I don’t know if the land in the provincial capital is too expensive, but the examination hall is even smaller than the ones used for the county and prefectural examinations. It has three walls on the left, right and back sides. There are two wooden boards in the front, one for a stool and the other for a table. They can be moved up and down, and can be put together to sleep at night.
Only after wiping both wooden boards clean did Zhang Ping'an sit down and wait for the exam to begin.
After a while, I actually saw Liu Shengyuan, and he was walking straight towards me. The two of them were so close to each other in their examination halls, it was really fate.
However, Liu Shengyuan was so focused on his walk that he didn't notice Zhang Pingan. No noise was allowed in the examination room, and then Zhang Pingan watched helplessly as Liu Shengyuan entered the bad room, which was even worse than his own!
The academy examination is presided over by the provincial education commissioner, who, as the name suggests, is in charge of the education and imperial examinations of a province. He is a third-rank official, usually an official from the Hanlin Academy. Before distributing the papers, the provincial education commissioner will personally read out the emperor's edict and examination taboos, and then distribute the papers after the reading.
According to his old habit, Zhang Ping'an read the exam questions from beginning to end before starting to answer the questions. There were fewer questions than in the provincial exam, but they were more difficult. If he wanted to answer each question in full, it would take at least two thousand words.
The first three questions mainly tested the basics, and from the fourth question onwards, the main focus was on questions about connection and current affairs. At this moment, Zhang Ping'an was particularly grateful to Mr. Fan. Before coming to the provincial capital, Mr. Fan had specifically pointed out the preferences and styles of several examiners and the chief examiner of this academy examination.
"The chief examiner of this academy examination, Yang Xuezheng, is of the same age as my brother-in-law. He is different from me in taking the provincial examination. As far as I know, he prefers gorgeous writing style and especially loves poetry. He is a famous scholar in the capital. He hates dirty papers the most. Remember to pay attention when answering the questions," Mr. Fan reminded at the time.
The marking and scoring of the connection questions and current affairs questions will reflect the personal subjective opinions of the examiner, so it is very important to know the examiner's preferences.
For example, when answering questions, there is a question like "Can the military system since the Han and Tang Dynasties be verified by the current situation?" First, you have to be familiar with the evolution of the military system of the Chu, Han and Tang Dynasties, and then use the current situation to prove it. Finally, you have to propose the problems of the current military system and how to solve them. The answer is divided into four aspects. The first step is the easiest, but in the second, third and fourth steps, if you are not clear about the current situation of the court and the preferences of the chief officials, it will be difficult to pass the circle no matter how good your knowledge is.
Knowing that the examiner disliked dirty papers the most, Zhang Ping'an wrote very slowly when answering the questions. He used a paperweight to hold down a corner of the paper and wrote carefully, for fear of making black spots due to corrections. Before he knew it, more than an hour had passed.
As the sun rose, more and more people came to use the toilet. The smell from the toilet became stronger and stronger, and Zhang Pingan had to pick up a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose.
At noon, he only drank a few sips of water and ate a few dry biscuits to barely fill his stomach. He couldn't eat any more. Then he raised his hand to signal the patrolling yamen runners that he wanted to go to the toilet. A yamen runner would accompany him to the toilet, and Zhang Ping'an also happily got his first shit stamp.
The toilets are still dry toilets now. Fortunately, it is only the first day of the exam and there are not many people going to the toilet, so it is barely acceptable.
After taking a short rest against the wall in the examination room, Zhang Pingan started to answer the questions. Before he finished a question, many people came to the toilet one after another. They were definitely defecating. The smell was too strong and the weather was hot. Zhang Pingan felt nauseous and retched several times.
Immediately, a patrolling yamen runner came over and shouted, "No noise allowed!"
Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to cover his mouth tightly with a handkerchief and pat his chest before the nausea subsided.
Now he was even more afraid to drink the water. Zhang Pingan suppressed his nausea and continued to answer the questions.
I thought everyone was rushing to the toilet because they had just finished lunch, but it turns out there were quite a few people using the restroom in the afternoon as well. Could it be that Mr. Fan was wrong? Do examiners no longer care how many poop marks appear on students' papers?