The Eleventh Section Blows Cowhide

  Liu Dou's head scratched the back of his head, looking at Yun Zheng with a suspicious expression and asked: "You said that stone carving by the road? I've seen it since I was young, why didn't I know that it says 'There is a pond on the mountain'?"

  Yun Zheng started banging his head against the table again, he didn't know how to explain it to Liu Doutou. Mr. Yuan Zhi called this mountain "Shenxiu Peak", what a elegant name, if only Liu Doutou could write something like that in his own article. Today I climbed up **Mountain... Yun Zheng wondered if the romantic Tang poets had the guts to write such embarrassing articles that would be laughed at for thousands of years.

  "Speak properly, if this thing is real, we can take over this job. Although the county magistrate is stingy, he will still give us 20 or 30 taels of silver as labor costs. This is an extra job, does he really want me to pay for it myself?"

  Liu Doutou dragged Yun Zheng up to the top of the mountain, pointing to the empty space at the top and asking Yun Zheng where the pool was. Mr. Yuan Zhi said that he could see a small river when washing his feet here, the small river is in the north, so the place where he sat must be in the south. The laborers cleared away the wild grass according to Yun Zheng's directions, and after digging two shovels, they hit bluestone.

  Liu Duotou ordered the laborers to hurry up and work, and soon a large pit filled with green stone slabs appeared. Liu Duotou smiled with great satisfaction, ordering the laborers to refill the pit and even threw a few handfuls of grass on top of it. He patted Yun Zheng's shoulder heavily and said: "Don't tell anyone about this, this is the fortune that heaven has bestowed upon us. Good job, five taels of silver, I've bought your idea, from now on this method belongs to me, don't let outsiders know, let old Liu also pretend to be a military strategist."

  Yun Zheng heard Liu Doutou's words and was about to go crash into a tree again.

  Old Liu grasped it tightly and said: "You think it's too little? Eight taels of silver can't be increased, my brothers still have to eat!"

  "This is harming me, Liu. Let me call you 'Liu' like your younger brothers do, don't you think this is proper?" Yun Zheng's question made Old Liu stunned, and after a while he said: "How can giving you money be harming you?"

  "I'm thirteen this year, my brother is three, and you want us two brothers to take five guan of money and put it at home? Are we still alive or not? Five guan of money can buy a good big cow, for this little money, there won't be just one or two people who want to kill us! Is this what you call harming me?" Yun Zheng angrily shouted at Liu Du Tou.

  Lao Liu blinked for a while and finally understood, squatting in front of Yun Zheng said: "Young man, you now truly make me look at you with new eyes. Lust is a sharp knife that scrapes the bone, wealth is a poisonous medicine that hastens death. Many people know this principle, but when it comes to themselves, few can grasp it. You tell me, how should I thank you? Although old Lao Liu is rough and unrefined, I won't do cunning and greedy things. Be smart, think of a safe way to tell me."

  Yun Zheng bowed his head to Liu and said, "It's because of you that I'm so diligent. If it were someone else, they would pretend not to know anything. This is your good deed being rewarded. Let me thank you for letting me be the accountant and sparing me from labor." As he spoke, he scooped up a handful of rainwater and put it in front of Old Liu, saying, "What is this? To me, it's the god of death who hastens one's demise. I can endure half a day, but more than a month? Every day getting rained on, even with a good physique, no one can withstand it. These days, buried in the trenches, I saw 16 people, each one stronger than me. If something happens to me, my younger brother at home won't survive either. Although you don't care, it's just a small effort for you, but for me, five taels of silver is worth two lives."

  To be honest, I didn't plan to give up my life like this. In the future, I still want to take the imperial examination for children and then the imperial examination for talents. If my ancestors have accumulated virtue, even if it's just a mention at the Donghua Gate, I also want to stand on tiptoes to reach it.

  My family teacher is a recluse, and although the young child's learning is just some miscellaneous studies, it is the most profound scholarship. Simply put, in terms of arithmetic, I am not boasting, but there are only a few people in this world who can surpass me.

  It's just a pity that being a miscellaneous scholar is not what the young master wants. Now, the young master has returned to his hometown and wants to start from scratch, step by step, to achieve his dreams. The imperial examination for children is just a test of their grasp of the Four Books and Five Classics, which only requires memorization and recitation, and is not particularly difficult. If Liu can help the young master find five people to vouch for him so that he can take the exam, the young master will be eternally grateful."

  Liu Dou's eyes were about to split open, and he stuttered as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, saying to Yun Zheng: "You want to sing at the Donghua Gate?"

  Yun Zheng nodded and said, "What's impossible? My master has said that the great literary examination of the Song Dynasty is ultimately just a joke. A few articles can determine a person's life and death, two poems can make someone rise to fame overnight. How ridiculous! As his disciple, I naturally want to verify whether my master's words are correct or not."

  The county exam is in February, the prefectural exam is in May, and the imperial exam is in August. I want to try my luck to pass all three exams within a year and bring back the title of Xiucai. Please help me, Liu Tou, and Yun Zheng will not forget your kindness.

  Liu Doutou's eyes were already bulging to the point of no return, so he grew a bigger mouth. The rainwater on his bamboo hat flowed into his mouth and he didn't even know how to cover it up. He had completely lost his ability to think after being lectured by Yun Zheng.

  Good heavens! There's a madman here who claims he'll pass three exams within a year and transform from a nobody to a high-ranking official. Good heavens, what is this madman talking about? Does he think the Imperial Examination is a joke? Heaven, those who are called out at the Donghua Gate are all literary stars! And yet he says it's nothing, just a mere trifle. The County Magistrate is merely a Juren, and when he meets the Commander of the Bean Sprout Pass, they just exchange pleasantries. Good heavens, good heavens, my good heavens! Could it be that a literary star has accidentally fallen into the Bean Sprout Pass?

  Liu Doutou ran away, he didn't say a word and turned around to run, he was worried that if he stayed for a while longer his head would explode.

  Yun Zheng wiped the rainwater from his face, shrugged his shoulders and went down the mountain. Today's tasks were all done. The cook packed Yun Zheng's small cloth bag with fine rice. The two women also had such a small bag, which was a benefit for the accountant and the cook, not considered corrupt. It was just that the two women pounded the remaining coarse rice into fine rice.

  Yun Jianqiang and Yun San were still lying at the window waiting for Yun Da's return, seeing Yun Da's voice and shadow was overjoyed, people shouting and dogs barking very lively.

  Yun Zheng took out the cloth bag from his waist and poured the fine rice into a small jar, which was used to hold salted vegetables on the construction site. There were four or five such jars at home. Seeing that his brother seemed very happy, Yun Jianqiang asked: "Do you have good news today?"

  "There's nothing, just bluffing to scare someone off. In a couple of days, I'll have all sorts of math problems to do, it's so boring, you do it, consider it an exam." Yun Zheng glanced at the lead-gray sky outside the window, and there was still no sign of sunrise.