The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Xue Shao got his wish and won the championship smoothly with everyone casting their votes.

He declined unnecessary social engagements, took the prize money and a plaque, and left.

Huang Quan realized what was happening and followed closely behind him. Once he had shaken off the enthusiastic crowd and stepped outside, Huang Quan grabbed him, her eyes sparkling: "Brother Xue, are you still going to the Feng family? Actually, it's not a big deal if you don't..."

“Go,” Xue Shao said with a smile, “I will wait for you outside the county school at 9:00 AM tomorrow. Please lead the way, Brother Huang.”

Huang Quan hesitated for a long time before saying, "Brother Xue, with your talent, there's really no need for you to marry into the family. You've already passed the imperial examination; even if you don't pass next year, you can try again in three years."

Xue Shao: "There are so many candidates for the imperial examinations in the world. I, Xue, am ashamed of my lack of talent and learning. I am afraid that I will not pass the examinations in three years."

Huang Quan frowned upon hearing this, and after a long while sighed, "That's true. Some people may spend their entire lives trying to pass the provincial examination and still not become a Juren, let alone a Jinshi."

Xue Shao nodded.

Standing behind Huang Quan, Dai Fu disagreed and whispered, "Well, you can't be so disheartened. Even a successful candidate in the imperial examinations can become an official."

Xue Shao: "The court is severely overstaffed. Even the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) cannot be fully utilized, let alone the Juren (successful candidates in the provincial imperial examinations). Without connections and money, Juren who want to enter officialdom can only wait for positions such as registrar or instructor in remote and impoverished areas."

Dai Fu murmured, "The registrar and the instructor are also very good..."

His lifelong wish was to become an instructor.

A Jiaoyu is the head of the local education bureau. Xue Shao's great-uncle was known as Jiaoyu Gong because he traveled to various places as a Jiaoyu and was very successful in his role, having taught countless students.

Xue Shao himself felt that being an instructor was enough, but Xue Wen, who wanted to enter the Feng family, certainly felt that it wasn't enough.

Xue Shao adheres strictly to his established persona.

Pan Yun came out carrying the wedding gift money after settling the bill, and the three of them immediately said goodbye to the Huang brothers.

When they returned to their rented courtyard, the sun was setting, and the afterglow fell on the lively courtyard, adding a touch of warmth to the noisy place.

As soon as he pushed open the door, a sea of ​​flesh rushed into his eyes, startling Xue Shao, who immediately stepped in front of Pan Jun.

Xi Jin hurriedly spread his arms to block Pan Yun.

Pan Jun silently pushed Xi Jin away, and also pushed Xue Shao, who was standing behind him, away as well. He then looked the shirtless men washing clothes in the courtyard with a graceful and generous expression.

Several people, wearing only shorts and soaking wet, were taking a bath with cold water poured from top to bottom while Pan Jun and his group pushed the door open and came in.

Suddenly seeing a little girl appear in front of them, not only did she not hide, but she also looked them up and down. The group immediately screamed, dropped the wooden bucket, covered their crotches, and ran frantically into their own houses.

Pan Yun watched them run away, then looked at the people laughing and mocking them.

The laughter gradually subsided, and the men avoided Pan Yun's gaze, reaching out to pull up their short shirts.

Pan Jun turned to Xue Shao, who was speechless, and said, "What are you afraid of? When it's hot, all the fellow students in the academy jump into the river to bathe. We wash our clothes on the bank then, and I've seen even more revealing ones."

Xue Shao: "...Don't the teachers at the academy care?"

Pan Yun: "They don't care. Longhu Mountain is a righteous sect, where marriage and having children are allowed. Most of the female disciples in the academy don't want to get married; they're all on the path of renunciation. They're worried sick about it and would love for the disciples in the academy to find someone they like. Why would they care?"

Xue Shao was speechless.

It was precisely the atmosphere of the academy and Longhu Mountain that prevented Pan Yun from developing the strict separation between men and women that characterized this era.

The three of them walked through the courtyard back to their room.

Only after the two doors closed did the quiet men in the courtyard suddenly stir. Soon, two men came over, one on each side, flanking the landlord: "Brother Tai, who are these people? They don't look like people who live in a place like ours."

"What do you mean by 'this kind of place'?" the landlord grumbled, displeased. "What's wrong with our place? It has a courtyard and a well; even the Shunlai Inn can't compare!"

He glanced around, pushed aside the people on either side, and said angrily, "Look at you all! Look at you all! What have you done to my perfectly good courtyard? How many times have I told you to go to the public bathhouse to take a bath? The public bathhouse I built is just for show! You insist on taking baths in the courtyard, making it all wet. If you scare away my customers, I'll hold you all responsible."

A low voice said, "Looking down on people like that..."

The landlord overheard this and jumped up, demanding, "Who said that? Step forward!"

No one stepped forward, and chaos erupted in the yard.

After the landlord calmed down, everyone asked, "Who exactly are those three? The man and woman at the front are clearly not ordinary people. The man is a scholar, and the woman is probably a rich heiress, isn't she?"

The landlord said irritably, "Have you ever seen a rich young lady come to live in a place like mine?"

"Didn't you just say your yard was nice?"

"Shut up! I can say this, but you can't? You've been working here for so long, how come you don't even understand this basic decency?" After scolding them, the landlord said, "No matter who they are, once they move in, they are all guests. You all better behave yourselves and don't bully them. I rely on these four main rooms to make money. If you mess them up and they're gone, I'll take this whole yard back."

Everyone fell silent.

The landlord charged very low rent. Although it was a shared dormitory, as the landlord said, there was a courtyard and a well, so the living environment was really good.

Such rent prices only allow you to find accommodation in slums, where there are no clean courtyards to be found, and you have to queue for three blocks to get well water.

They all knew that the landlord's house was not far from Piaoxianglou. Although it was deep in the alley, as long as they were sincere in looking for tenants, they could still find tenants who would rent the whole house or even rent it long-term.

It's not only worry-free, but also good for the house, and you can earn more money.

The landlord didn't do that because he wanted to give them a place to stay.

Although everyone doesn't say it, they all cherish this kindness in their hearts, which is why they all call him Brother Tai.

Unable to bear seeing the landlord's new business fail, everyone grumbled and cursed as they put on their clothes. Some even picked up brooms and began sweeping the water in the yard into the nearby ditch, and then cleaned the entire yard.

Others also began tidying up the things that were scattered haphazardly in the yard.

Even freshly wrung-out clothes have to be taken down from the clothes rack and brought into the room.

The landlord stood in the middle, hands on his hips, yelling at them: "I say one word to you and you don't even flinch. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was your father, not your landlord. What are you doing with those wet clothes? Hang them out to dry. If you dare bring them back inside, I'm not finished with you. Don't you know it's getting colder now? The cold north wind could blow down at any time. If the sea breeze comes ashore, and you leave wet clothes inside, do you want to grow mushrooms?"

Pan Jun leaned against the door, watching the landlord scold the tenant with great interest. When the sun, as soft as a runny egg, set behind the mountains, the whole courtyard looked brand new.

The landlord then noticed Pan Yun and Xue Shao leaning against the door and came up with a smile, asking, "Have you had dinner yet, esteemed guests? Would you like to stay at my house? My wife makes the best fish, and it's wild fish that my brother-in-law caught from the river. It's very fresh and the price is cheap."

Pan Yun asked, "Can you grill fish?"

The landlord's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously: "Yes, my brother-in-law's grilled fish is amazing. Would you like some, young lady?"

"How many are there? Let's grill them all," Pan Yun laughed. "I scared you all today, so grilling fish is my apology."

The landlord's eyes flashed, and he turned around and shouted at the group of dumbfounded geese, "What are you all standing there for? The young lady is going to treat you to grilled fish, so hurry up and thank her!"

The simple, honest working people hesitated for a moment before saying, "Isn't this too much of a waste? They're just looking at us because we're not wearing clothes. It's not like we'll lose a piece of our flesh. It's unnecessary, unnecessary..."

"What do you mean you don't need it?" the landlord glared at them angrily. "You don't need it, but I do!"

The landlord simply ignored them and turned to Pan Jun with a forced smile: "Miss, there are thirty-eight people living in this courtyard. Ten people per table, one fish per table, that would be four fish, right? Are you going to treat them to four fish?"

How many do you have?

The landlord chuckled and said, "As long as the girl says she wants it, I can give her as much as she wants."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and asked, "How much does a fish weigh?"

"The smallest weighs three pounds, and some weigh seven or eight pounds."

Pan Yun then said, "Then let's go with thirteen."

The landlord was overjoyed, shouted in response, and turned to leave.

A young man dressed in a short jacket with a large patch on the back hurriedly chased after the landlord: "Brother Tai, are you really going to cook for them? Is this you cheating them, or are they cheating you? If they all come to live in your house, how can they afford to treat everyone to thirteen grilled fish?"

"What do you know?" The landlord didn't kick him out, but instead grabbed him and pulled him into the neighboring courtyard: "That's a capable person. Do you know the Piaoxianglou Poetry Gathering? That distinguished guest Xue just won the championship."

"What? The champion? Isn't that the God of Literature?"

Landlord: "Isn't that Wenquxing? An outsider, he won first place in the poetry competition on his very first day in Chaozhou. You didn't see it, Sun Hanwen from Piaoxianglou turned pale, hahaha..."

The young man murmured, "The champion gets a prize of sixty-six taels of silver; that's enough to live on for a lifetime..."

“It’s not enough to live a lifetime like that. Do you think everyone’s life is like yours, where all you have to do is fill your stomach? That’s for scholars. Sixty-six taels is just a matter of the other party waving their hand,” the landlord said. “However, it is enough to treat guests to fish. Hurry up and come with me to prepare the fish.”

When they arrived at the yard next to where the landlord lived, the young man looked down at the fish in the broken tank and said speechlessly, "Brother Tai, there are only three fish in the tank."

The landlord had already left with the money in his pocket: "Don't worry about it, the fish will be back soon. Hurry up and help Xiao Qi kill, fry, and grill the fish. The other fish will be back soon."

It's said to be very soon, and it really is very soon.

The landlord hurried over and quickly made his way to the fishmonger's house in the dim light. He pushed open the gate and asked, "Hey, Dayou, where are the fish you didn't sell today?"

A family eating in the main room under a dim light came out with their bowls. When they saw the landlord, they said irritably, "How did you know I hadn't sold out?"

"Do you think I don't know you? Today, Piaoxianglou is hosting a poetry gathering. As a top-class restaurant, they prepare meat and fish well in advance. So many wealthy people are going to join the fun. Meat and fish at the market must be hard to sell today. I told you to check the daily market prices before buying fish, but you wouldn't listen..."

Da You's wife, Zhang Ahua, immediately put down her bowl and came over, saying, "Brother Tai, you're right. I told him to bring in less fish when he left this morning, but he wouldn't listen. He said that if there were no fish for the guests, they wouldn't come to buy from him again. Look, there are still so many fish left. I wonder how many will survive until tomorrow."

The landlord peeked over and even rolled up his sleeves to rummage through the fish that were squeezed under the bellies. Seeing that they were all quite large, he nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, I don't want any of these three crucian carp, but I'll take the rest."

Upon hearing this, Da You put down his bowl and came over, asking curiously, "Brother Tai, have you struck it rich?"

"What do you mean by 'getting rich'? Today, a generous man has moved into my yard. He has a happy occasion, so he's treating everyone to grilled fish. Hurry up and weigh all the fish for me. By the way, you two are quick and efficient. I'm buying so many from you at once, so you'd better kill the fish for me."

When Dayou and his wife heard that they could sell off the remaining fish that night, they were overjoyed. They were more than willing to kill the fish for him, and even grill them for him. They immediately told the children not to eat and to go fetch water, while he and Zhang Ahua scooped up the fish, put them on straw, and weighed them.

After calculating the cost, he picked up a fish and slammed it to the ground, then began to kill it.

The landlord eventually went back carrying a large wooden basin, followed by Dayou carrying another large wooden basin.

The fish are all cleaned and gutted. Once they're back, a quick wash and a pan-fry are all it takes to start grilling them.

The landlord's brother-in-law was only about twelve years old. He lived with his sister at his brother-in-law's house and was particularly good at grilling fish.

Pan Yun and Xue Shao, who lived in the neighboring courtyard, not only learned that he grilled fish exceptionally well, but also caught fish very well.

"That kid is incredibly brave, a real daredevil, daring to dive into any wave, no matter how big. Luckily, the pirates can't continue now, otherwise, he would definitely be a formidable figure in the future."

Pan Yun was going to treat everyone, and Xue Shao was a scholar; the two of them looked clean and approachable.

Especially Pan Yun.

At first, they thought she was beautiful, but the more they looked at her, the more they thought she resembled their mother. Moreover, the moon broke through the clouds, and in the moonlight, the resemblance became even stronger.

So they were surrounded by the two people, and basically, they answered whatever the two asked.

In the short time it took the landlord to buy fish, Pan Yun and Xue Shao dug up all of his belongings.

It is said that the landlord had been to sea when he was young.

“His family used to live in the village. It is said that he found a treasure at sea, a bushel of pearls. After selling it, he bought two courtyards, a shop and dozens of acres of land in Chaozhou City. Otherwise, he would have been a porter like us.”

Everyone said with envy, "If only we had gone to sea like him back then."

"Was there a sea ban back then? How did people get out?"

"It's not difficult to get out if you're determined. Just find a gap when the navy is changing shifts and dive in. As long as you have the strength, you can swim out."

"Swim out?" Pan Yun remained silent for a moment before saying, "He definitely deserves to earn this money." (End of Chapter)