Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 495 Same but different

Today is the day for the announcement of the results of the Jinling City official position examination. Although it is not an imperial examination, it is almost as lively as the imperial examination. Many people want to see what it is all about.

There are more than 50,000 people and only 3,200 are selected, which means about one is selected in 16 or 17 people. However, there will be an unprecedented innovation in the announcement of the results this time, which is to post the test papers of all the passed candidates together, so that everyone can see whether they are really talented or not.

More than 3,000 examination papers were pasted on a wall along the foot of the imperial city. Many people who did not take the exam were there carefully studying the papers and the candidates' answers.

All we can say is that we are convinced. Although 60 to 70 percent of the papers here are from children of aristocratic families, no one can say anything because they are indeed more outstanding. The remaining 30 to 40 percent are from children of common people. Although not much, it is a very good signal that everyone can finally stand on the same stage and display themselves.

The test paper is there, and everyone can see whether it is good or not. Although everyone understands that other families have more and better conditions, someone has already fought for them to have the conditions to compete on the same field. It is always unreasonable to be picky. The only way to make progress now is to live harder and climb harder than before.

And to this day, they don't even know what Xia Daosheng, who risked his life to get this opportunity for them, looks like...

"Fuck... these bastards are really good at imagining things."

Xia Lin was flipping through a comic book titled "Xia Daosheng's Record of Subduing Tigers". In the book, he was nine feet tall, with a long beard and red hair, holding a jade-bone iron fan. The tiger looked exactly like Gao Shilian...

Looking through the content, the plot is actually very simple. It is about a tiger in a certain mountain, which eats many scholars who are taking exams every year. One day, a heroic man named Xia Daosheng passed by and heard about this. He became furious, drank three jars of Fuliang liquor in one breath, rushed into the mountain to fight with the tiger, and finally killed the tiger, but he himself died of exhaustion.

In fact, everyone knows what this is alluding to. It is nothing more than that he risked his own injuries to pull the aristocratic family off the altar, but it is obvious that the aristocratic family will not let him go easily. The final death of the tiger-fighting hero Xia Daosheng is more like a conjecture and speculation about the ending of Xia Lin in the real world.

The last scene is that the people erected a monument for him and toasted in front of his grave.

"Hahahaha..." Xia Lin laughed heartily after reading it.

"Sir, do you want to buy it? We have only drawn ten copies of this book, and this is the last one."

The down-and-out scholar who was selling hand-painted comic books on the street laughed and said, "It's a bit expensive, but everyone likes it."

“Why don’t you go to the bookstore and print it out?”

The scholar laughed and said, "I don't have the capital. The bookstore prints at least 300 copies."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, the cost of making the mold is there." Xia Lin picked up a few books around him, some of which were picture books and some were handwritten novels, most of which were short stories. They looked quite delicate as they were copied word by word.

As for the content, the imagination is actually OK for people of this era, but for someone like Xia Lin who has read online novels such as "Rebirth into the Wilderness" and "Reincarnation as Granny Liu" and "The Three Brothers of Peach Garden" in the Grand View Garden, it is indeed a bit boring.

"Sir... I'm sorry, but you can't see it if you don't buy it." The scholar smiled shyly and said, "I make a living from this. If everyone comes to see it but doesn't buy anything, it will be a big trouble."

"That's true." Xia Lin put down a twenty-liang bill and said, "I'll buy your copy and one of each here."

"Master, this is too much... All I have is only ten taels."

"Then let's do this." Xia Lin put down another fifty taels: "How about you write a long novel?"

"Long story? I... don't think I can do it."

"It's okay, just try writing. If you write well, I'll pay for you to have it printed in a bookstore, and then we can split the profits 50-50, how about that?"

"Well...well...thank you very much, sir."

Xia Lin smiled and waved his hand: "It's just business."

After he left the stall, Tang Baoer beside him asked curiously: "Why invest money in these people? What they write is... simply incomparable to what you write."

"That's different. Now I need a cultural feast, where a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend. To start this project, there must be a prerequisite, which is to ensure that people in this industry have enough to eat. Only in this way can we usher in a prosperous era. Fighting alone is meaningless. If fighting can crush the aristocratic families, then they don't deserve to live for so many years."

"So what are your plans?"

"Kill their hearts." Xia Lin raised a finger: "Cheap, widespread, and long-lasting education is always the most effective weapon. Simply put, it means getting more people to read, be willing to read, and enjoy reading. This is really not allowed by current conditions, otherwise I would like to implement nine-year compulsory education."

"what?"

Tang Baoer couldn't believe her ears. She walked quickly to Xia Lin and took his arm. "What do you mean by compulsory education? Nine years?"

It is said that one has to study hard for ten years. How much hardship and money one has to endure during these ten years is known to those who have received education. But Xia Lin's words just now broke Tang Baoer's defense. Ten years of hard study and nine years of compulsory education, so why not just pay for one year at your own expense?

Even the king of heaven can’t afford to support me.

"Don't do this. You can't afford it."

"Sooner or later."

Xia Lin held Tang Baoer's hand and walked forward with a smile. They bought some things on the way and then came to Lao Zhang's house.

Old Zhang, who was stabbed seven times but survived, is now lying under the shade of a tree in the yard. He is really lucky. If even one of the seven stabs was slightly off, one of his heart, liver, spleen, lung, or kidney would have been damaged. But now Dong Niang is not here, and neither is Doctor Sun. If any of his five internal organs is damaged, there is no hope of recovery.

But... hey, I just couldn't stab him. Seven cuts, each one drew blood, all were superficial injuries, except that the excessive bleeding caused him to go into shock, but after two months of recuperation, he is now almost fine.

"Hey." Lao Zhang saw Xia Lin coming over and pointed at what he had in his hand: "Give it to me and try it."

"You are so rude. Shouldn't you come as soon as you said you would? And bring something with you?"

"I'm not being polite to you." Lao Zhang kicked out two stools and said, "Sit down. I'll ask your sister-in-law to go to the restaurant and order some dishes."

Xia Lin sat down with Tang Baoer and said, "Oh, you have a stable life. Your apprentice has become your sister-in-law without you noticing. You won't feel ashamed if the news gets out."

"Fengya, do you understand Fengya?"

"Feng, you dead head!" At this moment Wu Ning also walked out of the house. She was much more charming than when Xia Lin first met her. She was just a young girl then, but now she looked like a young woman.

"Please take a seat first. I'll go order some dishes. This guy has been so lazy these days."

"I'm injured!" Lao Zhang shouted, "You have to let me go."

"Stop it. Even a pregnant woman for ten months is not as weak as you." Wu Ning pushed Lao Zhang's head and said, "I'm going to go first. You guys pour your own tea."

After he left, Xia Lin secretly took out the rice wine he had bought. When Lao Zhang saw it, he reached out and grabbed it in his arms: "Okay, okay, you still care about your old father."

"Stop giving me that bullshit. How's it going?"

"Well, it must have been done. I talked to Zhao Shiyuan a few days ago. He will find a way to contact the Ministry of Rites."

"I don't think this will work." Xia Lin looked up and sighed, "But it can serve as a wake-up call for them."

"I think it's uncertain. The abolition of the system of lifelong officials should not be the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, and it is even more unacceptable for the Ministry of Personnel to handle it."

"Don't worry, take your time. There will definitely be difficulties." Xia Lin raised a finger: "Today is the Chinese Valentine's Day. There will be a lantern festival tonight. Do you want to go and see it?"

"Who the hell wants to watch lanterns? Is there any way to ride a flower boat?"

"No, Lao Zhang. You are in such a state, and you are still thinking about the flower boat?"

"It's not that I'm thinking about that. It's said that these days all the pretty girls have gone to Fuliang to sign up to be actresses. The quality of the courtesans here is getting worse and worse. Now several high-end venues in Jinling City are running out of money. So they seemed to have some kind of activity a few days ago, answering questions or solving puzzles, and you can eat all you want." Old Zhang slapped his thigh when he said this: "I haven't eaten good food for several months. I have been eating plain soup every day. Life is hard. Look, the food in the painting boat, you know, it's delicious."

At this moment, Tang Baoer said with a look of disgust: "You guys can go if you want to, I won't go to that filthy place."

At this moment, Old Zhang took out a few tickets like a magic trick: "The Inspection Department took the lead in funding. Isn't Jinling New City completed? There will be a garden party in the new city today. Take these tickets and take your sisters to have fun. There will be food, drinks, entertainment and everything. There will also be Persians coming to perform exciting shows. There will also be a poetry appreciation conference in the new Tai Academy. All the young masters and young ladies in the city will go. You can all go and have fun."

Tang Baoer raised her eyes and glanced at Lao Zhang: "So you still have to let me tell Wu Ning that I got the ticket?"

Old Zhang patted Xia Lin's thigh and said, "You are such a smart woman. You were obsessed with her when we were in Luoyang. If nothing else, you are really good at judging people."

Xia Lin spat: "Stop flattering me."

Sure enough, just as Lao Zhang expected, the takeaway Wu Ning ordered from outside was also bland. Although there were chicken, duck, fish and meat, the taste was really hard to describe, especially the fish, which was just boiled in water with a little salt. Even Xia Lin, who could eat smelly pork, almost vomited it.

Fortunately, Wu Ning had been bored at home these days, so when she heard that she could go out and play with Tang Baoer and the others, she was naturally happy to go. Because they had to go and call the little princess, they set off without even eating a few bites of the meal, leaving Xia Lin and Lao Zhang sitting in the yard.

"This is something that even a dog wouldn't eat." Xia Lin pointed at the things on the table viciously: "Is this what you eat every day?"

"The doctor told me to eat light food, but she didn't seem to have a very specific understanding of light food." Lao Zhang pursed his lips and said, "Sometimes I eat so much that I cry in bed at night and miss the swill we ate in Luoyang."

"Yeah, this will take me three days to eat, and I have to prepare myself mentally."

"Go, go, stop talking nonsense."

Old Zhang, who usually looks listless, now walks briskly, dragging Xia Lin to the outside of the largest brothel in Beijing where a promotional event is being held.

This brothel was Xia Lin's first time, but he had to admit that it was truly magnificent. It was a place that occupied 77% of the 30-mile Qinhuai brothel. It was said that the boss behind the scenes was the second prince, and after the second prince passed away, it had now been taken over by the Yang family. Yes, that Yang family, the family of Yang Jian and Yang Guang.

However, their family originally had a monopoly on the salt transport business and was not good at the brothel business. After they took over, the business went from bad to worse, so they had to hire a senior technician back from Fuliang as a consultant, and only then did they bring back Fuliang's promotional plan.

"Gentlemen, please come in! Today the flowers are in full bloom and the moon is full. Instead of standing and watching from afar, why not come in and enjoy it?"

"Fuck?" Old Zhang turned around and glanced at Xia Lin: "This is fine."

Xia Lin smiled and said, "Fuliang's specialty. Let me see who they invited back."

As they talked, the two of them walked in. This place covers a huge area. The imperial palace is 4500 acres, which is a number of . And this place covers an area of ​​ acres. You can imagine what scale it was built on.

There are pavilions, towers, landscapes, and romantic places inside, of all kinds, high, medium, and low end, which can satisfy both peddlers and high-ranking officials.

"Master Zhang, please come in."

As soon as they entered, the receptionists came forward. They actually knew Lao Zhang. But when they saw the people around Lao Zhang clearly, their eyes suddenly widened and their faces turned pale.

"Okay, okay, I finally made you a good man, and you come back to do your old job, right? Fine!"

"Sir, please listen to my explanation..." One of the receptionists quickly took Xia Lin's hand and came to the side: "We are here to get shares, not to be prostitutes... It's just that the quality of the girls here is very poor recently. Today, during the Qixi Festival, we will set an example for them."

"Yes, sir... don't blame us, they really gave us a lot."

Xia Lin rolled his eyes: "I thought you were back to your old ways."

"How could that be? My Lord saved me from the fire pit, and if I jump in again, wouldn't that be a betrayal to my Lord... My Lord, go and have fun first. If you don't like the girls here, just let us know and we'll come over to accompany you. This is not Fuliang. Wait a minute... If you feel lonely, just come to my room. Although I'm not as famous as Tingyun Wangyue, I'm still a virgin. I was planning to give it to someone else when I marry her, but if it's you, my Lord, that would be great."

As the top performer named Chunying spoke, a fiery light flashed in her eyes.

"I'm here to eat today." Xia Lin pulled her face away and said, "Go and do your own things. Don't come here from your hometown to hook up. Come on, come on!"

The girls let out a series of bell-like laughter, and then led Xia Lin and the others to the private room upstairs. It was not that they were unworthy of sitting in the box, but the box was already full today. There was really no other way. Xia Lin did not want to embarrass them, so he just found a private room and sat down.

"Damn it, I'm hungry." Lao Zhang sat down, took a deep breath, looked up and asked the waiter beside him: "Can we serve the food now?"

"Sir, it's still early. The kitchen is preparing."

"Where are the cakes?"

"The pastries are being made right now. A lot of people came today, so the kitchen is a bit overwhelmed."

Lao Zhang sighed and said, "Okay, bring me a pot of water to fill my stomach."

The servant was silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "Sir, it's good to be clean, but boiling water... is a bit dangerous. Our store has spring water from Yuhua Mountain, which is cold and clear, much better than boiled water."

Xia Lin waved his hand and said, "Just bring him a pot of boiling water. This guy has a quirk and likes to use boiling water. Go ahead. Oh, bring me a pot of mountain spring water. I like it cooler."

To be honest, it is really lively today. The girl who planned this marketing is really a genius. It is like a swallow in the hall of the rich and powerful in the old days, flying into the homes of ordinary people. In the past, those peddlers and hawkers have never enjoyed such treatment. You know, the food and meals in this place are not cheap.

And you have to answer questions to get it for free. Those people don't know what's going on when their carrying poles fall down. I come here just to broaden my horizons. I save up money for a long time and spend it here. Even if I don't order girls, just the meal is enough to show off.

"This place is really lively." Xia Lin stroked his chin: "It seems that there is a lot of spare money."

"That's not the case. A few days ago, this place went around the streets beating drums and gongs, saying that those who answered the questions would have their meals free, and those who came would be guests. It only cost five cents to order a pot of tea. Many people came here just for the tea." Lao Zhang laughed, "But whether they would only spend a pot of tea in the end, that's not certain."

"Yes, I taught you." Xia Lin held up his chin and drank the cold and sweet spring water. "This is called advertising marketing. First, increase the traffic to a place. With traffic, there will be money."

Soon the singing and dancing performance began. A pretty girl in light clothes was dancing on the big stage in the middle in a charming but not coquettish or cheap dance. The style was really high. Someone nearby was holding a bamboo tube and pumping out the scented water to form water mist. The whole place was suddenly fragrant, hazy and cool, truly a full sensory enjoyment.

There were cheers one after another, and coins, silver pieces, small rings and other gifts fell onto the stage like raindrops, making the performance extremely lively.

"Is there anything to eat now?" Old Zhang looked up and asked the servant behind him.

"Sir, I already have one. But you can get it for free if you answer the questions today. Why don't you try? It's a good deal. A meal here costs more than twenty taels of silver, which is expensive."

"I can't wait." Lao Zhang raised his hand holding a banknote: "Go, ask the kitchen to prepare a table for me. If I can't finish the food, I'll pack it up."

As they were talking, a handsome young man walked up to the stage and said, "Everyone, I am the head of this Qionghua Tower. Today, my family has spent a huge sum of money, not for anything else, but to make you smile. If the hospitality is not good enough, I hope you will forgive me."

"Who is this person?" Xia Lin pointed at the young man in the audience.

"He is Yang Hao, the nephew of Yang Ying, the head of the Yang family. He rarely shows up. His brother is Yang Zhao, the general of Suiyuan."

"The Yang family seems to be a big family as well."

"He was one of the Eight Pillars of the State in the early days, and he is of the same generation as your sister Dugu. I think they came out this time to grab the title of the Eight Pillars of the State that they deserve."

Xia Lin nodded gently: "Be careful, this family should be the most difficult to deal with."

"How to say?"

“The dog that bites never barks.”
-
Super long chapter.

(End of this chapter)