Lu eventually experienced the triple joy of her father and husband passing the county exam to become xiucai and her elder brother passing the provincial exam to become juren. Although she was also excited this time, she reacted in an experienced manner.
She asked her excited mother-in-law to watch over the baby in the cradle, and took her two exhilarated sister-in-laws who were too happy for words to set up the tables, make tea, bring out snacks, moving very quickly.
Just as the preparations were ready, the Chief of Jiang clan and several clan elders arrived at the Jiang residence, followed closely by Old Jiang and his three sons.
In their hurry to get back, they hadn't had a chance to roll down their trouser legs that were pulled up, and Old Jiang had lost one of his grass sandals.
Father and sons briefly greeted the clan chief and elders, then hurried into the house to change their clothes and shoes. Just as they had tidied up, the messenger arrived at their door.
The two officials bearing the good news both wore large red silk robes.
One sounded a gong, then the other held up the document and proclaimed in a loud voice: "Good news - Jiang Wenyuan, son of Old Jiang of Qingzhou County, Lingzhou Prefecture, has gloriously obtained second place Yuan in this county exam.
Good news - Jiang Wenyuan, son of Old Jiang of Qingzhou County, Lingzhou Prefecture, has gloriously obtained second place Yuan in this county exam. We hereby announce this joyous news! Esteemed elders, please accept our congratulations!"
"Our shared congratulations!" Lu stepped forward and stuffed a bulging bag of coins into the messenger's hand. "Thank you both for making this trip, please come in for a cup of coarse tea."
As soon as the messenger took it in his hand, his face instantly blossomed into a smile.
Readily coming into the Jiang residence, seeing that tea, fruits and snacks were already laid out, his mouth split into an even wider grin. He complimented the Jiang family profusely, sentence after sentence, until their faces were flushed red.
While the men talked, Old Lady Hu also regained her composure. She discussed with Old Jiang and his two sons, took out some silver coins and called over some Jiang Clan members to help buy meat and vegetables to prepare for lunch.
Without saying anything else, at the very least the messengers bearing good news, village chief, and Lu's natal family would have to be treated to a meal. As for the rest, they would treat the whole village after the third son returned.
When Scholar Lu, Lu's father, heard that his student and son-in-law had obtained second place Yuan in this county exam, his mustache bristled with excitement.
After announcing this great news at the academy and declaring an afternoon off, he brought along two grandsons and rushed at top speed with Jiang's seven boys to his daughter's home.
By the time they arrived, the Jiang residence was already bustling with people coming and going, filled with distinguished guests.
Seeing him enter, everyone quickly stood up to usher him to the seat of honor. As both the father-in-law of a juren and a respected teacher, he had to be treated well.
The entire day, the Jiang residence was exceptionally lively. What's more, Old Jiang announced that when the third son returned, they would treat the whole village to wine. Everyone joyfully agreed before dispersing.
That night after all the guests had left, everyone in the Jiang family was exhausted, but their hearts were filled with joy.
Jiang Wenyuan passing the provincial exam meant that from then on, the Jiang family name would be completely transformed, stepping into the ranks of scholar families. Among scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, scholars were the most noble.
For several consecutive days, the Jiang residence saw streams of people coming and going. This liveliness reached its peak the moment Jiang Wenyuan stepped through the front door on the sixth day of the ninth month.
As soon as Jiang Wenyuan entered the front door, he personally set up two stools for his parents to sit on.
After his parents were seated, he smoothed his robes and knelt solidly on both knees, knocking his head on the ground three loud times. "Father, Mother, your son has lived up to expectations and obtained second place Yuan in this county exam."
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Father is proud of you!" Old Jiang helped his son to his feet, eyes rimmed red. "My son has made something of himself, the ground feels cooler!" Old Lady Hu was already in happy tears.
After getting up, Jiang Wenyuan also deeply bowed to his two sisters-in-law. "Younger brother thanks both elder brothers and sisters-in-law for your decade of support. Without elder brothers and sisters-in-law, there would be no Jiang Wenyuan of today!" These were his heartfelt words.
In ancient times, studying was precious. Jiang Wenyuan's achievement as juren was the result of the entire family tightening their belts to support him.
Today, Jiang Wenyuan's bow let Oldest Master Jiang and Second Master Jiang's couples feel that all their past hardships were worth it. Their third younger brother was a conscientious man who didn't forget his elder brothers even after becoming successful.
Jiang Wenkang and Jiang Wenxi supported their younger brother up, eyes full of gratification. "Quickly get up, we are brothers by blood. As elder brothers we should support our younger brother, it's only natural!"
Jiang Wenyuan also gave a deep bow to Lu, sincerely saying, "Husband thanks wife for working hard these years to manage the household and raise our children. Jiang Wenyuan's accomplishments today could not happen without wife's efforts." Hearing this, Lu felt both embarrassed and delighted, and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks, making the village women watching the lively scene rather envious. They secretly thought Lu was blessed with kind in-laws, a harmonious family, and successful husband who appreciated her. Isn't this what women desire in life?
Jiang Wenyuan also paid his respects to his father-in-law and the village elders before sitting down to chat.
That day, the Jiangs held a banquet with over thirty tables fully occupied.
Aside from relatives, friends and clan members, there were also the academy headmaster, classmates, and some local gentry who came to congratulate them on their own initiative. It was even livelier than Jiang Yuqing's one month celebration.
The various gifts from close and distant relations, both familiar faces and strangers, filled up half a room. Just the monetary gifts totaled over 200 taels of silver.
Even the county magistrate of Qingzhou sent over a gift, giving the Jiang family tremendous face.
Of course, these social obligations would need to be repaid in the future.
In this county exam, Qingzhou county had sent six candidates. Although only Jiang Wenyuan succeeded, his high ranking of second Yuan exceeded expectations, and could be considered an unexpected joy.
That night after the guests dispersed, the family gathered in the hall to talk, asking about his experiences during the exam days.
Jiang Wenyuan took a sip of tea, rather moved as he said, "You don't know, the exam shed leaked rain, it was very damp, and mold grew in some places. It was full of mosquitoes, buzzing, and many couldn't stand being bitten. Some had scratched their faces bloody. Fortunately I had the insect-repelling sachet gifted by Guaibao, which spared me from mosquito bites.
At mealtimes, others only had hot water and hard steamed buns or stiff glutinous cakes, while I ate noodles. Just soak them in hot water, and they're aromatic and delicious. Even the exam proctor smelled it and came over.
After leaving the exam hall, the proctor secretly asked me where I bought the noodles. I said it was something my wife happened to buy from a wandering merchant, but we could never find him again afterwards. That gentleman was quite regretful."
Just from these few sentences, Jiang Yuqing could discern that instant noodles would be wildly popular in this ancient era.
Given how prevalent they were in the modern era of abundant food, there's no way they wouldn't thrive in this time of scarce food.
These aren't difficult to make. Perhaps in the future the Jiang family could specialize in selling instant noodles.
Exam takers, merchants, escorts, even the military would be steady customers.
...Of course for now these were just musings, given her current six month old body. There would be time in the future.
After a few lively days, the Jiang residence gradually settled down. But compared to ordinary villagers' homes, the Jiang household gate was clearly different now.
First was the land tax. Under the legal code, juren were exempt from tax on 150 mu of land.
Although xiucai were also exempt from land tax, it was only 15 mu. Juren enjoyed a full tenfold increase.
Frankly speaking, even if they did nothing but lease out that 150 mu tax exemption, it would be enough to live worry-free for life.
No wonder people say, poor xiucai, rich juren.
The Jiang family originally owned 17 mu of land. After discussing, Old Jiang's family bought another 30 mu, for a current total of 51 mu.
The remaining 99 mu they planned to distribute to their in-laws. Oldest daughter-in-law Lin's maternal home ran an escort service and had no farmland.
Second daughter-in-law Zhu's maternal home did own land, but with such a ruthless brother-in-law, the Jiangs naturally did not plan to give them any.
Finally, with unanimous agreement from the family, they allocated Uncle Zhu's 3 mu of land for his retirement.
As for Third Daughter-in-law Lu's family, they already had land and both a juren and xiucai, so didn't need any allocated.
In total, there were still 96 mu remaining. After some thought, they decided to allocate it to the clan.
There were 47 households of Jiang clan members descended from Xijin ferry, so they allocated 2 mu per household, leaving 2 mu which they gave to the most impoverished Granny Yang in the village.
Therefore, when the Jiang clan chief announced this news to the clan, the Jiang clan was elated. They all said that the Jiang Wenyuan family had conscience, and didn't forget to help the clan become successful.
The land tax during the Da Xia Dynasty was 30 taxes per 1, which was quite low compared to other dynasties. But the grain yield was not high at that time. After a year's hard work, the farmers paid their taxes but hardly had any grain left.
Two mu of land could save at least 20-30 catties of rice each year. Converted to coarse grains and other staples, frugally used, it could feed a family for a month. In a bad harvest year, it could save lives. How could one not be delighted?
Granny Yang was not a Jiang Clan member. When she was young, she had fled here with her parents, and later married Yang, a hunter in the village.
In his early years, Yang went hunting in the mountains but was attacked by a tiger, leaving behind only orphans and a widow.
Granny Yang barely managed to raise her son to adulthood and get him a wife. But when the daughter-in-law gave birth to their second child, she died due to complications. Less than half a year later, her son also died in an accident while performing corvee labor service.
Only Granny Yang was left, raising her six-year-old grandson and three-year-old granddaughter. Life was as bitter as gentian.
If not for the occasional help from villagers, they would have perished long ago.
Granny Yang never imagined that Scholar Jiang would exempt her family's only two mu of land. She was overjoyed to the point of tears.
With the extra grain that year, she no longer had to worry about the children starving. The Jiang family were truly good people!
The Yangs were destitute, with nothing presentable to offer.
After some thought, Granny Yang brought the children to the Jiang residence and respectfully kowtowed several times before Old Jiang and Old Lady Hu.
This shocked the Jiangs. They quickly helped the old woman and children up.
Granny Yang expressed endless gratitude before she finally wiped her tears and went home.
When word of this spread, all the villagers gave a thumbs up, praising the Jiangs for their benevolence and righteousness.
With the land tax exemption arranged, it was time to build a new house.
The current Jiang residence was barely adequate, being made of mud bricks with a thatched roof. It required repairs every year and still leaked.
When the rainy season arrived, it would rain outside and drip inside. Over time, the mold grew thick in the corners.
Now with some surplus wealth, and a son who passed the imperial exam, there were more guests. The place was becoming rather shabby.
After discussing with his sons, Old Jiang decided to build a grand three-section compound, one section for each son.
It was perfect timing. In a few years, the grandsons would come of age, marry and have children who would also need living space.
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