Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Study Schedule

“Liu Ji, come in!”

Qin Yao suddenly shouted from her room.

At this moment, breakfast had just ended, and Liu Ji was cleaning the stove, putting away the pots and bowls washed by Da Lang and Si Niang into the cabinet.

“Madam, is something the matter?” Liu Ji didn’t move, standing in the kitchen and asking cautiously, with every strand of hair brimming with alertness.

Qin Yao hummed in response and urged again, “Hurry up and come in!”

Then she said to the Da Lang siblings, “There are lots of dry branches that have fallen down the hillside, go and collect some firewood, be careful, just collect from the foot of the hill, don’t go too far.”

Da Lang acknowledged with an “oh”, and called to Second Lang and Sanlang, who were reluctant to leave and were reciting books in the main house, picked up the little wooden frame Qin Yao made, one for himself and Second Lang, and gave each of Sanlang and Si Niang a small wicker basket.

There was no expectation that the Dragon and Phoenix Twins could carry wood, the main idea was to keep them company, just to bring back a couple of sticks for show.

Si Niang still wanted to stick with her mother, it was rare for Qin Yao to stay at home instead of going to the water-mill factory today.

However, the little girl was the smartest, looking at her father who was full of alertness all over, then to her mother who posed like a venerable teacher, she ran into the master bedroom, gave her mother a kiss and then carried the little basket, leaving with her brothers.

As they left, Da Lang thoughtfully closed the front door to prevent any family scandals from leaking out.

Liu Ji looked around, utterly despairing.

He made his way inside step by step, finally accelerating his pace under Qin Yao’s impatient, angry glare, entering the master bedroom.

This wasn’t his first time coming in, but he seldom came to this room ordinarily.

Looking up, he saw bows and arrows hanging on the wall, and a big knife placed at the bedside.

There was not much decoration in the room, not even a flower or a plant for a touch of color, so the sheets of test papers on the large table were particularly eye-catching.

“Sit down!”

Qin Yao, somewhere from her hand, had picked up a bamboo stick, and with a “snap,” she flicked it onto the bench in front of the desk, scaring Liu Ji to the point of missing half a breath.

“Madam, can’t we talk about whatever it is peacefully?” Liu Ji weakly reminded, “There’s no need to brandish weapons.”

While saying this, his body instinctively obeyed, timidly sitting down on the chair in front of the desk, knees together, hands on his knees, back straight as a rod.

The bamboo stick pointed at the question sheet on the table, “I made these practice papers early in the morning, you only come home for a day each time, let’s make the most of the time and start practicing directly.”

“From now on, this room is the examination hall, I am the Chief Examiner, and you are the candidate.”

“It’s now the initial county exam in February, start answering the questions, following the required format of the imperial exams, submit the paper before dinner today, I’ll first gauge what level you’re at now.”

As she spoke, she placed the Four Books beside the desk, “Considering your weak foundation, today’s is an open-book exam.”

After finishing these instructions, she placed the answer sheet format guidelines she had written in front of him, then sat on the opposite bed, staring at him, instantly slipping into the role of examiner.

Liu Ji was stupefied for a full minute before reacting.

He was just about to say something when Qin Yao immediately barked, “Silence!”

Liu Ji incredulously looked at this scene before him, thinking, if he knew it would be like this, he wouldn’t have come home this break!

However, this mock exam seemed somewhat interesting, so he reluctantly decided to give it a try.

Liu Ji took a deep breath and picked up the question card.

But when he saw the requested test-submission poems on it, his eyes instantly went black, he just wanted to drop the question card and run.

Glancing nervously at the ’Chief Examiner’, he thought, alright, alright, I’ll write!

Luckily, he remembered the imperial exam answers that Fan Xiucai spoke of.

If copying wasn’t possible, he’d just improvise something similar to get by.

Seeing that Liu Ji really started writing the exam paper, Qin Yao also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The test-submission poems took Liu Ji an hour to complete, the remaining time wasn’t much, and he still needed to write a 700-word answer, complete with format.

He wanted to request a trip to the privy, and Qin Yao allowed him half a quarter of an hour.

Liu Ji was just out the back door wanting to run when Qin Yao had anticipated it, a bamboo strip lashed at his calf, causing a wail of misery.

Dragged back by Qin Yao to the ’examination hall’, under martial deterrence, he finally settled down.

This question was from noon answered till dusk and the sun setting, still incomplete.

But once the time was up, the paper had to be collected.

With the submission of the exam paper, Liu Ji felt as if he had undergone a real imperial exam, dazed, mentally exhausted, nearly collapsing.

Qin Yao dismissively sent him off to make dinner, while she sat at the table checking the exam paper.

The entire essay was no more than 500 words, written incoherently, not even reaching the point in the books he copied from.

Qin Yao herself had read through the complete contents of the Four Books; although she hadn’t memorized them, with the academic foundation from her past life, understanding these phrases came easily, even effortlessly.

If she were to write this answer sheet instead, at most it would take two hours, she could definitely pass the passing mark.

However, as for that test-submission poem, she probably still needed to learn a bit more to be able to write it properly.

As for Liu Ji’s test-submission poem, Qin Yao wasn’t sure about its level, but it was possibly imitated from a scholar’s correct template, seeming slightly substantial.

Ultimately, the foundation was too weak, comprehension was fairly high, leaving a great room for improvement.

Qin Yao now understood, pulling up seedlings to help them grow won’t work, the foundation must still be solidified.

For the remaining six months, they’d first tackle the Four Books, one book per month, four books total in four months, with two months left to deepen understanding, just right.

Qin Yao wrote down a study schedule on the spot and handed it to Liu Ji, telling him to take it to school and follow this study schedule to learn accordingly.

“And what about what the teachers at the school arrange?” Liu Ji asked in surprise.

Qin Yao waved her hand, “Solve it yourself, talk to the teacher, or adjust the study schedule to match the school’s progress, whatever!”

Liu Ji nodded quickly, taking a swift look at the densely arranged timetable, noticing even meal times, sleep, and time for the privy were strictly regulated, it overwhelmed him, just… want to die.

Yet he didn’t notice the surprise and envy in Da Lang and Second Lang’s eyes when they saw this table.

Qin Yao raised an eyebrow at the two boys, “You guys want one too?”

Da Lang and Second Lang nodded vigorously, “Uh-huh!”

Qin Yao always told them that effort pays off.

Talent indeed plays a role but is out of reach for ordinary people. As long as the ultimate goal is achieved, would it matter being a small-town exam expert?

So Da Lang and Second Lang could vaguely sense that the densely packed study schedule in their father’s hands was the shortcut to their ultimate destination.

“You really know what to go for.” Qin Yao ruffled their heads, promising to also make a study plan for them once they started school.

“Thank you, Mother!” Second Lang exclaimed excitedly.

Da Lang, although he didn’t say thank you, his eyes were full of gratitude. Smiling, he rolled up his sleeves, bringing the dishes his father prepared to the table, setting the bowls and chopsticks, “Auntie, dinner’s ready!”

“Let’s go.” Qin Yao called to the Dragon and Phoenix Twins feeding chickens in the courtyard, “Time to eat!”

“Coming~” Si Niang hurriedly pulled her little brother along to the stone trough to scoop water to wash their hands clean, and the family sat together, enjoying the delicious meal that happened only once every half month.

The mother and children’s clean plate campaign demonstrated their appreciation for Liu Ji’s cooking skills.

The utterly outmatched Liu Ji gritted his teeth, “I thank you all!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep