A handsome youth alighted from the car. His eyes were round and large, and he looked a little childish.
After he got off, he turned around and looked up to talk to someone in the car. A voice came from there. It was faintly delicate, as if it was a woman.
"Miss Yuemuxuan is here too!"
" I heard that this younger brother is Miss's favorite. He's here for the exam today. Miss must be sending him off."
Whispers came from nearby. Young Mu Ai, the examinees craned their necks, wishing they could open their heavenly eyes so that they could see the graceful figure inside through the curtain of the carriage.
" Young Master Qi is also a young talent. I don't know why he didn't take the exam last year, but he came to participate this year. He should have already reserved the first title…"
"That's for sure. With him around, what else can others think about?"
Qi Kun said a few words to his sister and waved at her. He turned around and walked towards the examinee.
There were so many examinees outside the county government that it was almost packed. However, when Qi Kun walked over, the crowd naturally made way for him.
Qi Kun looked very shy. His cheeks were slightly red. He cupped his hands and bowed to the surroundings." Thank you, brothers, for letting me."
The crowd laughed good-naturedly, and many said,"You're welcome."
Qi Kun squeezed into the crowd and headed forward. There was a flag with the word "Yue" written on it. It seemed to be the main force of Yue Muxuan.
Xu Wen was a little surprised.
This Qi Kun was completely different from what he had imagined.
He glanced at Zhou Zhicheng again. He lowered his head and did not look at Qi Kun. The corners of his mouth were tightly pursed. His left hand was tucked into his sleeve and completely invisible.
Xu Wen's gaze swept past his sleeve and he sighed softly.
You know a person's face, but you don't know his heart. Yuemu Pavilion was the largest workshop and chain store in the area, while Yao Clan's Wood Workshop was only a small level 5 workshop. The difference in status between the two was too great. It was normal for what happened to be covered up.
"Is this Qi Kun?" Lu Cheng suddenly leaned over and asked him.
"Looks like it is." Xu Wen replied.
"It's a little embarrassing to be able to take the apprentice test after such a thing." Lu Cheng was furious.
"Well, then let's defeat him on the apprentice test." Xu Wen said indifferently.
"Apprentice try defeated? It's not that easy. Qi Kun was Yue Mu Xuan's young master. He knew how to pick up things and play with wood. Later, his knowledge and skills were taught by a master. He could read and write, and he was good at painting. Two years ago, he had personally made a chair, and it was still placed in the magistrate's study. How can others compare to this kind of prodigy?" Lu Cheng said a long string of words like a cannon.
"You know a lot." Xu Wen said.
" Humph…" Lu Cheng immediately shut up.
"No matter how good your family background is, no matter how much experience you have, you're still competing in craftsmanship and basic skills. Close the door and paint your name, just in time to see the real seal in the examination room." Xu Wen looked directly at Yue Muxuan's flag. His voice was especially clear in this noisy environment.
Lu Cheng tilted his head and looked at his profile. He suddenly felt that this person was different from them…
They arrived half an hour early just to get the number plate.
In front of them, they called out their names one by one according to the order of the wooden workshop. Those who had been called out went to get their tokens and then went to one side to wait for admission.
There were three plates in a set, representing their identities for the past three days. If you lose your number plate, you won't get any results no matter how good you are.
Level 3 workshops were first taken, followed by Level 4 workshops, and finally Level 5 workshops.
Although Xu Wen and the others had obtained 20 slots, they were still ranked in the Level 5 Wood Workshop according to the usual practice.
Therefore, the examinees in front of them all went up one by one. When it was their turn, a large group of people went up together. Not to mention the other examinees, even the petty official who handed out the number plates was shocked.
"Yao Clan Wood Shop?"
"Yes."
"Tsk, you're quite capable."
The names had already been reported early in the morning. The small official casually said a sentence and began to name them one by one.
The other examinees seemed to know something and started whispering to each other. Their gazes were extremely unfriendly.
"I got the quota through connections…"
" What's the point of having more quotas? It's just a small Level 5 workshop. Can Master teach it?"
" I dare to eat sh * t if I can get two out of so many people!"
The surrounding discussions were a little ugly. The apprentices of the old lumberyard lowered their heads and their faces were a little hot.
Lu Cheng, on the other hand, picked up his own number plate and deliberately raised his voice." There are a total of 21 spots. Thank you for your hard work, Big Brother."
He emphasized the words " twenty-one ". The surrounding people were stunned for a moment and shut their mouths.
Even if he used a backdoor, he still needed some connections to get a total of 20 spots. The exam was about to begin, and it would be bad to stir up trouble for some verbal matters…
Xu Wen smiled and glanced at Lu Cheng.
When we first met, he was clearly not such a person. He didn't know when it started, but he had also changed…
"Yao Clan Wood Shop, Xu Wen!"
Hearing his name, Xu Wen strode forward. Soon, three wooden tokens strung together fell into his hands.
On the wooden plate were carved several words,"Mu Bing 14." The former was his subject, the latter was his number, and it was also his position in the examination room.
He had already heard that the rules of the examination were very strict. According to the ten categories of craftsmen, there were a total of ten subjects and they were tested separately.
This was also a matter of course. Carpenters and masons definitely had completely different assessment contents and questions.
The apprentices of the old lumberyard were given the plates, compared with each other, and found that they were divided into different parts of the examination room, not even close to each other.
The cards were dealt one by one, quickly. Not long after, all the examinees had wooden tokens in their hands.
At this moment, a person dressed in official clothes stood on the high platform in front of him and said," The rules of the examination hall are now announced. All students must listen carefully!"
In an instant, all the whispers disappeared, and all eyes were focused on this person.
Almost instantly, the solemn feeling of the examination room permeated the surroundings.
" The rules of this Yushui County Trial are as follows…"
Xu Wen listened carefully as his loud voice spread through the crowd.
The rules of this examination were as strict as he had imagined, and the stricter they were, the more important the imperial court attached to this special examination.
After listening, he summarized the situation roughly.
Candidates are not allowed to enter the examination room with any entrainment. All the tools used are provided by the examination room to ensure that they are the same. There will be no difference in strength caused by tools.
The exam lasted for three days. Every day, Chen Zheng, which was eight o'clock, entered the examination room. At the beginning of the fourth day, which was nine o'clock, the exam officially began. The exam ended at 4 p.m., which was equivalent to seven hours of exams a day.
Unlike the formal imperial examinations, candidates could leave the examination room every day to rest, and did not need to spend the night in the examination room.
Xu Wen thought this was also because of the difference in the examination content.
Scholars imperial examination is cultural knowledge, know the title can correspond to the answer.
The Craftsman Science Test was a personal craft test. Even if he knew the questions, he could not cheat. Could it be that your skills could be transformed overnight?
What's more, the three days of examination questions are all different, which basic work is tested, you have to know on the same day.
Because of the daily entry and exit, the time requirements are very strict.
Late, the same day the wooden plate confiscated, no results.
Declared to leave the field does not stop immediately, wooden cards are also confiscated, no results.
In contrast, knowing the rules is more important than being good at craftsmanship.
Finally, the most important thing is the number of people selected for this apprentice examination.
Hearing this, everyone pricked up their ears.
A total of 200 students were selected from ten subjects. Due to the different number of examinees in each subject, the number of successful candidates was also different.
Among them, Wood was considered a major subject, and thirty people were selected from the middle.
In other words, out of so many apprentices, only thirty would stand out and enter the next stage of the capital examination!
"…I'm counting on you." Xu San patted Xu Wen's shoulder and said dejectedly.
There were only 30 people who could pass the test, and there were still so many Level 3 and Level 4 wooden workshops. Of the twenty-one people here, Xu Wen was probably the only one who had any hope.
"What I can get this year, I might not be able to get next year." Xu Wen only reminded her lightly.
"…Hmm!"
Xu San, Qian Ming, and the others heard it and suddenly became motivated.
Regardless of whether they could pass or not, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them. Even if they could not pass, they had to fight for it!
The rules of the examination room have been read out and the candidates will enter.
" Feel your bodies and see if there's anything you shouldn't bring in. Give it to me now." Zhou Zhicheng reminded.
Xu Wen reached into his arms and touched something soft and hard with his fingertips. He paused for a moment, took out the item, and handed it to Zhou Zhicheng.
" Eh, what an exquisite pouch. What's this pattern?" Zhou Zhicheng didn't think too much about it. He just asked casually.
"It must have been embroidered by his beloved girl, hehe. But what is this?" Lu Cheng laughed beside him. He couldn't recognize the pattern on the pouch.
" Alright, stop talking. We're starting to enter. Hurry up and go." Zhou Zhicheng didn't dwell on this matter much. He took the things and urged them.
Xu Wen heaved a sigh of relief and glanced at the pouch again. The pattern on it came into view again and was memorized in his heart.
The entrance inspection was not particularly strict. Beside the military officer was a large radish with many bags inside.
After checking one, they would issue a cloth bag.
The bag was heavy and contained the tools, materials, and questions to be used in the exam.
Xu Wen took the bag and followed the crowd into the examination room. What came into view was a square cabin.
The cabin was very small, and there was only room for one person. There was a serial number in the upper right corner of the wooden house, which corresponded to the serial number on their test card.
Xu Wen followed the path and quickly found his own room.
Mu Bing 14 was his workshop for the next three days.
August was a month of raging autumn tigers, and now the sun was slanting up in the sky, starting to get a little hot.
The cabin was made of very rudimentary materials and completely uninsulated, showing how bad the conditions could be in the afternoon.
It's tough...
But today, he could verify what he had learned during this period of time. After passing the exam, he could return to his original world…
Xu Wen closed his eyes and opened them.
He sat cross-legged on the floor of the wooden house and opened the sack.