Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 407: Selling Soup in Front of Dragon Gate

Under previous circumstances, even the children of officials had to get off the carriage and walk with their examination baskets.

Song Ying followed the gaps in the crowd and soon arrived at the area where the doctors were waiting, which was right at the main entrance to the examination room.

At this time, Lin Wenxuan, who arrived earlier, also saw her and stood up and waved at her: "Junior sister! Over here!"

He stood up too quickly and hit his head against the dragon gate. Song Ying walked over quickly and teased with a smile: "Fortunately, senior brother is not a scholar taking the exam today, otherwise he would be as nervous as drawing water from a wooden barrel, up and down."

Lin Wenxuan rubbed his head and couldn't help but smile.

The main entrance of the examination room is also called Longmen, which means a carp leaping over the dragon gate. It is very appropriate. If you pass the exam, it is like crossing the dragon gate, and if you fail, it is called "Longmen Dian'e", which means hitting your head on the door.

They were just joking around when they heard someone shouting, "Stop pushing, stop pushing, my head is going to hit, ouch! Who is trying to hurt me?"

The person behind him hurriedly said, "Brother, I really didn't mean to squeeze you, but the crowd behind me was so tight that I couldn't control myself! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The candidate who hit his head against the goalpost was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and was heartbroken: "It's all over! It seems that I won't pass the exam this year! I'm in the top ten of the county! Villain, I will fight you!"

"Brother! No! This is disrespectful..."

The other candidates nearby were very grateful and moved away from the dragon gate one after another. No one even tried to stop the fight, for fear that they would be pushed into it, which would be a bad sign.

Song Ying smiled, put down the medicine box, and looked around. There were basically no carriages near Longmen. There were only scholars waiting. There were adults in their thirties and forties, children in their teens, and even more teenagers of fifteen or sixteen. Old scholars with white hair were rare.

There is no threshold for the county examination. Anyone who can read and is not the descendant of a prostitute or a clerk can take the exam. However, most people know their own abilities and those who have not studied classics will not rashly take the exam.

"Come, take a look, these sweet and sour preserves will make your mouth water and quench your thirst!"

Suddenly, a very discordant voice was heard. Song Ying looked over and saw Aunt Chen, not far away, carrying a bamboo basket, squeezing in the crowd and shouting, she was selling candied fruits!

"Auntie Chen, why are you still selling today?" Song Ying was very surprised. When she proposed it before, she was worried that she would be expelled by the yamen runners. How come you are selling in front of the examination hall?

Aunt Chen squeezed over and said excitedly, "Your suggestion is very good. I have sold a lot of candied fruits in the past few days, more than I usually sell in a month. I wonder if some people who were reluctant to buy before will be willing to buy now before the exam!"

It turned out that the business was so good that Aunt Chen even temporarily suppressed her fear of the officers.

Song Ying was a little amused and corrected her, "Auntie, that's called saliva in the mouth, not a mouth full of saliva. These scholars are the most particular. Who would be willing to buy it after hearing you sound so sloppy?"

"Oh, my brain, I forgot what I was saying. I was wondering why I didn't sell any today." Aunt Chen was annoyed and suddenly realized, "Auntie, I won't talk to you anymore. I'll go sell some more before the exam!"

Having said that, he nimbly squeezed out and started hawking his wares again.

As soon as she spoke elegantly, many scholars stopped her to ask for the price, which made Song Ying very jealous. He asked hurriedly, "Brother, did you bring our stove? Let's make ginger soup quickly!"

Lin Wenxuan was a little hesitant. "These are all students who are here to take the exam. They are very nervous. Is it not good for us to try to make money from them now?"

"What's wrong with that? They drink ginger soup to dispel the cold and prevent colds, which helps them do better on the exam, and we make money, so what's wrong with that? Besides, our products are not expensive."

Lin Wenxuan still felt a little uncomfortable. Whether it was expensive or not, the problem was that they only threw a few pieces of ginger into the pot of ginger soup, and the cost was only a few cents.

The junior sister planned to sell a bowl of ginger soup for one penny. The bowl was very small, under the pretext that this was to allow students to drink less water. This pot would have to sell at least a dozen or twenty bowls, and the few pieces of ginger could be boiled two or three times.

He really felt guilty.

As he was speaking, he saw Song Ying put the bamboo basket on the table. When he opened it, he found that there was half a basket of candies inside.

"What are you doing?" Lin Wenxuan felt uneasy.

"Sugar can quickly replenish your energy. If someone is writing a paper and doesn't have time to eat, it would be great to eat a piece of candy. You can hold it in your mouth and continue writing the paper without worrying about dirtying the paper."

Lin Wenxuan was helpless. It wasn’t that sugar was bad. The problem was that County Magistrate Chen asked them to come in case the candidates got sick, not to sell things!

He was about to persuade her when someone nearby was moved by Song Ying's words and asked, "Miss, how much do you sell this candy for?"

"Two for one penny." Song Ying smiled.

The scholar's clothes were washed a little white, and it was obvious that his family was not well off. Hearing this, he didn't want to buy it anymore. It was too expensive! Much more expensive than the candy shop.

At this moment, a voice rang out from the side, "Eh? Isn't this the candy you often eat, Brother Yuan?"

It was Shen Jing, Yuan Qing and several other students from Jiahu Academy who had arrived.

"Brother Yuan, I see you often eat this candy during breaks. Is it really as good as she said?" A scholar who also came from a poor family asked immediately.

Yuan Qing nodded, "Sugar can indeed quickly replenish your energy."

With his living example, the poor student from Jiahu Academy thought for a moment and said, "Give me six!"

The exam was over in the afternoon at 3 p.m. Six candies, three in the morning and three at noon, were enough.

With his introduction, the student who first asked for the price gritted his teeth and said, "Give me six too."

He decided that if the effect was really that good, he would go to the candy store and buy some to use for his next exams.

Song Ying handed over the candy with a smile, and asked, "Would you like another bowl of ginger soup? We added a lot of ginger to this soup, which can not only drive away the cold and warm you up, but also prevent colds.

I heard that you will have to take off your clothes and shoes during the search. Oh, it’s so cold today, and it’s easy to catch a cold even if you wear thick clothes, not to mention standing in the cold wind without clothes. My, I feel cold just thinking about it!”

Lin Wenxuan looked at the ginger soup bubbling in the pot. Was that a lot of ginger? Why did he feel that his junior sister was becoming more and more like a profiteer?

She spoke in a grandiose manner, but the two scholars were very hesitant. "If we drink soup now, we may have to go to the bathroom in the examination room."

"What's wrong with going to the toilet a few more times? It's better than catching a cold. If you have a cold, your brain will be dizzy and how can you write the test? Besides, the exam hasn't started yet. After drinking the ginger soup and warming up your body and going through the search, you may just want to go to the toilet and then you can take the exam smoothly!"