Dad, we are so stable, should we do something?

The academy exams are held twice every three years. This time, the third year is the provincial exam time. It happens to be the time for the eldest brother Tian Yuyu to take the provincial exam in August. Tian Yuheng has to wait until next year to take the academy exam. After the results are announced today, the two brothers are going to the restaurant to celebrate together. Tian Yuheng plans to tell his eldest brother about his plan to go back.

"Brother Heng, you need to work harder and try to pass the college entrance examination next year in one try."

"I will definitely work harder. I plan to go back to Hu County tomorrow so as not to delay your exam. Are you sure you don't want mother and the others to come and accompany you to take the exam this time?"

"No, I have Tian Ping and the others here. If you come here, I will have to arrange for you. The Lake County Summer Festival is about to begin, and there are many more people from other places coming to the capital."

"Yes, Dad has already made arrangements and publicity. Especially because of last year's summer festival and the parade, Lake County's reputation has soared. I think more and more people are coming to our place. I think this year will be much more than last year."

"Well, it's a pity that my father didn't let me go back to help last year, so I missed it. I have to take an exam this year, so I can't make it in time. It's really a pity. My father's term of office will expire next year, and I don't know when I will have the chance to see the celebration again."

"I think even if Dad leaves office, Lake County will continue to arrange such activities. Big brother, you will always have the opportunity to watch the celebration with us. Even if you can't, Xing'er always has a way. She will definitely find a way to hold a special one for you, big brother."

"Hahaha, that would be great."

"But the price will be high. Big brother, you must prepare the money. Otherwise, Xing'er may not do it for you."

"Yes, hahaha. By the way, how are Xing'er and the others doing at home now? Have they fallen behind in their studies?"

"My parents are healthy, and my aunt is also doing well. This year, many people have moved their registered residences to Hu County, and now it's the midsummer festival. Dad has been busy every day since his annual leave. I also went to the county government to help during my ten-day break. He was really busy like a top. But after the busy period of the festival, things are much better, and there are not so many things to do. My brothers and sisters study very hard. Xing'er missed a lot of lessons last year because of the festival, but she made up for it this year. She doesn't have to worry about the festival this year, and now she and Fu'er are studying hard every day. I heard that she has been fascinated by archery recently, and asked her mother to find a master for her. Now she is learning it well; Fu'er has been learning embroidery from her aunt recently, and now she sits under a tree every day, doing embroidery while accompanying Xing'er.

My fourth younger brother has made great progress in his studies and seems to have been somewhat influenced by the storybook "Sun Wukong". He is now also learning martial arts from a martial arts master.

Speaking of storybooks, I've bought them for you, too, big brother. I'll give them to you after you finish your exams."

"Great. I never thought Xing'er would learn archery."

"You said she was bored, but this is interesting. You know she didn't like those girls' music, chess, calligraphy and painting when she was young. She just read storybooks when she was free. She usually only liked to hang out with Fu'er. She was too lazy to go out with her good classmates in school. Sometimes she would only go out with Fu'er when he wanted to."

"That's right. Xing'er has been like this since he was a child. Come on, you and I will drink together. I'll have a good drink today to cheer you up."

The two brothers spent the entire afternoon in the restaurant chatting, playing chess and studying.

The next day, Tian Yuheng and his servants returned to Hu County early.

湖县

Mrs. Xu of the Tian family took the initiative to hold a banquet at home and invited several close friends to congratulate Tian Yuze on his qualification as a tongsheng. He could take the examination for a scholar next year. Since he was only a tongsheng, there was not much publicity, and the servants also received rewards.

This year's summer celebration is still scheduled for the second half of the month. The news has already spread to various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River. In May, many foreign businessmen have arrived one after another. By the beginning of June, outsiders can be seen everywhere in Hu County. The inns are full early, and the capital city is also full of people, and there are even many guests from the capital.

Huxian Teahouse

"I heard that several princes in the capital recently organized a Cuju competition. Many officials' children in the court participated. It lasted for about two weeks."

"Yes, this is old news. But it is true that because of this Cuju tournament, fewer people from the capital came to Hu County. I heard that many big merchants wanted to come here to take a look."

"Yes, I thought I could see some of the high officials and noble ladies of the capital here, or at least some big merchants."

"It can't be helped, since the dates overlap. But there are still many people from the north and south who came. The people who came to see the New Year's Eve celebration spread the word of Lake County all over the country. The number of people who came this time is already twice as many as last year. Look at the streets now, there are so many people coming and going every day, even on weekdays."

"Yes, I heard about it too. I came to take a look and see the business opportunities. Small retail investors like us just come to join in the fun and make a little money."

"I just want to make a profit from the price difference. This time I brought a small batch of Shu brocade, but I didn't expect it to be sold out within a few days. It's really easy to do business here recently. Unfortunately, I brought too little. I will definitely bring twice as much for the next celebration."

"Yes, the batch of tea I brought was sold out very early. Recently, more and more merchants and tourists from all over the country have come here. The price is not bad. I heard that Magistrate Tian does not allow Hu County to raise prices at will. I have bought a lot of local specialties. We have some discounts outside the province, so I plan to buy some more goods in Hu County and sell them back when the time comes."

"Yes, sure, brother. The Song Brocade from Hu County is also top quality. You can buy some and resell them. Anyway, the celebration hasn't started yet, so we can look around and find some good stuff."

"Yes. The beauties in Jiangnan are also pretty. I heard that the singer on the painted boat looks like a fairy, and her songs are like heavenly music. Let's go and see them together some other day."

"Of course, haha, let's drink, cheers."

"Dry."

Recently, as more and more people from all walks of life have come to Hu County, various information has been exchanged in the teahouse. Tian Xinger's teahouse has collected a lot of information.

"Uncle Fu, I heard recently that many people from the capital have been in contact with the He family and the prefect's family. The exchanges are quite secretive. I heard this from a drunk guest. I don't know what they are plotting. Our people in the prefectural capital have also been monitoring them for a while and have indeed found some problems. People who come in and out of their house are always in the middle of the night. On the surface, they are merchants from other places. In addition, many of them have been sent to our Hu County. Recently, some of them have been wandering around the county government office and the Tian Mansion. We haven't found out why yet."

"Well, I will inform the master. Just have someone monitor your side and report to me if anything unusual happens."

"Yes, Uncle Fu. I'll go down now."