The Little Lucky Girl

Ming Youyou tiptoed out of the room and looked in the direction of Zheng Huan and the others. Seeing that no one came out, she moved a stool under the tree, stepped on it, and tied a strip of cloth to the branch.

This was the contact signal agreed upon by her and Jia Er.

Although they were very close, they didn't want anyone to know yet. It felt very exciting to be sneaky like this.

After tying the cloth strip, she went back to the house. After a while, she heard a hissing sound coming from the window. She chuckled, knowing that it was Jia Er coming, and opened the door to greet him.

The two of them quietly came to the kitchen. The kitchen was very big, and since they didn't cook much, there were not many bottles and jars, so there was a lot of free space.

Jia Er chose a corner, spread out the straw he brought, and then stacked the tofu cubes that Ming Youyou bought on it one by one.

She also helped, "Is this enough?" It seemed quite simple.

Jia Er recalled the hazy childhood memory many times last night. "I remember my mother did this back then. She would boil some hot water in the kitchen frequently. When the temperature was high enough, the hair would grow in a few days."

"Do we need to cover it with straw?" Ming Youyou suggested.

Jia Er was a little uncertain, "How about giving it a try?"

The two of them hurriedly covered it up.

Making tofu rekindled the hope that had long since faded in Jia Er's heart. He was very grateful to Ming You You, but he was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say, so he made small talk: "I heard that you guys are going to the academy?"

She nodded, "Yes, we have to report the day after tomorrow, and Zheng Huan and the others still have exams to take."

"By the way, do you know how Captain Jin agreed to let us go?"

Jia Er subconsciously looked outside the door first, then thought that this matter was not confidential, so he told her: "Master Tao allowed the captain and his men to open a store in the county town, and Jia Yi will be in charge of that store from now on."

People from other countries are not allowed to open stores in Dayu, so this matter really requires special approval from Lord Tao.

She asked curiously, "So what are you going to sell?"

Jia Er shook his head, "I'm not sure yet, but this way we have a direct sales channel, which is better than selling the goods to traveling merchants and being exploited by them."

He suddenly realized that he had said too much, so he stopped, thought for a moment and said, "If this room is too dry, just sprinkle some water on the floor. Wait until the tofu starts to grow hair, then call me."

After saying that, he left quickly.

Ming Youyou's tofu was placed openly in the kitchen. Zheng Huan and others went in and out all day long, but no one noticed it. It shows how nervous they were.

The three of them haven't taken the entrance exam yet. In the past, one could enter the academy by paying money, and even if there was a threshold, their family would be able to help. It's not like now, where they can't rely on financial resources or their parents, and can only rely on their own real talents and knowledge, so they feel insecure.

They were reading even in their dreams at night, and they were still muttering to themselves while reading books until they sat in the carriage on the way to the academy, which made Ming Youyou, who was accompanying them, very nervous.

She first stuffed a picture of Confucius into the sleeve pockets of the three people and said, "I asked Mr. Wu Niangzi to draw this. Please worship it before you answer the questions."

Then he gave everyone a leaf. "This is what Guo Ren picked from the oldest tree in his village. The villagers would pick one when they made a wish."

"What about the cow hair you gave us yesterday? Didn't you say that was for making wishes?" Feng Xu asked.

“That’s the custom in my family.”

Well, they accepted all the gifts and put them away obediently.

The direction to the academy is exactly opposite to the county government office. It was the first time for several people to take this road. Even though they were still nervous, they couldn't help but look outside.

The official road was much smoother than the one they walked on during exile, and many flowers and plants were planted on both sides like in Xiaguan Village. Tea stalls from a village could be seen every few steps, and when they got closer, someone would shout out their wares, adding a lot of liveliness to the monotonous journey.

"It seems that Lord Tao's policies have already produced results." Several people sighed.

"But those villages that are not on the official roads don't have such opportunities to make money. They sent village heads and clan elders to the county government office to ask for advice from Lord Tao every day," Ming Youyou said with a smile, "It seems that Lord Tao has gone bald from thinking about it so much."

"No wonder they say he's 'extremely smart,'" Feng Xu said happily, "I don't think Mr. Pei has much hair on his head."

Ahem, Lu Tai reminded, "We're almost at the foot of the academy mountain, be careful with your words."

The carriage could not go up the mountain, so a few people got off the carriage and looked up at the academy built halfway up the mountain. It felt so high.

They rested several times along the way. When they reached the door, they were already out of breath and sweating. Ming Youyou wondered, "We are all so tired, what about those elderly teachers?"

As he was speaking, he saw a carriage coming from another mountain road. An old gentleman with graying temples was helped down from the carriage. After stretching his legs and feet, he slowly walked into the academy.

Seeing that the four people's eyes were following the old man as he went in, the academy's gatekeeper laughed and said, "Don't look at him anymore. Your carriage is not qualified to go that way."

He pointed with his finger and said, "See? The carriage must have the academy sign on it before it can go up. Otherwise, the people at the foot of the mountain will not let you go."

Ming Youyou said: "We also have a college sign." There are still three.

The concierge shook his head. "You have ordinary student badges. The ones you have need special approval from the headmaster."

"Besides, you are so young, why are you being lazy? Climbing the mountain every day is also exercising your body. Even though you feel tired now, after climbing for half a year, you won't take it seriously at all." The doorman said experiencedly.

He looked down the mountain and said, "Hurry up and take out your badge. You can go in after verification. The students behind you are coming up too."

Zheng Huan and the others took out the sign and looked at Ming Youyou with some worry. Lord Tao was really something. He only taught one sentence and didn't even give a note.

Seeing the concierge check the three people's badges and turn around to stare at her, Ming Youyou said guiltily: "I, I am a relative of Principal Pei."

Unexpectedly, the concierge smiled and said, "Oh, it's you. The headmaster has already greeted you. Come in quickly."

Several people breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't expect that this excuse would be so useful.

Zheng Huan and the other two went to register first, and then went to the examination room according to the instructions. Ming Youyou walked around the academy at will.

Whenever someone asked her about it, she would look up and say, "I am the mountain chief's relative." Then others would ignore her.

So she walked freely in the academy, and finally she successfully got lost.

She remembered what was said in the storyteller, so she found a branch and threw it in front of a fork in the road, then walked along the side with more leaves.