Delivering the good news

Rong Zheng and Ye Yun hurried back to the village. They had heard that every year, the county magistrate specially sent bailiffs to deliver the good news and rewards to the top scorer in the county examination, encouraging the student to keep up the good work.

Only the top scorer received this treatment; those who placed second or below received nothing.

This was also why the education official, Xu Huaqing, had risked grading Rong Zheng's paper as "recommended," increasing the chances of his own nephew, Xu Qi, taking first place.

People would only remember first place. Second place and last place both belonged to the ranks of those who were not first; coming second was no different from remaining unknown!

As for why he had not simply rejected Rong Zheng's paper, it was because the other examiner had marked it "highly recommended." If he disagreed, the obvious discrepancy between their assessments would mean the paper had to be submitted to the county magistrate for a decision.

After Rong Zheng hurried home, he told Ye Chen the good news. The boy was so excited that he ran several laps around the courtyard, and his branch whistled through the air as he practiced martial arts.

He had heard his older brother say that being the top scorer meant coming first, doing better than everyone else. He was happy for Brother Rong.

Just then, two imposing bailiffs rode tall horses into Anhe Village, drawing the eyes of many villagers along the way. The villagers were somewhat afraid of government officers. They rarely saw them even a few times a year, only catching sight of them when they came to collect taxes at the end of the year.

The bailiffs asked, "Where is Rong Zheng's house?"

A villager gave the officers directions and boldly asked, "May I ask what business you gentlemen have with Rong Zheng?" He thought, The officers came specifically to find him. Could he have committed some offense?

One bailiff replied with a smile, "Rong Zheng from your village took first place in this year's county examination. We were ordered to deliver the news and bring his rewards."

Some villagers did not know what being the top scorer meant, so they asked the people beside them, "What's a top scorer?"

"It means first place. First in the whole county," a villager who knew answered.

The news caused an uproar among the villagers by the roadside.

"First in the whole county!!! How impressive must he be!"

"Rong Zheng has really made something of himself!"

"With the top scorer coming from here, our village gets to share in the glory!"

"Come on, let's follow them and have a look."

And so a crowd followed behind the bailiffs, making their way to Rong Zheng's home in a great procession.

The bailiffs soon reached Rong Zheng's gate, and one of them called loudly, "Where is Rong Zheng?"

Rong Zheng walked out calmly to greet the bailiffs, cupping his hands. "I am Rong Zheng."

The bailiff looked Rong Zheng up and down, a trace of admiration flashing in his eyes. Handsome and distinguished, with an extraordinary bearing!

The bailiff smiled. "Congratulations on taking first place. We have come on the county magistrate's orders to deliver the good news and your rewards."

The other bailiff stepped forward and held out a red brocade box to Rong Zheng, announcing, "The county magistrate awards the top scorer twenty taels of silver and a set of the Four Treasures of the Study as encouragement!" His ringing voice carried all around.

The bailiffs were courteous. This was the top scorer; barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would certainly pass the prefectural examination next. He had a great future ahead of him!

"My thanks to the county magistrate, and to you both for coming to deliver the good news." Rong Zheng handed each bailiff one tael of silver.

Holding the silver ingot, the bailiff's smile widened. As expected of someone who could take first place. He certainly is generous.

At some point, the village chief had appeared beside Rong Zheng. Beaming, he said, "Rong Zheng, well done! Congratulations, congratulations! I specially had someone bring firecrackers to liven things up." With that, he waved a hand, and a villager brought out the firecrackers and lit them.

Their village had produced a top scorer. This was an honor for the entire village, and as village chief, he shared in the glory. So the moment he heard the news, he had dropped his hoe, told someone to bring firecrackers, and hurried over.

Crackle, pop! Crackle, pop...

At once, firecrackers went off one after another, making the atmosphere exceptionally festive.

Rong Zheng invited the officers inside for tea and snacks, but one bailiff waved a hand. "Now that the good news has been delivered, we will take our leave!"

"Take care, gentlemen!"

Then the two bailiffs rode away on their tall horses.

Once the officers had left, the villagers crowded around, offering congratulations without end. Rong Zheng thanked them one by one.

Gradually, the crowd dispersed. Rong Zheng returned indoors and was just about to sit down for a rest.

Wang Zhang-shi's voice came from the doorway. Having heard the news, she had hurried over with cured pork and a rooster as congratulatory gifts. "Rong Zheng, congratulations, congratulations! You've really made something of yourself."

Then the surrounding neighbors came one after another, bringing congratulatory gifts.

Even the hired farmhand, Yao Jizheng, came with his wife to deliver a basket of fresh eggs. "Congratulations, employer! These eggs are from our own chickens. I hope you won't find them wanting!"

Ye Yun brought out the sweets and pastries they had at home to entertain the visiting villagers, carefully preparing red envelopes to put among the return gifts.

This was a traditional village custom. When someone brought gifts to your home, you had to return a small portion and include a red envelope with the return gifts.

The next day, Rong Zheng went to school, where his fellow students all congratulated him. Huang Yi came over and gave his shoulder a firm slap. "I knew you were impressive! You took first place in one go. You're treating us to lunch!"

Rong Zheng had also seen Huang Yi's name on the list yesterday, ranked somewhere in the middle, and was happy for him. "You did well too."

"I came thirty-fifth. I'm more than satisfied." This had been his third attempt, and at least he had made clear progress. His parents had been so delighted they could not stop smiling, and had rewarded him with plenty of pocket money.

More than seventy students had passed this county examination, so thirty-fifth was quite good.

Huang Yi said, "All the classmates in our mutual guarantee group passed. Chen Yujie came eighteenth, Mu Han fifty-second, and Fang Zihao seventieth."

"That's good. We can continue guaranteeing one another for the prefectural examination."

Teacher Zhao beamed when he saw Rong Zheng arrive. He had taught a county examination top scorer, and his reputation had already grown. People had begun making inquiries, wanting their children to study under him.

"You did very well. Next is the prefectural examination. With your current results, as long as you keep working hard, you should have no trouble passing!"

Rong Zheng replied modestly, "It is entirely thanks to your excellent teaching that I have made such progress."

Teacher Zhao felt deeply gratified. "You are clever and hardworking, and you speak with composure and confidence. Your whole bearing has changed a great deal compared with three years ago. If your appearance hadn't stayed the same, I would suspect you weren't even the same person."

Well, Teacher Zhao had hit upon the truth!

Rong Zheng grew wary and feigned a downcast tone. "Three years ago, my family suffered a terrible upheaval. My parents passed away one after the other, leaving me with no one to rely on. I had no choice but to learn to grow up."

"If your parents know in the world beyond, they will be happy for you too!"

At noon, he treated Huang Yi and the others to lunch at the Delighted Phoenix Pavilion. Something had come up for Mu Han, so he could not attend.

Huang Yi raised his teacup. Since they still had classes that afternoon, everyone used tea in place of wine. "Come, congratulations to our top scorer!"

Fang Zihao and Chen Yujie also raised their teacups to congratulate Rong Zheng.

Rong Zheng said, "Thank you, everyone!"

Huang Yi picked up some food with his chopsticks and mumbled as he ate, "I heard Wei Xing was eliminated during the third round of the county examination."

Chen Yujie said, "With that malicious mind of his, he deserved it."

Fang Zihao took a sip of tea. "Xu Qi placing eleventh was a little surprising, though. The teachers at our school all thought he had the ability to contend for first place. They had high hopes for him."

Chen Yujie suddenly covered his mouth and lowered his voice. "It might have something to do with his uncle. I heard from my father that the county magistrate took action against the education official. I reckon someone else will be taking that position before long."

Rong Zheng was surprised. "What happened?"

"My father doesn't know the exact reason either. The county magistrate didn't make it public," Chen Yujie replied.

"Could he have helped Xu Qi cheat?" Fang Zihao speculated.

Rong Zheng shook his head and analyzed the situation. "Probably not. If he had cheated, Xu Qi's results would most likely have been invalidated."

Huang Yi could not be bothered with people who had nothing to do with them. "Oh, forget about them. Come on, eat, eat! Put your backs into it and eat Rong Zheng out of house and home!"

Rong Zheng: Uh, it won't come to that...