On October 30, the twelfth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, there is still a month to be the Spring Festival, the weather is getting colder and colder, counting the days, Xu Jin has come to the Ming Dynasty for half a month.

Early in the morning, although the sun has risen, the temperature is still very low. Xu Jin was jogging around his yard, and the breath exhaled from his mouth instantly condensed into a white mist.

"Brother Jin, get up so early to run!"

"Tenth brother, what's the benefit of you running slowly like this, it's better to go down to the ground with us and hoe for half a day."

"Hey, the old ten are scholars, who will do the mud leg work with you!"

The villagers who passed by greeted Xu Jin one after another, and the fourth brother Xu Youcai also teased sourly.

In the past half a month, Xu Jin got up early every morning to jog in the courtyard to exercise, at first the villagers still felt strange, but gradually became accustomed to it, only when Xu Jin, a nerd, was full of food and support.

Xu Jin ran around the courtyard dozens of times, did not stop until he was slightly sweating, washed his face with cold water, and then took out the "Analects" and recited it aloud.

As the saying goes: read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will be seen by itself. Xu Jin would recite the Four Books and Five Classics every morning after practice, so as to learn the new from the past.

As soon as Xu Jin finished reciting the "Analects", Xie Xiaowan came back from outside, carrying a wooden basin for washing clothes, her nose and face were red from the cold, and her dark eyes were shining.

"Xianggong, guess what's in the basin?" Xie Xiaowan walked up to Xu Jin like a treasure.

"What's the matter, you've found a treasure?" Xu Jin glanced at the wooden basin with a smile, and found that it only contained freshly washed clothes, and couldn't help but be a little confused.

Xie Xiaowan took out a large potato from under her clothes and giggled: "Xianggong, you are so stupid!" ”

Xu Jin couldn't help laughing, although this girl was mature and precocious, she was still a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl after all, and she showed her playful and innocent side at this time.

"Okay, dare to laugh at your stupid family, believe in the family law or not!" Xu Jin tapped Xie Xiaowan's head with a book, and the latter suddenly shyly threw someone away with a roll of his eyes.

Xie Xiaowan was bluffed by Xu Jin's family method at first, but after tasting it once, she realized that the family law was just a spanking with her hands.

Xu Jin touched his nose funny, it seems that this little girl is being spoiled by herself more and more boldly, thinking that when they met for the first time, her words of thanks made her look uneasy, but now it's good, she dares to lose her father-in-law's eyes.

Xie Xiaowan dried the clothes, then cleaned the sweet potato with water and handed it to Xu Jin: "Xianggong, try it!" ”

Xu Jin was stunned for a moment: "Just eat like this?" ”

Sweet potatoes are sweet potatoes, Xu Jin naturally ate them in his previous life, but they were only eaten when cooked, and they were eaten raw like this, and he really hadn't eaten them.

Xie Xiaowan blinked and said, "Of course that's it, it's very sweet!" ”

Xu Jin originally wanted to say that at least he had to peel off the skin, but looking at the little girl's expectant eyes, he couldn't say it in the end, for the ancients who had not solved the problem of food and clothing, peeling was undoubtedly a very wasteful thing.

Xu Jin took the sweet potato and took a bite, although the skin was very rough, it was indeed very sweet.

Xie Xiaowan licked her lips and asked, "Xianggong, is it sweet?" ”

Xu Jin deliberately frowned: "It's not sweet!" ”

Xie Xiaowan said suspiciously: "Impossible, Aunt Seven clearly said that this sweet melon is very sweet!" ”

"Don't believe it, taste it yourself!" Xu Jin handed the sweet potato to Xie Xiaowan's mouth, who took a bite of the letter suspiciously, and then said with wide eyes: "Sweet! ”

"No, you can try to take another bite!"

Xie Xiaowan had to take another bite, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a smile on the corner of Xu Jin's mouth, and immediately understood, and said angrily: "Xianggong, you are deceiving people!" ”

Xu Jin teased: "Little girl, now you understand who is more stupid, right?" After saying that, he took a big bite, and then handed the sweet potato over.

Xie Xiaowan blushed and took a bite, it was so sweet, as if it was sweet to the heart.

In this way, you take a bite and I take a bite, and a sweet potato is eaten by two small bites.

"Xiaowan, you just said that this thing is called a sweet melon?" Xu Jin asked casually, he vaguely remembered that sweet potatoes seemed to be produced in South America and began to be introduced to China in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, but it was not clear what year it was introduced.

Xie Xiaowan nodded and said, "Yes, I heard that Aunt Qi said that it was imported from Fanbang!" ”

At this time, there was no world map or anything, the ancient people believed that China was located in the center of the world, and the self-proclaimed state of etiquette and righteousness was the kingdom of the Heavenly Empire, and the people in other places were not polite and righteous, and even the wild people who drank blood were collectively called the Fan Country Yi people, and the things introduced from the Fan Country liked to add the Tibetan character.

Xu Jin's heart moved, and he asked, "Do many people in the village grow sweet melons?" ”

Xie Xiaowan shook her head and said: "The family has fields that are used to grow grain, who would waste planting this thing, Aunt Qi's family also planted a few trees in the yard." Today, when I was washing clothes by the river, I happened to meet Aunt Qi washing sweet melons, and everyone got a try! ”

Xu Jin nodded darkly, so it seems that sweet potatoes should have just been introduced to China not long ago, and they have not yet been popularized and planted in a large area.

In fact, sweet potatoes have been introduced for some years, and they are cultivated in these coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian, but the quantity is not large, and people just regard it as a fruit, and it is not promoted as a major food crop.

Xu Jin is interested, sweet potatoes have strong vitality, they can grow on barren land, and they have a large yield, which is really a big killer to solve the problem of famine.

"Xiaowan, this sweet melon tastes very good, let's plant some in the yard when we go back!" Xu Jindao.

Xie Xiaowan nodded and said, "Okay, I heard Aunt Seven say that this melon is easy to grow, and I asked Aunt Seven for some melon vines when I turned around!" ”

"By the way, Xiaowan, I'll go to the school in a while, don't run around at home by yourself!"

Xie Xiaowan pouted and said, "I know, Xianggong is still a child, I'm going to prepare a lunch box!" With that, he picked up the wooden basin and went into the kitchen.

Xu Jin was a little dumbfounded, saying that he really treated this girl as a child.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin picked up the book basket, which contained books and the lunch that Xiao Wan had prepared for him.

"Xianggong, be careful on the road, don't come back too late, otherwise it will be dark and you won't be able to see the road!" Xie Xiaowan was tidying up Xu Jin's clothes, and at the same time gently told that the teenage girl was like a virtuous wife.

Xu Jin nodded and hummed, walked out of the courtyard door with the book basket on his back, and gradually walked away, suddenly looking back and seeing the little girl leaning on the side of the chai door, she had the urge to go back and hug her, and couldn't help but smile bitterly, it seems that the weight of this little girl in her mind is getting heavier and heavier.

The school is in the neighboring village of Guojiazhuang, a private school run by an old child, mainly teaching children to read and write, called Mengxue.

The so-called Tongsheng is a reader who has passed the first two levels of the Tongsheng exam. The children's examination is divided into three levels, namely the county examination, the government examination and the hospital examination, and if you pass the county examination and the government examination, you can be called a child, and if you pass the hospital examination, you can get the fame of Xiucai.

Therefore, if Xu Jin wants to gain fame and fame, he must break through three levels in a row, the county examination, the government examination and the hospital examination, which is really difficult, in short, it is N times more difficult than the modern small promotion.

You must know that there are thousands of candidates who participate in the children's examination in a government, and only fifty or sixty people are finally admitted as Xiucai, so the competition is very fierce, and many people can't become Xiucai after taking the exam for a lifetime. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, there were several records of the 100-year-old children's entrance examination, and the white-haired 100-year-old man mixed in the crowd of candidates, which can be described as a great spectacle.

The teacher of Guojiazhuang is an old boy, who is nearly 50 years old, and has participated in the college examination no less than dozens of times, but every time he failed to win the show, he returned to the countryside to open a private school in frustration, teaching children to read and write, and earning some money (tuition) to make a living.

Xu Jin recuperated and exercised at home for half a month, and he felt that his body had improved, and he had accumulated a lot of things he didn't understand during this period of studying, so he planned to go to the school today to consult this cheap master.

Although the old boy student has failed to pass the exam all his life, Xu Jin did not look down on it, after all, there are many reasons for failing the exam, not necessarily because of his lack of knowledge, and the old boy has participated in so many scientific examinations, and his rich experience is certain, and it is good to learn some lessons from him.

Xu Jin carried the book basket on his back and walked to Guojiazhuang, who knew that as soon as he entered the village, he met an acquaintance - Steward Guo.

"It's really a narrow road!" Xu Jin muttered in his heart, and greeted him hard.

Guo Quan took two family members and was about to go to a nearby village to collect debts, when he saw Xu Jin walking towards him, his face suddenly sank slightly, and he said with a smile: "Ouch, isn't this Brother Jin, the son of Xu Daxiucai's family?" ”

Xu Jin smiled and said: "In the next villager, you can't be the word son, where is the Guo Daguan's family getting rich?" ”

Guo Quan said with a smile: "Brother Jin is still so good at talking, Yao, I am about to go to Huangcun to collect some debts, alas, it is the New Year, if you don't collect the debts owed by those mud legs, this year will not be easy!" ”

"Then it won't prevent Steward Guo from making a fortune!" Xu Jin walked past Guo Quan indifferently.

One of the family members whispered unhappily: "Hey, this kid is quite dragged!" ”

Guo Quan twisted the mouse whiskers with a gloomy face, and was in a very unhappy mood, the news that he was deflated at Xu Jin's house that day had spread, which greatly affected his prestige, and in recent days to collect debts, those mud legs still dared to bargain with themselves, which was impossible in the past.

"Hmph, it seems that we have to find a chance to clean up this little cub, otherwise those mud-legged people don't know how many eyes Ma Wang Ye has!" Guo Quan pondered in his heart, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he saw that Xu Jin's rabbit cub should go to school in the village.

Guo Quan rolled his eyes and thought about it, and smiled at the two family members: "Let him be proud for a while, and promise to make him cry in two days, hey, I, Guo Quan, am not so easy to offend." ”

The two family members glanced at each other gloatingly, Xu Jin's kid was going to be unlucky.