latelenovela Chapter 387: The Imperial Examination Banquet
Chapter 387: The Imperial Examination Banquet
The next morning, Linjia Village was already bustling with activity.
None of the villagers who came to the banquet came empty-handed. Those who were a little bit wealthy gave red envelopes, but most of them just gave their own chickens, ducks, fish, vegetables and the like as usual.
The village head also followed Lin Jiaojiao's instructions and emphasized that this was a banquet for Lin Yun to celebrate her success in the imperial examination.
Although there was no explicit instruction to give gifts to the right people, with the village head and others demonstrating, the villagers coming and going immediately understood.
This was the first time that Lin Yun experienced such a scene.
She found out yesterday that Lin Jiaojiao was going to hold a banquet to celebrate her passing the imperial examination, and she couldn't refuse.
So early this morning she followed Lan Yi and the others to set the tables, but as they set the tables one by one she realized something was wrong.
She hurriedly asked Lan Yi who was carrying the tables and found out that Lin Jiaojiao had invited everyone in the village to set up a hundred tables to celebrate her high school graduation.
Her mood suddenly became mixed.
She admitted that she was delighted as it was the first time she was paid such attention.
Compared to her mother, after learning that she had passed the imperial examination, she showed off everywhere and accepted gifts in her name, without even having a banquet.
She thought that the concept of blood relationship was ridiculous.
Now the gifts from the villagers were personally delivered to her, accompanied by everyone's congratulations and concern for her. Her heart was warmed at this moment.
The staff in the cafeteria have already built the stove and started preparing ingredients for the banquet.
Lin Chun brought over three slaughtered pigs, and Lin Bin also brought over more than a hundred slaughtered chickens, and then ducks, rabbits, fish and other animals were brought over.
The courtyard in front of the Lin residence was suddenly filled with tables, chairs, benches and various food ingredients.
The villagers who arrived early voluntarily joined in the care of chicken and duck feathers and the washing and sorting of vegetables, making the scene as lively as if it were New Year's Day.
Lin Jiaojiao was in the house with her child. She did not go outside to join in the fun, mainly because she was afraid of stealing the limelight from Lin Yun.
Lin Yun was very busy outside and couldn't leave even if she wanted to.
Although the villagers who came to congratulate her did not explicitly say that they wanted to introduce their sons to her, those who wanted to introduce their sons to congratulate her brought their sons who were dressed up beautifully.
Some bold men wanted to give Lin Yun handkerchiefs and purses they had embroidered, but she rejected them all with righteous words.
It can be said that he didn't give any face at all. The man was thin-skinned and ran away crying with his hands covering his face.
Lin Jiaojiao laughed out loud as she listened to Lan Yi's retelling in the room.
"Xiao Yun is great. She knows how to say no and doesn't leave any room for others to have any illusions."
Lin Yiyan was sitting aside looking at the account book. When he heard her words, he didn't look up but just spoke lightly.
"Lin Yun did a good job. A decisive refusal can avoid unnecessary entanglement in the future and is also responsible to other men."
"indeed so…"
She felt something was wrong after she finished speaking. Why did she feel like his words were pointing at her?
She watched him looking at the account book calmly. Perhaps because her eyes were too focused, he keenly noticed and raised his eyes.
"What happened to Jiaojiao?"
"No."
She shook her head and lowered her head to continue teasing Lin Dongyi in her arms. She was overthinking.
But she should indeed learn from Lin Yun.
She has had enough men and now has three children. She must resist the temptations from outside!
Busy time always flies by.
After finishing their farm work, the villagers did not go home first, but went straight to meet up with their families who were already sitting at the dinner table and waited for dinner.
The students in this school were very excited to learn that they were going to have a banquet at the dean's house at noon. The students in the women's college were especially excited when they learned that it was for those who passed the autumn imperial examination.
They can meet the newly-minted juren.
More than a hundred teachers and students took their seats in an orderly manner. The men were a little shy and didn't dare to look around, but the women were much more casual. Most of them were curiously looking at the open gate of the Lin Mansion not far away, looking for the figure of the newly-appointed scholar.
There were three tables set up in the inner courtyard of the Lin Mansion, and as usual, all the guests were relatives and friends.
Originally, Lin Jiaojiao wanted to reserve a table for Lin Yun to invite her classmates and friends, but in the end, there was no one.
Wen Shiru, who lived in the Wen family in Nanshan, failed the exam. Among their group, only Gong Yue and another girl passed. They were both in Qingzhou. In addition, Lin Yun was going back tomorrow, so there was no time to invite anyone, so they gave up.
Lin Yun took all the gifts and ingredients she received from outside to prepare the banquet, and gave the rest to Lin Jiaojiao.
Lin Jiaojiao smiled and refused: "These are all things they gave you, Xiaoyun, keep them for yourself, and put the things you can't take to the school in your room."
Lin Yun knew that she had a room of her own in this house.
"Thank you, sister."
Lin Jiaojiao admitted that she was nice to Lin Yun because of Lin Shen, but after getting to know each other later, she really liked this younger sister.
Although she is a man of few words, Lin Yun would write a letter of thanks every time someone sent something over. Gradually, she would also tell the parents about her life over there, and gradually the letters grew from a few lines at the beginning to a full page.
Lin Yun is a very down-to-earth person, and in one aspect she is very similar to her.
She will be good to whoever is good to her.
When Lin Jiaojiao heard Lan Yi say that everyone outside was already seated, she took Lin Yun to the gate.
As soon as they appeared, the bustling courtyard suddenly became quiet.
"Thank you all for coming to my sister Lin Yun's success banquet. Lin Yun won a very good ranking in this autumn exam, 25th place!"
Lin Jiaojiao spoke with pride on the stage, and the audience below was in an uproar.
Most villagers did not understand the significance of this rank, but the students from the women's college who were preparing to take imperial examinations all looked at the people around Lin Jiaojiao with admiration.
Especially for the students in the Tongsheng class, they are not looking forward to becoming Juren but future Gongshi.
Of course there is one exception, and that is Yu Wanru.
She looked at the admiring eyes of the crowd with disdain, especially Lin Jiaojiao's proud look, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Isn’t he just a juren?
She will definitely pass the exam!
Lin Jiaojiao said a few more simple words, and then asked Lin Yun to say a few words as well, but Lin Yun turned around first and spoke to her sincerely.
"Thank you sister for hosting the banquet for Yun." Then she turned to face the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming."
Very good, all very simple.
Lin Jiaojiao hurriedly said, "Okay, let's eat. If we don't eat now, the food will get cold."
The villagers in the audience had already been drooling over the delicious food on the table. When they heard that the meal was about to start, they immediately picked up their bowls and chopsticks and started to eat.
They returned to the inner courtyard.
Lin Jiaojiao pulled Lin Yun to sit next to her, then took out a purse from her waist, put a red envelope in it and handed it to her.
"Hurry up and take this, Xiaoyun. This is a red envelope from your sister and your brothers-in-law. I wish you success in your studies and a bright future."
"Thank you, sister and brothers-in-law."
She reached out to take the heavy red envelope, her voice as calm as ever, but her heart was not as calm as she appeared.
Other people at the same table also handed her the red envelopes they had prepared in advance and sent her their blessings.
Seeing that it was almost time, Lin Jiaojiao immediately called for dinner.
Fortunately, it was cloudy today and there was no sun at noon, so they spent the longest time at the banquet. Fu's mother kept asking them to drink, and Lin Jiaojiao was happy to drink a few more glasses today.
She and Lin Yun together couldn't drink as much as Fu's mother, so Fu's mother had to challenge Lin Dadan and Zhang Tong to a drinking contest.
The other two tables were occupied by men and children. After eating, they went for a walk in the backyard, and some went directly to the entertainment room next door to play mahjong.
The leftover food in the yard had been packed up by the villagers and taken away. Before leaving, they also helped put the dishes and chopsticks into the sink.
The students also returned to the school, waiting for the newly-appointed scholar to come in the afternoon to teach them study methods and experiences.
Lin Jiaojiao was a little tipsy. Looking at Lin Yun who was sitting upright next to her, if it weren't for her flushed cheeks, she would have thought that Lin Yun was not drunk at all.
"Hey, Aunt Lin, please stop persuading Lin Yun to drink. She has to go to the academy in the afternoon to teach the children."
"Okay, okay, mom got it. Manager Lin and I will drink, okay? Da Dan, let's finish this cup..."