Chapter 113: Drunken Wine (First Update)

  If we compare the imperial examination with modern college entrance exams, the former undoubtedly carries more weight and has a greater impact on people.

  The imperial examination lasted for just one day, but it determined a person's fate for their entire life.

  The imperial examination required essays to be written only in regular script, emphasizing squareness, roundness and clarity of layout, which happened to be the characteristics of Dong's calligraphy that Jiang Xia was well-versed in.

  Although the dawn had arrived at Baohe Temple, it was already past noon when the papers were handed in. The officials who received the papers, held the papers, and sealed them would store the answer sheets until the next day when they would start reading the papers. Generally speaking, there are eight officials who read the papers, each with one table circulating and cross-examining the papers.

  If the officials thought the papers in their hands were good, they would draw a small circle at the end of the paper. If they thought it was average, they would draw a triangle symbol. If it was poor, they would simply draw an "X". In the end, the person with the most circles would be counted and then ten papers would be selected to be presented to Zhu Houzhao, who would personally select the top three winners from among those ten papers.

  But all of this is for later, after Jiang Xia finished the exam paper he didn't think about it that much anymore. After all, people plan and heaven decides. Whether or not he himself could become the top scorer still depended on Er Gou's say-so, but if he didn't give him that title then... humph. Fine, there was nothing he could do to Er Gou anyway.

  After leaving the Baohe Temple, Jiang Xia first went to the Jiuli River Street's Jiu Yang Fei Feng Store. Since the last time the Jiu Yang Dan poisoning incident was cleared up, the business of the Jiu Yang Fei Feng Store not only remained booming but also increased significantly compared to before.

  Jiang Xia went there this time just to take a look at the several shops next to Jiuyang Feifeng Store, and he planned to buy them together to expand the scale of the store.

  After arriving at Sanlihe Street, Jiang Xia stood on the street and took a look at several shops next to Jiuyang Feifeng Store. At this time, the boss of Xuan Hu Zhai suddenly ran over.

  This old man, after being taught a lesson on the opening day of Jiang Xia's shop, had always been very polite whenever he saw Jiang Xia. Now, he hastily ran to Jiang Xia's side and bowed to him, saying: "I've seen you, Master Jiang."

  Jiang Xia glanced at the old man and smiled: "Old Wei, why be so polite?"

  This old man is named Wei Chuan, and his family was also a medical family that had been practicing medicine for generations. However, as the generations passed down, it became more like a business than a medical practice by the time it got to Wei Chuan.

  Wei Chuan's smile was radiant, his eyes narrowing into a thin slit as he spoke: "It's like this, Jiang Gongzi. I want to discuss a business deal with you. Your Jiu Yang Dan and Fei Feng Dan are in short supply, but your shop is too small, so people have to wait in long lines for a long time. I was thinking of negotiating with you, do you think you could allocate a batch of Jiu Yang Dan and Fei Feng Dan to me every month? The price would be slightly lower than the market price, so I can also make some small profit?"

  Wei Chuan's proposal suddenly moved Jiang Xia, he scolded himself for being foolish, why did he forget a way to make a lot of money, and actually needed Wei Chuan, an ancient person, to remind him.

  What Jiang Xia had in mind to make a lot of money was actually "agency". He would give his goods to other pharmacies for sale, and after the sales were completed, he would give them a small commission rebate. Jiang Xia couldn't help but pat his own head, and smiled at Wei Chuan: "Wei boss, your proposal is good, but it's not enough for just one family, Huanguan Zhai, to help me share the pressure of the store. Can you go to Beijing and find several reputable old-brand pharmacy owners to come and sell together?"

  "Where am I going to find it?" Wei Chuan was excited, now everyone knows that the Jiuyang Dan and Feifeng Dan are in short supply and hard to come by, if he goes to look for them, he might still be able to get some benefits from it.

  Jiang Xia didn't understand what was going on in his mind, but he himself didn't have the energy or connections to find those pharmacy owners, so he nodded and emphasized: "Remember, you must find a reputable one with medical ethics."

  "I understand, I understand. Thank you, Master Jiang, for giving me this opportunity, thank you, Master Jiang." Wei Chuan said excitedly, nodding his head non-stop.

  Jiang Xia nodded slightly and said: "If you've settled it, come to Xianyao Mountain Villa to find me. I believe you can find the place."

  "I know, I know, it's just that I've never been inside. It's said to be a paradise on earth, the most enjoyable place in the world." Wei Chuan said with a look of yearning.

  Jiang Xia smiled slightly and said: "If things go well, I'll let you become a member there, and you can also go in to play later."

  "Thank you, Master Jiang." Wei Chuan's eyes lit up, and in his excitement, he actually bowed deeply to Jiang Xia.

  Jiang Xia smiled and patted his shoulder, then turned around and walked towards the horse carriage driven by Han Mu Feng to leave.

  After returning to the Xiangyang Mountain Villa, Jiang Xia met Zhong Bin on the lawn in the backyard. During this time, Zhong Bin had followed Jiang Xia to save the emperor, capture the Tianji Society rebels, and assist Jiang Xia in uncovering Zhu Youxiao's conspiracy, which was a great achievement. As the deputy commander of the Brocade Guard, he couldn't always be by Jiang Xia's side as his bodyguard.

  Yesterday, the imperial edict was issued to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zhong Bin was promoted to Qianhu, and was granted the title of "Zhongyong General". With this, Zhong Bin's position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately took a qualitative leap. First, the position of Qianhu is a regular fifth-grade official, and it is a real job with actual power, managing the entire South City Qianhu Department, with thousands of subordinates under him. On the other hand, the title "Zhongyong General" is an honorary title of fourth-grade, although it is an honorable name, but the fourth-grade rank is solid.

  Fourth rank, that is to say, it is equivalent to the same level as the Jin Yiwei commander. It should be known that the Jin Yiwei commander is a real power holder in the Jin Yiwei command center, and it can be said that Zhong Bin is now one of the top figures in the capital.

  In this capital city where a careless remark can bring down a high-ranking official, it's not easy to be considered a top-notch figure.

  Tomorrow is the day when Zhong Bin rushes to Nancheng to take office, and after taking office, he will not be able to protect Jiang Xia every day like before, so Jiang Xia specially returns to find Zhong Bin for a farewell drink after the palace exam.

  On the lawn, Zhong Bin held a long sword in his hand, dancing with precision. His sword intent seemed even more fierce than before, and if he hadn't guessed wrong, Zhong Bin's swordsmanship had improved again over time.

  "Hong" Zhong Bin suddenly kicked up the fallen leaves on the ground with one foot, then swung his long sword, and the leaves fell down beside him.

  Jiang Xia couldn't help but clap her hands and exclaimed: "Good sword, what a good sword!"

  Zhong Bin looked at Jiang Xia with a suspicious expression, and he was very skeptical whether Jiang Xia was praising his own swordsmanship or "good cheapness". He and Zhu Houzhao had the same low opinion of Jiang Xia's character, and if they knew the word "cheap", they would certainly agree that Jiang Xia was born to be an enemy of that word.

  Jiang Xia saw the suspicious expression on Zhong Bin's face and immediately understood what he meant. Helplessly, he pointed to the fallen leaves on the ground and explained: "Being able to cut each leaf into almost identical thirds with his sword as they fall from the tree is a skill that can be described as 'pure perfection'."

  "It's actually possible to spit out ivory, it's rare." Zhong Bin said calmly.

  This sentence suddenly stimulated Jiang Xia, and he said in a bad tone: "You guy, someone comes to praise you with good intentions, why do you scold people?" Indeed, if they say that he spits out ivory, it's just scolding him for not being human. If he were human, how could he spit out ivory? However, Jiang Xia couldn't refute by saying that he couldn't spit out ivory, because the common saying goes "only a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory".

  "I was just complimenting you."

  Zhong Bin said as he walked over to where his sword was sheathed, and with a swift motion, the long sword in his hand slid into its scabbard.

  He drew the scabbard out and held it in his hand, Jiang Xia smiled and said: "So that's how you boast about people. I'll also come to boast about you. You look pretty good, very human-like."

  This sentence is undoubtedly similar to Zhong Bin's "able to spit out ivory", saying you are like a human, then you are not human. And if you refute that you don't look like a human, I believe no explanation is needed.

  Zhong Bin shook his head, seemingly unwilling to continue arguing with Jiang Xia.

  "Alright, alright, I'll spare you today and we won't play anymore. You have to rush to Nanjing tomorrow for your new appointment, let's have a good drink."

  Zhong Bin glanced at Jiang Xia and shook his head: "I don't drink."

  "A man who doesn't smoke is a waste of space; a man who doesn't drink is like a dog. How can you not drink? Come on, come on, brother will accompany you to have a good drink."

  As she spoke, Jiang Xia pulled Zhong Bin into the pavilion in the backyard without giving him a chance to refuse.

  No sooner had the two of them sat down than several servants and maids brought up wine and dishes.

  Jiang Xia picked up the wine jug and poured a cup of wine for Zhong Bin and himself, then opened his mouth to persuade: "Come on, brother, let's have a drink first. As the saying goes, 'deep feelings, one gulp; shallow feelings, just a sip.' Whether you finish it or not is up to you."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia drained his cup in one gulp.

  Zhong Bin looked at Jiang Xia and let out a soft sigh, then could only pick up his wine cup and drink it all in one gulp.

  Perhaps Zhong Bin was really not good at drinking wine, and as soon as he drank that cup of wine, his face started to turn red.

  Jiang Xia poured him another cup of wine and said, "Come on, let's continue. As the saying goes, 'thick emotions can't be drunk enough, thin emotions can't be drunk at all.' Let's have another drink, we won't leave until we're drunk."

  After finishing speaking, Jiang Xia drank up first. Zhong Bin had no choice but to follow and finish his drink as well.

  Next, Jiang Xia's mouth would always come up with various toasts, urging Zhong Bin and him to drink cup after cup. What was strange was that Jiang Xia had a good capacity for liquor, so it wasn't surprising that he could hold on for a long time. However, Zhong Bin seemed from the start like he wanted to get drunk, but in the end, he still didn't really fall over.

  In the end, the two of them ended up drinking each other under the table, and both collapsed from drunkenness.

  In a daze, Jiang Xia supported Zhong Bin and said: "Let's go, brother will help you back to your room to rest."

  He insisted on doing so, and the servants next to him wanted to help but were pushed away by Jiang Xia.

  The two of them stumbled into the same room, leaving behind a group of servants who looked at each other in dismay, followed by an expression that said "so it was true after all".

  PS: The 24-hour subscription statistics are not very good, so I'll ask for subscriptions again. This book is the first to be released on Qidian, and I hope you can support it. Also, thank you to Wu Yu, Liu Huwei, Baqi Tangtang, Wu Zining, Zhong Tanjin, Dian Lin, Xiaoqiang Ge, Baimian Shushengoo, Panghai 369 and other big brothers for their generous support. At the same time, thank you to Dan Cha Ru Mo and zjwynj for your monthly ticket support.