The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 50

When Xu Ran returned home, he started to get busy again. Whether at home or in the fields, no one felt anything different about him. It was not until the 15th of April that a Yamen messenger came to the village to announce the good news while beating the drums. From the entrance to the end of the village, the Yamen messenger announced all the way, "Xu Ran from the Xu Village, got the third place in the pupil test!"

Then, regardless of whether they were busy or not, the villagers followed the Yamen messenger while looking on for the fun.

Xu Ran was busy when they arrived at his house's gate. When Tangtang and Guoguo heard drums ringing outside, they dashed outside to investigate. Then they turned around and ran back "A Yamen messenger has arrived, Dad. He informed you that you came in third place in the exam!"

Xu Ran and Liu Tong exchanged glances before putting down the items in their hands and wiping them clean. Xu Ran straightened his clothes and stepped outside. He abruptly came to a halt after two measures and turned to Liu Tong, saying, "Tongtong, prepare a red envelope for me."

Liu Tong nodded and turned to the inner room.

Xu Ran went out to meet the Yamen messenger for the announcement. Since he had passed the pupil test, it meant he was a pupil now and was qulified to take the Xiucai test in the coming autumn.

When Liu Tong appeared, Xu Ran and the Yamen messenger were having a small talk. The Yamen messenger handed Xu Ran the letter that he had taken from his pocket. Xu Ran took Liu Tong's red envelope and handed it to the Yamen courier. Someone there will care, and someone else may not. The Yamen messenger, on the other hand, weighed the envelope in his hand, said a few words of congratulations, and then walked away.

Xu Ran didn't try to keep him, and it was not suitable for him to stay.

After the Yamen messenger left, Xu Ran was bombarded with questions, as many people in the village were unaware that he had gone to the test. More people began to believe that Xu Ran could pull it off. They assumed that if he hadn't been a fool during those days, he would have been a Juren (one who passed the imperial examination at the province level).

However, there was a pair of resentful eyes glaring at him angrily among the people in the crowd at the time. Xu Ran seemed to sense the near vision and attempted to locate it, but was unsuccessful. He had no choice but to stop looking. Normally, there were few people in the village, but it seemed to be very crowded today.

Xu Ran smiled and attempted to answer some of their questions, claiming that he had studied diligently for several years but had ended up being a fool when he had the opportunity to take the exam in the past. Fortunately, he healed and expressed a desire to retake the exam. And he hadn't expected to be so fortunate as to come in third this time.

All of Xu Ran's success he attributed to luck. Some people believed it, but the majority didn't because of Xu Ran's actions following his recovery. They thought he wouldn't be able to get third place if he didn't have the talent. After all, it was a large-scale test with hundreds of participants, and the prize was not easy to obtain.

However, as they were not very familiar with Xu Ran, it was not good for them to stay for long. After some excitement, they all left.

But things were far from over. Next, Xu Ran had to meet with such boisterous scenes from their good friends. Wu Mei's family was the first, followed by the other two families, especially Wu Mei's. His rage was so strong that he almost grabbed Xu Ran's ear and demanded to know why he had taken the test without telling them. After accusing Xu Ran, he criticized Liu Tong, questioning why he had not accepted them as friends and why he had even concealed such a serious matter.