bestfiction Chapter 645 Zheng Qing at age 2
Chapter 645 Zheng Qing at age 2
Zheng Qing didn't care about other people's opinions. Or rather, the person he was waiting for was far more important to him than the opinions of others.
Therefore, Zheng Qing just kept looking towards the end of the official road, completely ignoring the gazes of those around him.
Finally, as Zheng Qing eagerly awaited, a carriage slowly appeared at the end of the horizon.
The carriage was ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, with a rotten frame, dusty curtains, and a thin, old horse...
All of this seemed to tell the story of how much the carriage had endured.
"go!"
As a martial artist with excellent eyesight, Zheng Qing's eyes flashed with excitement the moment he saw the carriage. He quickly led Zheng Qiuyan and Qingying to greet the carriage.
As the three approached the carriage, the driver's face gradually became clearer in their view.
But what he saw was an ordinary-looking, dark-skinned middle-aged man who looked like an old farmer. If there was anything special about this middle-aged man, it was probably his straight back and the machete hanging at his waist.
However… Zheng Qiuyan and Qingying still couldn’t understand why Zheng Qing, the governor of Taicang County, who was now a man of great influence in Taicang County, would personally go out of the city to welcome such a middle-aged man who looked like an old farmer.
"Shut up!"
The middle-aged man driving the carriage pulled on the reins and brought it to a steady stop in front of Zheng Qing and his companions. He looked at Zheng Qing and said with a smile, "Brother Zheng, it's been a long time!"
"Brother Li, it's been a long time!"
Zheng Qing laughed as well, as if he had met an old friend of many years.
In fact, Zheng Qing had indeed known Li Qiao, a middle-aged man, for many years.
Many people assume that Zheng Qing, as the governor of Taicang County and the head of the Zheng Family Trading Company, must have come from an extremely wealthy background. However, in reality, Zheng Qing's background was not as good as people imagined.
Zheng Qing was born into a well-off family. Her father ran a breakfast shop. Because the breakfast he made was affordable and tasted good, the business was very good. It was because of this that Zheng Qing was able to have a comfortable childhood and not have to go hungry like other children from ordinary families.
Once people have achieved basic needs like food and clothing, they will naturally develop new pursuits in life.
Zheng Qing's father, Zheng Tao, was the same.
He could barely be considered a merchant as he ran a breakfast stall. But in an agrarian society like Xia, the status of merchants was extremely awkward. They had wealth but no corresponding social standing, so most merchants sought to improve their social status.
Some businessmen choose to attach themselves to the powerful and wealthy, while others choose to sponsor outstanding students from poor families, hoping that these students will excel in their studies and become officials, thus becoming their assistants.
However, these choices are not something Zheng Tao can learn.
Because Zheng Tao was just a breakfast stall owner, the wealth he had accumulated was far from enough to allow him to rely on powerful figures or sponsor students from poor families.
In this way, Zheng Tao only had one path to choose from, which was to do his best to support his son Zheng Qing's education. He didn't expect Zheng Qing to become the top scholar in the imperial examination; he would be content as long as Zheng Qing could obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).
Fortunately, Zheng Qing is a patient child. Although he loves to play like most children, he will also study seriously after playing.
Moreover, Zheng Qing was extremely intelligent and could often grasp the principles in books without a teacher, which made Zheng Tao very gratified. He became more and more concerned about Zheng Qing's studies, using most of the profits from the breakfast shop to buy Zheng Qing reading tools such as pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. Occasionally, he would also hire a tutor for Zheng Qing, hoping that Zheng Qing could pass the imperial examinations and achieve upward social mobility.
Zheng Qing did not disappoint Zheng Tao. At the age of 20, he successfully passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, thus joining the ranks of the literati.
On the day he learned that Zheng Qing had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, Zheng Tao was extremely excited. He even took out his meager savings to hold a grand banquet at home and invited his neighbors to celebrate Zheng Qing's success.
When the neighbors learned that Zheng Qing had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, they were all incredibly envious. They kept congratulating Zheng Tao and Zheng Qing, saying that the Zheng family had produced a scholarly talent who would surely achieve great success sooner or later.
However, while everyone was celebrating for Zheng Qing, no one noticed the forced smile on Zheng Qing's face.
Zheng Qing spent five long years trying to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)...
How many five-year periods does one have in a lifetime?
Zheng Qing had also met other students who participated in the academy examination at the same time. He believed that his knowledge was no less than theirs, but the actual result was...
Those people had already obtained the title of Xiucai (a degree in the imperial examination system), and then participated in the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and even the palace examination presided over by the emperor himself, and were finally granted official positions by the court.
In contrast, Zheng Qing, who considered himself no less learned than them, had been struggling through the preliminary examinations for five years, finally managing to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)...
When Zheng Qing first failed the imperial examination, he thought it was because he didn't perform well. But after failing the exam several times in a row, he realized that this was not the case.
His failure had nothing to do with his knowledge, nor with his performance on the day; the root of the problem was simply...
His father was Zheng Tao, the owner of a breakfast shop, not the patriarch or direct descendant of a large family.
Realizing this, Zheng Qing felt his future was bleak, and even considered giving up on the imperial examinations. He knew very well that for someone from a non-prominent family, passing the county-level examination was already the limit; as for the subsequent ranks like the provincial-level examination and the imperial examination...
There's no way those examiners would let him pass.
Having the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) qualified one to be granted an official position. In the officialdom, it is a matter of one radish for one hole, and the positions have long been divided up by the major families. How could they tolerate Zheng Qing, a person from a peasant background, trying to take their official positions?
This is why Zheng Qing forced a smile at his victory celebration banquet. Having studied under his father's arrangement since childhood and spent almost his entire childhood studying, becoming an official through the imperial examination had become his only way out. However, he found that this path had long been blocked by people, and with his abilities, he simply could not make it through.
Although he knew in his heart that he had no chance of passing the imperial examinations and achieving higher honors, Zheng Qing did not tell his parents. His father and mother had already sacrificed so much so that he could focus on his studies. His father worked hard from dawn till dusk to run the breakfast shop, and his mother not only helped his father but also took care of the family.
His parents were already tired enough, and he didn't want to add to their burdens.
Fortunately, the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) was enough to satisfy his parents, and even if he failed to pass the Juren (another scholar who passed the provincial-level imperial examination) later, his parents should not be too disappointed.
Twenty-year-old Zheng Qing thought to herself.