[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-28":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336411,4568,"Chapter 28: Rare Luxury","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-28",28,"\u003Cp>I’ve said before that in the county school examinations, no matter the subject, unless a student achieves an exceptionally outstanding score, they will not be given a Class A rating!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A- is essentially equivalent to a perfect score, while a Class A- mid is an extra reward reserved for those who perform exceptionally well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, generally speaking, a B+ is roughly equivalent to 90 points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By extension, a B mid is about 75 points, a B- is the passing threshold of 60 points, and a Class C means failing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the “Tiejing” section—memorization and fill-in-the-blank—since the difficulty is relatively low, most students who answer six out of ten questions correctly will receive a B- rating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But “Moyi” is different; the content of the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and the *Book of Rites* is vast and complex, leading to a very high error rate in answers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the vast majority of examinees score failing levels in Moyi—that is, Class C.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet anyone who clears the passing line and earns a B- in Moyi already ranks among the top 20 out of 220 students in Hejiang County School.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the sheer volume of material on the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and the *Book of Rites* meant Lu Beigu couldn’t possibly master all the review materials in a short time, he had improved significantly since before and possessed certain answering techniques, so he smoothly earned a B- in Moyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with Lu Beigu’s high accuracy in Tiejing fill-in-the-blank, his overall score for this ten-day test rose to the top ten of the county school!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What was Lu Beigu’s score on the last ten-day test?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Classmates whispered among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think he got C mid in Tiejing and C- in Moyi, ranked 198th.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In this short time, he climbed from 198th to 9th?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The classroom buzzed like a disturbed hive of wasps; several students in the back rows stretched their necks forward, as if confirming they hadn’t misheard the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, He Cong clenched the paper on his desk so tightly it crumpled in his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared fixedly at the straight-backed figure ahead—Lu Beigu’s coarse linen robe stood out sharply amid the silks and brocades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s pure luck,” whispered the Liu student seated to He Cong’s right. “Tiejing is just rote memorization. Moyi barely scraped a B-. The gap widens sharply beyond that; the top ten and the top five are entirely different leagues—he won’t make it to the prefectural school.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was, in fact, true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the top students in the county school, the differences between individuals were still enormous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, in a Tiejing test with forty questions, missing only two or three could earn a B+ and secure a place in the top ten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the top five almost never missed a single question—or missed only one at most; the gap was self-evident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Tiejing didn’t create much separation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The subjects that truly pulled apart scores, besides policy essays, were Moyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, unless the newly appointed Prefect Li Pan suddenly decided to test an obscure topic like “Imperial Xia Zhice,” students like He Cong, the school’s top performers, could easily earn B- or B mid ratings in policy essays by reciting templates and quoting classics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Moyi was their key area for gaining advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Moyi was a subject that demanded heavy reading—and reading meant money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoever had more money could buy high-quality Moyi commentaries and past exam collections, study and train extensively, and hire good tutors for private lessons; over years, their Moyi scores would inevitably rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, among the top five in the county school, Moyi scores often reached B mid or even B+.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t be fooled by the fact that all are Class B ratings—the gap between B- and B mid was truly vast, and breaking from B mid to B+ without years of painstaking effort was nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, He Cong was shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because someone whispered: “But he went from C- to B- in just over ten days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shut up!” He Cong hissed through clenched teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flicker of fear stirred within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the gap between the top ten and the top five was immense, who could say for sure that Lu Beigu, having risen from 198th to 9th in ten days, wouldn’t climb into the top five over the next two months?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Disturbed and agitated, He Cong skipped lunch after the exam and went straight home to drown his thoughts in wine at his family’s tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu, meanwhile, went to the communal dining hall for lunch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Usually, his lunch was the same as most county school students: “wheat rice + vegetable broth + pickled vegetables.” The meal wasn’t delicious, but it was free every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Sichuan county schools generally owned their own school fields, the bulk of their income went toward “school grain,” ensuring impoverished students received one full meal at noon to sustain basic life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, besides the fixed meal, the dining hall offered a few stir-fried dishes: vegetables were usually just mustard greens, cabbage, or garlic chives hastily stir-fried; eggs were never included. If spring bamboo shoots were used, the price typically rose by two to three copper coins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for meat dishes, they were rarely stir-fried; more often served as soups—for example, lamb *futou* was lamb noodle soup, and lamb *guo* was a thick lamb broth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu brother, over here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Guangyu waved from a corner table, where a bowl of meat dumplings sat, its surface glistening with oily sheen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu hurried over and set his tray gently on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lamb *guo* was served in a coarse clay bowl, its broth thick and milky-white, floating with a few pieces of Sichuan pepper, emitting a pungent aroma. Beside it sat a bowl of pure white tofu, a bowl of wheat rice, and a small glutinous rice cake, lightly charred on the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, tofu was already widely popular in the Song Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa—fourteen wen, plus four wen, plus two wen, plus two wen—that’s twenty-two wen! Lu brother really splurged today!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng’s eyes widened, his chopsticks hovering midair as he swallowed hard, staring at the lamb *guo*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rare luxury,” Lu Beigu smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meat was expensive, but essential for nutrition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was still in his final two years of physical growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Lu Beigu didn’t feel his performance on this ten-day test was flawless, it was certainly good enough to merit a small reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he believed that with continued effort, not only would he eat meat regularly in the future, but his family would eat meat with him too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He poured the distinct grains of wheat rice into the lamb *guo*, stirred with a wooden spoon, watching the grains swell and glisten as they absorbed the broth. The spicy scent of Sichuan pepper mingled with the rich aroma of lamb, making his stomach rumble involuntarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1147,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2752f9090074128fee7eaf5ba81be716c0f76c083e4b7a9e5f722b351afc110d","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-29","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-27",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]