Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

nly allow Wan Ning to be singularly praised by scholars? It is not only me, but Brother Xu and Brother Le will all contribute.
How about you print the articles we compose in front of each text as a preface?”

Everyone loudly assented, happily saying that they would be willing to write it for Cui Xie.
Cui Xie thanked them sincerely and profusely, “I cannot accept this, thank you seniors for loving these beautiful women.”

Tang Ning smiled towards his desk and laughed, “I have grown fond of these beautiful women, but I am afraid Brother Wang and the rest have all fallen in love with the Cui family’s study.
Cui shidi, on behalf of everyone, I will be brazen enough to request this.
Can you allow us to visit your residence and study often in the future?  Our group is understanding and will not take up your studying time.”

Cui Xie looked at the 《Five Classics》clutched tightly in the hands of those resting on the sofa and clearly nodded, “For the seniors to be willing to visit my residence, it is an honor.
But, this room is a bit too small to accommodate everyone.
Seniors, please wait a few days.
I will move the study to the West Wing, arrange for a few more tables, chairs and narrow mattresses.
You all may read the books yourself when you arrive.”

Seeing how cheerfully he had promised them, the scholars in turn felt a little embarrassed and the rich young master Shen Zheng even offered to arrange to fix up this study room for him.

Cui Xie smiled, “I commissioned ordinary furniture just using a few silver coins and it did not cost me much money.
Senior Shen does not have to worry about me.
However, I only have one matter that I would like everyone to be mindful of——if there is any damage inflicted on the books while reading, I request that everybody copy down the damaged section on the spot and attach it to the back of the book  so it will make it easier for those of later generations that are borrowing books to read.”

He could not finish reading all these books by himself, so he simply set up a small reading room, making friends with these scholars through books and so he could first enter this group of insiders to brush up some waves of good reputation.

Shen Zheng exhaled, “Cui shidi has the style of those ancient noblemen, even going as far to let people read through this hard to come by library collection for free.
This yuxiong cannot let you handle this matter alone.
After your study room is built, I will send a few study room servants to help you maintain it and I will never let the books in your study get damaged.”

Those who had been holding the books in a death-grip, refusing to let go also added, “Cui Shidi is willing to lend such works, how can we let down your confidence in us and arbitrarily contaminate these books? If there is any damage, we will be sure to obtain an original copy to compensate for the loss and make sure that you never suffer a loss.”

They spent a long time reading books in the Cui Residence and after returning to their respective homes, there was still the rich aftertaste of the sofa lingering in their memories.
When they mentioned Cui Xie, not only did they praise his family’s paper, but they also added this phrase, “Good collection of books, good friend and although he has not entered the prefecture school, however, he possess the mannerism of a famous scholar, and is a member of my generation.”

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Cui Xie obtained high prestige among scholars and Cui Beauty paper also gained popularity as the tide rose and the boat began to float[15].
It was no secret that it turned into an essential piece that all of the scholars in the county had to have on their desks.
The shop managed by the clerks and the shopkeeper had their business ignite like a roaring fire and the amount of money that passed through their hands on a daily basis went as far as tens or even hundreds of taels.

 In order to print these drawing prints and the Shen Garden Poetry Collection, they had invested a total of more than two hundred silver taels.
Based solely on Chongyang Poetry Gathering transactions that had been scheduled in advance and Young Master Wang’s big order, this had paid back their investment in full.
The remaining money raked in was pure profit.

When this shop had reached its peak performance in the past, it might not be able to generate so much income in just a month.
When Shopkeeper Ji counted the silver, not only did his hands tremble, but his heart similarly quivered.
At the end of the month, he hurriedly carried the silver box and the ledgers to the Cui Residence, and only after he personally counted them in front of Cui Xie did he feel relieved.

Cui Xie flipped through the accounts and the turnover rate.
He was surprised to find that not only did the sales volume of his paper not decline in purchases as it had been on the market for a long time, but on the contrary, its sales volume was slowly rising.
Although the scholars did not rush to buy them as much as they did when the goods had first come out, many commoners regarded his paper as a suitable gift.
There were prostitute houses that bought it for their daughters so they could mingle with the cognoscenti[16] and pose as culture lovers.
Some merchants delivered these goods to other parts of the country to sell as commodities and occasionally, there were big customers who were introduced by Young Master Wang, who ordered hundreds of taels worth of paper at a time.

With this much money, it was more than sufficient for him to return to the capital after being admitted as shengyuan and stay comfortable at an inn in the capital until the autumn provincial exams.

At the time of the autumn provincial exams, if he were to make it on the public roll of successful examinees, he would quietly come back and not let the Cui family known that he had entered the capital; If he was lucky enough to pass the exam, he would have achieved scholarly honor and achievement, possessing the qualifications to become an official.
Could the Cui family still beat him as they wanted, or kill him as they wanted?

Excited by his thoughts, he instructed Shopkeeper Ji, “Since money has been earned, hire a few more temporary artisans to engrave the printing plates.
If there are any reliable and trustworthy long-term workers, be sure to recruit them as well.
The drawing prints of the four beauties are selling well, so you must take advantage of the situation to cast out the novel while it is still hot.
Do not wait for the customers to get tired of the portraits and then they will have no interest in buying our books.

Shopkeeper Ji was an old steed in the stable still aspiring to gallop 1000 miles[17] and was still very ambitious.
He promised to find good engravers as quickly as possible to carve out the plates for the novel.
He also inquired whether he should produce a new batch of the drawing prints.

Cui Xie shook his head.
Previously, it was thanks to the drawing print promotion at the Poetry Gathering that had resulted in its popularity and the initial publicity had already spread out quite well.
It would be superfluous to print another batch.
In the remaining time, he had to draw the novel’s illustrations and the accompanying large-page spread, as well as the planning of the big move necessary to gain publicity and to promote it….

He stroked his smooth chin, smirked confidently and said, “ Hermits naturally have their own tricks[18].”

Shopkeeper Ji really wanted to know what other tricks his boss had up his sleeve.
At this time, Cui Xie’s mouth became prudent and shrewd, refusing to say it no matter how many times he was asked, leaving Shopkeeper Ji scratching the back of his head in a hurry.

But ever since Cui Xie took over the bookstore, in a mere two months, he had turned this poor store that had to rent out their own courtyard into a flourishing store that made easy money.
He was simply fated by the heavens to be a pixiu.[19] Shopkeeper Ji did not possess a fortune to himself anyways.
Instead of trying to make money by himself, it was better to let this  young boss that raked in wealth to deal with these matters himself,  good things could always be thought of.

Footnotes:

Anshou: highest ranking linsheng and the top shengyuan who ranked first in the college exam (yuanshi) Back to text Zhixue: Year of Zhixue is a Chinese noun from “The Analects of Confucious: Weizheng”, interpreted as being 15 years old Back to text

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Shengyuan: (生員, lit.
“student member”), also commonly called xiucai (秀才, lit.
“distinguished talent”), an entry-level licentiate who had passed the college exam Back to text ruyi gate: the ‘as you wish’ gate symbolizing good fortune is common in traditional Chinese compounds known as siheyuan, a courtyard surrounded by buildings on all four sides. Back to text Dasao: older brother’s wife/sister in law-so in this case, Huang dasao is the furen most likely married to the eldest Huang son. Back to text “living in poverty, yet living cheerfully”: This line is from one of Zhang Ji (Tang Dynasty poet), “The Top Ten Poems from the Harmonious Ministry’s Officials Mid-Autumn Festival”. Back to text Shidi: similar to shixiong and means junior brother apprentice/disciple; (male only); usually a disciple of the same master Back to text Joy of first experience (idiom): the pleasure of reading something for the first time Back to text four-part classification method: method of classifying most classical Chinese literature.
It is divided into four categories: Jing, Shi, Zi, Ji.
Jing (lit.
“warp)=classics; Shi=historical works; Zi=philosophical works belonging to schools of thought other than Confucian, but also included works on agriculture, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, divination, art criticism and other miscellaneous writings; Ji=literary works. Back to text churned out in large quantities without regard for quality (idiom); rough and slipshod work Back to text Kang table: type of Chinese furniture that serves a dual purpose as both a low table and chair-level bed that was sat on during the day. Back to text Four Treasures of the Study: namely a set of tools including the brush, paper, ink, and inkstone; the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship Back to text Yuxiong: extremely respectful honorific used when referring to yourself in front of someone who is younger; it gives face to the younger one as yuxiong literally means “this stupid brother” Back to text beauties unmatched in her generation (idiom): woman of peerless elegance Back to text tide rises and the boat began to float (idiom): to change with the overall trend; to develop according to the situation Back to text Cognoscenti: people who are considered to especially well informed about a particular subject; culture lovers Back to text an old steed in the stable still aspiring to gallop 1000 miles (idiom): meaning an aged person with great aspirations Back to text This phrase was something Zhuge Liang loved to say during the Three Kingdoms Period.
Hermits referred to a person in the wild, because hermits “plow the long acres of land without seeking knowledge of princes” (personally cultivates between heaven and earth, not seeking to be famous among the princes.
The whole meaning is basically saying that as a hermit (mountain man), I naturally have my own methods.
An alternate interpretation is that this phrase means that one thinks they are superior to others, but since they were too embarrassed to say it, they had to take apart the word “Xian” meaning god and instead say Shanren (mountain man) instead.
Basically, even without great power, Cui Xie has his own tricks up his sleeve. Back to text Pixiu:  mythical animal that brings luck and wards off evil, having the head of a dragon and lions body, often with hoofs, wings and a tail Back to text

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Helpful diagrams for examination rankings/terms

Ruyi Gate Pics:

Pixiu Pic: