Zhou Shuren saw Zhulan's annoyance, hummed in confusion, but ultimately didn't speak up, his throat uncomfortable. His eyes signaled, "What's wrong?"
In a soft voice, Zhulan shared the background of her time travel. Now that she had a divine teammate, she thought it would be easier to distance herself from the supporting female role and change her fate, right? Although she hadn't finished reading, but still having some foresight, these pieces of information were very important.
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched. He also read novels, but they were all about immortals and the like; he had never read those targeted at female readers. Although he hadn't read them, he roughly understood them: the main characters' invincible aura, trouble-attracting physique, surrounded by problems everywhere—these were all established laws!
He had never imagined that his own little girl was the original female lead, with the whole family being cannon fodder. After pondering for a while, he said, "When I get better, I will stay home and study diligently, pick the books back up, and strive to pass the Scholar exam as soon as possible, so I can at least officially participate in the imperial examination."
Zhulan laughed, "From what you're saying, I take it you're not sure you could pass on the first try either?"
Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes, "Do you think the Scholar exam is easy? Do you know that on average, there are only four or five spots in each county, with so many people stuck as students for life!"
Zhulan was surprised, "Is it really that difficult?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "Difficult? The Scholar exam consists of three rounds—county, prefecture, and academy—and each round has four to five tests, including eight-legged essays, poetry, policy discussions, and so on. Just memorizing it is a few hundred thousand words. Tell me, isn't that hard?"
Zhulan gasped sharply, taking in a breath of cold air. Hundreds of thousands of words of pure classical Chinese! For her, exams on classical Chinese were all about rote memorization. She had never really understood it, and now she could remember very little from her studies. So, passing the Scholar exams was this difficult—seeing how casually scholars appeared on TV dramas, she thought it was easy!
Zhulan instantly lost quite a bit of confidence and couldn't help asking, "Have you studied all the content for the test? Do you still remember it?"
Zhou Shuren put on a straight face, naturally not admitting that it was impossible to remember everything; his brain wasn't a computer. "That's why I need to buckle down and study. Didn't Kangxi have a set of books that you should memorize up to a hundred and twenty times? I think it's a good practice, and it suits me well right now."
Zhulan couldn't help shuddering; let alone a hundred and twenty times, she would grow impatient just reading it once. Suddenly, she found Zhou Shuren more agreeable—he was also struggling for her sake.
"I fully support your studies. Just let me know what books you need, and I'll give you the Silver Coin."
Speaking of money, Zhulan stood a bit taller—she controlled the economic power of the household!
This economic power was something even her original husband didn't fully grasp. The original husband had good character but was not adaptable, sometimes a bit dense. After his wife passed away, he handed the family finances directly to Zhulan.
Zhulan, recalling the original body's memory of the family finances, felt even more confident.
Zhou Shuren saw the changing expressions on Zhulan's face and couldn't help but recall the original body's memory. He had not known about the family's financial situation, only that it was somewhat better than in the villages, but not by much. However, judging by Zhulan's demeanor, their financial standing wasn't as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Zhou Shuren said, "Buying books will cost quite a bit of money. They say 'poor Scholar' for a reason; supporting one entails significant expenses. Apart from writing materials like brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, the books are the major expense, along with examination fees and accommodation costs. My memory of our family's financial situation is limited. Share with me what you know so I can have an idea of whether we need to start thinking of ways to earn money first."
Zhulan was pleased that Zhou Shuren asked directly without beating around the bush, showing at least some trust between them. She cleared her throat, ready to discuss the family's financial status, when Lady Li arrived, "Mother, dinner is ready."