Reborn as a Landlord

The first update, asking for pink votes.

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Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, and Lian Manman quickly put down their work and ran out the door.

Lady Zhang was in the lead and bumped right into Xiao Qi, who was running back into the house. Xiao Qi burst into laughter. The whole family stepped out and saw a carriage parked outside the shop. Wu Lang was standing next to the carriage, wearing Xiao Qi’s school bag on his back, and was helping the coachman unload the luggage.

"Mom, sister, Manman." Wu Lang greeted as he noticed Lady Zhang and the others walking out.

At this time, Shouxin, who was working in the garden, also hurried over after hearing the news. The family grabbed the luggage, paid the coachman, and surrounded Wu Lang as they headed home. As for the dumpling-making in the shop, they entrusted Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye to keep an eye on it.

Back at home, everyone sat on the kang. Lian Manman brewed tea and handed it to Wu Lang.

"Brother, have some tea."

"Alright." Wu Lang took the tea and drank it.

"Brother, it’s great that you came back today. You don’t know how much Mom’s been worrying about you these days. If you hadn’t come back today, she would’ve dragged Dad to the Prefecture City to pick you up tomorrow." Lian Manman joked.

"Didn’t I say I’d be back within these couple of days? It’s not like this is my first time leaving home. What’s there to worry about?" Wu Lang replied.

"I wasn’t like that. Don’t listen to your sister exaggerating things." Lady Zhang defended herself.

Once Wu Lang finished his tea and caught his breath a little, the family finally asked him about his experience at the prefectural exam.

The prefectural exam was held at Shengjing Academy, the largest official school in Liaodong Prefecture, and the chief examiner was the prefectural magistrate.

"Is that the same magistrate who visited our house before?" Shouxin asked.

"Yes." Wu Lang nodded, "It’s him."

"Did he still recognize you?" Lady Zhang asked.

"He did, and we even talked a bit." Wu Lang nodded affirmatively.

"Mom, even if he recognized him, what’s the point? My brother’s exam papers have to be anonymized. When the examiner reviews the papers, they won’t know whose paper it is. To pass, you have to rely on genuine talent and learning." Lian Manman interjected, "Right, brother?"

"The exam papers are indeed anonymized." Wu Lang nodded.

In those days, the county and prefectural exams weren’t strictly considered part of the imperial examination system but rather preparatory steps, known as the Tongsheng exams, administered by local officials such as the magistrates and prefectural magistrates. At the county exam level, there were places where the rules weren’t strict, and some exam papers weren’t anonymized. But in Liaodong Prefecture, the county exams were highly standardized. As for the prefectural exams, their rules were nearly identical to those of the academy exams.

Passing the prefectural exam earned one the status of Tongsheng, qualifying them to participate in the academy exam. Liaodong Prefecture would hold an academy exam this August. If one failed the academy exam, they could take it again in the future without having to redo the Tongsheng exams; they could directly attempt the academy exam.

"How did Brother Youheng do in the exam? How about the classmates who went with you?" Lian Manman asked again.

"Brother Youheng also passed the exam and did better than me. As for my classmates... all of them failed." Wu Lang explained.

Hearing that Wang Youheng had passed, Lian Manman was quite delighted.

"Brother Youheng didn’t come back with you?" Lian Manman asked.

"I came back from the Prefecture City with him, but he stayed in the county town and said he wouldn’t come back until after the May Day festival. He wanted me to stay in the Prefecture City for another day or two, but I didn’t agree... I knew the family was eagerly waiting for my return." Wu Lang smiled. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Fatty Shen said he wanted to take the prefectural exam too. Brother, did you see him? How did he do?" After asking about Wang Youheng, Lian Manman thought of Shen Qian.

"I saw him." Wu Lang nodded, "He passed as well and even ranked ahead of me."

Lian Manman was a bit surprised.

"He started his studies early and has a strong foundation. Now, the teacher currently instructing him is said to be one of the most renowned scholars in Liaodong Prefecture and exclusively teaches him." Wu Lang said, "You wouldn’t recognize him if you saw him in the Prefecture City; he’s completely different from how he is when he’s here with us. His demeanor and speech there are like he’s a different person."

"... Xiao Jiu is quite smart. When he visits again, Manman, don’t keep treating him like a child." Wu Lang added softly, directing the words solely to Manman.

"Wu Lang, did you go to the Shen family’s residence this time?" Shouxin asked.

"I did." Wu Lang replied, "I dropped off a letter at the Shen Mansion’s gate requesting an audience with the Sixth Master... Whether he had time to see me or not, I had to deliver the letter and pay my respects. I also asked the gate servant to help me find Steward Zhong."

"Yes, while it’s necessary to show respect to the master of the household, someone you’re already acquainted with, like Steward Zhong, can’t be overlooked either." Shouxin agreed with a nod.

Lian Manman also nodded repeatedly. In the Shen Mansion, delivering the greeting letter wasn’t about insisting on seeing people. Meeting Steward Zhong was as much about courtesy as about practicality. Wu Lang’s thorough and well-rounded approach to the task pleased her.

"Did you get to meet the Sixth Master this time?" Lady Zhang asked.

"The Sixth Master had gone to the military camp and wasn’t home," Wu Lang said. "Steward Zhong informed me of that."

At this point, Wu Lang couldn’t help but smile.

"It was Xiao Jiu who had someone take my letter and invited me into the Shen Mansion to meet him... Steward Zhong told me that Xiao Jiu had specifically instructed the gatekeeper that if I came, they were not allowed to give me trouble or fail to report it, or he wouldn’t let it go... Xiao Jiu even asked me to stay for a meal with him and wanted me to lodge at the Shen Mansion, saying we could take the exam together, but I declined."

"Brother Xiao Jiu has real integrity." Xiao Qi remarked, nodding.

"It’s true; that’s friendship." Lian Manman agreed.

"Don’t be so casual. You should call him Ninth Master." Lady Zhang corrected. "You all keep calling him Xiao Jiu, and you, Manman, even call him Fatty. It’s only because he has a good temperament that he doesn’t mind. If you called any of the village kids that, they’d probably be upset."

The children all laughed.

Calling him Xiao Jiu or Fatty was a sign they sincerely cared for him, thought Manman. If she started calling him Ninth Master, they’d feel distant.

But...

"Brother, you seem to get along well with Fatty." Manman looked at Wu Lang. Otherwise, calling him Xiao Jiu wouldn’t have rolled off the tongue so naturally.

"Pretty well." Wu Lang smiled.

That meant their relationship was good, Manman thought.

"Mom, don’t think about these things with your old-fashioned mindset. What’s wrong with calling him Xiao Jiu? My brother and he are taking the Tongsheng exam together; they’ll take the Scholar exam together too. My brother might even pass before him. When it comes to classmates and contemporaries, age and background don’t matter; they interact as equals." Manman noticed Lady Zhang’s still-disapproving expression and explained further.

"Xiao Jiu’s teacher prepared exam questions for him, and Xiao Jiu showed them to me. He even asked me to write essays for his teacher to review." Wu Lang added.

"Brother Xiao Jiu is really thoughtful." Xiao Qi chimed in.

"Did the practice questions turn out to be helpful?" Manman asked.

"They weren’t the same as the actual exam questions but were still very helpful." Wu Lang replied. "I also shared the questions pressed by Mr. Loo with Xiao Jiu. Mr. Loo predicted the second-round exam questions accurately."

"Brother, you’re really thoughtful toward Brother Xiao Jiu too." Xiao Qi commented.

"Mr. Loo is a real treasure to our family." Shouxin exclaimed excitedly.

"Brother, this is something we should keep within the family. We definitely shouldn’t spread this around." Manman instinctively glanced toward the window as she spoke.

"I know. The topics Mr. Loo predicted are only known to me, Brother Youheng, and Xiao Jiu. The three of us agreed to keep them confidential." Wu Lang said.

"Of course, we won’t talk about it." Both Lady Zhang and Shouxin agreed.

Lian Zhizhi wasn’t the type to spill secrets, so there was no concern there. Manman glanced at Xiao Qi.

"I definitely won’t say anything either." Xiao Qi said, pursing his lips afterward to emphasize his point.

The family chatted and laughed for a while before turning their attention to unpacking the luggage Wu Lang had brought back.

Xiao Qi watched eagerly, his large eyes sparkling. When Wu Lang had returned from the county exams last time, he had brought back quite a few gifts; this time, coming back from the Prefecture City, there had to be even more and better ones.

Xiao Qi was filled with anticipation.

Lian Manman was also looking forward to it. Usually, she only visited Qingyang Town for its market; she had only been to the county town once. This time, knowing Wu Lang was going to the Prefecture City, she had specifically given him extra silver money and urged him to buy any rare and interesting items he came across.

Wu Lang had indeed brought back quite a lot of things.

He had visited the Shen Mansion, and the Shen Mansion had naturally given return gifts. After his exam results were announced, he had also visited the prefectural magistrate, who gave him a return gift as well.

The magistrate’s gift was simple: a set of writing tools.

The Shen Mansion’s return gifts, however, came in two large boxes. One box contained items like a stone-blue silk fabric, two ingots of silver, a set of writing tools including ink, inkstone, and brushes, and a paper fan. This gift was standard and formal, clearly a regular "all-purpose" type of gift meticulously prepared by the Shen Mansion’s steward. The other box, however, was filled with an assortment of items, including two boxes of delicate pastries, two sets of Wuxi clay figurines, two kaleidoscopes, a small silver-framed jade mirror, a small box of brightly colored gemstones—red, green, and white—and two additional sets of writing tools.

In addition to these, there was an unsealed letter.

Lian Manman picked up the letter and looked at Wu Lang, puzzled.

"It’s written by Xiao Jiu for you and Xiao Qi." Wu Lang explained, "The items in that box were also meant for you two."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi leaned closer.

"Brother Xiao Jiu is so thoughtful, sending so many tasty treats and fun toys, and he even wrote us a letter!" Xiao Qi said excitedly as he tried to grab the letter.

But Lian Manman didn’t immediately open the letter; she simply held it and asked Wu Lang.

"Brother, have you already read it?"

"I have." Wu Lang nodded.

Only then did Lian Manman pull the letter out of the envelope and unfold it. Xiao Qi leaned over, his head close to Manman’s, as they read the letter together.

"To virtuous sister Manman and virtuous brother Jixian..."

"Pfft..."

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Here’s one update, and I’ll aim for a second one tonight.

It’s the end of the month; asking for pink votes, recommendation votes, and support through official subscriptions.

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Recommendation for Ruoyan’s completed book: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles", a light-hearted domestic drama set within a large household, exploring everyday life and emotional entanglements.

Book ID: 1771214

There’s a direct link below; click to go straight to it. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)