In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 647 Turnaround

Zheng Qing stared blankly in the direction where Li Mingyuan and the other man had left. Only then did he remember Li Mingyuan's identity.

Unlike ordinary people with limited access to information, Zheng Qing, as a scholar, had some understanding of the officialdom in Qingzhou.

Li Mingyuan, on the other hand, was a well-known figure in the Qingzhou officialdom, and his reputation in Qingzhou was polarized.

In the eyes of landlords and powerful families, Li Mingyuan, who constantly cut off their flesh to feed those peasants, was a heinous criminal, and they wished they could eat Li Mingyuan alive.

But in the eyes of the working class, Li Mingyuan was a truly upright and just official.

Before Li Mingyuan, not a single official in Qingzhou had ever considered the people's needs. It was Li Mingyuan's arrival that changed the lives of the people of Qingzhou, giving them a chance to breathe after being exploited.

It is precisely for this reason that Li Mingyuan's name has become synonymous with a just and upright official in the hearts of the working people.

"There seems to be some news circulating recently that Lord Li is going to be promoted to Prefect of Qingzhou?"

Zheng Qing muttered to himself. As a scholar who aspired to become an official through the imperial examinations, he naturally paid attention to the slightest developments in the officialdom. Although his sources of information were limited due to his ordinary background, he had still heard about such a major event as Li Mingyuan's appointment as the prefect.

"Lord Li told me to come back to take the provincial examination in three years. Could it be... that there might be a change in the outcome of the provincial examination?"

Zheng Qing seemed to be deep in thought. A high-ranking official like Li Mingyuan would never speak without reason.

In addition, Zheng Qing thought of something else: Li Mingyuan's background was not good. In fact, it could be said that Li Mingyuan's background was even worse than Zheng Qing's. Moreover, Li Mingyuan had served as an official in Qingzhou for many years and had never been heard to have any connection with the local powerful families. This meant that if Li Mingyuan were to govern Qingzhou, he would definitely not stand with the powerful families.

The only problem is...

The provincial examinations were generally presided over by the provincial education commissioners. Strictly speaking, Li Mingyuan's authority did not include presiding over the provincial examinations. However, since Li Mingyuan was the prefect, he could still have some say if he wanted to interfere. It all depended on whether Li Mingyuan was willing to offend the major families of Qingzhou and interfere in the provincial examinations.

Thinking of this, a spark of hope ignited in Zheng Qing's heart.

"Lord Li has always been known for his hatred of evil, fairness, and integrity. With Lord Li in charge, the provincial examinations in Qingzhou will certainly no longer be as corrupt as they once were!"

Rekindled with hope, Zheng Qing returned to the restaurant, packed his bags, and went home, preparing to spend the next three years studying diligently to deepen his knowledge in preparation for the next provincial examination.

When Zheng Qing returned home, his parents were not too disappointed to learn that he had failed the exam.

In fact, when Zheng Tao first sent Zheng Qing to school, all he wanted was for him to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Zheng Qing had already obtained that title three years earlier. Therefore, when he learned that Zheng Qing had failed to pass the Juren (another scholar who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations), Zheng Tao was not disappointed at all. Instead, he smiled and comforted Zheng Qing, telling him not to be too sad and to try again in three years.

Zheng Qing was deeply moved by his father's words of comfort. Only then did he realize that years of hard work had caused his father to have some wrinkles around his eyes and a few more gray hairs on his head.

Even when he was exhausted, his father and mother never complained, and their support for him never diminished.

"Mom and Dad, you've worked so hard all these years!"

Tears welled in Zheng Qing's eyes. Providing for a scholar in a country like Xia, with its low productivity, was no easy task. Over the years, Zheng Tao had spent at least half of his income from running his breakfast shop on buying books and hiring tutors for Zheng Qing.

"What's so hard about it?"

Zheng Tao said dismissively, "My family produced a scholar; countless neighbors envy me."

Speaking of this, Zheng Tao smiled broadly. Zheng Qing's passing the imperial examination and becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) had greatly boosted his prestige.

"Ever since you passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, your father has gained a lot of face among the neighbors."

Mother Zheng also smiled and said, "Now, which neighbor doesn't envy your parents for having such a successful child!"

After saying that, Zheng's mother continued, "So, Qing'er, don't feel sorry for us. Compared to others, your father and mother are already much luckier."

Yes, in Zheng's mother's eyes, she was already lucky enough. She married a husband who could earn money and had a son who passed the imperial examination at the county level. Although a scholar could not become an official, he was still a member of the scholar class. Even powerful landlords would not easily choose to bully someone with the title of scholar.

Putting aside everything else, after Zheng Qing passed the imperial examination, the number of people dine-and-dash and causing trouble at Zheng Tao's breakfast shop suddenly disappeared, and all of this was due to Zheng Qing's status as a scholar.

Before Zheng Qing passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, Zheng Tao was just a street vendor, belonging to the lowest social class. After Zheng Qing passed the imperial examination, the Zheng family entered the scholar class and was no longer the lowest social class that everyone could look down on.

"Mother, I know."

Zheng Qing looked at his mother with moist eyes. Over the years, his mother had worked just as hard as his father. She not only helped his father at the breakfast shop, but also took care of him while he was studying at home, managing the whole household in an orderly manner. Zheng Qing was able to study at home with peace of mind, thanks in no small part to his mother.

"Father and Mother, don't worry! I will definitely pass the provincial examination next time!"

Looking at her aging parents, Zheng Qing became even more determined.

After that, Zheng Qing continued to bury himself in his studies at home. Of course, while studying hard, Zheng Qing would also keep an eye on the news from the prefectural city.

As expected, the new prefect of the prefectural city was none other than Li Mingyuan, whom Zheng Qing had met at the city gate.

Li Mingyuan, who has served as the magistrate of Taiping County and the prefect of Taicang Prefecture, is no longer the naive young man he once was. On the contrary, he is quite decisive and efficient!

Within just one month of taking office, Li Mingyuan formulated a series of policies, all of which were aimed at local landlords and powerful families.

Having governed Taiping County for ten years and served as the prefect of Taicang Prefecture for eight years, Li Mingyuan was all too familiar with the ills of Qingzhou. He knew that the land conflict in Qingzhou had reached an extremely dangerous point, with powerful families, who made up a small portion of Qingzhou's population, occupying more than 60% of the land.

Is it normal that farmers, or ordinary people, who make up the largest population in Qingzhou, own less than 40% of the land?

Of course it's not normal.

In an agrarian country like the Xia Kingdom, land was the only means of production for farmers. Without land, farmers would not have enough to eat and would not be able to survive.

It's not a big deal when one or two people go hungry, but when a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand or a million people go hungry, then the problem becomes huge.