The porter was the first to rush over with the good news, but he hadn't gotten far when he heard someone exclaim, "The top student is Gu Jin'an from He'an Prefecture! Gu Jin'an from He'an Prefecture! He topped the county, prefecture, and academy exams, achieving the small three yuan. Our Jianghuai is finally famous!"
The speaker was Elder Bai, who was also a scholar in his youth, but despite trying until he was thirty, he never succeeded in his exams. Eventually, due to his loud voice, he became a storyteller. Now old, he passed on the storyteller trade to his second son, allowing him time to wander around.
Due to his enthusiasm for the imperial exams, he never missed the chance to check the results.
Seeing someone achieve the small three yuan this time left him extremely excited. Drawing from his storytelling skills, he summoned his energy from his diaphragm and shouted three times, making many people hear Elder Bai's words.
