CH 91

Zhou Shuren called his two studious sons and Rong Chuan over, carefully moving the books and placing them in a safe spot. Then he took out ink, paper, and inkstones. There was only one set of valuable writing materials, which Zhou Shuren kept for his own examination purposes. He had three sets of slightly inferior quality, each worth about ten taels of silver. It would be too risky to let the children take them outside, so Zhou Shuren kept them for himself. The sets the children used were bought with silver coins, and although each set was worth only one tael, they were still used at home, while the cheaper ones were used when studying outside.

As for the paper, Zhou Shuren’s rewards were all high-quality rice paper. It was too wasteful to paint red and practice calligraphy. Since Zhou Shuren had quite a good amount of money at hand, he bought quite a lot in one go. The three children first shared a hundred between themselves.

Chang Lian and Chang Zhi happily took it over. They have always used the cheapest paper. The paper had many textures and left uneven ink marks. Large characters were easy to write, and small characters were easily blurred. Hugging tightly in their arms, they said: “Thank you, Dad.”

Rong Chuan felt unworthy to get the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, let alone the good paper. So, he hurriedly put his hands behind his back, “Uncle Zhou, I can use the used papers of the Third brother and Fourth brother to practice calligraphy. They are good enough, and it’s too wasteful for me to use good paper.”

When Zhou Shuren woke up and was waiting for the noodles, he had already taken the time to read the big characters practiced by the three children. The Fourth son’s handwriting didn’t make much progress; the one who made the most progress was Rong Chuan, who had developed his own strength of character not long after learning to write. It was evident that he was practicing hard every day. It was not scary to be smart, but the scary thing was hardworking smart people.

Zhou Shuren looked at his Fourth son from the corner of his eye. The most talented Fourth son in the family was very arrogant. He was praised all the time in the private school. Since he started studying, it went smoothly. He thought he was the only one who was smart and if this continues, he will suffer a lot in the future.

Zhou Shuren placed the paper in Rong Chuan’s hand. “Nonsense! Having good handwriting is important for the imperial examinations. I am pleased to see that your calligraphy has improved. I am proud of your hard work. Don’t worry about the expenses at home; I can afford to support your education. You are like a half-son to me, so don’t feel any psychological burden. Once I finish my current tasks, we will choose a good day to settle your and Xuehan’s matters.”

Rong Chuan’s face turned bright red. He didn’t have time to think about paper, his mind was full of thoughts of the upcoming engagement.

Changlian and Changzhi were not happy about it. Changlian, the third son, felt that Rongchuan had taken away his resources. Without Rongchuan, he could have had a larger share of the paper. As for his sister’s marriage, he believed that it was their parents’ responsibility to worry about it. He only cared about Rong Chuan, who not only became his brother-in-law but also seemed to be favored by their father to the extent of being sent to a private school.

Before any changes happened in the family, Changlian had calculated how much money they had and worried whether it would be enough to support his and Changzhi’s education. He observed the changes in the family after winter came, and when their father not only went to Jiangnan but also brought back so many things, he realized that the family’s wealth was not what it appeared on the surface. Even if the family was well-off, he resented Rong Chuan for taking away some of his resources deep down in his heart.

Changzhi was much more intuitive. He didn’t care about common affairs, and he didn’t care about how much money the family had. He was not happy that his sister had been engaged so early, and even if he admired Rong Chuan, he was not happy at heart.

Zhou Shuren didn’t care about the eyebrows and lawsuits of the three boys, and he waved away them away after giving them what should be given.

By the time Zhulan cleaned up the kitchen, Zhou Shuren had already put away the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and was holding a book on the kang table. Looking at the set of pens and ink, Zhulan sat on the kang and said, “Do you want to copy the book?”

Zhou Shuren cut out the paper, “Well, this is not a book, it is a collection of exam questions and articles of the provincial examinations in several states in the south of the Yangtze River. I got it with hard work and thought.”

Zhulan picked it up and looked through it, “Don’t you have one from our side? The examiners in different places have different preferences, is it useful to learn from them?”

Zhou Shuren said, “Of course it is useful, Jiangnan’s questions are among the best. It is very difficult, and many exam questions remain the same. Thorough research is very helpful for the rural exam. As for the examiner’s preference for the articles, it depends on one’s luck.”

Zhulan understood, and asked, “How much did you spend on the trip and the things that you bought?”

Zhou Shuren reported, “The total cost was nearly two hundred taels. Special fans were not expensive in the south of the Yangtze River, but they are relatively rare in the north. Books and paper were the cheapest, especially second-hand ones. The book was still twenty taels!”

Zhulan took a deep breath, “It’s really expensive, and reading in ancient times was too difficult. Books are something that ordinary people can’t afford.”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “That’s why they say the imperial examinations are difficult, especially for those from humble backgrounds. Wealthy families have extensive book collections and abundant famous annotations. As long as one has some talent and is diligent enough, one can pass the county-level examination. However, for those who rely on their own hard work and have limited access to books, it becomes much harder to become a Xiucai. To become a successful Xinshi is as rare as finding a phoenix feather or a carp jumping over the Dragon Gate.” (1)

Zhulan was a little worried, “Then do you have confidence?”

Zhou Shuren was very confident, “Next year I’ll take the Xiucai exam, and I will just participate in the triennial township examination the next year. Don’t worry, I have a plan in mind. “

Zhulan was relieved when she got Zhou Shuren’s promise. Zhou Shuren never made any guarantees that he can’t fulfill, “You copied the test questions for the clan?”

She remembered that there were five xiucai in the clan, and they were not young. Yes, the youngest was in his twenties, so he must be sitting for the exam next year.

Zhou Shuren nodded, “En.”

Zhulan didn’t have anything to ask, she took out the fabric and prepared to make clothes, she really liked making clothes now.

Zhou Shuren couldn’t calm down anymore and looked up at Zhulan several times, Zhulan sensed it, “What’s the matter?”