Chapter 61: Teahouse 2/3

Jin Moli suddenly asked, “Can you really pass the imperial examination?”

“Of course I can! I couldn’t pass before because I was lazy and didn’t study, but now I read diligently every day!” Yao Zhenfu said.

Yao Zhenfu did have a bit of cleverness, and there was a time when Li Xiucai thought highly of him.

But whenever he had the chance, he would slack off, unwilling to memorize books. When Li Xiucai asked him to write essays, he procrastinated and didn’t want to write. Over time, he became insignificant to everyone.

Jin Moli looked at Yao Zhenfu and suddenly smiled, “Husband, I believe you will definitely pass the imperial examination!” She had been married to Yao Zhenfu for several years, and they already had two children. The possibility of remarrying was almost nonexistent.

Even if she remarried, she couldn’t find a better family than the Yao family.

Although Yao Zhenfu was not successful in business, his knowledge was still acceptable. Perhaps he could pass the imperial examination?

Even if Jin Xiaoye could do business and make money, so what? Li Qingzhi became a useless person after breaking his arm!

If Yao Zhenfu could pass the imperial examination, she would become the wife of a scholar, which would be comparable to Jin Xiaoye.

In the previous life, Yao Zhenfu had never passed the imperial examination, but he had passed the county-level examination and had even gone to the capital city to take the examination. At least he was a talented scholar.

In this life, if Yao Zhenfu made an effort, he should be able to pass the imperial examination?

Jin Moli could only console herself like this.

The couple reconciled completely. After Li Qingzhi had finished speaking about everything he could say, the villagers still seemed unsatisfied.

Mr. Yao suddenly said, “I heard that the storytellers in the county have been telling stories about Magistrate Gou solving cases these days. Even people in teahouses are talking about it. I want to go to the teahouse in the county tomorrow to have tea and listen to the story. Does anyone want to come with me?”

A few days ago, Mr. Yao had been accompanying Jin Sangshu on his boat every day, guiding Jin Sangshu while introducing his own acquaintances to him.

Now he had almost taught Jin Sangshu everything he could. It would depend on Jin Sangshu himself in the future.

Because of this, he had some free time.

Mr. Yao rented his boat to Jin Sangshu for forty-five wen a day. He had some money, so he wanted to go to the teahouse in the county.

He had always admired the old people who drank tea in the teahouses in the county. He even thought that when Yao Zhenfu passed the imperial examination, he would have leisure time and could go to drink tea every day.

By then, he would be the father of a scholar, and many people would envy him.

Unfortunately, now… he didn’t know if his son could pass the imperial examination.

Most families in Miaoqian Village were not wealthy, but they still had the money to go to the county and have tea. After all, it wasn’t something they did every day.

On the spot, three people about Mr. Yao’s age said they wanted to go to the county with him to have tea.

Seeing this, Li Laogen looked at Li Qingzhi eagerly and said, “Ah Qing…”

“Dad, you should go too,” Li Qingzhi smiled.

Li Laogen was ecstatic and turned to Mr. Yao, “I’ll go too!”

After some discussion, a total of five people planned to go to the county with Mr. Yao to have tea tomorrow. They would take Mr. Yao’s boat to the county.

After discussing this matter, the people gathered at Li’s house dispersed. Li Laogen and the others left, and Li Qingzhi said to Li Laogen, “Dad, going to have tea costs money…”

Li Qingzhi took out ten cents from his pocket and gave it to Li Laogen, “Dad, take this money to have tea.”

Ten cents was enough for an old man to have tea in the county. At that time, Li Laogen could also eat a bowl of noodles—noodles in the county were cheap, ranging from two or three cents to seven or eight cents for the expensive ones.

Jin Xiaoye occasionally gave Li Laogen a few cents, but she had never given him as much as ten cents.

Li Laogen couldn’t hold the money steady and always lost it as soon as he got it, so naturally, he was reluctant to give it to him.

Suddenly getting ten wen, Li Laogen was a bit at a loss, “So much money… It’s really a lot…”

Li Qingzhi instructed him, “Dad, if you encounter any trouble in the county, you can go to the Zhu family and say you’re my father…”

Li Qingzhi explained many things to Li Laogen, and Li Laogen

As Li Laogen listened, he smiled, revealing his few remaining yellow teeth, feeling inexplicably satisfied.

He had a son! He could still go to the teahouse!

Back when there were landlords in their village, the landlords would go to the teahouse by boat every day to have tea. How many people in the village envied them at that time?

He never thought he could go too!

The next day, when Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye got up, Li Laogen had already left.

He didn’t have breakfast at home. He planned to go to the teahouse to have tea and eat noodles on the way.

Before, Li Qingzhi had taken him to eat shredded pork noodles, which were particularly delicious. A bowl costs four cents. This time, he planned to have them again.

Li Laogen put the ten cents into the purse Jin Xiaoye had given him and then put the purse in his pocket. He followed behind Mr. Yao and took the boat to the county.

On the way to the county, Li Laogen talked about his previous experiences in the county.

Unfortunately,Mr. Yao knew more about the county than he did, and no one wanted to listen to him.

Even so, Li Laogen was very excited and listened carefully to Mr. Yao’s description of what the teahouses in the county were like.

Mr. Yao used to be very wealthy, but he was very thrifty. He rarely ate out in the county.

However, as he paddled his boat in the county every day, he knew all the teahouses in the county.

Mr. Yao took Li Laogen and the others to an old teahouse in the west of the city, where poor people gathered.

The teahouse was very dim, and the tables and chairs inside were dirty. The alley outside the door was filled with the belongings of nearby residents…

But it was precisely such a place that made Li Laogen inexplicably at ease.

He used to be very afraid when he came to the county, but here, he wasn’t afraid anymore.

In this teahouse, there were also people telling Magistrate Gou’s stories today, which attracted more and more people to the teahouse… Fortunately, they arrived early and managed to get a seat!

Li Laogen listened to the story attentively. After the reader stopped reading for a while, he bravely ordered a bowl of shredded pork noodles and finished it, not leaving a drop of soup.

Including Mr. Yao, everyone else also ordered shredded pork noodles. Like Li Laogen, they ate them all up.

After finishing the noodles, they drank tea while listening to the conversations of the people around them.

“Before, we had a blind man in our area. He said there would be a great figure coming from our county, and I think it’s Magistrate Gou.”

“Our magistrate is truly amazing!”

“Yesterday, during the magistrate’s trial, I went to watch the excitement. My shoe got squeezed off.”

…

As Li Laogen listened to Li Qingzhi talking about some things in the county office, he was able to join in the conversation. At that moment, he managed to attract many people to listen to him, making him increasingly proud, subconsciously puffing out his chest.

He loved it here too much!

Li Laogen and the others stayed until they had drunk the tea until it was as clear as boiled water, without a trace of tea flavor left, before rubbing their stomachs and leaving the county contentedly.