Chapter 18: “Discovering the Space Glitch”

“Word is, the teachers at the town’s beginner classes are mostly young scholars. They get paid a full half tael of silver each month, and room and board are included. That’s far better than our farm families who barely get by from day to day.”

Jiang Fubao silently nodded upon hearing her grandmother say this.

Girls with such ambition were rare.

In an era when most people were illiterate, farmers thought that land was the foundation of life. Who would think of spending so much money sending their grandchildren to school?

They believed it was a waste of money; it was better to save some silver to marry off a daughter, have more children, or buy more fertile fields, continuing the family tradition of farming.

“Mother, it’s more than just the teacher. If one passes the exams to become a xiucai (a ranked scholar), not only can they meet officials without kneeling, but the family is exempt from labor service for up to two people. During tax season, they’re exempt from taxes on ten acres of land! And if their rank is higher, the government even gives silver and grain!”

Jiang Er Yong, who often did odd jobs in town and loved listening to gossip, perked up.

He shared the bits of hearsay he’d picked up with the family.

“What? Exempt from taxes? Exempt from labor? Ten acres? Our whole family only has six acres—so the extra four acres could basically bring in rent like the shops in town. Money just comes in every year, without lifting a finger. Wow, studying really has huge benefits!”

Zhang Jinlan’s mind was quick.

She immediately thought of collecting rent.

“Easy to say, but is it really that easy to pass? All these years, across ten villages in our town, no one has produced a xiucai. Only twelve years ago, the eldest son of the Jiang family village chief passed as a young scholar at twenty. Now his grandsons are already three, and he’s still an old scholar failing repeatedly. How much silver has been spent? Better to give up and live a quiet life!”

Jiang Shoujia was far more realistic.

Putting aside how expensive tuition and offerings for the school were, even just buying books started at half a tael of silver.

Then there were brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—all costly.

Every aspect required money.

It was true: rural families rarely produced scholars, which is why the saying had lasted a hundred years.

“Enough, enough. Go rest early. Worrying about all this won’t help. Think instead about how to earn more coins tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

Jiang Shoujia waved to the younger generation and went back inside first.

Jiang Fubao was carried to bed by her mother.

“Fubao, it’s cold at night. Be careful not to kick off your blanket. Xiaoji, Xiaoxiang, you two too. Sleep properly and don’t fall out of bed again. Remember last year? You hit your head and got a bump. Doesn’t it still hurt?”

Zhang Yanzi gently tucked the three children in, then kissed each on the forehead before leaving with Jiang Siyin.

The blankets were cold at first, but her two older brothers had strong bodies and high body heat, so soon the bed warmed up.

Jiang Fubao slept in the middle and instinctively moved closer to her brothers, as if snuggling next to a human hot-water bottle.

She closed her eyes, resting until she heard their breathing deepen.

Then she entered the space.

During the day, she had discovered a glitch in the storage space.

If she took the eggs out daily and accumulated them, the space’s auto-restock would refresh every day.

Then she could present all the eggs at once to her family.

Wouldn’t that make them a lot of money?

Much better than letting them sit in the space and go to waste.

Thinking of this made her ache a little.

She was only three years old—too young.

If she had her own room, she would have taken everything out of the space to accumulate until the daily refresh.

But now, her only hiding place was under the bed.

No choice—she’d have to wait until she grew up.

Jiang Fubao took the basin she had used for meat, first putting the eggs in, then filling the gaps with thirty quail eggs. The basin was perfectly full.

It was too heavy for her to lift.

She could only take the eggs out of the space first, then remotely produce the basin and slide it under the bed.

After finishing, she returned to bed.

Still warm.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and within a minute she was asleep.

The village night was peaceful.

Aside from the occasional bird call, Jiang Fubao slept soundly all night.

She woke before dawn—rarely getting up so early.

Her two older brothers were still asleep.

She quietly dressed and got out of bed.

She had intended to return the basin to the space, but saw that it hadn’t refreshed yet, so she abandoned the idea.

If she put it back, it might just revert.

“Wow, Fubao’s so diligent today, getting up so early. Come wash up, I’ll give you a pancake with pork fat and scraps,” said Aunt Zhu Yingqiu as Jiang Fubao entered the kitchen.

It was a coarse wheat pancake with leftover stir-fried meat and pickles from yesterday. The meat was gone, leaving just the pickles. A little leftover pork fat was made into the pancake filling.

“Aunt, have Dad and Uncle gone to town?” Fubao asked, looking up with her little face.

“Yes, they left before dawn. It takes about an hour and a half to reach town. We couldn’t leave later, or we’d arrive when the recruitment was full. Here, let me give you some water to wash up. There’s still half a pot of hot water on the stove.”

Zhu Yingqiu set down her bowl, poured some hot water into a basin, and mixed it with cold spring water from the mountains.

After testing the temperature, she handed Jiang Fubao a short willow branch—a makeshift toothbrush used by poor families in the old days.

The original owner had never used a toothbrush before, and Jiang Fubao had insisted on using one.

She stripped the tip of bark, rubbed it inside her mouth, moving it in all directions. Salt would make it cleaner, but salt cost dozens of coins per catty, and even eating it was precious.

Jiang Fubao didn’t mind.

After brushing, she used a rough cloth to wash her face and then went to the kitchen.

The cloth was shared among all the women of the Jiang family—one for men, one for women.

It was coarse and painful, especially on her tender skin. Every time she washed her face, it felt like punishment.

“Fubao’s up early today!” Sun Pingmei, yawning, greeted her.

In the Jiang household, breakfast duties rotated. Today, it was Zhu Yingqiu’s turn.

Soon, the sky lightened.

By the time the morning glow rose halfway over the eastern horizon, the whole Jiang family had finished breakfast.

“No fieldwork today. I’ll water the private plots,” Jiang Shoujia said, sitting in a chair in the front yard. He stood to go water the backyard but was stopped by his third grandson, Jiang Tongshui.

“Grandpa, I can do it. Four buckets are enough. You rest.”