Chen Liejiu is selling chicks.

Xu Huaiqian went to the academy to study, and there are more than 3,000 newly hatched chicks at home.

With so many chicks piled up at home, the food consumed in a day is not a small amount, not to mention that there is no place to put them at home. They can’t be crowded in the kang room all the time.

It’s better to sell them early.

Just in time, the villagers of Xinghua Village said they wanted to buy them, so he sold a batch in the village first to test the waters.

The price of a chick is three wen, but that was the price in March and April. At that time, it was the season when hens were brooding. There were more chicks sold on the market and fewer people bought chicks, so the price was of course cheap.

But now it’s June, and the weather is hot. The hens can’t sit still and hatch chicks, and the price of chicks on the market rose to four or five wen.

 Generally, the country folks who want to save money will buy chicks in March and April, and will not wait until the price is high in May and June. Those who don’t buy will naturally not feed chickens for the whole year.

They would rather not eat chickens than save the two wen for buying chicks.

Chen Liejiu felt that they had a lot of chicks, and Xu Huaiqian had promised the villagers not to charge them a high price, so he still sold them at three wen each.

He allowed the villagers to choose their own chicks.

Now the chicks on the market are what the seller catches for you, and you have to buy what kind of chicks you can. There is no choice. Some chickens that are not energetic will die after you buy them, which is really annoying.

Chen Liejiu’s way of selling made the villagers very happy. Except for a few who thought it was too expensive, most of the villagers who wanted to raise chickens came to him to buy chicks.

But even so, not many chicks were sold.

 Chen Liejiu was not in a hurry. He had calculated that there were more than 100 households in Xinghua Village. In addition to those who had chickens at home or had bought chicks before, there were 30 to 40 households who had bought chicks from him.

Although they didn’t buy much, they bought one or two, three or four, and at most five or six, and the scattered ones added up to hundreds.

It proved that there were many people willing to raise chickens in the countryside.

Mishan County, not counting the county town, had more than 50 big and small villages. Even if a village could only buy about 100 chickens, he could still sell more than 5,000 chicks. Their family only had more than 3,000 chicks in total, so they would not be unable to sell them all.

Chen Liejiu was gesturing on the ground with a branch, and suddenly a shadow blocked his face. He looked up and saw a vicissitudes and timid face. It was Jiang Xiaoshan, a ger in the village who, like him, had lost his parents early and grew up alone with his younger brothers and sisters.

 However, Jiang Xiaoshan is different from him. He is timid and cowardly by nature. He is always timid and keeps his head down. He hides as soon as he sees someone, as if he is afraid that others will see him and notice him.

Two years ago, his brother fell into the water and needed money for treatment. No one in the village was willing to lend him money, fearing that he could not pay it back. Chen Liejiu was willing to lend him money, but he was also afraid that he could not pay it back, and Chen Liejiu would take him to sell to pay off the debt.

So, he sold himself to Sun Wangcai, the most violent man in the village, as his husband.

At that time, Chen Liejiu advised him not to exchange his life for a little bit of medical money. If he was afraid that he could not pay it back, he could help him collect the debt and pay it back.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaoshan was stubborn and he refused to listen and insisted on marrying.

 He even said to him with a surprised look on his face: “Wangcai said that if I marry him, he won’t beat me. As long as I give birth to a baby for him, he will let me manage the household.”

Chen Liejiu was so angry at that time. If he hadn’t seen that he was the same as himself and had to work hard to raise his younger brothers and sisters, he would not bother to pay attention to him.

It’s hard to persuade a dying ghost with good words. Since he wouldn’t listen, Chen Liejiu didn’t bother to talk anymore. He just said: “I want to see if you get beaten when you marry him.” and left.

 After that, Jiang Xiaoshan would hide whenever he saw him. It had been two years since they last met. When he saw him again, he took the initiative to come to him. Chen Liejiu was quite surprised: “What’s the matter?”

“B-brother Liejiu…” Facing Chen Liejiu’s clear and bright eyes, Jiang Xiaoshan pulled his sleeves with shame to cover the mottled marks on them. I-if he had listened to Brother Liejiu back then, it would have been fine…

But if he had listened to Brother Liejiu, he wouldn’t dare to go to collect the debt…

And the villagers also said that a ger who collects debts can’t get married. If he can’t get married, he will die of fever during the hot flashes. Then what will happen to his brothers and sisters at home…

He can’t snatch a scholar back to be his husband like Brother Liejiu, who not only won’t beat or scold him, but also can help him come up with a way to hatch chicks to make money…

And even if he snatched the scholar, he couldn’t afford to support a scholar who had to take medicine every day…

Sun Wangcai is already his best destination. Although it is different from what he said at the beginning, b-but he won’t die even if he gets beaten…

Thinking of this, he calmed down a little. He mustered up the courage to spread out his clenched right hand in front of Chen Liejiu, revealing six copper coins from it: “Brother Lie, Brother Liejiu, can I buy two chicks from you?”

When he moved, Chen Liejiu naturally saw his bruised wrists. He looked at the copper coins in his palms that were almost sweating from being squeezed by him. He knew that these must be his own secret savings.

Many people in the village said that Sun Wangcai went crazy at night, beat Jiang Xiaoshan, and often heard his wailing at night, and often didn’t give him food. How could he give him money to spend.

Chen Liejiu lowered his eyes and didn’t bother him about what happened a few years ago. After all, he had to walk his own way in life, and no one else could replace him.

 He threw away the branch in his hand, stood up, opened the door of the kang room, and let him in: “Pick two for yourself.”

“Mm, OK.” Jiang Xiaoshan stretched out his hand and thought that Chen Liejiu would not sell it to him. Hearing his words, he happily stuffed the money to him and went into the kang room to carefully pick two hens that looked quite energetic.

He sneaked in from the small road without telling anyone, and he saved the money secretly. He bought the chickens for his younger brothers and sisters at home. Sun Wangcai didn’t like his younger brothers and sisters, and never went to his dark and short thatched house. As long as they were careful and fed them carefully, the chickens would lay eggs in a few months, which would be used to supplement his younger brothers and sisters. They could also save them and sell them secretly in the town. Maybe they could save some money in a year.

 Chen Liejiu saw Jiang Xiaoshan picking two chicks, and a hopeful smile appeared on his lifeless face. He paused, and when he left, he pointed to the basin in the corner of the kang room: “The chicks there are dying. If you don’t mind the trouble, pick two and see if you can keep them alive.”

Jiang Xiaoshan looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, he saw a few chicks shivering in a wooden basin, not eating or drinking. He was embarrassed for a moment: “… I have no money.”

Chen Liejiu waved his hand: “No money, it’s a waste of food to feed them. If you want to take it, take it, if not, forget it.”

“I want it, I want it.” Jiang Xiaoshan nodded immediately. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t cost money and can’t be kept alive, but what if it can be kept alive? Wouldn’t it be two more chickens that can lay eggs?

Several waves of people came to the village to buy chicks. The main reason is that they see others raising chickens and they are tempted to do so. They don’t need to feed chickens with good food. They can just scatter some uneaten vegetable leaves in the backyard and they will peck at them. They can eat meat after three or four months. They can feed them now and slaughter them for the family to replenish their bodies during the autumn harvest.

It is better than feeding piglets. Piglets are expensive. If they are accidentally killed, not only will they not make money, but the whole family will have to live frugally.

When they were carrying the chicks home, they passed by Xu’s fields and saw the Xu family working in the fields. They joked to them, “His uncle, why don’t you go buy chicks? That’s your cousin’s husband. Maybe he won’t charge you if you buy them.”

Xu Fugui was a man who couldn’t even fart at home. Now that someone said that, he was too embarrassed to raise his head.

 The person who was talking seemed to remember something, and then said: “Look at my memory. His aunt said that he couldn’t hatch the chicks.”

Ma Cuifen was different from Xu Fugui. She was thick-skinned. When she heard someone insulting him like that, she immediately retorted: “So what if it hatched? These chicks haven’t been hatched by a hen. Who knows what’s wrong with them? If you’re not afraid of chicken plague then buy them!”

“If they get chicken plague, they get chicken plague. Anyway, I only bought two chicks. I won’t feel bad if they die.” Facing her reply, the family who bought the chicks was not afraid. “Unlike some malicious people, who say that others are stupid, can’t read, and can’t hatch chicks.”

“Hey.” The man said, carrying the chicks away, “Now people have hatched chicks and are going to the academy to study. What someone said is not true at all-“

Ma Cuifen was so angry that she wanted to say a few more words, but the man had already walked away with the chickens. She gritted her teeth angrily: “Hatch, hatch, hatch, so what if they are hatched. With so many chicks, I don’t believe he can sell them all!”

“Loss him to death!”

Ma Cuifen was counting for Chen Liejiu. There were more than 3,000 chicks. Excluding those bought in the village, they would not be sold out in ten days and a half months if they were carried to the town.

She wondered what he would use to feed the chicks in these ten days to half a month!

The next day, Chen Liejiu gathered a group of his brothers, each of whom picked up a basket filled with chicks and asked them to go to other villages to sell them.

 After three years of collecting debts, he has a total of ten brothers under him. In addition to Chen Wu at the beginning, there are Chen Da, Chen Er, Chen San, Chen Si, Chen Mao, Chen Nan, Chen He, Chen Zhi, and Chen Peng.

Although the names of one, two, three, and five are the same, they are not from the same family. They are just named according to their order in the family.

It is not ruled out that Chen Liejiu is willing to take them because their names are easy to remember.

“Chen Da, Chen Wu, you have good speed, so go to a farther village. Chen Nan and Chen Peng, you two can try your luck in the county. Remember not to suffocate the chickens. Stop every once in a while to feed them some water and food.”

“I know, boss.”

The faces of the big guys are beaming. They like to do things for Chen Liejiu the most. Chen Liejiu is generous and the tasks he gives them are simple. Although he is a ger, he is more capable than these men.

 Besides, they have been busy for the past two months, and they have saved a lot of money. They plan to buy some cloth in the city and make new clothes for themselves after they are done.

It also saves them from having to wear new clothes when they go out. In the past, they would never dare to think that they could wear new clothes. They would only pick up the worn-out clothes of their family members.

After arranging his men, Chen Liejiu went into the house and took out the dagger from under the pillow, tied it around his wrist, and went to Shengyuan Bank.

“Manager Wu, do you have those people in your bank who have money but refuse to pay back the money?”

Although Shengyuan Bank is backed by County Magistrate Wu, not everyone is afraid of the county magistrate. For example, the gentry in the countryside, such as the people of the Chen family clan. If Chen Liejiu owes the bank money and does not want to pay it back, the clan is willing to protect him. The county magistrate who has no power and cannot control the clan, has to accept it with a pinch of his nose.

Chen Liejiu is looking for this kind of person.

“Yes!” Shopkeeper Wu looked at him strangely, “Why, you want to help me collect it?” Of course there are. Those who run a bank have a lot of bad debts in their hands, especially since they have a county government behind them.

There are more bad debts!

But these bad debts are not about money, they are about taxes!

The gentry and wealthy families like to occupy land privately and embezzle grain taxes privately. They cannot collect the full amount of grain taxes every year. Their county magistrate is a dough, so he has to accept it with a pinch of nose every time, and they still need their bank to help them.

 Chen Liejiu nodded: “I can help you get it, but can you give me more commission?”

Wu put the account books of the gentry’s debts on the counter and showed them to him: “If you are not afraid of trouble, then go and collect them. I can give you 30% commission!”

Chen Liejiu flipped through the account books. He was not stupid. The big families were not people he could provoke. He directly picked those he could afford to provoke, and those who dared not to trouble him after provoking them, and pointed them to Wu: “I want these.”

Wu also knew that it was impossible for Chen Liejiu to ask for the whole account book for him. Seeing that he picked some rural clans, he nodded.

These rural clans, like the gentry and local tyrants, were not existences they could afford to provoke. If they waved their hoes and said that they were going to rebel against the county magistrate, his position as county magistrate was over and it was very likely that he would not even be able to keep his head.

 Let Chen Liejiu go ask for it. Clan against clan, he can’t be sure whether Chen Liejiu can get it, but it’s better than nothing.

While Chen Liejiu was running around the countryside to collect debts, Xu Huaiqian also wore a light blue Qingjin and officially started his journey of studying in the academy.

The courses in Qinglian Academy are two classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. The classes were one hour each, with a break of two incense sticks in the middle and an hour of lunch break. It’s almost the same as modern times, four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon.

Because there is no electric light, getting up too early to read books will not be able to see the words, and reading with candle light will hurt the eyes, so the course is scheduled at 8:00 in the morning.

That is, eight o’clock in the morning.

This is a blessing for Xu Huaiqian, who has a bad health and can’t get up early at all.

He got up at the Chen time(7-9am), washed and wiped his face before going to the dining hall to eat. He took medicine, and even used a teapot to stew bird’s nest for himself.

 When he finished all this slowly, he went to school, and the class just started.

The seats in the school are not based on ranking or grades, but on the order of entering the academy. The earlier you come in, the closer you get to the front. People like Xu Huaiqian and Duan Youyan who just passed the exam can only sit at the end.

This way, other classmates and teachers can tell at a glance that the two are new.

Yesterday, when they came to the school to get books and put them on the desk, school was over. Today, he entered the school at the time of class and had no time to make friends with others.

Xu Huaiqian thought that they would have a long time to study together in the future, so there was no need to rush.

However, when the class started, Xu Huaiqian was not in such a good mood. The class lasted for an hour, and there was no break in the middle. The teacher who taught them liked to shake his head while leading them to study.

 This was hard for Xu Huaiqian. He was in poor health, always coughing, and his throat was not very good. He usually spoke in a soft voice, let alone shaking his head so hard to read.

He thought about it, stood up and said to the teacher: “Teacher, I have been weak since I was a child, and I feel dizzy when I recite. Can I be exempted from reciting?”

He felt that the serious-looking principals in the academy were easy to talk to, so this teacher who looked very kind should not be too difficult for him?

 Who would have thought that their class, Class D, was a famous class for trouble in the academy. When the teacher heard his request, he thought that he, a freshman, was doing something strange and rejected it immediately: “Studying should be diligent, especially reciting. As the saying goes, read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear. You can’t make excuses not to read it just because you don’t want to read it…”

The teacher thought Xu Huaiqian was making excuses not to recite, but Duan Youyan, who had just taken Xu Huaiqian’s pulse yesterday, knew that Xu Huaiqian was really in poor health and was not making excuses.

So he stood up and said: “Teacher, I can testify that his health is indeed not good, so please exempt him from reciting.”

Xu Huaiqian looked at Duan Youyan gratefully. He never thought that Duan Youyan would help him to contradict the teacher at this time. Duan Youyan gave him an impolite look in return.

Xu Huaiqian also helped him yesterday.

 Originally, the teacher thought that Xu Huaiqian would not recite in this class because of his thin body. But when he saw the two of them flirting with each other, he thought that they were trying to trick him. He was so angry that he said, “I asked you to recite, it’s not like you will die. Why can’t you recite…”

When Pei Wangshu, who was sitting a little in front, heard the word “die”, he thought to himself, he’s really dying!

Yesterday, Xu Huaiqian not only coughed blood, but also coughed several times when he went to bed at night. He coughed twice outside the dormitory to avoid disturbing them.

He was also a pitiful person.

And his coughing up blood yesterday was more or less related to him. Pei Wangshu couldn’t just stand by and watch him die.

 “Teacher, I sleep with him,” Pei Wangshu thought for a moment and stood up, “I can prove that his health is indeed not good. Who knows, this recitation will really kill him!” Pei Wangshu also had good intentions, but he didn’t know that his arrogant and domineering behavior had already made him untrustworthy in Class D. When he heard that the two of them were sleeping together, he was even more convinced that they were in the same nest and had teamed up to deceive him. He became even more angry and threw his sleeves: “Don’t talk nonsense, it’s just reading a book, how can it cost someone’s life? Stop talking nonsense and continue reading!”

After failing to get a favor for him, Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu looked at Xu Huaiqian at the same time, asking him what to do.

Seeing that the teacher’s way was not working, Xu Huaiqian was wondering whether he should ask the headmaster for help. He thought the headmaster was a little serious, but he was easy to talk to.

Faceting the inquiring eyes of Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu, he shook his head and told them not to speak for him and to get through this class first.

As he said that, he sat down by himself, took the lead in picking up the book, and began to read despite the discomfort.

Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu saw that he was like this, what else could they do? Just read.

While the teacher picked up the book again and led the students to recite, he also paid attention to Xu Huaiqian and his group from the corner of his eyes, and saw that they all picked up the textbooks and read obediently.

Especially the student who first said that he was unwell, took the lead in setting an example, thinking, this is not a bad way to read, why do you have to do something weird to show your difference.

 He held the book, shook his head and read in front of Xu Huaiqian. He just finished reading the chapter he was going to talk about today. He put down the book and was about to scold Xu Huaiqian and ask him to correct his attitude towards reading in the future.

Then he saw——

He shook and shook Xu Huaiqian, who was reluctant to endure the discomfort, until Xu Huaiqian finally insisted on reading. He couldn’t help it and spit blood on his handkerchief.

It was not blood, but a mouthful of bright red blood. It fell on the white handkerchief and was particularly dazzling.

Xu Huaiqian, who had just been quite sanguine, turned pale as he spit out the blood. He barely wiped the blood on his lips, raised his head, and was about to explain to the teacher who came to him.

The teacher rolled his eyes and fainted.

Looking at the teacher who fell straight in front of him, Xu Huaiqian paused while wiping his lips with a handkerchief: “…”

Whose health is not good?

 The whole class was in an uproar when the teacher fainted. Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu took a few students to send the teacher back to the teacher’s dormitory, and asked the headmaster to find a doctor to treat him.

The doctor used a silver needle to wake the teacher up. The first thing he said when he woke up was: “Don’t worry about me, go see my student! He vomited blood!”

Although the teacher did not agree to his request not to recite, the first person he thought of after waking up was Xu Huaiqian, and Xu Huaiqian was quite moved.

So he stood up and bowed to the teacher: “Teacher, student is fine.”

But for some reason, when the teacher saw Xu Huaiqian’s pale face after vomiting blood, his eyes rolled up and he fainted again.

Xu Huaiqian stood there awkwardly, he did nothing.

 Later, after the teacher came to his senses and understood Xu Huaiqian’s physical condition, he dared not do anything to Xu Huaiqian anymore. He even saw Xu Huaiqian’s heartbeat irregular and uncomfortable breathing when he shook his head in his class, so he immediately stopped him: “If you are not feeling well, don’t recite.”

Xu Huaiqian was forced to get the privileges of this teacher, but he lost the right to make friends.

Originally, he wanted to have good interpersonal relationships with other classmates in the class. After all, they were all classmates, and their homes were nearby. In the future, there would be friendships between classmates and fellow townsmen.

As a result, after being manipulated by this teacher, the news that he vomited blood and fainted in public became a hot topic in the academy. Now everyone in the academy knew that he was a glass man who could not be provoked, or touched.

They were afraid that if they were not careful, they would be tortured to death, and his family would cause trouble for them. They were also afraid that if they tortured him to death, it would delay their imperial examinations.

 Nowadays, reputation is very important in the imperial examination. If someone dies, their future will be completely ruined. No one wants to lose their future, so they can only stay away from Xu Huaiqian.

Even the Shanzhang, who is always easy to talk to, called him to the Weiyan Hall, which is the principal’s office, and asked him to write a military order. If there is anything wrong in the academy, or if there is any accidental behavior in the academy, and if he loses his life, it will not be related to the academy.

Otherwise, he dare not let Xu Huaiqian continue to go to school!

After Xu Huaiqian came back from writing the military order, his mood fell to the bottom. He came to school happily, but now it has become like this.

He was also helpless. If he could, he would not want this sick body, but he had no choice.

 “Senior brother, senior brother, don’t be discouraged,” Zhang Bingwen saw that everyone was far away from them when they were having lunch in the dining hall at noon. He knew that Xu Huaiqian was in a bad mood, so he served him a meal and comforted him, “They are afraid of you, but I am not afraid of you.”

“I believe in senior brother. You will definitely overcome the disease and live a long life!”

Zhang Bingwen was not blindly confident. He had seen Xu Huaiqian like this since he could remember. People in the private school and the villagers said behind his back that Xu Huaiqian looked short-lived and would not live long in the future.

But he had watched Xu Huaiqian for so many years since he was a child. Except for his poor health, Xu Huaiqian lived quite a long life.

At least he lived longer than those who said that he would have a short life before. He remembered that three people who said that Xu Huaiqian would have a short life died.

One drowned in the river, one died of snake venom, and another choked to death while eating because of bad luck.

 Zhang Bingwen told Xu Huaiqian: “Look, they say you have a short life, but their own lives are also short. Compared with them, you have lived a long life.”

Xu Huaiqian gave him the chicken leg in his bowl, ready to block his mouth.

As a result, Zhang Bingwen misunderstood and gave him the chicken leg back: “Senior brother, you are weak, you eat it.”

“I won’t eat it, I have to thank you. Thank you for staying with me.” Xu Huaiqian gave it back to him, and thank you for comforting me with a dead person.

 Zhang Bingwen wanted to return the chicken leg to Xu Huaiqian. Pei Wangshu, who had bought the food and brought it over, couldn’t stand it any more: “That’s enough, you two. It’s just a chicken leg. If you want to eat, just go buy another one. It’s disgusting to keep picking.”

“Besides, isn’t it a bit bad for you, a student from Class C, to come to our Class D to eat every day?”

Classes A, B, C, and D all had their own dormitories and canteens. At least Xu Huaiqian rarely saw people from Classes A and B. It was said that the academy deliberately separated them to prevent people from Class C and D from fawning over the Juren and Xiucai of Class A and B, which would delay their studies as well as theirs.

People should be with people of the same kind. If you want to make friends with scholars, then work hard to pass the exam.

Zhang Bingwen gnawed on a chicken leg and rolled his eyes at Pei Wangshu: “The food is the same, why is it not good for me to come over to eat? Besides, do I have to greet you when I eat with senior brother?”

“You guys in Class D have isolated senior brother, and you don’t allow me, a person from Class C, to come and comfort senior brother?”

“——Please take your Class D back,” Pei Wangshu didn’t like what Zhang Bingwen said, “Although I am also in Class D, I am different from them.”

He glanced at Xu Huaiqian and said: “I still have a conscience.”

He always felt that Xu Huaiqian coughed up blood for two consecutive days because he was angry at the previous fight. When he was disobedient at home, his mother was also angry at him and coughed up blood.

 “My senior brother has a bad fate, so don’t get involved.” Zhang Bingwen pushed him, “If something happens to my senior brother because of you, can you bear the consequences?”

“Why can’t you bear the consequences!” Pei Wangshu looked indifferent, “At most, I won’t take the imperial examination. Anyway, my family is rich, and I can eat for the rest of my life.”

“It’s great to be rich!” Zhang Bingwen cursed, but he didn’t push Pei Wangshu.

“It’s great.”

When the two of them were playing, Duan Youyan, who was the last to buy food, also came over with a bowl and chopsticks: “Add me in. Anyway, I live in the same dormitory with you two, and they have also labeled me as your faction.”

Duan Youyan is older than everyone present. He is 25 years old this year. In his opinion, the isolation in the academy is just a child’s trick.

You isolate me, and I isolate you.

 He had felt Xu Huaiqian’s pulse and knew that although Xu Huaiqian was a little fragile, he was actually okay. There was still some life force in his body.

He frequently vomited blood because his internal organs were stimulated and could not bear it, so he would bleed and had to vomit it out.

It looked scary, but he would be fine if he was careful and did not stimulate him.

Perhaps because he and Duan Youyan had helped Xu Huaiqian to contradict the Master, Pei Wangshu now liked Duan Youyan. Zhang Bingwen also liked Duan Youyan because Duan Youyan had helped him to speak for Pei Wangshu, so neither of them objected to Duan Youyan’s joining.

Except——

They looked at the protagonist of their discussion at the same time, Xu Huaiqian, who was eating silently at the moment.

 Pei Wangshu asked him, “Why don’t you say anything?”

Xu Huaiqian looked up blankly, “What are you talking about?”

“Talking about whether we agree to join you together?” Pei Wangshu was really speechless about Xu Huaiqian. It seemed that they had discussed for a long time, but he didn’t respond at all.

“–Oh.” Xu Huaiqian drank a mouthful of soup calmly and smoothed his throat. “Originally, I have thought of a countermeasure. Since you all said so, I will reluctantly agree to join you.”

When the three heard that Xu Huaiqian agreed, they were delighted and asked him, “What countermeasures have you thought of?”

“Simple,” Xu Huaiqian smiled while tapping his chopsticks, “If they isolate me, they will isolate me. As long as I work hard in the past two months, I will pass the exam to become a Xiucai in August this year and enter Class B. They can’t isolate me even if they want to.”

Xu Huaiqian’s goal has never been Class B or Class C. He has not forgotten that he came to the academy to take the exam to become a Xiucai. Making friends is important, but in this ancient time with strict hierarchy, fame is equally important. 

As long as he passed the exam to become a scholar, the people in Class D would not isolate him, and would have no way to get close to him.

“…What great ambition,” Pei Wangshu pulled the corner of his lips, not having any confidence in Xu Huaiqian’s ambition.

If he could pass the exam to become a Xiucai in two months, he would not have been assigned to Class D directly after the entrance exam. He did not do well in the entrance exam, which made the headmaster think that he had no chance, so he was assigned to Class D. Otherwise, why didn’t he assign him to Class C?

Even the people in Class C were not completely interested in becoming Xiucai, so why did he think that he could catch up with the progress of Class C in two months?

Pei Wangshu did not believe Xu Huaiqian’s big talk. He thought of Xu Huaiqian’s health. He didn’t say it, and barely supported it.

“Senior brother! I support you! Let’s work hard together!” Seeing that Xu Huaiqian finally came out of his depressed mood, Zhang Bingwen immediately expressed his support.

 “I’ll accompany you!” Duan Youyan also nodded. Anyway, he was going to play, so let’s work together.

Pei Wangshu was embarrassed to interrupt them because they were so ambitious, so he immediately expressed his support: “Since you are all working so hard, why don’t you help me with my homework tonight, just as a review.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Huaiqian and Duan Youyan looked at him as if he was a fool and asked him: “Are you sure you want us to do your homework for you?”

Pei Wangshu nodded in confusion: “Sure.”

Then seeing their expressions, he asked cautiously: “Are there any problems?”

Xu Huaiqian and Duan Youyan looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time: “No problem.”

“N-no problem then why do you two react like this?” Pei Wangshu always felt that their reactions were weird, as if there was a trap waiting for him to jump. When he wanted to ask clearly, the doorman of the academy came over and called Xu Huaiqian away.

 “Someone is waiting for you at the back door.”

Xu Huaiqian was about to ask who it was, but then his heart skipped a beat. He put down his chopsticks and followed the servant to the back door.

Sure enough, as soon as he walked to the back door, he saw a very conspicuous man in red, and his lips curled up immediately.

“Wif——”

Just when he was about to shout out, he suddenly remembered that this was not the way to call him here, so he followed the way people here called Fulang and called him: “Ah Jiu.”

——Ah Jiu.

When Chen Liejiu saw Xu Huaiqian, his eyes also lit up. When he came forward, he heard Xu Huaiqian calling him Ah Jiu, and his heart trembled.

——Not Liejiu, but Ah Jiu.

Being called like that, made him sound so gentle.

Chen Liejiu curled his lips and asked him, “Why did you think of calling me like that?”

Xu Huaiqian also told the truth, “I just suddenly wanted to call you like that.”

“It sounds good, I like it very much.” Chen Liejiu expressed his joy without hesitation. He liked to share his emotions with Xu Huaiqian.

“As long as you like it.” When he was happy, Xu Huaiqian would also be very happy. He took his hand and asked him, “Why did you suddenly think of coming to the academy to find me? Did something happen at home? Did you have trouble collecting debts? A problem with the chicks?”

When he heard the doorman say that someone was looking for him in the backyard, he guessed it was Chen Liejiu. He almost couldn’t control his ecstatic expression. When he saw the person here, he suddenly calmed down again.

He had only been studying in the academy for a few days, and he hadn’t had a break yet, but Chen Liejiu came to find him. Could it be that something happened at home? He asked all the questions he could think of.

 Seeing that he asked so many questions at once, Chen Liejiu smiled and said, “No, everything is fine at home. All the chicks have been sold. Xiaomei and Wanwan are preparing to collect the second batch of eggs in the village. The debt collection is also going smoothly…”

He took out two silver ingots from his purse and gave them to him: “This is what I received from collecting debts recently. I missed you, so I want to give them to you.”

“So much?” Xu Huaiqian took the two ten-liang silver ingots and couldn’t believe it. He earned twenty liang by collecting debts in just a few days? !

Are there so many debtors in Mishan County? !

 “Recently, Shopkeeper Wu handed me several large bills,” Chen Liejiu did not hide it, “and there will be several more in the future. You can study in the academy with peace of mind. Eat whatever you want, buy whatever you want, and don’t worry about money. If the academy doesn’t have it, just find the doorman just now, and ask him to go down the mountain to buy it for you.”

Chen Liejiu naggingly said a lot of words to reassure Xu Huaiqian, and Xu Huaiqian heard two words: “Big bills?”

“That must be very hard, right?” How much money do you have to owe to get a commission of twenty taels!

And the larger the amount of money owed, the harder it will be to collect it. Just like Xu Dalang, he didn’t want to pay back even if he owed ten taels of silver. You could take his life, but he won’t pay back the money.

 “I’m used to it. What’s the hardship?” Chen Liejiu shook his head. “It’s not hard. It’s just a competition of who is more shameless.”

Some people in the ancestral halls in the countryside owed taxes to the government office and didn’t pay them back. He lit torches and surrounded their ancestral hall’s crops. If they didn’t pay back, he would set fire to the crops.

The harvest is coming soon. If he sets the fire, not to mention taxes, there will be no harvest this year. No one in the ancestral hall dares not to pay back.

He also heard many people scold him for being cruel,, a bully, and the most vicious ger. He will get retribution sooner or later.

He is not afraid.

They dare to deceive the superiors and the subordinates, collect rent from the villagers and don’t hand it over. Why doesn’t he dare to threaten them?

If he is to be punished, they must also be punished with him. Otherwise it is God who has no eyes!

 “What about you?” Chen Liejiu didn’t want to tell Xu Huaiqian about his brutal deeds. “Is it hard to study in the academy?”

“Not hard,” Xu Huaiqian shook his head. “No wind, no rain, just study in the academy every day. You’re the one having it hard”

Compared with Chen Liejiu, he couldn’t be more comfortable.

“That’s good,” Chen Liejiu was relieved. He picked up the food box on the ground and took Xu Huaiqian to sit on the steps at the back door of the academy. “Xiaomei killed a chicken and asked Wanwan to make soup. She said it’s for your body. Try it. Wanwan used the method you taught her to make soup. It’s not bad.”

Xu Huaiqian opened the food box, scooped up the yellow chicken soup with a spoon and drank it. He was satisfied.

After eating dishes fried with ramie oil in the academy for a few days, he suddenly drank pure chicken soup. He almost forgot what normal food tasted like.

 “Delicious, isn’t it?” Chen Liejiu was satisfied when he saw his expression, and then he remembered that he didn’t eat ramie oil, so he asked suspiciously, “Don’t all the dishes in the academy use ramie oil?”

“Occasionally, there will be lard.” But you have to rely on luck. Sometimes you think the dishes are fried with lard, but when you buy them back, you find that they are fried with ramie oil. Sometimes you think the dishes are fried with ramie oil, but when you eat them, they are not.

“Occasionally? How can you rely on luck alone!” Chen Liejiu was angry. Xu Huaiqian was weak. If he didn’t eat well, he wouldn’t be able to survive in this academy!

“I’ll have someone send you food from tomorrow.” Chen Liejiu said decisively, “Don’t eat the food in the academy in the future!”

“——Ah?” Xu Huaiqian was startled and was about to say no. It was so hard to climb the mountain every day.

 But Chen Liejiu didn’t listen to him and decided directly: “What? It’s settled.”

Xu Huaiqian drank chicken soup and thought, isn’t he the one who makes the decisions at home? How come Chen Liejiu took back the right to speak after he went to the academy to study?

The two drank chicken soup and talked about family matters. Before they knew it, the lunch break was over and Xu Huaiqian had to go back to study.

Xu Huaiqian stood by the back door and watched Chen Liejiu leave. He suddenly felt reluctant.

People with wives are like treasures.

When his wife came, he solved everything for him. Now that his wife is leaving, his heart is about to fly away with him.

Chen Liejiu saw him standing there eagerly, just like his younger sister used to stand by the door and watch him go out to escort. His heart softened and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Huaiqian was a little embarrassed: “I’m still a little tired.” Thinking about you is very hard.

 Chen Liejiu suddenly hugged his waist and pecked him lightly on the face: “A kiss will make it easier, okay?”