Chapter 15: Endorsement 1/2

After Yao Zhenfu called Li Qingzhi to fetch the book, he walked ahead.

Li Qingzhi glanced back—Mr. Yao had just moored the boat and was still unloading things from it!

He was carrying quite a lot, and he even took a carrying pole to carry them. Wouldn’t Yao Zhenfu help?

Well, he really wouldn’t help. His book box was over where Mr. Yao was…

“Why aren’t you going, Brother Li?” Yao Zhenfu asked.

Li Qingzhi smiled and followed along. Since Mr. Yao, the father, didn’t mind, what else could he say? If he really said something, Mr. Yao might blame him for meddling.

He indeed liked the people around him, but his experiences from the end of the world had also taught him one thing: don’t meddle in others’ affairs.

Although Li Qingzhi had improved a bit, he still walked quite slowly. Fortunately, Yao Zhenfu was short, and his pace wasn’t fast either, so the two of them could walk side by side.

Before long, Mr. Yao, carrying the carrying pole, caught up with them.

The people who were enjoying the coolness by the river continued their conversation after they left. The aunt who had a good chat with Li Qingzhi just now couldn’t help but say, “Those two… one is like a short winter melon, and the other is like a clothesline.”

Li Qingzhi was the tallest person in the village, but after losing weight, he looked like a bamboo pole.

As for Yao Zhenfu… they didn’t think he was fat before. They even thought he looked wealthy, like a city dweller or a landlord. But when he walked beside Li Qingzhi, he was too short!

The people in the village continued chatting, but Li Qingzhi had already followed Yao Zhenfu to Yao’s house.

People in this era liked to build courtyards. According to the original owner’s memory, some large households in the countryside would dig deep foundations for the courtyard walls, and the walls would be as high as three meters to prevent thieves.

However, there were few landlords in the Miaoqian Village, so there were no such houses. Most families just built simple fences.

The Yao family made fences from bamboo, enclosing their vegetable garden to prevent chickens from pecking at the vegetables.

Passing by the vegetable garden, they saw the Yao family’s house. The Yao family had four rooms facing south side by side, and behind these four rooms, there were also an outhouse and a pigsty.

Li Qingzhi saw that one of the room’s doors was wide open, and in the middle was a square table with various items placed around it.

Li Qingzhi’s family had few belongings, not even a square table, but looking at the Yao family, they had almost everything a rural household would need.

Yao Zhenfu pushed open the door of the westernmost room, and Li Qingzhi saw a study inside, with a desk, a chair, and several cabinets.

Judging from the arrangement, it was indeed a study.

Yao’s house was considered large in the village, but there weren’t too many rooms. Yao Zhenfu’s having a south-facing room as a study was quite prestigious in this household.

In this era, people were not accustomed to pampering children. Girls had to start learning household chores and silk farming at a very young age, while boys slightly older had to work in the fields.

Even though Grandpa and Grandma Jin favored Uncle Jin’s family, the cousins in Uncle Jin’s family were also sent to work in the fields when they were around ten years old.

Of course, they were lazy and unwilling to work, but that was another matter.

Yao Zhenfu, who never worked in the fields, was indeed unique in the village.

However, in this era, literate people were indeed highly respected. If Yao Zhenfu could achieve something in the imperial examinations… then all the efforts Mr. Yao had invested in him would be worthwhile.

Even if Yao Zhenfu, after studying, could find a job in the county town, he would live a comfortable life for the rest of his life.

Yao Zhenfu handed Li Qingzhi a copy of the “Three Character Classic” and encouraged him with refined words to study well.

As Li Qingzhi walked out with the book, he saw Yao’s mother and Mr. Yao organizing things together, with Jin Moli holding a girl in her arms and leading a boy, trying to help out.

Yao’s mother glared at Jin Moli fiercely and scolded, “You’re always getting in the way. Get out of here!”

Yao’s mother wasn’t kind to Jin Molan, but she was very polite to Li Qingzhi. “Oh, it’s Xiaoli Li. Do you want to have a meal at our place?”

Most people in the village ate two meals a day, but Yao’s family ate three meals. Mr. Yao and Yao Zhenfu had a meal before they left in the early morning, Yao’s mother took a simple meal with Jin Moli and the grandchildren at noon, and then Mr. Yao and Yao Zhenfu would have a meal together when they returned in the evening.

“Auntie, I’ve already eaten.” Li Qingzhi politely declined, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then left.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, Yao’s mother began to instruct Jin Moli, “Your father bought tofu, go to the kitchen and cook it!”

Jin Moli picked up the tofu and went into the kitchen with her children to cook it.

Houses in the county town were expensive, and renting was also costly. Yao Zhenfu had been studying in the county town for more than ten years, and Mr. Yao had been picking him up and dropping him off every day. Therefore, Yao Zhenfu and Jin Moli had two children in these five years.

These two children were all taken care of by Jin Moli, who also had to cook, do laundry, and feed the chickens.

Of course, Yao’s mother was also busy. Mr. Yao earned more money from ferrying than from farming, so he was busy outside every day and had no time to work in the fields.

They had ten acres of paddy fields alone, and although Yao’s mother hired people to do the heavy work, she still had to do some light tasks herself. When others were working, she had to supervise, so she was not idle.

Jin Moli went into the kitchen and took out the “oil pot”.

During the winter, the Yao family would grow rapeseed, and the seeds from the rapeseed could be sold for money or exchanged for oil at the oil mill. Therefore, they had oil, but Yao’s mother didn’t allow Jin Moli to use much of it. Only when Yao Zhenfu was at home could she use oil for cooking.

In the “oil pot”, there wasn’t visible oil; there was only a piece of gauze soaked in oil.

Jin Moli used chopsticks to take out the gauze and wiped it in the pot. The pot got a little oily, and then she added tofu and water, along with some salted vegetables, making a stewed tofu with salted vegetables.

Most people in the village rarely spend money. They ate whatever they had at home.Mr. Yao bought tofu almost every day, and many people in the village envied him for it.

But Jin Moli ate it every day and got tired of it!

She remembered clearly that by this time in her previous life, Yao’s family was already living quite well. Mr. Yao would occasionally buy some meat, which made her envy him endlessly. Why didn’t she have such a good life in this life?

Was it because Mr. Yao liked Jin Xiaoye more and didn’t like her?

Even though Jin Xiaoye quarreled with Yao Zhenfu all day long and even fought with him, why did Mr. Yao still prefer Jin Xiaoye?

Jin Moli felt a little depressed, but when she thought of Li Qingzhi having to eat wild grass due to hunger, she felt relieved.

She felt that tofu was not delicious, but others wanted to eat it and couldn’t!

While Jin Moli was cooking, Mr. Yao said to his wife, “Don’t be so harsh on Moli.”

“I haven’t done anything!” Yao’s mother said coldly, “If I don’t send her away, she’ll just stand here and stare, calculating how much money you’ve made… I just don’t like her. She spends money recklessly and acts like I’m withholding money from her.”

“You’re overthinking it.” Mr. Yao felt that this daughter-in-law was still okay. She was diligent and didn’t throw a tantrum even when scolded.

Yao’s mother remained silent and started discussing other matters with Mr. Yao, calculating the household expenses—Yao Zhenfu’s education cost too much, to the extent that they had no savings at all.

On the other side, Li Qingzhi walked towards the riverhead while reading the book in his hand.

He walked slowly anyway.

In Daqi, becoming a scholar could exempt one from corvée labor, but becoming a scholar was not easy.