Chapter 28: Renting a Boat 3/3

“Dad, Mr. Li’s writing is really good.”

“Of course, the first time I saw him, I felt he was not an ordinary person,” Zhu Qian felt quite pleased with himself.

“Dad, let’s take a rest tomorrow. I want to have a good chat with Mr. Li,” Zhu Xunmiao said. Their school took rest on the first and fifteenth of every month, so he could finally have a break.

“It’s time to have a chat, it will broaden your horizons,” Zhu Qian said.

Zhu Xunmiao nodded, then took out a piece of paper and copied down the words written by Li Qingzhi that deeply touched him, intending to use them as motivation.

Jin Xiaoye chatted with Jin Xiaoshu until dark, and Jin Xiaoshu then took a stick and went back in the dark.

He specifically took a stick not out of fear of danger, but to chase away snakes, as the summer grass often hides them.

That night, Jin Xiaoye was excited but also somewhat nervous. She spoke a lot with Li Qingzhi and expressed her worries: “What if we can’t earn any money?”

“It’s okay if we don’t earn any money. Even if you don’t have a single customer in a day, it’s just a loss of forty cents. I can earn a silver coin in a day,” Li Qingzhi reassured her in a gentle tone.

Upon hearing Li Qingzhi’s words, Jin Xiaoye’s lingering anxiety vanished completely.

The next day, Li Qingzhi got up early as usual.

Now he always had breakfast at the Zhu family’s house, so Jin Xiaoye didn’t rush to cook. She cleaned the clay pot that Li Qingzhi brought back yesterday with water and poured the water from the pot into the pot, planning to use it to cook later—there were oil droplets in this water!

The Yao family needed some time before they could leave, so Li Qingzhi took a twig and wrote on the ground, teaching Jin Xiaoye in passing.

Previously, Li Qingzhi asked Jin Xiaoye if she wanted to learn to read, and Jin Xiaoye said she did. Li Qingzhi remembered this matter.

On the first day of going to the Zhu family to write, Li Qingzhi wrote down the names of his family members on a piece of paper and brought it back home to use it to teach Jin Xiaoye how to write.

Li Damao and Li Ermao only knew how to write their names, but Jin Xiaoye could already write, and Li Qingzhi also taught her a few more words.

He didn’t demand how Jin Xiaoye wrote the words, he just hoped she could recognize them and not be illiterate.

As one taught and the other learned, after a while, Mr. Yao came out of the house.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi quickly followed.

As usual, they first went to the boat, and after a while, Yao Zhenfu arrived.

The gatekeeper of the Zhu family already knew Li Qingzhi and smiled when he saw him, inviting him in, “Go and have breakfast quickly, we’ve all finished eating!”

Li Qingzhi had been hungry for a while, so after entering the Zhu family’s house, he headed straight to the kitchen with Li Damao and Li Ermao.

He returned the clay pot he took away yesterday to the cook, and Li Qingzhi took a bowl to scoop porridge.

In the Zhu family, the steward and the servants usually had porridge for breakfast, and the accompanying dishes were various pickled vegetables, each person had one portion. The steward had a salted duck egg every day, while the servants did not.

Today’s side dish for the porridge was pickled cabbage.

The so-called pickled cabbage was actually mustard knots, which were commonly pickled and consumed by people in Chongcheng County.

While Li Qingzhi was eating porridge, the cook was beside him, cutting the pickled cabbage, saying they were going to make pickled cabbage soup for lunch.

“When it’s ready, I’ll add some oil residue to the soup to make it fragrant.” The cook brought a small dish over and placed it in front of Li Damao and Li Ermao. “Damao, Ermao, Uncle invites you to eat oil residue.”

Li Damao and Li Ermao were pleasantly surprised. Li Qingzhi immediately said, “Damao, Ermao, quickly thank Uncle.”

“Thank you, Uncle!” the two children said in unison.

The cook was very happy. “Mr. Li, you’ve taught these two children really well.”

“They are sensible on their own,” Li Qingzhi said with a smile.

Li Damao and Li Ermao puffed up their chests upon hearing this.

“Yes, Damao and Ermao are sensible on their own. Mr. Li, please have your meal. There’s still plenty of porridge left!” 

Indeed, there was plenty of porridge left.

The porridge was thick, but much easier to swallow than rice. Li Qingzhi finished a bowl in two or three scoops, then immediately served himself another bowl, and finished that in a few more scoops…

Because there was so much porridge, he ended up drinking five bowls.

Knowing that Li Qingzhi had come specifically to visit, and because Li Qingzhi was busy eating porridge and didn’t approach him, Zhu Xunmiao wondered, “…” Is Mr. Li… such a big eater?

How can he eat so much and still be so thin?

It wasn’t until Li Qingzhi finished eating that Zhu Xinmiao approached him. “Mr. Li!”

“Young Master Zhu,” Li Qingzhi smiled. “Young Master Zhu, did you not go to school today?”

“Today’s a day off from school,” Zhu Xunmiao said.

“Which school do you attend, Young Master Zhu? How often do you have days off?” Li Qingzhi was curious. If he wanted to take the imperial examination, he might also have to go to school.

Zhu Xunmiao explained about his studies with Li Xiucai, saying they had a half-month break once a month.

Li Qingzhi was somewhat surprised by this.

He often waited with Mr. Yao for Yao Zhenfu, and when Yao Zhenfu wasn’t around, Mr. Yao was still talkative. Li Qingzhi was happy to chat, so he knew that Yao Zhenfu also studied with Li Xiucai.

But since today was a day off, why did Yao Zhenfu still go into town?

Of course, that was someone else’s business, and he couldn’t interfere… Li Qingzhi chatted with Zhu Xunmiao and asked about Li Xiucai’s school.

Li Xiucai’s school had many students, with about seventy or eighty students in total.

If one only wanted to learn to read, it wasn’t expensive to study with Li Xiucai, costing only two silver coins a year.

Some people in town would send their children to study with Li Xiucai for two years if they only wanted them to learn to read, and then they wouldn’t go anymore after the children learned to read.

However, if one intended to take the imperial examination, they would need Li Xiucai to explain the classics and teach deeper knowledge, in which case two silver coins a year wouldn’t be enough; an additional five silver coins would be required.

In fact, those students who merely wanted to learn to read weren’t being taught by Li Xiucai himself, but by his two apprentice sons.

“Why does Li Xiucai accept so many students?” Li Qingzhi was puzzled. Generally, people at this time wouldn’t take on too many students, as each person progressed at a different pace. With so many students… Li Xiucai might be overwhelmed.

“Mr. Li is short of money,” Zhu Xunmiao explained.

Li Qingzhi became even more puzzled. If he had already accepted so many students, how could he still be short of money?

Zhu Xunmiao cleared his throat. “Li Xiucai has one wife and two concubines, and between them, they’ve borne him seven sons and six daughters… Currently, five of those seven sons are married, and some have more than one child.”

Li Qingzhi: “…”
Seven sons,Li Xiucai must be short on money!

In an era without contraception, people generally had many children, but in poor families with poor conditions, women were prone to malnutrition, making it not so easy to conceive. However, in wealthier families with healthy women… the average of four or five children per wife was not unusual. The previous owner’s mother had borne five children, and she had managed to raise them all.

But for Li Xiucai to have seven sons… the expenses for such a large family must be considerable.

“Li Xiucai rents a house in the county town, and the monthly rent alone costs a lot of money. With so many people in his family, not every one of his sons has a job…” Zhu Xunmiao had visited Li Xiucai’s house once and had been shocked.

There were about thirty people in their family, and they ate in batches.