Chapter 33: Grandma Jin 1/3

Every time she calculated what the family needed, Jin Xiaoye felt that their family’s possessions were too few.

Pots, bowls, ladles, tables, chairs, they were lacking a lot of things!

But by taking it slowly, they could always save up. If she worked harder, she could even save more for Li Damao and Li Ermao in the future.

As Jin Xiaoye spoke, she fell asleep and even started snoring softly—she was too tired.

Li Qingzhi lay on the bed, looking towards the bedside.

It was very dark, he couldn’t see Jin Xiaoye sleeping on the floor, but he could feel her presence.

During the apocalypse, even if there was just a slight noise around, he would have trouble falling asleep, but now… whether it was the frogs outside or Jin Xiaoye’s snoring, or the sound of the child’s breathing, it all gave him a sense of security.

Li Qingzhi closed his eyes and began to use his abilities.

His body had improved a lot, and recently, from time to time, he would use his abilities to “purify” his brain.

The effect was very good. Now, he could memorize books by repeating them a few times. However, because of the need to write and practice calligraphy, he hadn’t memorized many books, and even if he did, he didn’t understand the content.

In the future, he must find a teacher and undergo systematic learning.

Thinking about what he needed to do next, Li Qingzhi also fell into a deep sleep.

Next door, the Yao family couldn’t sleep all night.

Mr. Yao lay on the bed, tossing and turning.

Yao’s mother also kept her eyes open, unable to sleep.

Yesterday, their son came to them, asking for one hundred taels of silver, and he mentioned it again at dinner tonight.

Their son had previously participated in the county exam but failed. And now… their son suddenly said that whether he could pass the county exam or not depended on the county magistrate, and if he wanted to pass the county exam, he had to be familiar with the county magistrate.

According to their son, some of the scholars in the county town came from wealthy families. Their fathers invited the county magistrate to dinner or gave gifts to the county magistrate, so they could easily pass the county exam. The reason why their son couldn’t pass was because the county magistrate didn’t know him.

In their conversations, their son had been constantly blaming them, feeling that it was because of their lack of effort that he couldn’t pass the county exam. He even said that if he passed, he would definitely pass the provincial exam and then become a successful candidate.

Mr. Yao knew that Yao Zhenfu’s words made some sense. If they had connections with the county magistrate, passing the county exam would definitely not be difficult.

But one hundred taels of silver—that was a hundred taels of silver!

Mr. Yao’s parents originally had two sons, but Mr. Yao’s elder brother died young due to illness, leaving Mr. Yao as the only one.

The Yao family was wealthy, and Mr. Yao received a considerable amount of money from his parents.

He was quick-witted and bought a boat with the money. After that, their family had a stable source of income.

When Mr. Yao had just gotten married and went out to row the boat, even though he only earned forty to fifty cents sometimes, on lucky days he could earn two to three hundred cents. On average, he could earn two taels of silver a month.

Plus, their family had many fields and lands with a lot of output…

At that time, they could occasionally eat meat, and they could save up twenty to thirty taels of silver a year.

By the time Yao Zhenfu was eight years old, their family had saved up over two hundred taels of silver. Seeing how smart and clever Yao Zhenfu was… with only one child, they thought about sending him to school.

Thinking that the local scholar’s knowledge was insufficient, after inquiring, Mr. Yao sent Yao Zhenfu to the school in the county town.

In the first few years, Yao Zhenfu’s education expenses were not high. Basically, the money Mr. Yao earned from rowing the boat was enough to support Yao Zhenfu’s education.

But as the years went by, expenses gradually increased.

Having Mr. Li explain the classics costs an additional five taels of silver each year, and Yao Zhenfu’s expenses for buying books, paper, pens, and clothes, participating in the county exam, and attending gatherings with classmates… Yao Zhenfu alone costs fifty taels of silver a year.

Mr. Yao worked hard to earn money, but it wasn’t enough for him to spend, so he had to use his savings.

The living standard of the Yao family also became poorer and poorer.

Before, the Yao family could occasionally eat meat, but now they could only afford tofu for a penny.

In the past two years, Mr. Yao worked himself to exhaustion every day, often with a sore waist that he couldn’t straighten up, and Yao’s mother? Her temper also became worse and worse.

“They all didn’t want Yao Zhenfu to continue his studies, but Yao Zhenfu always said he was about to pass the exam…

This time, Yao Zhenfu asked for a hundred taels of silver as soon as he opened his mouth. Where could they get it from?

They all advised Yao Zhenfu not to take the exam, feeling that it would be better for him to live a stable life like Li Qingzhi, finding a job copying books.

If their family had two earners, plus the dozen or so acres of land at home… Before long, their family could become well-off again.

But Yao Zhenfu refused and even had a big argument with them.

Yao’s mother suddenly spoke up, “What’s the use of passing the county exam? There are so many talented students in the county! Even if you pass the exam, there aren’t many who can make money like Scholar Li. The life of the scholar in the neighboring village isn’t much better than ours…”

To come up with these hundred taels, they would have to sell their land!

And then? After passing the county exam, they would have to participate in the prefectural exam in the prefecture city. Would they have to sell their land again by then?

By the time their son became a scholar, they might not even have any land left!

Mr. Yao sighed, “Zhenfu is determined to take the exam…”

In fact, two years ago, Mr. Yao wanted his son to stop studying, but unfortunately, his son was unwilling.

He thought his son was only in his twenties and the family could still support him, so he let him be.

But now… they couldn’t hold on anymore.

In the neighboring room, Yao Zhenfu couldn’t sleep either.

He was frightened by Xuniang’s husband and felt very anxious.

He knew a little bit about the situation at home – their family had almost no money left.

But they still had land, so selling a little wouldn’t hurt, right?

Yao Zhenfu’s mind was in turmoil, and Jin Moli whispered, “Afraid, it’s not easy to take the exam for the scholar. Wouldn’t it be better not to take it?” What scholar exam! It’s better to do business.

She remembered that in her past life, Yao Zhenfu had already stopped studying at this time. It was said that because Jin Xiaoye was always quarreling with him, he couldn’t focus on his studies.

It was only after he stopped studying that he started his business, and it grew bigger and bigger.

“Do you want me to stop taking the scholar exam? What are you thinking!” Yao Zhenfu suddenly shouted.

Jin Moli gave birth to a son and a daughter, and the two children were still young, sleeping on the bed next to them. When Yao Zhenfu shouted, the two children were awakened and started crying together.

But Yao Zhenfu didn’t stop, “Cry, cry, cry, all you know is cry! My luck is all gone because of you crying! Jin Moli, I can’t pass the scholar exam, it’s all because I married you, this jinx!”

Compared to Jin Moli, Yao Zhenfu preferred Xuniang, but if both were presented in front of him to choose, he would definitely choose Jin Moli.

Jin Moli was his legally married wife, and they had children!