Chapter 35: Remuneration 1/4

Li Qingzhi pinched his own thin arm, feeling a bit restless.

He hadn’t thought too much about it before, after all, his physical condition didn’t allow it.

But with Jin Xiaoye’s words… he actually had some thoughts now.

“I’ll go clean myself up, you go to bed first,” Jin Xiaoye coughed lightly, feeling her face grow hotter.

“I’ll accompany you,” Li Qingzhi said.

Jin Xiaoye: “…” You don’t need someone to accompany you to clean up. So what does Li Qingzhi want?

But if Li Qingzhi wanted to accompany her, then let him. Anyway, it was so dark outside that he couldn’t see anything.

Actually, even if he could see, it wouldn’t matter. They already had two children!

While Jin Xiaoye was cleaning herself, Li Qingzhi stood nearby, guarding, and he faintly heard the quarrels coming from the next room.

The Yao family seemed to be arguing.

Indeed, the Yao family was arguing.

After chatting with Li Qingzhi this morning, Mr. Yao gritted his teeth and went to the riverside by the gate of the academy, ready to ask Yao Zhenfu’s classmates.

In the entire Miaoqian Village, only Yao Zhenfu was studying in the county town. Add to that Yao Zhenfu’s unwillingness for Mr. Yao to see his classmates… Mr. Yao never really understood Yao Zhenfu’s situation in the academy.

But Mr. Yao frequented the town by boat every day and often passed by the academy, so he recognized some of Yao Zhenfu’s classmates.

He didn’t dare to talk to those well-dressed people, so he stopped a very ordinary-looking young student.

The person Mr. Yao stopped was none other than Xu Qifei.

Xu Qifei’s mother was a very ordinary, illiterate country girl. When she was eighteen, she married Xu’s father, who was in his forties and ran a porcelain shop in the city, as a second wife, as Xu’s father’s eldest son was already married at that time.

Xu’s father treated Xu’s mother well and also favored Xu Qifei, the son of his later years, but when Xu Qifei was eight years old, his father fell ill and passed away.

Xu’s porcelain shop was taken over by Xu Qifei’s eldest brother. Xu Qifei’s eldest brother didn’t like Xu Qifei’s younger stepmother and his younger half-brother, so naturally, he didn’t give them much money.

But Xu’s eldest brother was doing business in the county town, and afraid of gossip from neighbors, he didn’t treat Xu Qifei and his mother too badly.

Xu’s mother was a country girl, and Xu’s late father was a refined and gentle man who could read and write and paint… Xu’s mother admired Xu’s father very much and regarded his words as law.

Because Xu’s father had always said that Xu Qifei was very intelligent, he sent Xu Qifei to school when he was six years old… After Xu’s father passed away, Xu’s mother insisted on sending Xu Qifei to school.

Xu’s eldest brother didn’t separate Xu Qifei and his mother. They ate and lived in Xu’s house, and in addition, Xu’s eldest brother gave them five taels of silver a year.

This money could make them live decently, but it was definitely not enough for schooling. So Xu’s mother earned money by weaving and embroidering.

She was very hardworking, and in a year, she could earn more than ten taels of silver. And all this money, she used to support her son’s education.

Xu Qifei knew very well how hard his mother worked and had been considerate of her since he was a child. So when others spent money on meals at school, he brought his own food, and if he could avoid buying the books he needed for study, he would borrow or copy them shamelessly.

He mainly borrowed from Zhu Xunmiao. By borrowing, they developed a friendship, and later Zhu Xunmiao invited him to dine together every day. Xu Qifei was the same age as Zhu Xunmiao, only fifteen this year, and was a young man with a little baby fat on his face. After being stopped by Mr. Yao, he looked at the person in front of him with curiosity.

Mr. Yao habitually showed a smile and bowed, “Young master, I want to ask you something.”

After speaking, Mr. Yao’s movements paused again. He suddenly remembered that his son didn’t like him to show such a demeanor.

Xu Qifei didn’t notice Mr. Yao’s discomfort and asked, “Elder, what do you want to ask?”

 Mr. Yao subconsciously put on a pleasing smile again, “I just want to ask something about your academy… Young master, is studying very expensive?”

Xu Qifei didn’t know Mr. Yao and thought he was someone who wanted to send his child to study. Seeing that Mr. Yao’s clothes were all patched up, he said, “Studying is very expensive. At first, when you only learn to recognize characters, the ink, paper, inkstone, plus two taels of silver for the school fee, will cost almost seven to eight taels of silver a year. If you want to study the classics, it will probably cost about fifteen taels of silver a year.”

He himself had to spend fifteen taels a year, almost all the money his mother worked hard to earn was spent on him.

“Is fifteen taels a year enough?” Mr. Yao was stunned; his son needed fifty taels a year!

“It’s enough,” Xu Qifei said.

Xu Qifei was young, and he looked innocent. He didn’t seem like someone who would lie… Mr. Yao asked, “Isn’t buying books very expensive? Some books are not even enough with one or two taels of silver.”

Indeed, books were expensive these days, especially when Li Xiucai sometimes brought in some more expensive books that were not sold elsewhere, and asked them to buy them.

But those books could also be borrowed or copied from others if they were not bought.

As for the essential Four Books and Five Classics, buying a set is actually not expensive.

Xu Qifei said, “The books for learning to read at the beginning are cheap. Some books later are indeed expensive, but you can borrow books from others and copy them.” Making noise in the academy would be reprimanded, but if someone copied books in the academy, Li Xiucai wouldn’t mind.

Moreover, in the summer, when going to the academy early and returning home late, there would be much more time for copying books.

“What about the county exam? Young master, is the county exam difficult?” Mr. Yao swallowed hard.

“The county exam should not be difficult? I plan to take it next year,” Xu Qifei said. Li Xiucai suggested that he take it next year, and he… he thought he should be able to pass the county exam.

In the academy, he had a good understanding, and if he couldn’t even pass the county exam, what’s the point of studying? It’s better to find a job early.

Mr. Yao approached Xu Qifei for questioning because Xu Qifei was wearing a set of washed-out clothes, which were a bit oversized.

Yao Zhenfu never wore such clothes.

This young man definitely couldn’t come up with one hundred taels of silver, but he seemed confident about the county exam.

“Young master, how much money is needed to participate in the county exam?” Mr. Yao asked again.

Xu Qifei said, “You need to give Mr. Li one tael of silver as a guarantee and buy some better ink and paper. It will probably cost two or three taels of silver altogether.”