Chapter 49: Li Xiucai 3/3

Li Qingzhi taught Arabic numerals to Jin Xiaoye.

Jin Xiaoye was eager to learn and had a strong understanding as an adult, so she quickly learned. Now, she keeps accounts using Arabic numerals.

“How’s business been lately?” Li Qingzhi asked.

“I’ve earned a lot! Ah Qing, starting tomorrow, I won’t be rowing the boat anymore. I’ll give the boat to Xiaoshu to sell things around, and I’ll stay in the county town, helping with cutting fabrics and keeping accounts,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Now she no longer sells headpieces made by others in exchange for eggs but buys fabric and hires others to make them.

Without supervision, she’s afraid someone might take more fabric than they should for the finished product.

Supervising the materials received and the finished products is necessary. Although she trusts Sister Wang and Mrs. Xu, she feels it’s best for them to be present too.

“Alright,” Li Qingzhi smiled and took out two sheets of paper for Jin Xiaoye. “Xiaoye, I took some time during the day to draw a few patterns. You can use them to make bellybands for children or shoes.”

Li Qingzhi drew cartoon zodiac signs, which are not difficult to make but are eye-catching when applied to clothes or shoes.

Jin Xiaoye examined them under the light of the oil lamp and said, “These are really nice. I’ll ask Mrs. Xu to make some samples tomorrow.”

“You can also make a few sets for Damao and Ermao,” Li Qingzhi said with a smile before adding, “Xiaoye, it’s getting late. Let’s sleep. Writing under such dim light is not good for your eyes.”

Jin Xiaoye agreed and went to sleep with Li Qingzhi, continuing to recount the day’s events.

The next day in the Li family’s life was as usual. When Zhu Xunmiao arrived at the school, he seemed a bit excited.

“Brother Zhu, why are you so happy?” Xu Qifei asked Zhu Xunmiao curiously.

Yesterday after school, Xu Qifei wasn’t around Zhu Xunmiao because he usually arrived early and stayed late at school. At night, he would go back late because he and his mother lived in a single room, which was partitioned into two. It was hard for him to study at home.

“Brother Xu, do you have time to help copy?” Zhu Xunmiao took out a stack of paper.

Although Xu Qifei had been busy studying lately, when he saw the papers Zhu Xunmiao brought out, he immediately said without hesitation, “I do have time!”

It was definitely a book written by Li Qingzhi. Helping to copy it was a form of relaxation and calligraphy practice for him! Plus, he wanted to read it!

Zhu Xunmiao didn’t like copying books himself. He gave one portion to Xu Qifei and another portion to another classmate who had a good relationship with him and wrote well. He even mentioned a reward for helping with transcription.

That classmate was very happy to get such an opportunity—the money Zhu Xunmiao offered for copying was much more than what bookstores paid!

Not far away, Fang Zijian’s face darkened when he saw this scene.

He had been trying to get along with Zhu Xunmiao, but unfortunately, Zhu Xunmiao was not interested in him. Zhu Xunmiao liked those who were good at flattery, not someone like him who offered straightforward advice!

Xu Qifei didn’t rush to copy it but read it first. After reading it, he couldn’t help but say, “Brother Zhu, County Magistrate Gou, is really a master at solving cases!”

Excited, Zhu Xunmiao discussed it with him.

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice that Li Xiucai had arrived.

Li Xiucai had many students, all at different levels of progress, so he divided them into three rooms. The students in Zhu Xunmiao’s room were already capable of trying for the scholar exam, so Li Xiucai didn’t teach them much. Usually, he assigned them essays to write, and then he would go over them one by one.

Aside from that, if they had any questions, they could directly ask Li Xiucai.

At other times… what they did, Li Xiucai didn’t interfere much.

But although it seemed like Li Xiucai didn’t care, he actually valued these people, especially those who had the potential to pass the scholar exam.

After all, if a scholar came out of his school, it would make the people of Chongcheng County more willing to send their children there!

Li Xiucai’s knowledge was quite good, and he had participated in the provincial examinations several times, but he never made it onto the list.

Others thought it was just bad luck, but he knew better.

The reason he didn’t do well was that before the exams, he always had trouble falling asleep all night long. During the exams, he would break out in a cold sweat, and his hands and feet would tremble. Once, he even fainted and woke up after a while.

Because of this, he completely gave up on the provincial examinations and focused on teaching to earn a living, or rather, nurturing talents.

Zhu Xunmiao and Xu Qifei both had the potential to become scholars. During this period, they studied even harder, and Li Xiucai paid more attention to them.

But today, these two were not studying. They seemed to be chatting about something, and they looked excited.

Li Xiucai approached and listened for a few moments. He felt they should be discussing storybooks, which made him frown.

Storybooks might be more entertaining than the classics, but indulging too much in them could hinder one’s academic progress.

Just as he was thinking this, he noticed a stack of paper in front of Xu Qifei. The handwriting on it was ugly and sloppy, as if it were written by someone who had just learned to write.

There were students in the school who hadn’t been studying for long, and they might have copied storybooks to read and showed them to Xu Qifei?

Li Xiucai had high hopes for Xu Qifei and didn’t want him to go astray. He picked up the bound stack of paper in front of Xu Qifei and asked, “What’s this?”

Xu Qifei and Zhu Xunmiao were startled. After a moment’s pause, Zhu Xunmiao spoke up, “Sir, this is an article written by a friend of mine for the county magistrate.”

It wasn’t a storybook? Li Xiucai was somewhat curious as he looked at the papers.

The handwriting was indeed a bit ugly, as if written by a child… Li Xiucai quickly finished reading the words on the first sheet of paper and instinctively flipped to the next.

After reading the second page, he flipped back to the previous one and unconsciously flipped through five or six pages.

Zhu Xunmiao couldn’t help but call out, “Sir?”

Li Xiucai cleared his throat lightly. “The article written for the county magistrate is quite good. I happen to have some free time and can help take a look.”

He finished speaking and calmly took the stack of papers.

Zhu Xunmiao and Xu Qifei exchanged bewildered looks, feeling a bit confused.

Meanwhile, Li Xiucai found a stool, sat down, and began to read.

The book was indeed captivating, but the handwriting was atrocious. Li Xiucai sighed as he read, gradually getting used to the ugly handwriting. Well, perhaps “used to” wasn’t the right term; as he progressed, he noticed some improvement in the handwriting, with strokes showing a bit of sharpness. The author of this article must have depth; not only were the strokes sharp, but some sentences in the book also invited repeated readings.

It seemed that the author wrote this article to gain the magistrate’s favor.

Li Xiucai felt that this person’s knowledge was not bad, but… why didn’t they practice their handwriting properly?