W Chapter 73
by VolareChapter 73: County Town
Magistrate Lin had provided everything needed, and the County Academy had already started in February. However, after the triennial Prefectural Examination, another batch of new students would be admitted in April.
The deadline was April 20th.
With a little over half a month until the deadline, Ling Xing wanted to settle down in the county as soon as possible.
Xu Youfang felt the same way. It was better to go early than to rush at the last minute, which could easily lead to mistakes.
Ling Yue bid farewell to Scholar Lu in advance, and Ling Xing also went that day, bringing Scholar Lu some rice, flour, and meat.
He thanked him for his careful teaching of Ling Yue during this time.
Scholar Lu was truly reluctant to part with Ling Yue, who was well-behaved, sensible, diligent, and eager to learn.
Because of him, the children in the private school were studying even more seriously than before.
His grandson competed with Ling Yue every day, getting up early and going to bed late, and his studies had improved a lot compared to before.
It wasn’t good to be too competitive, but even though they were about to part, he still clenched his fist and said to Ling Yue, “Don’t be complacent, I will definitely get into the County Academy too!”
Fortunately, Ling Yue didn’t care about his competitiveness, and just seriously replied, “Okay, I believe you definitely can.”
Lu Zhou, who had been stubbornly holding his head high, was taken aback and lowered his head without saying a word.
Ling Yue respectfully performed a student’s salute to Scholar Lu, his slightly hoarse voice full of reluctance and gratitude towards his teacher.
“Student Ling Yue, hereby bids farewell to the teacher.”
Scholar Lu looked at the small figure, who, even at such a young age, already had integrity. The inhuman experiences of his childhood had tempered his will and allowed him to see the true world.
He knew that after this farewell, it would be difficult to meet again.
He also had a feeling that Ling Yue’s future path would be so high that he couldn’t imagine it.
Scholar Lu’s eyes were filled with tears, and he said in a hoarse voice, “Good child, remember to take care of your body when you go out in the future, and don’t get sick.”
Ling Yue’s thin back stiffened, and tears instantly fell, hitting the ground.
He didn’t cry out loud, desperately holding back.
“Okay, teacher.”
Ling Xing’s eyes also reddened, knowing that his younger brother, although young, paid great attention to rules and propriety when outside, and he refrained from touching his head to comfort him in front of everyone.
The classmates who came to see him off had already begun to sob.
But they didn’t say a word to tell Ling Yue not to leave.
Outside was a vast world, and not only Ling Yue would leave, but they would too.
It was getting late, and Ling Xing had to take Ling Yue home before dark.
Scholar Lu glanced at the sky and waved his hand, “Go.”
After the two brothers left, Lu Zhou, who had been crying until his vision was blurred, could no longer hold back and wailed.
Led by him, the classmates could no longer suppress their sadness and made sounds.
The whole courtyard was crying, and Scholar Lu himself was not much better, so he could only give the children a moment to vent their emotions.
Ling Yue, who had left, walked on the road, clutching Ling Xing’s sleeve, quietly shedding tears in the wind, occasionally sobbing.
At this time, Shen Hui and Xu Youfang were at the village chief’s house.
Xu Youfang had brought Shen Hui over, and Wang Chunxia immediately invited them to sit in the main room, asking her eldest daughter-in-law to make sweet soup.
Xu Youfang took the opportunity to stop Wang Chunxia and told her not to find someone for Shen Hui to see.
Her second son’s mind was made up, and she had accepted it.
Forcing him to go on blind dates would only hurt the relationship between mother and son.
All the Zhu family’s younger generation were busy working in the fields, and no one was available to help. Wang Chunxia was about to go to the Liu family to call Zhu Rushan home, but when she heard this, she stopped and hurriedly asked the reason.
Xu Youfang could only say that he wanted to concentrate on the imperial examinations first.
There was indeed a provincial examination in August, but that was four months away. Moreover, Shen Hui was going to study at the County Academy, so he would have even less time for blind dates.
Wang Chunxia slapped her thigh, what a pity!
But if not this year, then next year. She could just ask again after the provincial examination.
But if Shen Hui passed the provincial examination this time, then she might not have a chance. What kind of girls or ge’ers couldn’t a Provincial Graduate, a Juren, find in Yunshui County?
Matchmakers would probably be lined up ten miles away.
But she also knew that becoming a Juren was even more difficult than becoming a Xiucai. There were only a few in the entire Yunshui County.
She still had a chance to arrange this marriage and get a little connection with the Shen family.
After Xu Youfang finished speaking, she didn’t leave, but said she wanted to see Village Chief Zhu.
Wang Chunxia thought Shen Hui had something to say to her old man, so she quickly said, “He’s at the old Liu’s house, I’ll go call him.”
When Shen Hui heard Xu Youfang say that she didn’t need to find someone for him to see, the frown on his brow relaxed a lot. He wanted to ask his mother what she wanted to see the village chief for, but before he could open his mouth, the village chief ran over in a hurry.
He was also shouting why they didn’t call him earlier.
Wang Chunxia glared at him, but didn’t hit him, considering that there were guests present.
Now Shen Hui’s status was different, and Village Chief Zhu was really afraid of neglecting him. The first thing he said when he entered the house was to apologize.
“Scholar Shen, I’m really sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Shen Hui’s attitude was still the same as before, nodding indifferently.
Xu Youfang, who was sitting beside him, said, “Village Chief, I have something to say.”
Zhu Rushan breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t neglect her. He asked, “Is there anything you need me to do?”
Xu Youfang said, “Last year, Ling Xing gave me an idea for a business, so I wouldn’t have to strain my eyes embroidering anymore.”
Village Chief Zhu listened quietly, feeling a little surprised, wondering why Xu Youfang would suddenly tell him this.
Xu Youfang continued, “Only I can do this business right now, and the output isn’t small. It was manageable with my daughter’s help, but now that my daughter is taking over Ling Xing’s job in town, I’m short-handed.”
Hearing this, Village Chief Zhu roughly guessed what Xu Youfang was going to say, and he excitedly said, “Could it be that you want to find skillful people in the village to do the work?”
Xu Youfang shook her head, and under Village Chief Zhu’s curious gaze, she explained her original plan.
“When the second son went to take the imperial examinations, I asked Ling Xing to check out the county and prefectural cities to see if he could sell the velvet flowers I make. Ling Xing said it was possible, so I thought that if the second son was successful and became a Xiucai, I might as well make the business bigger. With his status, I wouldn’t be afraid of being bullied if it got too big.”
“I have the skills and sales channels, and I want the village chief to pick the most skillful women and ge’ers from each family, who are also reliable and hardworking, without any ulterior motives. I will assign them work and pay them by the piece.”
Hearing this, Shen Hui couldn’t help but look at Xu Youfang, feeling puzzled. His mother had never intended to let the villagers get involved in the velvet flower business.
She also didn’t want to make it too big, just wanting to live a comfortable life.
At least for the next two years, her plan was to only supply the county town.
How could she suddenly want to spread the business so wide? And she specifically mentioned his status?
Village Chief Zhu was so happy that he didn’t know what to do. If Xu Youfang wasn’t a woman, he would have wanted to grab her hand and thank her with tears in his eyes.
“Oh! Aunt Xu, you are really a great benefactor of our Xiao Liucun! It’s a blessing for Xiao Liucun to have such a business!”
Their Xiao Liucun was a well-known poor village in the surrounding area, and there were very few opportunities to make money. And the last time something like this happened, where the whole village could make money, was when Shen Gui took the Zhao family brothers to collect vegetables all over the village.
Now Xu Youfang was saying that she was willing to use her skills to lead the villagers to make money, and Shen Hui was the first Xiucai in so many years.
Scholar Lu was a thing of decades ago, and now, besides him and Shen Hui, there were no other Xiucai in this area.
Zhu Rushan really believed that this could be done.
The Shen family had prospered, but they hadn’t forgotten the village.
They even wanted to lead everyone to get rich together, and Zhu Rushan felt gratified.
Good! This was really great!
It was their Xiao Liucun’s turn to make some money!
But Village Chief Zhu also had concerns, “Aunt Xu, aren’t you afraid of being copied if you do this?”
He asked this because he wanted to know if Xu Youfang had any precautions against being copied, so he could have a better understanding.
Xu Youfang had naturally considered this matter.
Actually, if she really let the villagers do it, someone would eventually learn how to make it.
The velvet flowers were successful because of their novelty. Although they were a bit difficult, they weren’t so difficult that people couldn’t figure them out.
With enough practice, and a good grasp of the colors and shapes of the flowers, they could be made.
She said, “It takes a certain amount of time to learn, and I will divide the steps so that different people do different parts.”
Although this couldn’t completely prevent it, she was only trying to delay the time it would take for them to learn it.
“Making the product isn’t the most important thing, the main thing is how to sell it. My pricing isn’t actually that high. If you want to make money, you either add gold, silver, and jewels, or you have a high output and make a small profit on each item.”
“Even if someone copies me, I don’t think the people who learn it will be able to make money from it.”
Zhu Rushan thought about it carefully, and that was indeed the case.
He knew the situation of each family in the village. They were so poor that they could barely make a sound. Neither of the two situations Xu Youfang mentioned was possible for any of them.
“But…” Xu Youfang sighed, “I still need the village chief to help me out and play the role of the tough guy. Don’t let some greedy people teach the method to other villages, or some merchants.”
“It’s not that we can’t give it to them at all, but I want us Xiao Liucun to make some money first, so that at least every household can have enough to eat and wear, and then we can bring other villages along, right?”
These words struck a chord in Village Chief Zhu’s heart, and he nodded solemnly, “Leave this to me, Aunt Xu, you can rest assured.”
Xu Youfang smiled and nodded, naturally feeling relieved.
The only person in Xiao Liucun who had any influence was Village Chief Zhu.
After seeing Xu Youfang and Shen Hui off, Zhu Rushan asked Wang Chunxia to notify several eloquent aunties and husbands to come to his house.
Wang Chunxia had been listening the whole time, and she knew what was important. No matter how happy she was, she didn’t interrupt. Now, she didn’t delay for a moment and hurried to find people.
Two quarters of an hour later, more than a dozen aunties and husbands were standing in the Zhu family’s courtyard.
All of them were well-connected and eloquent in Xiao Liucun.
Zhu Rushan stood a little further away from them and shouted, “Aunt Xu of the Shen family is planning to lead our whole village to make money.”
As soon as these words came out, more than a dozen people were so surprised that they kept asking questions, making it sound like there were hundreds of people shouting.
“Is that true, Village Chief! You can’t lie about this!”
“The Shen family is really rich, and their family is so nice!”
“Yes, I said their family was good when the fourth son was collecting vegetables, and they called us villagers to make money.”
“That’s right, when their family built their house, the treatment was so good that you couldn’t find a second one.”
“Who says otherwise? My third son works at their house, and he can’t bear to eat the meat and vegetables, so he brings them home, so the whole family can have a taste of meat even when it’s not a holiday.”
“No wonder the second son of their family could become a Xiucai, it’s because the family has a good heart and is blessed!”
“But what is Aunt Xu leading us to do?”
“That’s right, we don’t seem to have any skills.”
Zhu Rushan’s voice couldn’t overcome these aunties and husbands, so he waited for them to finish discussing before speaking again.
After being confused for a while because they didn’t know what to do, the dozen or so people finally quieted down and looked at Zhu Rushan, waiting for him to speak.
Zhu Rushan cleared his throat and shouted again, “It’s Aunt Xu’s craftsmanship. She will be responsible for teaching, and I heard it’s not difficult. But you have to be skillful…”
After repeating the requirements Xu Youfang had mentioned, the crowd erupted again.
“My eldest daughter is the most skillful, she sews and mends the clothes at home, and the stitches are so fine that you can’t even see them!”
“Is my son better? He’s been careful since he was a child and learns things quickly.”
“I don’t think anyone is as good as my third daughter, she can even embroider patterns on handkerchiefs on her own!”
“Come on, who doesn’t know that she embroidered mandarin ducks as wild ducks.”
“That’s because there was only that kind of thread!”
Seeing that they were about to start arguing, Wang Chunxia had to step in.
She calmed her breath and roared, “If you shout again, you’ll all get out!”
Suddenly, the courtyard was quiet.
Zhu Rushan then continued, “I know everyone wants their family to be chosen so that they can have another source of income and save some money. Not only do you want that, but I want that too.”
“There probably won’t be many people chosen at the beginning, but you never know later. From what I heard from Aunt Xu, she wants to make this business big, so big that it can drive the development of our entire village.”
As soon as these words came out, more than a dozen people gasped, wanting to say something but not daring to, afraid of being chased out by Wang Chunxia.
This Aunt Xu really dared to think, she was worthy of being from a rich family, and she was really different from them.
At most, they dared to think about having a big meal of meat once a month.
Zhu Rushan really wanted to develop Xiao Liucun, and this would also be good for him.
His Zhu family would continue to take root here, generation after generation, endlessly.
The better the village, the better the Zhu family.
He glanced at the crowd, his expression becoming much more solemn, “The Shen family has developed so much in just one year, and I believe Xu Youfang can do what she says. This matter is related to the development of Xiao Liucun, so if I find out that someone is doing the work but has impure intentions, racking their brains to steal the skills and leaking them out, don’t blame me for disregarding decades of neighborly friendship and reporting it to the authorities!”
“You may not know, but stealing skills and leaking them is also a form of theft, and you will be arrested, beaten with boards, and jailed! After the thief is jailed, I will exercise the power of the village chief and expel his entire family from the village.”
Zhu Rushan said sternly, “Xiao Liucun does not tolerate those who bite the hand that feeds them!”
The dozen or so aunties and husbands were frightened by Village Chief Zhu and didn’t dare to breathe loudly.
After giving them a big stick, he also needed to give them a sweet date.
It was useless to just scare people.
Zhu Rushan restrained his emotions and softened a lot, sincerely saying to the villagers, “I hope the village can get better and better, I hope our village can make money and have a higher status in the surrounding villages, so that we won’t be suppressed and bullied by other villages anymore.”
“This opportunity to lead everyone to make money is really rare. If it is leaked out, then this money will go into other people’s pockets and have nothing to do with us. Wouldn’t it be better for us to make money ourselves first?”
“What’s more, the second son of their family is already a Xiucai, and he will continue to take the imperial examinations in August this year. Who knows, when he comes back, he will be a Provincial Graduate.”
Speaking of Provincial Graduate, the villagers’ eyes lit up again.
They heard that a Xiucai could exempt his family from taxes, but a Provincial Graduate could exempt an entire village from taxes!
To them, being able to exempt taxes was having great power.
The villagers understood the big picture: if it was leaked, one family would benefit, but the entire village would suffer. But the punishment for the beneficiaries was too severe: being driven out of the village, how could they survive! It would be very difficult to gain a foothold in a new place.
They nodded one after another, promising that they would definitely not leak it.
Zhu Rushan knew that these people had listened, so he told them the purpose of calling them here, “I called you here to listen to me say these things so that you can spread them throughout Xiao Liucun word for word. Don’t embellish it, tell them everything truthfully. For the sake of the village’s development, for our better lives in the future, please help me!”
Xiao Liucun had a lot of people, and it would take too long for the Zhu family to notify them one by one.
These people were always eloquent, and he wasn’t afraid that they wouldn’t be able to say it. He just needed to remind them not to add their own words into it.
After hearing Zhu Rushan’s words, a sense of mission arose in the hearts of the dozen or so people. For the sake of the village, they would definitely do a good job!
The power of these dozen or so people to spread the word was very considerable. In just one afternoon, Xiao Liucun was in an uproar, and every household knew about it.
They wanted to go to the Shen family to ask for more information, but they were afraid of angering Shen Hui, so they didn’t dare to go.
As a result, the threshold of Zhu Village Chief’s house was almost broken through.
Some came to confirm whether it was true, some asked how to choose people and how much the wages were, and some recommended themselves, shouting that they were willing to accept lower wages in order to be selected, without knowing the benefits.
The Zhu family was so busy that their feet didn’t touch the ground, and they were hoarse from talking.
Even Xie Qingya didn’t escape. He and Ling Xing were the closest in the village. Everyone knew they had a good relationship, so those who couldn’t squeeze into the village chief’s house came to his house to ask him, thinking that he might know something.
Xie Qingya was so annoyed that he simply closed the door, and didn’t open it no matter who knocked.
The villagers couldn’t break into the house, so they had to leave and continue to squeeze into the village chief’s house.
Compared to the crowded and noisy Zhu Village Chief’s house, the Shen family was much quieter, but everyone was also busy.
Packing luggage for Ling Xing and them.
After helping Shen Lai pack up, Xu Youfang went to Shen Hui’s room to help him.
Shen Hui had been independent since he was a child and had already packed everything himself.
Xu Youfang looked at the neatly arranged boxes and baskets, and without needing her to do anything else, she was silent for a moment before turning around to leave.
Behind her, Shen Hui said, “I am an unfilial son, and thank you for your hard work, Mother.”
After completely hearing Xu Youfang and Zhu Rushan’s conversation, Shen Hui understood that Xu Youfang did this because of him.
The higher the Shen family’s status in the village, the more people would need the Shen family, and they wouldn’t be afraid of them gossiping.
This move was to prevent problems before they happened.
“I’m doing this for Ling Xing, you don’t need to thank me.”
If there were any rumors, Shen Hui was a Xiucai, who would dare to say anything about him? Even if they did, those words would only be lighter than those said about Ling Xing.
The family had always felt guilty towards Ling Xing, thinking that after two years, when the family had saved some money, they would send him off to remarry in a grand manner, and the Shen family would be his maternal family, so that no one would dare to look down on him.
But they didn’t expect that the Shen family would owe him even more.
Xu Youfang felt guilty in her heart. It was her who had always neglected her second son and hadn’t taught him well.
That was why he had such thoughts, and in the end, she could only let him do as he pleased, without any way to help.
She didn’t turn around and sighed, “Shen Hui, Ling Xing is still your brother-in-law, and he has never done anything to offend you. If he really has no feelings for you, don’t force him.”
Shen Hui lowered his head and said, “Yes, okay.”
The short conversation between mother and son ended, and the day quickly passed.
The next day, Ling Xing set up a table in his shop in town. He personally cooked and invited Tu Hai, Xu Qi, Wu Dali, Wang Youmai, as well as the owner of the bookstore, Liu Cunyu, and the owner of the painting supplies store, Mu Zihe.
Shen Hui and Shen Yan, Zhao Changming were also there.
The people he invited were all those who had helped Ling Xing in one way or another. Mu Zihe had provided Ling Xing with convenience because of the copper wire, and he had always been remembered.
He was also very touched. The copper wire Xu Youfang used later was all from the source he helped find.
The quality was good, and the price was cheaper than on the market.
Ling Xing thanked them one by one, and also said goodbye one by one.
Finally, he asked them to take care of Shen Yan and Zhao Changming, who were going to take over the shop.
They were all small people who had never seen the world. If no one protected them, even Yunxia Town could swallow them clean.
Distant water can’t quench a fire nearby, so entrusting them to people who were already in Yunxia Town was the best.
Tu Hai was straightforward and immediately raised his glass, “Brother Ling, don’t worry, I, Eighth Master, will definitely not let them be wronged!”
The others also raised their glasses one after another, telling Ling Xing to rest assured.
Shen Yan and Zhao Changming were excited and happy, and looked at Ling Xing with even more gratitude, not expecting that this banquet was also for them.
The couple hurriedly stood up and drank the wine in their cups to show their respect.
Shen Hui also held his wine glass, holding it to his lips without drinking it immediately. He was uncontrollably attracted, only looking at Ling Xing with his dark eyes, with a bit of aggressiveness.
He wanted such a good person too.
Before Ling Xing noticed his gaze, Shen Hui raised his head and drank the wine, blocking his gaze.
Before leaving, Ling Xing also specifically looked for Xie Qingya to say goodbye to him properly.
Although Xie Qingya was reluctant, he thought that if Ling Xing left, he could go to the county to see him soon, so he quickly convinced himself to accept the separation.
But when it was time to leave, his eyes still reddened, and he hugged Ling Xing, telling him with a tearful voice, “You must take good care of yourself, I will go to see you at least twice a month.”
Ling Xing was also about to cry, he really didn’t want to part after being together for so long.
“You too, take care. As long as you come to the county, I will definitely make you lots of delicious food.”
On April 10th, it was a good day to travel.
Ling Xing, Ling Yue, Shen Hui, and Shen Lai, a group of four, hired a carriage, loaded their luggage, and left Xiao Liucun.
The remaining Shen family members saw them off all the way to the entrance of the village, everyone with red eyes, already starting to miss them.
The carriage was not big. Shen Hui was driving the horse, and there were three people in the carriage. Because they were leaving home, they were all in a bad mood.
When they arrived in the county, the four of them went straight to the small courtyard.
Liu Qingyu kept a close eye on the renovation team, making the people on the renovation team afraid of seeing him, fearing that he would say it was no good and make them redo it.
Thanks to his strict attention, the small courtyard was well renovated.
Compared to its previous gray, messy appearance with weeds growing on the walls, it was simply brand new.
Ling Xing took the two children down from the carriage, pushed open the much newer small courtyard door, looked at the clean and tidy courtyard inside, and smiled slightly.
They would be living here from now on!