The milky-white pig’s trotter soup was steaming, and it was unclear what Li Jin had added, but the soup wasn’t greasy at all; instead, it tasted very fresh and delicious.
The young man held the soup and sat on the bed, watching Li Jin copy books.
He felt that Li Jin now had a temperament somewhat like his father and elder brothers.
Strategic and composed, talking and laughing easily.
By the time Li Jin finished practicing the large characters, it was completely dark outside. Apart from the cicadas’ chirping, there was nothing.
He always felt like he had forgotten something today, and it wasn’t until he did thirty push-ups in the kitchen and then took a shower that he remembered…
He hadn’t watered the vegetable patch!
By now, watering it was obviously too late; not to mention the obvious and less obvious problems, just leaving the village at night was a bit risky.
So early the next morning, after switching the kid to the young man, Li Jin hurried to water the vegetables field.
It’s midsummer now, and the vegetable seeds in the field are delicate. If you forget to water them, the seeds could easily dry out and die.
And you can’t water the plants when the sun is at its peak, because the water will evaporate and still kill the seeds.
By the time Li Jin arrived at the school, he happened to run into Chen Xiran.
Chen Xiran smiled and said, “Brother Li, what held you up today?”
Li Jin said, “I went home late yesterday and forgot to water the vegetable field, so I went to water it this morning.”
Chen Xiran opened his mouth wide, completely unable to imagine that Li Jin’s home situation was like this.
Last time he saw Li Jin helping with pocket money at home, and today he actually heard that Li Jin also has to farm and water the crops!
Chen Xiran said, “Y-you study on one hand, and do farm work on the other… isn’t that too exhausting?”
Li Jin looked at him, a bit puzzled: “Aren’t all kids from farming families like this?”
Chen Xiran rebuked firmly and righteously, “No! If a farmer’s child does well in school, the clan will give his family land and money, so there’s no need to worry about farm work. Those things will be handled by his family; the farmer’s child just needs to focus on studying.”
Li Jin remained very calm and said, “Well, unfortunately, our village is made up of independent households, and my surname is Li. I don’t have any clan.”
Chen Xiran: “…” he chose to say nothing.
But to be honest, the surname Li is indeed quite rare.
Although Chen Xiran wanted to help Li Jin, he also knew that since they were all classmates, giving Li Jin money would harm Li Jin’s reputation if it got out.
Moreover, Li Jin was far from being in need of his assistance; everyone had their own way of living.
Enduring the hardest of hardships makes one stand above others. Although everyone knows this saying, very few can actually accomplish it.
Chen Xiran now truly admired Li Jin. Previously, he thought Li Jin was overly dull, like a bookworm, seemingly uninterested in everything.
Actually, if he put himself in Li Jin’s shoes, he would realize that after going home every day there’s a pile of farm work to do and he still has to take care of his husband, so naturally he wouldn’t have time to worry about other things.
Mr. Song’s child obediently led the two into the study and said, “Father said he has something to do today and can’t come, but Brother Li needs to copy this book, and Brother Chen needs to memorize this one.”
As he spoke, he handed the two books to them separately.
The child looked at the covers, realizing he had handed them the wrong way, and felt embarrassed.
“I was wrong. This one is Brother Li’s, and this one is yours.”
Sure enough, Li Jin’s copy was the commentary on the classic (middle), and the child got them right this time.
The child added, “Father said you can’t be lazy. There will be an inspection tomorrow. After completing the task, the two brothers can leave on their own.”
After the child left, Li Jin asked, “Brother Chen, was there any change on the teacher’s side?”
Didn’t he say yesterday that he went to investigate?
Chen Xiran really was a ‘know-it-all’.
He said, “My father said that yesterday, the village chief of Xiatan Village personally came forward and seriously interrogated that woman. It turned out that she was acting on someone else’s orders. Today, it’s to acknowledge the mistake to Mr. Song’s family, so Mr. Song’s absence would be inappropriate. Rest assured, everything has been resolved.”
Li Jin thought that he had seen this village chief before when he went to Xiatan Village to sell wheat straw. Indeed, righteousness and skill coexist in him.
He’s a good village chief.
Chen Xiran only knew the one thing his father had told him and had no understanding that, although the woman said someone had instigated her, she eventually said the person who instigated her was a troublemaker from the village.
Anyway, that troublemaker had some mental issues, so in the end, it could only be left unresolved.
Although everyone in their hearts knew it must have been some scholar working behind the scenes, they didn’t expose it. In this society, appearances and face are still very important.
Besides, just based on that woman’s words, we still can’t be completely sure that it was the scholar she mentioned. They didn’t have any physical evidence, so for now, they could only put this matter aside.
Luckily, they had still managed to see justice done for Mr. Song’s family.
Otherwise, if that dirty water had been thrown on them, how could Mr. Song’s family have stayed in the clan?
After Li Jin finished copying this book, the kid brought him the next one, asking Li Jin to copy it as well.
In short, Mr. Song’s way of educating Li Jin now is to first give him the original, hard-to-understand texts, letting him take them home to copy and reinforce his memory, and then explain the meanings in class.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Li Jin still has to copy the notes in class once.
These annotated books were probably gifts from old friends; the teacher never actually let him take them home.
After school, Chen Xiran, knowing Li Jin’s home situation, didn’t drag him to eat at Baishifang anymore, but said, “The road back to the village is far, be careful not to get heatstroke.”
Li Jin felt that although Chen Xiran’s family was wealthy, he was still very considerate of the emotions of those around him.
He never looked down on someone just because of their humble background, and even after learning that his family was really poor, he wouldn’t flaunt his wealth in front of him. In short, he was quite emotionally intelligent.
Li Jin first went to the main street. Today he had a little over a hundred wen in his pocket, so he needed to first ask about the price of cloth.
He had discussed with the young man in the morning, and one bolt of cloth was about four zhang, which is thirty-three meters.
Making a single piece of clothing only requires seven to eight meters of fabric, but if you want to make a whole set, then you need an entire bolt of cloth.
As for how much a bolt of cloth costs, the young man himself didn’t know. He had never been in charge of purchasing before, and the clothes he wore were all made from altered old garments.
Li Jin entered a fabric shop, and the shopkeeper’s eyes seemed to have a built-in scanner; after glancing at Li Jin, he called him over to the section with soft fabrics.
“This cloth is all woven from cotton thread, not that kind of linen thread. This fabric feels soft to the touch, absorbs sweat when worn close to the skin, and the color also suits people like you who study.”
Li Jin took a look and indeed, the texture felt good, similar to the fabric of the long robe he was wearing.
But actually, the long robe he wore underneath was all made of linen.
It was just flashy on the surface.
Li Jin inquired about the price.
The shopkeeper said, “We don’t sell this kind of cloth separately; it’s only sold by the bolt, and the price for one bolt ranges from one to two taels of silver. The price varies depending on the pattern.”
Li Jin thought about the hundred wen in his pocket and fell into deep thought.
One tael of silver equals one guan of coins, which equals one thousand wen.
That’s ten times the money he had in his pocket.
Feeling short of money, Li Jin asked about the price of coarse hemp cloth.
Seeing that Li Jin might not be planning to buy cotton fabric, the shopkeeper was not annoyed and patiently explained the price of the coarse hemp cloth to him.
The shopkeeper had been running this store for many years and had rarely seen a scholarly type like Li Jin. Anyway, as far as he knew, scholars like Li Jin usually ended up going to the capital. So he still greeted people with a smile.
“Coarse hemp, cheap, only 150 wen for a bolt.”
Li Jin thought expressionlessly to himself that when he first bought two mattresses from Li Daniu’s place, Li Daniu had said three wen per foot of fabric, so a zhang (ten feet) was thirty wen, and a bolt would be 120 wen.
Sure enough, prices in town were expensive.
Finally, Li Jin compared coarse hemp and cotton fabric again and felt that he should still buy cotton.
After all, there were already some coarse hemp clothes at home, which were only needed for convenience while doing farm work, so there was no need to buy too much.
On the contrary, the young man had just given birth recently, his body was delicate, and wearing coarse hemp clothes all the time would chafe his skin.
But he was really poor now, and a hundred wen was already most of the family’s savings. In the end, he could only leave empty-handed.
Li Jin was planning to go to Li Daniu’s house to ask if they had any cotton cloth. After all, his family was poor now, so if they could save a bit, why not.
Just as Li Jin was about to take a shortcut home, he was suddenly called out.
“Li Jin! Li Jin! Someone’s looking for you!”
It was Chen Xiran, and he was accompanied by Dr. Wu from Xinglin Hall.
Li Jin stopped in his tracks, surprised, and said, “Dr. Wu, Brother Chen, what are you two doing together?”
Chen Xiran said, “Dr. Wu found out what time our class ended and waited for you in front of Mr. Song’s residence. In the end, the two of us left school early, and if it hadn’t been for my family servant saying there was someone lingering in front of the door, I wouldn’t have known about it.”
Dr. Wu invited Li Jin to Xinglin Hall. Chen Xiran liked all kinds of gossip and insisted on tagging along.
Alright, Li Jin no longer thought he was that emotionally intelligent.
In the end, Dr. Wu had no choice but to explain the matter about that prescription in front of the three of them.
Li Jin said, “I’ve written down the usage and taboos, doctor, don’t worry, just use it.”
Dr. Wu anxiously told Li Jin that prescriptions like this cannot be passed on, and if someone found out, it would be judged as the crime of betraying one’s teacher and ancestors.
Li Jin laughed after hearing that, “I saw this prescription in an ancient book, it has no origin.”
After all, this comes from another parallel universe.
Dr. Wu was even more surprised; he didn’t expect that there would actually be a physician willing to record the secret prescription directly in a book for people to read.
Li Jin said, “If Dr. Wu finds this prescription useful, I sincerely hope that you will not keep it hidden when practicing medicine in the future. After all, this prescription is very effective, and if it can be widely circulated, it might have the chance to help many people.
I would like to thank you in advance, Doctor.”
Dr. Wu hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply to Li Jin. He also changed the way he addressed him.
“Mr. Li, you have a benevolent heart. I really admire you!”
Li Jin did not dare to take credit: “I think since this ancestor was willing to record the prescription in a book, it must have been with the hope of saving more people.”
Doctor Wu said: “Since Mr. Li says so, I will promote this prescription on your behalf. To be honest, my son is preparing for the imperial examination, and our family cannot afford to hire servants. In a few days, I will have to follow him to take care of things, which will take about a month round trip.”
Indeed, the autumn provincial examinations[mfn][ I will clarify the exams and ranks, so everyone (me) can understand it better – Tongsheng (童生) — “Child Student” Not a title but a status — anyone, from a child to an old man, who hadn’t yet passed the entry-level exams. To become a Xiucai, a tongsheng had to clear three sequential tests: Xianshi (县试) – county-level Fushi (府试) – prefecture-level Yuanshi (院试) – administered by the Provincial Education Commissioner Passing all three earned the title Xiucai (秀才) — “cultivated talent.” Xiucai gained real privileges: exemption from corvée labor, exemption from corporal punishment, the right to wear special robes, and eligibility to teach or hold minor local roles. Top-ranked xiucai were called Linsheng (廪生) and received a government stipend. Xiangshi (乡试) — Provincial Examination Held every three years in autumn, in the provincial capital. Only xiucai could sit for it. Exams stretched over three grueling sessions of several days each, held in tiny individual exam cells (号舍) where candidates ate, slept, and wrote. Passers: Juren (举人) — “recommended man.” A juren could hold minor official posts even without going further, and was legally exempt from certain taxes. Top scorer: Jieyuan (解元) Huishi (会试) — Metropolitan Examination Held in the capital, in spring of the year following the Xiangshi. Only juren could sit. Passers: Gongshi (贡士) — “tribute scholar” Top scorer: Huiyuan (会元) Dianshi (殿试) — Palace Examination The final hurdle, held inside the imperial palace and nominally graded by the emperor. In practice, this exam mainly ranked the gongshi rather than eliminating them — nearly all who reached this stage passed. All passers: Jinshi (进士) — “presented scholar,” the highest possible title. Jinshi were divided into three tiers (甲): 一甲 (First Class) – just 3 people: Zhuangyuan (状元) 1st, Bangyan (榜眼) 2nd, Tanhua (探花) 3rd. These three received immediate, prestigious appointments, often to the Hanlin Academy (翰林院), the empire’s most elite scholarly institution. 二甲 (Second Class) – “Jinshi Chushen (进士出身) 三甲 (Third Class) – “Tong Jinshi Chushen (同进士出身)” Special honor: Lianzhong Sanyuan (连中三元) A scholar who placed first at all three major stages — Jieyuan, Huiyuan, and Zhuangyuan — achieved this legendary feat. In over a thousand years of imperial exams, it happened only about a dozen or so times. Content of the exams Primarily tested mastery of the Confucian classics (Four Books and Five Classics), essay writing in the rigid eight-legged essay (八股文) format, poetry composition, and policy commentary on governance.][/mfn] were held on the ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth of August, comprising three sessions in total.
Moreover, when the exams took place in the provincial capital, most fathers or uncles would choose to accompany their children, taking care of their meals and other necessities.
Chen Xiran thought: “……”
They are already taking the juren examination??? Why is it that ever since meeting Li Jin, it feels like everyone around me is a top scholar?
Upon seeing this prescription and the associated precautions, Doctor Wu no longer believed Li Jin’s previous statement that ‘my medical skills are only half-baked.’
Dr. Wu said, “I wonder if Mr. Li would be willing to see patients at Xinglin Hall every afternoon in August for two hours? When there aren’t many patients, you can recite books and practice calligraphy—I’ll talk to the shopkeeper about this.”
Finally, Dr. Wu dropped a bomb: “Three taels of silver per month.”
Author’s note:
Li Jin here: me, a time-traveler, rural farmer’s child, no money.