When Xu Ran returned from the town, he noticed that the people in the village were staring at him in a strange way. He had returned from the village's entrance. After seeing this scene, he decided that in the future, he should take the road from the village's back.
He hadn't expected so many people to gather in front of his house, and they were all there to watch the show.
Xu Ran waited outside the crowd for a long time but was not able to squeeze in. Just then someone shouted, "Xu Ran is back."
Everyone's attention turned to him, and Xu Ran at last was able to walk to his yard under everyone's gaze.
In the courtyard, Liu Tong, Mr. Hu and the two children were present. Xu Ran pouted his lips at the crowd outside and asked Liu Tong, "Tongtong, what's happening there?"
Liu Tong grinned helplessly, "I'm not sure who spread the word that our family has invited a senior man who knows how to grow strawberries to live with us. As a result, they came to see him outside the house as well as to the fields to see the freshly planted strawberry seedlings. I can't chase them away because they didn't say anything and just looked at me."
Xu Ran took a brief glance outside and discovered that the crowd was devoid of malice. They just kept looking at Mr. Hu, who didn't seem to mind being mistaken for a monkey. He was currently sitting in the chair, closing his eyes and enjoying himself. (monkey; as in someone who grabs the attention of the crowd, if you've seen a monkey performs on streets it kinda illustrates like that but not exactly.)
Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd, "Xu Ran, I heard that the ten mu of land you just bought was all used to plant strawberries, right?"
Xu Ran nodded, "Yes, it's indeed for strawberry planting. May I ask what it is about?"
Seeing that Xu Ran had answered him, the man asked again, "Then did you invite this old man back to help you plant strawberries?"
Xu Ran nodded, "Yes."
"Then how much do you pay him a month?"
Xu Ran rolled his eyes and said to himself, 'What does it have to do with you how much money I give him?'
After a pause, Xu Ran replied, "Well, this is my family affair. I am sorry I can't say anything more. If you have nothing to do here, please go back first! We'll still have something to do."
The words "family affair" effectively stopped that individual from asking any more questions, and it was not good for him to do so. After all, they had nothing to do with any of it.
People who were just having a good time began to scatter when they heard this. However, some of those who refused to give up returned after the crowd had withdrawn. They went on to ask Xu Ran more pertinent questions. All of this left Xu Ran speechless. He attempted to send them all away with unannounced responses. He really didn't want to pay attention to these people. They were too boring. And at the moment, it was a busy farming time.
After all the people outside left at last, Xu Ran apologized to Mr. Hu. The old man, however, did not mind it, "But Xu Ran, they just came to watch the fun and they didn't disturb me. Don't take it to heart."
Xu Ran nodded to show that he understood it.
Now that Liu Tong was preoccupied with matters at home, Xu Ran needed to focus on reviewing the books and preparing for the imperial examination. He intended to complete the exam in one sitting. After all, no one enjoyed taking the exam several times. It was a long and exhausting process.
All of the strawberry planting work on the ten mu of land was finally completed on February 14th. The strawberry plants from Mr. Hu's place were obviously insufficient. Fortunately, Xu Ran had obtained many strawberry seedlings from various locations, and they all proved to be extremely useful. Besides, Qin Shuwu had also helped to get some seedlings from other places, too.
Still, there were two other great helpers who had contributed a lot for the event, Tangtang and Guoguo. They two had collected plenty of ash as fertilizer for the whole land with merely a hundred copper coins.Not only that, but they had improved their interactions with the village's children, and they seemed to have taken over as the children's head.
This made both Xu Ran and Liu Tong very happy. They happily kissed and hugged their two children. Xu Ran also gave the two children ten taels of silver, which they were allowed to keep as pocket money.
Every child in the village had received a different amount of money as a reward. The adults had not anticipated their children receiving money while playing outdoors. They were all ecstatic, of course.
Wu Mei's family was the happiest of all. Dahu was the village's eldest child, as well as the strongest and fastest runner. He'd made 15 pence on his own. Yueya'er earned three pence despite working slowly. Wu Mei and the others didn't care about how much money they got actually, but they were glad that their children had grown up.
Initially, Xu Ran and Liu Tong did not expect Tangtang and Guoguo to devise such a plan for collecting ash. These two children, according to Xu Ran, were extremely intelligent. They would be the future backbone of the country if they could find a decent teacher to teach them!
However, they were now confronted with the problem that Xu Ran's wallet had run out of money. To be more precise, they were now cash-strapped. Mr. Hu was given more money than the combined cost of labor and freight. More than 200 taels of silver vanished in an instant. Furthermore, their family recently purchased two piglets and twenty ducks. All of these added up to a lot of money in payment. Xu Ran felt distressed when counting all these!
But there was no way out. They had to pay for all those.
The construction of Xu Ran's new house began on February 15 with the sound of firecrackers. All that needed to be planned was already in place. Everyone in place was overjoyed. This marked the start of a happier life for the family, its members, and their entire lives.
Now their new house was at last under construction.
And Xu Ran's family became preoccupied. The land had already been prepared by the villagers for the planting of rice seedlings. Since Xu Ran knew that vegetables and corn seedlings were grown at the same time, he was able to keep up with everyone else and scatter all of the vegetable seeds he had purchased across the field.
However, since there were so few corn seeds, they were given special attention. Pieces of land were removed one at a time, and the dung was poured over them. The sickles were then used to draw squares on the ground, and the corn seeds were then planted one by one in the soil.
People in the village covered the seedlings with tree branches because there was no plastic sheeting available at the time. They initially covered them tightly and refused to remove any branches until the seeds germinated.
At first, Xu Ran also wanted to cover the land with those branches, but he changed his mind when he saw the brown paper at home. He realized that he could use the brown paper as plastic sheeting, which could be taken away after the seeds germinated.
Thus, the whole family started to get to work, while Mr. Hu helped to put the corn seeds one by one into the field.
Liu Tong was a quick and tidy person. He did all of the heavy lifting while Xu Ran helped him. Then he gave instructions to a group of people who were scribbling squares on the ground and scattering corn seeds. The whole family had finished planting all of the corn seeds, covering them with brown paper, and then clapping their hands after a day of hard work. The work was thus over.
And then, Xu Ran started to focus on his test preparation. He sat Tangtang and Guoguo down to read and learn. Liu Tong was preoccupied with all of his responsibilities at home and outside. If Mr. Hu got up early in the morning, he would assist in the preparation of pig food.
It was March 5th, and the days were flying by. Liu Tong had packed the materials for Xu Ran's test ahead of time, even purchasing special tea in town. He made a few bamboo knots of tea for Xu Ran to drink after hearing that drinking tea could help him relax.
The examination would be held in a town. Though the town was the nearest to their county, called He Shui Town, it had to take Xu Ran two whole days on the way to get there and he needed to find a place to stay in the town, so Xu Ran had to start today.
Mr. Hu was the only problem now for Xu Ran, who felt relieved to leave the family matters to Liu Tong. Even though he was old, he only had Liu Tong, a Ge'er, and two children at home. People were still quick to gossip about such a situation. The residents of the village were constantly bored and gossiping.
Xu Ran and Liu Tong had a discussion about it and decided to send Mr. Hu to Zhuo Yun's house for a few days. When Xu Ran came back, he could take him back again. The strawberry field did not need to be watched every day, so there should be no problem.
For this arrangement, Mr. Hu had no any objection, and he knew the town was not far from the Xu Village.
Xu Ran had also communicated with Zhuo Yun about this earlier. On the same day, March 5th, Zhuo Yun sent the shopkeeper to receive both Xu Ran and Mr. Hu to the town in the carriage.
Foreman Li and the others were also aware that Xu Ran would be taking the exam. Foreman Li kept assuring him that since he had entrusted the construction of the new house to him, he would do an excellent job.
After spending these days together, Xu Ran knew the construction team well, so he was not worried about their ability. Still, he asked Wu Mei to come and have a look often.
Even though Xu Ran did not tell anyone else about his trip, several friends knew about it. Quite many people came to see him off including the village head. The Xu Village had not got a Xiucai (one who passed the imperial examination at the county level) for some years, and even pupils (people failed in the imperial examinations) were rare. Xu Ran thus was now the hope of their village. Naturally, the village head would come to give him encouragement.
Xu Ran assisted Mr. Hu in boarding the carriage while sharing pleasantries with the passengers. Finally, he gave Liu Tong another hug and reiterated his encouragement and exhortation to Tangtang and Guoguo. Then he climbed into the carriage and drove away.
From the carriage, Xu Ran waved his hand at the people outside, "Don't worry about me! I will take good care of myself. Goodbye!"
Liu Tong was unconcerned about Xu Ran's safety because he had previously been out, and he had faith in his abilities. Tangtang and Guoguo, on the other hand, were depressed when they learned that their father had gone out again and that they wouldn't see him for a few days. They lowered their heads as though they had been bullied.
Seeing this, Liu Tong learned from Xu Ran and tried to comfort them. He went forward and stroked their heads, "All right. Cheer up. Dad will be back soon. Will you give me a hand at home?"
Both Tangtang and Guoguo looked up at Liu Tong and then Tangtang asked, "Daddy, how many days will dad be away?"
"Mm, maybe seven or eight days! Dad will return before you finish counting up your ten fingers," replied Liu Tong.
"Uh, we'll wait for Dad to come back," said Tangtang while Guoguo also nodded by the side.
Liu Tong smiled and let the two children enter the house.
Here on the carriage, Xu Ran and Mr. Hu just got to the Zhuo Mansion. According to the arrangement with Zhuo Yun, Mr. Hu would stay here until Xu Ran came back from the test.
Xu Ran had intended to leave right away, but Zhuo Yun persuaded him to stay for dinner. Qin Shuwen even tried to persuade him to stay. It would be impolite not to accept their generous invitation, so Xu Ran ate his lunch there before returning to He Shui Town in his carriage.
Xu Ran was almost collapsed by the roadside after the carriage had been on the road for two days and two nights. Since Mr. Hu was there, the carriage rode steadily while they were just leaving the village. Later, when only he and the shopkeeper were left in the carriage on the way to He Shui Town, it became less steady and faster. Thus when they reached the place, Xu Ran even felt weak in his legs.
The shopkeeper had to wait for Xu Ran to go back together, so he would stay in the town. Otherwise, he would be very tired from running back and forth in such a long distance. The first thing for them to do at the moment was to find an inn first. He Shui Town was much richer than their town, which could be seen from the dressing of the people on the streets.
It was already March 7th today, so they had to quickly find a place in the town and then went out to get familiar with the surroundings. The time for the test was approaching.
When they at last found a inn to settle down, they had a meal and took a shower. It was about time. Xu Ran then decided to get a good sleep first.
The shopkeeper naturally learned from Xu Ran.
He Shui Town had been bustling with activity lately. Many people came from the surrounding towns to take the imperial exam, so there were a lot more people than normal here.
After a good night's sleep, Xu Ran awoke feeling rested and refreshed, and he had breakfast with the shopkeeper before sauntering along the street.
He Shui Town had always been designated the place for the exam of the province, so there were many scholars and literati, which was also regarded as a cultural center.
There were only scholars dressed in genteel attire on the street, aside from pedestrians and traders. The scholars' clothing was clearly distinguishable from that of ordinary people in this world, so they were easily identified at first glance.
Xu Ran didn't like the style of their clothing, so he dressed in the same clothes as usual.
The shopkeeper tugged at the corner of Xu Ran's garment, "Xu Ran, look at them, then look at yourself. Don't you think you look like a peasant?"
Xu Ran sniffed, "What's wrong with peasants? Or do you look down on them, sir?"
The shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him, "You know that's not what I mean. Since you've arrived, you'll need to make some new friends. Who would know that you're here to take the exam if you don't change your clothes?"
Xu Ran thought he was right and said to the shopkeeper, "Then let's go to buy a piece of clothing!"
As Xu Ran said, he began to look for a dress shop by the roadside. He thought the traders should be selling clothes these days if they were the businessmen. Although there were a lot of poor scholars, some of them also liked to keep up appearances .
After walking for a while, Xu Ran saw a dress shop called He Yue, and he immediately pulled the shopkeeper in.
"Is there any set of clothes in scholar's style, sir?" Xu Ran called the merchant who was balancing the books after he entered.
The merchant thought Xu Ran was born with a silver spoon as he looked handsome with an old man like a servant next to him, so he immediately came out to greet him, "Hello! Are you here to participate in the exam? What style of dress do you want? Even though I do say it myself, we have the widest variety of styles of clothing suiting scholars around the whole He Shui Town... "
Xu Ran strongly felt that all the merchants were talkative.
Looking at the merchant that was about to continue talking, Xu Ran stopped him in time, "Sir, give me a piece of clothing with the bamboo painted on the chest."
'The style of Gongsun Ce (the literary character who is kind-hearted and quick-witted in the dress of scholar's style in a Chinese fiction)! How about putting on a hat? Maybe I could become a brilliant man like Gongsun Ce!'
Xu Ran just imagined it a wee bit and couldn't stand the thought.
When the merchant heard Xu Ran's words, he looked for a piece of clothing with bamboo on the chest and found it. Xu Ran took it from the merchant and examined it. It didn't look quite like real bamboo, but it did look good.
He shook the clothes in his hand and asked the merchant, "Sir, is there a fitting room in your shop?"
"Yes, yes. Please come here," the merchant hurriedly drew back the room flaps and let Xu Ran in, which humanized the process of shopping
Xu Ran went in and changed his clothes. Then he took the original ones in his hand. When he went out, he did a twirl in his new dress and asked, "Does this dress suit me?"
The two shopkeepers outside nodded frequently. Without a mirror, Xu Ran couldn't surveyed himself. However, as they all nodded, Xu Ran felt that the dress shouldn't be any worse, so he said to merchant of the dress shop, "Alright, I'll take this one. How much is it?"
"Sir, I must say that you have a good taste. You look really good in such a proper dress. How about two taels of silver?"
The merchant said it with a gloomy look on his face, as if he expected to lose money. Xu Ran turned his head to the shopkeeper, who instantly recognized what Xu Ran was saying and moved forward to negotiate with the merchant. Both of them had a lot of experience. Xu Ran eventually paid the dress one tael and three mace of silver.
Before leaving the shop, Xu Ran saw the painful face of the merchant and felt a little funny.
As Xu Ran walked along the street in his clothes in scholar's style, he suddenly attracted a lot more admiring glances than usual. but Xu Ran didn't know why.
Xu Ran walked down the street, while the passers-by were staring at him as if he was a monkey. Not until his patience finally snapped did the shopkeeper told him that it was because of the clothes.
Xu Ran was not unattractive in the least. Wearing scholar-style clothing made him seem mild-mannered and dignified. Apart from the Ge'ers, if such a charming person appeared on the street, even the guys could look at him.
Xu Ran pulled his clothes and felt that he should have been possessed by the soul of Mr. Gongsun, so he started to be pretentious, smiling with erect head and straight back, which charmed a lot of passers-by.
At noon, Xu Ran and the shopkeeper went to the restaurant. There were several people dressed in scholar's attire. They should all be present for the examination. They were taken aback when they saw Xu Ran enter. They quickly regained their composure, however. In either case, they had to maintain their reserve as scholars.
The restaurant was filled to overflowing that there was no spare table in it. The shopkeeper intended to let Xu Ran cultivate these scholars, so he didn't ask for a private room.
Xu Ran also felt that it was no big deal to eat with others, so he found a table with only two people and walked over. He knocked on the table. When he saw the two of them looking up at him, he made a bow and said, "May I have lunch with you, gentlemen? There are only my uncle and me."
The two of them were also dressed in the clothes of scholar's style. They looked at Xu Ran in the similar dress with the shopkeeper standing beside him and nodded assent, "Please sit here, gentlemen!"
Xu Ran thanked them and sat down with the shopkeeper. After the waiter saw the two of them sitting down, he deftly stepped forward to ask them what they were going to eat.
Xu Ran had never been to this restaurant and there was no menu that he needed to recite, so Xu Ran was hesitating about the choice. Looking at the two people eating silently opposite him, Xu Ran whispered, "Gentlemen, is there any delicious dish you can recommend me? I don't quite know about it for it's my first time here."
They had intended to disregard Xu Ran, but now that he had asked them, they had no choice but to respond. They mentioned a few dishes that they enjoyed. Xu Ran thanked with a smile. Then he told the waiter about the dishes, who dashed away after recalling the menu.
It wasn't proper for him to remain quiet now that they were all seated at the same table. Xu Ran began a conversation with them, inquiring about their backgrounds, whether they were here to take the exam, and how long they had been here. Xu Ran, on the other hand, asked everything he could think of.
One of the two was fine, while the other was extremely talkative. When Xu Ran talked with them, the talkative one went into a long monologue with him.
In a short while, there was little for him to talk anymore. The talkative one was called Lin Hua, while the other was Zhao Chen. Both of them were the natives of He Shui Town who often dined at the restaurant.
Because of being uneducated, the two were forced to go to school. Their exams had been delayed for a few years, and they couldn't delay anymore this year. So they had to prepare for the exam of the province.
The two of them had also got married, but they had no children yet.
Xu Ran regarded them for a moment but didn't think that they were uneducated.
Lin Hua explained, "Instead of us, my father said we were uneducated. There's nothing wrong with us except for the fact that we're useless and despise going to school."
Xu Ran understood it. Maybe all the elders thought about the children who were poor performers at school this way. He said to Lin Hua, "It's really not easy for you to be misunderstood."
Zhao Chen also nodded rarely.
The dishes that Xu Ran had ordered were delivered quickly. It wasn't a big deal to eat together now that they'd told him everything. They didn't think of Xu Ran as an outsider, so they began eating the dishes that had just been served.
They were chatting as they ate. With these two natives, Xu Ran quickly became familiar with He Shui Town. After lunch, the three of them seemed to have a sympathetic feeling for each other.
When Xu Ran looked at the two people in front of him, an idea came to him. They must have a lot of connections at home, even though they weren't cut out for studying. Doing business with them shouldn't be complicated, and Xu Ran was only short on cash at the moment.
Xu Ran rubbed his chin and felt that he needed to think it over.
After lunch, Xu Ran took leave of them and said that he wanted to go back to review the books. As soon as the two heard Xu Ran was going to review, they immediately told him to leave quickly, not even letting him ask for the bill.
Xu Ran smiled and left with the shopkeeper.
After they left, the shopkeeper asked Xu Ran, "Xu Ran, are you still going to saunter?"
Xu Ran shook his head. "No, let's go back to the inn first. I really want to review."
Xu Ran was eager to study the books, but he knew that no matter what he thought, he would be distracted. So he made the decision to not worry about it. It was also not too late to consider it after the test. In any case, the exam was just a few days away.
Xu Ran hadn't gone out ever since he came back. When he was hungry, he asked the waiter to serve him with food in the room, and he spent the rest of the time reading the books in the room.
Instead, the shopkeeper lived happily; he sauntered around the town alone and was familiar with all the roads.
Time passed, and it was now the 9th of February on the Chinese lunar calendar. Xu Ran, who was studying for the examination, had also remembered something. It was predicted that he would pass the exam with the experience he had gained in modern times.
Xu Ran got up early and rushed to the examination hall led by the shopkeeper.
04.28.21