The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 212: The Da Qi Really Is Poor!

In their three years of marriage and two years since their wedding, Sang Luo could easily guess Shen Lie’s thoughts. She said, “Don’t worry too much. Just give it a try. If you succeed, you can come back from school and continue your work or hunt to earn some silver. We can hire help for the farm; there’s always a way. If it doesn’t work out, it will still be an experience, and you’ll get to test how much you’ve learned over the years.”

Wei Qinghe nodded repeatedly. “Yes, that’s right. I heard this year is special because the county academy is hastily organized. The chief clerk is probably worried about not getting enough suitable students, so they haven’t set any age limits this time. Originally, the age restriction was supposed to be between fourteen and eighteen.”

“If there had been an age limit of fourteen to eighteen, apart from Yun Zheng, Wen Qing, Wen Hong, Chang Gong, and Daniu, no one else would have qualified. Some would be too old, others too young. Younger ones could still wait a few years and apply later. But for people like us, it would be a shame to miss this year’s opportunity. We should give it a try since we might not get another chance next year.”

Hearing this, Shen Lie hesitated. In these times, any opportunity to slightly improve one’s status could make a significant difference.

Sang Luo’s skills in brewing and cooking were valuable, but running a business without support could be challenging. This was different from when Shen Lie protected her with force during chaotic times.

At first, he wasn’t anxious about the prospect of studying, thinking it best to first stabilize their family’s situation. However, with the age restriction, missing out now might mean no more opportunities to enter the county academy later, making it truly regrettable.

He looked at Sang Luo. “Should I give it a try?”

Sang Luo smiled. “Go ahead and try. I think the difficulty in the first year should be the lowest, which is to your advantage.”

Considering Wei Qinghe’s information, it made sense why the chief clerk was concerned about not getting enough qualified students. Even if Shezhou was in a poor state, the previous ruler, King Chu, had held Shezhou for a long time and had been committed to his goals, so those who could provide money and supplies at least had their lives spared. There were plenty of wealthy families like the Wang family who managed to survive. Would they really not find forty students?

This led Sang Luo to a possible conclusion: they were still observing.

As long as the Da Qi hadn’t conquered the entire world, no one could be certain they would maintain their position on the throne. Common folk still had the option to flee if needed. However, wealthy families whose children entered the Da Qi’s school and then became officials would face a different fate if the regime fell again.

This was a time of chaos and power struggles, not a straightforward succession. Their children’s futures were at risk if the regime changed.

Hence, many were hesitating, preferring to wait a year or two.

Understanding this, Sang Luo decided they should take the chance to apply to the county academy this year, which might be the best opportunity for Shen Lie, whose foundational knowledge was not very solid.

She didn’t elaborate on her reasoning, but it was clear that with the first year being less competitive, the conditions were more favorable.

Ah Xu, who had been listening for a while, squeezed in. “Sir, can I go too?”

Lu Erlang, seeing his son, was delighted. To him, Ah Xu was exceptionally capable, excelling in reading and writing. Lu Erlang ruffled his son’s head and asked, “Yes, since there’s no age limit, can my Ah Xu go too?”

With Lu Erlang joining in, the other children, including Erniu, Sanniu, Shen Yin, Shen Tie, and the little girl, laughed. Some were eager to try out of curiosity. Sang Luo’s sister-in-law had said it was good to gain experience, so why not?

Ah Xu looked at Wei Qinghe with anticipation.

Wei Qinghe, seeing the small Ah Xu, was both amused and exasperated.

This child, if he remembered correctly, was around eight years old. He chuckled and said, “Normally, he wouldn’t be eligible. The county academy and other schools are different. Usually, students move from village schools to county schools and then to the county academy. But this year, there’s no age limit…”

He looked at the group of young children in the village, wondering how a state-level academy could accommodate such a young crowd.

“Will we be kicked out?”

Sang Luo couldn’t help but laugh. “Later, everyone can ask Teacher Wei to recite the texts. If you can memorize them, Teacher Wei will test you according to the entrance exam format. If you pass, you can join in. If not, you can just watch from outside the exam room and try again next year.”

The kids who wanted to join in immediately lost their enthusiasm. Ah Xu, however, wasn’t daunted. He puffed out his chest and said, “If I can’t manage the two classics, I can still recite the Analects of Confucius and write quite a bit. Can I request to be tested on the Analects? If I enter, can I ask for the Analects in the exam?”

This question caught Wei Qinghe off guard. He instinctively replied, “The exam content for the county academy hasn’t listed this.”

Ah Xu thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll memorize the Gongyang and the Zuo Zhuan. The Zuo Zhuan is quite long, and I might not know it all, but if Teacher Wei tests me, I could manage a few sections. Let me try, okay? I’m not aiming to enter the academy immediately; I just want to test my skills with paper and ink.”

Everyone was stunned by his statement, and Wei Qinghe was also taken aback.

The Zuo Zhuan is a major classic. Back then, although Yun Zheng was in a poor situation within the Wang family, being a son despised by his stepmother was far worse than being the legitimate son, even worse than being a lowly servant. Not only was he not favored in the third house, but even the servants in the outer court and the scholars in the school were condescending, trying to curry favor with the third wife and often making his life difficult.

The Wang family did have some books, but Yun Zheng could only access a few. Even during the escape, the books he brought were only a couple of elementary texts and the Analects, Zuo Zhuan, Book of Rites, and Gongyang. The latter few were mostly obtained through private requests to Master Liu.

With so few books, their learning options were limited to those they had.

For an eight-year-old child to learn the elementary texts “Thousand Word Classic” and “Quickly Learned Essays” in three years and read through the “Analects” and “Gongyang” is already impressive. Even if his understanding of ink principles is lacking and his writing might not be perfect, it doesn’t matter much.

Wei Qinghe nodded. “Alright, you don’t need to be tested on the Gongyang and Analects. If you can memorize a few sections of the Zuo Zhuan, you can come with us. Even if age restrictions are in place, Teacher Wei will do his best to advocate for you.”

Lu Erlang was touched but quickly advised, “No need to make a fuss. If you can’t get in, just wait until you’re older.”

He then patted Ah Xu’s head. “Regardless of whether you can enter the exam or not, I’ll buy some paper and ink for you later so you can practice writing with real tools.”

Lu Erlang’s fatherly love was evident. Shen Lie and Sang Luo exchanged glances. Shen Lie said to Wei Qinghe, “We’ve neglected this. Not many in our village have used paper and ink; they’ve only written with a brush dipped in water on stone tablets. Those wanting to take the exam should come to your place to practice. If there’s a chance, they should all learn how to use paper and ink. We wouldn’t want them to enter the exam room without knowing how to prepare ink.”

He looked at Sang Luo. The family had some paper and ink in stock, which had been kept for years and rarely used.

Sang Luo understood and said, “I have some. Part of it was given by Shopkeeper Xu back then. I can bring it out later.”

Shopkeeper Xu added, “I also have some at home. We should pool our supplies. If it’s still not enough…”

He hesitated, thinking about the difficulty of buying supplies in the city. He turned to Wei Qinghe, who had been to the county academy area, and asked, “Is there a place to buy paper near the academy?”

Wei Qinghe, being a scholar and visiting the academy often, had seen paper shops. He replied, “There are some, but they are running low, and the prices are very high. They don’t accept money, only grains. They’re selling their remaining stock, and once it’s gone, they won’t be able to restock. The paper makers might not even be alive anymore.”

Sang Luo was taken aback. She looked at Shen Lie. “Is the situation in Shezhou that bad?”

Shen Lie nodded. “Aside from grain shops, there are few stores open. The people on the streets are mostly thin and emaciated, with many beggars. The grain must have been procured in a hurry when the current ruler came in. The store was open when we arrived but closed when we left.”

He took a small roll of bamboo slips from a bag of seeds and handed it to Sang Luo. “This is the register we received today. The government probably even lacks paper.”

Sang Luo looked at the bamboo slips and sighed inwardly. The Da Qi really is poor! After years of chaos under the Da Qian, what remained in the hands of the Da Qi was just a hollow shell.

“We can offer some grain. Do we collect dried meat? If so, let’s bring some dried meat to the city to exchange for paper and ink.”

Chen Dashan said, “We should be able to collect it. Previously, someone used a bag of meat to trade for paper when writing notices.”

Ah Xu, who initially wanted to use paper and ink to practice writing, was also a bit confused. It turns out that paper was exchanged for meat.

Each family needed to return the grains and seeds they had gathered. Shen Lie handed ten taels of silver to Sang Luo. Since Sang Luo managed the family finances, she would also need to get five taels from Chen Dashan.

As Sang Luo walked, she pondered how paper was made.

Lacking paper was indeed very inconvenient—extremely inconvenient. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how to make it. She only knew some basic facts, such as trees, bamboo, mulberry bark, hemp, straw, and reeds could be used to make paper.

But how was it made?

Extract fibers, then there’s the keyword ‘pulp’. How to extract fibers, make pulp, and turn pulp into paper?

Sang Luo wished she could rub her head. If she had known about time travel, she would have made herself an encyclopedia expert before crossing over.