Chapter Eleven: Excited

  Back home, Xu Chang took out the bruise medicine and moved a chair to massage the bruises on Xu Qian's arm. The paternal affection suddenly overflowed and couldn't be contained, and he said with great comfort: "Son, just now when you blocked the tea cup for me, I felt for the first time that you are my son. If it were like this every day, Dad would be satisfied." While speaking, he used his hands full of calluses to massage the bruises on Xu Qian's arm.

  Xu Qian gritted his teeth in pain and found that Lao Ye's words were not quite right, saying: "Dad, why do I feel like you're scolding me? Am I not filial to you normally?"

  Xu Chang's face stiffened, and he didn't make a sound. He continued to increase the force of his massage.

  "That's enough, that's enough, it's just a matter of saving face, I didn't owe you money, please spare me."

  Xu Chang glared at him: "Don't try to force it, or you'll suffer the consequences if your blood doesn't circulate properly." He then suddenly remembered something and asked: "What did Wang Gong say to you? Why were you in there for so long?"

  Xu Qian said: "I'll tell you a good news and a bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

  Xu Changdao said: "First listen to the good."

  Xu Qian smiled and said: "Then I'll congratulate you first, from now on, you can't be a yamen runner anymore, because the government will soon remove your name. You can just lie at home and enjoy your old age."

  "What does this mean? Are you going to overthrow me?" Xu Chang's anger ignited, and the more agitated he became, the more ruthless his blows were. Xu Qian felt as if his sore spot was being scrubbed back and forth with an iron brush. He hastily said: "Father, even if there's no difference in our duties, you can't kill your own son! A father murdering his son will also be struck by lightning!"

  Xu Chang didn't come to his senses until now, releasing Xu Qian's hand and falling into a state of confusion. When he wasn't doing the job of a runner, he was the successor to the runner, and after taking over, he had done this job for most of his life. Now, suddenly hearing that he would be dismissed from office, he was somewhat disoriented.

  Xu Qian hastily comforted him, saying: "I thought it was good news, but actually there's nothing to it, just a trivial matter. With Father's abilities, even if he didn't take on this task, wouldn't he still be prosperous and successful?"

  Xu Chang glared at him: "Nonsense! I'm the one who can support you, give you food to eat, and let you read those useless books. It's all thanks to that one piece of skin."

  Xu Qian continued: "There's also some bad news, don't get angry when you hear it, Dad."

  Xu Chang sighed and said, "You've said enough, we've lost everything, what could be worse than this?" Xu Qian said, "Mr. Wang said he would think of a way to help us change our registration, so I can focus on my studies." Xu Chang was stunned.

  Xu Qian looked at Xu Chang with a similar fearful expression, waving his hand in front of Xu Chang's eyes and said: "Dad, are you okay?" Xu Chang remained motionless.

  Xu Qian was speechless. The old man's senile dementia, which occurred every other day, was nothing to worry about. He hurriedly said, "Dad, you're not scared silly, are you?"

  Xu Chang came back to his senses and looked at Xu Qian with a very serious expression, saying: "Just now, you said it again. How did Wang Gonggong change his household registration, and how did he let you go to school?"

  Xu Qian did not dare to be slow and hastily repeated what Wang Gonggong had originally said.

  Xu Chang took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes, and his lips trembled slightly. In fact, it was not just his lips, but also his hands that were trembling constantly.

  Then he pulled out the iron ruler from his waist in his own way and was about to smash it on Xu Qian's body.

  Xu Qian hastily covered his head and shouted: "If I don't change, I won't change. What's the point of hitting me? At worst, I'll go back and tell Duke Wang about it."

  The iron ruler was raised, but did not fall.

  Xu Chang sighed, glared at him and said: "Who says I won't change? I wanted to hit you because I thought you were using your glib tongue to deceive me again. But looking at you now, it seems like you're not that kind of person after all. You must be telling the truth." He immediately became excited, his old face flushing red, and stood up rubbing his hands together, saying: "How did I put it? Ah yes! Our Xu family will surely rise to greatness one day! We'll have our own masters and no longer be servants or slaves for generations to come. It's time for us to hold our heads high! They say that three generations are enough to change a person's fate, but now my good son, this is your lucky break!"

  After that, Pu Ye's big hand patted on Xu Qian's delicate shoulder and said: "At that time, I thought you were destined to be a master, so you should read books, I strongly agree. Look, look, how is it now? This is the wisdom of recognizing talent, it is the blessing of heaven, it is the protection of ancestors, it is my Xu Changsheng's good fortune."

  He was talking nonsense like a madman, and Xu Qian couldn't help but expose him: "Dad, when did you want me to study? It's clear that I wanted to study, but you were the one holding an iron ruler and chasing after me, saying I wasn't diligent in my studies."

  Xu Chang burst out laughing and said, "Foolish child, this is Father's way of urging you on. Talent emerges from under the rod, this is motivation. Moreover, back then we were in such a state, what use was reading books? Even if you read books, wouldn't you still just be a servant? What's the point of reading books? But now it's different, you're usually so diligent, and finally have an opportunity. Whoever has the chance to become a master would rather not spend their whole life running errands for others?"

  He sat down again, looking at Xu Qian with a very serious expression, and then said: "I'll ask you, do you want to be a miscellaneous worker?"

  Xu Qian shook his head.

  "What's going on?"

  Xu Qian said, "Having done odd jobs, even if I've managed to get by quite well, once I reach Dad's level, that's the peak. If Dad has ended up so wretched and I were to try to do better, that would be crazy."

  Xu Chang rolled his eyes, looking a bit hurt, but he still praised: "Well said, not reading books, no official title, a lifetime of being just like your father, dull and unremarkable."

  Xu Chang was quite thick-skinned, directly using himself as a negative teaching material, and then said: "If you don't do miscellaneous chores, what can you do? Selling medicine is not going to make a fortune, and your family doesn't have any extra money, not enough for you to squander. So now you only have one way out, that is to work hard and make progress. Wang Gonggong is a good person, he gave you such a heaven-sent opportunity, you should be even more diligent. I, as your father, don't expect anything else, just hope you can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar. If you can become a scholar, it will be enough to bring glory to our family. With this scholar's identity, it will be enough for you to live a life without worrying about food and drink. Ah, isn't it an old saying? 'In books there are golden houses, in books there are beauties like Jade...'"

  Xu Chang is just a roughneck, pretending to be a scholar and spouting nonsense, his words not getting across, ending up feeling ashamed himself. In the end, he decided to speak in his own style, his face turning cold as he pulled out an iron ruler from his waist again, saying viciously: "In short, starting now, you'll begin reading books, you must work hard, work hard and work harder, if you dare to be lazy or cause trouble, I'll disown you as my son, and beat you to death."

  Xu Qian has been threatened since he was a child, and he just nodded slightly.

  After a long lecture, Xu Qian summarized the old man's basic point of view: everything else is inferior, only reading books is superior. As long as you work hard to read books and pass the imperial examination to become a scholar, from then on you will be a respected gentleman with a wife, money, and a good reputation wherever you go, and even the county magistrate will have to treat you with courtesy.

  Xu Chang was excited for a long time, still indulging in his fantasies, when Xu Qian couldn't help but pour a bucket of cold water on him, saying: "But once we're demoted to a lower rank, how will we explain it to the clan? Father is about to be dismissed from office, what will we do in the future?"

  Although the future is very promising, reality is very bleak.

  Not everyone can read books, Xu Qian is indeed knowledgeable and has a foundation, but what about the majority of the clan? The Xu family clan has more than 70 people, neither too many nor too few. Most people are generations of miscellaneous workers, although being a miscellaneous worker is considered lowly, it's an iron rice bowl passed down from ancestors. Now that Xu Qian alone goes to read books, and the whole clan has to follow suit and change their registration, this means that many people will lose their rice bowls. Can they also go read books? At that time, the clan will definitely be in a state of turmoil, and those with family businesses will also make trouble.

  There is also the problem of the Xu family itself. The old man has nothing to do, and reading books after all requires expenses, such as pen, ink, paper, brush, book money, and some social interactions, which are absolutely not small expenses. On the one hand, the family's income was cut off, and on the other hand, expenses increased greatly. Although the Xu family had saved some silver, it is uncertain whether they can afford it.

  Xu Chang furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, saying: "This kind of thing doesn't need you to worry about it, Father will naturally think of a way. You just focus on reading your books."

  It seems so, Xu Qian obviously felt that Xu Chang didn't have much confidence when he spoke.

  However, Xu Chang's eager anticipation was far beyond Xu Qian's expectations. He had originally thought that Xu Chang would be more willing to steadily hold onto his position as a minor official and enjoy the benefits that came with it. Moreover, the old man had always been narrow-minded and liked to complain about the scholars in the county government behind their backs, saying they were useless and incompetent. But when he found out that his son had an opportunity to become one of these "useless" scholars, the old man suddenly changed his tune.

  It seems that it's not the bookworms who are sour, but the old man is definitely a fox. Only when the fox can't eat grapes will he say the grapes are sour.