Chapter 3: The Uncle of the Qin Clan

  Night falls, solitary lamp casts shadows alone.

  Qin Kan sat alone in the old Qin family mansion, fiddling with a handful of dates and copper coins, contemplating life.

  Hudie is a good kid, she's innocent, kind and neither lazy nor stupid.

  Unfortunately, the child still seriously underestimated the adult world. The adult world is very shameless, especially the world of a certain young man who crossed over. It's absolutely more shameless than she imagined...

  Yes, Qin Kan later took back the dates and copper coins that were sent to Hu Niang...

  Former urban white-collar workers understand better than anyone else that once they fall into poverty, they must cut expenses and increase income.

  How to open source, he hasn't thought of a specific way yet, but in terms of frugality, he can at least make sure that money that shouldn't be spent isn't spent. Throwing a handful of copper coins to let the child have fun is enough, how could he really give it away? Things gained without effort must be returned.

  Under the dim oil lamp, Qin Kan's finger joints knocked unconsciously on the old Ba Xian table, his eyebrows were tightly knotted, and a faint melancholy seeped from between them.

  Just counted the copper coins in hand again and again, a total of twenty-eight cents, no matter how many times I count it's still this number.

  Both parents had passed away, with no brothers or sisters, alone and penniless, with only one set of old rural two-story house, three mu of ordinary paddy fields, and twenty-eight cents on the table in front of me, neatly arranged like a military parade.

  This was all Qin Kan's property in this strange world.

  It is unknown whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that Qin Kan's parents passed away when he was 14 years old. Before their death, they apparently did not have time to arrange a marriage for him, so now Qin Kan is 19 years old and still single.

  Alone and helpless, this is Qin Kan's current situation.

  A nineteen-year-old bookworm, who even had a reputation for being talented in the past. Such an eligible bachelor is rarer than a golden turtle son-in-law in the surrounding villages. Even now, there are not a few unmarried young ladies in Qin Zhuang who have their eyes on him and are drooling over his good looks. Fortunately, he devoted himself to his studies in the past and thus avoided being ruined by those reckless and flirtatious women.

  Of course, from a subjective point of view, Qin Kan didn't mind being bullied by them.

  The most pressing issue before him was survival.

  It is well known that money is a good thing in any dynasty, but unfortunately Qin Kan is very short of such a good thing.

  So, Qin Kan, the young man who traveled through time and space, now needs money, urgently!

  Tomorrow morning, during the Hongzhi year, can we make some inventions? Airplanes and cannons might be a bit far-fetched, but toothbrushes, xiong masks, and sanitary napkins should be doable, right?

  The biggest problem now is... I'm in such a small village, no matter how great my abilities are, they can't be displayed. Qin Kan has many ideas for making money, but if he wants to make money from these poor villagers, to be honest, Mr. Qin isn't interested, not because he's kind-hearted, but because the profits are too low. Of course, taking Tiger Girl's money is a different story, that's his money anyway.

  Men will eventually have to go out and take care of things.

  In the 17th year of the Hongzhi era of the Great Ming dynasty, what kind of world is this world now?

  Being in a corner and unable to see the whole situation, Qin Kan was unwilling to accept it.

  Life should have a bigger stage waiting for him to shine, not mediocrely waiting for death in this Jiangnan village. What he needs to do is take two steps forward, quietly and calmly walking out.

  The creaking sound of the wooden gate outside the main entrance was ear-piercing.

  Qin Kan opened the door, and under the hazy moonlight outside, an old face appeared before his eyes.

  Qin Kan recognized this aged face.

  He is the current ruler of Qin Zhuang and the patriarch of the Qin clan.

  Don't underestimate the influence of ancient clans. In this backward era where communication basically relies on shouting, a village chief concurrently holds positions such as village head, police station director, court president, agricultural association chairman, and women's federation chairwoman, among others.

  In fact, the foundation of the stable order of the Ming Dynasty was the clan and the gentry.

  Villagers' neighbors, from small to stealing chickens and dogs, peeking at widows taking baths, to big ones like injuring people, robbing public funds, and uncle-nephew adultery, all kinds of public security incidents and criminal cases. The county government is too busy and doesn't bother to handle them, generally leaving it to the local clan leaders to deal with, and the sentencing standards are very arbitrary, whether it's cutting off hands or feet or just scolding a few words, depending on the leader's mood at the time.

  It's really an era of humanization, of course, mainly looking at the humanity of the clan leaders.

  The head of the Qin family was also surnamed Qin, but Qin Kan didn't know what his specific name was. As a newcomer, he had only met the head of the Qin family once or twice, and each time he hastily greeted him before running away like a fugitive, afraid that the head of the Qin family would discover that the former champion scholar was actually possessed by a ghost.

  For the patriarch who holds the power of life and death in this village, Qin Kan still has a lot of respect for him. At least in this small village, he is indeed a ruthless character.

  One must respect tough characters.

  Under the dim moonlight, Qin Kan slightly paused, then bowed to the head of the Qin clan with a polite and dignified bow: "Uncle has been courteous."

  Qin old man narrowed his eyes, as if he was soaking in a bathtub, with an extremely comfortable expression.

  He enjoyed the respect given to him by book lovers, which made him feel proud and raised his social status.

  Moreover, this kind of elegant courtesy is only performed by scholars with such fluency and elegance that it is a pleasure to behold. Those villagers who face the earth and back towards the sky can at most casually wave their hands in greeting, laughing and chatting without any proper etiquette.

  Coughing twice, Old Man Qin said slowly and deliberately: "Has your son's condition improved a bit, my virtuous nephew?"

  "Uncle's concern is heartwarming, I'm deeply grateful. My body has recovered a lot." Qin Kan's expression was more respectful than when he was paying respects to his ancestors.

  Old Man Qin was savoring the respectful feeling of being read to, he narrowed his eyes with a dignified hum and slowly said: "I've watched you grow up, your reading skills have been exceptional since childhood, I never dreamed that among our Qin family descendants, there would actually be a top scholar, truly a rare occurrence in a hundred years..."

  Qin Kan was speechless.

  This sentence is really poorly said, once in a hundred years... Is it describing a flood?

  "What a pity! Reading books is indeed harmful, after all, it's muddled. Yesterday, you almost lost your life when you hanged yourself..."

  Qin Kan could only nod in agreement.

  He actually wanted to tell the truth, yesterday's hanging had taken Qin Xianggong's life, and now Qin Xianggong was in a state of borrowing a corpse to return his soul. Whether he was alive or dead was a question...

  Qin old man muttered a few words, suddenly his tone paused, with a face full of eager expression: "Yesterday after being rescued by someone, you inexplicably raised your middle finger to the sky, what does this middle finger mean?"

  Qin Kan's face didn't change color: "Escaping death and living, I'll carefully use my middle finger to invite good fortune from the heavens."

  Qin old man nodded his head, full of admiration and mystery: "Indeed a scholar, with many doors to knowledge. I took one look and vaguely understood, this middle finger seems to have profound meaning."

  Qin Kan couldn't help but praise: "Uncle is indeed a highly perceptive and transparent person."

  Qin Lao Han was flattered and his face seemed to have a few more radiant wrinkles.

  The glow quickly disappeared, and Qin Lao Han's old face suddenly became stern. He said slowly: "I don't know why, but I feel that you have changed a lot since waking up from your serious illness this time. Good nephew, what's the reason for this?"

  Qin Kan was shocked, and cold sweat suddenly flowed down his forehead.

  You absolutely can't underestimate the intelligence of ancient people! He vaguely saw himself being tied to a pillar as a heretic, surrounded by raging flames. Outside the firelight, the ignorant old Qin and villagers had sinister smiles on their faces, coldly watching him struggle and wail in the fierce fire...

  "What makes you say that, Uncle?" Qin Kan was taken aback, with a hint of guilt.

  Qin old man's face turned solemn, his demeanor as stern and sacred as a judge reading out a verdict, leaving no room for doubt.

  "You have fallen!"

  "What?!" Qin Kan was shocked and lost his composure.

  "Although you've been stripped of your honors, you were once a distinguished scholar, and yet you're stealing money from a young girl. Tell me, have you fallen that low?" Qin old man was deeply grieved.

  "I...alright, I've really fallen..." Qin Kan could only helplessly surrender to the law, even though it was his own money that had been stolen. However, "reason" didn't necessarily work in a village head's favor. In his past life, Qin Kan had been more cunning than a monkey and knew that he absolutely couldn't treat the village head as an ordinary official.

  "Do you admit your own downfall?" Qin old man stared at him with piercing eyes.

  You're the village head, you're the boss, whatever you say I'll agree with.

  Qin Kan hung his head and smiled bitterly without speaking.

  Qin old man narrowed his eyes, looking very puzzled.

  "In the past, Xiucai Gong was a knowledgeable and reasonable young man, why after his serious illness did he shamelessly rob a little girl of her money?"

  "Why did Uncle know I bullied the little girl?" Qin Kan had no choice but to change the subject.

  "The tigress is telling tales on me..."

  Qin Kan blinked: "Do you believe what a little kid says?"

  "Letter."

  "Why?"

  Qin old man looked at him strangely and said slowly, "Because the one who was robbed happened to be my granddaughter, didn't you know?"

  Qin Kan could only touch his nose, and his nose turned bright red.

  The clan leader was a man who did big things, and he wouldn't deliberately make a fuss about his granddaughter being snatched away just to find an excuse. After dealing with the matter indifferently, Old Man Qin finally got back on track.

  "Even if you've changed your ways and become a nobody, the folks back home will never forget that you were once the top scholar of Shaoxing Prefecture, who passed the prefectural exam at just 18 years old... Not to mention Qin Zhuang, but even in all of Shaoxing Prefecture, it's hard to find someone like you..." Old Man Qin smiled with his eyes narrowed, looking rather proud.

  Qin Kan's eyes widened, he knew he used to be a Xiucai, but he didn't expect the previous owner of his body to have such skills, not only did he pass the Xiucai exam at the age of 18, but also ranked first in the Fu Shi exam, what is this? A genuine and authentic talented scholar!

  Qin old man nagged for a few sentences, then said: "Now you are single, your deceased parents left you three mu of paddy fields, but since you were young, you have been studying hard and may not know how to do farm work such as transplanting rice seedlings or tilling the soil. Have you thought about your future?"

  Qin Kan nodded, the old man was right. Whether in his past life or this one, he had never done farm work before, and he would absolutely not waste his precious youth on rural fields. This encounter was already a rare opportunity, if he just passed it by in mediocrity, perhaps even the heavens that brought him here would be enraged and strike him dead with a thunderbolt.

  What are your plans for the future? What else can you plan besides making money? Whether in modern or ancient times, money is a very important thing.

  Qin Kan blinked: "I don't know if Uncle has any advice?"

  The two words "point" made Qin old man satisfied and wanted to hum.

  Qin old man stroked his beard and said slowly: "The Qin family has been established in Qin Village for hundreds of years, which is not easy. The children in the clan are all kind and simple-minded. I have always been proud of my surname Qin. Everything in Qin Village is fine, but only the literary fortune is not prosperous. In the past hundred years, only you have become a scholar. The village school's teacher, Yan Fu, resigned last month, and now the school has no master. If you are willing, you can go to the school to teach the children of the Qin family to read books. There are dozens of school-age children in our village, and every year they pay tuition fees, which is enough for you to eat and drink without worrying. In the future, when you get married and have children, the village will give you two acres of good water fields. At that time, you can invite three or four tenant farmers to work for you, and after a few years, you can return the land and build a wealthy family. What do you think, my dear nephew?

  Qin Kan blinked for half a day before he gradually digested Qin Lao Han's semi-literate words.

  The old man originally wanted him to teach students in the village to read books, so that the Qin family's children could obtain honors and bring glory to their ancestors.

  To be honest, this suggestion is completely at odds with Qin Kan's original intention. He had thought about going into business, and he had also thought about shaving his head to become an official. He had even thought about plagiarizing the poetry of the Ming Dynasty and passing himself off as a talented scholar, swindling people on the streets. The only profession that was never in his plans was being a teacher.

  Not to mention that since crossing over, the body's previous owner had long forgotten the classics and history he used to read. With such a refined appearance but a wild personality, the students he taught would inevitably become local tyrants who bully and oppress the common people. At that time, what face would he have to meet the old and young of Qin Zhuang?

  In the future, if Old Man Qin, in a fit of rage, sets up a statue of Qin Kan kneeling in the ancestral hall of the Qin family, only then can it be said that Qin Kan is truly "overwhelmed with emotion".

  "Uncle, this matter is probably not suitable..." Qin Kan also couldn't care about the clan leader's face and hastily opposed.

  Qin old man heard this and was somewhat dissatisfied, his white eyebrows furrowed into a knot: "Why is it not proper?"

  "My foolish nephew can barely pass as having read the books of the sages, but I only know how to read books and not how to teach them. If I were to mislead the young minds in our family and ruin their future prospects, I fear that even in death I would have no face to enter my ancestors' tomb."

  "It doesn't matter, just follow the usual procedure."

  Qin Kan was getting anxious: "My young nephew lacks dignity and authority, I'm afraid the younger generation in our clan won't listen to his teachings..."

  Qin old man glared: "Who dares to be rude to my virtuous nephew? My virtuous nephew, just mind your own business!"

  "Uncle's words are reasonable, but I still dare not follow orders. My temperament is quick to anger, and I fear that if I were to take action, I would not be able to control my strength, and it would not be worth sacrificing a few lives for the sake of fame..."

  Qin old man was shocked: "A life? How do you plan to make up for it?"

  Qin Kan smiled awkwardly, his handsome face even slightly flushed: "Your humble nephew is incompetent, skilled in using cold weapons..."

  P.S: Don't forget to collect and put it on your bookshelf, these data are very important during the new book period.