Section 5: The Life of a Xiucai (Part 2)

  "Chao Sheng, you're in luck." Shen He chuckled as soon as he entered the door: "On the way back, I ran into Eldest Son, and saw him carrying two fish, looking around everywhere." Eldest Son was about the same age as Shen Mo, with the surname Yao. Because of his tall stature, everyone called him 'Eldest Son', and over time, this nickname replaced his original name.

  Yao Changzi was a loyal and righteous person, and he got along particularly well with Shen Mo. They often played together. That day, Shen Mo was bitten by a snake, but fortunately, Changzi carried him back, otherwise his life would have been taken away by Yan Wangye.

  "He said that when he didn't see you at home, he went out to look for you." Shen He put the fish in a basin, skillfully scaling and gutting it, cleaning it thoroughly, while laughing: "When I saw him, he had been wandering around for half a day. I told him about your situation, and only then did he feel relieved. He even gave me this fish, saying that you should use it to nourish your body." These were all skills Shen He learned after his wife fell ill this year. A year ago, Shen He couldn't even light a fire, let alone clean a fish.

  "Why didn't he come?" After resting for a day, Shen Mo was already able to sit up and asked while leaning against the windowsill.

  "This is the Shen family's big house, with many rules and regulations. It's not like our thatched cottage where we can come and go freely." Shen He lowered his voice and said: "There are many people in the clan who like to gossip, and it's hard to tell what they might say."

  "Shall we... move back tomorrow?"

  "Go back?" Shen He shook his head like a wave, pretending to be relaxed: "I've had enough of that grass shed, I don't want to go back for even one day." When he spoke, he was facing away from Shen Mo, so no one saw the red rims around his eyes.

  But little did she know, Shen Mo, sitting on the bed, also had red eyes, a sour nose, and a lump in his throat...

  The two of them remained silent like this, in the small attic, there was only the crackling sound of firewood, that was Shen He putting the processed carp into the casserole.

  The fish was cooked, and the lively atmosphere came to an end. Shen He sat down on a stool, exhausted, and popped a broad bean into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it with a gulp of water. Only then did he notice the heavy atmosphere. He knew that his son, who had suddenly become more thoughtful, must have sensed something, so he forced himself to speak lightly: "When I get rich, I'll eat ten broad beans at once."

  "Don't choke." Shen Mo laughed silently.

  Shen He smiled and asked with concern: "Has that woman downstairs stopped bothering you?"

  "No." Shen Mo shook his head silently, lying without batting an eye.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Shen He nodded and finally saw the ceramic jar and medicine package on the table, and wondered: "Who came to visit?"

  "Miss Yin's maid." Shen Mo said bluntly: "It is said that we two will make up for our bodies."

  Shen He frowned uncomfortably and said: "How can you do this? How can you ask for someone else's things?"

  "I can't even get off the ground, and I don't want to fight with others anyway." Shen Mo pointed to the head of the bed: "Here, not a single move has been made, just waiting for you to come back and deal with it."

  "This... " Shen He sat up, uneasy: "Yesterday, the family was exempt from medical expenses, which is already a favor. Now to ask for their things again, how can this be repaid? It's not repayable."

  "It's just a slow repayment." Shen Mo sneered and smiled: "You haven't paid me back yet, I won't pay your grandson back."

  Shen He rolled his eyes and said, "It's not that bad..." and also accepted the gift.

  At this time, the carp soup was cooked, and Shen He directly carried the sand pot to the head of the bed, scalding him to blow air on his fingers. Then he put the quilt behind Shen Mo's back, helped him sit up straight, prepared a bowl and chopsticks for him, and only then smiled: "Hurry up and eat while it's hot, this small carp is actually very nourishing."

  "Father, take a bowl and chopsticks too, let's eat together."

  "No need, no need," Shen He shook his head and smiled: "Dad has eaten outside and is bloated, just drink some soup later."

  He didn't say a word, just pointed to the chicken soup in the jar and said, "It's hot, it will go bad overnight." The weather was sultry and humid at this time, these fresh foods would spoil overnight, and could only be thrown away.

  "Don't rush, eat slowly." Shen He's loving smile said: "The more you eat, the faster you'll recover." After finishing, she poured that bowl of chicken soup back into the pot and heated it up on the stove.

  Shenmo fell silent and didn't make another sound. He ate a fish, drank a bowl of soup, patted his belly and said: "I'm full."

  "Have some more." Shen He refilled his bowl with chicken soup and said, "Hurry up and get better, don't make Father worry."

  The old man's stomach growled loudly, and he let out a quiet sigh as he took the bowl from him. "If you eat any more, it'll really be unbearable." In fact, he had noticed earlier that after serving himself a bowl of thick porridge, there was only a little clear broth left in the pot. The old man must have been starving by now.

  "That's right, too much is as bad as too little." Shen He nodded and then regretfully said: "Having both chicken and fish is really too luxurious." Shen Mo bitterly smiled and said: "Tomorrow we may not even have rice to eat, let's just enjoy the wine while it lasts."

  "Evening air." Shen He finally didn't hold back, scooped a bowl of chicken soup and tasted it carefully: "Dad has already thought about what to do, tomorrow I'll buy another chicken for you to bring back."

  "What's going on?" Shen Mo asked with great interest.

  "Write words." Shen He said while drinking soup, "I paid attention today, in front of the Chenghuang Temple, there are people who write letters for others, compose couplets, and copy inscriptions. In a day, they can earn at least 100-200 wen, which means that in a month, we can make at least two taels of silver. Adding to that, the six dou of rice we get every month, we'll have enough to eat and drink, and if we're frugal, we can even save up for your studies."

  "Why don't you go teach?" Shen Mo asked in surprise: "That income should be more stable."

  "Hey, do you think I don't want to?" Shen He sighed and said: "I'm a scholar from a poor background, the county school can't teach me anything, and the private academy only pays one or two taels of silver per month, it's not worth it." According to the rules, once he starts engaging in other industries, his stipend student qualification will be automatically cancelled, and the six dou of rice he receives every month will also stop.

  In the wealthy Jiangzhe region, one or two silver coins can buy two shi of rice, but Shen Xiucan can get six dou without working. That is to say, if he were a tutor, he would only earn an additional one shi and four or seven qian of silver per month. But if he went out to practice writing... the situation would be greatly improved... because according to an unwritten rule, such as selling characters, fortune-telling, and other mobile occupations, or engaging in physical labor, are considered expedient measures to relieve urgent needs, and will not cancel the rice allowance.

  The reason is simple, because the world values those who labor with their minds and despises those who labor with their physical strength. Telling fortunes on the streets or running stalls and selling words are not considered manual labor, but ultimately they are shameful professions for scholars. As long as there is hope, no scholar will engage in such a lowly occupation for long.

  In fact, there is another profession with high income and dignity, that is, going to other places to be a private secretary for officials and nobles.

  It is well-known throughout the country that Shaoxing teachers are "well-read in poetry and books, meticulous and refined, and good at handling cases". Especially for someone like Shen He from Shaoxing who has a proper degree, he is in high demand wherever he goes, and even those who do poorly can earn around 180 taels of silver per year.

  But for the sake of his studies, Shen He could only give up this best choice and resolutely decided to go out and sell words!

  Division line

  It doesn't matter if everyone keeps their votes, you can vote for recommendations first, it's too miserable...