Goldfield
Chapter 85: Accepting a Disciple

Little Shitou confidently dipped her fingertips into the water and wrote her name with a large and wide stroke on the wooden table — Yu Fan.

Yuan Sinian ate his boiled food with clear pleasure as he meticulously watched the little boy write. When he saw the boy's handwriting was characterful and stylish, he smiled, “Lumayan, the boy did a good job in teaching! Yu Fan, do you want to come with me to Rongxuan Academy to study? ”

Shopkeeper Jin listened to their conversation at the side and his heart was filled with jealousy and jealousy. This kid is pretty lucky. She has a talented sister who cooks. Despite the fact that the boy only knew how to write his own name, Great Scholar Yuan personally recruited him to the academy. His son, on the other hand, was not the most talented person but he relied on his own ability to test into school. It was only because of him. There were so many regrets, ah, he was so sorry for his previous actions!

Little Shitou blinked a few times and then smiled, “Old Sister, thank you for your goodwill. However, we did not have enough money to pay for my tuition. Once we have enough money, then I will go to the city to look for you. ”.

Shopkeeper Jin hurriedly reminded them, “Teacher Yuan is a famous scholar of our time. The Rongxuan Academy he founded is one of the best schools in our entire Great Ming Dynasty. There are a lot of people who want to sign up but are not yet accepted! Little boy, don't miss this opportunity! ”

“Wow! Sir, you are truly too extraordinary !! In the future, I want to be like you and be someone that others respect! ” Little Shitou exclaimed in admiration as she looked at Yuan Sinian. For the first time in his life, this smart and intelligent boy had found someone he admired so much.

“Ha ha! Little boy, what's the point of being like me? Don't you want to be a high official so that your parents and siblings will never be looked down upon or bullied again? ” Yuan Sinian laughed out loud as he was in a good mood. Childish talking is the best way to create inner child in a person's heart.

Little Shitou's round face furrowed in worry from the inner chaos in her heart and said, “Then. I want to be someone like you, where everyone respects me, but I also want to be a high official and make sure my parents and siblings live comfortably. Is that too greedy of me? ”

Yu Xiaocao thought his words were too funny, knocked on his head, and said, “You haven't even entered the academy and you're starting to think so far in the future? The reason I want to send you to school is so that you become a cultured and educated individual. Do you think being a government official is easy? You have to pass many rounds of the imperial examination. Just look at Young Uncle, he has studied for over ten years and he has not even passed the district level examination! If you have a bigger head, you should wear a bigger hat. Don't be so arrogant, otherwise getting sick will add up! ”

Yuan Sinian put down his chopsticks. After eating all that meat, he was filling delightfully, and he stroked his beard in satisfaction. He smiled and said, “Little boy, what your brother said has a point. However, as human beings, we must always have goals and dreams to aim for! Of course, it needs to be a realistic goal. Empty daydreams and overly ambitious targets are not a good idea! All right, it's late, we have to go again. Little girl, I always keep my word. You can send your younger brother to the academy early as the school can waive some of the fees and expenses for students receiving good grades. In addition, we often give awards such as books, writing brushes, and ink stones as well. I'd like to say once again that the taste of your stewed dishes is really delicious. I want to eat it again in the future. ”

When Shopkeeper Jin saw Grand Scholar Yuan get up to leave, he hurriedly came forward and politely helped him carry the luggage. He thought that Master Yuan's mood seemed to be quite good, so he anxiously opened his mouth and said, “Teacher, everything is my fault. My family has been merchants for six generations, and I only have a son in middle age. So, I love Zhuo’er too much. I will change, in the future I will definitely change! Ever since Zhuo’er was expelled from the academy, she had not eaten or drank anymore and had almost died last winter. Can you... give him another chance? ”

Yuan Sinian silently looked towards the golden and majestic gilded carriage in front of him and faintly stared at it from head to toe. He then said, “Someone cannot achieve glory and victory without going through trials and tribulations. Being a scholar has always been a difficult and unprofitable job. It is easy to become wasteful after saving, but it is difficult to be frugal after getting used to luxury. I can give you another chance, but if Jin Wenzhuo can't become used to the difficulties, then it's better to leave now than later! ”

“He can! He can!! Zhuo’er I can definitely bear the hardships !! Thank you, Master Yuan, thank you. ”When Shopkeeper Jin saw that his efforts had finally paid off as he wished, tears immediately flowed down his face. He was very happy as he could not contain his excitement as he repeatedly thanked the scholar.

The happy and contented Jin Shopkeeper picked up the already filled Great Scholar and left the noisy, bustling pier. None of them could forget the little girl selling boiled food at the dock. He is the one who has given them the desire of their heart and allowed them to gain happiness …

Therefore, Grand Scholar Yuan Sinian often visited at Tanggu Pier. He often takes the train for two hours from the city to the dock to ‘match food’ with the rough dock workers. Heh heh, of course, Xiaocao would not let him really suppress and elbow the workers to buy boiled food. After all, he was also her younger brother's teacher!

“Father mother! We met the esteemed teacher Brother Xiaowen from the academy today. He agreed to let me go to school to study! ” Little Shitou was so excited all the way home and unceasingly asked Xiaocao if she could really go to town and study at school. Is this real? He asked so many times that Xiaocao thought it was funny as well as sad at the same time.

Yu Hai was chopping firewood and stopped at this moment. He came, took the heavy basket from his daughter's hand, and ruffled her son's hair. The smile on his face was filled with helplessness and guilt, “Shitou, I know you really want to learn, but the current state of our family is not good enough to allow you… you are still young now, let's wait until next year to go to the academy, is that okay? ”

Fortunately, the Qian Family also nurtured around two hundred ducks by the time he entered. By selling duck eggs and duck meat to restaurants in the city, they could make money. Otherwise, they would not be able to afford the tuition, which was nearly one tael a month. Most of the families in the village did not make that much money.

Having extra taels for the family to spend on was one thing, but their current state of affairs was so dire that, had it not been for Xiaocao selling boiled food for the past two days, he said, they will scramble to find three hundred copper coins. Uh! He is a useless father because he cannot satisfy his son's desire to go to school …

Xiaocao noticed that his father was blaming himself, so, he stepped forward to gently pull his arm. He smiled, “The head of the Rongxuan Academy school loves the taste of this princess's cooking boiled today. He has promised us that we can defer payment of fees for now and then give them what we have to pay once we get the money. The principal also said that the academy tests its outstanding students over time and can even waive tuition fees for those who excel. The test is done every three months. As long as Little Shitou studies hard, all we need to save is three months of tuition for her, once your legs have completely improved and we get through the season when the animals give birth, you can hunt to subsidize the family again. In about a month, our vegetables will also be ready to be marketed. Aren't we gonna make enough money to get three months of tuition? ”

Yu Hai rubbed his feet which still could not withstand too much weight and lightly sighed. After being massaged every day by Xiaocao, his legs had already greatly recovered. Now he did not need to use crutches to walk anymore, and he could also do regular work around the residence.

Previously the city doctor had told him that his ‘foot could not be saved’, which made him almost want to die. To be able to recover his legs this much, even the doctor from the Tongren Medicine Hall felt that it was a miracle. He should be completely satisfied with the situation. But, in order to get his legs fully recovered, to be able to hunt in the mountains, it was his true heart desire that he could not help but desire.

When Xiaocao saw that his father had lowered his head and was thinking about something deeply, he turned his attention to Little Shitou. He rubbed his small face that gradually grew fat and grinned, Our Little “Shitou only needs to wait a few more days. Once I make more money, I'll make you two new pieces of clothing and then you can go to school with a cool new wardrobe! When our next-door neighbor Brother Xiaowen returns, we can ask him what we need to prepare for the academy. We definitely cannot let Little Scholar Yu Fan be bullied there! ”

Little Shitou was apparently very happy with the nickname “Small Scholar Yu Fan” and laughed happily, “Second Sister, you do not need to prepare anything! I heard Brother Xiaowen talk about it. The Academy has a place to live and eat for its students. You don't have to make new clothes for me either. The people in the academy only underestimated those who were awkward, not those who were poor! As long as I did well there, no one there would dare to condescend me! ”

“Hm, they laugh at awkward people but not poor people, is that a phrase you learned from Brother Xiaowen? Little brother, you have also seen how good our business is. Don't you think making you some new clothes is easy now? No need to talk anymore, just take out our wallet and count how many coins we get today. ” As they walked back home, the little boy had felt his heavy wallet all the way back. The gaping grin on his face seemed to be forever there, and he looked like a money grouch.

Madam Liu and Xiaolian put down their embroidery and took out a basket containing the meat and hot intestines of the pigs. They smiled at Xiaocao, “Have a break! Let's clean up, okay! Relax, although we may not be able to help you make the Seasoning, but we can definitely be your assistant in other respects! ”

Xiaocao was also happy to let them do the job and happily counted the money with Little Shitou. Their haul today is clearly much better than yesterday. They managed to sell all the boiled food for a total of one hundred and thirty copper coins. If they added the silver mace that Shopkeeper Jin gave them, then they had obtained over two hundred copper coins today!

At the dock today, he asked about the price of goods in the city. A single piece of woven cloth on the market sold for about two hundred and thirty-four copper coins. If they get Little Shitou a few feet of fabric and then about half a cotton catty to make two pairs of cotton-coated clothes, it shouldn't be a financial problem anymore. However, they currently did not have enough money to buy four important things like ink, brushes, paper, and ink stones. He had heard that those things were quite expensive!

Apparently, they needed to work hard for a few more days to make it! Xiaocao stared blankly at the pile of copper coins and racked his brain looking for other ideas to make more money.

“Second Brother, can the little yellow cake we caught yesterday be boiled into something we can sell? The older uncles at the dock all asked me if we would sell boiled food in the afternoon! ” Little Shitou also tried to think of a solution to the same problem that was bothering Xiaocao.

Having a daily income of two hundred copper coins had given him a sweet taste of success. If they continued on their trajectory, after five or six days, they would have enough money to pay for his school fees! With a stable income at home, he could also study in the academy easily. It was a pity that they could only buy one pig head and one pig offal from the market a day. Those ingredients don't make enough boiled food to last all morning! ”

Little yellow croaker? He actually knows several methods to prepare this fish, such as: ‘croaker small yellow fry dry’, ‘croaker small yellow salty and crisp’, sweet and sour little yellow croaker ‘… these types of dishes are all very delicious but they take a lot of time and effort to make. In addition, they need to spend money not only to buy a small yellow croaker but also the herbs and oils used in the recipe. If they sold for one copper coin per two parts and they reduced the manufacturing cost, he would bet that they would not make much profit …