While Han Ze was recuperating at home, in her spare time, Wang Caiwei embroidered some purses and handkerchiefs. After leaving the clinic, the two went directly to the embroidery shop to sell the purses and handkerchiefs. Her embroidery was meticulous, and the purses and handkerchiefs were embroidered in a unique and clever way. The embroidery shop gave her ten coins for a purse and fifteen coins for a handkerchief. She embroidered ten purses and fifteen handkerchiefs, and received a total of three hundred and twenty-five coins.
According to the original body’s memory, Han Ze knew that there was a bookstore not far from the embroidery shop. After the two left the embroidery shop, he suggested going to the bookstore to take a look.
Wang Caiwei touched the copper coins in her purse and stood there hesitantly. Han Ze looked at her and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”
Wang Caiwei was very embarrassed for a moment, and her delicate face was full of anxiety. She lowered her eyes and whispered, “Husband, there is no food at home. The silver money I just got needs to buy some food. I’m afraid that the remaining silver is not enough to buy books.”
After saying this, she did not dare to look at her husband, for fear that he would be embarrassed.
Han Ze was slightly stunned, and then smiled and said, “We’re not going to buy books, just going to read.”
Wang Caiwei looked at the smile on her husband’s cheek, feeling sad and unhappy. If she could embroider more purse handkerchiefs, her husband would be able to buy the books he liked.
Her husband was a talented writer. If he had not been weak, he would have passed the imperial examination. Now that he has recovered, if the family has money for him to take the imperial examination, he will surely pass the examination and become a scholar. Unfortunately, the family was short of money.
She looked firm: “Husband, don’t worry. When I get home, I will embroider more purse handkerchiefs, and I will definitely be able to collect enough money for you to take the imperial examination in April next year.”
Han Ze smiled slightly, “No hurry. Let’s go to the library first.”
When they arrived at the door of the library, Wang Caiwei hesitated: “I’ll wait for you outside, you go in.”
“Let’s go in together.” Han Ze glanced at her.
Wang Caiwei was stunned. She rarely refuted her husband’s words. After hesitating for a moment, she saw that her husband’s face was serious, so she followed him into the library.
The owner of the library saw the couple and didn’t say anything.
Han Ze casually glanced at the library. It was quiet and there were no customers, so he asked, “Shopkeeper, how much does it cost to copy a book here?”
The shopkeeper pondered and said, “It depends on the book you are copying, the thickness of the book and the handwriting. It’s usually one penny per page.”
Han Ze nodded slightly and asked, “Can I take the papers back and copy them?”
The shopkeeper was surprised. Han Ze had studied in the town for many years and often came to the library to read. He was very familiar with Han Ze. Han Ze was in poor health in the past and had never mentioned copying books. But now he actually proposed copying books. He looked at him carefully. Could it be that he was better?
However, this was someone else’s private matter, so he didn’t ask too much. He just said, “You are a frequent visitor to the library. The teachers in your school often borrow books from the library. I believe you, but you still have to pay a deposit before you can take the books back to copy.”
Wang Caiwei didn’t expect her husband to copy books to make money. She wanted to dissuade him, but because it was outside, she couldn’t say much. She just frowned slightly. She didn’t know how much deposit she had to pay, fearing that the money was not enough and her husband would lose face.
Han Ze looked at her soothingly. Wang Caiwei met her husband’s eyes, but she was not comforted much. Instead, she became more worried. Her husband didn’t have any money in his pocket. How could she pay the deposit? She also needed to buy food with her money, otherwise the family would have no food.
Han Ze smiled and didn’t care. He asked the shopkeeper, “If I only copy the enlightenment books, I don’t need to take the books in the library back to copy them. In this way, do I still need to pay the deposit?”
The shopkeeper had heard that Han Ze was a good reader. The enlightenment books were simple and easy to recite, so it was not surprising that he could recite the enlightenment books. He smiled and said, “If you can copy them word for word, you don’t need to borrow books from the library, and you don’t need to pay a deposit.”
As for paper, he didn’t have to worry. He was the only bookstore in the town, and he could only buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone from him. Han Ze was a scholar, and scholars cherished their reputation. Moreover, if he wanted to take the imperial examination in the future, he would not do anything that would affect his reputation. He was very relieved.
Han Ze nodded, and Wang Caiwei slowly breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he didn’t have to pay a deposit.
The shopkeeper looked at Han Ze and said, “A copy of “Three Character Classic” costs forty-five cents, and “Thousand Character Classic” costs thirty cents. “Hundred Family Names” is cheaper because it has fewer words, so I can only give you fifteen cents.”
After the two came out of the library, Wang Caiwei whispered, “Husband, the college entrance examination will be held in April next year. Will copying books affect your studies? I can do more embroidery work, and you don’t have to work so hard.”
Han Ze shook his head and said with a smile, “I have been sick for so many days. I haven’t read a book or touched a pen for a long time. Not only is my handwriting unfamiliar, but I have also forgotten a lot of knowledge. Copying books will not affect my studies, but will help deepen my memory of knowledge.”
Wang Caiwei also knew some words, so she understood what her husband said. After thinking for a moment, she whispered, “Since copying books is beneficial to reading, you should copy them, but don’t get too tired. After all, you just got better.”
Han Ze looked at her and said seriously, “No one knows the benefits of having a healthy body better than me.”
He had been sick for so long and didn’t want to be sick again.
Considering the need to buy rice and flour, the two went to the grain store and bought ten catties of rice, ten catties of flour, and fifty catties of coarse noodles, spending three hundred coins at once.
With more than twenty coins left, Han Ze suggested buying some candy for the children, but Wang Caiwei disagreed. She said, “It doesn’t matter whether they eat candy or not. Let’s save the remaining money.”
Before coming, her mother-in-law gave her fifty coins, and her husband spent twenty coins on the medical consultation, leaving thirty coins. She used the money from her embroidery work to buy grain, leaving twenty-five coins.
In order to save money, the two of them did not take the oxcart when they came. They bought grain, so, they had to use the oxcart to pull it when they returned. The two of them had to give four coins to the master who pulled the oxcart, and there would be fifty-one coins left, which she planned to give to her mother-in-law when she returned.
The family was short of money and owed foreign debts. Han Ze could not say anything, so he could only make the children suffer.
Wang Caiwei saw that he was silent, so she said, “I bought rice and flour today, and I will go home to make noodles for them to eat. They will be happy if they have enough food.”
Han Ze understood that, so he felt more or less unhappy. There were many people in the family, more than a dozen adults and children. After paying taxes on the grain in the fields, there was not much left. He also had to pay for his medical treatment, so there was not much money to buy grain. It was common for the children to not have enough food. At this time, what they needed was not candy and snacks, but a full meal.
…
Old Lady Han looked at the rice jar with only one bowl of rice left with a worried look on her face. A few days ago, several daughters-in-law took turns to cook. The eldest daughter-in-law was thrifty and knew how to make a living, but the second and third daughters-in-law were extravagant and ate up all the food in the house in a few days.
In a fit of anger, she forbade them from cooking. She sighed, thought about it, and grabbed a handful of rice. This handful of rice could only be used to make porridge, and the rest could be used to make porridge tomorrow. There is still a month before the wheat can be harvested, and there was no food at home. What will the whole family eat?
She couldn’t borrow money from others to buy food.
Even if she goes to borrow money, the villagers know their ins and outs, and they all know that their family owes debts outside. If they lend her money, she can’t pay it back for a while, so who would be willing to lend them money? Even if she goes to her daughter’s house to borrow money, she doesn’t have the face to do so. She doesn’t know when she can pay back the more than ten taels of silver she owes her daughter for medicine.
When Han Ze came home with the grain, Old Lady Han was sitting behind the stove, sighing and burning the fire. Han Ze walked to the door of the kitchen panting and asked, “Mom, where do we keep the flour?”
Old Lady Han cried out and stood up in a hurry. She exclaimed, “Why did you buy so much flour? You just got better; you can’t get tired. After buying the grain, why didn’t you let Erlang and Sanlang go and carry it back? Put it on the stone platform quickly, I will clean it up later.”
But she couldn’t help but wonder in her heart, how much money would so much grain cost? Where did they get the money?
Wang Caiwei followed Han Ze with rice and papers brought back from the library.
Erlang’s wife and Sanlang’s wife heard their mother-in-law’s voice and walked out of the house with their children.
Han Ze put the flour on the stone platform and said with a smile: “Caiwei got some money from her embroidery work. She said that there was no food at home, so she bought some back. We can’t let the children go hungry.”
Old Lady Han also guessed that it was the money from the eldest daughter-in-law’s embroidery work. She glanced at the second and third daughters-in-law and said meaningfully: “The eldest daughter-in-law is still good. She knows how to think about the family, unlike some people who only know how to eat and drink and think about their own small family.”
The second and third daughters-in-law’s face changed, but they were very dissatisfied in their hearts. The eldest daughter-in-law spent so much money on medical treatment and studying. Shouldn’t she buy some rice and flour and food back? The little gratitude that had just risen to Wang Caiwei disappeared in an instant because of the scolding of the mother-in-law.
In fact, not only the second and third daughters-in-law changed their faces, but the mother-in-law praised her in front of Wang Caiwei and belittled the two younger brothers and sisters, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Whoever the mother-in-law likes in her heart, that person is good even if there are bad things. If she doesn’t like someone, she always finds their faults. Obviously, the two younger brothers and sisters are the people that the mother-in-law doesn’t like.
After scolding, Old Lady Han went to ask Han Ze if he had seen a doctor. She told him that the doctor said he was better and no longer sick. The whole family breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Caiwei kneaded the dough and rolled the noodles. Everyone ate a big bowl of noodles. No matter how much the second and third daughters-in-law were dissatisfied with their mother-in-law’s partiality, after touching their stomachs, they smiled contentedly. Nothing could compare to a full meal.
There was not much work to do in the fields these two days. Han Youtian and his two young sons could finish the work. The daughters-in-law did not have to go to the fields. After eating and cleaning up, Wang Caiwei took out her needlework basket to embroider handkerchiefs. She embroidered quickly, with simple patterns, and was skilled in embroidery. When she was not busy, she could embroider a handkerchief a day.
When Old Lady Han thought about how much money her eldest daughter-in-law could earn from her embroidery, she looked at the two younger daughters-in-law who were resting beside her and shouted, “You two lazy women, your sister-in-law never puts down her needle and thread every day. Not to mention embroidering a handkerchief a day like her, even if you embroider a handkerchief every two or three days, you can earn some snacks for the children. You don’t have to go to the fields and just stay in bed all day and sleep in. Why are you so sleepy?”
The second daughter-in-law, Zheng Shi rolled her eyes and said, “Mom, can we keep all the money we earn from the sale of our handkerchiefs?”
Old Lady Han’s face sank, and she said with a fierce look, glaring eyes, and her hands on her hips, “I am not that short-sighted. You can embroider as much as you want. You can save all the money you make from the sales. I don’t want a penny from you.”
The second and third daughters-in-law were happy, thinking about how their eldest sister-in-law said a handkerchief was fifteen cents and a purse was ten cents. Even if they embroidered five handkerchiefs and five purses in a month, they could earn more than a hundred coins. With more than a hundred coins, they could buy anything for their children.
Thinking of this, the two hurried to the house to get the needlework basket. When they really started to embroider the handkerchiefs, they were stumped. Why were the flowers they embroidered not as beautiful as the ones embroidered by their eldest sister-in-law? No matter how they looked at it, it was not right.
Wang Caiwei told them that it didn’t matter if the embroidery was a little worse, but the embroidered handkerchiefs were cheaper and could be sold for money.
They breathed a sigh of relief. Cheaper is cheaper. The more you embroider, the better your embroidery will be. The eldest sister-in-law’s embroidery was not so good before, but it was all practice. When their embroidery is good, they can always sell a purse for ten coins. As long as there is money to earn, it will not dampen their enthusiasm.
Old Lady Han looked at the three daughters-in-law who were doing needlework seriously under the eaves, and she was very satisfied. She nodded secretly. That’s right. The eldest is right. When he passes the examination for a scholar next year, the family will work together and there is no fear of a bad life. With people being noisy and gossiping all day long, even the biggest family will break up.
In the heart of Old Lady Han, as long as her eldest son is healthy, she will not think that he will not pass the examination to become a scholar. With her son’s intelligence, he will definitely pass the examination to become a scholar.
Han Ze took a nap and planned to copy books when he woke up. The room was a little dark, not as dry and cool as outside. He didn’t care so much, so he moved the table and chairs to copy books in the yard.
When Old Lady Han saw his movements, her face froze, and she asked him: “Are you practicing calligraphy?”
Han Ze lowered his head, but he didn’t stop writing, and continued to write: “I haven’t touched a pen in a long time, my hands are rusty, I’m practicing calligraphy.”
He didn’t lie. After experiencing several worlds, he can write calligraphy with a brush, and his writing is not bad, but his handwriting is different from that of the original body. The original body is a top student, so of course his handwriting is also good. As for whose handwriting is better between the two, he arrogantly thought that his handwriting should be better than the original owner, but he was doing the task for the original owner, so even if his handwriting was better than the original owner, he could only practice writing in the style of the original owner.
Therefore, when he said that copying books can help practice calligraphy, he wanted to integrate his handwriting with the original owner, so that his current handwriting could be improved, and people would not doubt his progress.
Of course, copying books cannot rely on practicing calligraphy alone, but even if his handwriting is better, he has never taken the imperial examination. It takes time to integrate what the original owner has learned in his memory and make it his own. Otherwise, let alone passing the imperial examination, there is no hope for him to pass the scholar examination next year.
Besides, the wages for copying books can also help him solve the current problem. Not to mention how much money he earns, at least he can feed his family and maybe save enough money for next year’s imperial examination.
Killing three birds with one stone is the purpose of his choosing to copy books.
Old Lady Han smiled and said, “Practice slowly, mother won’t disturb you.”
“Come on, come on, go find some wild vegetables with grandma. We’ll have wild vegetable dumpling soup tonight.”
There were seven grandchildren. The oldest was seven and a half years old, and the youngest was Xiaobao, who was only one and a half years old. The children were young and were sleeping soundly in bed.
Farm children are tough. After the adults finish their work in the fields and at home, they have no time to take care of the children. Usually, the older ones take care of the younger ones. When they are older, they will help their parents do some small chores within their ability, such as finding some wild vegetables in the fields or on the roadside, cutting some grass for pigs, feeding the chickens and ducks at home, etc.
Old Lady Han carried a basket and went to the fields with her grandchildren. On the way, she met the old, Han Youlin, couple. Han Youlin and Han Youtian are brothers. Han Youlin’s wife’s surname is Wang. Han Wang Shi looked at the string of children behind her sister-in-law and found it quite funny. She asked, “Where are you, grandmother and grandchildren, going?”
Old Lady Han was both helpless and amused: “Han Ze is now well and is practicing calligraphy at home. I was afraid that the children would make noise and disturb him. They were clamoring for wild vegetable dumpling soup, so I took them out to dig wild vegetables. There are many children at home, so we can only do this.”
When Han Wang Shi heard that Han Ze was well, she was happy for him and asked, “From the tone of your voice, what are Han Ze’s plans for next year?”
Old Lady Han sighed, “If I don’t let the eldest son study, with his health, what else can he do? Now that he is well, he can take the exam if he wants. I don’t believe that God would let the eldest son survive without giving him a way to live.”
Han Wang Shi comforted her, “Han Ze has experienced so much hardship, it’s time for his luck to change. Don’t worry too much.”
Old Lady Han smiled bitterly. She would worry every day as long as her eldest son failed the examination to become a scholar. How could she not worry?
As Han Wang Shi spoke, she looked at Han Jinxiu behind her and frowned, “Old woman Lu said that she wants to find an apprentice in the village, about six or seven years old. In our village, families with girls of six or seven years old should bring their children to Old Woman Lu for her to see. Then it will be up to Old Woman Lu to choose. Your Jinxiu is over seven years old and old enough. Why don’t you let her try? A girl should learn some skills so that she won’t be despised when she marries into her husband’s family in the future. ”
How could Old Lady Han not know that Granny Lu was recruiting apprentices? The key point is that Daya had already informed them in advance that Chunxue wanted Granny Lu to be her master. Daya has helped Han Ze so much. If Jinxiu were to compete with her for the only apprenticeship spot, her daughter would be so disappointed.
Han Jinxiu has a lot of thoughts in her mind. She likes embroidery and knows that Granny Lu in the village is very good at embroidery. Her mother also said that she could recruit her as a master. She has always been thinking about it. When she heard the conversation between her Grandma and Grandaunt, she was moved. She lowered her head but didn’t say anything.
When she returned home, Han Ze saw that Han Jinxiu looked unhappy. He asked gently, “What’s wrong with Jinxiu?”
Han Jinxiu’s face was tense, and she said seriously, “Dad, I want to take Granny Lu as my master and learn embroidery from her.”
Han Ze was not surprised. There was a scene of Han Jinxiu embroidering in his original memory. He said, “If you want to take Granny Lu as your master, let your mother take you to visit her and see her standards for accepting apprentices.”
Han Jinxiu felt a little aggrieved: “Mother doesn’t seem to want me to worship Granny Lu as my teacher.”
She knew the reason in her heart. But she thought that there were so many girls in the village who wanted to worship Granny Lu as their teacher. One more or one less would not affect Chunxue. Why didn’t her mother let her try?
Thinking about it, Han Ze understood the reason. The good impression of Han Daya in the family’s heart was very difficult to break.
“I’ll talk to your mother.”
Han Jinxiu smiled!
After dinner, Han Ze said to Wang Caiwei: “Tomorrow, you take Jinxiu to visit Granny Lu and ask her about the conditions for accepting disciples.”
Wang Caiwei hesitated: “Eldest sister said that Chunxue also wants to learn embroidery from Granny Lu. It’s okay for outsiders to compete with her for the quota of apprentices, but Jinxiu shouldn’t compete with her.”
Han Ze said with a smile: “I heard that Granny Lu is strict in accepting apprentices. I’m not belittling Chunxue. There are so many girls in the village competing for a quota of apprentices. How sure are you that Chunxue will be chosen by Granny Lu?”
Wang Caiwei frowned and said nothing.
Han Ze continued, “In my opinion, Granny Lu is recruiting apprentices in the village, and all the girls aged six or seven in the village are competing for one apprentice spot. This is no longer a matter of any one child, but a family matter. Chunxue and Jinxiu are both our children. If they compete together for the apprentice spot, more people will at least give us more opportunities. Who knows, one of them will be chosen by Granny Lu? At that time, our family will be the winner.”
Wang Caiwei’s eyes suddenly widened, and she carefully considered her husband’s words. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her.
If Granny Lu chose between Chunxue and Jinxiu as her apprentice, she would let Jinxiu give the spot to Chunxue without saying a word.
Now, all the six or seven-year-old girls in the village are competing for the quota. If Jinxiu gives in again, it will not be Chunxue who she is giving in for, but all the girls in the village who are competing for the apprentice quota.
If Jinxiu also participates in the competition for the apprentice quota, no matter which of the two children is chosen by Granny Lu, the first to benefit is their family. If Jinxiu does not participate in the competition for the quota, and the quota falls to someone else’s family, Jinxiu will be wronged without even fighting for it, and it will not be good for their family.
“Tomorrow, I will take Jinxiu to visit Granny Lu, and explain the situation to my eldest sister by the way. So that she won’t think too much.” Wang Caiwei figured it out and was relieved.
Han Ze smiled and nodded, “Jinxiu is a child with her own ideas. I don’t want to break the child’s wings. Even if she is a girl, she should have her own ideas. Although the son pays the father’s debt, we are still young. What we owe to our eldest sister, we should pay it back ourselves, and there is no need to involve the children.”
Wang Caiwei was ashamed. She was narrow-minded. She felt that she owed her eldest sister a favor, and she wished that both adults and children would repay her, so as not to feel guilty about her kindness.
Han Ze looked at her and comforted her, “You have good intentions, so there is no need to feel guilty towards the child. Jinxiu won’t blame you.”
Wang Caiwei felt even more ashamed because she knew Jinxiu wouldn’t blame her. Jinxiu was so young, and she actually let the child bear the debt of favor owed by them adults. It was really wrong.
The two of them were talking about Jinxiu’s apprenticeship to learn embroidery. In Han Erlang’s room, Zheng Shi coaxed the two children to sleep and lay on the bed, muttering softly: “Eldest brother was practicing calligraphy in the yard today. I saw his posture. Is he going to take part in the examination next year?”
Han Erlang closed his eyes and said in a muffled voice: “My eldest brother has studied for so many years. If he doesn’t take the examination, not only will he be unwilling, but even our parents will not be willing.”
Zheng Shi felt unhappy when she heard his words. She was very dissatisfied: “It costs several taels of silver to enter the examination room every time. It would be fine if he passed the examination, but he always faints in the examination room. If he faints in the examination room again next year, wouldn’t it be a waste of money again?”
Han Erlang frowned: “Big brother is better now. How could he be so unlucky that he faints every time?”
Zheng Shi sat up suddenly, “But the eldest brother is so unlucky that he faints every time he enters the examination room. But your parents don’t believe in evil and insist on letting the eldest brother pass the examination.”
Han Erlang opened his eyes, “What are you yelling about? It’s late at night, keep your voice down.”
Zheng Shi lay down again and said, “Erlang, I want to split up the family.”
In the dark night, Han Erlang didn’t say anything. After a long while, he said in a low voice, “Don’t talk nonsense. Our parents won’t agree.”
Zheng Shi suddenly said, “Erlang, you, you are not satisfied too? Do you want to split up the family too?”
Han Erlang smiled bitterly. All the money he earned over the years was spent on his eldest brother. How could he not have some ideas? But his parents were the masters of the family. What could he do?
Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Zheng Shi was more certain that her husband was also blaming his parents in his heart. In that case, it would be easy to deal with.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152