CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 41: LET HIM GO STUDY?

"Jin Niang, why are you so angry today? Actually, I understand what the second son meant. He wouldn’t really let the third son go, especially since the third son isn’t even of age yet," Mr. Gu lay on the brick bed, thinking about Mrs. Lv’s unusual outburst of anger just now.

When Mrs. Lv heard Mr. Gu call her Jin Niang, she was momentarily stunned, for it was a name he hardly ever used anymore. How many years had it been? This name felt unfamiliar, yet it stirred up past memories, memories she couldn’t easily forget.

"Hmph! He doesn’t want the third son to go? He would love for the third son to take his place. Isn’t he going to use Silver? What? Because he’s your biological son, you can’t bear it when I hit him? Gu Changqing, the second son is your son, but isn’t the third son your son too? You’re just biased toward the ones in front?" After a while, Mrs. Lv came back to her senses, sneering disdainfully.

"What are you implying? I never thought of letting the third son go. The third one is still small, how can he work on the river dike? Don’t overthink this. Sigh! Tomorrow I will go to my elder brother’s place to see if we can borrow some silver. His family is also struggling; their son Hua is studying in town, and the expenses are quite high. I heard he is doing well with his studies, and their teacher plans to let him take the exam next year! If they have to serve in labor duty, they would also need to pay to avoid it, and I’m not sure if they can lend us any money. Oh, how much Silver do we have left?" Mr. Gu felt awkward mentioning the eldest son but was worried about the dwindling family savings.

"There’s still fifteen taels and several hundred coins."

"Then let’s borrow three taels from my elder brother, keep a few hundred coins at home, and after the busy farming season, have the older ones head to town to find some short-term work." Hearing they still had fifteen taels, Mr. Gu breathed a sigh of relief.

"I want to send Xiao Bao to study." In the darkness, Mrs. Lv calmed down but threw out a statement that shocked Mr. Gu.

"What? Study?" Mr. Gu found it hard to believe and sat up from the bed. How could his wife think of letting Xiao Bao study?

"Do you think Xiao Bao is like the other kids in the village? Xiao Bao is good-looking and smart. If we let him study, he will surely make something of himself. Have you forgotten what the master said? Xiao Bao is destined to do great things." In the dark, Mrs. Lv’s eyes shone with a peculiar light.

"You know Xiao Bao is frail, not at all like a farm kid. If he has to dig in the soil, will he be able to handle it?"

"But we don’t have money. Paying for labor duty taxes will empty our savings. Studying costs a lot; it’s not just about buying a few books. You’ve stayed with wealthy families and should know this best. Besides, right now, the family relies on the eldest and second sons. Would they support him through his studies? The second one’s wife would have a fit." Mr. Gu calmed down and began to analyze the possibility of this, knowing without a doubt that it was impossible.

Gu Chengyu, lying behind the curtain, heard his mother say she wanted him to study and was a bit surprised. When he transmigrated here, he almost forgot he hadn’t seen the characters of this era yet, unsure if they were traditional or not. If not, wouldn’t he be illiterate? To do business, at the very least, he needed to be able to read and write, right? He didn’t expect his mother to have such advanced ideas.

"We must find a way. Don’t you want our family to produce a scholar? Why are people afraid of the village chief? Because of his power, not him as a person. Lin Wen, his son, although he hasn’t passed the prefecture exam, is still a scholar and can find work as an accountant in town, earning a monthly salary more than working in the fields. Old man, Xiao Bao’s not an ordinary child, remember? Xiao Bao will never be a bootless laborer." Mrs. Lv tirelessly persuaded, making Mr. Gu’s already hesitant heart waver even more.

"I have to think more about it, but the eldest and the others..." Mr. Gu found it difficult. They wouldn’t agree because studying is a bottomless pit. By the time Xiao Bao finishes, their children would already be married. Who would want to support a younger brother through school?

"When Xiao Bao makes it, they’ll definitely benefit. If he’s lucky enough to pass the scholar exam, the family land will be exempt from taxes, and even one household’s poll tax will be exempted. It would be good to use some silver to become a county magistrate or secretary, there’s a lot of benefits. How could the eldest and the others disagree? If he becomes a scholar, he’ll be an official and the family will enjoy endless riches; wouldn’t the eldest and others share the glory? Walking anywhere, they’d be addressed as sir. Old man, can you really bear to let Xiao Bao’s potential go wasted?" Mrs. Lv painted a grand picture that made Mr. Gu more hesitant.

Gu Chengyu was a bit surprised by his mother’s grand ambition and amused by her persuasion skills. Then again, it’s true: in ancient times, they upheld: "Of all pursuits, only studying is of the highest form." In such an era, producing a scholar in the family was an incredible honor. Just like his great-uncle, being the eldest, before the famine, the Gu family had some savings and he studied for a few years. Although he’s now retired at home, he once worked as the second manager in a prefecture city restaurant in his youth.

Look at Lin Lize, wasn’t he village chief because he studied a few more years? His family didn’t compromise because of the village chief’s authority and power. Besides, in the past life, he was interested in ancient literature and studied some topics. From this viewpoint, studying was indeed a good path.

Gu Chengyu returned to his space, planning to sort out all the historical books on the imperial examination system in the shopping mall. Regardless of whether this era’s exam system was similar to that of the previous life, it could still be a reference, right? There were also poems and essays that needed more study; after all, the ancients were prone to striking up poetry.

He organized a small part before resting and prepared to train his Inner Strength. He took a sip of Spiritual Spring and sat cross-legged on the mat in the training room, following the instructions of the secret manual to cultivate. Every day, he had to seize the time, and at the very least, practice for an hour and a half.

An hour and a half passed quickly for Gu Chengyu. His Inner Strength had made noticeable progress. Now, if he went to Changling Mountain, a small stone flicked with his strength could probably kill a wild chicken. Indeed, it was that weak. Sigh! It seemed that training Inner Strength was not easy, but he only started practicing a few days ago and had some time, so this progress was already commendable.

He casually picked up a Herb Atlas, which cataloged several hundred types of herbs, complete with illustrations. It was convenient since just reading the descriptions wasn’t enough to correctly identify the types of herbs, as some looked very similar. He started to study it carefully, matching the words with the illustrations.