Scholars with academic achievements, especially those like Xie Yan who possess genuine talent, wasting their time here is truly not worth it. The few private libraries in the county have already dealt with Xie Yan, and the prices cannot be raised.
Xie Yan could earn money by memorizing books. There are many types of books, such as those Xie Yan read at the academy, which the owners of private libraries outside did not have. If they wanted them, Xie Yan would write them out from memory and sell them to them. This work certainly couldn’t be priced like ordinary handwritten copies, as Xie Yan had been cheated in the past.
For books that were only briefly viewed, if there was enough time, they could hire someone to copy them. Books cannot be disassembled; they must be kept intact, which does not save time. Some owners are cautious and will ask Xie Yan to memorize and transcribe them again.
However, these tasks are as time-consuming and low-paying as handwritten copies, keeping people stuck at their desks for extended periods, which is physically taxing. If one falls ill from this, the medical expenses would exceed the earnings.
Most importantly, rare books are valuable precisely because they are scarce, and Xie Yan has limited access to them.
Xie Yan nodded repeatedly: “Hmm hmm.”
Wu Pingzhi said, “You must use your skills to earn money, and your greatest skill is reading. Next February there will be the童生 exam. Prepare early by predicting the exam questions, find a few workshops to print small booklets, and go around selling them. Write one copy and sell hundreds or even thousands of copies. You’re not copying others’ books or using others’ treasured possessions to make money, so no one can cause you trouble. If you can predict the exam questions successfully and someone passes the exam because of it, your chance to make a fortune will come.”
What’s the point of taking the preliminary exam? Being a scholar in the county seat isn’t very useful.
Look at how Xie Yan has been bullied. The key is that you can still take the provincial and imperial exams afterward.
Wu Pingzhi glanced at the door and windows, then lowered his voice and said, ” You just said that when you go out to sell buns, you shout, ‘The boss spent a hundred taels of silver to learn this skill.’ Selling this booklet is the same—you need to use someone else’s reputation. Use your name for the童生 exam booklet. Your ranking is high, and all the scholars in this county know you have an eidetic memory. Not to mention the童生, even other scholars will buy a copy to look at. Just wait and see.”
Xie Yan listened with a burning heart. He was useful!
Lu Liu and Xie Yan couldn’t make the decision on their own. They were happy to hear that there was money to be made, so they just agreed and waited for Lu Yang to return and make the final decision.
Xie Yan didn’t want Lu Yang to worry too much, so he pulled Wu Pingzhi aside to discuss other details.
At this point, he invited Wu Pingzhi to stay for dinner. He had planned to go out and find a restaurant, but Wu Pingzhi noticed that Lu Liu couldn’t get a word in, so he said, “Recently in the provincial capital, there were too many social engagements, and I’ve grown tired of the food. I’d like to eat some home-cooked dishes.”
Lu Liu quickly got up and went to the kitchen to prepare some home-cooked dishes.
At that moment, Lu Yang and Miao Xiaohu were chatting idly on the street, watching two men load goods onto a cart.
Rice and flour were easy to carry and wouldn’t break, and they could be stored around the jars to make room for future deliveries, so Li Feng took some extra.
With this arrangement, the two men could only sit together in the cart.
Lu Yang didn’t want to sit next to Li Feng, so he asked Miao Xiaohu, “I wonder if we can ride a mule.”
Miao Xiaohu said, “It should be possible. Mules can carry goods, so why can’t they carry people?”
That made sense, but Li Feng disagreed.
Lu Yang rode the mule and walked ahead of him. Why should he?
Seeing him like this, Lu Yang wanted to roll his eyes.
Just because he was walking ahead, did that make him the boss? Look how angry he was.
“We haven’t even ridden yet.”
After loading the goods, they left the county town early.
On the way, Lu Yang chatted with Miao Xiaohu.
Lu Liu rarely left the village and lived at the foot of the mountain, so when he asked about the new village, Miao Xiaohu didn’t think it was a problem and told him everything.
“All the villages are the same. The new village isn’t at the foot of the mountain, and it’s no different from Chenjiawan. It’s just that there are more people who keep dogs. I’ve never seen so many dogs before. When one barks, the others all start barking too. If you’re not used to it, it can be noisy. But occasionally when you go out, seeing them running around in packs is actually quite interesting.”
Lu Yang imagined the scene and smiled, then said to Li Feng, “If Er Huang has puppies, bring me one to raise. I want to keep a dog to guard the house.”
Li Feng had already decided to take one home.
Sanmiao told him, “Erhuang is a male dog; he can’t have puppies. It’s my family’s Sanliang who had them. Dafeng and I have agreed that since you two are family, one dog is enough!”
Lu Yang wasn’t family with him, so he asked Sanmiao again, “Oh, I see. I’m asking for my older brother in the county. Do the dogs in the village give them away for adoption?”
Generally, they don’t give them away. They don’t recognize wealthy families. Farmers raise livestock for meat and money. Some people in the village raise dogs for money, but these hunters don’t associate with those people.
Lu Liu’s older brother in the county, who is Lu Yang himself, has the basic conditions for raising dogs. If Li Feng is willing to vouch for him, he can find a puppy in the village.
This doesn’t need to be handled by Sanmiao; just have Li Feng go out and ask around.
Li Feng asked him, “Do you really want to keep a dog?”
Lu Yang really wants to keep a dog; his household is too weak, and a dog can scare people away.
He said, “I’ll get one after spring when the weather warms up.”
He hasn’t even taken care of himself properly yet, so let’s wait and see.
The two of them were talking in a way that Sanmiao and Miao Xiaohuo couldn’t understand.
Lu Yang asked about the eating habits in the village.
Miao Xiaohuo laughed, “We’re all from the same county; it’s just different villages. There’s not that much of a difference. Take your family’s Dafeng and my family’s Sanmiao, for example. They’re hunters, but they don’t eat wild game every day. It’s just that after they go up the mountain, the food at home becomes much more abundant.”
Sometimes when there’s no game, they’ll gather some mountain mushrooms and wild vegetables.
There are wild bamboo forests in the mountains, and winter bamboo shoots can be dug up in winter.
Lu Yang wanted winter bamboo shoots. In winter, there are few vegetables, and people get tired of eating radishes and cabbage. If there are winter bamboo shoots, it’s even better.
“My brother’s shop also sells vegetables. Other mountain products will be available after the New Year. If you have any extra winter bamboo shoots, you can bring them over to sell. The price is negotiable.” Lu Yang acted naturally.
Miao Xiaohu had just married into the village and couldn’t make decisions. He looked at Sanmiao, who agreed.
“Alright, isn’t Dafeng planning to go up the mountain? I’ll take a few young people to explore the mountain pass.”
Lu Yang didn’t understand and didn’t want to pull someone else’s husband aside to ask, so he turned to look at Lifen.
Li Feng explained to him: “Going up the mountain has two options. One is the daily trip, where you go in the morning and return at night, hunting whatever you can find. This stays at the mountain pass, without venturing deeper into the mountains. We always bring a few young people along to teach them some survival skills in the forest, how to identify animal tracks, and practice shooting at live targets when encountering game. During these trips, they can also dig for bamboo shoots. The other type is venturing deep into the mountains, which takes at least ten days or half a month to complete. In my case, it usually takes two or three months as a minimum.”
Lu Yang furrowed his brows: “Two or three months?”
He wasn’t worried about Li Feng; he was worried about his younger brother.
There are only a few months in a year, and going into the mountains once takes so long.
Can one endure the days, but can one endure the worry and anxiety in one’s heart?
San Miao chimed in: “Lu Fulang, you don’t know, the hunters in our village all have hunting grounds. Although the territories aren’t explicitly divided, the game in that area is regularly wiped out. When we go there, only the young ones are left. We don’t hunt the young ones. We started late, so this hunting area was cleared out by Da Feng as a safe route, though it’s a bit farther away. We’ve been there for years, and we’ve dug out log cabins and cellars, so it’s safe.”
But feeling safe isn’t something you can just say, you know.
Every family has its own set of problems.
Miao Xiaohuo knew that Sanmiao was partnered with Li Feng, and she furrowed her brows: “You’ve been there for at least two or three months?”
That’s right.
They went together, so they couldn’t return separately.
