Chapter 74
Zhao Ger was amused by him, his brows and eyes relaxing into a smile.
"Alright..." he was about to speak when Zhou Ger and Aunt Liu arrived. Seeing the red swelling on his exposed skin, they urged him to go back.
Though Fang Zichen was clearly strong and capable, his fair complexion and delicate hands with their slender fingers showed that before ending up in Xiaohe Village, he must have been pampered at home, someone who'd never done hard labor. That he'd even shown up to help, and with such genuine willingness, was already more than enough for them.
Fang Zichen reached out and pinched Zhao Ger’s back, grinning with satisfaction when he saw him wince. "Then I’ll help Uncle Liu carry the corn back!"
He was strong, and Uncle Liu’s leg hadn’t fully recovered—he limped so badly that just watching him walk was painful. If the harvested corn wasn’t carried back and left in the field, it would surely be stolen unless someone guarded it overnight. Aunt Liu nodded. "That’ll do."
Fang Zichen wasn’t used to carrying a shoulder pole, and the weight hurt his shoulders. Instead, he simply tucked two large sacks of corn under his arms and strode effortlessly down the mountain.
Aunt Liu watched for a while before laughing. "Before, when they said he carried heavy loads at the dock and earned dozens of copper coins a day, I thought it was an exaggeration. But though Fang boy looks a bit skinny, his strength is no joke." She turned to Zhao Ger and said sincerely, "You’ve finally turned your life around."
Uncle Liu, still carrying his own load of corn, had only made it halfway when he saw Fang Zichen walking back, not even out of breath.
"Kid, you’ve got some real strength!" Uncle Liu praised.
Fang Zichen didn’t bother with modesty. "No big deal. If I had more hands, I could carry four sacks at once."
He made two trips, his figure darting across the fields like a striking sight. It was the busy farming season, and the fields were livelier than the village. Plenty of people saw him.
Many gers and women stole glances at him, while the bolder ones stared openly.
An old man working the neighboring field remarked to his fellow, "That Fang kid is truly kind-hearted. Just last week when he was walking home from work, he spotted me struggling with firewood and carried the whole load right to my doorstep without being asked."
The other man paused his work, glancing at Fang Zichen. "You can tell just by his face that he’s a good one. And he’s got prospects—much better than that Scholar Wang from Xiaorong Village."
In these times, all trades were looked down upon except scholar. Hearing the disdain in his voice, the old man asked, "What did Scholar Wang do to you?"
The man curled his lip. "Last year, I went to the market, and it started raining on the way back. I happened to run into the village chief and hitched a ride on his ox-cart. Scholar Wang was on it too." The left side of the cart was reserved for women and gers, while the right side was for the men. He sat next to Scholar Wang. As a village man who couldn’t even read, he held scholars in awe. Since they weren’t familiar, he didn’t sit too close. But the moment he sat down, Scholar Wang wrinkled his nose and looked him up and down with obvious disdain before abruptly standing up to change seats with someone else.
The insult couldn't have been clearer.
The men in their village might be sloppy, but even the sloppiest had some pride. When going to the market, they at least cleaned themselves up. What exactly was Scholar Wang finding so offensive?
He wasn’t even dirty!
"I heard he’s been studying under the old scholar in town since he was little. He’s taken the exams eight or nine times and still hasn’t even passed the tongsheng examination level. I don’t know what gives him the right to look down on people. Fang Zichen is way better than him."
"Now, that’s not entirely fair," the old man said. "Scholars have their standards. Fang Zichen might be good and know a few characters, but he can’t compare to those proper scholars aiming for the imperial exams."
Someone else chimed in, "Yeah, yeah. No matter how good Fang Zichen is, he’s still just a laborer. Scholar Wang is different—if he passes the exams someday, he’ll become an official and bring glory to his ancestors."
"Pfft. Whether he’ll bring glory or not, I don’t know. But I’ve heard his family has sold several acres of land just to fund his studies. His father was born the same year as me, but now? Tsk. He looks at least twenty years older than me, skinny as a monkey. I don’t know what they’re even hoping for."
"Times are hard now, but if Scholar Wang really makes it, at least when they die, they can face their ancestors with some pride."
"Are you stupid? You think your ancestors are just hanging around in the underworld waiting for your report card?"
Their debate grew heated, with most agreeing that no matter how good Fang Zichen was, he couldn’t compare to Scholar Wang. But when they later learned that Fang Zichen had asked the village chief and Liu Daleng to recommend him for the tongsheng exam, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
Xiaohe Village buzzed with the news all over again.
For farmers, the seventh month was the busiest time of the year. After harvesting the corn, it was time to gather the crops in the fields.
Though Xiaohe Village was located in the southern part of Great Xia, rice could only be grown once a year there. In places like Puxia Prefecture, rice was harvested twice a year, so naturally, the people there lived better.
Summer brought heavy rains, and once the rice was ripe, it had to be harvested quickly. Otherwise, aside from rats and birds eating it, there was the risk of strong winds and downpours flattening the crops, leaving them to rot in the water.
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