Looking at the candy that had been shared and licked by everyone, Fang Zichen shook his head and said, "Thank you, Father doesn't want any. Are you hungry? Do you want to go home with Father to eat?"
Guaizai furrowed his little brows and said he hadn't introduced his new little friends to Fang Zichen yet.
The other children stood up now, seeming very afraid of Fang Zichen. They stood straight as boards, not daring to breathe heavily.
They seemed fearful, yet they also looked at Fang Zichen with admiration.
Guaizai had been playing with them all morning. The friendship built on one piece of candy was quite solid, by now they were like brothers who had been through life and death together.
He pointed at one of the children, saying this one was Xiao Hei.
Fang Zichen looked at the child.
"..." This name is damn fitting.
The child was black as charcoal, only his two eyes were bright and shiny, like an African child.
If it were nighttime, he probably wouldn't even be able to see him.
Then there was Ya Dan, Gou Sheng, Er Zhu, Hu Zi...
Children should always have a few little friends.
The county exam was over. In another half month, he would have to set off for the prefectural city to take the prefectural exam.
He had looked at the exam papers from previous years in the bookstore. Based on that, the difficulty wasn't too great.
He was confident about passing the upcoming prefectural exam. However, he knew the academy examination—the final and most demanding stage of the local imperial tests—would be a greater challenge. Earning the xiucai degree required a higher level of mastery. While he didn't plan to study from dawn till dusk, he knew he would have to dedicate significantly more effort to it than he had for the previous two exams.
His initial reason for taking the imperial examinations had been purely to avoid being conscripted as a border soldier—a motive he now found somewhat shameful.
Later, his goal had shifted to the simple, fundamental need to put food on the table.
Now... he had fully witnessed how much importance this era placed on scholars. Why did those turtle grandsons from Anhe Academy dare to throw their weight around in front of him, pick fights, and tell his fulang to get lost?
Wasn't it precisely because they were literate?
If he didn't work hard, such things would definitely happen again in the future.
And if the other party had a more noble status, more power, he was afraid he might really have to flee with his whole family.
Moreover, if he didn't fight for the steamed bun, at least fought for a breath of air.
[不争饅頭争口氣 (bù zhēng mántou zhēng kǒu qì): lit. not fighting for the steamed bun, but fighting for a breath of air; fig. to strive for recognition or vindication, to stand up for oneself to gain respect.]
His stepson was really just like him, so discerning. The boy seemed unimpressed by everyone, yet he had, against all odds, set his heart on a young ger like Yang Mingyi.
A ger who possessed both remarkable talent and striking looks—how could someone like that ever come 'cheap' or be easily won?
If he didn't work hard and achieve success, his son's future was limited to being a poor farmer, digging food out of the dirt, and he didn't even have a plot of land himself. This place emphasized matching social status, how could the other family possibly consider him?
His own son, in his own eyes, was definitely the very best!
Guaizai was obedient and sensible. Fang Zichen adored him to death right now, willing to give him the stars but not the moon.
He still had to strive hard, to let his son be an official's second generation, a rich second generation.
And also... it pained him deeply to witness Zhao Ger toil until he was worn out. But what truly fueled his resolve was the memory of the hurt in Zhao Ger's eyes—that sting of shame and the look of profound injustice whenever he was shoved aside or told to get lost.
He wanted to become the force that allowed Zhao Ger to straighten his back, wanted to become the capital that allowed him to be 'willful and arbitrary', 'unrestrained and carefree'.
Zhao Ger knew a few characters, and just hearing his name, anyone knew it wasn't chosen randomly.
Thinking about it this way, before he was abducted, his family circumstances were probably quite good, maybe even more than just ordinary.
Academies didn't accept girls or gers. The only paths to literacy for them were either informal lessons from educated parents or the expensive option of hiring a private tutor to teach them at home.
If they were just ordinary, where would they get the spare money for that?
If they had money, they would only send boys.
After all, gers and girls were meant to be married off, and once married, they belonged to another family.
People here emphasized having many sons and grandsons and were superstitious. Only boys could inherit the family business.
Without a son, the family line ended.
So, barring any accidents, Zhao Ger's family definitely had more than just him as a child.
He had to work harder. The imperial examinations were the fastest way for him to gain power.
But if he wanted to pass all the hurdles and advance straight to the top, he probably wouldn't have much time to spend with the child in the future. If Guaizai had friends he could play with, who had good character, then his entire childhood should be carefree and happy.
Moreover, how could a little boy like him always carrying a small basket on his wrist to collect sheep droppings? What kind of thing was that!
A boy should act like a boy. He should play in the mud when it's time to play in the mud.
He should play house when it's time to play house.
As long as he didn't get beaten up, or follow a female monkey into the mountains to become a wild man, Fang Zichen had no objections.
Fang Zichen felt in his pocket and pulled out a handful of candy.
The wax paper was brightly colored. Having just eaten it, they knew it was sweet and delicious, completely different from malt sugar, a hundred times better than malt sugar. The children's pupils shook with astonishment, and drool dripped from the corners of their mouths, but not a single one stepped forward to snatch any.
Fang Zichen gave each child two pieces of candy. Only then did Fang Zichen take Guaizai and Liuliu back home.
____
Before leaving the city gate at noon, Zhao Ger saw someone selling fish and specifically bought one.
A full eight jin.
However, this fish had a big head. After scaling it back home, gutting and cleaning it, only a little over seven jin remained.
He had invited Aunt Liu's family over for dinner that night, as well as the village chief, Wang Damei, He Daleng, Uncle Liu, and the clan leader.
These families had previously vouched for Fang Zichen. While he had already thanked them with gifts of meat, their recent initiative—going out of their way to check the examination results in the dark, showing genuine concern for Fang Zichen's success. Just for that, he should properly invite them for a meal.
Beyond mere thanks, it was also a practical necessity. As outsiders in Xiaohe Village, building and maintaining strong relationships with its influential leaders was essential for putting down roots and securing their place in the community.
There wasn't anything he needed their help with today, but what if he needed it in the future?
He had been sold to Xiaohe Village. He didn't have a single relative in the village. Fang Zichen was also an outsider, they didn't even know which mountain overseas his ancestral grave was buried on. A single tree doesn't make a forest. If they didn't get along well, and they encountered a situation like last time where they needed people to vouch for them, how would they handle it? How could they have the nerve to ask for help?
[独木不成林 (dú mù bù chéng lín): lit. a single tree does not make a forest; fig. one person alone cannot accomplish much, it takes a team or community.]
With more people, cooking became more troublesome.
Zhou Ger and Aunt Liu came over in the afternoon to help.
Zhao Ger was still young and lacked experience. With many people, he wasn't sure how much rice to cook.
When inviting people for a meal, it was better to have leftovers than not enough.
For dishes, there was one fish and two jin of meat. It might not sound like much, but for poor families, this was no worse than what they ate during the New Year.
A feast of fish and meat was respectable enough.
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