Hande Academy was the largest academy in Yuncheng, divided into three areas: the lecture halls, the dining hall, and the dormitories. The lecture halls were where the teachers taught, numbering more than eighteen. The dining hall was, as the name implies, for eating. The dormitories functioned as the student living quarters.
Fang Yu's classroom was the second room on the left on the first floor. Striding over, he glanced through the window. By this time, almost everyone in the classroom had arrived, each one shaking their head and reciting passages. He hurried toward the front door, only to turn the corner and come face-to-face with Master Zhang, who had been standing just inside.
[夫子 fū zǐ: Master (old form of address for teachers, scholars)]
"Good morning, Master."
Fang Yu, thick-skinned, greeted the frowning old gentleman. He noticed the deep furrows between the elder's brows, a clear sign of a frequently frowning, strict person.
"Is it still early now? One step later and the bell would have rung. Always cutting it so close to enter the lecture hall, with such laziness why bother studying hard to take the examinations? You might as well go home and farm the land. If there is a next time, don't bother writing your essay in the classroom, just stand outside the door for the entire day."
Fang Yu thought, just as expected: "This student will definitely come to the classroom early next time."
Master Zhang swept a glance over Fang Yu with eyes that seemed to see through worldly affairs, like an eagle soaring overhead, sending a chill down one's spine.
Fang Yu wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, he smiled slightly and returned the gaze.
Students had always held their masters in a certain awe, maintaining a respectful and fearful distance that created a natural chasm. But Fang Yu was different. He saw masters as colleagues—after all, he had been one himself in his previous life. And who ever felt timid in front of a colleague?
"Go in and sit down. Let it not happen again."
Fang Yu cupped his hands: "Thank you, Master."
Master Zhang watched Fang Yu's back, a trace of scrutiny in his gaze. There were twenty-one scholars in the classroom, and he knew Fang Yu fairly well, as he had been studying at the academy for three years.
His essays were not outstanding, but not the worst either—mediocre and unremarkable. Thus, he rarely required specific praise or correction, only receiving it when every student's work was being reviewed. And each time his essay was critiqued, Fang Yu was almost always silent, his character timid and compliant. Usually, Master Zhang didn't pay him much attention. Today, however, the young man's energy and spirit seemed somewhat different.
As for today's unusual aspects, he didn't dwell on them much, tentatively attributing them to Fang Yu having been on leave for many days, making him seem fresh and new.
Fang Yu, carrying his box, scurried to the second-to-last row. His seat was on the inner side near the back door, a hidden corner beloved by underachieving students.
The lecture hall was divided into six rows, with three or four scholars per row. Master Zhang, to motivate the students, assigned seats based on academic performance. Students like Fang Yu, who had mediocre results in two rounds of the provincial exams and usually performed poorly in minor tests, naturally ended up in the remote corners.
Fang Yu had just sat down when the bell rang outside. The morning hours were considered the clearest for memory. The master assigned them to first review and recite famous verses by renowned scholars on their own. In the afternoon, during the Confucian classics session, they were to select one allusion and write an essay to hand in.
After assigning the day's studies, Master Zhang sat upright at the lectern, alternately reviewing essays and supervising the students in the lecture hall.
Fang Yu read poetry for a while. His mouth became very dry. There was no tea in the lecture hall, if he kept reading aloud, his voice would become hoarse. He simply stopped vocalizing, silently read the verses for a bit, then selected an allusion from the Four Books and began writing his essay.
[The "Four Books" (四書 - Sì Shū): the foundational Confucian classics in Chinese philosophy and education, consisting of The Great Learning (大學), The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), The Analects (論語), and Mencius (孟子), which formed the core of the civil examination system for over 700 years.]
The master's requirement was not excessive—a thousand-character essay would suffice. Fang Yu finished writing in just over an hour. He set the essay aside for the ink to dry. With the compulsory assignment completed, he treated the comparatively flexible task of reading and recitation more liberally, setting it aside without a second thought, and stealthily retrieved the account book from his book box to examine.
He had retired early the previous day and had not found the opportunity to review the account book after retrieving it. Seated in such an advantageous spot, failing to slack off a little during lessons would be a disservice to himself.
He went through the accounts of the four shops under the family's name. Currently, the tea shop had the best business, with last month's income at fifty-eight taels. Next was the lantern shop; after winter, the days grew dark early and light late, common people's need for lighting increased considerably, and the lantern shop benefited accordingly, earning thirty-four taels last month. Aside from these, the other two shops had similar incomes, both around twenty-some taels.
Four shops, total monthly income over one hundred taels.
This was already a huge income. Compared to ordinary commoners, working hard their entire lives might not earn them this much.
But Fang Yu was not optimistic. The monthly expenditure for the residence was no less than fifty taels. If they hosted banquets or ate out more often, it could easily approach one hundred taels...
In short, the Fang family's income and expenditures were roughly in balance. They had been able to live comfortably, but this was only sustainable if they did not save money and no major unforeseen expenses arose.
The previous Fang Yu had saved a considerable sum, enough for him to live lavishly for two lifetimes. But now, although they appeared to be a well-off family, it was only a facade; their situation was not stable. To live comfortably and securely, they needed to find ways to build up the family estate.
Those registered as merchants could not enter government service. Those of the scholar class faced many restrictions if they engaged in commerce. Apart from industries monopolized by the court, like salt and iron, as well as purchasing farmland and estates for agriculture and sericulture, engaging in other businesses would be looked down upon and ridiculed, with severe cases even facing punishment by the authorities.
The shops under the Fang family name, for instance, had to be registered under another person's name. One could not openly declare them to be the property of Xiucai Fang Yu.
For small-scale shops like these, the authorities generally turned a blind eye. Even the county magistrate likely controlled a few shops in secret. The key was simply to prevent the business from growing too conspicuous.
Fang Yu pondered for a while. He decided he would still focus on land and agriculture. After all, he already had ten mu of fertile land under his name, but ten mu was definitely not enough, he needed to find and buy more.
Just as he had settled on this course of thought, he began to feel a pair of hostile eyes fixed upon him from somewhere within the lecture hall...
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