Jiang Ji looked at the drawer full of copper coins and shook his head. “I have enough money. You don’t need to give me any.”

“Why wouldn’t I give it to you? You’ve never gone without walnut and black sesame powder, shredded pork, or eggs in your daily life. Once you’re in the Prefectural Capital, your meals naturally have to keep up.” Ye Li said, pointing to Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya standing nearby: “Xiao Mai, Ya-ger, you two agree, don’t you?”

The two little ones nodded in unison. “Yes.”

Jiang Ya tugged at Jiang Ji’s sleeve: “Big Brother, Li-ge said walnuts are good for the brain. When you get to the Prefectural Capital, be sure to buy plenty of them.” Jiang Mai added, “Walnuts are so expensive. Big Brother, you’d better bring plenty of silver with you.”

Jiang Ji: “…Actually, with the silver I have on hand right now, I can afford walnuts.”

“It’s not just about walnuts—you’ll need meat and eggs too. Take this money to the money house tomorrow and exchange it for a five-tael silver ingot. Keep it on you; it won’t take up much space.”

“Besides, Xiao Mai, Ya-ger, and I have never been to the Prefectural Capital before. Since you’re going for a change, buy us all a little souvenir,” Ye Li added.

At those words, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya’s eyes lit up. A little souvenir from the Prefectural Capital, huh?

A huge smile had already spread across Jiang Ya’s little face. He tugged at Jiang Ji’s sleeve and said, “Big Brother, get us something cheap. If you don’t have enough money, I’ve got some!”

Jiang Mai hurriedly nodded. “That’s right, Big Brother. You pick something for me and Brother Ya, but get something expensive for Li-ge. Me and Ya-ger have money!” Hearing this, Ye Li felt “deeply gratified.” Indeed, all the love he’d poured into this little guy hadn’t been in vain.

Prompted by Jiang Mai, Jiang Ya immediately tugged at Jiang Ji’s sleeve and chimed in, “Right, right, get an expensive one for Li-ge. He works so hard every day.”

With that said, seeing the hopeful looks in the two little ones’ eyes—and since Jiang Ji felt he owed Ye Li a favor—how could he possibly refuse? He crouched down in front of the five-drawer chest and pulled out five strings of cash from the bottom drawer.

Ye Li was satisfied: “That’s more like it.”

With the money in hand, it was time to pack up the bedding.

As for the bedding at home, aside from the set on Ye Li’s bed, the rest had been made by Jiang’s mother years ago. They were old and stiff, so it didn’t matter which set they took.

Jiang Ji dug out the two sets he’d brought for the last provincial examination, rolled them up, and stuffed them into a large burlap sack.

He then placed a change of clothes into the sack, tied the opening with a rope, and that was all done.

That long robe with the silver note sewn into it—such a valuable item—naturally had to be placed at the bottom of the backpack, never out of sight.

As for the remaining books, writing brushes, and ink, Ye Li didn’t need to worry about those. Since Jiang Ji wanted to get home quickly today, he didn’t bring these heavy items. Tomorrow, the two of them would make a trip to the private school and, while they were there, hand over the money for the cart rental to Master Han.

Previously, Master Han had advanced the silver for the cart rental, so they must repay him tomorrow. With that settled, there was nothing else to do.

The family of four stepped out of the main hall, intending to go to Jiang Dahu’s house to retrieve the silver Jiang Ji had saved up.

But just then, Jiang Dahu, Liang Erxiang, and the family of four—Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu—appeared at the door, pushing a handcart. Jiang Dahu spotted Jiang Ji and said with a smile, “Xiai Ji, I’ve brought you the silver.”

Jiang Ji hurriedly replied, “Second Uncle, Ye Li and I can just go get it. Why did you and Second Aunt come all the way here? Please, have a seat. My brother-in-law bought some watermelon and wheat—why don’t you go slice it up?”

Jiang Mai nodded and went off.

Everyone had been busy drinking the bone broth at noon, so more than half the watermelon was still left.

Jiang Dahu explained, “It’s so heavy—no need for the two of you to make a special trip. Besides, it’s hot out, and you can’t work in the fields right now anyway.”

All the money Jiang Ji had saved up at his place was in copper coins, and the money Ye Li gave him was also in copper coins. Although the total was less than twenty guan, it weighed a hundred jin, so he had it brought over on a handcart.

Besides, most of the corn in the fields was already past its prime.

He’d searched for a long time this morning before finding a basketful of tender ones, which he’d brought along as well. Pointing to the basket of tender corn, he said, “Boil these up, and they’ll be enough for three meals.”

Jiang Ji looked at the corn cobs, his heart touched. “Uncle, even an old man like me can manage to munch on these. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

“Oh, come now. We don’t have much good stuff out here in the countryside. At this time of year, tender corn is all we’ve got.”

It’s just a matter of finding some tender corn—it’s not a bother at all.

“By the way, your second aunt, Xiao Liu, and Yu-ger made you two pairs of shoes. Try them on.”

Jiang Dahu said, pointing to the cloth bundle next to the backpack.

The cloth bundle contained two pairs of layered-sole cloth shoes and two pairs of straw sandals.

Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu were usually quite busy buying eggs to make preserved eggs, so the two of them worked together to sew one pair. Liang Erxiang sewed a pair on her own.

He had woven two pairs of straw sandals; although temperatures would drop after autumn set in, they would come in handy if it happened to rain.

This touched Jiang Ji even more. Jiang Dahu’s family of four farmed over ten mu of land; previously, they’d entrusted Liang Erxiang with making new clothes for Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, and now Liang Erxiang had even sewn a pair of shoes for him.

Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu weren’t left out either.

When he got married, Liang Erxiang had already made him two new pairs, so he wasn’t exactly short on shoes to wear. Jiang Ji was touched, but Ye Li felt a pang of guilt.

Well, he wasn’t even willing to make clothes, let alone shoes, which required far more skill—he could manage a few crooked stitches on a garment, but he really couldn’t handle stitching shoe soles.

At that moment, he could only let out a sigh and, in his capacity as Jiang Ji’s Fulang, politely say, “Second Uncle and Second Aunt, and Little Liu and Brother Yu, you know very well that Jiang Ji has plenty of shoes to wear. You really don’t need to go to all this trouble.”

“Especially you, Xiao Liu. You come over every day to grind grain—it’s so tiring—and yet you didn’t say a word about it.”

Ye Li’s tone carried a hint of reproach, but Jiang Liu smiled and said, “It’s not that tiring. I just sew a few stitches when I have a spare moment—it doesn’t take much effort.”

After all, sewing a pair of shoes was child’s play for her.

But earning money was as difficult as climbing to the heavens for her.

Jiang Ji had persuaded her father to think carefully about her marriage and even found her a job grinding grain, so naturally, she kept Jiang Ji’s well-being in mind.

Besides, the profit from the preserved eggs alone left her at a loss for how to thank Ye Li.

Back then, she’d brought two pounds of meat and learned the recipe in exchange—without having to pay Ye Li a single wen in commission. Since Ye Li wasn’t skilled with a needle and thread, it only made sense for her to take some time to help Ye Li with a little work.

“Exactly. Just a few stitches a day, and it’ll be done in no time.”

Jiang Dahu nodded.

Besides, with Jiang Ji’s habit of running home at the drop of a hat, even the thickest soles would eventually wear out! These shoes would have to be made sooner or later.

But as an elder, he couldn’t very well make such a jesting remark in Ye Li’s presence.

So he simply said, “Let’s take advantage of this time before the imperial exams to make a couple of new pairs of shoes, so that Little Ji can walk steadily toward a bright future.” The implication was excellent, and it also represented the well-wishes of the two elders, Jiang Dahu and Liang Erxiang, for Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji composed himself and said earnestly, “Uncle and Aunt, I’ll do my best.”

“I know you’ve worked hard all along; now you’re just one final hurdle away. But don’t put too much pressure on yourself—times are better now, and we can afford to support your education.”

Jiang Dahu added.

Jiang Ji nodded repeatedly in agreement; he knew that. He no longer felt the same tension he used to.

After exchanging a few more words and sampling the crisp, sweet watermelon, Jiang Dahu’s family didn’t linger long—they had plenty of work to do both at home and in the fields. Once they’d left, Jiang Ji and Ye Li gathered up all the copper coins to take to the money house tomorrow and exchange them for silver taels.

Two strings of copper coins would suffice; any more would weigh down their luggage.

Ye Li carried the basket of tender corn into the kitchen, intending to cook it that very night.

Tender corn paired with bone broth would certainly be better than munching on corn cakes.

They would need to borrow Jiang Tong’s oxcart tomorrow. Although they had already asked him yesterday, Jiang Ji also wanted to check on the progress of Jiang Tong’s new house, so the two of them set out, with Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya tagging along.

The new house was actually nearly finished; the main structure was complete, and the next steps were leveling the interior floor and laying the tiles. However, the family of four hadn’t been out of the courtyard long before they ran into Jiang Tong.

Jiang Tong was carrying two old hens. As soon as he saw Jiang Ji and Ye Li, he hurriedly asked, “Where are you two headed?” 

“What a coincidence—we were just about to go check on the progress of your new house,”

Ye Li said with a smile.

“Come by tomorrow instead. Take these two chickens home and make a nourishing stew for Xiao Ji.”

Jiang Tong shoved the two chickens into Ye Li’s hands.

Before Ye Li could refuse, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a string of copper coins. “It’s not much—just a token of my appreciation. Think of it as a few extra chicken drumsticks for Xiao Ji.”

“Brother Da Tong, my family…”

Jiang Ji only managed to get those five words out before Jiang Tong shoved the coins into his arms and turned to run away. “Got a ton of stuff to take care of at home. I’m heading back now. You guys come by tomorrow to get the ox cart.”

He ran as fast as he could, and Jiang Ji, caught off guard, failed to catch the heavy copper coins, which fell to the ground in a clatter. By the time Jiang Ji picked them up and looked up, Jiang Tong was already far out of sight.

Jiang Ji: “……”

He looked at Ye Li, who shook the hen in his hands, looking somewhat helpless. But just as Jiang Tong had said, it wasn’t much—it was a token of their goodwill.

The Jiang Dahu family had given theirs, and they had accepted it; naturally, they couldn’t turn away the Jiang Dachuan family’s gesture of goodwill now. He said, “Let’s go back. Boil some water to pluck the feathers. We’ll stew the chicken tonight.”

At this, Jiang Ya was the first to cheer up, quickly holding out his little hand. “Li-ge, can I help you carry one?”

“Sure, here you go.”

Ye Li handed him an old hen with both legs and wings tied together.

The old hen weighed over three pounds, but with the strength Jiang Ya had built up from gathering firewood every day, he lifted it with ease. He practically skipped along, overjoyed.

Seeing this, Jiang Mai took the other old hen as well, then caught up to him, and the two skipped home together. Ye Li and Jiang Ji walked behind them, slowly counting the string of coins.

By the time they got home, they had just finished counting.

It came to two hundred wen in total—not a large sum, but a token of their goodwill.

However, there was still half a bowl of bone broth left over from lunch. Since they were going to stew the old hen for dinner, there wouldn’t be time to drink the broth.

Ye Li hadn’t even finished frying Ye Liang’s tofu puffs when he brought out a small stove, warmed up the half-bowl of bone broth, and then called out to Ye Liang, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya to drink it.

The three of them loosened their belts and drank the entire half-bowl of bone broth. Even though there were no bones or meat left in it, they couldn’t let it go to waste!

After drinking the bone broth, the tofu puffs and dumplings were soon fried to perfection.

Ye Liang packed the food into his backpack, said goodbye to Ye Li and the others, and set off for home. Ye Li, meanwhile, plucked and slaughtered the chickens, preparing to stew both hens.

They were heading to the county town tomorrow and wouldn’t have time to clean up.

Chicken feathers were also valuable; they could be traded with the peddler for shuttlecocks or feather dusters. He had Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya collect the feathers while he gutted the two chickens. After a flurry of activity, by the time the chickens were in the pot, the sun was already slanting toward the west.

Another day was nearly over.

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya carried small stools and sat in front of the stove, ignoring the heat as they took on the task of tending the fire. Ye Li and Jiang Ji went to chop pig fodder and feed the pigs and chickens.

Nowadays, not only did the family have good food, but the pigs were also fed soybean pulp or bran at every meal, so they gained weight quickly; when they ran, their flesh quivered all over.

Pig farmers naturally love to see this, and Jiang Ji couldn’t help but say, “Let’s not sell them for the New Year—we’ll slaughter them ourselves and eat the meat.”

Ye Li nodded. “That’s exactly what I had in mind. Xiao Mai and Ya-ger’er have worked so hard; when the time comes, let them pick whatever they want and eat their fill.” Jiang Ji turned to look at him. “You’ve put in quite a bit of effort yourself.”

“I’m not a kid; I won’t be fighting with them over it.”

Ye Li raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this, the corners of Jiang Ji’s mouth turned up. Just as he was about to lean in to kiss him, Jiang Mai’s voice rang out from the front yard: “Big Brother, Li-ge! The village chief is here!”

“…We’ll kiss later tonight.”

Jiang Ji straightened up.

Ye Li chuckled and gave him a gentle shove. “Don’t you mind the smell in here?” The two of them were standing right in front of the pigsty!

At that, it was Jiang Ji’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Then, wrapping an arm around Ye Li’s shoulder, he quickly pressed a kiss to his lips. It was a fleeting kiss, barely a touch.

Jiang Ji stood up straight and said with a straight face, “It smells sweet.” “…You’re such a smooth talker.”

Though he said that, Ye Li’s face was beaming with a smile.

Jiang Ji smiled too, seizing the moment to take his hand and lead him toward the front yard.

However, once they reached the front courtyard, the two quickly let go of each other’s hands; they couldn’t be seen holding hands in front of their elders. Jiang Fuzheng was already seated on a bench, and Jiang Mai had poured him a bowl of cold water with sugar.

On the dining table, besides the bowl of cold water, there was a string of copper coins.

“Uncle Jiang, what is this…?” Jiang Ji couldn’t help but ask.

Ye Li also looked at Jiang Fuzheng with curiosity.

“This string of coins was contributed by all the villagers to help you take the imperial exams.”

Jiang Fuzheng explained.

Excluding the Jiang Dachuan and Jiang Dahu households, the village’s nineteen families each contributed fifty wen, totaling nine hundred and fifty wen. He rounded it up to a round number and added another fifty wen, making a total of one thousand wen.

Jiang Ji, of course, refused to accept it: “Uncle Jiang, I appreciate everyone’s kindness, but now that Ye Li can support my education, please take this money back.”

Jiang Fuzheng shook his head. “Ji, back in the day, the whole village was poor. We had to stretch every single coin as far as possible. You leased out all your land and were rarely home. So after your parents passed away, we haven’t been able to help you much these past few years.”

“Don’t hold a grudge against them. Even though they all share the Jiang surname, they’ve been living in Yezhao Hill for so many generations that our ties are actually quite distant now.” “Besides, the Ye family and the Dahe clan are both fully backing you, so you do have elders you can rely on.”

The three Jiang brothers never fell so low as to beg for food back then, so the villagers merely felt pity for them but didn’t do much to help.

“But the village children never bullied Xiao Mai or Ya-ger.”

“The villagers aren’t bad people at heart; they’re just so worn down by poverty that they can’t spare a thought for others.”

These words made perfect sense.

Jiang Ji nodded. “Uncle Jiang, I’ve never held a grudge against any of you.” He certainly wasn’t without support.

His second uncle treated him like his own son.

The Ye family had also done everything in their power to support his education and had even promised their own ger to him in marriage. Even without parents, there were elders who genuinely cared for and protected him.

He had never resented the villagers.

The hardships he had endured over the years could in no way be blamed on the villagers.

Hearing this, Jiang Fuzheng was deeply relieved. He continued, “I know you’re a good boy. Since you hold no grudges, accept it. Fifty wen per household—everyone can earn that back in half a day.”

“It’s just a token of our goodwill. May it help you take that final step and secure the title of Xiucai.”

With him having said that much, Jiang Ji naturally could not refuse any longer.

Fifty wen per household—given the profits from pickled eggs, it was indeed money they could earn back in half a day.

Jiang Ji was deeply moved. “Uncle Jiang, thank you all. If there’s ever any work—like writing letters—in the future, please don’t hesitate to come find me.” Jiang Fuzheng nodded with a smile. “Alright. Once you pass the exam and become a Xiucai, everyone will surely be lining up to ask for a Xiucai’s calligraphy.” These words made Jiang Ji blush with embarrassment, and he repeatedly protested that he wasn’t worthy.

Although his calligraphy had been praised by his teacher, he certainly didn’t deserve to be called a “master calligrapher.”

Jiang Fuzheng asked a few more questions, then, ignoring Jiang Ji and Ye Li’s attempts to keep him, left shortly afterward. Jiang Ji walked back into the courtyard from the gate. He went to the dining table and picked up the string of coins.

It was heavy.

But life had truly begun to improve. He turned to look at Ye Li.

All of this was thanks to Ye Li.

Ye Li, unaware of his thoughts, raised a finger and pointed toward the main hall: “Put it in the backpack.” He hummed in acknowledgment and smiled.

While Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were focused on the stove, he tapped his lips with his other hand. Ye Li was delighted: “Let’s go. I happen to have something to tell you.”

When such a wonderful husband invites you, of course, you have to say yes!