Chapter 38: Setting Off for the Prefecture Capital

During dinner, the family quickly reached a consensus. Wang Jinbao made the final decision: "This time, the eldest will go along again!"

"The prefectural capital is not like the county town; it is crowded and complex. You must be careful!"

Wang Daniu, who had been burying his head in his bowl, quickly set down his chopsticks and replied, "Yes!"

Before dawn the next day, Wang Daniu had already set off through the dew, heading straight for the town's escort agency. He returned before noon with the news: "Father! The day after tomorrow! The escort agency has a shipment heading to the prefectural capital, and it is being led by Head Escort Chen, someone we are well-acquainted with!"

"The day after tomorrow?!" Mrs. Zhao nearly dropped her vegetable basin. "Even if we were being chased by dogs, it wouldn't be this urgent!"

Wang Jinbao slapped his thigh. "Good! Better early than late! Mother of his, hurry up and get things packed!"

The entire Wang courtyard instantly descended into chaos. The prefectural examination was in April, and the academy examination, which occurs twice every three years, was in June. If he passed the prefectural examination, he would have to wait until after the academy examination in June to return home. Counting it up, he would be away for nearly four months—unlike the previous county examination, where he was back in less than half a month.

Whether influenced by his eldest brother and father or not, the entire family seemed to have no doubt that Wang Mingyuan would pass the prefectural examination smoothly. His father and brother even piously believed that not only would he pass, but he would excel! After all, their ancestors beneath the earth had already "exerted their power."

Mrs. Zhao counted the days on her fingers; the more she counted, the paler her face grew, and the harder she stuffed the cured meat into the ceramic jar. Leg of pork, smoked to a glossy sheen, was packed in layer after layer, making the jar look as if it might burst.

"Mother, that’s enough! It’s not like they don't sell meat in the prefectural capital!" Wang Mingyuan hurriedly stopped her hand, which was still trying to shove sausages into the gaps.

"It’s so expensive to buy outside! This was all smoked specifically for you two brothers, and you’ll be gone for so long this time..." Mrs. Zhao glared at him, then turned and shouted toward the kitchen, "Hu-niu! Carry out that bag of freshly milled flour!"

Wang Mingyuan felt his vision darken. "Mother! There's even less need to bring flour! It’s heavy as a rock, and the prefectural capital surely sells it too, at a reasonable price. If you have that much extra space, it’s better to bring something else!"

"Oh... I suppose that’s true." Mrs. Zhao sheepishly withdrew her hand, her eyes darting to the stone mill in the corner. "Then, how about this..."

Wang Mingyuan almost jumped. "Are you moving house?"

Hu-niu, huffing and puffing, dragged a semi-old five-drawer cabinet out from the inner room. "Third Brother! When you rent a house, you can put this in your room to store your books!"

Looking at the cabinet, which stood half as tall as a person, Wang Mingyuan completely lost his temper. "...Hu-niu, the cabinet... really isn't necessary."

"Then Mother will swap it for a smaller one!" Mrs. Zhao turned to rush back into the inner room.

"It's not about the size!"

Wang Mingyuan grabbed his mother, pointing at the mountain of luggage in the courtyard—bedding rolled into thick cylinders, pots and pans tied securely with straw ropes, and several benches stuffed into the gaps with their legs pointing skyward. It looked like they were opening a general store.

"Mother! We are going to take an exam! We aren't moving to the prefectural capital to settle down!"

"But I was thinking, it's four months, and you have to rent a courtyard—isn't that settling down? It won't be comfortable living there without these things!"

After much persuasion, he finally convinced his mother and younger sister to leave behind the benches, the large basins, and other bulky items, causing the "mountain" in the courtyard to slim down considerably.

Just as Wang Mingyuan caught his breath, his father strolled over to him, hands behind his back, wearing a rare expression of solemnity.

"Third son, come into the room."

Wang Jinbao pulled him into the main room, sat him down, and fumbled to pull something wrapped in coarse cloth from his bosom, thrusting it into his palm.

He took it and opened the cloth to reveal two silver banknotes, folded squarely and still warm from his father's body. Each was fifty taels. A full one hundred taels.

Wang Mingyuan's fingers felt as if they had been burned. He knew the family's income over the past few years; the lion's share came from the braised meat shop, followed by medicinal herbs. Through years of successful cooperation, they had established long-term supply contracts with pharmacies. Half of their land was now dedicated to high-value annual medicinal herbs, while the harvesting of wild herbs continued, mainly managed by his mother and Hu-niu when they weren't busy. Then there was the pig slaughtering, though the income from that was modest and mostly supplied their own shop.

The income from simple grain farming was minimal, barely enough to feed the family. After all, everyone in the family was a "strength fanatic" and a big eater—everyone except him. Calculating the annual income, minus daily expenses, they had a surplus of just over 100 taels. His father was giving him the entire year's earnings.

He knew that besides the one time they had renovated the house with blue bricks and tiles, his parents had been diligently saving the rest of their income, saying it was for his imperial examinations. At this moment, Wang Mingyuan’s eyes grew hot.

"Take it," Wang Jinbao said in a low, pressed voice.

"A poor family provides for the road. Your eldest brother has dozens of taels of loose silver on him; use his for expenses on the way. This... keep this in your most secure inner pocket. Only take it out if there is an emergency! Do you hear me?"

"Father..." His throat tightened. "The family..."

"Don't you worry about the family!" Wang Jinbao glared. "I’m not dead yet! Are your eldest and second brothers just for show? Just focus on your exams! Our family's good life today—what part of it doesn't owe its success to you? The braised meat recipe, the herb business... without you, your old man would still be scratching a living out of the dirt! There isn't one person in this family who isn't pinning their hopes on you to rise in the world!"

In the eyes of Wang Mingyuan's parents, the family's wealth was all thanks to his original recipes and ideas. Without him, who knew what kind of hardship the Wang family would still be enduring.

The Wang family were, in fact, content people, even his eldest sister-in-law. Although she had complained in the past when times were tough and they had to support him, it was always just talk. If it had truly come down to abandoning him when he was a sickly child, his sister-in-law likely couldn't have been that heartless.

Thinking of this, Wang Mingyuan pondered. It seemed he would need to find new ways to help the family make a living later, but that would have to wait until after the prefectural and academy examinations. Firstly, he didn't want to be distracted; secondly, the truly profitable ideas required a certain level of status to implement and protect. Thirdly, he needed to carefully choose partners, as his ideas would require a merchant caravan to execute—he couldn't do it alone.

His father continued to nag him with instructions, then suddenly reached out a rough, large hand and squeezed his shoulder hard enough to ache, saying with a mix of piety and fervor:

"Remember, succeed! The higher you rank, the better! The blue smoke rising from the Wang family’s ancestral graves must not have been for nothing!"

Wang Mingyuan: "? What graves...? What rising smoke?"

***

The morning after next, the Wang courtyard gate creaked open. Amidst the reluctant gazes of his mother and Hu-niu, Wang Jinbao led Wang Daniu, Wang Erniu, and that mountain-like luggage away from Qingshui Village.

Once they reached the escort agency in town, the eldest brother could not resist Wang Mingyuan’s insistence; he rented a separate carriage and loaded half of the "mountain" onto it. This time, Wang Mingyuan did not have to squeeze into the merchant caravan's carriage and sat in their own rented one instead. He had wanted to rent another, but his eldest brother refused, stubbornly carrying the other half of the "mountain" while walking alongside the escort team.

"Be alert on the road," Wang Jinbao instructed Wang Daniu. "Protect your brother, and protect yourself!"

Wang Erniu grinned and punched Wang Mingyuan on the shoulder with considerable force. "Third brother! Study hard! By the time you come back as a Xiucai, the child in your second sister-in-law's belly will have arrived! Then you, the honored Xiucai, can name your nephew! It must be a grand name!"

Wang Mingyuan rubbed his numb shoulder, the sadness of departure dulled by the moment, and smiled in agreement. "Done! Leave it to me!"

The carriage finally creaked onto the main road, crushing the damp, cold yellow earth of dawn as it slowly traveled southeast toward the prefectural capital. Wang Daniu swung his long legs, walking steadily beside the carriage.

Wang Mingyuan lifted the curtain of the small window at the back of the carriage and looked back. Under the old tree at the entrance of the town, two familiar figures were still standing there, growing smaller and smaller, gradually blending into the faint morning light until they were no longer clear.