Chapter 23: Top Scholars Are Not Cabbages

"Eldest sister is truly kind-hearted," Second Brother-in-law Zhou said with a smile. "Thinking of the Sun family village, she specially transported these clothes back."

Hearing his brother-in-law mention that four large sacks had been brought over, one didn't need to say more to know that this pile of old clothes alone was worth a significant amount of silver. Since they came from the prefectural city, the fabric must be of high quality, making them even more valuable. He truly envied the people of the Sun family village.

Younger Aunt Sun nodded in agreement and asked the brothers, De-ge and Yong-ge, "De-ge, Yong-ge, where are your father and mother?"

Yong-ge pointed toward the direction of the ancestral hall and said, "They are still over at the hall, chatting away with the villagers."

This remark drew laughter from everyone.

Eldest Aunt Sun emerged from the main room, and seeing everyone laughing, she quickly asked, "What are you all laughing at?"

Seeing Sun Shan, she patted his little head and asked, "Finished watching the excitement? Has the village chief finished distributing the clothes?"

Sun Shan nodded and said, "He finished. They’ve all been handed out. The villagers asked me to say thank you to Eldest Aunt."

Eldest Aunt Sun smiled.

Uncle-in-law He also walked out, smiling as he said, "Your aunt is happy as long as she can help the villagers."

Seeing that Uncle-in-law He was sincere, Sun Shan took his first real look at him. He was not tall and rather lean, but with thick eyebrows and large eyes, he looked quite spirited. Perhaps this was just his aura; one could tell at a glance that he was a man of generous character.

That made sense; if he weren't generous, Eldest Aunt wouldn't have been able to support her maiden family all these years. In this era, no matter how capable a woman might be, she was still ultimately dependent on a man.

Madam Huang walked out of the main room and said with a smile, "Come inside, everyone. Why are you standing in the courtyard?"

Madam Huang was happy today. Her eldest daughter was there, her youngest daughter was there, and her three sons were present as well—a gathering that only happened once or twice a year.

Seeing the clean and fair-skinned Zhou Dabao, she touched his face and said affectionately, "Chunjiao, Dabao was sent to start his schooling this year, right?"

She had heard mention of sending Dabao to study last year, but since the youngest daughter hadn't brought it up again, she wasn't sure if it had actually happened.

Sun Chunjiao rolled her eyes at Second Brother-in-law Zhou and pouted, "He was sent in the middle of this year. The tutor said we sent him too late; he should have been sent at five."

Sun Bomin took some wild tea out from the main room and asked in surprise, "What? You have to send them at five?"

He glanced at Sun Shan. His own son, Shan-zi, was already five, and would be six after the New Year. Was he already too late?

Second Brother-in-law Zhou replied sheepishly, "It's not too late, don't listen to Chunjiao's nonsense. The tutor meant that if you want to pursue the imperial examinations, you should send them early. If you don't care about the exams and just want them to be literate, seven is not too late."

Upon hearing this, Sun Bomin let out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't too late, he was most afraid of Shan-zi missing the best time to learn to read.

Sun Bomin had received some schooling, but after his father passed away, he dropped out early to scramble for food and had long forgotten those days of study. He still had a vague impression of the characters, but if he really had to write them, he probably couldn't write a complete set.

Sun Chunjiao was unconvinced and grumbled, "What of it? Why can't my Dabao take the imperial examinations? If we had sent him earlier, Dabao could have even brought back a top scholar title."

A while ago, a troupe had come to the village, performing in a rotation around the county. One of the plays was about a farm boy who became a top scholar, married a beautiful, wealthy woman, reached the pinnacle of life, and returned home in glory.

Watching it had made Sun Chunjiao envious. She felt her own Dabao could also become a top scholar, which led her to recall what the tutor had said when she first sent Dabao to learn to read.

The tutor had originally asked the couple whether the child was there to prepare for the imperial examinations or just to become literate to find work later. Not understanding, the couple had told the tutor to do as he saw fit.

The tutor, thinking that few people from that area took the exams and seeing that Zhou Dabao was dressed quite well (at the time, Zhou Dabao was wearing new clothes made from the fabric Eldest Aunt Sun had brought from the prefectural city), assumed they had the means to support an examination path.

He told the couple he would observe the boy for a period: if he had the aptitude, they would prepare for the examinations; if not, he would simply learn to read to help with future employment.

After half a year of study, the tutor—upholding the principle of playing to each student's strengths and not wasting the parents' money—concluded that it would be too difficult for Zhou Dabao to pursue the examination path and suggested they give up.

Of course, he couldn't call the child dull, as that would hurt the parents' feelings and ruin his own reputation. So, the tutor simply said they had sent the child too late; if they wanted to pursue the exams, they should have sent him at five. Since they had missed that window, he suggested sticking to basic literacy.

That was why Sun Chunjiao complained about the Zhou family being late in sending the child to study. After all, Sun Chunjiao had originally clamored to send Dabao to school, but the Zhou family had deemed it a waste of silver, thinking the child was too young to learn anything, and had delayed it until he was seven.

Madam Huang, seeing her youngest daughter daring to talk back to her second son-in-law, quickly smoothed things over. "Do you think becoming a top scholar is that easy? If you want to know about the imperial examinations, just ask your eldest brother-in-law."

The He family didn't even have the confidence to claim they could produce a top scholar, yet a rural girl was making such bold claims.

Eldest Aunt Sun chimed in, echoing her mother. "Mother is right. The He family is powerful enough, isn't it? Especially the direct branch in the capital with all their superior advantages—even they haven't produced a top scholar in all these years."

She paused, patted Younger Sister Sun's hand, and said, "Eldest sister is being blunt today. You might not like it, but I have to say it: don't go around saying things like 'top scholar' in public. People who don't know better might be fine, but those who do will surely laugh at you."

Sun Chunjiao was the youngest, and Eldest Aunt Sun was a full ten years her senior. Her eldest sister's words carried more weight than their mother's. Hearing the criticism, she felt wronged and sat in silence.

Second Brother-in-law Zhou, seeing the atmosphere grow heavy, interrupted, "Eldest sister, you know Chunjiao's temper best. She only likes to talk like that at home; she wouldn't dare say such things outside."

He gave his wife a look, signaling her to consider the timing—Eldest sister had finally come for a visit, so she should hurry up and try to please her instead of making her angry.

Uncle-in-law He asked with a smile, "Dabao, how are your studies at the school? What characters have you learned?"

He quickly changed the subject. His sister-in-law had grown up in the countryside and didn't know any better; it was normal for her to think a top scholar was as common as a cabbage. The He family hadn't produced a top scholar in a hundred years, either.

Zhou Dabao, sitting modestly beside Madam Huang, felt embarrassed hearing his mother talk about top scholars. Hearing his uncle-in-law's question, he shyly replied, "I haven't finished the 'Thousand Character Classic' yet, I only know a few characters."

He was quite steady, a completely different personality from Sun Chunjiao.

Hearing that her nephew was learning to read, Eldest Aunt Sun encouraged him, "Dabao, you're doing well, keep studying hard."

Second Brother-in-law Zhou added from the side, "Eldest sister, he certainly has to study hard—we've paid the tuition money, after all."

Hearing about the studies, Sun Shan asked with interest, "Younger Uncle-in-law, how is cousin Dabao's tuition calculated?"

Everyone was taken aback by Sun Shan's question, not expecting the boy to ask such a thing.

Sun Chunjiao didn't even think before answering, "It costs three taels of silver a year, not including books, pens, and ink. You have to buy those at the bookstore or from the tutor yourself, depending on what you need. Sigh, between this and that, we've already spent five taels in half a year."

She took a sip of tea and looked at Eldest Aunt Sun, saying, "Studying is truly expensive."

Eldest sister was the lucky one, marrying into the He family without having to worry about tuition money, unlike her, having to dip into her savings all these years.

Sun Chunlan nodded. "It is indeed expensive. Dabao, you must study hard. Being literate will make it easier to find work in the future."

Dabao nodded to indicate he understood.

At this moment, Sun Shan’s mother, Madam Su, walked in from outside and said with a smile, "Mother, Eldest sister, it's noon. It's time for lunch."

Usually, they only ate two meals a day and skipped lunch, but since Eldest Aunt Sun was an honored guest, they naturally followed the He family's tradition of three meals a day.