As the ox cart was approaching the village entrance, a large group of children came running over, shouting excitedly as they ran.
"Master Scholar is back!"
"The scholar is back."
"The scholar is back."
Ever since receiving the good news that her father had passed the imperial examination, Han Jinxiu, who had learned embroidery at her master's house, would wait at the entrance of the village with her younger brothers and sisters, for fear of missing her father's return. The children in the village would also follow to join in the fun.
"father!"
"father!"
"Uncle!"
"Uncle!"
As soon as Han Ze got off the ox cart, he was surrounded by a group of idiots. He couldn't even move his legs. He showed a bit of helplessness on his face. He turned to Han Erlang and said, "Take out the candy in the package."
Han Erlang hesitated, a little reluctant to give up. It was not that he was stingy. The candies were bought from the capital city. As they did not have much money, they bought small amounts. There were so many children, and if each child was given a piece of candy, it would be gone after all was distributed, and his parents would not have had a chance to eat it yet.
Han Ze was amused and urged, "Give it here, and we can buy it later when we go to the capital."
Although Han Erlang was still reluctant, he took out the candy. Han Ze took the candy and gave one to each child in the village. He gave the rest to Han Jinxiu and asked her to share it with her younger brothers and sisters.
The children were so excited when they got the candies. The scholar was no longer interested in the candies and ran away laughing. Seeing that the children were no longer around him, Han Ze breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the package, and said loudly, "Let's go home."
Han Jinxiu smiled brightly. Not only did her father pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, but more importantly, he came back safely. Without her elder aunt to harm them, their family would live better and better. Thinking of this, she happily led her younger brothers and sisters to follow her father closely.
Before they reached the door of their house, the old couple Han Youtian came out to greet them, followed closely by Wang Caiwei. When Zheng and Wu heard the noise, they also came out of the house.
Old Lady Han stepped forward and grabbed Han Ze's hand, muttering, "You've lost weight, you've lost weight."
Han Ze stood there, letting her look at him with helplessness on his face.
Wang Caiwei stood behind the two elders and looked at her husband, her heart and eyes full of smiles. Her husband had finally passed the examination and became a scholar.
Han Youtian smiled and said, "Let's go home and talk. Han Ze must be tired after traveling for so many days. Go back and wash him up and make him some food to fill his stomach."
Old Lady Han slapped her thigh and said with a smile, "Look at me, eldest daughter-in-law, hurry up and make something for Han Ze. There are a few eggs in the basket, beat them all. He must not have eaten well these days outside, give him some nourishment."
Han Erlang stood beside Han Ze stupidly. Zheng pouted her lips, stepped forward and said, "Mom, big brother should take care of his body, but Erlang has been with big brother and suffered for more than ten days, so he should also take care of himself. You can't just remember big brother and forget about Erlang."
The smile in Mrs. Han's eyes faded a little, and she wanted to curse as soon as she opened her mouth. Seeing that the situation was not going well, Han Ze hurriedly said, "Mom, I'm hungry. Let's go inside and talk."
Old Lady Han glared at Zheng, snorted coldly, turned around and said to Han Ze with a smile: "Yes, yes, let's go inside and talk."
She was so angry, but when she thought about her son passing the imperial examination, her anger disappeared in an instant. She was the mother of a scholar, the first in the village. Who else was as lucky as her? She was not angry.
A group of people entered the house. Han Erlang stood still. He frowned and looked at his wife. "We have changed the door lintel now. You should be more careful with your words. My eldest brother is a scholar. You can't compare yourself with him in everything."
Being scolded by the man for no reason, Zheng was full of reluctance. She pouted and said, "So what if he passed the imperial examination? Do we have to praise him just because he is a scholar?"
She was illiterate, and no one told her that becoming a scholar would benefit her family.
Han Erlang shook his head and said in a pretentious manner: "What an ignorant woman, what an ignorant woman."
Zheng glared at him and said, "I'm just an ignorant woman. I'm just a country woman. The farthest place I've been is the town. What can I know?"
Han Erlang glanced at her with a proud and complacent look on his face: "Brother has become a scholar, so we don't have to pay taxes on our land. Not only that, brother is a student on government stipend, and can receive six dou of rice every month and four taels of silver every year."
Zheng's eyes widened in disbelief: "Really?"
"Of course it's true." Han Erlang said seriously, "That's why I told you that Big Brother is different from us. You can't compare everything with Big Brother."
My eldest brother is a scholar, so what's wrong with eating good food to nourish his body? His family has gained such a great advantage if he passed the examination. As long as my eldest brother studies well and passes the imperial examination in the future, what will happen to their family? Or if he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, they will become officials. Thinking of this, he shook his head and couldn't think too much, so as not to add pressure to his eldest brother.
Han Ze was indeed very tired. After eating and taking a hot bath, he lay down on the bed and slept soundly for the whole afternoon. After waking up, Han Youtian discussed with him about the wedding banquet. Han Ze smiled and said, "Money is tight at home, so we won't have the wedding banquet. Let's wait until I pass the imperial examination."
Han Youtian took a long puff of his cigarette. His son had just passed the examination for the title of scholar, and he was still very happy. But now he was going to take the examination for the title of juren. After a while, he looked at Han Ze and asked, "Are you really going to take the examination for the title of juren?"
Han Ze smiled and nodded, saying, "I will go to the county school in a few days."
If you pass the examination to become a scholar, you will be qualified to study in the official school, which is taught by the scholars. If a child from a farming family wants to take the examination to become a scholar but cannot find a teacher, the county school is the best choice.
Han Youtian took another puff of his cigarette and said, "You have the backbone. I can't help you with anything else, but don't worry about the money. Dad will find a way."
Han Ze felt warm in his heart, but also a little uncomfortable. He had raised the child in so many worlds, and now he felt the love of his father. He said, "Dad, if you become a scholar, you can not only get six dou of rice every month, but also four taels of silver every year. In your spare time, you can also copy books to earn money. In the future, I can collect enough money for my studies by myself, so you don't have to worry too much."
Han Youtian sighed: "You have made a lot of progress. If it weren't for your elder sister..."
If Daya hadn't done anything evil and harmed Han Ze, with Daya's talent, he might have become a juren by now. Why would he care about money
Han Ze's smile faded a little. "Dad, no matter why she wants to harm me, I will just think of this sister as gone. There is no need for you and mom to be angry, lest you ruin your health because of someone who is not worth it."
Han Youtian could only nod. Thinking of the rumors in the village, he sighed and said it was all his own fault.
Although he didn't plan to hold a wedding banquet, Han Youtian still decided to invite relatives over for a meal. After all, he couldn't let his son's success in becoming a scholar just pass without a word.
Compared with others who often have six or seven brothers and sisters, Han Youtian does not have many brothers and sisters. He has an older brother and a younger sister. Since he is inviting guests, he must invite them all.
Old Lady Han had a distant relationship with her brothers from her natal family. She had not seen them for many years since her parents passed away, so she did not plan to invite them. She also had to invite the families of her three daughters-in-law, as well as her own family, so she would have to set up several tables of wine.
Han Ze still had some money left, so he kept five hundred coins and gave them all to Old Lady Han. Old Lady Han refused to take it, because her son would go to the county town to study in a few days, and he would not be able to do without some money. She smiled and said, "Mom has some money."
She did have some money in her hands. The harvests in the past two seasons were good. Her three daughters-in-law usually did some embroidery to supplement the family. She had paid off all the money owed to the villagers, and she still had some money left. As for the money for the Wang family's medicine, she was not in a hurry to pay it back. Daya had hurt Han Ze so badly, so even if she was cheating and refusing to pay for the medical expenses, what could she do
But she couldn't do that. Her son had already become a scholar, and she couldn't let him ruin his reputation. As for when to pay the money back, the eldest son said that he wanted to take the imperial examination. When the eldest son passed the exam, she thought that by then, the family would have enough money, and she would naturally pay it back.
The three students who took the imperial examinations in the school all passed the examinations, which caused a sensation in the town. Wang Caiwei's parents naturally heard about this, and also heard that their son-in-law Han Ze also passed the examination and was a scholar among the scholars.
Mr. Wang had never thought that this son-in-law would have a bright future. He happily asked Wang Caiwei's mother, Wang Xu, to prepare gifts and planned to visit her in person. The second son-in-law became a first-class scholar, which was enough to attract his attention. When the eldest son-in-law took the examination for the scholar, he only ranked more than 100. If the second son-in-law passed the examination smoothly, it might be difficult for him to become a Jinshi, but he should have a good chance of becoming a Juren.
Wang Xu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Han Ze has passed the imperial examination, so I think he will hold a banquet, and they will invite us then."
Mr. Wang stroked his beard and pondered for a while: "You are right, prepare more gifts for him." After thinking for a while, he said: "Last year, when Han Ze was not in good health, did the second girl come back to borrow money?"
Wang Xu whispered, "Yes."
She was naturally happy for her son-in-law who passed the imperial examination. People say that it is better to help someone in need than to add icing on the cake. She did not help her daughter when she was in trouble. Now that her son-in-law is in good health and their life is getting better, no matter how many gifts they give, it will not be as much as a penny they gave them at the beginning.
Mr. Wang frowned: "How much did you lend her?"
At that time, Han Ze saw that he was in trouble, so Caiwei came back to borrow money without telling him in person, so he pretended not to know anything. But Xu was Caiwei's biological mother, so no matter how much or how little she gave, she should have given her some. Now that Han Ze had passed the imperial examination, they had to be more polite so that people would not think they were trying to curry favor with the powerful.
Wang Xu looked at Mr. Wang carefully and said hesitantly, "No, I didn't lend it to her."
Mr. Wang was displeased and looked at her in disbelief: "You didn't give her a penny?"
Wang Xu shook her head and gritted her teeth, "I didn't give her a penny."
Old Master Wang was so angry that he was shaking. He pointed at her and said, "You are such a big shot. That's your own daughter. She came back to ask you for money. It would be fine if you didn't lend her the money. At least you could give her some emergency money. How sad would the child be if you did this?"
Wang Xu feebly defended herself: "Of course, Han Ze was already weak, but who would have thought that he would get better? Not only did he get better, he even passed the imperial examination and became a scholar."
If she had known Han Ze was so capable, she would not have been so heartless. Now she was in a dilemma. Even if her daughter didn't say anything, she might blame them in her heart.
Old Master Wang looked at her disappointedly: "Caiwei is your daughter. Even if Han Ze is not in good health, don't you love your daughter?"
Wang Xu opened her mouth. It was true that she loved her daughter, but she loved her son more. She had given her daughter her private money when she got married, and the rest belonged to her son. How could she lend it out casually, even to her daughter
Old Master Wang sighed heavily. This was not Xu's fault. It was his fault that he had underestimated Han Ze.