Snake Venom - Fame and Fortune (1)

Would you be interested in hearing me tell you a story?

I'm so bored carving wood here all day and can't even go out. It's rare for anyone to come over.

This story begins with my elder brother.

My elder brother is a truly upright and honest scholar!

When I was little, I often liked to lie by the table and watch my older brother read and write. I would imitate him by swaying my head as he read. I liked to be my brother's little shadow.

My brother is a famous child prodigy in the surrounding villages. It is said that he could read a thousand characters at the age of three, compose poems at the age of five, and was proficient in all the arts, including rites, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and mathematics. He passed the imperial examination at a young age and became a scholar.

The adults often told me that my brother would take the imperial examinations in the future and would surely pass with flying colors.

When I was little, I didn't understand. I only asked the adults if I could eat academic titles. The adults laughed and told me that academic titles couldn't be eaten, but if you had academic titles, you could eat anything.

At that time, I truly felt that official rank and title were incredibly valuable. My elder brother, who was able to pass the imperial examinations, was practically a god from heaven; he shone like gold in my eyes.

"Brother!"

"Hmm?" My brother lowered his head, a smile playing on his lips, and looked at me gently.

“They told me that you will become an official in the future, live in a grand mansion, and eat delicacies every day…” I became more and more excited as I spoke, and couldn’t help but gesticulate wildly.

My brother just smiled at me, patiently listened to me finish, and then, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "Anything else?"

"And, and..." My impoverished imagination couldn't conjure anything more, so I could only shake my head. I felt inexplicably ashamed; my brother probably wouldn't even look at any of what I was saying. My family used to be quite wealthy; it's said that they hired three renowned scholars to tutor my brother. However, I only heard about it. By the time I was born, our family had already fallen on hard times, and I didn't benefit from it at all, but my brother lived the life of a wealthy young master for over ten years.

I've never met my parents. Maybe I saw them when I was little, but I was too young to remember anything, only some very vague memories. My mother seemed to have been in poor health and passed away early. As for my father… I don't know much about him, only that he used to be an official and came to this village after making a mistake. But I've never heard anyone say that my father left me anything, not even a message. The only woman left in the family is always looking after my older brother, constantly reminding him of his father's last wishes and how to revitalize the family business.

It's normal that she doesn't like me. My brother is such a good person; he's shouldered the expectations of so many people and writes excellent articles. He's praised by everyone in the surrounding villages. As for me, to use Confucius's words, I'm hopeless.

I really enjoy carving wood. See this "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" sculpture over there? It looks pretty good, doesn't it? I carved it myself. Skill alone isn't enough; good wood is very important. Do you want to touch it?

Hmph, fine, take it or leave it.

The Master's words are quite right, but unfortunately I'm not good at it, at least not in academics. Actually, I think I'm quite good at wood carving, but that old woman won't let me do it; she always says I'm disgracing the family.

It was incredibly annoying, but luckily my older brother never said anything to me, so I often secretly stayed in his room carving wood.

I neither remember nor regret the people and events of the past, nor the wealth and glory others spoke of. I only care about my elder brother, and I am distressed that my negative image in his heart will likely be further compounded by the label of being unsophisticated.

“You’re right. If you pass the imperial examinations and achieve success, you’ll earn just as much as you’ve mentioned.” My brother was speaking casually, but the look of amazement and longing on my face made him smile.

He pinched my nose, then became serious. "But the imperial examinations aren't for these things."

"What was that for?" I looked at my brother, bewildered.

My brother didn't look at me. He just stared at the portrait of the saint hanging on the wall, then turned to look at the incense table that our parents had been worshipping for many years. After a long time, he finally spoke, "To make a living and live up to expectations."

I stared blankly, thinking that my brother was truly handsome; he looked especially good in the light.

Actually, I don't understand a lot of what he says, but I listen to my elder brother the most, and I treat his words as sacred decrees.

You can't blame me if you don't understand! I just finished learning the Four Books, and I'm reciting classical Chinese phrases every day. I still get hit on the hand by the Master all the time.

It's not that I don't want to study hard, but the poems and prose are so soporific that I fall asleep while reciting them and can't memorize them at all.

Honestly, why can't these words get into my brain?

The teacher assigned new homework, telling me I couldn't go home until I finished memorizing it. I was so sleepy! I had no choice but to suffer in silence.

That ruler is still right in front of me, let's see who dares to speak up!

If he really is, then I would call him "Big Brother".

The students have suffered under their teachers for too long.

So they cut down trees to make weapons, raised bamboo poles as flags, and schools flocked to respond, bringing provisions and following suit, until the ruler was obtained and the entire clan was exterminated...

I am directing the soldiers forward.

Something seems off. Where did the ruler come from, referring to the entire clan?!

Ouch, that hurts!

I groggily looked up and saw a ruler falling down. There was no time to dodge, and all I could do was scream like a pig being slaughtered.

The teacher was startled by my pitiful cries. His face turned from red to black and then to green. He held the ruler for a long time but did not strike.

Hey, this teacher can even change his expression! Honestly, if he has this skill, why didn't he show it earlier? If you're going to teach me this, how am I supposed to stay awake?

“You still dare to sleep? Do you want to be a pig? Don’t you know that time is money?” The teacher said, tapping the desk with his ruler in a rhythmic way. I almost started dancing along.

Fortunately, I managed to hold back; those rulers hurt terribly.

"Recite the book I just asked you to memorize for me," the teacher ordered me again.

I cleared my throat and began to recite aloud, "...When the First Emperor came to power, he built upon the accumulated achievements of six generations, wielded his long-term strategies to govern the world, swallowed up the two Zhou dynasties and destroyed the feudal lords..." I saw the Master finally nod in satisfaction, stroking his small beard.

Little brat, you still manage to win me over.

"...They brought provisions and followed the Qin army, only to be wiped out as a result. The people of Qin had no time to mourn their own fate, and only later generations mourned them..."

Damn it, I've gotten it into my head! It's all because of that awful dream I just had!

The most important thing is to run... There's no time! The wind whipped up by the ruler is already upon us; it seems the only option is to hide... Ah!

Changing course midway! Damn it, how could the Master have such a trick up his sleeve? He's truly unfathomable.

Ah—! There's even a combo attack! This teacher has no martial ethics.

"I told you to recite 'On the Faults of Qin,' and what did you even recite? You even dared to slack off and sleep in!"

I was beaten so badly that I jumped up and down, covered my head and ran away, and finally stumbled home like a child learning to walk.

No, it hurts too much. I'm thinking of getting myself a piece of wood that I can use as a crutch.

[You shouldn't treat yourself too badly, don't you think?]

I deliberately took a detour past my brother's house, where a light was still on, and through the thin layer of window paper, I could see the shadow of a person hunched over a desk, engrossed in their studies.

Tsk tsk tsk, this is the real deal of studying hard and pricking one's thigh with an awl. As for someone like me, well, I'm hopeless.

It's so strange. They came from the same belly, so how come they are so different?

Forget it, I'm too lazy to think about it. Anyway, no one in this world can compare to my brother.

No one! Is! Worthy!

I'm still waiting to see my brother parade through the streets on horseback.

How do you remember that poem again? "Riding a horse in the spring breeze, one can see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day."

This was written for my brother.

My elder brother was going to take the provincial examination. The Taoist priest calculated an auspicious day for him, and he set off with his packed luggage.

I stood at the village gate to see him off, my heart overflowing with reluctance to part! Afterwards, I kept an eye on the messenger every day, afraid of missing my brother's good news.

Instead of good news, my brother failed the exam!

The person who set the questions should be arrested.

My brother told me it didn't matter, and that there are many people who fail the history exam. Fan Jin took the exam more than ten times before passing, and everyone came to congratulate him. This is only his first time taking the exam, so there's nothing shameful about it.

My elder brother told me to study hard, saying he would definitely pass the imperial examination in three years, and that I should at least become a scholar.

Good heavens, only my brother in the whole world thinks I can pass the imperial examination.

Then I must study hard!

...

Forget it, I can't learn it.

I'll wait and see, brother. Being a carpenter is good too; carving wood is much more fun than studying.

My brother is still studying day and night, even harder than before. He gets up earlier than the rooster and goes to bed later than the dog, and his eyes are almost ruined. But I can't persuade him otherwise, so I can only light an extra lamp for him at night.

My brother smiles less than before; I know he's too tired, but he just won't rest. I need to think of a way to cheer him up—I'm planning to give him a gift.

I found a carpenter in the village and helped him with his work. He gave me a few copper coins every day. I saved them up little by little, and now I don't even dare to walk past the school's main gate. Because there's always a malt candy vendor there, and I know he's after my money!

I will definitely resist these "bad doubts"!

I saved up money for more than half a year, chose a day off from school, and lied to my brother that I was going out to play. Then I secretly went to a pawnshop in the city and bought an inkstone.

This was an inkstone my brother had his eye on when we came to the city together. He didn't buy it, so I secretly went back and used all the money I had as a deposit to beg the shopkeeper to keep it for me. Actually, the inkstone wasn't very expensive, but I knew why my brother hadn't bought it. Business had been getting worse in recent years, and the only shop we had left was no longer profitable. Our lives were much more difficult than before.

My brother always says he wants to save money for me in the future. His old, expensive writing implements have long been put away; he hasn't used them for years. The things he uses now are of very poor quality, barely usable.

My brother doesn't care, but I'm extremely unhappy. My brother was born to use the best things.

That inkstone was a bargain for me. Even though I didn't have much money, I still managed to buy something that suited my brother's taste. Besides the inkstone, I worked for several days for free and got a piece of fine wood—a very small piece, like a scrap—which I used to make a brush rest for my brother.

Tsk, still not good enough. Brother, you should use something better. Too bad I don't have any money. Money really is a wonderful thing.

I gave the things to my brother, and he was overjoyed. He excitedly put down his book immediately, rummaged through the house for the finest paper and pen, and prepared to write—I knew it was the last precious piece of paper in the house, which my brother had been reluctant to use.

The piece of paper wasn't large; it was slightly shorter than a calligraphy brush and only about four fingers wide.

My brother has yet to put pen to paper.

I asked my brother curiously what he wanted to write.

The elder brother pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote—

"When you reach the end of the watercourse, sit and watch the clouds rise."

The paper was small, so my brother used elegant small regular script, yet a silent, bold spirit surged forth on the small sheet of paper. My brother and I exchanged a smile, understanding each other perfectly.

Unfortunately, before he could see a bright future, the three-year period was coming to an end, and it seemed that his elder brother would not be able to pass the imperial examinations.