The little fat boy didn't get so much exercise all year round. He held Qin Zhao with his sweaty hands and panted as he spoke.

Qin Zhao patted his hands and said, "Sit down first. I'll pour you a glass of water."

"It's already late!" Chen Yan'an got angry when he saw his slow pace and said angrily, "You're in such a bad shape, are you going to survive if you get beaten up? Get out of here!"

After saying this, he suddenly saw the chicken and eggs that Qin Zhao had placed on the stove. He was stunned for a moment: "Qin Zhao, you got rich? How come..."

Qin Zhao: "Sit down first, I'll tell you slowly."

Before Chen Yanan could answer, there were sudden footsteps outside the door, and a female voice came: "Yanan, didn't you go to study? Why are you here?"

A woman came in with a few strong men.

The woman looked quite young, with slanted eyes and a shrewd look on her face.

Chen Yanan instantly became timid: "Mom..."

Seeing that he was still holding Qin Zhao's hand, the woman shouted sternly, "Come here!"

Chen Yanan hesitated for a moment and didn't move: "Mom, Qin Zhao..."

"You're going to plead for him?!" The woman was immediately annoyed, her voice sharp. "This guy used to be in the Chen family, eating and wearing our clothes, and not knowing how to be grateful, now he's delaying the rent payment. Why are you pleading for him?"

Chen Yanan: "But..."

"Shut up," the woman spat. Turning towards Qin Zhao, her expression softened. "Qin Zhao, I know it's not easy for you, and I don't want to embarrass you. How about this? You leave the village now, and don't take anything from this house with you. Just consider it as payment for the money you owe the Chen family over the years."

His expression changes faster than turning the pages of a book.

Jing Li hid in the small wooden barrel and looked out secretly, with only his two eyes showing.

The money Qin Zhao had on him now was far more than enough to cover the rent, so Jing Li was not worried at first. However, when he saw how aggressive these people were, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

I always feel that... things are not that simple.

Qin Zhao didn't answer.

This small mud house was not big to begin with, and it became even more cramped after a few burly men came in and squeezed in.

Mrs. Chen glanced around and felt confident.

She has always been smart and capable, otherwise she would not have raised her son alone after her husband's family died early, and even sent him to school in town. You know, at this age, he is the only one in the entire Linxi Village who can go to school.

The class divisions in this era were very clear: scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

But for most farmers, reading and writing are still too far away from them.

Because the birth years have been bad recently, every time a scholar is born, there is one less labor force. Moreover, training a scholar requires a huge amount of financial and material resources, and there is no guarantee that he will pass the exam. Who would be willing to do such a loss-making business?

But Mrs. Chen is not.

From the beginning, she never let her son do a single day of farm work. She knew that if he stayed in the village, he would be stuck farming for the rest of his life, with no chance of turning his life around like his ancestors. But passing the imperial examination would be a different story.

That is an opportunity for one person to succeed and for everyone else to benefit.

As for coming here to embarrass Qin Zhao, there is no other choice.

There was no man in her house, and she had to do all the farm work and housework by herself. She also had to support a son who was studying. You can imagine how difficult it was.

The time for paying tuition fees at the academy will soon be here. If I don’t think of a solution, I may not be able to pay it this year.