Chapter 16
Lu Shang searched the house for a long time yesterday, almost lifting up the bed, and scraped together half a tael of silver.
This amount of money was not considered much in the eyes of Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning, but as long as they didn't buy anything expensive, it was almost enough.
What's more, before they left, Grandma Lu gave them a dozen extra copper coins.
Lu Shang could guess where these copper coins came from without asking. Although he did not refuse on the spot, he stuffed the copper coins into another purse and put them in his pocket as soon as he went out, without intending to spend them.
After a few days, Lu Shang finally walked out of his home.
They came out early today, and there were not many people in the village. There were only a few children squatting at the doorstep playing in the mud. When they saw Lu Shang from afar, they immediately scattered.
After they had finished talking to the adults, “The sickly child of the Lu family has appeared!” the curious people rushed out of the house, but there was no trace of Lu Shang and the other person on the country road.
As for the person who attracted the attention of many people, he was looking at the environment he was creating calmly, and asked a question from time to time.
Jiang Wanning didn't know much about Lujia Village, but compared to Lu Shang, she was already familiar with it. She had heard of several famous families in the village.
"The fields over there belong to the village chief. He has a large family, and the land he got per capita, plus what his ancestors left behind, totals about fifty acres. He's the richest family in the village..."
Lu Shang understood that the amount of land a rural family had generally represented their financial situation.
The Lu family has 26 acres of land. If it weren't for the need to support Lu Shang's studies and provide him with medicine all year round, with just these 20 acres of land, his family would be considered one of the richest families in the village.
"Lu family... our fields are not here, they are near the Motuo River. I heard that irrigation is very convenient."
Lu Shang nodded slightly: "Wait a couple of days until it's cooler, I'll go over and take a look."
The two of them walked and talked all the way, and soon arrived at the place where the ox cart was sitting at the village entrance. Most of the people who appeared at the village entrance at this time were going to the town early, either to buy household items or to sell some sundry goods.
The driver, Mr. Pang, sat on the cart and charged one cent for each person. Regardless of gender, age or status, everyone had to pay three cents. He would not ride those who carried more than 20 kilograms of luggage.
Jiang Wanning thought about it and gossiped for the first time: "I heard that the man pulling the cart, Mr. Pang, is the uncle of the village chief's wife and has a good relationship with the village chief."
Lu Shang was surprised: "Didn't they say the man pulling the cart was from the next village?"
Jiang Wanning said as a matter of course: "Yes, the village chief's wife is from Wangjia Village next door."
Lu Shang looked at her and laughed.
The oxcart was not big, and now most of the people were sitting in it. Uncle Pang looked around and saw that there were not many people around. Finally, he called out: "Is there anyone else going to Tang Town?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment, sir!"
Uncle Pang looked in the direction of the voice and was stunned when he saw Lu Shang.
Two people from the opposite side also walked over. Lu Shang prepared six coins and was about to give them to him, but Uncle Pang shuddered and quickly refused: "I was wondering who it was, it turned out to be Lu Xiucai! No, no, Lu Xiucai wants to go to the town and tell him, I can take you there alone!"
As he said that, he asked everyone in the car to squeeze together and make a spacious seat for Lu Shang and the others.
Lu Shang didn't understand the truth, so he had to agree to his kindness.
The news of his death only circulated in Lujia Village, and he recovered so quickly that people from other villages were completely unaware of the changes.
And those from the same village would not gossip in front of him. They would just look at him vaguely, sometimes looking at him, and sometimes looking at Jiang Wanning who was being protected by him.
"Everyone sit tight, let's go!" After a ding-ling-ling bell rang, the ox cart started moving.
At this time, someone in the car asked: "Lu family, is this your wife?"
Lu Shang turned his head and assessed the person he was hearing the news from. He did not deny it, but instead smiled slightly: "Yes, this is Aning."
Jiang Wanning called out at the right moment, "Second Uncle Xu."
"Hey, are you two going to town?"
Lu Shang said, "Exactly. Aning and I went to buy some things. I saw that my second uncle brought a lot of things. Is he going to sell them?"
Uncle Xu waved his hands happily. "It's summer now, and there are more prey in the mountains. I'm lucky enough to have caught several rabbits. While they're still alive, I can take them to the tavern in town and make a few copper coins."
Lu Shang understood. This was the family that Jiang Wanning had mentioned, the one that made a living by hunting.
He leaned over and said, "Let me see... Wow! These rabbits are really fat. Second Uncle is really capable!"
Uncle Xu never expected to receive praise from the always arrogant Mr. Lu. He was shocked and surprised. The dark-skinned and rough man was so embarrassed that his neck turned red.
After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, the driver, Mr. Pang, finally found a moment and called out, "Lu Xiucai, I have something I want to ask you. It's about the book you asked me to buy last time. I bought it, but after that—"
Lu Shang repeatedly stopped him: "Wait, wait, Uncle Pang, wait a minute, what book did I ask you to buy last time? I haven't been in a good mood recently and have forgotten a lot of things. I'm really sorry."
"Ah? Oh, it's okay, it's okay. My grandson is six years old now, and my family wants him to learn some words. Last time you went to town, I talked to you for a while, and you said we could buy a copy of Current Affairs. I dragged a lot of people around, and finally bought it, but no one in my family can recognize the words in it. What are you going to do now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wanning couldn't help but look over, with some doubt in her eyes.
Speaking of this "On Current Affairs", it is a must-read book for scholars of the time who are taking the imperial examinations. It is printed by the imperial court, and only a few thousand copies are available every year. Lu Shang had been looking for it for a long time, but couldn't find a way to buy it.
Even Mr. Pang and his friends had to spend a lot of effort and ten taels of silver to buy it.
But precisely because this book was expensive and hard to buy, and it was obviously a good thing at first glance, his family did not doubt Lu Shang's intentions.
Even Lu Shang frowned when he heard this. Even if he was illiterate, he knew that literacy education should use the Hundred Family Surnames and Thousand Character Classics or something like that. What kind of books or theories, or those related to current affairs, should be used for enlightenment?
Lu Shang’s head was full of question marks.
When he heard this, he probably understood why Uncle Pang didn't charge him for the ride.
Unfortunately, he really didn't understand the knowledge system here, and he didn't dare to speak rashly.
He pondered for a moment and said, "Now that we've bought the book, we should start learning calligraphy. However, I don't know your child very well, so I need to meet him before I can know the next step. If Mr. Pang has time, why not send him to my house?"
It is a great thing to be able to go to the scholar's house to receive guidance.
Grandpa Pang laughed so hard that his eyes were almost invisible. "Okay, okay, I'll send him there tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Lu, thank you so much! When you finish shopping in town, come directly to the city gate to find me, and I'll take you back first!"
"Next time you're going to town, just send someone to tell me. There's no need to rush so early."
Lu Shang felt guilty and quickly agreed.
He couldn't ask Jiang Wanning for advice in the car, so he had to use the excuse of being tired, close his eyes and take a nap, and avoid the questions from others.
Before the sun rose to its highest point in the sky, the ox cart finally arrived at Tang Town.
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