He Tian nodded with a wry smile.
He won't pass the exam.
He couldn't even pass the preliminary examinations, let alone become a scholar or a graduate.
He Tian knew in his heart that it was already very difficult when he took the county examination, let alone the prefectural examination, the provincial examination, or even the metropolitan examination.
Every time the results were announced, seeing the disappointment in his mother's eyes, he felt a pang of sadness. He Tian didn't like studying. When he was little, he promised his mother that he would study because he thought that scholars had a high status and could be fawned over by others. He would be praised wherever he went, and even when he was walking on the street, young girls would stare at him shyly.
In addition, He Tian is not ugly.
He wore a long robe and a folding fan, exuding an air of scholarly refinement.
He Tian weighed the ten taels of silver in his hand.
He made a decision.
He wanted to go into business! He had heard that the owner of the wealthiest pastry shop in town, Yan's Pastry Shop, had made his fortune in just over a year.
If a woman who can barely read can make money, why can't he?
What's the use of reading?
He worked himself to the bone for so many years, yet he still couldn't pass the imperial examination for the first degree.
Why not go and earn some money?
At least they won't have to worry about food and clothing.
"I understand, Mother, I'll listen to you," He Tian said to Madam Song, his words contradicting his true feelings.
He had just made a mistake, so he couldn't argue with his mother.
He'll secretly make some money later and bring it home to give his mother a nice surprise.
As for what's said publicly, just give a perfunctory answer.
This kind of trick—seemingly hard work but actually not learning a single word—is something He Tian has been doing since childhood; it's a piece of cake for him.
"Alright, alright, hearing your words puts my mind at ease. Now, you and Xiaoxue should go to sleep. Manager Chen will probably be here early tomorrow morning, so we need to get up early to avoid being scolded by him again. Being scolded is a small matter, but if we offend him and get beaten up, it's not worth it. Those people from the gambling den are fierce and menacing; they scare me to death."
Song's sobs subsided, and the sadness on her face turned into fear.
"Mother, it's alright. We have the house deed and land deed. Tomorrow, we'll have my husband give the deed and land deed to that shopkeeper, and we'll call it even. We can get up early and pack our things. I doubt he'll be kind enough to let us stay a few more days. We'd better pack our things quickly so he won't be greedy and prevent us from taking anything."
Bai Ruixue kept her head held high and never lowered it, even though her neck was sore.
“You’re right. Let’s get up early tomorrow and pack our things so he doesn’t kick us out without giving us anything. That would be a huge loss. These trunks of mine were part of my dowry from your maternal family. We can’t just give them to him for nothing.”
Mrs. Song looked at the furniture in the room, thinking about how to take it away.
Jiao'er stood silently to the side.
At this moment, Bai Ruixue was feeling smug, but she had to hold back.
Another half hour passed.
The four members of the He family then fell into a deep sleep.
After two sleepless nights filled with worry, everyone had dark circles under their eyes.
"call--"
"Snoring—"
All four of them started snoring simultaneously, some loudly, some softly.
When I woke up, it was already broad daylight.
They quickly got up, washed up, and prepared to pack their things.
I had just finished getting dressed when there was a rapid knocking at the door.
"Here they come—"
"Jiao'er, go open the door—"
Because Bai Ruixue had helped the family, He Tian and Song Shi treated her much better, and no longer asked her to do small things, but instead let their pregnant daughter do them.
Jiao'er, her belly protruding and her face full of displeasure, walked into the courtyard and opened the gate.
"Give me back the money—"
The speaker was none other than Shen Jiading.
After the door was opened, Shen Jiading wanted to kick it open, but when he saw that it was Jiao'er who opened the door, he withdrew his foot.
"The three-day period has passed. If you don't pay back the money today, hehe." Shen Jiading raised his eyelids at Jiao'er.
He's been very busy in the neighboring county these past two days, and tonight he happens to need someone to help him smooth things over.
Shen Jiading's gaze was very direct; he was practically ready to execute Jiao'er on the spot.
“We don’t want the house anymore. Here are the land deeds and house deeds, all belonging to Baihua Village. We’ll use these to pay off the debt. Didn’t you say it would be five taels of silver for each day you were late? You can take the house and the deeds, and you can tear up the signed contract.”
He Tian examined the land deed. It was thirty mu of land, including twenty mu of first-class farmland and ten mu of second-class farmland. At the lowest price, plus the house in the village, it would be worth about 100 taels.
He knew that even if he paid an extra five taels, Manager Shen wouldn't refund the money.
He Tian hid ten taels of silver in his waistband; this was his capital. As for renting a house, he knew his mother had some left.
That's enough.
"Oh, you actually managed to get the money. Let me take a look at the land deed and house deed." Shen Jiading was very unhappy.
His face had a half-smile on it.
The woman he was about to win over was gone just like that?
Shen Jiading exuded a cold aura.
He took the house and land deeds and looked at them for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter.
Hahahaha—
"That's hilarious!"
"Ha ha ha ha--"
Shen Jiading burst into laughter, unable to straighten his back. The four members of the He family and the thugs were all puzzled, looking at Shen Jiading as if waiting for his explanation.
It took Shen Jiading a long time to recover from laughing.
He cleared his throat, threw the house deeds and land deeds on the ground, and stomped on them a few times.
"You think you can fool me with a fake house deed and land deed? It doesn't even have the county government's official seal on it. Tsk tsk, the handwriting is really ugly. You guys, I really don't know what to say. I kindly gave you three days to raise the money, and this is the crap you're trying to pull off? Do you really think I'm easy to fool? I think some people won't learn their lesson until they see the coffin. Get him! Break both his legs! Beat him hard!"
Shen Jiading curled one corner of his mouth and waved his right hand.
The thugs behind him, each wielding a stick, walked towards He Tian.
"Fake? How could it be fake? Manager Shen, it has nothing to do with me! This wretched woman brought back these house deeds and land deeds, she did it all! If you want to hit someone, hit her! Please don't hit me, I don't know anything!"
He Tian panicked. He hid behind Bai Ruixue and shoved her forward hard.
It happened to be pushed right next to the thug.
The thug caught her.
That's what prevented her from falling to the ground.
When He Tian received the land deed yesterday, he only glanced at it and didn't notice the official seal at all. He thought that the land in the village was different from that in the town.
After all, the only time I ever handled a property deed in my life was when I mortgaged it to Shen Jiading.
How can you distinguish between truth and falsehood when you're unfamiliar with something?
“I stole this from my parents’ house myself, how could it be fake? It says it clearly on the cover: thirty acres of land. Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
Bai Ruixue was stunned. She knelt on the ground, crawled to the land deed, picked it up and looked at it.
really.
There is no official seal of the government on it.
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