Xia Shuyan was about to hand over the account book to Jiang Zhi after he finished writing it.
Jiang Zhi didn't take it, but just smiled and said, "I can't read, so I'll trouble Scholar Xia to read it again."
The others nodded in agreement: "Yes, Scholar Xia, please read it aloud! Make sure Village Chief Jiang hears clearly how much money we raised!"
"Scholar Xia, you remember well! We all understand now!"
On the mountain, she could pretend to read, but in front of the other members of the Xu family, Jiang Zhi still acted as if she were illiterate. It would be troublesome if she could openly acknowledge the account book.
Xia Shuyan held the paper without moving or making a sound, clearly indicating that the system had crashed again.
Xu Errui took the paper, looked at the words on it, and tried to read it: "Xu, Gen has 20 coins! Xu Gen, Gen Sheng has 53 coins..." He read it haltingly and stammeringly.
He learned to recognize over a hundred characters in a year, and he also learned bookkeeping from the clerk at the medical clinic.
Xu Errui used to write pictographs himself, but now he found it strangely difficult to look at this beautiful small regular script account book.
Jiang Zhi felt like she had phlegm in her throat, unable to breathe properly, wishing she could snatch the book from him, but she had to hold back.
Xu Errui was still reading aloud, word by word: "...Lin Tong 81 Wen, what kind of Yang is this..."
“Wu Yang 35 wen, Tian Gui 38 wen, Xu Errui 67 wen, Xu Xiaoman 55 wen… Total 473 wen!” Xia Shuyan, standing to the side, recited the account fluently without looking at the ledger.
Jiang Zhi looked at him in surprise: This guy is smart.
Although there are only twenty names in the ledger, it was a mess when I was registering them earlier. I could remember them as soon as someone finished speaking. Now that I've written them down, I can memorize them neatly without even looking at them.
After he finished reciting, he fell silent again.
With so many people around, Jiang Zhi didn't press Xia Xiucai for details. She simply said to Tian Gui and the Xu family, "Whoever wants to keep this money safe first, I'll be going to town to buy seeds the day after tomorrow, and you'll all be coming with me."
She doesn't manage the money, nor is she worried about others misusing it; she will continue to do so in the future.
To avoid getting into trouble even when you don't have much money.
"Okay, then I'll keep it safe!"
Tian Gui didn't move, but Xu Genyou took the bag of money that was already filled in his hand.
His surname was Xu, so naturally he considered himself and Aunt Jiang as family.
Arrange the time to go to town, and let everyone use this day to prepare manure piles and seedbeds, turn the soil, and wait for the day after tomorrow to buy the grain seeds and start planting.
Jiang, the newly appointed village chief, had an overwhelming workload on his first day in office, having gone down the mountain before dawn and now finishing his work.
On the way home, dusk had fallen again. Xu Errui took out the pancakes that Qiaoyun had prepared and handed them to her: "Mom, you only ate a bowl of porridge at noon. Eat something else now!"
The two of them didn't eat any dry food at noon. Li Laoshi took two bowls of rice from Zhang Juntou's big pot of rice. He was already starving after working so hard all this time.
Jiang Zhi broke off a piece and handed it back: "I'll only eat this much, you can have the rest!"
She was hungry, but the young people were even hungrier!
Xu Errui also only tore off half a piece: "I'll eat less too, there will be food when I get back!"
These cakes were specially prepared by Qiaoyun for the two of them. Although they were made with coarse flour, they were filled with brown sugar, which she said would keep them full. Now, Xu Errui is reluctant to eat them.
While eating, Jiang Zhi asked Xu Errui, "What exactly is the situation with that Xia scholar's family? Does Li Laoshi know anything about it?"
“Yes, I know. Uncle Li said that there are four people in the Xia family. Xia Xiucai’s family is from Yuzhou Prefecture. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fifteen…” Xu Errui told him all the information that Li Laoshi had inquired about.
Li Laoshi was Jiang Zhi's informant planted in the village; he could find out any news.
The Xia family consisted of four people: the Xia couple, Xia's mother, and their six-year-old son.
His family used to be from Yuzhou Prefecture, and he had a younger sister who married into Yuzhou City.
Because Xia Xiucai had mental problems and caused a disturbance in the school, the instructor deducted his monthly stipend of one dou of coarse rice and two hundred wen of cash on the grounds that it was "disgraceful to scholars".
With no income and the need for medication, the family was struggling in the city. Taking advantage of the migrants returning to their hometowns, Xia's mother also went back to live in her rural hometown.
But nowhere is a safe haven; my hometown has long been occupied by others.
They couldn't even get in the door with a mentally ill person, and in the chaos, they were almost beaten to death.
Seeing that her son's emotions had stabilized considerably after leaving familiar people and places, Xia's mother decided to settle down here with the refugees.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are skilled at needlework. A few days ago, they made bandages at the medical shed, and they could also earn food by doing laundry.
But now that the wounded soldiers have left, their lives are in trouble, and they want to try farming.
However, none of this family members were good at working. When they heard that they needed to raise money to buy seeds, and no one could do the accounting, Xia's mother asked if she could write down the money to exchange for grain!
Jiang Zhi nodded: This Xia mother is quite open-minded. She explained the reason to me as soon as she met me. She is also a smart person.
The idea of exchanging writing for grain was conceived, but it was a waste of talent that someone else was needed to do the accounting for his own small tasks.
Actually, she agreed to keep the accounts for Xia Xiucai because she realized that the migrant families were intentionally trying to help them.
Those people are struggling themselves, yet they still want to help others; this family's situation must be even more difficult.
I just turned a blind eye and let them do as they pleased. Anyway, we lacked everything. A lot of lice won't bite. Dozens of households supporting one household wouldn't be a big problem.
Based on what Xia's mother said and what Li Laoshi heard, Jiang Zhi could easily deduce the cause of Xia Xiucai's illness.
Xia Xiucai passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of fifteen, but has been studying hard ever since without making any further progress.
He went from being a genius praised by everyone to a fool despised by everyone, and with the added pressure from acquaintances and relatives, he suffered a mental breakdown.
Fan Jin's madness after passing the imperial examination was a case of extreme joy turning to sorrow, but Xia Xiucai's madness was a complete breakdown.
well!
Jiang Zhi thought about how the pressure was immense every year during the college entrance examination, with thousands of students vying for limited spots, and how some students felt the same way.
"Is this Xia Xiucai mentally unstable? Will he affect the other villagers?" Jiang Zhi continued.
The villagers all live in shacks. If Xia Xiucai loses control of his emotions and tries to play with fire or kill people, we need to be on guard.
Xu Errui thought for a moment: "I haven't heard anyone say anything unpleasant."
Xia Xiucai would occasionally venture out of his shack, but he wouldn't speak to anyone. Uncle Tian said he was the one who would loudly recite poems before dawn every day, disturbing everyone.
At this point, Xu Errui suddenly said with envy, "Xia Xiucai's son has already started his studies at the age of six. He usually helps his mother and grandmother with chores, and when his father is a little more lucid, he will study with him."
"Hey! This kid's good!"
It is said that you can tell what a child will be like at three years old and what they will be like in their old age at ten.
Xu Changshou's grandson was the same age, but all he knew was how to steal things. Jiang Zhi thought the child was sensible.
The two walked and talked until dusk.
After crossing a hill, we saw wild boars emerge from the woods, standing on the road grunting and waiting.
It's grown up now, a big guy weighing 100 pounds, and no longer clings to me like it used to, screaming and acting clingy if we're apart for even a day.
Even when Jiang Zhi went down the mountain, it would only follow for a short distance before turning back, but it would appear at random locations on the mountain path on Jiang Zhi's way home.
"Peppa Pig, come here!" Xu Errui called out.
The little wild boar came over and nudged the two of them with its snout.
Xu Errui fed it a small piece of cake that he had left over, and then took a wide cloth belt from his basket and tied it to the wild boar's chest and shoulder blades.
The reason it wasn't hung around the neck... is because pork belly doesn't grow a neck when it's big!
After hanging up the straps, Peiqi automatically walked over to Jiang Zhi's side and nuzzled her hand with "mmmmm".
"This guy has really been trained!" Jiang Zhi chuckled, patting the pig's back and grabbing the cloth strap.
She used to go down the mountain to work every day for a while, and ever since she discovered that it was much easier to climb the mountain by grabbing the back hair of a wild boar, she sewed this cloth strip.
Put a cloth strip on the pig and let the pig pull you along. Peppa, who is used to carrying things, cooperated very well.
If it can get some snacks, its little tail will curl up in joy.
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