Chapter 911 Shi Chunmiao
Ten miles outside Chang'an City lies Shiwanzi Village.
The old village head, his hair streaked with gray, hunched over as he walked home in the setting sun, followed by his eldest son, Shi Dalang.
Shi Dalang carried a shoulder pole with baskets of fresh grass at both ends, while the tools he would use for working in the fields that day were carried by Shi Erlang, who followed behind him.
Shi Dalang's eldest son, Xiao Shitou, skipped and hopped along beside the old village head and the others. Unlike the fair-skinned children in Chang'an City, the children in the village were tanned so much that even their scalps were dark.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, I need a straw basket, weave it quickly."
He grabbed a handful of grass from the roadside and placed it in the old village head's hand, his eyes brimming with pleading as he looked at him.
Old Li chuckled twice, and affectionately agreed to Little Stone's words.
Before they even reached the village entrance, the old villager had already finished making a small straw cage. Little Stone excitedly took it, and as if his backside was on fire, he ran into the village shouting, "Thank you, Grandpa! I'm going to find Da Niu to play with!"
Before the old village head could speak, Shi Dalang anxiously shouted, "Come home early, be back before dark."
Little Stone responded to Shi Dalang by waving his hand casually twice.
The father and his two sons returned home. The old man looked up at the sky, washed his hands and face with water that had been heated by the sun during the day, and changed into a pair of clean, mud-free shoes. He then said to his family, "Before it gets dark, I'll go to Wulang's house to take a look and give him some more instructions. His youngest daughter applied to take the exam for the female doctor in the city."
The old village head was referring to Shi Wulang, who was Shi Chunmiao's father. Eighty percent of the people in Shiwanzi Village were surnamed Shi, and most of them shared the same ancestor in their early years, so they were all related by blood, just with varying degrees of closeness.
The old village head's father and Shi Wulang's grandfather were brothers, so it's acceptable for Shi Chunmiao to call the old village head "grandfather".
Shi Chunmiao's home is located at the very back of Shiwanzi Village, nestled against the mountains, which is quite a nice place.
But coincidentally, just as the old villager was walking to Shi Chunmiao's door, he ran into Shi Chunmiao, who was carrying two fish no bigger than an adult's palm, with his trousers rolled up and his face and head slightly damp.
"Grandpa!"
Why did Grandpa come here?
Come inside quickly.
As Shi Chunmiao went home to greet the old village head, she called out to her family, "Grandma, Mother, Father, the old village head is here! Come out and greet him!"
As soon as the old village chief entered, he saw the lame Shi Wulang hurriedly stand up, holding a straw branch in his hand. Looking at the woven basket on the ground, he knew that Shi Wulang had been busy weaving straw baskets.
Before the old village head could speak, Shi Chunmiao put the two fish in her hand into her mother's hand and said directly, "Mother, quickly cook these fish. The old village head doesn't come often, so you must keep him for a bowl of fish soup."
Upon hearing this, Shi's mother nodded and carried the fish into the kitchen.
But the old village head quickly said, "Don't bother, I just want to say something. My family is waiting for me to come home for dinner."
After saying this, the old village head went to see Shi Chunmiao: "You are a child who has a good sense of things. I just came to give you some advice."
Tomorrow is the day of the examination in Chang'an City. In our area, only you and Liu Liuniang from Sanwanzi got the wooden plaques.
Tomorrow at dawn, right at the village entrance, I will personally drive the donkey cart to take you both to Chang'an City for the imperial examinations.
After saying that, the old village head went to see Shi Wulang and Granny Shi: "Since the child can take the exam, he is a promising candidate. If he is selected, he will not only be able to eat and live comfortably without spending money, but he will also be able to earn money for his family in the future."
"Don't take this lightly," the old village head said to Shi Wulang and the others. Then he turned back to Shi Chunmiao and said, "You must keep the household registration sticker and the wooden plaque safe. If you pass the exam and get into the city, it will not only be good for your family and the Shi family, but it will also bring honor to our Shiwanzi."
Good boy, study hard on the test tomorrow.
Old Li felt much more at ease when he saw Shi Chunmiao nod solemnly in agreement. After saying a few more words, he turned around and headed back home.
However, at the time of lighting the lamps, Shi Chunmiao still went to the old village head's house and brought him a bowl of fish soup with plenty of oil and salt.
The next day, before dawn, Shi Chunmiao got up early. Her mother put a purse in Shi Chunmiao's arms and said, "The money you earned from selling medicine, catching fish, and collecting firewood is all in here."
Your mother gave you some more; it was what your father used to get from selling baskets. Take it all.
Don't be stingy with money. Chang'an is a precious place; spend it when necessary.
Shi Chunmiao touched the bulging, hard purse in her arms. "Oh, I know everything, Mother, don't worry about me."
While waiting for the old village head's donkey cart at the village entrance, Shi Wulang, who had been silent all along, suddenly said to Shi Chunmiao, "Chummiao, your father is incompetent and has broken his leg, so you, a young girl, have to earn your own future."
Father doesn't understand the exams in Chang'an. Just remember, if you don't pass, it's not a big deal. As long as Father is here, you'll have food to eat.
Just as Shi Wulang finished speaking those two sentences, he heard the old villager urging the donkey.
When the old village head arrived, Shi Chunmiao shut her mouth. Even though she called him "Uncle Village Head," they were still a generation apart. Her own grandfather had long since passed away, and it was already quite an achievement that the old village head would take care of her in daily life out of consideration for that little bit of blood relation.
In other words, they can't really be considered family anymore.
Therefore, Shi Chunmiao simply nodded to Shi Wulang and said nothing more.
The village head asked Shi Chunmiao again if she had taken the household registration sticker and the wooden slip of paper.
Seeing that Shi Chunmiao took it out of the bag and showed it to him, he was relieved. The old village chief watched Shi Chunmiao get on the donkey cart, then turned to Shi Wulang and his wife and said, "Don't worry, bring the child back the same way you took him out."
After leaving the road through Shiwanzi Village, the old village head did not head towards the main road, but instead turned onto another small path.
"Chunmiao, we need to go to Sanwanzi to pick up Liu Liuniang. Once we get her, we can get on the official road and head to Chang'an."
Sure enough, when we arrived at the entrance of Sanwanzi Village, we saw two people, one tall and one short, standing by the roadside waiting.
Shi Chunmiao saw that Liu Liuniang looked about two years younger than her and was about half a head shorter.
The village elder introduced the two to each other, and only then did Shi Chunmiao realize that the person following Liu Liuniang was her elder brother.
Seeing the shock in Shi Chunmiao's eyes, Liu Liuniang leaned closer to Shi Chunmiao after getting on the donkey cart and whispered to her, "I am the youngest daughter in the family. I have four older brothers and two older sisters."
Shi Chunmiao nodded immediately after hearing Liu Liuniang's words. She understood. Just like her family and the old village head's family, the difference in age between the eldest son and the youngest son was what made them look like a generation apart.
After picking up the passengers, the old village head cracked his whip, pulled the reins, and set the donkey cart onto the official road, heading towards Chang'an City.
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