The people in Shanshui Village, especially the children, are mostly literate to some extent.
However, only Fan Jin (Fan Hu) and Li Changlin, the eldest grandson of the old village chief, took the imperial examination route.
Having received Ling Ran's books, Fan Jin didn't hide them. He copied them over several days and had Shui Qing deliver them to the old village chief's house.
The old village chief's health has deteriorated in the past two years, and he spends most of his time lying in the yard, rarely going out anymore.
He originally wanted to hand over the village affairs to Shuiqing, but Shuiqing refused—being the village chief is not easy; it requires both mental and physical exertion and a strong belief in the good of the village, which she did not consider noble enough.
Furthermore, after becoming the village chief, she became hesitant and timid in doing many things; all she wanted to do was earn money in peace.
The old village chief and Master Fan wanted Wenhua to take over, and without her having to refuse, her parents and Wenhua hurriedly turned it down!
Leaving aside the fact that the Hu family came later and Wen Hua is too young, just considering the relationship between the two siblings and the Ding family, how will things be handled if something happens in the future? No matter how it's handled, it won't sound good.
Wen Hua declined, citing the village chief's numerous and complicated duties, and the fact that he had been busy traveling for more than half a year and was unable to handle them in a timely manner.
The gate to the old village chief's courtyard was not closed. As Shui Qing stepped into the courtyard, she saw that in addition to the old village chief, there were other elderly people from the village sitting in a circle, clearly discussing something.
Upon seeing Shuiqing, the group was overjoyed. "Shuiqing, we were discussing who should succeed the village chief, and look, you've arrived! Isn't this destiny?!"
How could someone as clear-headed as Shui Qing not understand?
They're still not giving up.
Fortunately, she now has an even better reason!
She first looked at Wang Guifen and handed her the books: "Sister-in-law Guifen, these are books that Ling Ran brought. They are all commentaries by famous scholars. They are very impressive. Please give them to Changlin to take a look at."
Wang Guifen rubbed her hands vigorously on the hem of her clothes, accepted them respectfully, turned and ran into the house. A moment later, Li Changlin followed her out and bowed deeply to Shui Qing, "Thank you, Auntie. Is Uncle Jin home? I'll go and thank him."
"No, the imperial examinations are about to be reinstated. You should hurry up and study. Don't waste your time. You'll have so much to say after the exams!" Shui Qing said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard was stunned. Li Changlin then said happily, "Auntie, I understand! I'll go back to my room and study right away!"
After studying for over a decade, through harsh winters and scorching summers, we've finally seen hope. How can we not take it seriously!
The old village chief waited until his grandson entered the house before he could no longer contain his excitement and asked, "Shuiqing, did you receive some news?"
Ling is from a big city, so he must be more well-informed than people from remote villages!
Shui Qing smiled and nodded, then addressed the crowd, saying, "Now that things are peaceful outside, and my husband is going to take the imperial examination, I also plan to go out and see what it's like."
Yuhang, Jinling, Beidu... all the way north, I'll probably be away from the village for months at a time, and it will be the same in the future. This village chief position, I'm truly not cut out for it!
The village elders knew a lot about these places. Jin Xiaozi's family, the Hu family, and the Ding family had businesses. Jin Xiaozi was going to take the imperial examination, so the responsibility of inspecting the area fell on Shui Qing. She was there to take care of important business, so it seemed that she really couldn't take on the position of village chief.
"If it's not you, who else in our village could do it?" Old Man Xu asked dejectedly.
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