Chapter 7: Submitting the Exam Paper and Receiving Ten Coins
Since we weren't planning to pull the cart tomorrow, and we had a lot of cardboard boxes, after dinner, the whole family used the small amount of light from the table to paste the cardboard boxes together.
The Yao family made their own candles. They filled a bamboo tube with two ounces of oil, soaked a small section of cotton thread inside, pulled out one end, lit it, and it became a dim little lamp. Yao Xiaoyu looked at that little light and truly understood what it meant for a candle flame to be as small as a bean.
Working under such light is bad for the eyes, but Yao Xiaoyu had no other choice for the time being. The kerosene lamp had already been sold to pay off debts, and the Yao family was in urgent need of money. No matter how cheap the item was, as long as it wasn't needed immediately, they wouldn't spend the copper coins they had.
Let's wait a little longer.
As Yao Xiaoyu pasted the cardboard boxes, she said to herself.
More than a hundred boxes is not a small number, but it is not much when divided among six people. The Yao family did not stay up for too long and finished making all the boxes. Then they all went to wash up and go to bed. Yao Xiaoyu wanted to ask about the mosquito coils, but she couldn't find a suitable opportunity.
Fortunately, she wasn't troubled by this problem for too long. She had expended a lot of energy during the day, and even though the weather was hot and humid, and her teacher with black and white floral feet was constantly instructing her, Yao Xiaoyu still fell asleep in the blink of an eye, only to wake up sweating profusely the next morning.
After wiping herself down and washing her face, Yao Xiaoyu took care of herself. Zhou Chunhua came in carrying a shoulder pole filled with pea stalks.
"Shell the beans, and we'll cook porridge for lunch."
Vegetables weren't worth much, but Zhou Chunhua offered a copper coin, and the farmer happily pulled up many pea stalks by the roots. Seeing that Zhou Chunhua had trouble carrying them, he even offered to lend her his carrying pole.
"I will return the carrying pole after I bring back the boxes."
The Yao family didn't have this item. They were in too much debt, and anything of value had been sold off. If it weren't for Yao Xiaoyu and Yao Tianrui needing to go to school, they wouldn't have been able to keep the pen either. But expenses were still very high, with the most expensive being the rent for the house.
Shanghai was very prosperous at that time, and the rent was relatively expensive. Their house was in a good location and was made of solid materials. It was a two-and-a-half-story building with a yard and a wall. The Qin family gave them a low price because they were the original residents, but it still cost six silver dollars.
A bungalow in the same location would cost at least eight yuan to rent.
Rent is an unavoidable expense. While there are cheaper places in the countryside outside the city, the residents there are old and young. Although Yao Ping'an is an adult man, he is frail and sickly and has little influence. Once the Yao family's situation is known, they are very vulnerable to danger.
The Yao family was very poor, but in this era, people themselves were a kind of property.
"Bean curd skin is edible too."
At this time, the beans are not considered old. The pods are green with no visible veins, and if you pinch them, you can leave a clear fingernail mark. Yao Xiaoyu grew up in Jiangxi Province and has eaten all kinds of different kinds of beans since childhood.
How do you eat it?
Zhou Chunhua didn't think Yao Xiaoyu was talking nonsense. Although she was illiterate, she believed that scholars always had a natural aura about them. Her second granddaughter skipped grades in school, studied with a foreign-speaking teacher in middle school, and excelled in everything. It was normal for her to know that pea husks were edible.
"Choose peas with skins that can be pinched to leave a fingernail mark, remove the inner membrane and the strings on both sides, wash them clean and put them directly into the pot."
Yao Xiaoyu's family often makes pea skins. They usually sauté chili peppers and garlic, then stir-fry the pea skins until they change color, add a handful of cardamom, and season with salt before serving. It doesn't require much effort, and it's a crisp and delicious dish.
However, it's easier to eat pea pods if you're cooking them in porridge by cutting them into small pieces. But since there wasn't even a kitchen knife at home, Yao Xiaoyu didn't say anything—cutting pea pods into small pieces without a knife or scissors sounds like deliberately making things difficult for people.
"Remember to put the poles next to the firewood; they can be burned after they've dried."
Seeing that Wenrou nodded gently, Zhou Chunhua gave her a word of advice and then went to the kitchen to scoop out some porridge. They had already finished all the fish and meat yesterday, so the porridge for breakfast was still a combination of sweet potato and rice. Yao Xiaoyu tried her best to swallow it, and after finishing, she went out with Yao Tianrui and Zhou Chunhua.
"Little fish..."
The gentle woman peeling peas watched Yao Xiaoyu leave, frowned, and called out, but Yao Xiaoyu pretended not to hear.
Yao Xiaoli looked enviously at her sister's back, peeling beans in her hands, but her legs wanted to slip away when her mother wasn't looking. But how could the gentleness of a mother let go of a second daughter who had already left? She gently pulled her ear and brought her third daughter back.
"father……"
Yao Xiaoli tried to ask her father for help, but he just shook his head and continued to shell the beans. He separated the peas from the bean skins and put the small bits of string that he tore off into a winnowing basket to dry with the bean stalks for use as fuel.
The group arrived at the entrance of He Family Bookstore. Zhou Chunhua, carrying her load, walked faster than the two young men. There was an extra person in the bookstore today. He looked younger than Manager He. When he saw Yao Xiaoyu and Yao Tianrui enter, he looked at the two siblings with an uncomfortable gaze.
"Manager He, this is the exam paper that I copied yesterday."
Yao Tianrui's courage, which he had mustered at the pastry shop yesterday, seemed to have vanished overnight. He stood in the bookstore for a long time without saying a word, so Yao Xiaoyu had to step in. As soon as she finished speaking, a cold snort was heard.
Manager He carefully examined the exam papers that the two had copied. The handwriting wasn't very neat, but it was straight and the size was consistent. There were a few typos, but they were corrected in time. There weren't many, and since the exam papers weren't books, it didn't affect their use. After some picking and choosing, all of them passed except for Yao Tianrui's first one.
“These are usable, eleven copper coins, you can count them.”
Manager He placed the copper coins on the counter. Yao Tianrui looked at the failed exam paper, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Manager He, we'd like to buy a copper coin's worth of paper."
Yao Xiaoyu carefully counted the coins that were easy to see at a glance, and pushed a copper coin back. They had a limited number of papers in their hands, and if one test paper was wasted, they would naturally have to buy a new one to replace it.
While Yao Xiaoyu was speaking, the stranger kept making cold snorts. Seeing that Manager He didn't react, Yao Xiaoyu assumed it was just pig noises. It wasn't until they left the shop that Yao Xiaoyu heard Manager He speak to the man:
"Have you finished watching now...?"
There was a story behind this, but Yao Xiaoyu had no intention of probing. She followed Zhou Chunhua's footsteps, pondering where the pastry shop could earn some extra money if it lost its handicrafts.
Shopkeeper He's younger brother, unwilling to give up, walked to the door and watched the backs of the three members of the Yao family. Only after confirming that they had no intention of turning back did he return dejectedly. Shopkeeper He looked at his brother, who had become as limp as a frozen chicken, and let out the same cold snort his brother had just made.
"A bet's a bet, and you accept the consequences?"
Shopkeeper He looked at his younger brother. His brother was his youngest son, and he and his wife had raised him like a son since he was little. Now he was in middle school. When he went back yesterday, he happened to catch his brother's return. He was quite happy and specially bought half a roast chicken to treat the family to a meal. But the boy must have heard some rumors outside and was convinced that the Yao family was here to freeload.
Are you kidding me? He's been doing this for so many years, can't he tell if someone is really just trying to freeload? He's just here to make a living, and he didn't ask for more money for fewer words when copying books. He did the work and got paid, so how did that make him someone who only cares about money?
Manager He retorted a few times, but the kid said something like, "Now they get paid for doing things, and then they borrow things and never pay them back. When you ask them, they take advantage of the fact that there's no contract to renege on their debts."
At the dinner table, Manager He was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He said that the Yao siblings were not like that. The younger brother refused to believe him no matter what. In the end, the two of them were so angry that they made a bet on the character of the two Yao siblings.
The bet was simple: if the Yao siblings came to hand in their exam papers the next day and needed to borrow something, would they offer to sign a contract?
Whether the loan is not lent or a contract is signed, Manager He wins; otherwise, the younger brother wins.
The stakes were the order my younger brother brought back this time: a copy of "The Essence of Flower Disease" from the thirty-fourth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, totaling about 25,000 characters, which needed to be copied ten times.
This order isn't particularly large, but what's rare is that the handwriting in this book is clear and easy to read, and the requirements for the scribes are only fair and reasonable. However, the price is very high. Even after deducting their lead fee, it can reach 30 cents per thousand words, and they can get paid for each book they finish copying.
If Manager He wins, the order will go to the Yao siblings; if Manager He loses, the order will remain with the He family bookstore, and the Yao siblings will still be paid for the qualified exam papers they copy, but they will not be allowed to make money by copying books at the He family bookstore afterward. In addition, Manager He will also give the younger brother ten silver dollars.
The younger brother had already planned how to spend the money, but when the Yao siblings arrived, they didn't say a word. However, the younger brother wasn't a sore loser; he accepted his defeat.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have listened to my classmates' comments."
Manager He sensed something amiss in his younger brother's words and narrowed his small eyes:
"I'll tell the Yao siblings about this list tomorrow. By the way, did your classmate mention the Yao family?"
The younger brother, not noticing anything amiss, nodded.
"Yes, Zhen Zhengqing said at school that the Yao family couldn't get used to a poor life and would definitely have wicked ideas."
Manager He nodded. He knew Zhen Zhengqing; he was the second child of the silk shop owner.
...
Yao Xiaoyu had no idea that she had almost missed out on the job she had just found. She handed over the cardboard box to Zhou Chunhua and Yao Tianrui without any trouble, received three copper coins, and even got a job weaving straw hats.
Recently, straw hats embroidered with silk have become popular in Shanghai. A friend of his wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to make some money, but these straw hats were all small and could only be made by a special person. Fifteen minutes later, this person left the pastry shop. When Manager Qiu saw that the Yao family had arrived at the right time, he gave them the materials.
Ten straw hats in total, one copper coin each, to be delivered by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Zhou Chunhua readily agreed, then took the two to rent fountain pens. Yao Tianrui, who hadn't said a word earlier, couldn't hold back any longer on the way:
"Grandma, does anyone in our family know how to weave straw hats?"
A note from the author:
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Zhou Chunhua, who grew up in the countryside: Open your eyes again and take a look.
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