"Brother Zhao, we're all counting on you for the teacher's mock exam at the end of the month."
"Yes, this is what our brothers want to thank you for. Brother Zhao, please accept it."
Zhao Yan held the heavy money bag in his hand and nodded as if he had made up his mind.
"Haha, alright, then shall I treat Brother Zhao to a drink today? All of you brothers come, it's on me."
The young men were all dressed in silk clothes and wearing gold boots. Only Zhao Yan was dressed in coarse cloth clothes and cloth shoes.
Such attire made him stand out from the group.
He Tiantian stood not far away and watched for a while. She knew without a doubt that these people with Zhao Yan were not up to any good.
Zhao Yan is the only scholar in Changfeng Village, the pride of the entire village, and the ceiling for all the children in the village. Besides, she has a pretty good impression of Zhao Yan's mother and Zhao Neng.
Now that she's encountered this situation, she has no reason to ignore it.
He Tiantian came out and shouted loudly, "Zhao Yan!"
Zhao Yan immediately stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw He Tiantian standing not far away. For a moment, Zhao Yan felt both ashamed and embarrassed, and didn't know what to say.
"What's wrong, Brother Zhao? Do you know that person?" The person who was about to treat us to dinner was Cheng Fang. The Cheng family was extremely wealthy, and their businesses were spread throughout almost the entire Changning County.
"Ah... I know him. Brother Cheng, you go ahead, I'll just let you know and then I'll be right there," Zhao Yan said, cupping his hands in greeting.
"Alright, guys, let's go first." Cheng Fang called out to the other three, and the group went upstairs first.
Zhao Yan awkwardly approached He Tiantian, his normally fair face flushed red. He remembered his mother frequently mentioning He Tiantian back home at the end of the year.
It was also thanks to He's help that their family was able to eat meat during the Chinese New Year.
Zhao Yan felt both ashamed and distressed. He called out in a muffled voice, "Aunt He."
He Tiantian's gaze fell on the money bag in Zhao Yan's arms, which clearly showed that he had just received a lot of bribes from that group of spoiled young men.
Zhao Yan felt a little uncomfortable under He Tiantian's sharp gaze, and tucked the money bag in his hand into his pocket again.
"Aren't you studying at Bailu Academy? What are you doing here?" He Tiantian's expression was somewhat serious, and her tone was questioning.
"I..." Zhao was speechless, unable to utter another word for a long time.
He Tiantian sighed. It seemed this was the first time Zhao Yan had done something like this. She had only wanted to scare the boy a little, and since it was just the beginning, it was still not too late to correct him.
"I heard everything just now. Those people bribed you to help them pass the test at the end of the month, is that right?"
Bailu Academy was the best academy in Changning County, and its teachers were all at least Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). In modern terms, it was like a prestigious, highly educated university.
Those who studied at this academy were all from wealthy and powerful families, and some of them were spoiled brats who paid money to get by.
Zhao Yan nodded with difficulty...
He Tiantian said seriously, "You passed the county and prefectural examinations at the age of thirteen and became a student in your village, which gave you the opportunity to study at Bailu Academy, a place that everyone longs for. I heard that you are among the top students in the academy, and the prefectural examination is just around the corner. You are very likely to become a scholar. Why are you doing such a foolish thing now!"
He Tiantian looked like a worried old mother. Cheating in this era comes with a very heavy price to pay, and Zhao Yan can't afford it.
"Do you know that if this gets out, your life will be ruined? You should think carefully about whether doing something so self-destructive is worthy of your parents' kindness in educating and raising you?"
Zhao Yan turned pale with fright. "I... I didn't want to cheat. It was Cheng Fang and the others... I just wanted to pass them the answers..." Zhao Yan's voice trailed off as she spoke, filled with regret.
"Even if they confiscated your money, being caught by the academy will still put them in a very bad position! Listen to your aunt, return the money. A gentleman remains unmoved and unswayed even with a woman in his lap. If you've become greedy for a few taels of silver, how can you expect to be a good official in the future?"
"Ah..." Zhao Yan suddenly looked up at He Tiantian standing in front of him. These words were like a wake-up call for him. "Auntie, I was confused. I was just momentarily blinded by greed. Thank you for reminding me, Auntie."
"To err is human, to forgive divine. It's never too late to correct a mistake before it becomes a major one," He Tiantian advised.
Zhao Yan bowed respectfully to He Tiantian, "Auntie, I've got it."
"Okay, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, come back to the village and find your aunt." He Tiantian gave a few more instructions before turning to leave.
Zhao Yan watched He Tiantian's departing figure. He had been studying since he was four years old, and now at sixteen, after decades of studying, he was still not as well-rounded or insightful as a village woman.
Zhao Yan felt increasingly ashamed as he thought about it. All those years of studying had gone to waste! He was truly a disgrace to scholars.
When He Tiantian arrived at the clinic, Zhao Tingzhang's session had already ended.
When Zhao Xiaohe saw that He Tiantian was carrying so many things, he quickly came over and took them all from her.
"Sister He, let me carry it for you."
He Tiantian didn't refuse; she smiled and got into the oxcart. The meat buns she had just bought were still warm. He Tiantian took out four and gave one to Zhao Tingzhang, one to Zhao Dahai, and one to Zhao Xiaohe.
"Eat quickly, you must be starving after not eating all day."
Looking at the white, fist-sized meat buns, Zhao Tingzhang said, "We can't accept this, Maruko's mother. The three of us won't eat them. We'll eat them when we get back."
He Tiantian knew that the village head and the others were embarrassed, so she directly stuffed the meat buns into the hands of the three men.
"I can't just eat by myself while you all watch. We have to eat together." With that, He Tiantian took a bite of the big steamed bun in her hand.
The owner of this shop makes very substantial steamed buns; you can see the meat as soon as you take a bite, and the meat juice flows out along the white skin.
The aroma made Zhao Tingzhang and his two sons swallow hard, and they stopped being coy and started eating the buns in their hands.
The journey back was still very slow, but at least it had finally stopped snowing.
Zhao, the village head, looked at the sky excitedly, "Heavens above, please don't let it rain any more! It's almost April, and the fields are still empty and unplanted."
In previous years, rice would be planted in the family's paddy fields in March, and sweet potatoes would be planted in April.
But because of the snow today, I couldn't get anything done.
"Chief, is there any extra land in the village? I'd like to buy a few plots of dry land." Now that He Tiantian has money, her most important task is to build a house and acquire land.
“Yes, of course! There are still dozens of acres of wasteland in the village, which were bestowed upon us by Magistrate Liu a few years ago,” Zhao Tingzhang quickly replied.
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