Do you know how much the tuition is for the cheaper option?
Xiao Lei really didn't know. "I don't know. I'm not going to study here, so I won't ask."
However, he felt it should cost at least five taels of silver, at least half of it.
Wang's face was deathly pale; if it weren't for her eldest daughter-in-law supporting her, she probably would have already rolled off the stool.
Why does it cost so much silver?
She can't afford it!
The Li family and others were also terrified. This wasn't studying; it was practically swallowing gold. Xiao Lei was lucky to have found a sucker willing to pay him off.
If he marries someone else, he can forget about ever going to study in the prefectural city again.
No, I will never go to school in this lifetime.
It's often said that it's important for a woman to marry well, but now it seems even more important for a man to marry well. If the daughter-in-law's family is wealthy, she'd be willing to let her son marry into the family, even if it means gritting her teeth.
"Xiao Lei, don't you spend nearly two hundred taels of silver a year?"
Because he eats well, uses good things, and has two servants to attend to him, his writing materials must be of high quality.
Since her son had received an education, Li knew how much it would cost.
Since Xiao Lei entered the Zhao family, he must have spent at least several hundred taels of silver.
To Li, he still looked like a statue gilded in gold.
Xiao Lei pursed his lips. He himself didn't know how much money he spent in a year. It was likely that all the money he had given to his wife had been spent on his own money.
I can't think about it; just thinking about it makes me feel terrible.
Zhao Xiaoyu ignored them and told them that Xiao Lei could make money on his own, that he would find ginseng and go hunting, but they wouldn't believe her anyway.
Who would have thought that he had already saved such a large sum of money when he was still a teenager?
The old man of the Xiao family knew that he was probably insane.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Li felt extremely bored. So what if she received more than a hundred taels of silver a year? It was just a drop in the ocean for her family.
Only they thought that was a lot of money; other people didn't care at all.
When the dumplings for the Winter Solstice were served, two large tables had already been set up in the main room, and Zhao Xiaoyu sat at one of them, eating melon seeds for a long time.
In addition to dumplings, each table also has a bowl of dumpling soup and two side dishes, all homemade pickled vegetables, which go best with the dumplings.
Each person gets a bowl of dumplings. "Masters, please eat first. There's still some in the pot. If you're too full, it might get cold. If you're still hungry, I'll bring you more."
Everyone paused. Last year, dumplings were limited, and the mother-in-law was extremely stingy, absolutely forbidding them from having even one more.
This year, my son, who has money, came home, and even his treatment is different now.
There were at least twenty dumplings in the bowl. Zhao Xiaoyu finished the bowl and put down her chopsticks. She touched her stomach and seemed a little full.
Things that are free are always the best.
Xiao Lei ate two bowls, and just as he finished, Zhao Dashu appeared at the door. "Are you home yet? Are you full?"
"I'm full, let's go quickly. I'm worried about what will happen if the baby wakes up and refuses to nurse."
Song hurriedly got up. She had been worried ever since she left the house, and her heart had been in her throat all morning.
The others ignored them and continued to eat heartily, eager to get milk from the rare opportunity.
Looking at the others who resembled starving ghosts, Zhao Dashu realized that it was no wonder his mother had been nagging them to leave and not stay at her house; she had guessed that this was the scene before.
If she keeps eating like this, she'll cry tonight.
He thought the kitchen had prepared a lot today, and he was worried there wouldn't be enough to eat.
"We'll be going now, you guys enjoy your meal."
Everyone nodded. It had been so long since they had dumplings with such generous meat filling. They would take the leftovers home today, and they wouldn't go home until they were stuffed.
"Mom, I'm full."
Useless girl, "You're not full, keep eating."
The little girl stuffed herself until she was about to choke, indicating that she really couldn't eat anymore.
Li cursed her under her breath for being useless, then took the bowl from her and ate all the remaining dumplings.
They didn't eat the last bowl; they took it all home.
When Old Mrs. Sun found out, she was so angry that she pounded the bed. I told her they would definitely eat like crazy, right? I never thought they would actually dare to eat and take things.
She must give each family more money during the New Year, otherwise she will never let them off the hook.
When Zhao Xiaoyu arrived home, she found that her son was not crying or making a fuss. He was holding a toy in his hand and sitting on the tatami mat, playing happily.
"Oh, baby, you're such a good boy/girl today! Did you have your milk?"
"He ate it, but at first he didn't want to eat and even cried. Later, I brought him a lot of toys, and he ate while playing, so it went smoothly."
"You always have more ideas."
After lunch and a nap, Zhao Xiaoyu carried the child into the inner room.
"Xiao Lei, do you think Uncle wants to go to their prefectural city to study?"
"It's possible, but they'll probably give up the idea after hearing this today. Even if they go, they won't both go. The one who didn't pass the preliminary exam definitely won't be able to go to the prefectural city."
"Well, my uncle can actually earn quite a bit of money copying books every year. If he grits his teeth and only supports one student, he might be able to afford it. He could just choose a less prestigious academy."
“Even a poorly-run academy can bankrupt their family. It’s really difficult for the whole family to go hungry and not have to support anyone, since he’s not even a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations).
The difference between a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) and a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) may seem like only one level, but the difficulty level is several levels higher, and who knows how many years it would take to complete the studies.
"You're right. It's better for ordinary families not to have too many expectations. It's true that great talents can come from humble backgrounds, but how many years does it take to produce such a genius?"
Xiao Lei agreed, saying that, putting aside everything else, those books alone would cost a lot of money.
During the meal, he roughly calculated that he had spent over a hundred taels of silver on books alone in the first year, and this was just the beginning.
After arriving home, Wang put all the dumplings in the kitchen.
"What's wrong with your family? They all look so sad. Did the dumplings not taste good?"
"My lord, I have something to tell you, something very important."
"What?"
Wang's face was also full of worry. "I'm afraid we can't afford to support our eldest son anymore. I just asked Xiao Lei at my parents' house how much tuition he needs for a year of schooling. Do you know what he said?"
"How much? Twenty taels or thirty taels? I heard he attends the best academy in the prefectural city, so the tuition will naturally be more expensive. We can choose the second-tier academy when the time comes."
“No,” Wang’s eyes reddened. She knew in her heart that her eldest son probably had no hope of passing the imperial examination, and all her efforts over the years had been in vain.
He said he received ten taels of silver a month for tuition, and the academy in the prefectural city collected the silver monthly.
"So many? What about the other academies?"
"I don't know, he doesn't know either. It's just that he attends the best and most expensive school in the whole city. I heard that they don't accept ordinary students, only those with good grades."
Zhao Dawen understands that good academies are not only expensive but also have high requirements; you get what you pay for.
If Xiao Lei had been able to enter the academy, he would have become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations long ago.
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