Oh, it's still his older brother who's not human.
"He hasn't passed the imperial examination yet, has he? Isn't it a bit early for him to go to the prefectural city to study?" Zhao Dashu thought for a moment and still kindly reminded him, "Brother, the expenses in the prefectural city are very high. Are you really prepared? Even if he lives in the academy, his daily food, writing materials, and tuition will be a considerable expense. Are you sure you can afford it?"
Zhao Dashu knew all too well how much money it cost to go to school; he could calculate his elder brother's family's financial situation with his eyes closed. Apart from copying books, the family had almost no income.
Farming could only earn so much money, and no one in their family went out to sell sugar; their savings came entirely from copying books.
"Third brother, I've come today to discuss this matter with you..."
Zhao Dashu jumped up from the stool. "Don't even mention me supporting your son and paying for his tuition. That's impossible. You'd better not say that!"
Zhao Dawen was furious. He was so stingy, so incredibly stingy. Would it kill him to help his nephew if he had so much money?
“I didn’t ask you to pay tuition.”
Zhao Dashu breathed a sigh of relief, sat back down in his chair, and took a couple of sips of tea to calm his nerves.
I thought they were trying to scheme against him again.
"Then what are you doing here? I can't help you with anything. You don't have the money to attend a good academy, and I don't know anything about the bad ones."
Zhao Dawen got up to leave. Why is he so sharp-tongued?
Zhao Dawen took a deep breath, telling himself not to argue with a fool.
"Third brother, I want to ask you for a favor..."
"Don't bring up anything about money. If you do, it means you don't have any. I have no money on me."
Zhao Dawen finally choked on his breath and coughed for a while before stopping.
“I already told you I won’t borrow money from you! Hey, Zhao Dashu, why do I find you so petty these days? You don’t have money? Go ask around the whole county and see if anyone believes you. Even a fool would shake their head.”
Zhao Dashu wasn't angry at all. "I just don't have any money. Believe it or not."
"I'm not going to talk about anything else. If my son goes to study in the prefectural city, I plan to..."
Zhao Dashu waved his hand to interrupt him, "Brother, it's too early for everything, you really don't need to be in such a hurry."
What do you mean?
"Let's talk about it after your son passes the imperial examination. Right now, we should try to copy more books and save more money."
Zhao Dashu was certain that his elder brother was trying to frame him. His nephew was going to study in the prefectural city, where he lived, so he knew exactly what his brother was up to.
Isn't it a bit too hasty to scheme against him before he's even passed the imperial examination? And even if he does pass, so what? Just because he's in the prefectural city doesn't mean he should help him. He's too busy to concern himself with other people's business.
Regarding children, he always believed that whoever gives birth to them should take care of them, and that one should not push their responsibilities onto others. Nobody owes you anything, right?
Take him for example. He never wants anyone to help him with his two daughters; he takes care of them himself.
Zhao Dawen was furious. "Zhao Laosan, can't you even let me finish what I have to say?"
His son will definitely pass the imperial examination this year and become a scholar; he has complete confidence in him.
"Go on, go on, speak slowly!"
Zhao Dashu finally shut up.
"Ahem..." Zhao Dawen cleared his throat. "I was thinking that the eldest brother could go back to the prefectural city with you guys after the New Year. We can look out for each other on the way, don't you think?"
He had to admit that Xiao Lei's knowledge was now definitely superior to his own, and he wanted to ask Xiao Lei to give his son some extra tutoring on the way.
"Alright, but all our carriages and mule carts are full, so you'll have to rent one yourself. Also, you'll have to prepare your own food for the journey. I'm worried that if someone gets sick from the food, they might blame me for poisoning them. The imperial examination is a major event, and there's no room for carelessness."
We'll just be company on the journey; the other underlings won't be of much help. By the way, are you coming along too, big brother?
Zhao Dawen choked. Of course he would go along, but he wanted to hitch a ride with Zhao Dashu's family. If they didn't have a horse-drawn carriage or a mule cart, that would be fine too, since renting a car would cost a lot of money.
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