Ever since moving into the new house, Lin Zheyun has had to go fetch water early every morning.
Lin Zheyun carried the heavy bucket and poured the water into the water tank with a splash, a thin layer of sweat already appearing on his forehead.
Once the water tank was full, he still had to go to work in the fields with his grandmother and father before dawn, when the sun wasn't so scorching.
It's really quite tough for someone his age.
Lin Zheyun picked up the carrying pole again and glanced at the small study where the lights had already been turned on.
His elder brother, Lin Zhongyuan, had gotten up even earlier and was already writing furiously, with smoke curling around him and a blurry figure giving instructions.
Lin Zheyun instantly perked up and ran out quickly and lightly.
Compared to his brother, he felt that carrying water and working in the fields didn't seem so hard.
"Why are you so slow today?" Lin Weiming was already working in the field when he saw his son carrying a hoe. He estimated the time and realized that his son was half an incense stick later than yesterday, so he looked a little displeased.
“I’m talking about Weiming.” Wang Dazhu, standing to the side, said with obvious envy, “Don’t be so harsh! He’s still his own father. You should be happy that he’s here to help you with the work! There aren’t many children in our village as sensible as your son.”
His son, Wang Hu, is probably still fast asleep at this moment.
However, Lin Weiming's son didn't feel sorry for him, but Wang Dazhu was not happy to make his son work in the fields so early in the morning.
With Wang Dazhu and the others nearby, Lin Weiming didn't say much and asked Lin Zheyun to dig out the area where the corn was planted.
The corn had already grown to half its original length after being planted, with its lush green leaves stretching out. Villagers passing by looked at this unfamiliar crop and found it quite strange.
"It's not just their son and daughter who are sensible; look at them, even the crops in the field are growing well—much better than ours," someone chimed in.
The dry weather and lack of rain in spring and early summer have greatly affected the growth of crops.
However, compared to last year, at least there was no total crop failure this year, and the villagers are still quite happy that they can barely make ends meet.
But when they turned to look at the Lin family's fields, their joy was greatly diminished.
“My family has also poured a lot of water for irrigation! We’ve worked ourselves to the bone for the past six months, but our rice isn’t as good as his!” The villagers looked at Lin Weiming’s plump ears of rice with eyes that were practically spitting fire!
That's so enviable!
When they saw these plump grains of rice, it was as if they were seeing a granary full of grain, which made them both envious and jealous.
Lin Weiming looked at his crops and proudly puffed out his chest.
Indeed, their crops are growing really well!
...
On the other side, in the Lin family, Lin Wanyue and the twins were the last to get up. The three of them were young and couldn't do much work.
Lin Wanyue went to the kitchen to brush her teeth and saw that her older brother had already gotten up and was studying.
Master Cui was engrossed in reading a book titled "The All-Purpose Guide to Policy Strategies".
In the Lin family's small study, besides the paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones that Lin Weiming bought, there were also books that Lin Wanyue had secretly taken out of her spatial storage.
If writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are expensive, then books in this remote little county are simply priceless and unavailable.
Even if Lin Weiming were willing to pay the price, it would still be difficult to find the book he wanted.
These days, the largest collections of books don't belong to bookstores, but to wealthy families, because only they have the financial resources to search for rare and unique books.
In fact, the book that Lin Wanyue took out was not just a thick booklet, but a pinnacle of printing technology over thousands of years.
Thud—
One of Master Cui's tears fell onto the book.
Lin Zhongyuan looked up in surprise at Master Cui's red-rimmed eyes and the sight of tears streaming down his face.
"Master, what's wrong?" Lin Zhongyuan put down his pen and paper in a panic and tried to wipe Master Cui's tears with his sleeve.
But Master Cui was just a phantom spirit after all, and Lin Zhongyuan's hand could only brush past his body, but could not touch his physical form.
"Alas." Master Cui wiped away his tears and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing serious. I was just a little emotional. If I had seen such a book back then, if I had known that the imperial examinations... if I had known that policy essays could be written like this! Why would I have wasted half my life? No, no, no, I have completely ruined my own life!"
Lin Wanyue owes a lot to her wealthy father in her past life; otherwise, it would have been really difficult for her to compete with those test-taking masters.
Although those top test-takers from the previous generation didn't have to participate in the imperial examinations, the strategies they used for essay writing were not significantly different.
The book that Master Cui is holding is a treasure trove of knowledge that explains the formulas of strategy writing in detail, from the principles to the techniques.
Such a masterpiece, a culmination of all the classics, was like a game-changer for a poor scholar like Master Cui from a remote village.
“Master…” Lin Zhongyuan paused, unsure how to advise him.
Master Cui was quite lazy in other matters, but he devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying. If he had seen such a book a few years or decades earlier, he would probably have already passed the imperial examination and become an official. How could he have worked himself to death in the fields and been so poor that even his coffin had to be scraped together by the villagers?
A soft little hand tugged at Master Cui's trouser leg. Master Cui wiped away his tears, and when he looked down, he first saw Lin Diaodiao's fluffy, round face, and then he saw Lin Wanyue's cute little face.
"Don't cry, Master Cui." Lin Wanyue hugged Master Cui's leg and comforted him, "Although you can't take the imperial examination now, you've trained my mentor. Maybe he can help you become the top scholar, and then you'll be the teacher of a top scholar!"
"Little sister, don't talk nonsense." Lin Zhongyuan was a little embarrassed. He liked studying and hoped to get good grades.
But to be the top scorer in the imperial examinations seems rather arrogant.
There are so many smart people in the world, how could it possibly be his turn?
But Cui Zhongjie perked up, realizing that Lin Wanyue's words made sense.
“No, Wanwan is right!” He turned to Lin Zhongyuan and said, “Come on, let’s revisit the policy essay you wrote the other day.”
"Good teacher."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Wanyue slipped away from the study with Lin Diaodiao on her back.
As a ghost, Master Cui naturally didn't feel tired and continued teaching with great enthusiasm until the afternoon.
However, Lin Zhongyuan was still just a child, and by the afternoon he began to feel tired.
"Then you should rest for a while, and polish this policy essay for me again before tonight." Master Cui left the homework and floated out of the courtyard.
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, but before he could light it, he saw Little Pink Butterfly holding an axe, sharpening it, with sparks flying everywhere, and her pair of bright, watery peach blossom eyes staring intently at him.
The warning in his eyes was very strong.
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