Chapter 17

Actually, Wang Ju was not in a hurry now. Just having arrived in the Song Dynasty, he needed to have a general understanding, not from history books, which might not be entirely reliable. Moreover, he was still young and could not do many things. Therefore, he had to survive first and grow gradually.

But survival was extremely difficult, to the point that he had to work as a mule.

So when Zhao Nianu gave him a jade hairpin, he promised to escort her to the capital.

Life, after all, is full of helplessness.

Wang Ju could only拱手say, "Then I thank Dong翁 and Manager Zhu."

"No problem."

In fact, it was also a deal. With two possible promises, Wang Ju had to carefully transform Zhu Jun and also accept a huge favor.

Aunt Two came over, "Big Ox, it's time to divide the money."

"Oh," Wang Ju was a bit excited in his heart.

After the battle in Fuxian County, the little princess was worried about the Imperial City Office, and he was worried about getting involved in something bad. The little princess paid for the donkey, but forgot to tip him.

Integrity might not be that important, but Wang Ju couldn't directly ask for a tip, so he left, getting a set of "Five Classics Commentary," a donkey, and the hairpin that Zhu Qing bought for nineteen strings of cash, which was better than before, but still very poor.

He came to the grain drying field in front of the village excitedly.

Wang Quan brought Zhu Qing's ox cart, full of Jiaoyou Yuanbao, the least popular copper coins in circulation in the Song Dynasty, but they were still copper coins, hard currency.

The Zhu family showed their sincerity by giving four hundred strings of cash before the sword was even handed over, so the whole village was overjoyed.

Wang Xun was calculating with chips, having earned a lot of money, but he also had to buy some materials, such as coal, which were funded by the villagers, and now had to be deducted.

Wang Ju, seeing the urgency, stepped forward and said, "Fourth Uncle, let me do it."

"Alright," Wang Xun said. The incident on the Black Ao Ridge mountain road was kept secret by everyone, even from their wives and children, so many of the women in the village still treated Wang Ju as before. However, the young men who participated in the battle knew.

For Wang Ju, this was a simple account, and he quickly figured out the costs. Then he said, "Grandpa, how should the remaining money be divided?"

"Big Ox, you and Yuan Heizi will each get four strings of cash, and the rest will be divided among the villagers, what do you think?"

"Old Clan Leader, isn't Big Ox's share too small?" Aunt Two shouted.

"Not too small at all. Your little brother just said a few words with his hands behind his back. Don't be so greedy," another woman yelled. Wang Ju was a bit unfamiliar with her, probably from the eastern part of the village.

"Aunt Five, without my Big Ox, would we have this money?"

"Then how did Big Ox leave your house in the first place?"

Wang Quan looked at Wang Ju with difficulty, and Wang Ju said, "If Uncle Yuan Hei has no objections, let's divide it this way."

To be honest, the division was a bit unfair.

Perhaps Fan Zhongyan and others forgot that the founder of the Song Dynasty, Chai Rong, was a merchant, and deliberately emphasized the importance of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with artisans and merchants being considered lowly. In reality, this had little effect, as Feng Yuan, who passed the imperial exams, was the son of a merchant.

It's unknown whether the wealthy areas in the south had already offered high salaries of a thousand strings of cash for skilled craftsmen, but even the craftsmen living in the dark, if they were skilled, received high treatment.

Skills were starting to become valuable.

However, the value of skills depended on the place. If one lived in a peaceful Central Plains area, skills were valuable, and there was no need to risk life as a mule.

But Wang Family Village was on the front line of a chaotic and impoverished border region.

Despite the ceasefire between Yan Prefecture and Western Xia for several years, one-fifth of the women in the village were widows, who had to remarry or become concubines to survive, and the ugly ones could only endure hunger and fullness alternately.

Living in such a miserable environment, the village almost practiced a primitive form of communal distribution, and the closed environment led to backward thinking, thus neglecting the value of skills.

The villagers only saw the two small kilns that Wang Ju occasionally visited, and even the work of moving coal was done by others.

For many women, four strings of cash might already be enough.

One must consider the issue from the other's perspective.

Due to his past experiences, Wang Ju had a somewhat dark and suspicious personality, and was very cautious. To live in peace, Wang Family Village was his greatest support, not to mention the kindness the village had shown him over the past half year.

The money was then divided.

Wang Ju carried four strings of cash to his second uncle's house. A gentleman has no crime, but a man with a jade has. These coins had to be kept at his second uncle's house.

Zhu Qing followed behind and said, "Young Master, the share is a bit small."

"The villagers have been kind to me, and I am still young. I need to grow here and need everyone's care and protection."

Zhu Qing's eyes lit up. He was not afraid of a dark personality, but of a lack of gratitude.

Aunt Two continued to complain on the way.

Wang Ju couldn't help but smile, put down the money, and Zhu Qing started to have the servants move the luggage. He couldn't directly send Zhu Jun to the Wang family, which would be like sending him to hell. The Zhu family brought bedding, mosquito nets, and other living supplies, as well as a lot of cured meat and fruits.

Wang Ju's sister, Er Niu, and his brother, San Niu, were drooling.

Wang Ju playfully patted the two kids' heads, "There will be a lot of meat to eat in the future."

The sword was not a one-time transaction. Once the agreement was made, it could be produced for a long time, bringing him dozens of strings of cash each year. So, eating meat occasionally wouldn't be difficult, right?

But since the Zhu family brought it, he might as well take advantage of it. Zhu Huan and Zhu Qing overestimated Wang Ju's integrity...

Zhu Qing warned Zhu Jun outside, no matter how diligent, intelligent, decisive, wise, and knowledgeable this young man was, he was not an ordinary person. It was fine to act like a bookworm, but he must not act like a noble. If he angered this young man, his father's extended hand of friendship would be in vain.

But Zhu Qing's worries were in vain. Zhu Jun was convinced by Wang Ju in just one day.

First, Wang Ju taught his brother and sister. He definitely didn't know the educational system of this era, so he taught Er Niu and San Niu three things: the Thousand Character Classic, the Analects of Confucius, and arithmetic and writing.

The Thousand Character Classic and the Analects of Confucius were fine, but the arithmetic was strange. Even though it was elementary arithmetic, Zhu Jun couldn't understand the strange symbols. He secretly tested Er Niu and San Niu, and found that their arithmetic skills were not much weaker than his. So, what level of arithmetic did their teacher have?

Second, Wang Ju's self-discipline and affection.

The next morning, Wang Ju got up before dawn, started cooking and washing clothes, then cleaned the sheep pen, and went to herd the sheep. Only during the herding process did he teach his brother and sister, but the teaching was incredibly vivid, unlike the stiff teaching in the prefectural school. Zhu Jun was captivated. Unfortunately, he was a bookworm and didn't notice the breadth of knowledge Wang Ju taught, even though Wang Ju hid some of his abilities. Despite teaching his brother and sister, the knowledge and insight were not what ordinary young people had. After teaching, Wang Ju gave some problems and then started to study on his own.

In this era, poor families had only two meals a day.

In the evening, after herding the sheep back to the pen, he started to work again. After dinner, Wang Ju would tell a beautiful story to put his brother and sister to sleep, and then he would study and practice writing until the second watch.

In such a hard environment, San Niu and Er Niu also became mature and sensible. Er Niu would take the initiative to do some housework, and Wang Ju's eyes would show love and happiness, a look that even moved Zhu Jun.

Although the Wang family was poor, the warm atmosphere was something Zhu Jun had never seen.

Finally, there were Wang Ju's notes.

Don't think that having some knowledge makes you a king. The ancient education system was self-contained, and to delve into ancient texts, Wang Ju had to work hard.

Therefore, during the nearly an hour of self-study under the oil lamp at night, Wang Ju would record his insights and thoughts.

There were many interpretations of the classics that Zhu Jun had never heard of, and some insights seemed to open new windows in his knowledge.

Then Zhu Jun saw a table.

The "Five Classics Commentary" had a lot of content. After a rough look, Wang Ju, who was a poor but excellent student in his previous life, knew that he needed to create a study schedule to keep his self-study organized and not chaotic.

Although Zhu Jun was a student at the prefectural school, what could he get from the chaotic school and disorganized teaching by the professors?

Such a systematic and orderly way of learning couldn't help but surprise Zhu Jun.

Despite being a bookworm, after a few days, no matter what he heard or saw, Zhu Jun couldn't help but be convinced, not because of age, but because of knowledge, self-discipline, affection, and thought.

Zhu Jun's thoughts, Wang Ju just smiled.

He couldn't let anyone know the real truth and had to pretend to be young. Dealing with a teenage bookworm was too easy.

The Zhu family couldn't really expect him to change Zhu Jun's bookworm nature and educate a good successor. Staying meant enduring hardship, and if he couldn't endure it, he could go back.

Actually, Wang Ju wasn't afraid of bookworms, but of Zhu Jun being arrogant and overbearing, which would make it hard to get along.

He looked up at the sky, which was clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight. Wang Ju said, "Second Brother, let's work."

If you're not afraid of hardship, you'll soon taste it.

PS: For information on copper coins and jiaozi, please see the related works.