Chapter 2

In the first year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, on an ordinary morning.

After waking up, Lin Yanchao felt much better, with less pain in his body. He was only twelve years old, and once his illness subsided, he recovered his vitality faster than anyone else, unlike the adults with chronic diseases. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the sharp river wind made the broken window paper rustle. The wind that blew into the room somewhat diluted the musty smell inside.

Knowing that he could not be exposed to the wind while sick, Lin Yanchao put on his clothes, stretched his limbs, and slowly moved his feet to the ground, touching the floor with his toes and putting on his shoes. The eaves of the house across the narrow alley almost reached the front of his house, and the lighting inside was very poor. Lin Yanchao, relying on the faint light, felt his way to the edge of the table. Even this simple action took a lot of his strength.

Looking at the almost empty room, Lin Yanchao couldn't help but tell himself that he must not yield to life. Every day is a new day, and life must start anew. Everything has to begin again. But when he was about to say it, he recited instead: "If one can renew oneself daily, one can renew oneself every day, and again the next day."

After reciting, even he found it incredible that his modern language had automatically turned into classical Chinese.

Where had he read this sentence before? A memory surged up. The second chapter of the "Great Learning" says: "If one can renew oneself daily, one can renew oneself every day, and again the next day." Lin Yanchao had learned this before, of course, in the community school, but he had forgotten it after reading it once. Now, in his memory, it was even clearer than when he had read it.

"Great," Lin Yanchao couldn't help but clap his hands. He then decided to find some books to read.

The sound of footsteps came from the roof, followed by the sound of a chamber pot or a urine pot being moved. It seemed that the old lady had just woken up at noon. Living under the same roof with such a person was truly uncomfortable, and he had to find a way to change his current situation.

Lin Yanchao, leaning against the wall, managed to take a few steps. The small room was easy to see at a glance. The bookshelf was in the corner of the west wall. It was a stretch to call it a bookshelf; it was just a rack made of poplar wood attached to the wall, with a few books placed on it.

Lin Yanchao casually took a book, and upon seeing the cover, it was "Qianjia Shi" (A Thousand Poems) by Xie Fangde. When he flipped through the pages, a musty smell filled the room. My goodness, it was an old book with black edges and yellow bamboo paper, probably from the Zhengde era. In modern times, it would be a priceless treasure, but now several parts of the book were moldy and stuck together, making it hard to read.

Lin Yanchao could only put the "Qianjia Shi" down and place it by the window to dry.

He then took another book from the bookshelf, "Daxue Yanyi" (The Great Learning Explained). "Daxue Yanyi" expounds on the principles of the "Great Learning" and is a supplementary textbook for the Four Books and Five Classics. The pages had the name Lin Ding written on the fish tail, which was his father's name. Lin Yanchao's father had passed the examination for the rank of xiucai (scholar), and if he hadn't died in the Japanese pirate raids, Lin Yanchao's situation in the Lin family would not be so dire today.

Lin Yanchao opened the book. This "Daxue Yanyi" was printed on white cotton paper and was a provincial edition from the 46th year of the Jiajing era. Provincial editions were printed by the royal provincial governments of the Ming Dynasty and were known for their meticulous proofreading, high-quality paper, and excellent printing, almost comparable to the editions from the imperial academies in the north and south. They were certainly superior to the editions printed by private families and workshops. Moreover, the book had circles and punctuation marks, making it very suitable for Lin Yanchao to read. He read through the entire book, and whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he combined his memories from his previous life and this one, and the problems were easily solved.

Lin Yanchao tried to recite it silently and, after reading it two or three times, managed to memorize the first volume of "Daxue Yanyi."

"I didn't expect that after being reborn, I would become a genius at memorizing books!"

Lin Yanchao couldn't help but feel a surge of energy. He thought about it and guessed the reason. Generally, a child's memory is the best during childhood, especially for learning languages. However, a child's understanding is quite poor. For adults, understanding is strong, but memory is weaker than in childhood. Memorizing books requires understanding followed by memory. Lin Yanchao, at twelve years old, had the understanding of a thirty-year-old adult, so he could memorize books very quickly.

"I have a bright future if I pursue the imperial examinations," Lin Yanchao couldn't help but think.

Lin Yanchao glanced at the twenty or so books on the bookshelf at home. Having a father who was a xiucai had its advantages. Even though he was no longer around, the books he had read were still there. Otherwise, for an ordinary family, even if someone was naturally gifted, where would they go to read?

Lin Yanchao was quite pleased with his reading progress. He then took a brush to practice calligraphy. After writing a piece, he found that the characters were crooked and lacked structure. Lin Yanchao was speechless; he had no foundation in calligraphy in his previous life, and it seemed he would need to put in a lot of effort to improve in this life. Just as he was looking at his calligraphy, he heard the door open.

Lin Qianqian brought a bowl of egg drop soup to Lin Yanchao. The faint aroma of egg and scallions wafted over.

"Hey, how did you have money to buy eggs? Did the old lady give you some?"

Lin Qianqian gave Lin Yanchao a look and said, "How could she? She's the type who would eat her nose for salt. It was the third aunt from next door who heard that you were feeling better and secretly gave me an egg to help you recover."

Lin Yanchao was suddenly enlightened and also huffed, "I thought the old lady, with her stingy nature, would never give me an egg to help me recover. A family member by blood is less concerned about me than a neighbor. I should thank the third aunt properly."

"I already thanked the third aunt for you. Quickly put away your books; don't start reading as soon as you feel better. Eat first."

Lin Yanchao, smelling the egg drop soup, was already eager to eat. He picked up the bowl and started drinking it in large gulps. Lin Qianqian, seeing him drink the soup, was very happy and brought a bowl of clear white rice porridge from the stove and placed it next to Lin Yanchao.

Then Lin Qianqian went to the corner of the room where the ancestral tablets were and clasped her hands in prayer, saying, "Father, Mother, Brother Chao is much better, and I am very happy. I only hope that our family will be safe and sound, and that Brother Chao will achieve great things."

Hearing the innocent words of the little girl, Lin Yanchao was a bit moved and said, "Qianqian, achieving great things is not that easy. Look at our empty home; we can't even live a decent life now. You should pray for us to have enough to eat first."

"That won't do. Brother Chao, you can't be so unambitious. You must work hard and pass the examination for xiucai to bring glory to our family. Then you can marry me with great pomp and circumstance in the future," Lin Qianqian said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Xiucai, huh," Lin Yanchao teased, "That's not easy. Qianqian, what if I don't pass?"

"Hmph, I'll marry you whenever you pass. So you must be ambitious, understand?"

"What if I never pass?" Hearing this, Lin Qianqian stomped her foot and fell silent. Lin Yanchao smiled and continued eating the egg drop soup. After finishing the soup, Lin Yanchao felt a wave of fatigue. Lin Qianqian helped him back to bed to rest.

After a long sleep, the sky outside the window was already dark. Lin Yanchao opened his eyes and saw the dim light in the room still flickering. Lin Qianqian was alone, surrounded by a pile of rush grass. She was weaving a mat by the weak light, with unfinished mats piled beside her.

Lin Yanchao remembered that he had advised Qianqian several times before, but she always refused. The money she earned from weaving mats eventually paid for his tuition. Lin Yanchao, lying in bed, looked at the spider spinning its web on the ceiling and quietly wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes.

Illness comes like a mountain and leaves like a thread.

With Lin Qianqian's careful care, Lin Yanchao gradually recovered. The family members were often not around, and the old lady rarely visited them. Lin Yanchao and Lin Qianqian were in a situation where they relied on each other for survival.

Over these ten or so days, Lin Yanchao did not idle. While recuperating, he read through the dozen or so books his father had left behind.

Although these books were not directly related to the Four Books and Five Classics, they were all works by famous scholars or simple启蒙books. Lin Yanchao read and memorized these dozen books at a rate of one per day, and he knew them by heart. He realized that his reading speed, whether in modern times or ancient times, would likely earn him the title of a prodigy.

Not only did he read, but after recovering, Lin Yanchao also started to walk around.

From the front door, a hundred steps to the east was an earthen embankment, where the air was fresher. On the way, he would try to match the faces of the familiar villagers with their names in his memory and attempt to greet them with the etiquette of the ancients.

Standing on the embankment and looking out, the entire village was in view, with small houses built along the embankment.

In front of the black-tiled roofs, everyone was busy. The villagers tilled the fields, the fishermen fished, and even the elderly and children at home were not idle. Men wove rattan beds, women wove mats, and children made straw hats and bags. Outside the embankment, the women and children of the boat people were making fishing nets with needles and hemp thread.

Fujian was isolated, with poor transportation and no commercial benefits. The land was barren, and the yield was low. The villagers worked hard all year, but their income was barely enough to feed themselves. Even so, the nearby fields were almost all cultivated, and it was rare to see any idle land.

Hongshan Village reflected the living conditions of the people in central Fujian. Living in remote mountain areas, the people were described in historical records as being frugal and hardworking, preferring to live simply rather than in luxury. Even the children of officials and gentry were rarely extravagant. If the gentry were like this, the common people were even more frugal, and disputes over land and family division were common.

The historical records added, "The value of land has increased, leading to many disputes over land."

The fresh air by the river greatly helped his recovery. After sitting for a while, Lin Yanchao's thoughts became clearer. Family disputes over property were not a good strategy. Even if he won, it wouldn't be enough for him and Qianqian to live on. There was a saying, "Children do not envy their parents' land, and good daughters do not care about their wedding clothes." Instead of focusing on dividing the family property, he should think about how to achieve greatness.

What you consider a treasure, I do not value. The village women, who had never left the village, only cared about the Lin family's small plot of land and had no idea about the wider world.

A perfect example of a foolish woman!

---

Page break for ads

---

Page break for ads