Chapter 97

In the early morning, as the east revealed a fish-belly white sky, a milky white mist floated over the small river. The boat slowly sailed, appearing and disappearing in the thick fog. In the dense fog, farmers used wooden buckets to fetch water, their actions reflecting off the river houses and stone steps, forming a picturesque scene.

The prosperity of the pleasure quarters had long since dissipated with the silence of the music and strings. The quiet market streets were once again bustling with the vendors who had come to set up their stalls.

On the street, a vegetable farmer carrying his load passed by a scholar who had just emerged from the pleasure quarters, his face weary.

At the entrance of Dengying Lane, Mr. Ding yawned and directed his assistants to remove the door panels one by one. He then lit a pipe of tobacco and slowly smoked it to refresh himself.

At this moment, a voice came from the shop entrance: "Boss, I'd like a bundle of bamboo paper."

Mr. Ding glanced at the person, who was a boy of thirteen or fourteen, wearing a square headcloth and clean clothes, his eyes bright and his face full of youthful vigor.

Mr. Ding put down his pipe and smiled warmly, "Young Master Lin, so early, buying paper to practice calligraphy again?"

The scholar smiled and said, "Yes, boss, I've used up all the paper I bought last time."

"Really diligent," Mr. Ding said, then instructed his assistant, "Still the two-sided Pu Cheng bamboo paper?"

"Yes," the scholar nodded and added, "Boss, can you give me a discount? I'm a regular customer, after all."

The assistant picked up a paper knife and cut a large stack of paper, making a crisp sound, then neatly tied it with a paper band.

Mr. Ding laughed and said, "A bundle of bamboo paper costs fifty-five coins. If you haggle any more, I'll be at a loss. Since you're so considerate, how about you buy two bundles, and I'll give you a ten-coin discount? We're neighbors, and when you pass the examination, don't forget to invite me for a drink."

"Ten coins, thank you, thank you," the scholar smiled, "Boss, since you're so generous, I'll take a bundle of large presentation paper as well, and I want a silver coin discount this time."

"Ah?" Mr. Ding looked at the scholar, who had an innocent smile on his face.

This scholar was none other than Lin Yanchao. He carried the two bundles of paper home, sighing at the difficulty of studying.

Bamboo paper, the lowest quality, was barely suitable for practice, costing fifty coins per bundle. Large presentation paper, used for examinations, cost three silver coins per bundle. The most expensive, bowl red paper, cost one silver coin for ten sheets.

Carrying the paper, he walked into the alley, which was empty. After passing through a narrow lane, he reached his front door and slowly entered.

Lin Qianqian, holding a basin of water, came out of the house and said, "Brother Chao, why didn't you let me go buy the paper?"

Lin Yanchao smiled and said, "It's just a short distance. Why should I trouble you with such a small matter? I can go myself."

Lin Qianqian said, "I see you study so late every day. Hurry up and have breakfast. I've cooked hot porridge and added vinegar to the seaweed."

Lin Yanchao said, "I'll finish writing the examination paper first. I need to submit five essays to the teacher tomorrow, and I've only written three."

Saying this, Lin Yanchao walked through the front yard, past the courtyard, and into the back yard. At this moment, his uncle had just woken up, dressed, and eaten breakfast, and was about to go to the government office. Seeing Lin Yanchao, he smiled and said, "So diligent."

Lin Yanchao nodded and said, "Yes."

"Have breakfast together."

"No, I'll write the examination paper first." Lin Yanchao then went upstairs.

His uncle clicked his tongue and said to his wife, "Look how diligent Chao is. Is Yanshou still sleeping?"

His aunt said, "It's early spring, and young people like to sleep. Let him rest a bit longer."

Lin Yanchao walked to the small building, pushed open the window, and saw white walls and black tiles stretching out. A few pavilions stood tall, and from a distance, he could see boats passing on the An Tai River. The horse saddle walls blocked most of the noise from the street, making the small building quiet, but not too quiet, just right for studying and writing examination papers.

He took out a large presentation paper, laid it out, and used a paperweight to hold it down. Facing the topic given by Lin Jing, he began to write.

The pen tip moved across the paper, and the white sheet quickly turned black with ink. After drying the ink, Lin Yanchao read through it from beginning to end and made some adjustments.

After finishing the examination paper, he noticed that breakfast had been placed on the table. He knew it was brought by Lin Qianqian, who always tried not to disturb him while he studied, or perhaps he was too focused to notice.

Lin Yanchao ate the porridge, which was still warm and perfectly cooked, and the vinegar-soaked seaweed tasted just right. He ate two bowls and stopped, though he was still hungry, fearing that eating too much would make him drowsy and unable to focus on his studies.

Outside, the street gradually became lively, and the voices of vendors haggling could be heard faintly at his window. Lin Yanchao smiled and opened his book, placing the works of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties on the desk and reading them aloud.

With Lin Yanchao's talent, he had already memorized the entire collection of the Eight Great Prose Masters. Reading it a few more times now was to thoroughly understand the texts.

Lin Jing had said that he had already made some progress in the Four Books and Five Classics and the annotations by Cheng and Zhu. Now, he needed to study the works of the Eight Great Prose Masters to enhance his writing skills.

The morning passed with the sound of his reading. In the middle, someone from the government office came, asking for Lin Yanchao's help with a matter. However, Lin Yanchao declined, promising Lin Jing that he would not be distracted by anything else before the county examination and would focus solely on his studies.

After lunch, Lin Qianqian worked extra hard to prepare a variety of dishes for Lin Yanchao, which she served on a small tray.

After eating, Lin Yanchao lay on the bed for a short rest, not sleeping but just lying there to relax. When the lazy afternoon sun shone through the window, he got up, took out his calligraphy book, and practiced writing for a full hour, using up five sheets of the bamboo paper he had bought that morning.

After practicing, Lin Yanchao dressed, put some money in his pocket, and went out.

Lin Yanchao walked out of the alley and headed directly to the south of the city to buy books. The T-shaped street outside the prefectural school was specifically for the book business for scholars.

At this moment, Lin Yanchao walked to the street outside the prefectural school, where many scholars were browsing. In the province of Fujian, there were three thousand students, and the number of candidates who had passed the county and prefectural examinations was even greater.

Lin Yanchao walked to a few bookshops and learned that the spring examination results had been announced, and the examination papers for the metropolitan and palace examinations were being sold all over the street. Additionally, the model essays of the top candidates, from the county examination to the palace examination, had been collected and were being sold in the bookshops.

Many scholars stood at the entrances of the bookshops, reading the books with great interest.

Lin Yanchao patted his wallet and sighed, thinking how expensive studying was. He then entered the bookshop.

The assistant immediately came forward and said, "Sir, are you interested in the latest examination papers or the classics?"

Lin Yanchao asked, "Do you have the latest collection of major and minor topics?"

The assistant thought, "A big customer," and smiled, "Yes, it was revised in the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing era."

"Let me see it," Lin Yanchao said casually.

The assistant immediately presented it. Lin Yanchao flipped through a few pages and shook his head, "They're all old topics, not new ones."

The assistant looked embarrassed, and the shopkeeper came out from behind the counter and said, "Sir, I have the 'Collection of Model Essays' from the fourth year of the Longqing era, which is similar to the collection of major and minor topics, but it only has ten volumes. The other ten volumes need to be ordered from elsewhere. Would you like to take a look and decide if you're satisfied?"

Lin Yanchao nodded, took the 'Collection of Model Essays,' and nodded again, "Finally, something new."

Lin Yanchao flipped through it and found that at least half of the essays were new to him.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Many of the essays here were collected during the Jiajing era, and you can see that the provincial examination papers from the fourth year of the Longqing era are also included."

"Alright, I'll take it. How much?"

"Twenty volumes, one tael and two silver coins. Since you're a regular customer, I'll charge you one tael."

"Too expensive. How about you throw in the examination papers from this year's metropolitan and provincial examinations as a bonus?"

The shopkeeper and the assistant exchanged glances, and then...

PS: I'm stuck, and it's a bit late. Please bear with me.

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