Chapter 7

The Shen family now lacked everything except rooms. This Peach Blossom Village, a remote and poor place, had land that was not valuable, so naturally, the houses were built very large.

The south study room, consisting of three rooms, was entirely under the control of the youngest branch, so even the youngest, Shen Xi, had his own room.

At this moment, Shen Xi lit an oil lamp and watched a moth flapping its wings, trying to reach the lampshade. Unfortunately, it was blocked by the thin fabric and could not fly in.

The people of Peach Blossom Village were simple and had no nightlife to speak of. They worked from sunrise to sunset, year after year, in a cycle that never changed.

With the spring rush approaching, the nights in Peach Blossom Village became especially quiet.

Spring is the time for planning, representing sowing, and is the critical moment that determines the harvest of the year. Therefore, the villagers dared not be careless at this time, going to bed early to avoid falling ill during the spring rush, which could delay farming.

Just as Shen Xi was feeling restless, the door creaked open, and Zhou Shi walked in. Seeing Shen Xi staring blankly at the oil lamp, lost in thought, she was startled and asked anxiously, "Child, what's wrong? Don't scare me."

Shen Xi was startled and quickly hid his gloomy expression, looking up at Zhou Shi and smiling, "Mother, I'm fine. It's just that I can't go to school. I don't even care!"

Seeing Shen Xi trying to comfort her, Zhou Shi chuckled and pinched his ear, saying, "You're always so talkative."

Shen Xi put aside his unhappiness and looked at Zhou Shi with some confusion, asking, "Mother, why aren't you sleeping so late?"

"Isn't it because I'm worried about you? I came to check on you," Zhou Shi said lightly.

Shen Xi was touched and then lay down on the bed, giggling, "Mother, you underestimate me. I'll tell you, I'm really a star of literature descended from heaven. You can't tell anyone else."

"Brat, are you talking nonsense again?"

Zhou Shi glared at Shen Xi with obvious displeasure but, surprisingly, did not hit him.

Shen Xi laughed, his small eyes full of self-satisfaction, "Mother, don't worry about me in the future. I'll find a way to study."

"What can a little boy like you do?" Zhou Shi didn't believe him.

Shen Xi shook his head, "Mother, I'm a star of literature..."

Before he could finish, Zhou Shi interrupted him, "Enough, no more nonsense. Your father has been in the county for six years, and he must know many people. When there's an opportunity, he'll definitely send you out."

As Zhou Shi turned to leave, she was secretly wiping away tears. She had come to comfort Shen Xi, but in fact, she was the one who needed comfort the most.

"Mother, don't lie to me. Our family is so poor, where do we have the money for school? Even if a teacher is willing to teach me, we can't afford the tuition. Save the money to buy you some nice clothes."

Zhou Shi sighed and then looked angry, "Humph, I'll go to your aunt's house tomorrow to collect the debt, and then I'll take the money to find your father... that deadbeat, enjoying himself in the county, not caring about us. Otherwise, who would dare to bully us?"

"Mother, Father sent us a basket of eggs last time and had someone bring a message to you, telling you to hide them secretly and cook one for me every few days. But you took most of them to the kitchen. Are you stupid...?"

Zhou Shi glared at him, seeing that Shen Xi was indeed asking for a beating, and finally confirmed that he was fine. She then pinched his arm hard, "You little brat, how dare you call your mother stupid? I'll beat you to death!"

After a while of commotion in the room, Zhou Shi left, not forgetting to warn him, "Brat, it's still cold outside, don't kick off your blanket. If I see it on the floor tomorrow, I'll beat you."

Listening to his mother's footsteps gradually fade away, Shen Xi chuckled, got up, and blew out the oil lamp. In the moonlight shining through the window, he lay back on the bed, gazing at the faint moonlight filtering through the thin paper window, and drifted off to sleep, lost in thought.

...

...

Time flies, and before he knew it, Shen Xi had been in this world for almost a year.

From the initial confusion to the current sense of ease, he had even adapted to the months of a vegetarian diet, drooling every day.

Hardship can be wearing, and Shen Xi looked at the eldest son, who had returned home from school, sitting on a stool at the door, holding a copy of "The Great Learning" and reading it aloud.

"The way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting the bright virtue, in loving the people, and in abiding in the highest good..."

The clear reading voice came, but to Shen Xi, it was not a pleasant sound. From the eldest son's reading, Shen Xi deduced that he had already begun to systematically study the Four Books and Five Classics.

Generally, to become a scholar, one must be well-versed in Zhu Xi's "Annotations on the Four Books" and the "Commentaries on the Five Classics," "The Classic of Filial Piety," "The Rites of Zhou," "Strategies of the Warring States," "The Discourses of the States," and other Confucian classics. The most important among these are the Four Books: "The Great Learning," "The Analects," "The Mencius," and "The Doctrine of the Mean."

Zhu Xi believed that one must first read "The Great Learning" to set the framework, then read "The Analects" to establish the foundation, then read "The Mencius" to see its development, and finally read "The Doctrine of the Mean" to understand the subtle aspects of the ancients. Now that the eldest son had started with "The Great Learning," he would likely move on to the other three books systematically.

Once he mastered these, learned the art of writing the eight-part essay, and chose one of the Five Classics as his main text, the eldest son, with his father as a guarantor, could take the county and prefectural exams. If he was lucky and obtained the status of a child scholar, he could then take the provincial exam to become a scholar.

Shen Xi could only envy and hate, with no other way to change his situation.

Two months passed, and Shen Yuan, the sixth son of the fourth branch, was already enrolled in a private school in the county.

The spring rush was coming to an end, and in May, the sky was clear and blue, and the clear stream shimmered under the bright sun.

By the same stream, Shen Xi and Little Fatty were sitting. Yang Wenzhao still liked to cling to people, like a pesky little shadow that couldn't be shaken off.

"Little cousin, you always used to take me to the mountains, but why don't you play with me this time?"

Shen Xi nodded subconsciously and then shook his head, saying in a slightly scolding tone, "If you have nothing to do, go play by yourself. Don't bother me."

Yang Wenzhao looked dejected, "Little cousin, you were always the best to me. I always begged my mother to bring me back to play with you. Why do you say I'm bothering you now?"

Shen Xi turned his head and said meaningfully, "People grow up... I'll grow up, and you'll grow up too. When you grow up, your mindset will change. As a child, you like toys, but as an adult, you'll be interested in wine, women, wealth, and power. You can't expect people to stay the same forever, right?"

Yang Wenzhao was stunned by these words, which were beyond his comprehension at his age.

Shen Xi suddenly felt he was being too boring, having been a university lecturer and professor, he was using his pedagogical skills to deal with this little kid who just wanted to play. If he told anyone, they would probably laugh at him.

Yang Wenzhao said, "Little cousin, if you don't play with me, no one will. They all say I'm too young and bully me. Only you, little cousin, won't bully me."

Choosing playmates in childhood is the most subjective and general. Even Shen Xi didn't realize how his mindset had blended into this small, frail body. Shen Xi asked, "By the way, Wenzhao, did you fight with Fifth Brother the other day?"

"Yes, little cousin, Fifth Brother is so annoying, always bullying me, so I fought with him. My mother saw me fighting a lot and wanted to take me home..."

As he spoke, Yang Wenzhao's tone became low.

Seeing his teary-eyed look, Shen Xi smiled, "Actually... it's not your fault..."

Yang Wenzhao looked at Shen Xi in confusion, and Shen Xi patiently explained, "Your mother will leave eventually, and it's not because of your fight with Fifth Brother. Besides, why would adults care about a fight between two kids?"

Yang Wenzhao looked at Shen Xi hopefully, "Oh, then... can I see you again in the future?"

Seeing Yang Wenzhao's innocent look, Shen Xi felt a bit fond of him and patted his shoulder, smiling, "Of course, your mother will come back often. When she does, you can come with her, and you'll see me, right? Maybe in the future, I'll visit your home... but now, we're both too young to travel far."

Yang Wenzhao's mood improved, and his worries were gradually forgotten. He said with a smile, "Little cousin, you really don't dislike me... If only I could stay a few more days. My mother said she wouldn't talk to my father for the rest of her life, but I think staying here is actually quite nice, except for the food."

Shen Xi couldn't help but laugh. How could a child understand the adult world? If it weren't for the argument between his aunt and uncle, his aunt wouldn't have brought Yang Wenzhao back to her parents' home.

After a long time of hardship, who wouldn't want a comfortable life in the city? His aunt was just upset at the moment, but after a few months, she had calmed down and would remember her husband's good points.

Shen Xi's two aunts, one married to a neighboring county and the other to the prefectural city, both had good lives. Especially Yang Wenzhao's father, who was the head of a pharmacy in the prefectural city, and Yang Wenzhao would likely follow in his father's footsteps.

Shen Xi pulled Yang Wenzhao over and asked, "Do you learn anything from your father at the pharmacy?"

Yang Wenzhao thought for a moment and shook his head like a rattle drum.

Shen Xi said, "Let me teach you something. Watch closely."

Shen Xi took Yang Wenzhao to the river, found a slightly toxic herb in the grass, crushed it with a stone, and slowly sprinkled it into a still pool of water at a bend in the stream. Soon, several golden fish floated to the surface, their bellies up.

Shen Xi called out, "Quick, take off your clothes and use them to catch the fish."

Yang Wenzhao immediately took off his clothes and handed them to Shen Xi. At this moment, Shen Xi seemed like an elder playing with a child in the mountains, using bamboo branches to hold the clothes and block the exit of the pool.

Before long, the fish, sensing something wrong with the water, tried to swim out but were blocked by the cloth. Shen Xi and Yang Wenzhao threw down the herb and gathered the cloth, catching several golden fish.

These golden fish were locally known as stone plate fish, the most common fish in the mountains of Fujian, with extremely delicate and tender flesh.

"Let's go home."

Shen Xi called out, and Yang Wenzhao, wearing only a single layer of clothing, happily followed behind.

Back at home, Shen Xi found a basin of clear water and put the few stone plate fish, each weighing a few ounces, into it. The fish, which had almost died, gradually came back to life, swimming to the surface and blowing bubbles. Yang Wenzhao's face was full of wrinkles from laughing, looking like a meat bun.

Yang Wenzhao was in awe of Shen Xi's skills and asked happily, "Little cousin, what happened? Weren't these fish dead?"

Shen Xi smiled lightly, "They weren't dead, just temporarily anesthetized by the fish-stunning herb. Once the effect wears off, they'll wake up... Sigh, you won't understand these things now. When you learn medicine and pharmacology from your father, you'll figure out these fun tricks. You should study hard with your father and not waste your education."

Yang Wenzhao nodded with a hint of longing.

The two stayed in the yard for a while, and Yang Wenzhao's mother walked in, seeing them squatting on the ground. She looked over and asked in surprise, "Little one, are these stone plate fish you and your cousin caught?"

Shen Xi looked up and smiled at her, "Yes, Aunt, are you leaving?"

Yang Wenzhao's mother smiled and nodded, pulling the unhappy Yang Wenzhao up from the ground, "Yes, we're going back to the prefectural city. A merchant caravan is passing by, and I'll go with them... Wenzhao, say goodbye to your cousin."

Yang Wenzhao stood up, his eyes full of longing, "Little cousin, remember to visit me in the prefectural city when you have time."

Shen Xi looked at Yang Wenzhao's longing expression and nodded firmly, "Sure, I'll visit you when I have time!"

Yang Wenzhao took one last look around, then reluctantly held his mother's hand and left, looking back every few steps.

Shen Xi suddenly felt a sense of loss and reflection. It was a strange feeling, as although he and Yang Wenzhao were psychologically decades apart, in the year he needed a playmate, only Yang Wenzhao had truly become his friend.

Friendship is precious, and perhaps only in childhood is there no scheming. As one grows older, from the family to the court, there is always deceit and intrigue. Confucianism emphasizes moderation, but few can truly achieve it, and most are driven by fame and profit.

In a sense, Yang Wenzhao was a friend to Shen Xi with no ulterior motives.

Shen Xi lowered his head, suddenly feeling an intense desire to leave the mountains. Studying, taking the imperial exams, and becoming an official, climbing the ranks through the political arena, and pursuing fame and fortune. If not, even if he became a wealthy merchant in the Ming Dynasty, he would still be at the bottom of society, his life and death controlled by others.

All professions are inferior, only scholarship is supreme. Once the arts and literature are mastered, they can be sold to the imperial court. To become a general or a prime minister is to be a true hero in this world. Otherwise, one is like a fish in a small basin, confined to a small space, unable to enter the river or the sea.

But Shen Xi knew that with his family's current conditions, there was no way to support him in starting his education. Without entering a private school, he would have no formal teacher, and without a formal teacher, his prospects would be bleak. To broaden his horizons and keep up with the times, leaving the mountains was the first step.

In his previous life, as a university professor, he was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and the eight-part essay, but without credentials or a guarantor, how could he enter the examination hall?