Chapter 10: Visiting Instructor Tao
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After all this talk, isn’t Grandma just hoping he’ll send money home? Shen Dan pursed his lips and said nothing. After waiting in silence for a long while, he finally spoke slowly:
“Grandma, if I manage to pass the county exam and become a student, I can earn over ten guan in annual gifts.”
Deep down, he really wanted to give it a try.
His elder brother was right; after years of studying hard in the cold window, it wouldn’t do to not even step into the county exam and see how it goes.
What if he could pass?
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang immediately retorted, “But what if you don’t pass?”
Shen Dan wanted to say that even if he failed, continuing to study for a few more years would still attract many who would be willing to hire him.
But Mrs. Wang’s face turned cold as she said, “What if you push yourself to death studying, just like that Shen Huan from Xiahewan?”
Shen Dan was speechless.
Shen Huan was a peculiar figure in their village. At four years old, his parents sent him to a private school, selling pots and pans to ensure their son could achieve a good official rank.
He was praised by his teachers from an early age, said to have a talent for learning.
But the praise from the village teacher did not promise much.
He fancied himself exceptional, but in the end, he only passed the county exam and failed the subsequent provincial exams several times.
At least, things were still manageable then.
Someone in the county invited him to work as an accountant; the county office was willing to hire him as a clerk.
But he refused to accept his fate, believing he was destined to be an official.
He locked himself at home, buried in books, dreaming of becoming the top scorer and a high-ranking official.
Yet, his family was long destitute; his scholar’s robe was tattered and patched repeatedly, and his wife and children were so hungry their eyes turned green, all to maintain his scholarly dignity.
A wealthy patron asked him to write a few couplets and paid him a few hundred wen to improve their livelihood.
Still, he refused to leave the house to earn a living, from the family’s hope to the family’s joke; now, everyone who saw him just shook their heads.
“Grandma, I understand,” Shen Dan nodded, choosing to comply. “But don’t let my brother know yet. He’s about to take the county exam and can’t be distracted.”
“When he goes to the prefectural city for the provincial exam, I’ll follow your advice immediately.”
Seeing his obedience, Mrs. Wang brightened and babbled on, saying he was young and wouldn’t save money well. Once he earned money, most of it must be given to Grandma to save.
She planned to save it for him to build a house and marry a wife, tears welling as she spoke.
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“When you were only four, your mother remarried someone else. I raised you through thick and thin. Over the years, your uncles and aunts gave me so many cold looks.”
“They said I favored you and was unfair to them, even fearing I was raising an ungrateful child. But a son will always honor his birth mother first.”
“My grandson, you must make Grandma proud. Don’t let them ridicule me.”
“And make yourself proud too. Tell your mother that even if she doesn’t want you, it doesn’t matter—you can live a good life on your own...”
Faced with words that could make ears callous, Shen Dan did not argue. Instead, his face was full of agreement.
Yet his thoughts had already drifted far away, pondering how to trick Grandma.
How could he secretly save a large sum of money and escape this suffocating home?
Hearing that his younger brother had returned and was obediently studying, Li Yu felt only half relieved.
He had planned to go back and see what was going on, but Li Gang suddenly said he wanted to take him to visit Tao, the county academy’s assistant instructor.
The assistant instructor held an eighth-rank official title, mainly serving as the deputy to the instructor, who was essentially a professor.
In the Great Yue dynasty, the county exam was set and supervised by the county magistrate along with the academy’s instructors and assistant instructors, with the prefecture magistrate leading the grading, overseen by supervising censors.
Tao was one of the examiners for this county exam. Today, Li Gang brought Li Yu to visit Tao—not to ask about the exam questions, of course.
Even if they asked, Tao wouldn’t say, and Li Gang was not the kind to be rude.
Today he carried a dried pheasant, a common gift from scholars visiting others.
Ah, this pheasant was no ordinary chicken.
Pheasants were prized gifts among literati, symbolizing noble character and incorruptibility, difficult to raise and thus representing purity and resistance to worldly temptations.
Since pheasants were hard to preserve, they usually presented dried pheasant meat.
Of course, there were also some pastries and fresh fruits accompanying the gift.
“Eldest son, don’t be nervous. He’s just one rank higher than your father,” Li Gang said, noticing Li Yu swallowing nervously and began sharing his experience.
“When you get to the Tao household, speak little and observe. Take note of the calligraphy and paintings, the books they display. Memorize them carefully once you return.”
“Knowing the examiners’ hobbies can help you guess some exam questions and focus your studies.”
“Also, watch your manners. You must be poised and confident. If you’re this nervous meeting just one assistant instructor, how will you ever meet the emperor in the capital?”
If he was this shaky facing an instructor, meeting the emperor would surely leave him trembling.
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Li Yu: “Father, how can you be so sure I’ll meet His Majesty the Emperor?”
Passing the county exam was still uncertain.
“You will, definitely will.” Regardless of the outcome, one must dream, he said. “As the eldest brother, you must set a good example for your younger brothers.”
“Nowadays, things are different from when I was your age. Back then, being a scholar was enough to secure an official post. Now, even patrol inspectors must be scholars...”
He had come of age in a fortunate time. After the recent wars, anyone with a scholarly background could easily find official employment.
The Tao family were renowned large landowners in the county, their residence far grander than the Lis’, employing seven or eight servants.
As they were ushered in by Tao’s housemaid, Tao greeted them with a broad smile and clasped hands respectfully.
“Ah, Boqun, you come and yet still so formal, bringing gifts and all.”
Though he said this, he cheerfully accepted the gift and looked kindly at Li Yu.
“Several years have passed, Yu-ge’er has grown so tall.”
The last time they met was at Boqun’s wedding banquet, when this boy had looked so pitiful. Now he had become quite handsome.
Li Yu quickly bowed respectfully. “Student Li Yu, greetings, Instructor Tao.”
Since childhood, he had feared not the teachers but the stern examiners.
Tao smiled and waved his hand. “No need to be so formal in private. I’m just a year older than your father. Just call me Uncle Tao.”
Li Yu was not shy. “The junior greets Uncle Tao.”
Elders indeed liked confident children. Seeing his poise, Tao’s eyes crinkled in a smile as he invited them inside.
He called out his own children to greet the guests—a family of two sons and one daughter, all his biological children.
Only then did Li Gang laugh, “You avoided visiting me just to not give the child a red envelope. Naturally, you don’t know how much the child has grown.”
It was a joke, and Tao was not one to take offense.
“Nonsense, nonsense. You don’t know how busy I’ve been these years. Our dynasty is less than fifty years old, and we’re rebuilding everything, recruiting talents, compiling various books.”
“I’ve been running all over the provincial and prefectural cities, collecting books and training. I barely have time to go home.”
“Only in the past two years have I had some rest. Recently, I’ve been locked away with the county magistrate and instructors setting the exam questions, not home for over half a month.”
Too busy to tend to his own family, naturally he had no time for social visits.