Chapter 358 - Eight-year-old County Official (2/2)
A fellow villager, Li Yangfan’s son, Li Xiaogui ran breathlessly into Yu Family’s courtyard and, without waiting for his panting to subside, shouted to the eagerly awaiting Yu Household, ”Uncle Dahai, Little Shitou made it! Little Shitou is a county official!”
As soon as Old Yu heard the news, he burst into tears. 'Thank the ancestors for their protection! A descendant of Yu Family has finally yielded good results! Shitou’s nominal age is only nine years old but he's studying in the most reputable academy in town and has already become a county official—his bright future most definitely won't stop here! After so many generations of farmers, we finally have a scholar in our family!'
Madam Liu and Xiaolian embraced each other tightly, crying tears of joy. They were so grateful that they had divided the family back then, or else with Madam Zhang's stinginess, she would definitely not be willing to pay for Little Shitou's education. How would Little Shitou be able to become a county official, then?
Yu Hai was so elated he had no words, and could only laugh foolishly. It took only a while before the Yu Family’s courtyard was filled with fellow villagers who came to congratulate them. After he calmed down from his excitement, Yu Hang took out sunflower seeds, peanuts and candy to serve their guests.
Yu Xiaocao took out a small pouch containing several pieces of silver which were worth one tael each, and placed the pouch in Li Xiaogui’s hands as a thanks for relaying the news. When he left the Yu Family’s residence, those children who were a little slower than him scrutinized the light pouch and jealously asked him to reveal the content of the pouch so they would know just how much the Yu Family had rewarded him. In their opinion, such a small pouch could barely hold a few copper coins—was it worth the effort to fight for such a measly amount?
But the children lost their composure once they witnessed Li Xiaogui pour out shining silver pieces that looked like peanuts from the pouch. Silver! Yu Family’s reward for relaying the good news was actually silver! A tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand copper coins ah! The children could only hate their parents for giving them a pair of short legs, which allowed Li Xiaogui to overtake them! For a moment, they were overwhelmed with envy.
At this time, Head Bailiff Yue got down from his horse in front of the Yu Residence. Yu Hai, who had already regained his composure, greeted him and invited him inside for tea. Head Bailiff Yue only laughed, “I will be forward and call you Brother Dahai! Brother Dahai, I’ve come to congratulate you. You’ve got a good son there, becoming a county official at such a young age—with high distinction, too! He’s become our Tanggu Town’s youngest granary student!”
Granary students were the top scorers of the college examination, and even in the whole of the prefectural city, there were only about thirty of them. Once one became a granary student, they could receive six pecks of rice monthly and four taels annually from the government. For a poor family, the help given to granary students could easily ensure that the entire family would not have to suffer from famine.
Although this measly sustenance was not much to the Yu Household, but the title of ‘granary student’ was regarded as an honor to the entire family—something they could take pride in.
Whenever the Yu Family sent away one crowd of congratulators, they quickly welcomed another, and they did not stop coming even after dark. At noon, the Yu Family had prepared a grand meal for Head Bailiff Yue, and then they proceeded to stuff a fat pouch filled with ten taels in his hands. Head Bailiff Yue’s original intentions was only to forge good connections with the Yu Family, but this errand had unexpectedly earned him a small fortune, too.
The neighboring Qian Residence was also bustling with life. Two county officials in one village—this was a situation never before seen in Dongshan Village. The last time someone came to relay the good news was eighteen years ago, when the village head’s youngest son became a county official. It was also the first time in history that a person from Dongshan Village became a county official. Back then, it was considered good enough if the villagers did not die of starvation. How could they afford the extra expenses for their children’s education? Now, they actually had two county officials in the village! All of Dongshan Village felt so proud they could boast about it for a long time to come.
Some families were happy, while others were not. While Old Yu was laughing jubilantly among his old friends, Madam Zhang was dismal and depressed.
Madam Zhao, however, was not disheartened. Her father had to sit through the examinations time and time again until he finally managed to become county official when he was nearly forty years old. Last year was a year of disasters, which had led to the academy her husband was attending letting them off for quite a long while. Thus, the delay of his success was completely understandable, considering that their family was also not of an educated background. Since he did not become a county official this year, all he would have to do was try again two years later! Madam Zhao gently consoled the dispirited Yu Bo until he picked himself up and continued to study hard.
Madam Zhang felt extremely gloomy. Her son had been studying for more than a decade, and yet he still could not compare to Little Shitou, who had only attended a little more than two years of lessons. This had caused her fixation to waver. Back then, the fortune-teller had said that someone of the Yu Family would eventually become a high-ranking official, and since among all of Yu Family, only her son was studying at that time, she naturally thought that he would become the high-ranking official that was mentioned. Now that she looked back on it, perhaps it was not as she thought!
Discontentment filled Madam Zhang's heart. She witnessed the hard work her son had poured into his studies, especially the past six months, when the light in his room was barely snuffed. He had pulled all-nighters until he became thin, and he nearly collapsed in the examination courtyard.
And what was that brat Little Shitou doing? Every time he returned home from the academy, he would follow Xiaocao, that wretch, and run around in the wild and the hills. They would catch some fish and trap rabbits, never settling down for even a moment. God was not fair, why was it him who had become a county official instead of her son? Was it possible that since the two of them were of the same surname, that the examiner had confused the two of them? Or…that little brat was blocking her son's fate of becoming an official?