Free Web NovelChapter 53: Chapter 53: The Liu Family’s Qilin’Er
"The Master’s family is so kind. You can’t go wrong working for a family like this."
"That’s right. Just for coming to help, we get three meals, and there was even meat for lunch. I’m so full, and the food was great. I ate so much greasy food, I wonder if I’ll get an upset stomach tonight."
"Look at you, so hopeless. Even if you do get an upset stomach, it means there was oil in it! You can use it to fertilize the crops, and maybe you’ll have a better harvest next year."
"Haha, we all have Eldest Master Fang and the Young Master to thank today."
During the meal, the tenants working for Fang Yue’s family all had smiles of pure bliss on their faces.
They didn’t always get to eat meat, even during the New Year or other holidays. But today, just for helping the master’s family, they had their fill.
However, they were only envious, not jealous.
Farming folk were, for the most part, simple and honest people. Those who would repay kindness with malice, like the ones from before, were a small minority.
Besides, all of them had now entrusted their land to Fang Yue’s family.
Technically, Fang Yue’s family was the landlord, and they were merely the tenants who tilled the land.
It was a relationship of dependency. Only by relying on Fang Yue’s family could they get by and live well.
Otherwise, the imperial court’s poll tax alone would have been enough to bankrupt most of them, forcing them to abandon their fields and become refugees.
This was all thanks to the Master’s kindness, to Eldest Master Fang’s kindness.
And, of course, it was even more to the credit of the Young Master.
The men couldn’t help but look at Fang Yue. ’He’s a Martial Scholar, all right,’ they thought. ’That strength of his... he’s probably stronger than a tiger from the mountains!’
~~~~~~
After the main beam was in place, there was nothing left for Fang Yue to do.
The tenants would handle the rest of the work. Even Father Fang and Fang Cheng, who wanted to help, were ’shooed’ aside.
With nothing to do, Fang Yue went to the willow tree beside his family’s courtyard.
Although many people around would occasionally glance at the village’s first-ever Martial Scholar, this Young Master, they only did so from a distance.
They wanted to see what kind of genius Fang Yue was, but no one dared to approach him.
Perhaps even Fang Yue himself didn’t realize it, but as his Martial Dao cultivation progressed, his strength grew, and his mastery of the White Tiger Fist deepened, he naturally began to exude an invisible aura of Qi.
Ordinary people would unconsciously avoid him, instinctively keeping their distance.
Fang Yue watched the dozen or so tenants bustling about in the courtyard. On either side of the main beam, more logs were being placed, and then planks were nailed on top.
Finally came the neat, new gray tiles, which were being laid one by one.
There was no need for a foreman. The tenants were doing a beautiful job.
’People from this era are so simple and honest.’
Fang Yue couldn’t help but sigh with emotion as he watched.
The tenants didn’t even want wages. In their own words, being allowed to build a new house for the master’s family was a sign that the master held them in high regard.
Besides, it was because of Fang Yue’s family that they could survive. How could they dare to accept payment!
"Yue, they say you’re a Martial Scholar. You must be really good at writing, right? Can you teach Nu?"
"Nu... wants... wants to write a letter to Grandpa."
Just as Fang Yue was lost in thought, a timid, cautious voice spoke up. It was, of course, Widow Yu’s daughter, Nu.
Today, Widow Yu had also come to help at Fang Yue’s home.
Because it was a bigger affair today, with some twenty people to feed, Ms. Chen definitely couldn’t have managed it all by herself.
Neighbors with nothing to do at home naturally came over to help.
Washing, cleaning, and helping with the cooking.
"Hmm, let me see."
Fang Yue turned to look at the little girl not far from him. Although her complexion was much better than it had been two years ago, she was still thin and frail, and her growth was stunted.
She was less than half the size of children her age from his previous life.
Right now, her head was bowed, her small hands twisting together unconsciously.
Hearing Fang Yue speak, Nu seemed to summon a great deal of courage to look up at him, her eyes filled with longing.
"Alright. Today, Yue will teach Nu a poem."
As he spoke, Fang Yue wrote "Quiet Night Thoughts" on the ground. While writing, he taught Nu how to recite it.
The short, twenty-character poem perfectly captured the feeling of nostalgia.
Perhaps Fang Yue felt he had grown accustomed to this life, to the affection of his parents, brother, and sister in this world.
But deep down, there was still a faint trace of homesickness.
"This first character here means ’bed,’ the kind you sleep on..."
Fang Yue didn’t really have a talent for teaching, but with his cultural background from his past life and having learned the script of this world, using poetry from his previous world to teach Nu was more than enough.
After about a quarter of an hour, Nu could already write the five characters of the first line, and she could also recite the entire poem from memory.
Seeing her progress, Fang Yue couldn’t help but marvel. ’If Nu were to pursue literary studies,’ he thought, ’she could probably even pass the provincial exams to become a Provincial Scholar.’
"Nu, come here! Why are you bothering Yue again!"
Just then, having finished her work, Widow Yu was holding her basket and getting ready to go home. She had looked all around before spotting Nu over by Fang Yue.
’Fang Yue is different now,’ she thought. ’Back in the day, with my family’s former status, a mere Martial Scholar wouldn’t have been worth a second glance. Even a Provincial Martial Scholar wouldn’t have been much.’
But now, things had come to this.
Her family had fallen, her husband died young, and even her own maiden family dared not associate with her. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
But Fang Yue had helped her during her most difficult times. Now that he was a Scholar Master, she naturally had to show him respect.
Her family’s reputation in the village was poor; she couldn’t allow it to bring any stain upon Fang Yue.
A stained reputation could affect his future prospects.
"My mom’s calling me. Goodbye, Yue!" Having learned a few characters, Nu was clearly very happy, and much of her shyness had faded.
After saying that, she skipped and hopped over to Widow Yu.
The latter gave Fang Yue a grateful look.
~~~~~~~
「Da Liushu Village, at the entrance.」
On the road leading into the village, Young Master Liu, his Scholar’s Attendant, and two household servants were riding on horseback, making their way toward the village.
"Young Master, at the Civil Scholar examination in a few days, you will surely take first place and become the top candidate."
The Scholar’s Attendant, Zhu Mo, was shamelessly flattering Young Master Liu Chuanzhi.
Some days prior, Liu Chuanzhi had attended a poetry gathering in Xiahe County for the younger generation. He had made a name for himself there, distinguishing himself with his literary talent.
Now, with the Civil Scholar examination approaching, he was following his father’s wishes and returning to the Liu family’s ancestral home in the countryside to pay respects to his ancestors, hoping for their blessing to pass the examination and become a Scholar.
"Enough with the flattery. If I were taking the exam next year, taking first place would be nothing. But this year, I estimate I’ll place second or third."
Although Liu Chuanzhi’s words were ’humble,’ the smug pride on his face was unmistakable. After all, his fame as a poet had spread throughout Xiahe County, earning him the moniker "the Qilin’Er of the Liu Family." This examination was practically a sure thing.
’Once I pass, I’ll be a Civil Scholar too. At any rate, surely I’ll be better than that poor village boy who somehow stumbled into his good fortune.’
Just then, as Liu Chuanzhi was enjoying his attendant’s sycophantic fawning, he faintly heard the sound of voices from the road not far ahead.
It sounded like someone was reciting some lines.
He looked up and saw a mother and daughter, one big and one small, walking hand-in-hand down the road. It was Widow Yu and her daughter. freewebnøvel.com
"Isn’t that Widow Yu? Is she on her way home?"
Widow Yu, with a basket over one arm and holding Nu’s little hand with the other, looked at the young man in the blue scholar’s robes who had suddenly appeared.
She had a vague impression of him. He seemed to be the son of Scholar Liu, Liu Chuanzhi.
