Today Hu Jin was also eating at home. Many people invited him to drink, but he had no room to go, so he could only lean on the table to rest. Mr. Jin, holding the child, intentionally kept a few seats away from him.
Liu Yizhu pushed him and heard his low snoring sound, helplessly withdrawing his hand.
Mr. Jin smiled and said, "If you have something to say, I'll ask him to find you after he wakes up."
It was nothing big, no need to hide it from Mr. Jin. Liu Yizhu said, "It's about the autumn exam. My classmates and I plan to rent a courtyard together. I wonder if Hu Jin wants to join us."
Decades ago, Mr. Jin had been to Chengzhou many times, but that was as far as he went. He immediately understood what Liu Yizhu meant and sighed, "It must be expensive!"
"I don't know yet. How much did you spend each time you went to Chengzhou, Sir?"
It had been a long time ago. Mr. Jin squinted his eyes, recalling for a while before saying, "You'll need to prepare about ten taels."
Transportation, accommodation, three meals a day, plus some stationery - that's about how much it would cost. After all, everything gets more expensive during that time.
If you save a bit, you might be able to reduce it a little more.
Old Lady Wang came over from afar, covering her mouth in shock, "That much!"
The money in her bag was far from enough.
Mr. Jin shook his head, "This is not much at all. After Liu Yizhu passes the autumn exam and goes to the Capital City, it will cost even more. I once heard others say that someone brought dozens of taels to the Capital City, but spent it all after the exam. He had to stay in a temple for a few months doing odd jobs to save up enough money for the trip back home."
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Wang almost fainted. How could this be? How could this be? She originally thought she had saved quite a bit, but now it seemed far from enough. Where could she find so much money to send her child to the Capital City?
She slumped onto a stool, clutching her chest in grief, "What kind of thing requires spending so much money?"
Mr. Jin lowered his head and sighed, "To get from here to the Capital City by foot would take two or three months. You'd have to find transportation, either joining a caravan or hiring your own carriage. Add the food and lodging along the way, and seven or eight taels would be gone just like that."
"I heard that things in the Capital City are much more expensive than here. You can find affordable food if you look carefully, but inns are different - even a modest one would cost over a hundred wen per night. More importantly, there are so many books in the bookstores that he has never seen before. He wants to buy them all once he lays eyes on them."
"That's where most of his dozens of taels went - buying books, just like how Liu Yizhu was willing to spend an extra two taels to buy a book back then. He's afraid of missing out if others have read books that he hasn't."
Mr. Jin's words drew more people to listen. The previously lively scene fell silent. Going to the Capital City once could buy a whole estate in this town. What could the Liu family do?
Everyone instinctively looked at the old courtyard, estimating its price in their hearts.
Old Lady Wang was also constantly calculating in her mind. If it came down to it, she would have to sell the estate. They had come this far, she couldn't give up now.
Liu Yizhu also fell silent, finally understanding why Li Mingwei had left him so much money.
No one knew when Hu Jin had woken up. He dejectedly knocked his forehead on the table edge. He didn't even have the money to go to Chengzhou, let alone the Capital City.
The silence outside made Li Mingwei feel uncomfortable. She pushed open the door and saw everyone surrounding Mr. Jin without saying a word. She squeezed in, patting Liu Yizhu on the shoulder, "What are you all doing? Why is no one talking?"
Liu Yizhu looked up at her, silent for a moment before saying, "We're talking about how much it costs to go to the Capital City."
Old Lady Wang's eyes were reddened, "Mr. Jin said it takes dozens of taels, and that's still not enough."
Of course, that's not absolute. If you make it to the Capital City smoothly and are willing to stay in a crowded hostel and eat poorly, it's still possible.
But she couldn't let Liu Yizhu suffer like that. The last time she wrote back urging Azhao to get married, she had already instructed Azhao to vacate her small courtyard, just waiting for Liu Yizhu to do well on the autumn exam.
Li Mingwei glanced at the silent Liu Yizhu, winked at him, and leaned close to his ear, "What are you worried about? You still have me."
She didn't want to reveal how much money she had, but she spoke loudly to reassure Old Lady Wang and let others hear, "Ma, what are you worried about? When the time comes, he can just take Tang Jue's carriage and go. He can stay with us too. We only need to prepare money for his meals."
Old Lady Wang felt much relieved, patting her chest and forgetting about the matter. She said with a hint of modesty, "But it's always troubling others like this."
"It's no trouble at all. Liu Yizhu passing the exams will bring glory to Anhuai County. Tang Jue is more than willing to help."
When Tang Jue goes to the Capital City, he'll have to stay at her place anyway. It's only fair for Liu Yizhu to hitch a ride!
However...
Li Mingwei leaned closer to Liu Yizhu, "Do you think Tang Jue can pass the autumn exam smoothly?"
Liu Yizhu frowned, thinking for a moment before asking, "Do you think I can pass the autumn exam smoothly?"
Li Mingwei fell silent. How could she say for sure? She didn't know the level of other candidates in Chengzhou.
With his question, Li Mingwei became anxious. Her courtyard wasn't small, and it usually cost twenty or thirty taels per month. During the spring exam period, the price could double. She had vacated it so early, what if Liu Yizhu didn't pass? Wouldn't she lose out?
She stepped hard on Liu Yizhu's foot, glaring at him fiercely, "If you don't pass, I'll send you to do hard labor!"
Not until he made enough to cover the few hundred taels she would lose would she bring him back.
In front of so many people, Liu Yizhu didn't dare cry out. He coughed lightly, feigning calmness as he pleaded softly, "Don't be so cruel!"
It really hurt!
Li Mingwei snorted and withdrew her foot.
Others couldn't see it, but the leaning Hu Jin clearly saw the exchange under the table. He gasped, thinking that although the brother and sister looked gentle, she was so ruthless. It was good that he didn't marry a wife!
As he was feeling sorry for Liu Yizhu, he got kicked again. He could only awkwardly force a smile, sit up straight, and pretend to have just woken up, glancing around at everyone, "What's going on here...?"
"Nothing, nothing. Were we being too loud?"
"Why don't you go into the room and sleep?"
"We were just talking about going to Chengzhou. Does Scholar Hu plan to join Liu Yizhu?"
Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the awakened Hu Jin, Li Mingwei slipped out of the circle, and Old Lady Wang quickly followed her into the room.
"Did you count how much you have earlier?"
Li Mingwei showed her the record on the paper, "Over four thousand copper coins, about four taels of silver."
Old Lady Wang couldn't read it. After calculating the cost of hiring people and buying groceries, she said, "Not counting others, you've only made a little over one tael."
She felt the money bag, her face falling, "This is not even enough for Liu Yizhu to go to Chengzhou. How much more do you have? After they leave, I'll bring some more money to add to it. We have to get him at least ten taels, no matter what."
A poor family produces a glorious path. He's going out to do great things, we can't let him fall short.
"If he really gets to go to the Capital City, I'll think of another way. Otherwise, this estate..."
"Hey!" Li Mingwei stopped her, "It won't come to that!"
After all, this was the ancestral estate of the Liu family. That idea wasn't very good.
