Chapter 24

Chapter 24

With his leg injured, Chen Qingyan naturally couldn't stay outside. Wang Ying quickly pushed him back to Chen Xi's house.

Uncle Chen was terrified to learn he'd been bitten by a snake. In ancient times, venomous snakes were considered as dangerous as wolves, tigers, and leopards; a bite usually meant certain death.

Fortunately, it was just a non-venomous grass snake. The bite area was swollen and looked a bit alarming, but there was no danger to his life.

Chen Xi summoned the village's barefoot doctor, who applied some crushed green herbal leaves. Still uneasy, Wang Ying decided to return to town later to find a proper physician for a thorough examination.

There was no time to transplant the cherry trees intended for the experimental field; that would have to wait for another visit.

Da Shun called over the cart driver and asked if he was willing to work in town.

The cart driver, in his early thirties, was dark-skinned from the sun, thin, and short. Years ago, he had married a woman, but she died in childbirth along with the baby. Since then, he had lived alone on the estate.

With few family members and little land, his life was hard, and he was often bullied by others on the estate.

Upon learning that the master wanted him to come back and help, he was more than willing, immediately rushing home to pack his belongings.

Er Shun also packed his clothes and bedding, ready to return to town with them.

Before their departure, Chen Xi and his wife held their second son's hands, repeatedly cautioning him to obey the master in town, be diligent, and avoid mischief or idleness.

Chen Ershun replied, "Mom, Dad, don't worry. I'll definitely serve the master well!"

As they were getting into the carriage, Wang Ying remembered the bag of wheat seeds from the experimental field and asked Chen Xi to take it. "Do you remember those few acres of land I asked you to set aside last time?"

"Yes, yes, I remember."

"These wheat seeds are specially selected. After the millet harvest, plant them along with the other wheat fields. I'll come back to check on them in a while."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure they're planted properly!"

*

Uncle Chen, anxious about the young master's leg injury, hurried their return, arriving home before dark.

Li Shi was terrified when she heard her son had been bitten by a snake and burst into tears. Wang Ying had to repeatedly comfort her, assuring her the snake wasn't venomous.

After a quarter of an hour, Uncle Chen brought the doctor, who thoroughly examined Chen Qingyan. After confirming he was fine, the doctor prescribed a tonic formula to nourish his body. Only then did Li Shi relax.

"You must not go to the estate again. There are too many insects and snakes there—what if you get bitten and your health is ruined?"

"Mom, this was just an accident."

"Even accidents aren't allowed. Your health is improving, and you still need to go to school and take the imperial exams. Don't always run off to the fields."

When Chen Qingyan heard this, his face instantly paled.

Wang Ying quickly changed the subject. "Qingyan hasn't fully recovered, and the weather is getting colder day by day. It's better to let him rest a while longer."

Li Shi agreed, patting Wang Ying's hand. "Once he's fully recovered, you two should hurry up and start a family."

Now it was Wang Ying's turn to look uncomfortable. He awkwardly withdrew his hand and said, "It's been a long day, and Qingyan is tired. I'll take him back to rest first."

"Go ahead."

When they reached the backyard, Wang Ying couldn't help but ask, "When are you planning to tell your mother the truth?"

Chen Qingyan hung his head and didn't speak. Though precocious, he was still only a seventeen-year-old, stubborn and concerned with saving face. This humiliating situation was something he had never wanted to tell his family.

But now, it seemed unavoidable. Delaying for a day wouldn't delay a lifetime. Could he keep pretending to be ill indefinitely?

This... wouldn't this make people look down on him?

"I'll go talk to Mother later."

"There's no rush. First, think about your future plans. Mother isn't very decisive, but if she finds out you can't take the imperial exams, she'll surely cry again. You need to let her know that even if you don't take the exams, you can still do something else."

"Then I'll open a private school and teach."

There were two schools in town at the time—one run by an old scholar and the other by a Student Scholar. Both were average scholars, and neither was as knowledgeable as Chen Qingyan.

"If you've made up your mind, I'll help you find a place tomorrow and get the private school set up as soon as possible."

"Okay!"

After comforting him, Wang Ying went to the front yard to settle the two men brought from the estate.

Shi Dunzi was responsible for caring for the livestock. He would be provided with food and accommodation, with a monthly wage of one hundred wen. He would live in the place where Old Man Tian used to rest. He was honest and taciturn, doing whatever Wang Ying asked without question.

In contrast, Er Shun was more quick and lively, following Wang Ying around and being very diligent.

The household shopping wasn't heavy. Usually, it involved buying rice, flour, oil, and other groceries, as well as doing errands for the family. It only got busy during festivals when gifts needed to be prepared for relatives.

Wang Ying planned to keep Er Shun by his side and teach him more. Once the shop opened, he would need someone like him to help.

*

Chen Qingyan finally had an honest talk with his family, revealing that he could no longer take the imperial exams.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing his mother's disappointed expression made him feel terrible, and his eyes instantly welled up.

Seeing this, Wang Ying reached under the table, held his hand, and patted it reassuringly. It was already brave of him to speak up—they couldn't risk triggering a relapse.

"How could you not tell us about such an important matter sooner? Quickly write to your fourth uncle and ask him to help look into it!"

"If Fourth Uncle could help, I would have told him long ago. There's no way…"

When Li Shi heard this, she nearly fainted, tears flowing freely. No wonder her son had fallen seriously ill after the County Exam.

Wang Ying said, "No one feels good about something like this. Since he can't take the exams, he can do something else. Our family still has Second Brother. In a few years, if he passes the Provincial Exam, it'll be the same."

When Chen Qingsong heard this, his little face turned pale. His academic performance wasn't as good as his older brother's, and being young and playful, he didn't even have the status of a Student Scholar. The pressure felt overwhelming.

It took a long time for Li Shi to stop crying. "Well then, since there's no way to take the exams anymore, Yan'er, have you thought about what you want to do?"

"I want to open a private school to teach children their characters."

Wang Ying said, "I also plan to open a shop. That way, our family's life will be better off."

Li Shi sighed. "I'm old and can't help much. Do whatever you want. If you need money, I can help out."

Wang Ying breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his mother-in-law didn't dwell on the matter further, or Chen Qingyan would have felt even worse.

*

Early the next morning, Wang Ying went into town to inquire about any shops that might be available.

The shop for selling vegetables didn't need to be too large, as the experimental field could only supply a limited amount of vegetables. The selling point was scarcity.

Even wealthy families couldn't get fresh vegetables in winter. If Wang Ying could offer them for sale, the price would certainly not be cheap—several times higher than usual.

Secondly, the shop's location needed to be conspicuous, ideally where passersby could see what was sold as soon as the door opened, so everyone would know what the shop offered.

After searching high and low, Wang Ying ended up finding the very shop that Chen Biao's family had previously lost to the gambling house.

The gambling house owner had been trying to sell it for over a month without success, and the price had already dropped from sixty taels of silver to fifty taels.

After thinking it over, Wang Ying decided to purchase this shop. The location was excellent, the size was just right, and no one says no to money. Besides, since Chen Biao's family had already been exiled to Cangzhou, there was no fear of anyone causing trouble.

When buying the shop, Wang Ying was very cautious, specifically hiring someone knowledgeable to handle the transfer of ownership, worried about getting cheated.

The transaction itself was straightforward. After making prior arrangements, they went to the local magistrate's office to sign the deed and hand over the silver, officially transferring the shop to his family.

At the yamen, Wang Ying happened to run into Huang San and a few other yamen runners. He hadn't had the chance to thank them for the last incident, so he invited them to a meal at a restaurant.

“You’re too kind, Mr. Chen. Such a small matter hardly warrants a whole meal.”

“I really should thank you. If it weren’t for Third Master’s help, that bunch wouldn’t have been scared into confessing everything.”

The yamen runners were pleased to hear this, and smiles spread across their faces.

Huang San, noticing the land deed in Wang Ying’s hand, asked, “Mr. Chen, are you buying a shop?”

“I’ve just taken over the vacant shop on East Street. I plan to sell fresh vegetables and fruits from the south during the winter.”

“Fresh vegetables from the south?”

“My fourth uncle is an official in Laizhou. The climate there is warmer than ours, and some farmers specialize in growing vegetables in heated greenhouses. I thought I’d transport some here to sell in our town.”

“Wow, that must cost a pretty penny, right?”

“Those who can afford to eat fresh greens in winter aren’t pinching pennies.”

“That makes sense. Well, I wish you great success in your business, Mr. Chen! As for the drink, we’d better skip it this time—we have official duties this afternoon, and drinking might interfere. Maybe another time.”

Wang Ying quickly had Er Shun take two hundred coins from the money bag and handed them to the yamen runners to buy drinks.

Huang San accepted it with a smile. “Just let me know if you need anything, Mr. Chen!”

After buying the shop, there was no hurry to fix up the place or hang a sign. The temperature hadn't dropped yet, so he decided to wait until it got colder to start selling vegetables. For now, he focused on helping Chen Qingyan find a place for the private school.

The building for the private school didn't have to be anything fancy; even a remote location would do.

After all, what mattered in running a school was genuine talent and learning—a fancy storefront wouldn't make a difference.

After looking at several places, none were quite satisfactory. Some were too dilapidated, while others were too cramped. After some back and forth, they finally decided to section off two rooms in their own outer courtyard.

From what he remembered of classrooms, Wang Ying hired a carpenter to make ten sets of desks and benches, along with a large, flat wooden board.

The board, coated with ink and hung on the wall, served as a blackboard. For writing, they used natural chalk, which, though not as smooth as modern chalk, worked quite well.

As the weather grew colder day by day, Wang Ying also had a heated floor system built along the walls to keep the room warm in winter.

Chen Qingyan, pushing his wheelchair, came to see the classroom and was immediately drawn to the blackboard.

“What is this for?”

Wang Ying picked up a piece of chalk and wrote Chen Qingyan’s name on the board. “See? Clear, right? You can use it to teach the children how to read and write. Just wipe it off with a cloth when you’re done.”

“Brilliant! This is incredibly useful. How did you come up with this?”

“Oh, I can’t take credit for it. Where I come from, we all use blackboards like this in school.”

Chen Qingyan paused for a moment before realizing what he meant. “This should be used everywhere. If all private schools used it, even children who can’t afford books could learn to read.”

Easier said than done, though. The more knowledgeable people were, the more stubborn they tended to be, and it would be hard to convince them. Exchanging a glance, the two abandoned the idea of promoting it further.

Before they knew it, it was late September. Chen Qingyan had almost fully recovered and could walk on his own without the wheelchair.

With everything in place, the private school officially started taking in students!

Author’s Note: