Chapter 53 Mountain Home Hearth 53

Chapter 53: Hearth and Home, Part 53

"Dinner! Dinner!"

The academy's bronze bell clanged, and the teacher was the first to leave the classroom, followed by students who scattered like birds set free.

Qin Rongshi had been at the academy for several days, yet he still kept to himself. On the first day, his roommate Xu Xing had been notably attentive, but that warmth and concern vanished afterward. Xu Xing even ignored Qin Rongshi in their dormitory.

At the dining hall, Qin Rongshi queued for his meal, then carried his tray to an inconspicuous corner.

Shortly after he sat down, Xie Baozhu found him, accompanied by a whole retinue.

"Qin Rongshi! So this is where you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!"

Xie Baozhu sat down beside Qin Rongshi with his meal, speaking with familiar ease. "Why are you eating alone again? Here, this is the mushroom meat sauce I bought from your brother-in-law. Try some!"

Qin Rongshi didn’t even glance at the uninvited Xie Baozhu, nor did he greet him. In fact, he found it rather annoying.

But at Xie Baozhu’s last words, he finally stirred, looking up to ask, "What mushroom meat sauce?"

Instead of answering immediately, Xie Baozhu used a clean, unused pair of chopsticks to scoop some of the sauce from a bamboo tube onto Qin Rongshi’s plate before explaining, "Mushroom meat sauce! They only sell ten tubes a day—it’s really hard to get. I had Feicui line up early this morning to buy it."

Feicui was Xie Baozhu’s page.

When Young Master Xie was still in his mother’s womb, everyone in the household said the lady was carrying a young miss. They even gave her a name before she was born: "Baozhu," meaning "treasured pearl."

Unexpectedly, the baby turned out to be a boy, but the name stuck—he was still called Baozhu.

Once Xie Baozhu grew old enough to understand, he disliked the name for sounding too girlish. With no outlet for his frustration, he named his personal page "Feicui" (Jadeite), claiming it made them seem more like master and servant.

Just by the smell, Qin Rongshi recognized it as Liu Guyu’s handiwork.

Xie Baozhu continued, "Aunt Guihua’s cooking is good too, but it’s still not as good as your brother-in-law’s. I bought this specially to go with my meal!"

Qin Rongshi nodded slightly and finally spoke politely, "Thank you."

Xie Baozhu chuckled and scooted closer to Qin Rongshi, ingratiatingly saying, "No need for thanks! But, um, could you let me take a look at yesterday’s assigned coursework?"

Xie Baozhu wasn’t academically gifted—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been held back for so many years in the preparatory school before the dean exceptionally promoted him to Three Pines Academy.

Having eaten the sauce Xie Baozhu offered, Qin Rongshi remained impartial and said, "Sorry, I’m afraid that won’t be possible."

Xie Baozhu wailed with a pained expression, "Ah—why not?! I just want to look!"

Before Qin Rongshi could respond, one of Xie Baozhu’s followers burst out laughing, "Eldest Young Master Xie, you don’t just want to look—you want to copy, don’t you?"

Though they were hangers-on, Xie Baozhu was quite tolerant of them, so they spoke without much restraint.

Xie Baozhu wasn’t angered by the exposure of his intentions; he just glared at the speaker and retorted, "Get lost! Who’s copying? Even if I did copy, I’d look first before copying! Shut up already! Say another word and I’ll take back the mushroom meat sauce!"

Turns out, this generous young master hadn’t just shared the sauce with Qin Rongshi—he’d given some to several others. Two tubes of mushroom meat sauce were scraped clean.

Speaking of coursework, it was worth mentioning the conflict between Xie Baozhu and Xu Xing.

The two had clashed over an assignment given by the teacher.

As soon as Xie Baozhu entered Class A of Three Pines Academy, he learned that the top student in the class was "Xu Xing." He approached him, hoping to curry favor for future convenience.

But Xu Xing refused. Xie Baozhu then offered to pay, which only angered Xu Xing further. He accused Xie Baozhu of insulting him and reported it to the teacher.

The teacher was furious and punished Xie Baozhu by making him copy the entire "Correct Meaning of the Five Classics."

Xie Baozhu was also incensed. He thought that even if the deal fell through, they could still be civil! He could always find someone else. Who knew this guy would report him instead!

Young Master Xie feared nothing in heaven or earth except copying books—and an entire volume of the "Correct Meaning of the Five Classics," no less!

Xu Xing saw Xie Baozhu as a spoiled, good-for-nothing dandy, while Xie Baozhu saw Xu Xing as a tattletale.

Thus, their rivalry was firmly established.

Xu Xing didn’t stop at just one report. Later, he reported Xie Baozhu for bringing miscellaneous books into the classroom, for dozing off in class, for roasting wild eggs during archery and charioteering lessons in the back hills… In short, he was a snitch!

Just then, Xu Xing happened to pass by with a few classmates.

As the top-ranked student in the class, he had quite a few followers—mostly classmates from farming families who looked up to him as a role model.

As Xu Xing passed by, he let out a light scoff in Xie Baozhu’s direction and rolled his eyes.

Xie Baozhu: "...Did he just roll his eyes at me?"

Follower No. 2 nodded: "...Seems like it."

Xie Baozhu: "And you all just stood there watching?! Curse him back!"

Follower No. 3: "...We don’t dare. What if he reports us to the teacher? We don’t want to copy books."

Xie Baozhu: "..."

Qin Rongshi didn’t want to listen to any more of this nonsense. Having finished his meal, he stood up and said indifferently, "I’ll take my leave now. Classmate Xie, do as you please." With that, he picked up his empty tray and left.

Xie Baozhu nodded perfunctorily, grumbled a few more curses about Xu Xing, then looked up and spotted Li Anyuan hurrying by.

His eyes lit up, and he called out, "Li Anyuan!"

Li Anyuan stopped and stared at Xie Baozhu for a moment before slowly replying, "Classmate Xie? Uh, the goat’s milk delivery was already done today. Is there something else?"

Xie Baozhu stood up and pulled him over, whispering, "Classmate Li, let me take a look at the coursework assigned by the teacher yesterday. I’ll pay you twenty coins! That’s enough for you to do laundry twice!"

Li Anyuan frowned, not agreeing but instead looking at him warily. "You want to copy, don’t you?"

Xie Baozhu clicked his tongue and hurriedly said, "How can you call it copying? The assignment from yesterday was too difficult—I couldn’t do it. I just want to borrow yours to look!"

But even though Li Anyuan loved money, he shook his head in refusal and said earnestly, "Classmate Xie, didn’t you say your family gave you an ultimatum—if you don’t pass the Student Scholar exam this year, they won’t let you study anymore? If you copy now, there’ll be no one to copy from during the exam."

The usually glib Xie Baozhu was suddenly at a loss for words. After a long pause, he said awkwardly, "...How come you sound exactly like Master Qian?"

As it turned out, Li Anyuan was even more long-winded than the teacher. He pulled Xie Baozhu aside and lectured him earnestly:

"If there’s something you don’t understand in your studies, you should ask the teacher. 'To know what you know and know what you do not know—that is knowledge.'① How can you deceive yourself?"

"If I really lent you my coursework, that would be a disservice to you, to your parents, and to the teachers’ teachings. 'Without honesty and trustworthiness, a person cannot stand in the world.'② This is not how a gentleman behaves. Besides, there are many people in the village who want to study and read but don’t have the chance. Some might never even touch a book in their lifetime."

"Classmate Xie, your family has the means to support your education—that’s a great advantage. You should cherish it. As the saying goes, 'What comes and cannot be lost is opportunity; what is trodden upon and cannot be lost is also opportunity.'③..."

Xie Baozhu: "..."

Xie Baozhu was already getting a headache. He put on an expression that said, "I’ve learned more from your words than from ten years of study," and said solemnly to Li Anyuan, "You’re right! Classmate Li, you’re absolutely right! I’ve seen the light!"

Li Anyuan also looked at Xie Baozhu with an expression that said, "The young man is teachable," and nodded. "Classmate Xie, although I can’t lend you my completed coursework, I can tutor you. Didn’t your parents say they want you to pass the Student Scholar exam? I can teach you—fifty coins for two hours, how about that?"

Xie Baozhu: "..."

Xie Baozhu remained silent, picking up his dinner tray and walking out as if he couldn't hear him.

Li Anyuan hurried after him, calling after him, "Thirty coins! Thirty coins is fine too! Xie, think about it!"

...

By the end of the first lunar month, it was finally the day for Luming Academy's day off.

Students from other towns or counties usually didn't go home during short breaks, waiting instead for the farming or seasonal breaks to return. However, there were also many students living in nearby villages, such as Qin Rongshi, Li Anyuan, and Xu Xing.

Luming Academy typically ended classes at the end of the You hour, but some villages were far away. If classes ended at that time, students would have to walk home in darkness. For the students' safety, on break days, classes ended one hour earlier the day before to make it easier for them to return home.

Early spring brought frequent rain, and it had rained all morning until the sun began to set in the west. The western hills were bathed in golden-red twilight, glistening on the damp grass, making mossy patches add touches of green, and the scent of fresh grass filled the air.

Everyone in the family knew Qin Rongshi was coming home for the break and had been excited all day.

Especially Cui Lanfang, who had been pacing around the courtyard.

Since Qin Rongshi was returning, Liu Guyu prepared an especially special meal. He took out a few pickled radishes from the jar, planning to make pickled radish and duck soup.

The radishes were home-pickled, by Liu Guyu himself when radishes first became available last year.

That jar was Liu Guyu's treasure; besides radishes, it also contained pickled long beans, young ginger, garlic, and red peppers...

He also took out a handful of long beans, thinking that stir-fried sour long beans with minced pork would be great with rice.

The family didn't have lavish meals every day, but Qin Rongshi only came home three times a month, so it was only right to prepare something special for him.

The kitchen was filled with the tangy aroma of pickled vegetables. The duck in the pot simmered until tender, the broth bubbling with spots of golden oil scattered by the boiling liquid and slowly gathering along the pot's edges.

Liu Guyu glanced at the darkening sky and then at Cui Lanfang, who had been unable to sit still in the courtyard, constantly craning her neck to look outside.

He called out, "Mother, if you're so anxious, why not wait for him at the village entrance? It's getting dark, and I'm worried Erlang might have trouble seeing the path."

Cui Lanfang did want to go out to meet him, but she felt it wouldn't be right to leave Liu Guyu alone in the kitchen. She hadn't known how to suggest it.

Now that Liu Guyu had spoken, he gave her an excuse. She quickly nodded and said, "Guyu is right, I should go check!"

With that, she picked up an oil lamp and headed out, followed by a half-grown pup wagging its tail excitedly.

Once the soup was ready, Liu Guyu prepared the ingredients for the remaining dishes, waiting for Qin Rongshi to arrive before starting to stir-fry.

He and Qin Banban sat by the stove, idly peeling garlic cloves to pass the time. Just as he was about to peel the third one, Qin Rongshi and Cui Lanfang returned.

"Second Brother!"

Banban rushed out, shouting, "You're finally back! I've been reading medical books lately and there are a few characters I don't recognize. I've been waiting to ask you!"

Qin Rongshi was nearly knocked over by his sister but steadied himself before looking toward Liu Guyu in the kitchen.

Liu Guyu was wearing a gray-blue linen outfit, with a darker apron tied tightly around his waist, accentuating his slender figure.

His sleeves were rolled up high, revealing a section of fair forearm. That pale arm waved toward Qin Rongshi, tightly followed by a cheerful call:

"Erlang! Take Banban to review the characters first. There are two more dishes—they'll be ready soon!"