After leading Liu An out of the bookstore, Liu Sanzhuang found a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. That place devoured silver—it was terrifying. Liu An’s mood was heavy as well. No wonder it was so difficult for children from poor families to rise through study. From ancient times to now, without money, one could hardly take a single step forward.
Seeing the solemn expressions on the father and son’s faces, Liu Dazhuang and Liu Erzhuang both felt their hearts sink.
Liu Dazhuang stroked Liu An’s head. “An’er, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you? Or couldn’t you buy the supplies?”
Liu An shook his head. “Uncle, no one bullied us. It’s just that brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are really expensive. I’ll study hard. I’ll earn lots of money too.”
The two uncles laughed and shook their heads. “An’er, you just focus on studying. Leave the money-making to us.”
Liu Erzhuang added with a grin, “That’s right. While you and your father were buying books, your eldest uncle and I found temporary jobs. From now on, after delivering vegetables and taking you to school, we’ll go to work day labor. When school ends, we’ll pick you up and head home together.”
Hearing this, Liu Sanzhuang quickly said, “Brother Dazhuang, Brother Erzhuang, I’ll go too.”
Liu Dazhuang nodded. “Of course. I’ve already spoken to them. The three of us together—are we really going to fail to support one child’s schooling?”
Father and son were deeply moved. In Liu An’s heart, the urgency to earn money grew even stronger. However, his tofu recipe would have to wait at least another month. He needed a believable explanation—perhaps claiming he’d read it in a miscellaneous book. Otherwise, how would he explain such knowledge? He didn’t want anyone to suspect anything strange about him. His family might accept it, but the villagers certainly wouldn’t.
Seeing Liu An hanging his head listlessly, Liu Sanzhuang felt a pang of heartache. He knew his son matured early and worried about money. Wanting to cheer him up, he patted his shoulder.
“An’er, what kind of inkstone do you want? I’ll find a good stone later and grind one for you tonight.”
Liu An understood his father was trying to lift his spirits and played along. “About this big, and round. If it’s too big, I won’t be able to carry it.”
Liu Erzhuang chuckled. “An’er, your Uncle’s better at this than your father. Let me make it for you, alright?”
Liu Sanzhuang bristled. “Brother Erzhuang, don’t underestimate me. My skills have improved—I’m not the same as before!”
Liu Erzhuang teased, “If you’re not convinced, let’s compete. Whoever makes the better one, An’er will choose. No cheating.”
“Deal! An’er will be the judge,” Liu An laughed, amused by their competitive spirits.
Liu Dazhuang watched his two younger brothers with a grin as the family chatted and laughed their way home.
Old Master Liu had gone to stroll through the fields. Though there wasn’t much farm work at the moment, he couldn’t feel at ease without checking the crops daily. At home remained Grandma Liu, the daughters, and Qi Ya.
“Grandma, we’re back!” Liu An called as he entered.
“Oh, my dear grandson!” Grandma Liu exclaimed. “Why are you back so late? Did something happen on the road?”
“Grandma, I start private school tomorrow. My teacher is Scholar Li from town—the young master from the restaurant even recommended me.”
“Good, good! We must thank the young master. He’s truly a good man. Our An’er is blessed—went to town and met a benefactor,” Grandma Liu beamed, attributing all the credit to her grandson.
The family tacitly agreed, no one contradicting her. Liu An felt slightly speechless but naturally couldn’t argue with his grandmother—especially when she was praising him. At that moment, he felt grateful he had been reborn as a boy. Had he been born a girl, he likely wouldn’t be receiving this treatment.
Wanting to shift the conversation, he quickly asked, “Grandma, where are Mother and Aunties?”
“They went to dig wild vegetables with your sisters. If it rains like yesterday, they’ll have them ready. That way, tomorrow your uncles and father can take the longevity greens straight to town.”
“That works. They can keep them cool in the well and deliver them in the morning,” Liu An said in a precocious tone.
“Yes, yes, our little grown-up,” Grandma Liu laughed, taking his hand. “Come inside. It’s so hot—you must be thirsty. I’ll pour you some sugar water.”
Meanwhile, Liu Dazhuang handed over the pork he had bought. “Mother, you said yesterday we were low on oil, so I bought two more jin. Starting tomorrow, Brother Sanzhuang and I will deliver vegetables to the restaurant. Brother Erzhuang will take An’er to school. After that, the three of us will do day labor and bring An’er home together at night.”
Liu Sanzhuang then handed the remaining two taels of silver and leftover copper coins to his mother. “Mother, this is what’s left. Please keep it safe.”
Grandma Liu looked surprised. “Why is there so much left? Didn’t you say becoming a student required a lot of money?”
Liu Sanzhuang took a breath and explained everything—from the braised intestines to the profit-sharing agreement, the advance payment of two taels, and the recommendation letter. “We used the advance to pay Scholar Li’s tuition. The nine hundred yuan were just for the cheapest brush, ink, and paper.”
Grandma Liu clicked her tongue in amazement. “Heavens! The restaurant’s young master truly is our family’s benefactor. I should burn incense for him every day. Thanks to him, our lives finally have hope.” Then she looked at her grandson seriously. “Studying costs so much money. An’er, you must study well. If the teacher hits your hand for slacking, I won’t defend you.”
Liu An nodded earnestly. “Grandma, don’t worry. I’ll study diligently. Didn’t I say I’d make you a titled noble lady one day?”
Only then did Grandma Liu smile in satisfaction.
After explaining everything, Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang each gulped some water and hurried off to the river at the foot of the mountain to find suitable stones—they had a competition to settle.
Liu Dazhuang headed to the fields to find Old Master Liu, intending to check on the crops and tell him the day’s good news. For farmers like them, seeing their fields each day was the only way to truly feel at peace.
When the women of the Liu family returned from digging wild longevity greens, the men had just come back as well. The whole family gathered around the table for supper. Because there was leftover braised pork broth from that morning, Grandma Liu worried it wouldn’t be enough, so she added some wild vegetables to stretch it. Paired with coarse wild-vegetable buns, the meal was simple, but everyone ate their fill and felt satisfied.
“If we could eat braised meat every day, that would be amazing. I love it!” Little QiYa said, patting her round belly contentedly.
“You greedy girl! Every day? Where would we get that kind of spare money?” Xiao Chen scolded irritably. Qi Ya immediately flushed red with embarrassment and lowered her head.
“What are you scolding the child for?” Grandma Liu cut in. “It’s not some precious delicacy. If she wants it, buying a little once in a while isn’t impossible.” Though Grandma Liu favored boys over girls, she never mistreated her granddaughters. As long as their requests weren’t excessive, she was usually willing to indulge them. Besides, one big pot of braised intestines could feed the entire family.
Xiao Chen gave an awkward smile under her mother-in-law’s rebuke. Liu An silently sighed at his mother’s blatant favoritism—unfortunately, the one she favored most was him. He couldn’t very well criticize her, so he could only try to be extra kind to his sisters.
Looking at his uncles, Liu An asked, “Uncle, where are you working tomorrow?”
Uncle Dazhuang smiled and explained, “On the outskirts of town there’s an estate hiring men to carry sacks. The pay is ten copper coins a day.”
“Ten coins isn’t bad. Do they provide meals?” Grandma Liu asked.
“We bring our own food,” he replied. “Work in the morning, back by afternoon.”
“I don’t agree!” Liu An suddenly blurted out before they could continue.
Grandma Liu, startled mid-conversation, turned to him. “What’s this? How can you speak to your uncle like that?”
“Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Father—I know you’re doing this for our family, to earn more money so I can study. But I also know a day of labor like that is exhausting. And for just ten coins… it’s not worth it.”
Grandpa Liu chuckled. “Ten coins is already quite good. Most laborers in town only get ten, some even just eight.”
“But it’s so hard on you…” Liu An pouted. “I’ll find ways for our family to earn money in the future.”
His uncle Dazhuang laughed gently. “You just focus on your studies. Your father said your teacher praised you as a good student. Study well. Leave earning money to us adults.”
“That’s right,” Uncle Erzhuang added, tousling Liu An’s hair. “Children who worry too much won’t grow tall.”
Liu An pursed his lips and said no more. He knew that at his age, he couldn’t stop them from taking on hard labor. Besides, they had always lived this way. Still, he sighed inwardly and resolved to study hard and eventually bring tofu-making into reality. With a steady source of income, his family wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
After supper, Erzhuang and Sanzhuang each presented the inkstones they had made for Liu An. As expected, Erzhuang’s craftsmanship was superior. He beamed with pride when Liu An chose his piece, flashing a smug grin at his brother Sanzhuang.
“Hmph, I was just going easy on you,” brother Sanzhuang muttered, unwilling to admit defeat. Seeing his father’s disappointment, Liu An quickly added, “Father’s inkstone is nice too! I’ll keep yours at home and use Uncle’s at school.”
Only then did Sanzhuang’s face brighten. Grandma Liu couldn’t help but comment, “You’re all grown men with children of your own, yet none of you are as broad-minded as our An’er.”
The brothers laughed sheepishly at their mother’s scolding. After the meal, the household turned in early—they had to rise at dawn for work. That night, Xiao Chen finished sewing the book satchel Liu An had asked for and handed it to him.
Holding it, Liu An beamed. “Thank you, Mother. I love it.”
“You little monkey,” Xiao Chen said fondly. “You’d better study hard. If you don’t, I’ll break your legs.”
“I know, Mother. Don’t worry. I’ll pack my things—tomorrow I leave early for town.” He carefully placed the beginner’s reader given by the young restaurant proprietor and the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone they had purchased into the bag.
“Hmm, it’s quite heavy,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll leave one inkstone at school and keep Father’s at home. Otherwise it’s too much to carry.”
“An’er, finished packing? Go to bed early or you won’t wake up,” Xiao Chen called.
“Coming, Mother!” He hurried back to his parents’ room. Lying in bed, pretending to sleep, Liu An felt a quiet thrill. One small goal achieved—he could finally attend school. Next, it was time for him—no, for his “older brother” reborn—to lead the whole family upward.
Meanwhile, in Liu Dazhuang’s room, his wife looked at him with concern. “You’re going back to day labor with your brothers tomorrow. Take care of yourself.”
He waved it off. “Don’t worry. We’ve always lived like this. It’s nothing new.”
“But schooling costs so much silver. Can we really afford to support An’er?” she asked anxiously.
Though a simple farmer, Liu Dazhuang was thoughtful. “An’er is the only boy of our generation in the Liu family. If he doesn’t make something of himself, what will happen to our daughters—Yi Ya, Er Ya, and San Ya? The boy is smart. On his first day he recited everything the teacher taught. I believe he has a future. We’ll just work hard and not overthink it. And don’t speak carelessly about such matters.”
His wife nodded softly. “If you say so, I’ll trust you.”