After Han Yanli and the others finished breakfast, the family tidied up and set out for the county town.
Unexpectedly, they ran into their neighbor from next door on the way there.
He was dressed in an azure scholar’s robe. His skin was fair, his features well-defined, and he was nearly as tall as Lin Changsong. A faint smile hung on his face, yet Lin Xiaowei felt that, despite his smile, there was a detached air about him, as though he kept people “a thousand miles away.”
Lin Changsong wanted to ask about the academy for his son, so he struck up a conversation with the young man.
After chatting for a while, they learned that the young man was Han Yanli. He also had an older brother named Han Yanxiao. The two had originally been from Yanbei Commandery, but after fleeing the drought, they had settled here.
“Second Uncle Lin, our academy is called Shanyang Academy. It has beginner, tongsheng, and xiucai classes. If younger brother Minghao wants to attend, he can register at the academy at the beginning of next month. Once he passes the assessment, he’ll be able to enroll in the beginner class.”
Lin Changsong committed that to memory before asking, “May I ask how much the tuition for the beginner class is?”
Han Yanli glanced impassively at the clothing of the family of four. “The annual tuition for the beginner class is five taels of silver. Adding in books, writing materials, and the students’ uniform, you’ll need to prepare at least ten taels of silver.”
The family of four looked at one another. They did not even have a single copper coin in their hands, yet the tuition alone required ten taels of silver.
Han Yanli explained, “The tuition at a private school is somewhat cheaper, usually only two or three taels of silver. An academy is different. The teachers at an academy are at least xiucai, and some are even juren. Aside from teaching the Four Books and Five Classics, they also teach the Six Arts, so the tuition is comparatively expensive. By the time one reaches the tongsheng class, the tuition is already ten taels of silver.”
Lin Minghao looked at Han Yanli’s azure robe. “Brother Yanli, is that the academy’s student uniform you’re wearing?”
“Yes.”
Lin Xiaowei thought about how this person had been practicing with knives and spears in the courtyard that morning, yet now he looked refined and scholarly. Perhaps that was the credit of this school uniform.
Han Yanli sensed the young girl’s unabashed scrutiny and frowned slightly. This girl really didn’t know shame! She had stared at him that morning too. However, there was only admiration in her eyes, so this young master would temporarily forgive her. Hmph.
Lin Xiaowei had no idea that merely looking at the school uniform a couple more times had offended him. She was still pondering how to buy her little brother a school uniform.
Registration would begin in just a few days. Time waited for no one!
Once he had asked about the academy, Lin Changsong inquired about the medicine shops in the county.
Seeing the medicinal herbs in his basket, Han Yanli replied, “If Second Uncle Lin wants to sell medicine, you can go to Renji Hall. When my elder brother goes into the mountains to hunt, he occasionally gathers medicinal herbs to sell as well. Renji Hall is a large shop, but it doesn’t cheat its customers.”
Lin Changsong thanked him. “Thank you very much today, Nephew Han!”
“You’re too polite, Second Uncle Lin. We’ll be neighbors from now on. To tell you the truth, my elder brother and I aren’t very familiar with the people in the village. We may have to trouble you in the future.”
The two of them exchanged a few more polite remarks, and before they knew it, they had reached the city gate.
It had taken them half an hour to walk from the village to the county town. Compared with the other villages, theirs was considered quite close.
Han Yanli pointed the Lin family toward Renji Hall, then headed in the direction of the academy.
The four of them soon found Renji Hall. The shop was quite large, and they could indeed see many ordinary people entering and leaving. This was probably the place.
As soon as they entered the medicine shop, a shop assistant came over and asked, “Are you here to see a doctor or buy medicine?”
Lin Changsong clasped his fists. “May I ask whether the shop buys medicinal herbs?”
The young assistant nodded. Villagers often came to sell medicinal herbs, but few brought good-quality ones. Seeing that the clothing of this entire family was covered in patches, he knew they were poor commoners.
“We do, but the shopkeeper has to examine them. This way, please.”
The young assistant led the four of them toward the back courtyard. It was a large courtyard, with many medicinal herbs spread out to dry. A young apprentice was grinding medicine, while a little boy with a delicate, adorable face stood in the courtyard reciting the medicinal rhyme.
After the assistant explained their purpose, the shopkeeper asked Lin Changsong what medicinal herbs he had.
At the beginning of spring, most people came to sell plantain herb and dandelions. These herbs were common and inexpensive, so the shopkeeper assumed that the Lin family was no different.
Instead, he saw Lin Changsong take the common herbs from his basket, along with several other medicinal herbs. The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up.
“Oh? Is this yinchen?”
Lin Changsong nodded. “That’s right. It’s yinchen.”
Yinchen was also known as white artemisia. There was a saying: “In the first month, it is yinchen; in the second month, it is artemisia; in the third month, chop it for firewood.”
The tender shoots dug up in early spring were called yinchen. They were an essential medicine for treating jaundice and were relatively valuable. Once the season passed, they became ordinary artemisia. This was the final harvest of yinchen for the year.
The shopkeeper sized up the man before him. Although he was covered in patches, he had an extraordinary bearing, and neither the woman nor the children displayed the timid shrinking that people often showed when faced with strangers.
He became somewhat interested and carefully examined all the herbs they had brought. They had been cleaned very well and dried to just the right degree.
“Five jin of dandelions. I’ll buy them at thirty wen per jin. The quality is good, but they’re ultimately ordinary herbs, so that’s the price.”
“Mm, the plantain herb is decent as well. Purple-flowered dandelions aren’t common at this time of year, so I’ll give you a higher price for them. The cogongrass roots are plump and very sweet; their medicinal efficacy is just right.”
“You also have rehmannia and polygala. Not bad, not bad.”
“There are only eight liang of yinchen, yet you actually know to gather it at this time. This is excellent yinchen, with the strongest medicinal properties! I’ll count it at three hundred wen per jin.”
The shopkeeper inspected the herbs and called out the prices. Then he moved the abacus a few times.
“That comes to 1,293 wen in total. I’ll round it up for you—1,300 wen altogether. How does that sound?”
Lin Changsong clasped his fists. “Shopkeeper, you’re very straightforward! If we gather more good herbs in the future, we’ll be sure to bring them to your Renji Hall first!”
The shopkeeper stroked his beard and nodded, then instructed the assistant to take them outside to collect their copper coins.
The little boy who had just been reciting the medicinal rhyme had stopped at some point and come over to watch the commotion.
The child had a round head and chubby cheeks, with large, round, sparkling eyes. He looked at Lin Minghao curiously.
Lin Xiaowei was charmed by his cuteness. Seeing that the shopkeeper seemed like a decent person, she took a woven-grass dragonfly from her own basket and held it out to him.
The little boy’s eyes lit up at once. He immediately looked toward his grandfather. The shopkeeper smiled and nodded, and only then did the little boy say in his clear, childish voice, “Thank you, Big Sister,” before accepting it with both hands.
He held it in his hands and gently waved it. The dragonfly seemed about to take flight, and the little boy’s cheeks puffed up with laughter.
Lin Xiaowei really wanted to pinch his chubby little face, but they weren’t familiar enough for her to do that. “You’re welcome.”
The shopkeeper noticed that there were quite a few woven-grass items in the girl’s basket, so he smiled and reminded her, “There are academies and private schools to the north of the city. Around noon, many young students come out to eat. I imagine they’d like your handiwork.”
Lin Xiaowei knew that he was giving her a hint. She bowed to the shopkeeper. “Thank you for telling me, Grandpa Shopkeeper.”
The shopkeeper gave a faint smile. The four of them were led by the young assistant to the cashier, where they received one string of copper coins plus another three hundred wen. They had finally earned their first fortune since transmigrating.
It was all thanks to Comrade Lin Changsong. Because of his work, he had studied quite a bit of traditional Chinese medicine in addition to agricultural research. Many modern medicinal herbs required artificial cultivation, which was connected to agriculture, so he had learned a great deal about traditional Chinese medicine. He could not treat people’s illnesses, but he was quite familiar with the properties and effects of medicinal herbs.
The four of them were all delighted when they left the medicine shop. At last, they were no longer completely penniless.
“Where are we going next?” Lin Minghao asked.
Wang Ya looked at the sun. “It’s not noon yet. We’ll walk around the county town, then go to the north side of the city to sell things.”
Aside from the original Lin Changsong, Wang Ya had only visited the county town once, while the two children had never been there at all. So they planned to look around properly first and get a feel for the place.