5
The Hundred-Day Agreement
“Wha… you want to become a butcher?” The Old Lady exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.
“Grandma, I said I want to study and take the Xiucai exams…” Su Lu said helplessly.
“That’s right, pork dishes are delicious.” The Old Lady swallowed and said happily, “If Qiu Ge’er becomes a butcher, Grandma will get to enjoy good food. I love pork intestines the most.”
“I love pig tails…” Jinbao’s mouth watered even more.
“Qiu Ge’er, you really might as well learn butchering.” Uncle couldn’t help but laugh, “How many days have you actually spent in school since you were little?”
“Exactly.” Aunt chimed in, “Do you even remember which direction the school gate faces?”
“Isn’t that because you’ve been telling Xia Ge’er and Qiu Ge’er since they were young that studying is useless?” Younger Aunt defended them, “If it’s useless, why have you been making Chun Ge’er study all along?”
“Chun Ge’er has the talent for it, but those two don’t!” Aunt raised her delicate eyebrows and retorted sharply, “The little money our family saves from our teeth must be spent where it counts!”
“…” Younger Aunt was momentarily speechless. Even though she was on Su Lu’s side, she had to admit that in terms of studying, Qiu Ge’er couldn’t compare to Chun Ge’er.
“I think I have the talent.” Su Lu said without any inferiority complex.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You just don’t want to work! You can’t even recite the 《Three Character Classic》.”Uncle thought he had seen through Su Lu, ‘When it comes to teaching the basics, one must be meticulous’—do you know what comes after that?”
“Of course I know.” Su Lu muttered.
“Then recite it.” Aunt sneered.
“If he’s going to recite, he should start from the beginning.” Su Youcai, somewhat dissatisfied with his brother and sister-in-law, covered for his son, “Even I can’t recite clearly starting from the middle…”Detailed explanations and clear readings.” Su Lu then fluently recited:
“For learners, there must be a beginning. After completing elementary studies, one reaches the Four Books. The Analects consists of twenty chapters. The disciples collectively remember the good sayings. The Mencius consists of only seven chapters.”..”Su Lu recited all the way to ‘Jing Zi Tong, read all the histories’ before stopping and asking his stunned uncle and aunt, ‘Should I continue?””
Actually, he didn’t dare continue. Because next came ‘Examine the lineage, know the beginning and the end’, and in the version he studied, it included ‘Sixteen generations, up to Chongzhen’…
“No need, I wouldn’t understand even if you recited more.” Fortunately, Aunt was already impressed, rubbing her temples as she asked Uncle, “Husband, did he recite it correctly?”
“…” Uncle had actually long forgotten what came after. Projecting his own limitations, he had assumed Su Lu couldn’t recite it either. Somewhat awkwardly, he nodded and said, “More or less.”
“Word for word, exactly right!” Su Youcai said happily.
“Qiu Ge’er is amazing!”Su Tai clapped his hands joyfully, ‘I can only recite up to ‘Xiang Jiu Ling, able to warm the seat’, I can’t remember what comes after.'”..”
“I can’t recite a single line.” Jinbao also clapped vigorously, looking quite proud.
“You’ve got something in that head of yours.” Uncle said happily, patting Su Lu’s head, “Your mind is quite clear.”
“Brother, since Qiu Ge’er has made a great contribution to the family, he should be rewarded.” Su Youcai seized the opportunity, “Let’s grant the child his wish.”
“Alright.” Uncle nodded, then looked at his wife and said, “Then let’s not rush with the apprenticeship. Let Qiu Ge’er study for a couple more days?”
“Fine, no apprenticeship then.” Aunt glared at Uncle, finally conceding a step.
Before Su Lu could feel relieved, he heard her tone shift sharply: “But whether you’re cut out for it—Auntie’s word doesn’t count, nor does theirs—”
“Then what does count?” Su Lu asked gravely.
“If you have what it takes to test into Taiping Academy, then I’ll admit you’re scholar material!” Aunt declared firmly.
“Sister-in-law, aren’t you asking the impossible? He’s only studied for a few days, and you want him to test for Taiping Academy? Might as well ask him to grab the moon!” Su Youcai grew agitated upon hearing this.
“If he can’t even test into Taiping Academy, how can he hope to become a Xiucai?” Aunt retorted proudly. “Not only must he test in, he must rank at the top like Chun Ge’er to have any hope!”
“They only accept students under fourteen. After New Year’s, he’ll be overage!” Su Youcai said helplessly.
“Don’t they enroll at year’s end? Chun Ge’er tested in during the twelfth lunar month that year,” Aunt recalled clearly.
“But the time is too short. At most, he has about three months. Even if Qiu Ge’er studied without sleeping, it wouldn’t be enough…” Su Youcai sighed. “Not to mention three months—three years wouldn’t be enough.”
“Give him three months. If he succeeds, fine. If not, he’ll start apprenticeship early!” Aunt had made up her mind.
“Sister-in-law…” Su Youcai’s mouth tasted bitter. Rationally, he knew his sister-in-law wasn’t wrong—those who passed the imperial exams were one in ten thousand, the cream of the crop. Ordinary folks were better off realizing this early to spare themselves and their families the burden.
But this was the first time his son had resolved to do something…
“Father, say no more.” Su Lu’s firm voice cut in. “Three months it is!”
He fixed his gaze on Aunt and declared resolutely, “I’ll test in and show you!”
“What if you fail?” Aunt’s pupils contracted, startled by his intensity. She thought, How can I let a child intimidate me? and glared back fiercely.
“I’ll accept any consequence!” Su Lu stared back at Aunt like a fighting cock.
“What does that mean?” Aunt was puzzled.
“It means ‘you’ll have the final say then,'” Uncle explained.
“Fine, you said it yourself!” Aunt nodded emphatically.
~~
Although he had gained about a hundred days, Su Lu still had to finish the autumn harvest before he could focus on studying.
That afternoon, back in the fields, Su Tai continued cutting the remaining sorghum. Su Youcai and Su Lu worked together to thresh it.
They first spread a coarse cloth on the ground, then set a wooden trough over it. Su Lu steadied the trough while Su Youcai held sorghum stalks, forcefully beating the heads against the trough.
Crimson sorghum grains pattered down, most falling into the trough, though many scattered onto the cloth. Su Lu instantly understood why it was called “Xia Sha”—it truly resembled throwing material.
Amid the dust, Su Youcai asked while threshing:
“Son, weren’t you only able to recite the 《Three Character Classic》 up to ‘To feed without teaching is the father’s fault’? Did you take some miracle pill today? How are you so impressive?”
“After the heatstroke, my mind suddenly cleared. Everything feels transparent now, and I realize that in this world, studying is the only way out,” Su Lu replied, covering his nose and mouth, his voice muffled.
“Then recite more for me,” Su Youcai said eagerly.
“I don’t know the rest,” Su Lu shook his head.
“Then how about reciting the ‘Hundred Family Surnames’?” Su Youcai pressed on.
“Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang, Feng, Chen, Chu, Wei, Jiang, Shen, Han, Yang… I don’t know the rest.” Su Lu answered honestly.
“What about the ‘Thousand Character Classic’?” Su Youcai persisted.
“Heaven and Earth, dark and yellow, the universe vast and wild. Sun and moon wax… stars arranged in the sky.” Su Lu grew increasingly hesitant.
“It’s ‘Sun and moon wax and wane, stars arranged in the sky’.” Su Youcai said helplessly, “What are you even taking the exam for? These are the most basic texts!”
“…” Su Lu was equally frustrated. In his previous life, elementary school only required memorizing the ‘Three Character Classic’, not the ‘Hundred Family Surnames’ or ‘Thousand Character Classic’…
“Ah, it’s not your fault, boy. It’s all your father’s doing.” Su Youcai said, then apologized to Su Lu, “It’s my fault for being so busy taking the Xiucai exams these past years that I neglected your and your brother’s early education. Ended up failing at both…”
He paused, wiping the corner of his eye with his sleeve, muttering, “Ah, got something in my eye.”
Su Lu silently stood up and handed him the bamboo water container. Su Youcai took a drink, his guilt deepening:
“Qiu Ge’er, our ancestor Su Laoquan could start studying seriously at twenty-seven because his family was well-off. With our family’s circumstances, starting from scratch at thirteen is really too late.”
“Father, that’s because I never studied before. If I start working hard now, I’m sure I can catch up!” Su Lu said with sincere determination.
What father could resist seeing such eager thirst for knowledge in his son’s eyes?
“Damn it, got something in my eye again.Su Youcai looked up at the wild geese in the sky, sometimes flying in a ‘人’ formation, sometimes in a ‘一’ formation as they headed south. He couldn’t help sighing:
“Even these feathered creatures know how to read characters. How could my son be worse than birds? Fine, studying is better than not studying. Your father will teach you from the beginning.”
He winked at Su Lu, trying to ease the pressure: “Don’t take Aunt’s words too seriously. Even if you don’t get into the academy, as long as you want to learn, your father can still teach you. Your old man may not be good at much, but he knows how to teach.”
“That’s what I think too,” Su Lu nodded emphatically, grinning, “I’ll give it my all to try to get into the academy. But even if I don’t make it and become an apprentice instead, I’ll still keep studying hard!”
“That’s the spirit!” Su Youcai laughed heartily with relief, “Just like the ‘Three Character Classic’ says, ‘Like carrying firewood, like hanging horns, though the body labors, still strive diligently’!”
“So what exactly should I study?” Su Lu pressed.
“The ‘Three Hundred Thousand’ [Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand Character Classic], ‘Lesser Learning’, ‘Classic of Filial Piety’, plus the ‘Lesser Four Books’, ‘Shigu Duilei’, ‘Shenglv F meng’…” Su Youcai listed them off like treasures.
“That many?” Su Lu couldn’t help but gasp.
“Many? These are just the basics.” Su Youcai emphasized, “The most important are the ‘Four Books’ and ‘Collected Commentaries on the Four Books’. The Taiping Academy entrance exam has only two types of questions: Tie Jing on the Four Books, and Mo Yi, which must be answered using the ‘Collected Commentaries on the Four Books’.”
“What do Tie Jing and Mo Yi mean?” Su Lu accurately identified the key points.
“Tie Jing means covering up parts of the classic texts, and candidates have to fill in the blanks word for word to get it right.” Su Youcai explained, “Mo Yi means writing essays on the meaning of the classics.”
“Understood.” Su Lu nodded. So it’s just fill-in-the-blanks and vocabulary explanation.
In his understanding, these were standard easy-point questions.
“Will they not test on the eight-legged essay?” he asked again.
“No. Taiping Academy maintains rigorous academic standards. They will start teaching the classics from the beginning after classes commence to prevent errors. How could they possibly require candidates to compose essays on untaught classics?” Su Youcai replied with certainty. The clan’s only requirement for him was to send at least one descendant to Taiping Academy each year, so he knew the process inside out.
“That’s good.” Su Lu breathed a long sigh of relief. Even with all his confidence, he knew it would be impossible to master the eight-legged essay in a short time.
“Then can we skip those… basic fundamentals and directly study the Four Books and Five Classics?” he asked his father again.
Anything not tested isn’t worth a glance…
“That won’t do. In earlier years, the academy did test that way, but they found the admitted students had terribly poor foundations. How could someone who doesn’t even understand parallelism and tonal patterns write good essays?” Su Youcai earnestly instructed his son:
“Learning is like building a house. The foundation may be buried underground and unseen, but it’s crucial. Cutting corners will lead to collapse. That’s why the academy later added oral examinations before the written test to assess these fundamentals.”
“Understood.” Su Lu nodded, abandoning his thought of taking shortcuts.
But he remained quite pleased, because he felt his father must be a good teacher, and the academy should be a good academy as well.