"Candied hawthorns, candied hawthorns for sale!"
"Tangyuan, fresh out of the pot, sweet and delicious tangyuan!"
"Needles, thread, and scraps of cloth, buy a bit and give them a try!"
…
Song Jin walked along the street holding Little Black's leash, surrounded by the cries of various peddlers, occasionally hearing the laughter of young women. It was lively and joyful, making her feel that the new dynasty she lived in was truly prosperous.
At the end of the previous dynasty, the court was corrupt, and the emperor was absurd and debauched, seizing his ministers' wives and conscripting young women from all over. Anyone he disliked was dragged off and beheaded. Over time, disasters struck frequently, and the people's lives grew difficult, so they rose up in rebellion.
After three years of war, the previous dynasty fell, and the powerful Qi family from the north seized the imperial throne, establishing the new dynasty of Dayan, with Qing'an as the era name. Now it was the eighteenth year of Qing'an. The young emperor of those days was now fifty-two years old, and with his advancing age, the younger princes were growing restless.
Who knew what conflicts would arise next?
Song Jin felt a bit worried at the thought. She wanted to enjoy her leisurely life for another hundred years. She truly hoped the current emperor would live to be a hundred, so that nothing would change.
But there was no use overthinking it. She was just a small landowner and couldn't influence matters above her. She could only take things one step at a time. Anyway, if worst came to worst, she could take her mother and hide in the mountains. With all those tiger cubs standing guard, they'd manage to get by.
With that thought, Song Jin cast aside her vague worries, turned around, and headed eagerly toward the bookshop she frequented—the largest one in all of Si'an County.
As mentioned before, Si'an County had once been a poor county. How poor, you ask?
The best illustration was that across three imperial examinations, the entire county hadn't produced a single jinshi.
Therefore, once times improved, Si'an County placed great emphasis on education. From the county seat down to the towns, they built numerous academies of various sizes. While the teaching staff might not have been the most distinguished, they were fully capable of providing basic education, and the county held annual assessments for the teachers.
Besides the academies, the city was filled with bookshops of all sizes, selling brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as well as the insights of famous scholars, and proper books on poetry, mathematics, agriculture, and other subjects.
And miscellaneous books.
Song Jin's target was the latter.
During the Apocalypse, survival had been difficult for everyone, resources were scarce, and books were a rare luxury. Aside from some basic educational texts, Song Jin had never read two proper leisure books growing up. After transmigrating here, she happened to stumble into a bookshop one year and was utterly captivated from then on.
She became a devoted reader of all kinds of novels and miscellaneous books, and even had a dedicated study at home for them.
Regarding this, Niu Tielan had given a four-character verdict:
Utterly unreadable.
Ahem, Song Jin felt they were quite readable. When she went into the mountains to hunt, she often pulled out a book to read, and it was quite entertaining. Sure enough, the moment she entered the bookshop, the "shop assistant" noticed his regular customer and immediately walked over to her.
"These are all the new arrivals this time. Take a look and see which ones you want." The "shop assistant" winked at her, pulled out a few books, and whispered, "Highly recommended."
Song Jin understood instantly and waved her hand: "I'll take them all."
The shop assistant happily patted her shoulder: "Good brother, generous!"
Song Jin grinned and made a bowing gesture: "You flatter me, you flatter me."
The shop assistant was beaming and about to say something more when a roar suddenly came from across the room: "Shu Chenghao! What are you doing over there? Get over here and attend to the customers!"
Song Jin couldn't help but curl her lip: "What does your father mean by that? Am I not a customer?"
The shop assistant, Shu Chenghao, rubbed his nose with a slightly guilty look and explained in a low voice: "I've poached my father's customers and opened a small bookshop of my own. What you're buying now is stock from my shop."
Song Jin was impressed and looked him up and down, this friend she'd known since childhood, and remarked: "You're something else. I can't believe your father didn't beat you to death."
She didn't need to think twice to know that his bookshop definitely didn't sell anything "proper"—just the kind of stuff that respectable scholars would consider utterly unreadable.
Not only did Elder Shu let him open a shop, but he even allowed him to poach customers right in the store. That didn't sound like his style at all.
Song Jin asked curiously: "What did you do?"
Shu Chenghao's face immediately showed a look of shame. His expression wavered, and he stammered for a long time without being able to say anything.
Song Jin raised an eyebrow at the sight, looking at him suspiciously, then suddenly it dawned on her, and she said in disbelief: "You agreed to cut ties with me?"
The first time Song Jin had come to the city, she'd run into the chubby boy Shu Chenghao being bullied. After she chased off his tormentors, the two had struck up a friendship. Later, when Niu Tielan sought medical treatment and Song Jin studied medicine, the mother and daughter stayed in the city, and Song Jin often ran into the little chubby boy. They gradually became close, turning into proper birds of a feather.
Before that, Shu Chenghao had been an introverted, timid little fatty who didn't like studying but worked hard anyway. After that, he became a young ne'er-do-well who stayed silent when scolded and ran off when beaten.
Elder Shu, who desperately wanted Shu Chenghao to study, couldn't stand the sight of Song Jin. Every time he saw her, his eyes were all wrong, and he was just one step short of putting up a "See Our Guest Out" sign.
Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Was their friendship boat finally about to capsize?
Song Jin was heartbroken.
Shu Chenghao's face flushed red with indignation. "No, why would I break off our friendship? Am I that kind of person?"
Song Jin remained skeptical. "Then how did you convince your father?"
Shu Chenghao had fair skin, and at this moment, the blush spread from his face all the way to his neck and the tips of his ears. He stammered for a long while without managing to say anything.
Song Jin guessed again and again.
Elder Shu had already walked over, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "Well, well, if it isn't Miss Song Jin, the great heroine. Your visit truly brings honor to our humble bookshop."
Song Jin paid no mind to his attitude whatsoever. She raised an eyebrow lightly, looking smug and pleased, and played along with his words: "Oh, you flatter me, Elder Shu. No need to be so polite—between us, who's who?"
Elder Shu fumed: "Who's 'us'? Now, if you have nothing to do, go on back. Don't linger here and distract Chenghao—he's a man about to take the county examination!"
Song Jin wondered if she'd heard wrong, rubbing her ear: "Huh?"
Elder Shu felt satisfied inside, gloating: "Our Chenghao is entering the examination this time. Didn't see that coming, did you, little girl?"
Song Jin still doubted her ears and looked at the person in question, Shu Chenghao.
Shu Chenghao lowered his head in shame, mumbling: "It's… it's true."
Song Jin pulled her jaw back in, silent for a long, long moment. Finally snapping back to her senses, she sighed deeply: "Maybe you should just break off our friendship after all."
Who didn't know who around here? This guy was no scholar material.
Elder Shu didn't like hearing that one bit. He bristled with anger, stomping his foot: "Little girl, leave right now! Don't you dare come bother him until the examination is over!"
Shu Chenghao tried to stop him: "Grandfather—"
Elder Shu's expression turned stern in an instant: "What did you promise me?"
Shu Chenghao immediately shut his mouth, looking at Song Jin with shame.
Song Jin just found the whole thing unbelievable. After all, they'd sworn to be brothers forever, illiterate together—and this guy had gone and defected halfway through. Well, defecting was defecting; it wasn't a big deal anyway. It wasn't like passing the county examination was something you could just do on a whim.
Song Jin never let trifles like this weigh on her mind. She broke into a bright smile and said cheerfully: "Alright then, Shu Chenghao. You do your best on the exam—I'll be waiting for your good news."
She stood in that corner, paper and brush baskets at her side, the setting sun behind her spilling through the gaps in the bamboo weave onto her, dazzling enough to make one's eyes blur.
Shu Chenghao's mind wandered.
Elder Shu couldn't bear to look. He kicked him in the leg, exasperated: "What are you spacing out for? Get back to your books! You really think that exam tests who talks prettiest? If you don't pass, don't even think about getting anything."
Song Jin assumed he meant the bookshop matter, and chimed in: "That's right, that's right! If you're going to take the exam, you have to take it seriously. Shu Chenghao, if you pass and become a scholar, I'll rise with the tide too—I'll be a scholar's friend!"
Shu Chenghao took a deep breath: "I will."
Elder Shu glanced sidelong at Song Jin: "Easy for you to say. Why aren't you leaving yet, just standing here disturbing people?"
Song Jin: "I haven't bought anything yet."
Elder Shu said disdainfully: "Those shabby books—just grab them and go. They're dirtying my floor."
Song Jin shrugged: "That's just a side errand. I actually came here this time for real shopping. Elder Shu, why don't you recommend something for me? What brush and ink are good? I'm buying them as a gift for someone—also a scholar."
Then, suddenly remembering something, her eyes lit up and she smiled: "Oh, right! How about I ask around for good study materials for Chenghao? My friend is in the top class at Wenyuan Academy."
Shu Chenghao's expression stiffened.
Elder Shu stomped his foot even harder: "Damned girl, do I need you to make introductions? Go on, get out of here! Just looking at you irritates me!"
Song Jin: "Hey, hey, hey—my brush and ink!"
…
In no time at all, Song Jin was shooed out of the bookshop, brush and ink in hand. Standing outside, she scratched her head, unable to figure out what had gotten into the grandfather and grandson today.
Strange, very strange.
But on second thought, she could understand. The county examination—how could there not be some pressure?
The prefectural examination was held twice every three years, and each time the county only admitted twenty people. With that level of difficulty, Song Jin put herself in their shoes—if it were her, she wouldn't just feel pressure; she'd go flat-out insane.
She shook her head, casting off her friends' odd behavior, and happily tossed the miscellaneous books into her basket, heading off to complete the task her mother had given her.
Delivering brush and ink to that kid Yan Sheng.
Song Jin didn't show it on her face, but she understood perfectly well—her mother was so good to Yan Sheng all for her sake.
So she'd have a backer in the future.
That kid Yan Sheng had been good at studying since he was little, able to draw inferences from one example. He'd been first in their town school, and when he later got the chance to go to the county seat, he'd gone straight into Wenyuan Academy.
The academy had been founded by the former county magistrate who had changed Si'an County's fate. He'd invited a great scholar from the previous dynasty to preside over it, and recruited no small number of famous luminaries to join, building it up bit by bit.
Though the academy had only been established for a little over thirty years, it was quite renowned throughout the entire Dafeng Dynasty. Every examination cycle, someone from the academy would appear on the pass lists, and not a few placed in the top two tiers. Because of this, every year the number of people hoping to enter Wenyuan Academy was like carp crossing a river—countless beyond measure—yet only a little over a hundred could get in.
Those students who managed to enter the academy were either exceptionally brilliant of mind or exceptionally wealthy of family.
Yan Sheng belonged to the former.
He was also a sure bet for this round's scholar title—barring any accidents, he would absolutely pass.
At his age, once he passed the county examination, not to mention the metropolitan examination, he was practically guaranteed to pass the provincial examination. By then, he could secure some minor official post in the county.
And when that time came, wouldn't he naturally keep an eye out for the mother and daughter—his great benefactors and patrons who had funded his studies?
Song Jin understood.
A future thigh to cling to, she thought. Though not quite thick enough yet, best to grab hold of it now.
When it came to shrewdness, her mother truly had no equal.
Song Jin sighed inwardly, marveling that the older ginger was indeed the spiciest. Before long, she arrived near Wenyuan Academy.
This area was also one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the county town. Those who lived here were either wealthy or influential, all hoping to steep their children in scholarly atmosphere, ideally syncing their routines with the academy's schedule, and if lucky, even picking the brains of the academy's instructors and students.
The moment Song Jin arrived, she ran into a cluster of students in scholar robes gathered together, loudly debating something. She pricked up her ears to listen.
"That traitor Song Shang, with his wolfish ambitions—thank heavens His Majesty is so magnanimous."
"This rebel and villain—truly beneath contempt as a human being."
"Absurd, utterly absurd. What right does that Song Shang have to do such a thing?"
…
Song Jin let out an "oh ho" and quickly sidled over.
Let her hear what wicked deed this great traitor had gotten up to now.