“Sir, has Scholar Wei already come first in the imperial examination? Is he going to become a high-ranking official?”
The village headman burst out laughing. “Not yet. To compete for first place in the imperial examination, he has to go to the capital. Wei Linyè hasn’t even gone to the capital yet.”
“Oh! He hasn’t gone to the capital yet? I thought Linyè had gone to the capital, taken the exam, and already returned!”
The village chief stroked his beard and scoffed. “Listen to you, making it sound so simple. Do you even know how far the capital is from our Yongning County?”
The villager shook his head blankly. “How would we know? None of us have ever been to the capital.”
The other villagers who did not know either looked curiously at the village chief, waiting for him to explain.
The village chief said leisurely, “I heard that it takes at least three months to travel from our Yongning City to the capital.”
“What? Three months?!”
“Good heavens! That’s way too long!”
“The journey is so far. It must cost a lot of money!”
“Exactly! Even when we make a trip to the county seat, it costs us several copper coins!”
The village chief continued matter-of-factly, “And that’s not all the expenses. Once Linyè reaches the capital, he’ll have to find a place to stay. Food, drink, lodging, everything costs money. And the examination is next spring, so he’ll have to stay there for quite some time. The expenses will be enormous!”
The villagers were all stunned when they heard this.
“Oh my, the Wei family really is wealthy!”
“They’ll have to spend quite a lot of silver, won’t they?”
“Tsk, tsk. Look at all of you worrying. The Wei family has plenty of money.”
A woman suddenly lowered her voice deliberately and said mysteriously, “Don’t forget, after Linmu died, the Wei family received quite a lot of compensation money!”
After the woman reminded them, the others remembered as well.
“And that’s not all. Didn’t they say he rescued some general and received another reward? Since it was a general’s reward, it must have been a considerable amount of silver!”
“Exactly, exactly…”
“All right, enough. Settle down and stop gossiping behind people’s backs. Otherwise, if Linyè really becomes a high-ranking official one day, you’ll know you were wrong!” The village headman put on a stern expression and reprimanded them seriously.
He was genuinely afraid these gossip-loving villagers would stir up trouble.
Only after the village headman, village chief, and the others had gone far away did Huang-shi close the courtyard gate. She let out a long sigh of relief.
Turning around to look at Wei Linyè, she scolded him, “How could you directly ask the village chief and village headman to look after us just now? Won’t that make the other villagers think there’s something going on?”
Wei Linyè’s expression did not change at all. He answered indifferently, “What’s there to fear? I’ll be gone for so many days, leaving only you and A-Li at home. Of course I have to make sure people know not to mess with you.”
“…”
For a moment, Huang-shi could not find anything to say in response.
Liu Muli, however, remembered that in her previous life, they had been even more ostentatious before his departure.
It had also been the village headman and village chief who came to see him off and bring farewell gifts. But despite Huang-shi’s objections, Wei Linyè had insisted on keeping the village headman, village chief, and their families for a meal.
The courtyard gate had been left wide open, allowing everyone outside—whether they were gossiping neighbors or passersby—to see the lively and harmonious banquet taking place inside.
Although the villagers had never studied, they knew very well that from then on, Huang-shi of the Wei family would surely have the protection of the village chief and village headman.
Quite a few people were envious and jealous. They went around spreading sour remarks, even exaggerating the matter and saying that Wei Linyè had not even become an official yet, but had already learned how to collude with officials.
With a mind as clever as Wei Linyè’s, how could he not know that making such a grand show of entertaining the village chief and village headman would invite unpleasant gossip?
So that evening, he invited several of the older women from the neighborhood to help prepare food.
They cooked several large basins of dishes, each containing both meat and vegetables. There was quite a bit of meat, roughly half meat and half vegetables.
Then Huang-shi took several of the women around the village, carrying the dishes from household to household. Each family received a large bowl of food.
The reason given was that her son was going to the capital to take the imperial examination, which was a great occasion, so she was sharing some of the good fortune with everyone.
However, not every household received a portion. Huang-shi did not give any to families who had always been on bad terms with the Wei family.
Regardless, most of the villagers were good people. Although they loved to gossip and chatter, they were kind-hearted.
Wei Linyè had said that after receiving Huang-shi’s goodwill, these villagers would remember it. They would also think that if he passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi, perhaps the Wei family would be even more generous and give them even better things.
It had to be said that Wei Linyè’s willingness to spend money generously was indeed an effective way of winning people’s hearts.
Later, Huang-shi said that while they were away, the villagers had been quite helpful to her.
Thinking of this, Liu Muli’s gaze fell on Wei Linyè’s face, wondering whether he would do the same thing as in her previous life and invite the villagers to eat.
Noticing her gaze, Wei Linyè felt a strange sensation in his heart. He asked indifferently, “What is it? Or do you have some opinion?”
Liu Muli smiled and shook her head. “Nothing. I just think you’ve thought everything through so carefully.”
Seeing the faint smile on her face, Wei Linyè’s fingers curled slightly.
He wanted to be closer to her.
But he forcibly restrained himself.
Huang-shi looked relieved, but she was also worried. She was still afraid that the other villagers might get the wrong idea and develop resentment toward the Wei family.
Just as Liu Muli had expected, Wei Linyè spent money to prepare a sumptuous meal.
This time, he had Huang-shi take several older women around the neighborhood to distribute food to the villagers, and he also gave them red envelopes. Each red envelope contained six copper coins.
Liu Muli did not stay home. Instead, she went with Huang-shi.
They walked around the village, distributing food and red envelopes while wearing smiles on their faces. By the end, Liu Muli felt as though the corners of her mouth were about to crack from smiling so much.
When she finally returned home, she was exhausted to the point of collapsing.
What surprised Liu Muli was that the good-for-nothing who usually did nothing but study the Confucian classics had actually gone into the kitchen to cook.
And he had done a surprisingly good job.
He had cooked a huge pot of white rice. The square table in the courtyard was covered with dishes—vegetables, meat dishes, a bone and winter melon soup, and he had even brought out some dried chicken and dried pork.
Just looking at the spread made people instinctively swallow.
Although the older women knew it was impolite, their eyes remained fixed on the food on the table.
Huang-shi took one look at the amount of food and immediately understood what her son intended.
She quickly smiled and invited the women to sit down and have dinner together.
Liu Muli went back inside, gathered every stool in the house, and carried them into the courtyard so the women could sit.
The women felt rather embarrassed, but they still sat down and joined the family for dinner.
These were the older women Wei Linyè considered to be relatively good people—kind-hearted and principled.
The women ate very happily.
“Oh my, just look at how capable Linyè is! Xiū’ān, you’re going to enjoy a blessed life from now on!”
“Exactly! Muli will be blessed too!”
“Muli was already a blessed girl to begin with. Once Linyè comes first in the imperial examination and becomes a high-ranking official, he can even help Muli find a good man. Maybe Muli will become an official’s wife someday!”
“…”
Liu Muli listened without much reaction.
Huang-shi, however, nearly choked on her soup and instinctively looked toward her son.
Sure enough, she saw that his expression had darkened, his face turning cold.
Unfortunately, the older women were engrossed in their conversation, and the sky had already grown somewhat dark. Unless they deliberately paid attention, they really had not noticed that Wei Linyè was displeased.