Chapter 317: Ideal
Editor: Atlas Studios
Teacher Liu was only stunned for a moment. Then, he said, “Write it down. I’ll return it when I have money later.”
Madam Liu nodded. “We have to thank Bowen and the Mu family. If not for these ten taels of silver, I wouldn’t know where to find the money to buy medicine for you.”
Pang Kongqing’s medicine was aggressive, but it was also expensive. Coupled with the tonic to nourish the body in the later stages, they ended up spending around ten taels of silver in total. That was why people said that one mustn’t fall sick.
Teacher Liu nodded and said regretfully, “It’s a pity that Bowen belongs to a military household. Otherwise, with his eagerness to learn and intelligence, he would definitely be more accomplished than me in the future.”
Smiling, Madam Liu said, “I heard that Commander Mu is now a battalion commander. If he advances another grade, he will be able to leave the military. At that time, Bowen will be able to take the Imperial Examination.”
Teacher Liu smiled bitterly. “How can it be so easy? There’s quite a threshold for a battalion commander to cross to become a general. Some people can’t cross it in their entire lives. It’s not just about achieving military credits. It also requires connections and qualifications. Although I’m not familiar with the military system, I can more or less guess. The battalion commander is following orders, but assistant commanders have to train and lead troops into battle. Unless General Mu can advance another level within the next ten years, Bowen will be delayed.”
“Actually, if Bowen wasn’t in a military household, he could’ve given the exam a shot next year.”
Madam Liu did not expect her husband to have such a high opinion of Mu Bowen. “That child will only be nine next year, right?”
Teacher Liu nodded. “Actually, the children’s examination mainly tests one’s ability to memorize and recite. These two are Bowen’s forte. That child recites things very quickly. He can recite the textbook two or three times with his eyes closed and memorize the entire article after reading it twice. This is the first time I’ve seen such a smart person in my life.”
Madam Liu smiled and said, “I thought he had a photographic memory.”
Teacher Liu said with a straight face, “How can there be so many people in this world who have a photographic memory? It’s already very good that he has this ability. The key is that he also has comprehension abilities. He has never copied the sentences in ‘Zhu Zi’s Annotations’. He has always read the text by himself first and then referenced the translations of the ‘Speech and Verbal Interpretation’ one by one. If he has doubts, he will flip through the ancient books and ask me if he doesn’t understand anything else. Only then, if he still can’t clear his doubts, will he flip through ‘Zhu Zi’s Annotations’. That child has his own understanding of the translations and doesn’t completely agree with Zhu Zi’s explanation. It can be seen that he’s talented. It’s a pity that he’s not an ordinary civilian…”
Madam Liu often heard her husband sigh about this. In the past, she only thought that it was because Mu Bowen was obedient, sensible, smart, and studious. But now, it seemed that her husband sympathized with him because of his talent.
“However, it’s also because he has access to resources. His sister buys him a lot of books and lets him read as many books as he wants. Ordinary students can’t afford that. Even the most well-off student in the academy can’t spend so much silver to buy so many books, unlike what Bowen’s sister does for him…”
One had to know that most children’s early learning materials were the ‘Thousand Character Classic’, the ‘Three Character Classic’, and ‘The Analects’. Those who were more well-off would buy their kids a single volume of ‘Zhu Zi’s Annotations’. Only those with talent would continue to buy books beyond those mentioned.
“Husband.” Madam Liu hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then will you be participating next year?”
Next year happened to be the triennial village examination.
Faced with Madam Liu’s expectant gaze, Teacher Liu shook his head while enduring the pain. He held his wife’s hand and said, “I can’t let you and our children suffer with me just for the Imperial Examination, right?”
Madam Liu immediately said, “I’m not afraid. Husband, you should go down and give it a try. Let’s stop the academy for a year next year. I’ll wash clothes for others to earn some money. With Father, Mother, your brother and sister-in-law farming, it shouldn’t be a problem. Anyway, Xingyuan Prefecture is only a few days away from here. Go and give it a try.”
Teacher Liu was silent for a long time. In the end, he shook his head and said, “No, there was drought last year and this year’s drought is even worse. No one knows what will happen next year. With just those lands, we might not even be able to pay taxes.”
Madam Liu immediately stopped talking. This was because last year and this year, the output in the fields was not even sufficient to pay taxes. It was her husband who took out additional silver to make up for it. However, this way, the remaining money that they had painstakingly accumulated at home was instantly gone.
Teacher Liu closed his eyes and said, “Let’s wait one more time. Let’s get through these two years first. I’ll have more confidence after studying the books further.”
Madam Liu didn’t encourage him anymore, but she was indeed much more depressed.
After returning home, Mu Yangling began to get her brother to write a recruitment letter. She planned to recruit three young adults who were good at farming and had ideas in the area of farming.
As Bowen wrote, he asked, “Does one even need to study farming?”
“Don’t you need to study it to know how to plant it?”
Bowen thought about it seriously. “I didn’t know how to do it in the past, but I know how to do it now.” Bowen said, “I think farming only requires experience. I learned it after planting once.”
“That’s not farming. That’s just following orders.” Mu Yangling found the ‘Important Arts for the People’s Welfare’ and showed it to him. “People who really know how to farm will know how to compare and research. They aim to pursue optimal production using minimum labor. Farming is also an art.”
Bowen’s jaw dropped. This was the first time he had heard that farming could become a form of art.
Mu Yangling touched his head and said, “Look, you don’t understand either, right? But Jia Sixie conveys the message that agriculture can be a separate subject. Bowen, if not for the fact that Father and Mother wants you to take the Imperial Examination, I really don’t think there’s anything good about you researching the eight-part essay[1.one of the most important and basic style of writing of the Imperial examination in Ming-Qing Dynasty]. I’d rather you choose a subject you’re interested in and delve into that.”
Bowen put down his pen and asked seriously, “Then, Sister, what do you like?”
“I used to like weapons, so I studied mechanical manufacturing and automation. But now, I think that farming and animal husbandry are not bad. At least for now, I’m very interested in them. My goal is to upgrade these two technologies and develop these two industries…”
Bowen looked at his sister with his mouth agape. Because he was surprised that Mu Yangling regarded farming and animal husbandry so highly, he did not take the first sentence to heart. Looking at his sister whose eyes were sparkling with excitement, he felt that she did not treat farming as simply farming. At least, she did not think like Great-aunt, who felt that farmers should just toil away in the fields for food. Instead, he felt that his sister treated it as a goal to fight for and an ideal to strive towards.
It turned out that farming and animal husbandry could also become an ideal!
Then what was his dream?
Bowen frowned. Become an official after excelling at the Imperial Examination? But what was the purpose of becoming an official?
Bowen suddenly felt a little panicked, as if he did not know what he should do.
Not noticing her brother’s abnormality, Mu Yangling only smiled and stroked his head. “So we have to hire a few people who are proficient in farming and have ideas to study with me. Perhaps in the future, we will achieve the same yield for rice in our Xingzhou Prefecture as in Jiangnan, or even higher. The yield per acre of wheat will also be higher.”
Bowen immediately picked up his pen. “Then, Sister, I’ll pen it down now. I’ll go to the county with you tomorrow. How much do we have to pay them?”