Chapter 3: The Clan Relatives
The next morning, more than an hour before the results were posted, Mr. Gao was already waiting at the entrance of the county school.
This time, Mr. Gao squeezed to the very front and saw Li Xuedong’s name as the third one, bursting into laughter on the spot.
Third in the entire county!
This was an unprecedentedly good result for their Gao Family School!
The county top scholar was the Second Young Master Hong of the Hong Family, a prominent figure in the county. He immediately arranged for the top ten scholars to gather for a celebratory banquet, considering them fellow students.
Li Xuedong dared not claim such a connection. Fortunately, he didn’t have to; Mr. Gao had already declined on his behalf.
His Xuedong was exhausted for two consecutive days, he had seen it with his own eyes. He still had the prefectural examination to take in April, so Xuedong needed to return home quickly to rest well and ignore all these external matters!
Mr. Gao, with Li Xuedong, went to the county office to thank County Magistrate Huang and received a lengthy and heartfelt set of instructions from him. Upon leaving the county office, Li Jinzhu pushed Li Xuedong in a cart. The four siblings, along with Mr. Gao and others, left the city to go home.
Upon reaching Gao Village Market, Mr. Gao took his two students home. Li Jinzhu and her siblings continued their journey.
Gao Village Market was still seven or eight li away from Xiao Li Village.
As the sky darkened, the four quickened their pace.
Just past Li Family Market, the sky had completely darkened. Li Yuzhu pulled out a stick and held it, guarding Li Xuedong’s side.
Not long after, seven or eight stones flew towards the four with a whistling sound. Immediately after, a group of young boys wielding sticks rushed out.
Li Xiaonan covered her head with her arms and screamed loudly, “Li Xuefu is killing people! Li Xuefu from Xiao Li Village is killing people! Li Xuefu is killing people!”
“You’re talking nonsense! Don’t shout! Shut up!” Li Xuefu, who was at the forefront, panicked.
Li Xueshou, who was right behind Li Xuefu, was a simpleton. He rushed past Li Xuefu towards Li Xuedong but was struck by Li Yuzhu with a stick, letting out a scream and falling to the ground.
“Our sticks are wrapped in iron! They can kill people!” Eldest Sister Li Jinzhu swung her camphor wood stick, making it whistle through the air, shouting fiercely.
Li Yuzhu’s face turned red, and she gritted her teeth, continuing to swing her stick.
“I’m here! Eldest Sister! A Nan! I’m here!” From not far away, Third Sister Li Yin Zhu’s urgent screams could be heard.
Li Xiaonan continued to scream, “Li Xuefu is killing people, Li Wencai from Xiao Li Village is killing people and seizing property!”
All five Li siblings were actually there. The nearby village had already stirred. Li Xuefu, the leader, panicked, “You’re talking nonsense! Don’t shout! Let’s go! Hurry, let’s go!”
The seven or eight young boys turned and fled in a rush.
Li Jinzhu handed the stick to Li Yuzhu, pushed the wheelbarrow, and ran even faster than the group of young boys.
It was too dark; they had to get home quickly.
………………………………
The next morning, Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu quickly sent Li Xuedong and Li Xiaonan back to the Gao Family School in Gao Village Market.
Li Xuefu and Li Xueshou would absolutely not dare to beat or kill people in Gao Village Market. Li Xuedong was much safer at the Gao Family School than at home.
Li Xiaonan, under the guise of taking care of her brother, followed and stayed at the Gao Family School to audit classes.
Mr. Gao spent an entire class period praising Li Xuedong comprehensively.
First, he praised Li Xuedong’s diligence, noting that he never went out to play, which everyone could see! Then, he cited the saying “read a hundred times and its meaning will appear,” stating that Xuedong was proof of this! He then transitioned from Li Xuedong’s nervousness to his character, praising his humility and caution, and how he was not arrogant or restless.
Mr. Gao’s admiration for Li Xuedong was so great it could fill the entire Gao Village Market.
At dinner, Mr. Gao called Li Xuedong over to eat with him and discussed the prefectural examination.
“This Imperial Examination, besides skill, also relies on luck. In my opinion, you are currently in a period of good luck. You must take this prefectural examination.”
“From here to Pingjiang Prefecture is over a hundred li. You are frail, so it’s best to go two or three days early to rest before the examination. After the examination, you’ll likely need a day to recover before rushing back. This way, the round trip will take nearly ten days, which will require quite a bit of copper coins.”
“You and your Eldest Sister must go to your Li Clan and find the Clan Leader. Have the clan provide you with this copper coin. This is what the clan should provide. Once you achieve fame, the clan will benefit greatly.”
Li Xuedong nodded as he listened.
Going to the clan to see if they could get travel expenses was also Eldest Sister’s idea.
Li Xiaonan returned to Xiao Li Village to deliver the message. Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu rushed to Gao Village Market, picked up Li Xuedong, and went to Li Family Market to find the Li Clan Leader, Elder Li.
Elder Li was discussing arrangements for the Qingming Festival Sacrifice with several clan elders in the ancestral hall.
Li Jinzhu pulled Li Xuedong into the ancestral hall. Facing Elder Li’s annoyed gaze, she quickly said with a smile, “I am the eldest daughter of Li Wenshan from the Literary Generation of Xiao Li Village. This is my younger brother. My brother placed third in this year’s county examination. Mr. Gao said my brother can pass the prefectural examination. I brought my brother…”
“Is your brother mute?” Elder Li interrupted Li Jinzhu.
“No… you speak.” Li Jinzhu shrank back and nudged Li Xuedong.
“My teacher, Mr. Gao from Gao Village Market, and the County Magistrate also said I can take the prefectural examination. Pingjiang Prefecture is far, and the round trip takes nearly ten days. My family is poor.” Li Xuedong became flustered under the sideways glances and palpable annoyance from Elder Li and the clan elders.
“You go back first. This is a major matter, and we need to discuss it.” Elder Li glanced from Li Xuedong to Li Jinzhu and waved them away.
“Yes.” Li Xuedong immediately shrank back and turned to leave.
Li Jinzhu wanted to say something, but seeing that the Clan Leader and elders had turned away and were not looking at her, she swallowed her words. She left the ancestral hall, had Li Xuedong sit on the cart, and pushed it back dejectedly.
Clan Leader Elder Li and the clan elders finished discussing the Qingming Festival Sacrifice arrangements. After drinking half a cup of tea, he frowned and said, “Let’s talk about that person from the Literary Generation just now.”
“He’s from our branch, in the same village as my third brother. My third brother often talks about this family. They had four daughters before having this boy. He was raised too delicately, always sick. He’s grown this big, and they say he’s hardly ever walked; his sisters always pushed him around in a small cart. His father also died from exhaustion from doting on him,” said Clan Elder Li Wenxi.
“This won’t do. Studying is strenuous work; an examination lasts seven or eight days. Can this body withstand it? No matter how smart he is, it’s all for naught.” The clan elder next to him shook his head repeatedly.
He was most opposed to spoiling children; none of them turned out well!
“Our Li family has had county top scholars before, right? That top scholar, the former Clan Leader treated him so well, but later, alas! He achieved nothing!” Another clan elder said, shaking his head with distress.
Their Li family had county top scholars and second-place finishers. The clan provided them with good food, drink, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, but not a single one could pass the prefectural examination, wasting who knows how much copper coin!
“In recent years, everyone has been struggling,” another clan elder chimed in.
“In the future, it’s best to set a rule. At least one must pass the Xiucai examination before they can receive copper coins from the clan,” another clan elder expressed his opinion.
“Yes, then it’s settled. We’ll see after he passes the Xiucai examination,” Elder Li said, his word settling the matter as everyone’s opinion was unanimous.
A word about New Times.
The sole purpose of writing New Times is for practice.
From the beginning to the current near-final draft, I’ve discarded over a million characters. I’ve been constantly communicating with Paopao and rewriting.
I suddenly started practicing with New Times because I had another opportunity to work with Paopao.
In my writing career, the lowest and most difficult period was when I was writing “Noble Wife.” I was close to despair, but I loved writing stories so much that I couldn’t bear to give up and decided to write another book.
When preparing for “Divine Doctor,” it was handed over to Paopao. The first thing she said after I added her on QQ was: Your biggest problem is that the feel of your writing is off.
I began to correct the feel of my writing, over and over, countless times. After half a month, Paopao said: It’s good now, this is the feel, maintain it.
Soon after, I was assigned a new editor.
Although “Divine Doctor” didn’t perform well during its serialization, “Little Xian” regained confidence. When preparing for a new book again, I hesitated for a long time and sent an email to Paopao, asking if she could help me look at the beginning.
I sent three stories in the email: Jin Tong, Sheng Hua, and Mo Sang.
Paopao’s reply was quick and detailed. She analyzed the outlines and character settings of the three beginnings and gave advice: Jin Tong’s beginning was the most immersive, Sheng Hua was relatively flat but stable, and Mo Sang had a wuxia feel, requiring a brilliant opening.
These are Little Xian’s three best-performing books.
Last year, when I had the opportunity to work with Paopao again, Little Xian immediately started writing New Times, this realistic short novel. In half a year, the gains were immense, and the results are all in this book, A Nan.
New Times has concluded. I hope A Nan can bring everyone another period of happy times.
Love you all!
