Chapter 6: Third Uncle
Ever since Li Yuzhu rented a cow and hired people from the neighboring village to plow the land, Third Uncle Li Wencai’s brows had been furrowed without relaxation.
These darn girls, renting both a cow and people, where did they get so much copper coin?
Last autumn, when Jinzhu that darn girl went to pay the grain tax herself, he asked the county grain official, and it was calculated that she only had about one diao of income. After paying Xuedong’s tuition with this one diao, there would definitely be no surplus. Now, renting a cow and hiring people, where did she get the copper coin?
Yuzhu and Yinzhu were busy in the fields, while Jinzhu, Xuedong, and that little girl were all gone! Where did they go?
From the day they discovered Jinzhu and her siblings were missing, Third Uncle ate his meals while holding his bowl and squatting at the village entrance. He wanted to see what Jinzhu, that darn girl, was up to.
As soon as Li Jinzhu turned the corner with Li Xiaonan, Third Uncle saw them. He looked left and right but couldn’t see Li Xuedong, and his brows furrowed even tighter.
Third Uncle hid behind a tree, watching Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan pass by, and continued to squat at the village entrance waiting for Li Xuedong.
It was dark before Li Xuedong arrived.
Third Uncle walked home slowly, his hands behind his back.
This brood of darn girls must be hiding something from him; he needed to investigate.
Where should he investigate?
Gao Village Market was definitely out. Back when he was studying in the schoolroom, he had already had a falling out with the Gao family. So where then?
Third Uncle stopped, looked left and right, and after thinking for a long time, couldn’t come up with anywhere to investigate.
After standing still for a while, Third Uncle quickened his pace and headed home.
Tomorrow, he would go to Li Family Market and ask his elder brother. His elder brother was very cunning; even if he didn’t know about this matter, he could at least point him in the right direction and offer some advice.
The next morning, Third Uncle Li Wencai, holding a few dried cowpeas, went out. Around noon, he arrived at his elder brother’s house.
His eldest sister-in-law took the few cowpeas and threw them onto the stove without even looking.
His elder brother, Li Wenxi, had just returned from the fields. Seeing his third brother’s face from those few cowpeas, he furrowed his brows and asked, “The fields are busy right now, why do you have time to visit?”
“He’s never worked in the fields before,” his eldest sister-in-law chimed in from the kitchen.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Serve Third Uncle a bowl of rice,” Li Wenxi called into the kitchen, his brows furrowed.
His eldest sister-in-law brought out a bowl of rice and thrust it into Li Wencai’s hand.
Li Wencai didn’t mind. His eldest sister-in-law had a fiery temper, sharp-tongued but kind-hearted.
Li Wenxi was frugal. The rice was solid, but the dishes were very simple: one dish of braised dried bamboo shoots and another of stir-fried su. Li Wencai picked and chose between the two dishes.
After eating, and watching his eldest daughter-in-law clear away the bowls and chopsticks, Li Wenxi looked at his brother and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing major, just a small matter. I missed you, elder brother, so I came to visit,” Li Wencai, being a scholar, valued indirectness and propriety.
“I’m busy here. If you have nothing important to say, I need to leave.” His elder brother stood up, ready to go.
The fields were very busy, and he had no time to chat nonsense with this unaccomplished brother.
“Elder brother, why are you in such a hurry? You’re getting old, you need to cultivate yourself,” Li Wencai reached out and held his elder brother’s arm.
“If you have something to say, just say it!” Li Wenxi’s voice deepened.
He had disliked this brother since childhood.
“In our village, Li Wenshan, who died a few years ago, left behind four daughters and a sickly son. Year after year, they seem to have gotten rich. This matter is a bit strange. Where did his family get this copper coin?” Li Wencai had to temporarily abandon his scholarly demeanor and speak directly.
“Got rich? What wealth did they find?” Li Wenxi furrowed his brows.
“Last autumn,” Li Wencai paused, swallowing the fact that Li Jinzhu had paid the grain tax herself.
He knew his elder brother strongly disapproved of him distributing their own grain tax among the village households and then collecting some hard-earned money from each household based on their wealth. But he, as the village head, couldn’t work for free, could he? The county grain officials also received a share of the grain!
“I mean, last autumn, that sickly boy went to Gao Village Market to study again. Studying requires copper coin, doesn’t it? Studying is not cheap!
“At the beginning of the month, his family rented a strong bull from Zhao Village, along with a cowherd. They used them for several days. His eldest daughter, along with her brother and sister, were gone for seven or eight days and only returned yesterday.
“I’m worried. They are all unmarried girls in that family. You tell me, could they have done something scandalous? If so, wouldn’t our Li family’s reputation be ruined by them!”
“Li Wenshan’s only sickly son, named Li Xuedong, right? That Li Xuedong, in February this year, ranked third in the county examination. Don’t you know this? He was away for these seven or eight days, perhaps he went to Pingjiang Prefecture to take the prefectural examination? You don’t know this either?” Li Wenxi looked at his brother with an unreadable expression.
“Xuedong is very stupid!” Li Wencai blurted out. “Him ranking third in the county examination, that’s impossible!”
“He ranked third, and his eldest sister pushed him in a cart and came to Li Family Market, wanting the clan to provide copper coin for his studies. The clan didn’t have the copper coin,” Li Wenxi glanced sideways at his brother.
“The clan didn’t give it, so where did he get the copper coin? Renting a cow and being away for seven or eight days?” Li Wencai glared at his elder brother.
“You live in the same village as his family, and you don’t know, how could I know?” Li Wenxi retorted unceremoniously. “Where his family gets their copper coin, what business is it of yours? What are you plotting?”
“How many times have I told you, don’t always think about taking advantage of others. You are the village head, you must be just!
“I have to go to the fields. You can go back.” Li Wenxi didn’t want to look at his brother any longer. He stood up and walked out with his hands behind his back.
Li Wencai followed him out. At the courtyard gate, he turned back in and stood in the courtyard, calling out, “Eldest sister-in-law, did you pickle salted duck eggs this year? Give me a few. Your salted duck eggs are the best, full of oil, you can’t buy them outside.”
“Give him a few!” His eldest sister-in-law’s voice was filled with disgust.
A moment later, the eldest daughter-in-law came out and handed Li Wencai a lotus leaf package containing four or five salted duck eggs.
Li Wenxi walked half a street, then turned and entered the ancestral hall.
Having just finished eating, the clan leader and several clan elders were sitting under the corridor of the ancestral hall, talking.
Li Wenxi nodded to each of them, pulled over a bamboo chair, sat down, and leaned in, saying, “I heard that the ‘Xue’ generation from Xiao Li Village went to take the prefectural examination. With the busy farming season, their family rented a cow and hired people. It seems they are quite well-off, yet they still came to the clan asking for copper coin. Really!”
“Did he pass?” the clan leader asked with concern.
“Look at your question. If he had passed, they would have surely beaten gongs and drums and brought the news to us! Passing the county examination by luck is common, but the prefectural examination is not so easy to pass,” Li Wenxi sneered.
The clan leader leaned back in his chair, disappointed.
Clan elder Li Shikuan, sitting by the wall, leaned over as soon as Li Wenxi mentioned the ‘Xue’ generation’s family and started whispering to the clan elder next to him, as if he hadn’t heard what Li Wenxi said.
Around dinner time yesterday, he had received a letter from Mr. Gao. Li Xuedong had ranked eighteenth in the prefectural examination and passed. Now he had to prepare for the courtyard examination in Hangcheng in July.
“My third brother came over just now and talked about the ‘Xue’ generation’s family. He said they shouldn’t have so much copper coin and is worried that with their family having four girls and no elder to supervise them, they might do something scandalous for copper coin, thus damaging our Li family’s reputation. Should we guard against this?” Li Wenxi said, his brows tightly furrowed, a look of worry on his face.
“I remember, four years ago, during the clan’s grand sacrifice, each branch contributed copper coin for one share. There were two households from Xiao Li Village. One was your third brother’s family, and the other, was it the family you’re talking about?” Li Shikuan asked with a smile.
“I remember, it was their family,” the clan elder next to Li Shikuan confirmed.
“There aren’t many families in our clan that can contribute copper coin for one share. Such a family should be able to afford to take an examination in Pingjiang City, don’t you think?” Li Shikuan said, smiling at the clan leader.
“Greedy and insatiable!” the clan leader spat. “The family clearly doesn’t lack this copper coin, yet they still came here crying poverty!”
“Exactly, that’s what I mean,” Li Wenxi quickly changed his tune.
“Let’s not talk about this. It looks like a good harvest this year,” the clan leader changed the subject.
They talked for a while longer, and then everyone went their separate ways.
………………………………
Copper coin: copper money;
Su: eggplant.
A few minor matters regarding the Imperial Examinations:
First, why Mr. Gao didn’t recognize Li Xiaonan and Li Xuedong. According to the rules of the Imperial Examination for Children (Tongshi), it was a one-day examination. Candidates entered before dawn and started the examination at dawn, continuing until dark. No lamps were allowed.
In the past, there were no electric lights. Illumination was provided by lanterns. You can imagine the brightness.
Li Xuedong’s two classmates were intensely focused on their exams, and it was impossible for them to sit very close to each other. They also didn’t leave at the same time, so there was no opportunity to see them up close.
The Imperial Examination halls also checked appearance, but it was all descriptive, such as height in feet and inches, thin or fat, fair-skinned and beardless, long face with a high nose, round face with small eyes…
Second, the Imperial Examinations proceeded from Xiucai Scholar, then to Recommended Scholar (Juren), and finally to Jinshi Scholar. A Xiucai Scholar had to pass three stages: the County Examination, the Prefectural Examination, and the Courtyard Examination.
Generally, the County Examination was held in February in the county town, presided over by the County Magistrate. If one passed, the Prefectural and Courtyard Examinations were held in April in the prefecture’s seat ）, presided over by the Prefect.
For example, Kunshan County, mentioned in the text, belonged to Pingjiang Prefecture, so the prefectural examination would be held in Pingjiang City.
After passing the prefectural examination, one could proceed to the courtyard examination, which was held in July or August. The examination location, in modern terms, would be the provincial capital.
Only after passing the courtyard examination would one qualify as a student, commonly known as a Xiucai Scholar.
The examination process and test questions are as described in the text. However, the subject of “Investigation of Things” (Gezhi) in the text was only tested during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in history. The author replaced the subject of “Sacred Edicts” with “Investigation of Things.”
The above is from 《 A Record of Qing Dynasty Imperial Examinations 》
