Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 71 Calculating Costs

"Mother, there's no need to be alarmed." Lu Chuan pulled his mother down to sit, his tone gentle. "This silver was a reward from the county magistrate; we took it honestly and without any ill will."

"In the future, our family will have more money and a bigger house, and then I will bring you to live with us."

Lu's mother wiped away her tears, and the heavy weight that had been pressing on her heart for years finally lifted.

"Mother doesn't ask for a big house, as long as you are safe and sound and can make a name for yourself in school, even if Mother eats coarse food every day for the rest of her life, it will still be sweet."

As they were talking, Lu Shouye rubbed his hands together and walked in.

The family began to eat.

The chicken soup had barely been served when my younger sister couldn't wait to dig in.

She moved a small stool and sat down close to Lu Chuan, resting her chin on her two small hands.

"Brother, tell me quickly, what are the exams like in the county town?"

As Lu's mother was carrying the bowls and chopsticks over, she couldn't help but slow down and turn her ear in this direction when she heard this.

Not to mention Xiaoman, she was curious too.

"It's not as mysterious as you make it out to be." Lu Chuan said as if telling a story, "The exam halls were all narrow little cubicles, where you couldn't even stretch your legs out. We had to stay in there for a whole day, starting before dawn and continuing until sunset."

"Huh?" Xiaoman exclaimed in surprise, her mouth agape. "Then there's not even a place to lie down and sleep! Brother, when you're writing, do you get hungry? What do you do if you get thirsty?"

Lu Chuan took a sip of soup and reassured her, "I'm not hungry. The dry rations Dad brought me are enough. But the hardest thing in the exam hall isn't hunger, it's the silence. It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone is engrossed in writing, the only sound is the turning of pages."

Lu Shouye sat down, holding a large bowl in his hand. He first took a sip of chicken soup and let out a long sigh.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but put down his bowl and take over the conversation.

"Xiaoman, your brother's words are a bit too polite." Lu Shouye gestured with his fingers, his voice unconsciously rising. "You didn't see the scene."

"Before we even entered the examination hall, the soldiers outside the yamen were all dressed in bright armor, holding gleaming long swords, standing in two rows, looking incredibly imposing."

The younger woman shrank back, her eyes widening: "You're bringing a knife too?"

"Absolutely. Not only did they carry knives, but their inspections were incredibly thorough." Lu Shouye recalled, still feeling shocked. "Those constables had heavy badges hanging from their waists, watching everyone closely."

"When it was your brother's turn, several constables surrounded him and searched him from head to toe. They even broke open his dry rations to check them. The scene was quite something... tsk tsk. If it weren't for our Chuan'er's confidence, a coward would probably have been scared to death."

As Lu Shouye spoke, he looked at Lu Chuan with a face full of pride: "But our Chuan is very composed. He just stands there without flinching at all."

"After the yamen runners finished their search, they had to step aside to let them pass. My father was watching from a distance and thought to himself, this isn't an exam, it's like a war."

Hearing this from the side, Lu's mother was terrified and couldn't help but mutter, "Oh dear, they want to search him? Is that official rough? Did he hurt Chuan'er?"

"Mother, that's the rule, it's alright." Lu Chuan smiled and put a piece of chicken on his mother's plate, comforting her. "The constables are just doing their duty. As long as you're not hiding anything, they won't make things difficult for you."

"Yes, yes, those are the rules, those are the official rules." Lu Shouye sighed with emotion. "In the past, when we saw yamen runners, we had to lower our heads and go around them. But that day I saw that those imposing officials were actually quite polite to these scholars who were entering the venue."

"Especially for someone as handsome as Chuan'er, they were able to search him more easily. It was then that I truly realized that if you study hard, even the officials will look at you with more respect."

Xiaoman listened intently, unconsciously grabbing Lu Chuan's sleeve.

"When you pass the imperial examination and become a prefect, will the officials there be even more powerful?" Yuan'er asked softly.

Lu Shouye laughed heartily and patted his daughter's head: "Of course."

Compared to the harmonious atmosphere at Lu Chuan's home, the Lu family ancestral hall presents a completely different scene.

Sixth Uncle summoned the clan head and several elders.

Lu Dehuang was sitting on a stool below the head of the table, with an abacus in front of him.

"Everyone, Chuan'er has lived up to expectations, taking first place in our Qingyang County. It's a blessing from our ancestors, bringing great honor to our Lujia Village."

"But we need to figure out the expenses that will follow this happy occasion first."

He cleared his throat.

"Let's look at the expenses for this trip to the county town. As for accommodation, Chuan'er is preparing for the exam, so he stays in the quietest superior room in the county town inn, which costs 100 coins a night. He stayed for 15 days, so that's 1,500 coins a night. Shouye and I stay near the stable, which costs 20 coins a night, for a total of 300 coins."

"Look at the food. Chuan'er is at the age where he is growing and using his brain. He needs to eat meat every day, so his food costs eighty coins a day. In half a month, it will cost two hundred coins. Shouye and I cost one coin a day, which is 150 coins in total."

"And then there's the stationery for the exam. That basket for the exam needs to be rainproof and moisture-proof, plus the county's official ink and Xuan paper. This whole set costs one string of cash and five hundred cash."

"Not to mention the fees for settling insurance premiums and registration, which totaled two strings of cash."

"And a gift for the Master, 980 coins each."

Lu Dehuang rapidly moved the abacus beads.

Finally, he stopped.

"Everyone, let's put all these things together."

"Just this trip to the county town, including all the miscellaneous expenses, cost a total of seven strings of cash and three hundred and forty-five coins!"

Inside the ancestral hall, several clan elders remained stunned for a long time.

The elders, who had been gloating over producing a top case, suddenly froze with smiles.

"More than seven strings of cash..."

"Dehuang, are you sure you haven't miscalculated? This is only the first exam. The county exam has just ended. Aren't there still the prefectural exam and the provincial exam to come?"

Another elder was so shocked that he stood up abruptly.

"My God, this isn't going to study, it's practically swallowing gold!"

"I knew studying was expensive, but I didn't realize it was this expensive."

Lu Dehuang stood up.

"This first exam is the hardest to get through; it's the one where you fight your way out from hundreds of other students."

"This is the threshold for becoming a scholar."

"We've passed the first hurdle. But for the second hurdle, we still have to go to the prefectural city, where prices are three times higher than in the county town."

"Think about it, what kind of place is the prefecture? It's a place where high-ranking officials and nobles stay. Let alone staying in an inn, even drinking water or hiring a car is more than three times more expensive than in our Qingyang County."

The clan chief tapped the table.

"Dehuang, stop talking now."

He looked at the elders present.