TTLJDFL chapter 24

Li Jin learned from their conversation that this young master Chen Xiran was the only son in the newly moved Chen residence. Moreover, judging by Mr. Song’s expectations of Chen Xiran, he actually hopes that he can work hard and pass the tongsheng exam in February next year!

Li Jin didn’t originally look down on him, but he also didn’t take him too seriously, just treating him as a passerby they happened to meet.

Hearing Mr. Song’s words, he was somewhat surprised at heart. This young master Chen seemed to be about the same age as him and also didn’t like studying…

So what exactly was he going to use to take the tongsheng exam?

But since Mr. Song said so, this person must have some outstanding qualities.

After scolding Chen Xiran, Mr. Song turned to Li Jin. He introduced the two of them: “You will both take the Tongsheng exam next February, so you can get to know each other now. Consider yourselves classmates.”

Mr. Song first introduced Li Jin, saying, “This is Li Jin, diligent and hardworking, with a vast and strong memory.”

After a pause, he said, “This is Chen Xiran. This kid has an exceptional memory and is a promising student, but unfortunately, he likes to be lazy.”

Li Jin’s clear eyes fell on Chen Xiran, and he said, “Brother Chen, nice to meet you.”

Chen Xiran said, “Let’s not speak formally; we already met this morning. My name is Chen Xiran. After class, I’ll take you to Baishi Fang to eat something delicious.”

Li Jin: “……”

Mr. Song looked full of resentment and said, “His father used to be in the military, so he picked up this rough demeanor. Even after studying for so many years, he doesn’t know how to write the words ‘refined and elegant,’ yet he still wants to take the imperial exams.”

Li Jin laughed and said, “Brother Chen has a straightforward personality, I admire that.”

Then Mr. Song questioned Li Jin about what he had studied that morning and carefully explained all the parts he didn’t understand.

Chen Xiran was listening from the side, and it seemed that as long as it didn’t involve writing, he could get fully into it.

Finally, Mr. Song asked the two of them to repeat what he had just explained.

Because Li Jin had copied the notes before, and also because what Mr. Song said was really good, he recited it very fluently, without any stumbles.

Chen Xiran looked at Li Jin in surprise, but before he could say anything, Mr. Song looked over.

Chen Xiran straightened his back and also repeated what Mr. Song had just explained.

Although there were some pauses, it still surprised Li Jin, since Chen Xiran hadn’t copied the ‘Shengyu Guangxun’ as many times as he had, nor had he memorized it in full.

Mr. Song was very pleased with both of them. He took out a scripture and handed it to Li Jin, “Take this home to copy, and I’ll explain it to you tomorrow.”

As for why all the books had to be copied by Li Jin first, it was because Mr. Song also knew that Li Jin probably didn’t have money to buy books. After copying them, it was also convenient for Li Jin to take notes and review before exams. Back when Mr. Song was poor, he had only gotten through in this way.

He was very understanding of Li Jin’s situation; previously, he had worried that Li Jin might have bad intention, so he made Li Jin come over to copy the books. Now that he knew Li Jin better, he simply lent the books to Li Jin to copy.

After that, Mr. Song dismissed the two of them. Chen Xiran looked at Li Jin’s basket in the morning, which had been half empty, and now it was completely filled with papers.

Feeling quite impressed, he insisted on taking Li Jin to Baishifang for a meal.

“It’s on me, Brother Li, no need to be polite.”

Li Jin said, “To be honest, my husband just had a child, and it’s only him and the baby at home. I really can’t leave them alone.”

Chen Xiran was even more surprised: “Wait, not only do you have a husband, but a child too?”

Li Jin didn’t intend to hide anything, so naturally he said, “Yes.”

Then Chen Xiran compared his age with Li Jin. Li Jin thought, luckily he had seen the original owner’s apprenticeship name certificate in the room, which listed the original owner’s birth date, family members, and address.

When Chen Xiran heard it, he covered his face and said, “Brother Li, I’m actually a year older than you…”

Li Jin’s body was eighteen this year, and Chen Xiran was nineteen.

Li Jin thought, I’m really ten years older than you.

It’s just a pity that this can’t be said out loud.

Chen Xiran said, “My father said that if I can’t pass the tongsheng exam, I can’t get married. I really envy you, Brother Li Xian¹[Xian (现 or 宪/岘/显): Depending on the exact Chinese characters used, Xian generally translates to “virtuous,” “worthy,” “manifest,” or “outstanding”].”

Li Jin replied, “Then I wish Brother Chen success in this year’s exam.”

Chen Xiran felt a bit uneasy.

At first, he thought that with his own intelligence and talent, passing the tongsheng exam would be a piece of cake.

But after seeing Li Jin this time, he realized that this person was in no way inferior to him, and moreover, Li Jin worked much harder than he did.

Someone better than you who also works harder than you—how can anyone survive in this world?

Chen Xiran thought, if anyone between the two could pass the exam, it would naturally be Li Jin.

Chen Xiran said, “To be honest, the ‘Shengyu Guangxun’ that Mr. Song lectured on today, I had studied with our local scholar before I moved, so that’s why I could answer when the teacher asked questions today.

But Brother Li Xian really answered fluently today—I truly admire that.”

The two chatted for a bit longer, made plans to have a meal together on the next retreat day, and then Chen Xiran said goodbye to Li Jin.

=

Li Jin walked on the road, nibbling on his potato while thinking that having a companion in studying was quite nice. Chen Xiran himself was quite talented and had previously learned from other scholars. With him around, Li Jin also had a point of reference. The two could compete with each other and constantly make progress.

When Li Jin returned, he handed the twenty-four coins to the young man.

The young man’s eyebrows lifted, and he smiled happily. In front of Li Jin, he put the money into the little hollow in the bed and smoothed the quilt over it so that it couldn’t be seen.

After putting away the money, Qin Muwen said to Li Jin, “A-Jin, could you buy some cloth tomorrow? I’ll make you some clothes.”

Now the family had more than a hundred wen saved up. There was no need to buy an entire bolt of cloth; just getting some ripped pieces would be enough to make clothes.

Buying cloth by the bolt was something only wealthy families did.

Li Jin almost forgot about making clothes. Right now, he only had two sets of robes he could wear to school, so he washed them alternately.

There were plenty of coarse, short clothes, but they were made of rough hemp, and working in them would make his arms and shoulders sore.

Thinking about this, Li Jin realized that the spots on his shoulders that had been rubbed raw when he was pulling the cart didn’t seem to be fully healed yet. But actually, he often carried a basket on his back for more than an hour at a time, and by the end of it, he barely even felt the soreness in his shoulders.

It was only when he stopped working on the farm that he felt the throbbing pain in his shoulders.

Li Jin also knew that his body was too delicate, and that in order to transform from a young master who had never done farm work into a man who could shoulder family responsibilities and provide for his household, he had to go through this stage.

Anyway, he was never a pretentious person.

Now the sun outside was still strong, but not as scorching as at noon.

Li Jin was copying scriptures on the locker, while the young man went to the kitchen to cook some cooling mung bean porridge, hanging it in the well to chill.

The young man’s body hasn’t fully recovered yet; he can’t eat cold food. This is for Li Jin.

Soon, the door of Li Jin’s house was knocked on. It turned out to be Li Dahe’s two sons carrying a table inside.

Li Jin quickly opened the door wide to let them place the table in the courtyard.

Li Dahe’s eldest son is twenty-five this year and has three children at home.

As soon as he saw Li Jin, he laughed and said, “The youngest of my kids ate your braised pork yesterday. When my dad heard about it, he quickly got this small table ready for you. He also told me to let you know that things are tough at home right now, so don’t pay attention to those slippery little kids.”

Li Jin smiled and said, “Each child only took one piece, my family has enough to eat.”

The man continued: “Li Daniu used to brag that making money as a scholar was easy. From my point of view, it’s true that it’s not like our farm laborers doing hard work, but it’s not easy at all. Every trade has its own difficulties, so we shouldn’t try to take advantage of your family.”

The villagers were too honest, and Li Jin really didn’t know what to do with them.

The two brothers then helped Li Jin move the table into the inner room, right next to the bed on the other side, near the window.

The young man served the two of them mung bean soup and then quickly stirred the wild vegetables.

Li Jin greeted them in the kitchen, while the young man went to get the remaining forty wen, strung them together, and handed them to them.

According to village custom, after someone has made new furniture for a family, the host invites the movers to drink a bowl of soup as a sign of thanks. After all, making things for villagers is much cheaper than doing it for people in town, basically just a token for their hard work.

After the two brothers finished eating, they took the money and left.

Li Jin cleaned up the remaining dishes himself and told the young man to sit on the bed: “You just gave birth, you can’t be this overworked, otherwise how will you have a second child in the future?”

The young man originally wanted to finish the chores, but upon hearing the latter part of Li Jin’s sentence, he completely lost his spirit. He still wanted to have another child, so this time he didn’t dare to act recklessly again.

Li Jin tidied up the kitchen, then swept out the dust that came in when moving the small table, and finally placed his own books and papers on the table.

Standing by the window, sunlight streamed through the oiled paper window, making everything in front of Li Jin bright.

He couldn’t help but feel moved, and thought of a few lines of poetry——

“Burning the lamp at midnight and rising at dawn, this is truly the time for a man to study. Unaware in youth of the value of diligent learning, only in old age does one regret studying late.”[Note]

It was only then that Li Jin realized he had been putting the cart before the horse in his studies before.

He studies, and the ultimate goal should be to enrich himself. As for the imperial exams or becoming a scholar, those kinds of fame and fortune only show that his recent studies have been fruitful.

However, Li Jin thought again and realized that he himself is just an ordinary person. It’s precisely because passing the exams can boost reputation, protect his family, and allow him to live well, that he uses these as goals—so it can’t really be said that he’s wrong.

Li Jin copied half of the book, drank a bowl of mung bean porridge, and went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of noodles for the young man, topped with a fried egg.

He said, “I’m going to continue planting vegetables. After you eat and get tired, go to sleep. Leave the bowl here, and I’ll come back to clean it up, okay?”

The young man obediently nodded. He had previously heard at the Shangshu Mansion that the concubine needed to rest after giving birth, but he had foolishly thought it was a sign of being delicate. To avoid being disliked by Li Jin, he had never dared to relax.

So it turns out… after giving birth, one really does need to rest more.

The boy nodded obediently. He thought that if he wasn’t sleepy later, he would wash the bowl. Washing just one bowl wouldn’t be tiring.

Today, Li Jin not only had to plant new seeds but also had to water the land he planted yesterday. As a result, by the time it got dark, only half of yesterday’s field had been planted.

He thought that he would need to fetch several more buckets of water tomorrow, otherwise it would take several days to plant this vegetable field.​

Kotha: I couldn’t update a few days because I was sick 🫠,, I will update 2 chapter as a bonus (apology 😅)…. I will try to be consistent in the future 😶.

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  [Xian (现 or 宪/岘/显): Depending on the exact Chinese characters used, Xian generally translates to “virtuous,” “worthy,” “manifest,” or “outstanding”]