Chapter 111 - 112: Preparing Gifts
But that drinking session hadn’t been for nothing. Li Yong had slapped his chest and promised to introduce Gu Wenheng to Leping Academy that very day, opening up a path for his future studies.
Jin Qianqian smacked him hard on the back. "This is huge! Why are you only telling me now? Do we need to prepare a gift for the apprenticeship ceremony?"
Gu Wenheng shook his head. "He didn’t mention that, but there’s no need to rush. Even with an introduction, I still have to pass an assessment. I’ll ask around then and see exactly what’s required."
Jin Qianqian narrowed her eyes at him. "How has your calligraphy practice been? Will it be good enough to pass?"
While they were renovating the house, Jin Qianqian had often brought Gu Wenheng into the temporary study in her pocket dimension. Although they could both write with a brush now, Jin Qianqian still felt unsure. ’I wonder how strict the teachers’ standards are.’
Gu Wenheng, on the other hand, was confident. "The calligraphy is only a small part of it. The real test is on the Four Books and Five Classics, and I already know those inside and out."
"Then don’t just stand there," Jin Qianqian said, suddenly giving him a look of utter disdain. "Look at you! Your clothes are as wrinkled as dried cabbage, and you need to wash off that reek of alcohol. It would be too disrespectful to show up like that."
Gu Wenheng lifted his sleeve and sniffed. It really was a sour stench. He immediately broke into a placating smile. "I put you through a lot yesterday, my dear Qianqian. I’ll go get cleaned up right now."
Seeing him rush toward the room, Jin Qianqian quickly called out, "I put your clothes in the heated wardrobe."
Gu Wenheng skidded to a halt, then ran back to hug Jin Qianqian, planting a kiss on each of her cheeks. Startled, she quickly covered her own mouth, which only amused Gu Wenheng.
"Just you wait. I haven’t rinsed my mouth, so I’ll let you off the hook for now."
Jin Qianqian was left speechless.
* * *
Gu Wenheng put down his brush and respectfully placed the exam paper in front of Dean Lv.
Wang Biyi leaned over, pursing his lips as he looked at the fairly neat handwriting.
Only when Dean Lv handed him the paper did his expression turn serious.
"Mr. Wang, what do you think? Will you take this student?"
Wang Biyi said hastily, "I’ll take him! Dean, you can’t go back on your word."
Although the calligraphy was average, the answers were well-structured and logical. What’s more, some of the question formats were ones he himself had encountered during the provincial examinations.
’Calligraphy can be improved over time with practice,’ he thought, ’but this kind of talent is a rare find. I have to accept him.’
"Gu Wenheng, tomorrow is an auspicious day. Come early in the morning for the apprenticeship ceremony!" Mr. Wang stroked his beard as he looked at Gu Wenheng. He had initially thought the young man was all style and no substance, only agreeing to the assessment for Chief Li’s sake. He never expected such a pleasant surprise.
Gu Wenheng stood and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Teacher."
Li Yong was also beaming. It seemed he had truly helped the right person this time. "Congratulations, Dean Lv and Mr. Wang, on finding such a fine disciple."
The two teachers smiled modestly, but inwardly they were overjoyed. It had become increasingly difficult for the academy to produce new Scholars in recent years. Now that they had such a promising prospect, they’d see if the other academies still dared to mock them.
* * *
"How’s this?" Jin Qianqian displayed the results of her half-day of shopping: the Four Treasures of the Study and various books. It had cost her a whole fifty taels of Silver.
With Silver only going out and none coming in, it pained her to spend so much.
"This will be plenty. I’ll go buy some pastries tomorrow," Gu Wenheng said, taking out a complete set of writing supplies. "I just asked around. This is already a very generous gift. We still have to pay tuition, after all. If the gift is too extravagant, it sets a standard other students can’t afford."
In this era, without some family savings, it was truly impossible to afford an education.
Jin Qianqian took out several packets of mung bean cakes, each wrapped simply in glossy oil paper. "Will these do? I bought out the pastry shop’s entire monthly stock back then. The other snacks I have aren’t suitable to give as a gift."
As long as you knew the technique, anyone with nimble fingers could make these mung bean cakes.
It was the first time Gu Wenheng had seen her willingly offer up her food stash. "Got a plan?"
Jin Qianqian replied, "While you’re studying at the academy, I can’t just stay cooped up at home all day. What do you think about me opening a pastry shop?"
Gu Wenheng said, "It seems your time in the cooking club wasn’t for nothing. Are you confident you can do it?"
Jin Qianqian tilted her chin up. "You can’t underestimate me. The older girls in the club always used to say I was too skinny and that only good food would help me gain weight. By joining the cooking club, I was bound to pick up a trick or two."
"Besides, I downloaded tons of pastry tutorials. I have more than enough knowledge to run a small snack shop."
Gu Wenheng asked, "Have you found a storefront yet?"
Jin Qianqian shook her head. "I walked around the county town this morning but haven’t found any shops for lease yet. But there’s no rush. I’m sure a solution will present itself."
Gu Wenheng patted her head. "The first step is always the hardest. I’ll keep an eye out with you."
Jin Qianqian took out a food box she had packed earlier and placed the packets of mung bean cakes inside one by one. "Should we add some wine?"
The thought of alcohol still made Gu Wenheng shudder, and he quickly shook his head. "No, that’s not necessary. It just means we’ll have to postpone our return to the village again."
Thinking of the house they had just finished fixing up, which they hadn’t even lived in for two days, he couldn’t help but feel a little wistful.
Jin Qianqian said, "Speaking of which, Fifth Sister-in-law asked me to bring her back some chicks and ducklings. And Mother asked me to find some seeds for her. We can’t delay things for them."
Gu Wenheng replied, "Don’t worry about that. Villagers should be coming to town frequently to buy supplies these days. If we run into someone, we can just ask them to take the items back with them."
He used to think they could get all their household necessities in the local township, but who knew it only had one market day a month. For newcomers like them trying to set up a home, that was nowhere near enough.
Jin Qianqian pointed to the donkey standing in the courtyard. "We still haven’t figured out how to handle our new ’mount.’ Do you think we should find an open space and practice driving the cart?"
’We can’t be still struggling with this stubborn donkey when we go back in a few days!’
Gu Wenheng glanced down at his long robes, then turned and went into the room to change into a set of short, practical clothes. He grabbed the fodder from the corner. "I’ll feed it until it’s full. Let’s see it refuse to work then."
Who would have thought the donkey would glance at the fodder and turn its head away disdainfully, snorting repeatedly in Jin Qianqian’s direction.
"Now it’s getting picky?" Gu Wenheng stared at the fodder in his hands.
Jin Qianqian gave an awkward smile. "Well, yesterday I saw that it liked carrots, and I thought it was cute, so I fed it a few more."
"I guess the little guy got a taste for them. Why don’t you try using a carrot?"
Gu Wenheng snorted. "We can’t spoil it. If we do, it’ll be throwing tantrums all the time. This is the food. It can take it or leave it. If it doesn’t want to eat, it can starve."
"HEE-HAW—HEE-HAW—HEE-HAW—"
"So it wants a battle of wills, does it?" Gu Wenheng set the fodder aside. "Looks like we won’t be learning to drive the cart today. Let’s not waste our time here. Go change your clothes, and I’ll take you out for a nice meal."
’Why waste time arguing with a dumb donkey when he could be spending it with his dear wife?’