Chapter 166: Living Up to Expectations
Facing her son’s sudden resolve, Wu Lan’s heart softened with unwillingness to be harsh. She gently wiped the tears from Qi Mountain’s face with her sleeve, her eyes full of motherly love, "Child, it’s good that you have such aspiration, but we also have to consider the harsh reality..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Youwei abruptly interrupted her.
Jiang Youwei’s expression was grave as he heavily tapped his fingers on the wooden table, each knock seeming to speak of life’s difficulties, "Study? Pass exams and achieve official status? Do you think that’s an easy task? Look at our family situation, look at the state of health of your mother and me, then look at the heavy farm work. You need to shoulder the responsibilities of a man! Stop talking about those impractical dreams. Can those books feed you, can they lighten our burden?"
His words were filled with the helplessness of life and the uncertainty of the future, his eyes shimmering with the bitterness and weariness accumulated over the years.
An imperceptible gloom flashed across Jiang Qishan’s face. He had already grown used to silently bearing his father’s incomprehension and reproach.
From the first day he entered the private school, his dreams and studies seemed to only garner consolation from his mother and encouragement from his teacher.
He was well aware of the family’s straits, the sweat behind every copper coin, so at school, he scrimped on food, always only half full, often filling his hunger with water, all to save every penny to buy ink, brush, paper, and inkstone, sustaining that faint yet fervent desire to learn.
At night, when other children had entered their dreams, he sat alone by the window, poring over yellowed tomes in the dim candlelight, until dawn broke in the east.
Countless days and nights of toil earned him the honor of "Child Scholar," the teacher’s praise, and classmates’ admiration, but what he most longed for was a simple recognition and approval from his father.
However, it seemed that his father could never understand the significance of a Child Scholar, only seeing his head buried in books while never having contributed physically to the family’s needs, full of displeasure and disappointment.
Just as the atmosphere was tense, nearing freezing point, Su Yu, the always gentle and intelligent girl next door, quietly appeared at the kitchen door. She coughed lightly twice, trying to ease the awkwardness, "Uncle, let Qi Mountain continue his studies. Today, as I was in the city, I heard the County Magistrate Master himself praising Qi Mountain for his solid learning and saying that he has a promising future in the imperial examinations."