Chapter 40

Wang Dalang’s mother, already very old, pointed at Aunt Wang’s nose and scolded her harshly. Aunt Wang did not dare to talk back, afraid that if she angered her mother‑in‑law into illness, she would no longer be able to stay in this household.

But this mother‑in‑law spoke more and more excessively, blaming the entire matter of burning charcoal on her.

Aunt Wang only felt wronged. Clearly, when she first suggested burning charcoal, the whole family agreed. Did they not all want to surpass the Song family?

Now that no charcoal had been produced, all the blame was placed on her. What kind of reasoning was this?

Although Aunt Wang did not dare to shout back loudly, it was impossible for her to remain silent.

After being scolded with a finger pointed at her nose, she argued for herself: “At that time when I suggested burning charcoal, both my husband and mother‑in‑law agreed. Now that charcoal has not been produced, how can it be only my fault?”

When Wang’s mother heard her still daring to talk back, she scolded even more fiercely: “You shrew, do you have no sense of a wife’s duty? How dare you speak to me like this? If charcoal has not been produced, who else is to blame but you? If you had not insisted on burning charcoal in the first place, would Dalang have even thought of it?”

With these words, Wang’s mother completely absolved herself and her son. Aunt Wang, wronged, stomped her feet and said: “Fine, fine, it is all my fault, is that enough? I will not serve anymore!”

Aunt Wang, furious, threw down her duties and refused to continue. She turned around and went into the house to pack her things.

She would not stay here any longer!

Better to return to her mother’s home for a few days, leaving her husband and mother‑in‑law alone. She did not believe the Wang family could live without her. Surely after a few days they would have to bring her back.

The Wang household was in chaos, while next door the Song household was lively all day long.

From breakfast onward, people kept coming to see their silver‑bone charcoal. Even until the afternoon, there were still groups of two or three arriving to look.

Song Feng weighed it. This time they had produced eighteen jin of silver‑bone charcoal. Although much less than gray‑flower charcoal, for the Song family it was extremely precious.

By the afternoon, the three elder brothers of the Song family could no longer endure physically. After lunch they went to sleep.

The younger brothers, including Song Ping, all sat in the room where the silver‑bone charcoal was stored, guarding it, afraid that someone without sense might come to steal it.

In the afternoon, villagers came in small groups to look at the silver‑bone charcoal, and Song Ping received them.

But it was not only villagers. Somehow the news spread outside. A man from another village came specially, saying he wanted to purchase silver‑bone charcoal, offering a good price: one jin for one tael and five qian.

One qian was one hundred copper coins. Five qian was five hundred copper coins. One tael and five qian was one and a half taels of silver, five hundred copper coins higher than the market price. Moreover, he came to buy directly, saving them the trouble of transporting it to town. By all accounts, it was profitable.

But Song Ping did not dare decide. He immediately went to find his grandmother Zhang Xinghua.

After hearing, Zhang Xinghua directly refused. She planned to wait until Song Sheng returned in the evening to discuss together. Besides, she had heard Dalang say that more silver‑bone charcoal would be burned later, so they were not in a hurry to sell these few jin.

Zhang Xinghua refused firmly, but the man did not give up, lingering in the courtyard for a long time. Still, she did not agree to sell.

Seeing she could not be persuaded, the man finally gave up. But as he left, he said that if next time they produced more silver‑bone charcoal, he would come again to buy.

Zhang Xinghua, though usually very frugal, with the family poor for many years, was not blinded by money. Her heart was strong.

She still remembered what Song Sheng had said about thanking the county magistrate. At that time, he had wanted to bring some gray‑flower charcoal to the magistrate’s residence, but he said that kind of charcoal was not good enough. He wanted to wait until silver‑bone charcoal was produced, then send some over.

So now that silver‑bone charcoal had been burned out, it could not be sold casually. She did not know how many jin would be appropriate to send to the county magistrate. If some were sold and then not enough remained, what would they do?

It must be said, from a certain perspective, although Zhang Xinghua was a village woman who did not recognize a single written character, she was a person with a broad view of the overall situation.

In the hearts of the Song family, burning charcoal could indeed bring money, but no matter how much money, it was not more important than their own family members. Song Sheng was now ranked first in their hearts. Therefore, Zhang Xinghua did not agree to sell silver‑bone charcoal immediately, saying they should wait until Song Sheng returned to discuss together. The family had no objections.

They had Sanlang to rely on. Were they still afraid they could not burn more good charcoal?

Song Laoda, Song Lao'er, and Song Laosan had not slept for two days and two nights plus one morning. At this time they were sleeping soundly in the house. During this, Zhao entered the room once to fetch small cloth for Song Ying’s two daughters, and she heard Song Lao'er talking in his sleep.

His mouth was muttering something unclear, but in the dream he was smiling broadly, so he must have been dreaming of good things.

This time the Song family had burned silver‑bone charcoal, and in the hearts of all the villagers their status had risen again. Those who previously spoke to them without much respect now restrained themselves a lot and no longer dared to look down on their family.

In the morning, He ge’er also went to the Song family to see silver‑bone charcoal. Later he visited Lan ge’er’s house and saw Lan ge’er still sitting beside the stove. He said: “In the morning everyone went to the Song family to see silver‑bone charcoal. Why did I not see you?”

Lan ge’er muttered: “I did not go.”

“That was silver‑bone charcoal. Why did you not go to see it?”

“I will not look. Anyway, I cannot burn it.”

He ge’er did not understand. “If you are afraid of seeing Song Sheng, he went to the academy today and was not at home. Why did you not go?”

Lan ge’er put down the embroidery in his hand and said awkwardly: “It is not that I am afraid of seeing him. I just do not like that person.”

“Who?”

“That… that Lu Qing.”

He ge’er understood and lengthened his voice with an “oh.” “What about Lu Qing? I saw him this morning. He was busy serving tea and water to the guests at home. He was very polite, fair‑skinned and good‑looking. Why does he bother you? Is it only because he married Song Sheng, whom you did not marry?”

Lan ge’er did not speak, which was equivalent to admitting.

He ge’er sighed and said: “Lan ge’er, they have already been married for so long. Stop staring at them. You should shift your attention to yourself. Do you still remember that next spring you will be married?”

Seeing his friend looking gloomy, He ge’er could not help but advise earnestly.

Lan ge’er’s needle could not pass through the cloth, and finally he said with grievance: “I know, but I cannot help thinking. If at that time I had married Song Sheng, how good it would have been.”

He ge’er said again: “The Song family is better now, but your family is not bad either. At that time the Song family was so poor, and Song Sheng looked gloomy, completely different from now. Your parents surely would not have let you marry him. Since things are already like this, what use is it to think about it? Better to spend more effort on your future husband, win his heart, and then you can live well.”

He ge’er said so much, but did not know whether Lan ge’er listened. The two had been friends since childhood, but after He ge’er married and had children, he became busy and seldom came to talk with Lan ge’er.

At this time, the Lu Qing they mentioned had just sent away the last group of guests at home. He was thinking of another matter.

In the morning, when leaving, his husband had said that the academy would probably announce the results of the big exam today. He was worried, not knowing how his husband had done.

He did not expect his husband to necessarily pass as a scholar or a licentiate. Passing would be good, but if not, he would not be sad.

His husband treated him so well now. What he valued was the person himself. Whether or not he passed the exam, he was still the husband he loved.

But he was still somewhat worried about the exam results, mainly because of that wager. If he really did not do well, then he would have to withdraw from the academy.

If that day really came, how would his husband face the expectant gazes of the family? Just thinking of it made Lu Qing’s heart ache.

But Song Sheng did not know this. Early in the morning he went to the academy, almost late, and went straight to morning class.

Morning class was usually reciting passages of the classics. He had not slept all night, and his classmates were all shaking their heads and chanting “Zhi hu zhe ye,” which was more hypnotic than hypnosis.

He sat at his desk drowsy, his head nodding down again and again.

Sitting behind him, Liang Youming saw him so sleepy and asked curiously: “What did you do last night? Why are you so tired?”

Song Sheng, half‑conscious, said: “Mm, I did not sleep all night.”

Liang Youming saw his head nodding, about to hit the desk, and reminded him: “I heard that today the teacher will not come to morning class. The exam papers are not yet finished. The teacher is probably still grading.”

The meaning was, since the teacher would not come, he might as well sleep at his desk.

“Really? You are not tricking me?”

“Of course not. We are brothers. Why would I trick you?”

Song Sheng was too sleepy. Anyway, he had already mastered the morning lesson, and since the teacher was not there, sleeping a while would not matter.

With this thought, he laid his head on his arm and fell asleep.

Liang Youming was indeed telling the truth. At that time, in the academy, the teachers of the four classes Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding were all absent from morning class. They were in the grading room.

At the end of the month, students had two days of holiday, but the teachers were not idle.

After the big exam ended, they had to hurry to grade the papers.

They had already graded for two days, and most were finished. Now they were checking carefully for mistakes, then preparing the results and rankings.

At this time, Chen fuzi of Class Yi was calculating the exam papers of Class Bing. While flipping through them he said: “Brother Xu, how did the students in your class perform on the policy essay this time?”

Xu fuzi was the teacher of Class Bing, which was also Song Sheng’s class.

Xu fuzi shook his head, his face full of disappointment, and said: “Far too poor. Some things I have taught many times, yet they still cannot integrate them. And that essay, it was truly a mess. Reading it makes me angry.”

When Chen fuzi heard this, he immediately smiled with relief. “Ah, hearing you say that, I feel reassured. I thought only the essays of my class’s students were infuriating.”

Although the two had a good relationship, each was in charge of a class, so there was inevitably some rivalry and unwillingness to lose.

Chen fuzi casually flipped through the policy essays of Class Bing and said: “Brother Xu, was the essay topic you set too difficult? Looking at your class’s answers, they are not very good either!”

Just as he finished speaking, he turned to an essay that suddenly caught his eye.

“Eh? Which student wrote this?”