Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 238: Being a Stranger in My Hometown

In the spring of the fourth year of Longyou, at the dock outside Cangzhou city.

On the river, boats are scattered all over the place. At first glance, it seems densely packed, but each boat goes on its own route in an orderly manner.

There were ships constantly docking at the pier, approaching the shore, and warehouses were lined up on the shore, forming a lively market. Relying on the business near the pier, inns, pubs, and pharmacies all raised their own flags in front of their doors.

Tens of thousands of canal workers are busy here, and the crowd is surging.

Sandwiched between the cargo terminal, there is a berth for passenger ships only.

Nowadays, before entering the capital, or going south to leave the capital, one must stop at Cangzhou. One is to see the newly built city of the famous An Jinghou, and the other is to replenish supplies in Cangzhou, or simply sell goods in Cangzhou to replenish stocks and make more profits.

However, Hou Yinglin, who walked out of the passenger ship, had different thoughts from others. He was actually going back home.

He was born in Cangzhou. He had passed the examination for a scholar six years ago. With the recommendation of the provincial education commissioner, he obtained the status of a tribute student and went to study at the Imperial Academy in Beijing.

After studying in the Imperial College for three years, he missed the chance to pass the special examination in the second year of Longyou, and was unable to take the next step and become a juren.

Life is full of disappointments. He originally wanted to go to the capital with high aspirations, but because he came from a poor family and had no achievements, he could hardly make a single move in the capital.

Gongsheng could become an official. They were assigned by the Ministry of Personnel to serve as school principals or instructors in local areas, or as county magistrates, county magistrates, and teachers in more remote areas. This was already a good starting point.

But there were too many tribute students in the capital. For someone like him who had good grades and had completed his studies, he could probably knock one down by throwing a brick at the corner of the alley. And he had no connections, so it would never be his turn to hold an official position that only depended on a person's reputation.

The most difficult days are when you can’t make it in the capital.

Later, he received letters from his family and learned about the current situation in Cangzhou. There was a shortage of manpower in all walks of life, so he returned to his hometown with regret.

When he was in the capital, he had also heard a little that it was now Anjing Hou Yue Ling who was in charge of all affairs in Cangzhou, and the rumor was so miraculous that it was said that Cangzhou had the potential to catch up with Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Although he had never been to Suzhou and Hangzhou, he was born in Cangzhou and had seen with his own eyes how difficult Cangzhou was. How could it be compared with Suzhou and Hangzhou, which had been prosperous since ancient times?

When Marquis Anjing fought against the northern barbarians, he was also in the city. When they lined the streets to welcome Marquis Anjing back victorious, his admiration for him was beyond words. However, it was a common problem for politicians to exaggerate and boast about their achievements. Since it was Marquis Anjing who was here, he was still skeptical.

If it were in other places, repairing a waterwheel would be regarded as repairing a canal, and when it was reported, it would be said to have saved thousands of families. These are common official routines.

Hou Yinglin thought that Marquis Anjing was also worldly-wise, and that his main purpose in returning was to find a similar job to support his family.

But when he arrived at the dock, he couldn't help rubbing his eyes. He actually thought he had come to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The ships were loaded with fine goods and densely populated, which was totally different from the Cangzhou in his memory.

Even this pier is several sizes larger, not to mention the market town that can be seen from the boat. The brick and stone paved pathway stretches as far as the eye can see, and seems to lead directly into the city.

"Boatman, where is this?"

"Where is this? Your ticket is for wherever it lands. Have you bumped into other passengers? Get off the boat quickly. We have to go to the Caoyun Guild Hall to rest."

"What is the Caoyun Guild Hall?"

Hou Yinglin was pushed by the crowd at a loss until he left the dock and came to the main street of the city. His mind was still in a trance and he had not yet come to his senses.

My hometown seems so strange today.

As he remembered, the distance from the dock to the city was covered with flying sand and there were flooded fields on both sides.

But today, there are houses on both sides. Looking into the distance, there are rice fields connected to each other, and all the people coming and going are workers.

"Sir, are you new to Cangzhou? Would you like me to show you the way?"

A young man came out from the corner, wearing a coarse linen shirt. Although the clothes were patched up, they were washed clean and looked quite white. He was not annoying, and he had a flattering smile on his face.

Hou Yinglin wanted to say that he was a local, but after looking at the street, he looked no different from a stranger.

"Brother, which way is Cangzhou City going?"

While Hou Yinglin was examining the young man, the young man had already taken a look at his clothes and appearance. The scholar's square scarf and Confucian robe revealed his identity at a glance.

He smiled and said, "Look at this gentleman's attire, is he also here to Qingfeng Academy to seek a job?"

"What is Qingfeng Academy?" Hou Yinglin was very puzzled. He gave the young man a copper coin and said, "If you know the situation inside, why don't you tell me a little bit about it?"

The young man took the copper coin and happily put it into his arms.

He liked to see the ignorant looks of outsiders the most, and he could also get rewards, so he talked freely: "Sir, you came at the right time."

"Qingfeng Academy has been open for three years now. After the first provincial examination the year before last, one of its students passed the imperial examination in the spring of last year. This is truly amazing. The academy's reputation is growing, and many people come here to study and seek employment."

"If you are a scholar, you can become a schoolmaster when you enter the academy. If you are a tribute student, you can at least become a lecturer. Of course, these are not official positions. It's just that the academy is set up according to the Imperial Academy, and everyone is used to calling it that."

Hou Yinglin was puzzled, "A Gongsheng can at best be a local teacher, but in this academy, he can't even teach as well as a doctor?" The young man smiled awkwardly, "Sir, you must be a Gongsheng, right? When the academy was first established, Gongsheng was fine, but now all the teachers above Zhijiang are masters who are Juren. The masters haven't even received their official positions yet, but they are already teaching in the academy while taking exams. Gongsheng is really not good enough."

Hou Yinglin was stunned on the spot.

He thought he had worked hard enough, but he didn't expect that his hometown worked even harder and he was eliminated by his hometown.

"Why is it that Cangzhou City can attract so many talented people?"

When talking about this, the smile on the young man's face deepened a little, "Of course it's because of the Marquis. The Marquis is famous, and there are countless staff members who want to join him. Of course, the Marquis himself is a man of both civil and military abilities, so he doesn't need staff members, so they all go to work for the Marquis."

"The academy is the one that the Marquis attaches the most importance to. Every year, he allocates tens of thousands of taels of silver. With such a wealth of money, are you still afraid that no one will come to invest?"

"The Marquis said that if there is another breakthrough in the next spring exam, even if there is a master who passes the exam, the Marquis will reward it. In this way, Qingfeng Academy is learning from the bottom up, and the learning atmosphere is very strong."

Ever since the young man started talking, Hou Yinglin's face was filled with surprise.

If what the young man said is true, the academic atmosphere of Qingfeng Academy is more intense than that of Imperial College. Imperial College is the best institution of learning in Dachang, but the students there are of varying quality.

People like him who were recommended by the academician all had legitimate backgrounds. There were also a large number of tribute students who were granted grace, attached tribute students, increased tribute students, and stipend students, who were able to study in the school just by relying on money or connections. These people are the black sheep of the group, and they have learned nothing.

It is easy to be bad, but hard to learn well. This group of students has brought bad influence to the current atmosphere of the Imperial College.

As a result, in every imperial examination, the Imperial College could not pass the exams better than students from Jiangnan.

After coming back to his senses, Hou Yinglin forced a smile on his face, "Young man, you are very eloquent, it seems you are well educated."

The young man nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I went to the charity school in the village to study, but there were too many children in my family, so not everyone could go to school. So I could only work as a guide outside the city. Do you want to go to the city? There are many good places in the city. I will take you there?"

Hou Yinglin gave the young man another three copper coins and said, "Okay, thank you very much."

The young man smiled happily and explained more enthusiastically, "Speaking of the best place in the city, the Chongzheng Tower is the best place to visit. This tower used to be the Huang family garden. It was the first scenic spot in the city that was advocated by the Marquis. There are pavilions and towers everywhere, accompanied by flowers and birds. The highest one is named 'Chongzheng', which means that those who come later should learn from the story of the Huang family."

"Speaking of the Huang family, there are many stories. If you are interested, I will tell you on the way."

"No matter what, most of the Huang family gardens have been requisitioned by Qingfeng Academy. Chongzheng Building will be open to the public after it is completed this year. You can still hear the sound of reading in the academy in Chongzheng Building. It is naturally the best place for my husband..."

Hou Yinglin nodded, "Okay, let's go and take a look first. Your Majesty is really amazing. If you didn't say this is Cangzhou, I would have thought it was some rich place."

The young man also smiled and said, "Of course, even if we were born and raised in Cangzhou City, we would find it hard to believe that Cangzhou is what it is today, let alone you, my husband, who came from another place."

Hou Yinglin laughed to himself, then shook his head.

……

Yue Ling, Marquis of Anjing, who was respected by the military and civilians throughout Cangzhou, was now outside the city.

It is May now and the weather is suitable. It is the time to plant rice seedlings in the fields.

After years of hard work, more than half of the wasteland in Cangzhou City has been reclaimed, and the land registered in the fish scale book now amounts to five million acres.

Cangzhou is now not only self-sufficient in grain, but can also provide food for the capital, and the surplus grain can be exchanged for silver.

With the arrival of the new year, Yue Ling naturally did not dare to neglect it.

Although I am busy with many things, I still have to do some things myself. I cannot inspect all places, but I can't avoid inspecting the surrounding areas of Cangzhou.

And today, he even brought the little girls outside to get some fresh air, as they had been cooped up in the room for too long.

"Master Hou!?"

"I've met the Marquis!"

When the people working in the fields saw Yue Ling coming, they hurriedly dropped their work and greeted Yue Ling.

Yue Ling raised his hand to support him, "No need to be polite, just go about your business. I'm just taking a look."

As he spoke, Yue Ling stopped in front of an old farmer and looked in the basket behind him, "How are the rice seedlings this year?"

"To reply to the Marquis, nothing went wrong, everything was done as usual."

Yue Ling nodded, took the rice seeds from the old farmer, took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, circled a piece of land with his fingers and said: "I have some free time today, I will help you plant this piece of land, and also let them experience the difficulty of farming."

The old farmer was terrified and said, "My Lord, how dare this old man..."

　Chapter 2 Later...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)