Eating big melon is so refreshing

Wang pretended to be happy and said, "Xiao Qiuer has talent. She will definitely pass the exam and become a high-ranking official. Grandpa and grandma will be waiting to enjoy the happiness."

"Aunt, my brother is still a long way from becoming an official." Xiao Chunya said, "If you want to pass the examination to become a scholar, you only need to memorize the nine books of the Four Books and the Five Classics by heart, but if you want to become a high-ranking official, you need to memorize at least ninety books, pass the provincial examination to become a juren, pass the metropolitan examination, become a jinshi, and then start from a ninth-rank official. If you are lucky, you can become a fourth-rank official before you retire after three or four decades of hard work."

Wang was embarrassed to see that Zhao Dalang's face looked a little cold, and she didn't dare to say anything.

Zhao Yang was surprised. "Ninety books, these books are very expensive, right?"

"It's very expensive. Many of them can't be bought even if you have money." Xiao Chunya decided to put the blame on someone else and said, "Grandma, Master Mingyue did the math for us before. It takes about ten years from studying to passing the exam. If you have good talent, it will take at least ten years. You need at least one thousand taels of silver to cover the cost of studying, the exam, and the cost of traveling to and from the exam. The premise is that you must pass the exam on the first try and have a smooth journey. Otherwise, it will cost more."

Zhao Bei thought that spending two or three hundred taels was the best he could do...

Zhao Yang thought that she could train a student by spending 200 taels of silver...

Wang felt desperate for the first time. She had three sons, but she didn't even have three taels of silver. Her dream of her sons passing the imperial examination was shattered because studying was too expensive.

Zhao Dalang had a normal expression. He had known how difficult it was to pass the imperial examination. He had asked his eldest son to study just to give him a chance to stay in the county and find an easy job. As a father, he couldn't just favor his eldest son and ignore his second and third sons. He had to treat them equally.

Zhao Sanlang looked a little confused, and was obviously frightened by the huge number. He wanted to talk but stopped, not knowing what to say.

Xiao Qiulin said, "Brother Da Niu spends money on studying, but brothers Er Niu and San Niu save money because they don't need to buy books. A copy of Three Character Classic costs 300 wen, a copy of Hundred Family Names costs 500 wen, a copy of Thousand Character Classic costs 500 wen, a copy of Rules for Being a Good Student costs 2 taels of silver, a copy of Young Learners costs 2 taels of silver, and a copy of Augmented Collection of Wise Sayings costs 2 taels of silver. After finishing these books, you can read The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, Mencius, The Book of Songs, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals, which are required for the imperial examinations. Each of these nine books costs 3 taels of silver, plus the books that explain the content, which cost about 5 taels of silver each. A hundred taels of silver is enough to buy books."

Zhao Bei felt a little dizzy. Just buying books cost one hundred taels of silver, plus the cost of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, plus the annual tuition fee for the teacher. No wonder it cost one thousand taels of silver in ten years.

After despairing, Wang had another idea when she saw the house. She had originally not planned to ask for it so early, but in order to let her eldest son continue to study and she didn't want to pay for it herself, she set her mind on the rent.

Wang was smart for once. After dinner, when the children went out together to watch the Lantern Festival, Wang expressed her idea.

"Rent out the house?"

"Father, it would be a shame to leave such a big house empty. We can collect 300 coins in rent every month, which is enough to pay for Daniu's tuition for a year."

Wang said, "Second Niu can start school a year later, so that the first Niu can study for three years, and it will be easier for him to find a job in the county town in the future."

Zhao Bei's voice faded a little, and he said, "Old man, in three years, Erniu will be eight years old and Daqing will be seven years old. Can the rent from this house support both of them to go to school at the same time?"

Wang forced a smile and said, "My third brother lives in the county, so Daqing naturally goes to school in the county."

"Wouldn't it cost more to go to school in the county?" Zhao Silang said coldly, "In the eyes of the eldest sister-in-law, all the benefits of this house are only for you, the eldest son, right?"

"Fourth brother, that's not what I meant." Wang absolutely refused to admit that she had such a selfish motive. She noticed that her parents-in-law looked very unhappy.

"The old house in our family belongs to the big house, and the ox my second brother bought belongs to the big house. If even this house is the big house, does that mean that my father only has one son? He doesn't need other sons?"

Zhao Silang has no taboos and has had this temper since he was a child. To put it bluntly, his current situation is similar to that of his second brother, a half-married son-in-law who will not rely on his eldest brother and sister-in-law for food in the future. He will confront his eldest sister-in-law if he doesn't like her.

"A small part of the money for buying this house came from the eldest and his wife going up the mountain every day to pick wolfberries. The majority of the money came from the musk deer they gave me when the Xuanwu Guards went into the mountains to clear out the enemy. They didn't give it to me for free because Xiaochun'er and Xiaoqiu'er made the harvester and contributed to the country."

Zhao Bei said, "It has not been easy for Erlang in the county these years, so every year you brothers have to do the corvée service for him. This house is now in my name, and after I die, each of you brothers will have a share. You can rent out the house. This plan is feasible. The rent will be divided into five parts. They are all my sons, and I cannot favor any one of them."

The four brothers present all bowed their heads (Zhao Wulang accompanied the child out). Everyone has selfish motives, and everyone wants his son to be successful in the future and bring honor to the family.

Zhao Bei continued, "Our family's conditions are like this. We originally only had 27 acres of land. The eldest brother spent five years cultivating those three acres with great effort. He is the eldest son, and according to the law, he will inherit 70% of the family property in the future. The remaining 30% will be divided equally among the four of you brothers."

"Father, mother, I've given up my piece of land." Zhao Erlang said, "I started working at the age of 14. I'm not used to the stable life of farming in the countryside. I also have two acres of land in the suburbs to grow vegetables, and my daily life is acceptable."

Zhao Bei interrupted him directly and said, "If you don't want that share of the property, just skip it and let Xiaochun'er and Xiaoqiu'er inherit it."

Zhao Erlang was speechless. How could he play like this?

Zhao Yang sighed in her heart. Wang was short-sighted and had to jump out at this time, and fell into the trap dug by the fourth brother.

The most scheming of the five sons is the fourth son, the most honest is the third son, and the second son is actually the coldest. He can be devoted to you, but when he finds out that you are not worthy of his efforts, he will turn around and leave without hesitation.

The only people for whom the second brother can give unconditionally are his two children. Xiaoqiu'er has inherited the second brother's cold nature, and the only person he cares about is Xiaochun'er, so winning over Xiaochun'er is equivalent to tying down the second brother's family.

Zhao Bei and Zhao Yangshi felt sad. The family had endured such hard times in the past, but now conflicts broke out as soon as they had a little money. No wonder the old people in the village said that wealth and fame are alluring!