Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Master Li spoke in a gentle voice.

“Studying is a very hard thing, unlike farming. With crops, you can harvest in the same year as long as you take good care of the land. But it’s different with scholarship. You may study hard for many years and still not achieve fame or success. Do you still want to study?”

“I want to learn, Master,” Changyun answered loudly and firmly.

"I don't know if I'm as smart as my fourth uncle. In my grandfather's words, my fourth uncle was born to study. But I want to learn. If others study for one hour, I can study for two hours. I can go without eating or sleeping, as long as I can study."

Master Li thought the child was precocious when he heard the first part of his story, but when he heard him say that the child wouldn't eat or sleep, he couldn't help but laugh a few times. He thought to himself, "He's still just a child."

After laughing, Master Li stopped laughing and said to Zhang Youtie

"Come with me. Come in and register your child for school. Did you bring the tuition fee? If not, come back tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM. I will tell Uncle Li, the gatekeeper."

"Yes, yes, I brought it. I've already brought the tuition fee," Zhang Youtie replied hastily.

As he spoke, he hurriedly took out a five-tael silver ingot from his pocket, presented it to Master Li with both hands.

Seeing the silver in Zhang Youtie's hand, the teacher smiled and said, "Your child is only just beginning his studies, so the tuition doesn't need to be so much. Three taels of silver a year is enough. Come with me. We have several teachers in our school, each in charge of different administrative affairs. I'll take you to Teacher Zhang, who collects the tuition. Just give him the silver."

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked inside. Upon hearing this, Zhang Youtie quickly slung the basket containing the meat over his shoulder and followed. Of course, this basket was a small one that they had taken out of their spatial storage halfway through the journey, not the large basket they had used to sell watermelons that morning.

Following Master Li, we entered a room where another master was writing something with a pen.

"Huaicheng, this is one of my new students today. I've brought them here to complete the formalities."

The teacher named Huaicheng, who was writing with his head down, heard the sound, looked up, quickly put down his pen, bowed to Teacher Li, and said, "Teacher."

"Alright, this is a school, no need for formalities. This is Chengwen's third brother and nephew, they want to study at our school, so I brought them along. Please make sure they are settled in." He then turned to Wen Sheng and Zhang Youtie, father and son.

"I'm still teaching over there. Just follow Mr. Zhang's instructions. If you don't understand anything, just ask him."

Master Zhang bowed to see his teacher off before turning to Zhang Youtie and his son. He pulled a thick notebook from the bookshelf behind him, picked up the calligraphy brush he had used earlier, and asked them...

"What are the names of the children who are enrolled?"

"Zhang Changyun" was Zhang Youtie's reply.

"How old?"

"It'll be October this fall," was Zhang Youtie's reply.

While writing with his head down, Master Zhang couldn't help but look up at Zhang Youtie and say, "Don't speak, let him answer himself."

"Yes, yes, yes," Zhang Youtie replied, trembling with fear.

"Have you ever studied before?" Master Zhang continued.

"I haven't read it," Changyun replied with his head down. His fourth uncle started his studies at the age of eight, passed the preliminary examination at the age of twelve, and is now taking the county-level examination at the age of fifteen. Compared to his fourth uncle, he is far behind.

"Um, where do you live?"

Zhangjia Village

"Father's name?" Master Zhang asked again.

My father's name is Zhang Youtie.

"Alright, that's all. Did you bring the three taels of silver for tuition?" This question was directed at Zhang Youtie.

"I brought it, I brought it," Zhang Youtie said, taking out the five-tael silver ingot from before.

Upon seeing the silver, Master Zhang was somewhat dazed. It was rare for ordinary farming families to have such silver ingots; most of them had loose silver and copper coins.

"Oh, there's something else I forgot to ask you earlier. Do you commute daily, or do you eat and sleep at the school?"

"We eat and stay at the school. Our village is far away, so it's inconvenient to travel there every day."

"Yes, you're quite right. Staying at the school requires an extra payment each year. A room for twelve people costs two hundred coins per person per year, and a room for four people costs eight hundred coins per person per year. The school has a kitchen where you can buy meals. In addition, you need to pay for your school uniform. If you still have clothes that your child wore before you became an adult, that's fine too, you don't need to buy them separately. A single-layered shirt costs one hundred coins per set, and a cotton-padded shirt costs three hundred coins per set, all made of fine cotton cloth."

"Alright, alright, we'll stay in a four-person room. We also need clothes, two sets of single-layer clothes and one set of cotton clothes." Zhang Youtie nodded in agreement with each item the teacher mentioned, and when he heard the price of the clothes, he nodded without hesitation and asked for three sets.

"You only need to buy light clothing now. Kids this age grow fast. We'll make cotton-padded coats by body measurements in the fall. It's too early to buy them now," Master Zhang offered his honest opinion.

"Yes, yes, I'll do as you say, Master."

So, after a flurry of activity, Zhang Youtie paid three taels of silver for tuition, eight hundred coins for lodging, and two sets of clothes for two hundred coins. Of the five taels of silver ingot he produced, he only received a one-tael silver coin in change. Zhang Youtie had only known that studying was expensive, but he didn't understand exactly how. Only after bringing his child today did he realize how all the silver accumulated in the old house over the years had been spent.

“Dad, I can actually stay in a room with twelve people. I can meet more classmates, and I can wear Uncle Si’s old clothes instead of buying new ones.” Zhang Changyun tried to stop his father several times but to no avail. Only when everything was settled and they were leaving did he have a chance to express his thoughts.

Zhang Youtie glanced at Master Zhang, who was seeing them off, but didn't notice his son speaking. He then whispered to his son...

"Silly boy, do you know how people sleep in a twelve-person room? When your fourth uncle first started school, he slept in a twelve-person room. As a result, he snored, ground his teeth, farted, talked in his sleep, and even had hysterical episodes, crying and laughing. He couldn't get any rest at all. Those two years were a real ordeal for your fourth uncle. Every time he came home for a break, he would sleep all day. Your grandparents were heartbroken and cried, but there was nothing they could do. It was already a struggle for the family to send him to school, let alone have extra money to put him in an expensive dormitory. But luckily, the boy was smart. He passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and was promoted to a four-person room so that he could get some rest."

After saying that, he glanced at Master Zhang in front of him, and seeing that he had no reaction, he then spoke to his son.

"If you can get the teacher to let you stay in a four-person room without charging extra money, that will be your real skill."

Walking ahead, Teacher Zhang twitched his ears and sighed inwardly, "Is Zhang Chengwen able to live in a four-person dormitory simply because he's a good student? He studies in the classroom until late every night. Seeing how hard he works, his roommates, as if in a competition, also stay up late to study. As a result, he's full of energy in class the next day, while everyone else is so sleepy they can barely keep their eyes open, some even snoring. The teachers have repeatedly reminded them to pay attention to rest, but they still can't stop them from sleeping in class. The teachers can't bear to stop Zhang Chengwen from studying at night because he never dozes off in class." Thinking of this, Teacher Zhang couldn't help but shake his head with amusement.

"Later, the school had no choice but to use the excuse that he had passed the imperial examination at a young age as a reward, and he was allowed to move into a four-person dormitory without paying extra. This kind of thing, where he dozed off in class, did not happen often anymore. Occasionally, it would happen once or twice, but it had nothing to do with Zhang Chengwen."

The myriad thoughts swirling in Master Zhang's mind were but a fleeting moment. He quickly escorted Zhang Youtie and his son to the main gate, arranged for Zhang Youtie to come to the school the next day, and then turned back.

Zhang Youtie exchanged a few pleasantries with Uncle Li, who was guarding the gate, before leading his son toward the mother and daughter waiting by the oxcart.