The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Mr. Shen went to the money exchange and exchanged two hundred taels of silver notes, including one fifty-tael note, two twenty-tael notes, five ten-tael notes, ten five-tael notes, and ten one-tael notes. He also prepared about ten taels of loose silver.

He carried the banknotes in his arms the whole way, walking carefully on his way home.

Suddenly, someone bumped into him. He quickly got up, touched the silver notes in his pocket, and after the other person apologized, he quickened his pace.

He Yu, following Ji Lingfeng's instructions, was wandering around the streets to see if there were any pursuers.

He wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into a passerby.

The passerby, looking very cautious, accepted the apology and quickly left.

He looked at the passerby and felt that he looked familiar, but he just couldn't remember who it was.

He didn't pay any attention and returned to the inn.

When Shen's father returned, Shen Chen had just invited Grand Tutor Zhou back.

Mr. Shen pulled him into the study.

She placed the silver and banknotes she was carrying on the table and then pushed them in front of him.

Shen Chen was solely focused on studying the classics and hardly ever cared about the family business, only occasionally helping out when he had free time.

He knew that his family's business was definitely profitable, with many customers every day.

He looked at the thick stack of silver notes in front of him, which seemed to contain two hundred taels.

In addition, there was about ten taels of loose silver.

“Father, this is too much. You should keep some for yourselves. We need money for our business.”

"Fifty taels will be enough for me."

As he spoke, he counted out fifty taels of silver notes and pushed the rest of the money back to Shen's father.

Father Shen pressed down on his hand, "Chen'er, the capital is not like Xin'an County; there are many more places where you need to spend money."

"A poor family travels with a rich lifestyle."

"Moreover, this money was prepared for you by Cao'er a long time ago. It was originally saved for your scientific expedition, but I never expected you to have such an opportunity."

"All the money in the house was entrusted to Cao'er for safekeeping. She specifically told me to give it to you when you go out to study."

Shen Chen looked down at the silver notes and silver on the table and remembered the difficult times when his family couldn't even afford a tael of silver for repairs. They had to scrape together money from various sources, and a tael of silver took up more space than the two hundred taels of silver they had now.

There were loose silver coins and copper coins.

At that time, he never imagined that he would be able to take more than two hundred taels of silver to the capital today.

"Father, thank you."

Mr. Shen was a rough and uncultured man, and he felt a little uncomfortable when his son suddenly expressed his gratitude.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Hey, we're family, there's no need for thanks. As long as you're willing to study, your father will support you even if it means selling everything we own."

“You’re not like your father, who only knows some manual labor. Your father doesn’t know anything about studying either. It’s a good thing you didn’t take after your father.”

"Besides, you study so well, your father isn't stupid, he'll definitely support you. Your father is counting on you to pass the imperial examinations and bring honor to the family."

“Father, even if I take your name, I will still be very happy.”

Upon hearing his son's words, Mr. Shen's eyes reddened.

He feigned composure, sniffed, and said, "Alright, once you get to the capital, study hard."

He patted Shen Chen on the shoulder, "I'll go see how your mother's preparations are going."

Having said that, he fled the study as if escaping.

Shen Chen smiled as he watched his father leave, and his father looked embarrassed.

Knowing that their elder brother would be leaving early the next morning, Shen Qing and Shen Wan declined their friends' invitations and stayed home to keep their brother company.

Father and Mother were preparing the things that the eldest brother needed to take, while the eldest sister was busy cooking in the kitchen.

My second sister went to her room, saying she needed to get something.

Shen Qingxian went to the study and saw his elder brother reading a book.

He knocked on the door first, and only after hearing his older brother tell him to come in did he push the door open and enter.

"Big brother."

Shen Chen looked up and saw his younger brother walk in.

His face was full of reluctance.

He beckoned his younger brother to come to him.

"Qing'er, after your elder brother left, it's just you and your father left at home. Your father has to take care of the family business, so you can't be playful anymore."

"A young man must take responsibility and not let his mother and sisters be bullied."

Shen Qing nodded; he understood what his elder brother meant.

"Big brother, don't worry, I will never let anyone bully them."

"Brother believes you can definitely do it."

"This is a promise between men, and you must keep your word."

Shen Qing extended his right little finger, "Pinky promise."

Looking at his serious-looking younger brother, Shen Chen suddenly realized when his brother had grown up.

He's already taller than when he's sitting, and he looks much stronger too.

He smiled and patted his younger brother's head, then extended his right little finger in return.

"Hook!"

"Qing'er, have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"Should you study like your older brother, or go into business like your older sister?"

Shen Qing thought about it. He neither liked reading nor was interested in doing business.

He shook his head. "Brother, I don't know either."

"All I know is that I'm not cut out for studying, and as for doing business, I don't like it either."

"So what do you like to do?"

As if he had thought of something, Shen Qing reached into his pocket and pulled out a wooden dagger.

"Big brother, I love fighting!" His eyes lit up whenever he mentioned fighting.

Shen Qing was somewhat shocked; he had thought his younger brother liked to bully others.

He immediately straightened up, his face serious. "Shen Qing, you know that bullying others is wrong. Have you forgotten how I taught you before?"

Upon hearing his elder brother's words, Shen Qing knew that his brother had misunderstood him. "Brother, you've misunderstood."

"I don't like bullying people, but I like the kind of fighting that storytellers talk about."

“Every time we eavesdropped on the storyteller’s tales, I would be especially happy when he talked about the brave generals who fought in great battles. I wished I could be that general myself.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing realized what it meant and realized he had almost misunderstood his younger brother.

He said that his younger brother wasn't the kind of person who would bully others.

Listening to his younger brother's description, he chuckled, "You, how old are you, and you still can't explain things clearly."

"What you're talking about is leading troops into battle. If you like that, you'll need to learn some martial arts first, and then join the army."

"Join the army to defend the country."

"Yes, yes, yes. That's what the storyteller said, protecting the country."

“I think you should go to school first. You’re not a child anymore. After I’m gone, I’ll have my younger sister send you and Wan’er to a private school.”

Shen Qing pouted, "Big brother, didn't I already say I don't like studying!"

"Do you know that even if you join the army, you still need to study to fight?"

"You need to read military books to fight battles, and you need to understand the general's orders. If you become a general in the future, you will need to give orders to your subordinates. If you don't read books, you won't even be able to describe a single thing clearly."

"Not only could they not defend the country, they even lost their own lives."