The last time he pawned a jade pendant, it was the best quality one that he had ever had. He only got seventy taels, and that was only because he found a pawnshop that liked jade.

Zhou Yu explained, “The bulk of the money was for the pearl necklace. It’s in very good condition. The best pearls were all sent as tribute to the imperial court. This necklace has very large pearls, which are quite rare.”

Yang Xi pursed her lips. This necklace was a gift from her younger brother when she gave birth to Heng. In his letter, he said everything was fine at home and that the family business was doing well. He said he’d coincidentally found some good pearls and made the necklace for her, implying that her dowry was too meager.

Zhou Yu patted his wife’s shoulder. He disagreed with pawning her jewelry, but she said the pearls had lost their luster and weren’t worth much money; it would be better to exchange them for silver. Seeing her downcast expression, he asked, “Shall I go and redeem them?”

Yang Xi shook her head. “My brother has given me quite a few things over the years, and I’ve already kept the jade beaded string as a keepsake.”

After carefully putting away the pawn ticket, Zhou Yu said, “Once my corvée service is over, I’ll make a trip to Yizhou and ask Bai Dangjia to help inquire about my xiaodi’s whereabouts.”

Yang Xi asked, “With Bozhou blocking our way, is the escort agency still heading north?”

Zhou Yu saw his son eavesdropping and smiled. “The capital needs supplies from the south. Jiang Wang doesn’t want to arouse the Emperor’s suspicion, so a safe trade route will eventually be opened in Bozhou.”

Yang Xi pursed her lips. “Do you think my Xiaodi will encounter any danger if he goes to the capital to find us?”

Zhou Yu replied, “No, there’s no need to worry about him going to the capital. He’ll hide when he sees the Zhou family’s residence has been sealed off.”

Over the years of corresponding with him, he had come to understand his xiaojiuzi quite well. It had not been easy for him to support the family at such a young age. Even with the Zhou family’s backing, surviving in his hometown without being bullied still required a certain amount of skill and cunning.

Judging from the New Year gifts his xiaojiuzi had sent over the years, his scheming abilities and methods were quite impressive.

He was more worried that the rioters would harm his mother-in-law and his xiaojiuzi’s family. Even if he was capable, he couldn’t defeat the rioters.

Yang Xi carefully recalled her brother’s letters and felt much more at ease. Looking at the money, she asked, “Did you exchange a hundred taels of gold?”

Zhou Yu nodded. “Exchanging it all for silver would be too heavy. I kept eighty taels of silver, which, together with the seventy taels I pawned last time, is enough.”

Yang Xi didn’t handle the accounts for building the house, but she had a good grasp of the finances.

Yesterday, the foundation was dug. After removing those unable to work, fifteen people were left to build the house. The house will be finished in half a month, costing over twenty taels of silver in labor alone. The main materials for the house are bricks and wood; the house will use a considerable amount of bricks, costing about fifty taels. The construction of the underground beams will cost another ten taels, plus furniture and other household items. The house will cost a hundred taels of silver in total.

Money was being spent like water!

Zhou Yu and his wife put away the silver. “The house is finished; there aren’t any major expenses, but we still need to earn money.”

Yang Xi agreed. “Yes, we definitely need to earn money.”

The couple exchanged a glance, simultaneously thinking of Third Yang. They didn’t need to personally hand it over to him; they couldn’t help but smile.

Dinner was just finished when Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi returned. Yang Xi and Zhou Yu observed Liu Lizheng’s youngest son.

Liu Ke was nervous. He knew his father had found him a master, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be good enough for the master. His father said if he wasn’t suitable, his second brother could be replaced—how could that be?!

Zhou Yu began, “Introduce yourself.”

Liu Ke’s introduction was dry and stilted: “My father is the lizheng of Shanghe Village. I’m twenty-five this year; my name is Liu Ke, and I have two sons. The older one is seven years old, and the younger one is three.”

Yang Xi was stunned by the first sentence, “My father is the lizheng”, blinked, and then thought it made perfect sense!

Zhou Yu also paused for a few seconds, then smiled. “That’s enough.”

If he hadn’t interrupted, this guy could have introduced his in-laws.

Seeing that the teacher smiled, Liu Ke thought he had passed the test.

Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi had already turned their heads and secretly laughed; they had already experienced it all along.

Yang Xi glared at the two of them and said with a smile, “Wash your hands first; we’ll eat in a bit.”

Liu Ke had already smelled the aroma of the braised meat; his stomach was rumbling. He had originally wanted to eat at home, but his father said he was foolish. Sure enough, listening to his father was the right thing to do. He thought to himself, “It’s good to have a rich teacher!”

Knowing that Liu Ke was coming today, the dinner was quite sumptuous. It was convenient to eat fish in Yangzhen, which was located by the river. There was braised fish, a tofu and fish ball soup, a pot of braised pork ribs, and a vegetable dish.

Liu Ke didn’t dare eat too much, stopping when he was about half full. This was his master’s house, and his father had told him to be mindful of his portion sizes; the food was too good, and his apprenticeship gift wasn’t quite enough.

Yang Xi watched, wanting to laugh. Liu Lizheng was clearly trying to take advantage of the wealthy, yet she couldn’t help but like him.

That evening, during Zhou Yu’s lesson, Liu Ke was present. Zhou Yu wouldn’t change the curriculum because of Liu Ke; these days, he’d been teaching classical allusions, nothing out of line.

Liu Ke was a little confused; he didn’t recognize many characters and listened blankly. After a while, his eyes lit up—classical allusions were stories!

After Zhou Yu gave Yang San and the others some problems, he gestured for Liu Ke to come forward. “I’ll test you first.”

Liu Ke nervously stammered, “I… I don’t know much arithmetic.”

Ordinary people hadn’t received systematic arithmetic training, so their knowledge was limited, and they still used ropes to calculate, making them stumped by large numbers.

Liu Ke wasn’t the best at arithmetic at home; his second brother was. But since he was the youngest son, his parents favored him.

Zhou Yu’s test was very simple, ranging from ten to one hundred. Liu Ke could indeed do arithmetic, though not mentally, and he was quite clever.

Zhou Yu re-taught him arithmetic, starting with ten. Liu Ke didn’t dare to say he could do ten.

Yang Xi waited until her son finished writing the characters, then patted his head, signaling him to do the arithmetic.

Zi Heng was stunned because it was too easy.

Zhou Yu noticed his wife and son’s subtle interaction but didn’t say anything. He gave him another question, and Zi Heng gave the answer immediately, while Liu Ke hadn’t even finished repeating the question.

After ten questions in a row, Liu Ke was even more hesitant to say he could do arithmetic up to ten. At the same time, his admiration only grew. If even Zhou Xiansheng’s son was this impressive, then Zhou Xiansheng himself must be truly extraordinary. Zhou Yu wasn’t annoyed by Liu Ke’s setback; he was somewhat satisfied. A person didn’t have to be smart; what mattered was attitude.

The next day, after instructing Zhou Bing, Zhou Yu focused on teaching Liu Ke. Liu Ke mainly needed to learn accounting and bookkeeping, so he needed to know how to use an abacus, which they had at home.

Zhou Yu took out an abacus, and Liu Ke stared intently at it, becoming even more respectful towards Zhou Yu.

Yang Xi sat for a long time, then took her son for a walk in the yard, exercising daily to ensure a smoother delivery. Yang Xi came out and saw Old Zhao’s wife, Sun Shi, carrying red beans. She asked, “Saozi, are you having red beans tonight?”

Sun Shi looked up and smiled. “Yes, I’ll bring you some later.”

Yang Xi shook her head, “There aren’t many red beans, Saozi, keep some for yourself.”

Sun Shi said, “I have enough to make porridge.”

She paused and asked, “I heard Lizheng’s son from Shanghe Village is here to study?”

Yang Xi nodded. “Yes, he’s here to learn some arithmetic.”

Sun Shi felt a pang of envy. Being literate really was a wonderful thing. Wherever one went, one was treated with respect. They had only just settled here, yet they were already associating with the Lizheng. How could her family compare? People came to them when they needed pigs castrated, but behind their backs, they still muttered and gossiped about them.

Thinking of her grandsons, Sun Shi asked, “Niangzi, is Zhou Lin Gongzi still teaching people to read and write?”

(End of Chapter)

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