Chapter 111
111 Examination
After Li Yu washed up, the cook, Mrs. Zhao, came and said to Li Yu, “Miss, Mr. Zhao Cai bought meat and vegetables early in the morning. I’ll hang them up and see what you and Young Master want to eat.”
Li Yu thought for a moment. “Make a pot of porridge and two light and appetizing dishes.”
“Alright, go and rest for a while. I’ll call you when I’m done.” Mrs. Zhao bowed and left.
After Zhou Jia went out, he came back at the end of the hour. He found Li Yu and said, “Yu’er, Young Master Lin asked me to discuss the questions that I can probably get this year. He also said that when he took the exam three years ago, the room was very narrow and there were only two wooden planks inside. The wooden plank above is used as the chair under the writing table. When you sleep, the two planks are pieced together as a bed. There’s a charcoal basin and a candle inside. The rest have to be resolved by yourself. There are a total of three rounds of examination. On the eighth, tenth, and fourteenth day, the candidates enter. As soon as they enter the room, they will lock the door and the examinees will eat, drink, and pee in the same place three days in a row.”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia in surprise. “Eating, drinking, and clearing of bowels in the same place? How smelly would that be?”
Zhou Jia spread his hands. “What can they do? They only did that because they were afraid that the candidates would cheat.”
Li Yu frowned. “Then we can only think of a solution. Go wash up and eat something to rest first.”
“Yes!” Zhou Jia rubbed his eyebrows tiredly and walked towards the dining hall.
Li Yu returned to her room and opened her travel bag. She took out a bag of dried mint leaves and a bag of dried chrysanthemums and placed them aside, planning to let Zhou Jia bring them to the examination hall.
The next morning, Li Yu carried some cattails to a few pharmacies in a row. After asking, she felt that the prices were not ideal. Some were for 40 copper coins a catty, while others were only for 20 to 30 copper coins.
In the end, Li Yu went to a pharmacy called Shenji Medicine Hall. A shop assistant with delicate features and a very smart countenance stood at the door and asked with a smile, “Miss, are you buying medicine? Can you take a look at the prescription?”
Li Yu pointed at the oilcloth bag in her hand. “I’m here to sell cattail. Do you accept it?”
The shop assistant pointed at the old shopkeeper behind the cabinet. “I accept it. Take it to Shopkeeper Shen and see if it’s fine powder or coarse powder.”
Li Yu saw a thin old man with white hair standing behind the counter. She nodded at the shop assistant and smiled. “Alright, thank you, brother.”
Li Yu approached the counter and placed the bag on the cabinet. She opened the bag and asked the old shopkeeper, who was fiddling with his abacus, “Old shopkeeper, what do you think of my cattail? How much can it be sold for?”
The old shopkeeper looked up at Li Yu. He put down the pen in his hand and pinched a handful of the powder. He placed it under his nose and smelled it. Then, he pinched it with two fingers and rubbed it back and forth. He nodded. “Fortunately, it’s all fine cattail powder. How much of such goods do you have?”
Li Yu smiled. “I only dried more than 2,000 catties of cattail in a hundred acres of land. How much does your family pay per catty?”
The old shopkeeper pointed at the bulrush in the bag. “If all your goods are like this, I’ll pay 50 copper coins a catty. If you’re not satisfied, you can go to another shop to take a look.”
Li Yu was satisfied when she heard that. She smiled and said, “Your shop it is. Get someone to go to Osmanthus Lane with me to get the goods and recognize the door. If you want more next year, you can go and tell them to send it to your shop.”
Shopkeeper Shen smiled. “Then you have to make sure that your goods next year will be the same as this year’s. If the quality is bad, it won’t be worth this price.”
“It’s fine. We can discuss the price based on the goods. If it’s better than this, you’ll have to increase the price too!”
“That’s true. I can tell you’re a straightforward person. I’ll go with you to haul the goods.”
Li Yu suddenly remembered that Zhou Jia had said that he had to eat and stay in the same room for a few days. She asked, “Shopkeeper, do you have the odor-proof incense bag that can be used in the examination room?”
“You can buy some ice chips, camphor, good ginger, cinnamon, and bring it to him after you crush it. You can also bring him some mint grass to soak in water.”
“Alright, please match me a few sets.”
“Alright, just wait a moment.” The old shopkeeper stood up and pulled open the medicine cabinet behind him. He grabbed the medicine and asked the medicine boy to crush it and put it into the medicine bag. He handed it to Li Yu. “Miss, the sachet is ready. Shall we haul the cattail over now?”
“I’ll go now. Please.” Shopkeeper Shen boarded the mule cart and went to Osmanthus Lane with Li Yu.
When they arrived at Osmanthus Alley, Li Yu took out cattail to have its quality checked.
“Alright, it’s about the same as what you brought.”
Shopkeeper Shen asked the coachman to bring over a large scale. One to two hundred acres of cattails were picked. After drying them, the scale was only 2,600 catties in total. In total, these were sold for 130 taels of silver.
After Li Yu sent Shopkeeper Shen off, she took the banknotes and medicine pouch to look for Zhou Jia. She saw that he was still studying hard.
She waved the banknotes in front of him. “Xiao Xi, accompany me for a walk. These banknotes are all yours.”
Zhou Jia grabbed Li Yu’s hand and smiled. “Where did this beautiful girl come from? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll coax you into selling yourself?”
Li Yu patted his hand. “Xiao Xi, look, this is the silver earned from selling the cattails. I even got you sachets to clear your mind.”
“Silly, you can’t bring the sachet in. The examiner is afraid that the candidates will write the answer in the sachet.” Zhou Jia smiled and went to get the banknotes on the table. “Let me see how much money Little Yu’er has earned.”
Li Yu slapped his claws away. “Just open the sachet and bring the contents in. Those cattails were sold for 130 taels! We’re about to enter the examination hall. Let’s go out for a walk and relax. It’s better to strike a balance between work and rest.”
Zhou Jia stood up and held Li Yu’s hand. He smiled dotingly and said, “Alright, we’ve been in Tongzhou for a year and haven’t gone shopping properly. Let’s walk around today.”
After Li Yu left, He Xiaoyu went to Li Yu’s manor. She saw Ruyi walking to the door with the mule cart. He Xiaoyu walked to the mule cart and glanced at Ruyi. She lowered her head and twisted her clothes, not knowing what to say.
Seeing her stop in front of the cart, he lowered his head and said to her, “Miss He, why are you looking for me? If there’s nothing else, please make way. I’m busy sending fresh eggs to the grocery store and restaurant in town.”
“Ruyi, I have something to tell you.” He Xiaoyu looked up at Ruyi and stammered, “Ruyi, I went to Sister Xiaoyu the day before yesterday to ask her to talk to Mr. Zhou and release you from your contract. Sister Xiaoyu asked me to talk to you first.”
Ruyi frowned at He Xiaoyu. “Miss He, how can you take the initiative to look for my Miss? I told you that I won’t leave the Zhou family, let alone my young master. You should find a family of equal status!”
He Xiaoyu looked up at Ruyi with red eyes. “Ruyi, how can you say such a thing? You know that I care about you.”
Ruyi looked at He Xiaoyu expressionlessly and said firmly, “I won’t leave the Zhou family no matter what. Xiaoyu, you don’t know that without the Zhou family, there won’t be me. What your mother said is true. We’re really not suitable.”
Ruyi turned around and left. He Xiaoyu took a few steps forward and pulled Ruyi’s sleeve. “I don’t want to find anyone else. I…”
Ruyi pulled out her sleeve and looked at He Xiaoyu coldly. “That’s your business.” With that, he drove away.
“You jerk.” He Xiaoyu was so angry that she picked up a stone and threw it at Ruyi. She went home angrily and threw herself on the bed and cried aggrievedly.