"Xiuya, Xiutong, Xiuying, these are three good nas." Seeing the nas Ye Qiu chose, a glint of brightness flashed in Ye Baomin’s eyes, "A person who has read books indeed picks pleasant sounding nas."
"Uncle Grandpa is too kind. Then, please trouble Uncle Grandpa to change Daya and their nas."
"Hmm, no problem." Ye Baomin stroked his goatee, then asked, "Will you continue with your studies in the future?"
At this mont, Ye Lin laughed scornfully, "Does he even have the money to study?"
Ye Baomin frowned, and his eldest son, who was Ye Lin’s father, quickly slapped the back of Ye Lin’s head, "Impertinent boy, why are you interrupting when your grandfather is speaking? Go practice boxing right now. How can your third uncle get you into the governnt office if you don’t train well?"
Ye Lin, feeling uneasy, glanced at Ye Baomin, then looked at his cousin Ye Ping and finally pursed his lips and walked to the backyard.
Ye Qiu smiled apologetically, "Uncle Grandpa also knows the current situation at my ho. We can barely afford food, let alone money for education."
"So, you’re just giving up? I heard the teacher in the county say you have a good chance of becoming a Scholar!" Ye Baomin clicked his tongue regretfully upon hearing Ye Qiu’s ntion of affordability and did not offer any financial help, rely showing verbal pity.
"There’s no choice, but if there’s a chance, I will go back to school. Uncle Grandpa, I should head back now. Daya is waiting for to eat."
"You’ve already renad her and you still call her Daya, she probably doesn’t like that," Ye Baomin laughed, "Take the chicken back, how can I take sothing from you, a child."
Ye Baomin said this, but Ye Wangshi showed no sense of urgency; she knew that once sothing entered her family’s courtyard, no one could take it back from her father-in-law’s hands.
"No, no, this is just a little gesture from the junior." Ye Qiu left the courtyard gate, hurriedly refusing as he ran off.
Ye Baomin squinted his eyes watching Ye Qiu’s retreating back, pondered sothing, then hesitated before returning to his room with a serious expression.
"Hey, what do you think dad was contemplating just now?" Ye Wangshi nudged her husband, curious.
"What’s with all these questions? Go cook the al." Ye Ming said impatiently. After his wife left, he humd a little tune, musing, What else could it be, isn’t it just that they have a decent house left? His father is planning for the future division of the family properties. But this cannot be shared with the wife, otherwise, she’d keep fussing and speculating all day.
Ye Qiu returned ho, and Daya had already prepared the al. Tonight’s dinner was so leftover sweet potatoes from the morning and a wild vegetable soup. Although she seed particularly happy today, even exceptionally steaming an egg. Although the bowl of stead egg custard Ye Qiu saw was scant and watered down, all of this showed that Daya was changing. Apparently, changing her na had indeed impacted her greatly.
Three pairs of big eyes stared eagerly at Ye Qiu, seemingly very anxious.
Ye Qiu smiled lightly, "It’s all changed now, no more calling each other Daya, Erya, and Little Ya. We’ll use your actual nas. Xiuya, please set the table."
Daya was montarily stunned before realizing that Ye Qiu was calling her; her eyes reddened slightly as she responded excitedly, "Yes!"
"Xiutong, go help your elder sister get the bowls and chopsticks," Ye Qiu then said to Erya.
"Hmm," Erya nodded vigorously, her footsteps seeming quicker than usual.
Lastly, Ye Qiu turned to Little Ya and teasingly rubbed his waist, "Big brother is tired today, Xiuying, do you want to give big brother a massage?"
Hearing Ye Qiu’s words, Little Ya ran over "thump, thump, thump," lifting her little fists and said in a babyish voice, "Xiuya will do it, big brother isn’t tired."
Daya and Erya entered to this scene, exchanged glances, then pursed their lips and smiled.
"Alright, let’s eat," Ye Qiu then placed Little Ya on a stool, first scooped a spoonful of egg custard for Daya, then for Erya, and last for Little Ya. When it was his turn, there was hardly any left in the bowl, but he just smiled carelessly, "Eat up, big brother isn’t hungry. Tomorrow after I sell the storybooks and make so money, I’ll buy more good stuff."
Daya looked at Ye Qiu sowhat skeptically, but seeing his determined attitude, she dimly realized that the big brother now seed different from before.
In the Tianlin Dynasty, it was customary to eat two als a day; wealthy families might add so snacks, and for hos like Ye Qiu’s, after dinner, there would be no further als. It wasn’t sunset yet, but the three sisters were already washed up and ready to go to bed, fearing they’d get hungry if they slept late.
Ye Qiu opened his mouth; he had countless good things in his hands, but couldn’t conjure them out of thin air. He should wait and see if he could sell the "Liang and Zhu" storybook tomorrow; even if he couldn’t sell it, he would have to find a way to get things out of his storage space.
"Let’s not go into the mountains today, take good care of your two sisters, big brother will be back later," Ye Qiu got up early the next day, planning to take his storybooks to the county.
Their county was called Yi’an County, about twenty miles from Ye Village. He had run back in half a Chen the other day, and a normal walking pace for a man would take a little over a Chen, which makes about three Chen back and forth. He also had to drop out of school, which left him tight on ti, so he didn’t bring the three sisters. He thought that once he had a carriage or moved to the county, he would bring them over.
The Tianlin Dynasty had been established for over two hundred years and after more than a hundred years of recovery, it was now a flourishing period. There were many wealthy families in the county, hence there were more vendors, and the place was bustling with activity.
Ye Qiu first went to his school and explained the situation to the teacher, and promised he would definitely co back.
Ye Qiu was considered a genius in Ye Village, but not in the county; however, he was hard-working, so the teacher valued him highly. Seeing that Ye Qiu was insistent on dropping out, the teacher sighed but didn’t hold him back, just instructed him on the books needed to study for the Scholar examinations, hoping he would recover his spirits soon enough.
After leaving the school, Ye Qiu headed straight for the Pear Garden, a place where operas were perford. Most of the performances were local plays, lodious and pleasing to the ear, highly favored by ladies. Occasionally, there were troupes from other places performing too, and those young masters often ca to patronize them. Even a slightly famous actor could earn up to a hundred silver in tips in one night, an amount unimaginable to the farrs; although actors were looked down upon, they indeed made real money.
Ye Qiu had the typical appearance of a scholar: handso and delicate, but the Pear Garden was a place despised by scholars. Hence, when he entered, it caused people to look askance. Normally, scholars would go to Yihong Brothel, where though body-selling was also conducted, it was considered elegant—won there could sing, play instrunts, and had knowledge in poetry and painting, and it was a matter of pride for literati to be favored by an Oiran.
That’s why, as soon as Ye Qiu entered, a housekeeper approached him, not for anything else, but because there had been two confused scholars who had previously caused a scene in the Pear Garden, declaring it lacked decency, which made the housekeeper unwelcoming towards Ye Qiu’s arrival.
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