My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 39

Chapter 39: Predicament

After everything was taken care of, it was already dark. After paying the rent, they still had some money left. Fortunately, the county magistrate had rewarded them with twenty taels of silver; otherwise, they would have been in a much tighter spot.

Xu Zhizhou knew the recipe for Bobo Chicken. He thought that after Song Changxu went to the county school to study, he could make it at home and set up a stall to earn some money to supplement their income.

Although he still wanted to enjoy a life of leisure, they had already reached this threshold. For the next year or so, the two of them had to live well in the county town, and they would definitely need money.

At night, the two of them went out for a walk. The county town was lit with lanterns, casting a soft candlelight. It was not like this in the town. The shops in the town were fewer and usually closed at night.

The shops in the county town generally stayed open for a long time. The Ningxing Dynasty did not prohibit night markets. Sometimes, the night markets were even more crowded than the morning ones. Small vendors, peddlers, and street performers could be seen everywhere.

Yesterday, they had been exhausted from the journey and had gone to bed after dinner. Now that everything was taken care of, they felt much more relaxed after a walk on the street.

Song Changxu watched Xu Zhizhou watching the acrobatics, his eyes sparkling.

It seemed that he really liked to watch acrobatics.

Xu Zhizhou pulled on Song Changxu. “Look, how did he breathe fire!”

He was like a child with a strong curiosity.

At first, Xu Zhizhou still paid attention to Song Changxu, but soon he couldn’t. He watched the performance with rapt attention.

He had only seen acrobatics when he was a child, and had never had the chance since. Because the acrobats usually only came to town to perform for a while in the summer and winter, and their performances were always at night, they couldn’t see them, and thus had missed a lot.

Song Changxu stood quietly by Xu Zhizhou’s side.

After watching the acrobatics, Xu Zhizhou pulled Song Changxu home with satisfaction. After washing up, Xu Zhizhou climbed into bed. When Song Changxu blew out the candle and got into bed, he quickly snuggled into his arms.

After a while, Xu Zhizhou said in a muffled voice, “We’ve left home just like that. I’m still not used to it.”

Song Changxu was fine. He had gone to university in another city and was relatively independent.

“I’m a little homesick now,” Xu Zhizhou said coquettishly.

An image of a homesick kitten immediately appeared in Song Changxu’s mind.

After a while, Xu Zhizhou felt a little sleepy. He nestled in Song Changxu’s chest and closed his eyes.

“It’s fine. I’ll be with you.”

He reached out and patted Xu Zhizhou’s head. Xu Zhizhou shook his head, his mind hazy. He mumbled a few words and fell asleep.

The night was pitch black. A crack was left in the window for ventilation. The teacher and the broker were right. This place was very quiet.

Song Changxu held Xu Zhizhou, the two of them close together. He also fell asleep.

The next day, the two of them woke up very early. They went out to buy meat buns and steamed buns. Song Changxu was going to the county school.

After breakfast, Song Changxu went to find Feng Xin’ou, and the two of them went to the Jinhe County School together. It was located a little closer to the outskirts, not in the bustling city center. The place they lived was remote, but not far from the county school. When they arrived, Song Changxu estimated that it would take about ten minutes to walk.

The gatekeeper of the county school saw them, first asked for their names, and then told them to wait on the side.

Then a middle-aged man in a long robe came to get them. He said they could call him Teacher Zhou, and that the two of them would be in his class from now on.

He first took them to get their spring, autumn, and winter school uniforms, and then said, “I’ll show you around today. You can come to class tomorrow.”

“Our county school doesn’t have a holiday every month, only a five-day holiday at the end of the month. Lunch is provided. The rice is free. You just need to pay for the dishes. The price for vegetable dishes is two copper coins, while meat dishes are more expensive, some are six, some are seven or eight, and some are even ten.”

“These are some trees that have been planted here. You can come and have a look. Now I’ll take you to see the classroom.”

After seeing the classroom, the two of them were very satisfied. And as Teacher Li had said, the cafeteria at the county school was very cheap, so it was not a big burden on their two families.

Teacher Zhou said, “Since you’ve both become xiucai and have entered the county school, you should study hard and strive to become a Juren.”

Song Changxu and Feng Xin’ou both agreed.

Teacher Zhou then took them to see other places.

On the other side, Xu Zhizhou was planning to buy two wooden buckets. He opened the door and saw that Jiang Zhuo’s expression was a bit bitter.

Xu Zhizhou’s heart stirred. He knew that Feng Xin’ou was from Linglai Village. He probably didn’t have much of a family background, just like his husband. Coming to the county school to study and having to rent a place was a considerable expense for the family.

It would be difficult for him to manage the Bobo Chicken business by himself. If he could find a helper, it would be much easier for the two of them to prepare the ingredients and sell it together. Besides, they were both from the village, and their husbands were both in the county school, so they were naturally closer.

Xu Zhizhou had this plan in mind. But he hadn’t bought everything yet. It was better to buy everything first and then go to Jiang Zhuo to discuss it.

He went to the carpenter from yesterday and bought two wooden buckets. Xu Zhizhou brought them back and first rinsed them with hot water. In the county, they couldn’t go up the mountain to chop firewood. In the future, firewood would also be an expense.

Xu Zhizhou thought he was very smart.

After putting away the wooden buckets, he had to go to the market to gather information first. There were also people selling snacks at the market. When he went to ask, the price was twice as expensive as in the town.

Then he could set a higher price for his Bobo Chicken. In addition, Xu Zhizhou observed that other people usually went to a restaurant to eat after buying snacks.

If he could set up a few tables and sell both meals and Bobo Chicken, which was also a good accompaniment to rice, he could also arrange for tea drinks. Summer was coming soon, and it was the time to make money from tea drinks.

He had learned how to make herbal tea from his elder brother. He could sell it together then. He only had a rough framework now. When Song Changxu came back from the county school, the two of them could discuss it.

When Song Changxu came back, Xu Zhizhou had cooked a lunch, and then he told him his idea.

“Do you think this is feasible?”

Song Changxu said with admiration, “We can give it a try first.”

Then he told Xu Zhizhou about the county school, and Xu Zhizhou nodded. The two of them talked about their ideas.

Xu Zhizhou: “You still need money to live in the county town. Otherwise, it’s so tiring. By the way, I’ll take you to see my uncle this afternoon.”

Then he wailed, “I not only want to be the husband of an official, I also want to be a rich person, with power and influence.”

In the afternoon, they went to the street to buy some fruits, and then went to find Cao Chang. It was his day off today. When the door opened, Cao Chang was a bit taken aback to see Xu Zhizhou, and then he saw a young scholar in a long robe next to his nephew.

This person must be his nephew’s husband, whom he had never met.

Cao Chang had heard of Song Changxu’s name. They worked in the yamen and were well-informed. They knew that Song Changxu was the top scorer of the college exam. At first, he had thought it was someone with the same name, but after asking, he found out that it was really his nephew’s husband.

“Come in. You didn’t have to bring fruits.”

Xiang-shi was also warm to them. She poured them a cup of tea and brought out some dried fruits and pastries. She casually sized up Song Changxu and saw that he was handsome and upright.

She couldn’t help but nod. The person Zhizhou had married this time was really good. He had become a xiucai at such a young age.

“Are you here to study at the county school?” Cao Chang asked, although he had a guess.

“My husband still wants to continue to take the exams, so we’ve come to the county.”

Cao Chang nodded. “It’s good that you’ve come. Changxu, is that your name? You were so good at studying in the town. When you get to the county school and meet even better teachers, your studies will be even better. It would be a pity not to take the exams with such results.”

Cao Chang’s family had a son and a daughter. The son had been sent to study, but he was not cut out for it. Everyone who came to the county wanted to change their family’s status. Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the best was to get a title and become a scholar-official.

Xu Zhizhou sat in the courtyard and talked with his uncle. Song Changxu would also occasionally answer a question or two.

“You’ll have dinner at our house tonight. I’ll go to the market to see if there are any good vegetables,” Xiang-shi said with a smile, and left with her basket.

Cao Chang told them some things about the county, which gave Song Changxu and Xu Zhizhou a better understanding of Jinhe County.

“As long as Changxu studies hard in the county school, that’s enough. If you have any difficulties, you can come and find me. I’ll help if I can.”

Xu Zhizhou said, “Thank you in advance, uncle.”

“We’re all relatives. It’s not easy to have a relative come to the county, and you’re my own nephew. Of course I have to treat you well.”

In the evening, they had a meal at the Cao family’s. Song Changxu also saw their two children, who looked a little younger than them.

After eating, the two of them went back. After washing up, Song Changxu packed his book box so that he could go to the county school early the next morning.

If he went early, the breakfast at the county school was cheaper than eating outside. The quantity was not much, and it was usually for the teachers, but of course, the students who went early could have some. A meat bun was three copper coins, and a steamed bun was one.

As expected of a public school run by the court. With the court’s funding, the county school was very generous with its food.

Xu Zhizhou was a bit tired today. The two of them went to bed early. Song Changxu kissed Xu Zhizhou’s forehead.

The two of them could live a good life together.

Xu Zhizhou’s leg unconsciously rested on Song Changxu’s. He was still sleeping soundly, but Song Changxu was restless.

The two of them hadn’t done anything intimate since they had come to Jinhe County. Song Changxu reached out and quickly touched his leg.

He missed the days when his legs were wrapped around his waist.

Song Changxu sighed and forced himself to sleep. He had to go to the county school to study tomorrow morning. He saw the predicament of the family. He could only study hard and come back to help Zhizhou with his work after class.

On the other side, after Feng Xin’ou and Jiang Zhuo had washed up, the two of them had no relatives in Jinhe County. They were worried about money. Although Jiang Zhuo’s family owned a noodle shop and had given a generous dowry, it couldn’t withstand such spending.

Jiang Zhuo said, “I’ll go and look for a job in the county tomorrow to earn some money to supplement our income.”

Hearing this, Feng Xin’ou felt a little regretful. “I should have accepted the merchant’s sponsorship. Then you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”

“It’s fine. The fifty acres of tax-exempt land also have a harvest of six taels a year.” They would let others put their land under Feng Xin’ou’s name and charge a fee. Jiang Zhuo was here to take care of Feng Xin’ou. His husband went to study in the morning and only came back at night. He had to do something to pass the time.

He could also work as a helper in a restaurant. Jiang Zhuo hoped that the working hours could be flexible.

***

Author’s Note:

Little Song: Mantra of purity. [Furious]

Little Xu: Sleeping soundly. [Shrugs]