Chapter 6
Struggle in Ancient Times
âWhatâs the different? I just brought some pheasantâs home.â Liao Tingyuâs heart skipped a bit but he still calmly replied.@@novelbin@@
âIt really changed a lot. You didnât like to teach me, although mother always told you to teach me. You always say that Iâm stupid, I canât do anything.â Liao Shi didnât realize it, but he replied with a little resentment.
Liao Tingyu calmed down and smiled, âArenât you a bit dull? Letâs talk about learning the word, my teacher thought me three times and I already understand. But big brother, I thought you several times you still forgot it the next day. What you write always missing one stroke, if you are in school the teacher will hit your hands.â
Liao Shi also thought he actually wasnât smart but his little brother was truly a genius. Back then, his little brother was at the village chiefâs house and listened to village chiefâs son reading aloud, he was able to follow and remembered the words.
But he didnât think much about it, after all there were many other students. At the beginning, the teacher said that his little brother was extremely smart and could obtain the scholar fame. Not only that, he could find better jobs with his father because his little brother teaching.
Thought about it, his little brother was really good, then he said triumphantly, âI made the trap today, you also watched, I learned it quickly. Iâll come and see it tomorrow; I will try to make a better one. Letâs have another good meal, I havenât eaten enough today.â Liao Shi rubbed his stomach aggrievedly.
âSame with me, actually I asked sister-in-law to cook them all but mother said only need one. Those pheasants can only be sold few pennies. Itâs better for us to eat them.â Liao Tingyu nodded in agreement, âWell, big brother can catch bigger prey tomorrow. Are you still going to work in the town?â
âI still have to go; I will go home earlier. Everything almost done, we just need to finish it tomorrow.â Liao Shi suddenly thought of something, âLet me tell you, there are two children in the masterâs house and they are looking for a teacher. I heard of them saying their current teacher have to be replaced. If you pass the exam, you can go to those rich peopleâs home to teach their children. I heard the teacher eat very well, the payment is ten taels a month, you donât have to do anything all day, just teach those children.â
âIs the master a merchant?â Liao Tingyu asked.
âOh, it seems to be, but he has a lot of lands. In our village, there are 30 mu (Chinese land measurement) of land belongs to his family.â Liao Shi realized; no wonder the teacherâs salary was high. In the eyes of scholars, merchants were less prestigious than those who run around digging the ground.
It was only a few years ago that I heard the children of merchants had to pay hundreds of taels before they could take examination. Some scholars and farmers looked down on them. Liao Shi thought this topic seemed a bit wrong, âHaha, I just said it, you donât have to think too much. Big brother didnât mean anything.â
âThere are children of merchants who study with me in the school. Actually, they are much better than us who watch the sky to eat.â
In fact, Liao Tingyu didnât have any special thought in his heart, he just said on a wimp. He thought, even if the merchant status was low, arenât they live very well? The countryâs economy also developed by business.
Liao Shi nodded in agreement, âYes, even the master family has so many servants to serve the children.â
The next day, Liao Shi went to check the trap, he was lucky enough to catch a rabbit. Mother Deng smiled so wide and held the rabbit tightly in her arms, âThis fat rabbit could be sold for two taels. Old man, you sell it tomorrow.â
After the rabbit, they didnât catch it again. Even so, their life was much better. They couldnât eat meat every day, but there was meat once a few days. Liao Tingyu also started his own plan.
He gave himself a nice fake name, combined the stories his heard and saw with his own imagination then wrote them into books. He sold the book in a bookstore; the contents of his book had never appeared here and it won the interest of many readers.
Because the sale was quite good, he signed a contract with the bookstore owner. In less than three months, he already saved sixty taels. Even for small business, targeting a scholar was the best; these were the people with good pocket money and willing to spend some for book.
Thought about those protagonists in transmigration novels, they usually sold recipes and do some handicrafts. He had the same idea but who could guarantee the recipes would be accepted? Every restaurant had their own unique taste, it was all from ancient cooking method.
He couldnât think of anything else, as a physic student and single man who could only do simple home-made foods. He really couldnât try selling recipes.