After settling the bill, Zhao Ce generously bought 400 wen worth of raw sugar, saying that he was tired from studying and wanted to bring it home to make sugar water.
Subtracting the 400 wen spent, he then bought 50 wen worth of salt and had 300 wen left. He happily put all the coins into his book box and patted it satisfactorily.
He needed to hurry back and make the sugar, then exchange it for more money. By doing so, he could earn some extra cash and improve their living conditions, which would be good for their health.
Since the sugar was transported from a distant place, it was not a business he could do every day. In the meantime, he could study and earn some extra income to help with household expenses.
As he thought about it, the young girl mentioned that they didn't have any flour to make dry food. Zhao Ce decided to go to the grain store to buy some.
After purchasing the grain, he went to the bookshop to pay the deposit and collect some copying work to take back home. This way, he could practice his calligraphy while earning some extra money.
Although printing technology was advanced, printed books were still more expensive than handwritten copies. After all, a new book had to go through various processes such as typesetting, proofreading, printing, and final proofreading before it could be officially printed. Handwriting copies, on the other hand, required fewer steps, making them relatively cheaper.
Once he made up his mind, Zhao Ce bid farewell to the shopkeeper and left the grocery store with his book box. He found the grain store and bought some white rice, flour, and a small can of sesame oil. He also bought two pounds of pork from the meat vendor.
He planned to make some white sugar and use the pork oil residue from frying the pork to dip in the sugar later. The thought of it made his stomach growl.
He then headed to the nearby bookshop and saw a crowd of people gathered around it. Many were discussing the bookstore being owned by Chen's family and how they were collecting riddles for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival lantern festival.
The guest speaker for the event was the county scholar, Liu Xiulan. The riddles would be selected and presented to the county magistrate for review, and the best ones would be chosen for the lantern festival.
The winner would not only receive a prize from the bookstore but also gain the favor of the county magistrate.
Zhao Ce stood outside and listened to their discussion, feeling a slight movement in his heart. Yesterday, when he first woke up, he felt dizzy and didn't think too much about it. But last night, he remembered something important. There was a reason why the original owner was driven to death by anger.
As a student, going to a brothel was nothing unusual, but the day before yesterday, he had done something that ruined his reputation and even led to the threat of being expelled from school.
Thinking about this, Zhao Ce felt that he needed to be careful and avoid making the same mistakes as the original owner and that he needed to do something to salvage his precarious reputation.
After all, in ancient times, there was a clear distinction between the four classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. As a powerless and unconnected farmer's son, no matter how clever he was, he couldn't flaunt it without a reliable background.
It was like this lump of sugar he had to put on an act just to be able to sell it for money, and even then it wasn't safe.
If Zhao Ce wanted to earn more money and live a better life in the future, he would inevitably have to continue his studies and earn some official recognition to protect himself.
The group of students he overheard discussing the lantern riddles offered him an excellent opportunity to make a name for himself. They had said that the person who was best at creating lantern riddles could even gain recognition from the county magistrate and have their name remembered.
This was undoubtedly a great opportunity for Zhao Ce, who had yet to take the imperial examination for scholars.
At this point, the students continued their discussion, saying, "I heard the compensation for creating lantern riddles is quite generous!"
"Yes, I heard that one student who hasn't even studied for two years wrote a lantern riddle and won a ten copper coin reward."
"But if you create a lantern riddle, you won't be able to participate in guessing the riddles during the lantern festival."
"We're all so clever, we'll just wait until the time comes to guess the riddles."
"Winning the top prize will also bring great fame."
The students became more and more excited, even imagining themselves winning all the lantern riddle contests.
Just then, a scholar in a worn long robe emerged from the crowd of shop assistants up ahead.
The shopkeeper of the bookstore shouted loudly, "What a talented student from Hejia Village, He Ronghao, has created a Grade B lantern riddle!"
He then handed the scholar a finely crafted small cloth bag.
The scholar smiled widely, gratefully accepting it and saying, "Thank you very much."
He then happily walked away.
The crowd gathered around him, and the student generously opened his purse to reveal a one-ounce silver piece and a small wooden plaque with the character "B" on it.
As long as one was a scholar without official recognition, one would come up with a lantern riddle in hopes of being chosen by the county magistrate during the lantern festival. It didn't matter whether they were rich or poor.
Among scholars, there was a strong culture of comparison, and if someone were to seek him out for the answer, he might be reported and exposed before he even had a chance to gain fame. Furthermore, he had no idea where his answer would be placed among the many lantern stalls. This kind of cheating method was simply not worth the risk.
Zhao Ce looked at the silver piece from afar and felt that even the copper coins he had just earned weren't as sweet as they used to be. He had spent hours yesterday tinkering with the sugar, and now it seemed like a waste of time.
Just by solving a riddle, one could earn a tael of silver, so it really was a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side". But regardless, who doesn't want to take advantage of an opportunity like this?
Zhao Ce raised an eyebrow. Regardless of the money, if he was selected, it would be unexpected income. He had also thought of a similar riddle.
Several more people went up to present their riddles. Many of the riddles presented were of B and C grades. The onlookers craned their necks to see what kind of riddles these people had written, but they were too far away to see. The surrounding scholars shook their heads, saying that it was difficult to come up with an A-grade riddle. Only one A-grade riddle was presented that day, and it was extremely challenging to come up with one.
" Liu Xiulan is one of the talented scholars in our county, and his eye for riddles is sharp," the scholars whispered. "If we want to get an A grade riddle from him, I'm afraid we don't have much hope. Furthermore, these graded riddles will be reviewed by the county officials, and even his own students won't receive any special treatment."
Sitting at his desk, Liu Xiulan looked at the students whispering below him and stroked his beard. These students were not very talented, and he felt it was time for his favorite student to come over. He had already instructed him to come around the same time today.
With his student's talent, he wouldn't need to give him any special treatment, and he would be able to come up with an A-grade riddle. Liu Xiulan looked forward to showing off in front of other scholars.
Liu Xiulan felt quite pleased with himself and his plan.
Just as he was thinking this, a tall and thin student with a book box on his back walked out of the crowd. Liu Xiulan thought it was his favorite student who had arrived. He looked up, only to find that it was a young man he had never seen before.
Zhao Ce walked out of the bustling crowd and arched his hand to ask, "Excuse me, is the riddle still being collected?"
The shopkeeper of the bookstore said, "Of course, we are collecting them. Please come forward."
Zhao Ce nodded and followed the shopkeeper to the front of the crowd. When some of the students saw Zhao Ce, they immediately shouted, "Isn't that Zhao Ce?"
"It is him."
"Why is he still daring to come to the city? Isn't he afraid of being beaten to death by Zhao Gongzi?"
"Hey, if I were him, I would just find a tree branch and hang myself."