"Young Master Qing should be returning in the next couple of days, right?"
Chen Qing was still outside the courtyard when he heard the familiar voice of his sister-in-law. Seizing the rare opportunity to eavesdrop around the corner, he paused his steps and stopped outside the gate.
The stout woman with thick waist, rounded shoulders, and tawny skin in the courtyard was none other than Luo Xiu, Chen Qing's sister-in-law. Looking at the familiar figure, a flash of realization crossed Chen Qing's eyes.
He still remembered the time when he had just begun his studies, and his sister-in-law joined their household with her fair and delicate beauty, hardly resembling the daughter of a rural Zhuang Family.
It was said that Luo Xiu was the youngest daughter in her family and greatly pampered, never toiling in the fields from a young age. Perhaps the Luo Family never imagined that within a brief decade, their daughter would be worn down to this state...
"Ah, yes, he should be returning in these next few days."
The voice in reply was his own mother's. Although she wasn't very old, just over forty—a time when many top celebrities in modern times would still be vying for the roles of young women—she looked immensely haggard, almost believable to be a sixty-year-old woman.
Chen Qing felt a pang of heartache. If it hadn't been for supporting his education, even without his father, the Chen Family, with its fifty acres of good farmland, should be living comfortably. How could it have driven the entire family to move to the county town, to live by grinding tofu?
Since ancient times, the three most arduous tasks were blacksmithing, boat punting, and tofu grinding. In just a few years, both his mother and sister-in-law had aged so much that he could barely recognize them...
"Soon, very soon..." His mother laughed as she skillfully poured the set tofu into a cheesecloth-lined mold, wrapped it tightly, and pressed it down, completing the final step of tofu-making.
"Mother..." The sister-in-law, while helping, asked, "Young Master Qing is about to become an official, why do you still toil so hard?"
"We shouldn't waste the few dozen pounds of soybeans we bought the other day..." His mother said cheerily, "Just this one last time, daughter-in-law, after this, we'll have good days ahead of us..."
"Indeed, indeed..." Luo Xiu responded with a smile, but her eyes were filled with unease.
When she entered the family, the mother-in-law consoled her with promises of a better life once Young Master Qing became a Scholar. Over fifty acres of good land was slowly accumulated by her husband's father when he became a Scholar and a master.
Thus, she helped in the fields, toiling and laboring for the promise of a brighter future.
Young Master Qing did become a Scholar, but the promised better days started to differ from what the mother-in-law initially said.
"Listen to me, daughter-in-law, our Young Master Qing became a Scholar at twelve; he is destined to be a Chosen Man. We cannot be satisfied just yet, we need to continue to support him. Once he becomes a Chosen Man, our lives will be quite different from an ordinary village Educational Instructor. Even if he doesn't become an official, at the very least he can be a County Magistrate. Think about the baby in your womb, if you have a Chosen Man as a little brother, won't it pave the way for your child's education in the future?"
After enduring for two years and hearing the unfulfilled promises, she wanted to get angry, but then the mother-in-law convinced her with the idea that, indeed, it made sense. If the little brother became a Chosen Man, it would make many things easier for her child, whether in studies or finding a way in life, all thanks to his uncle's position.
Furthermore, if she had a daughter, marrying her off backed by a Chosen Man uncle could secure her a better match...
With that in mind, she continued to endure, and Young Master Qing met the expectations. He truly became a Chosen Man.
But the ideal life did not materialize. Far from improving, their situation worsened. To support Chen Qing's studies, his attendances at the prefectural school and examinations in the Capital City, the family's resources were nearly exhausted. The fifty acres of fine farmland were all sold, leaving nothing for her and her husband.
The family moved to the county town, rented a small house in a remote area, and started grinding tofu—three years of grinding tofu!
"Daughter-in-law..." The old woman finished wrapping the tofu, then laughingly took her hand and found a place to sit down.
The tone was so intimate and warm, it made Luo Xiu's skin crawl!
For it was this very tone the mother-in-law employed whenever she coaxed her into continuing the hard labor...
But Young Master Qing had become an Imperial Scholar now. She might not be literate, but she knew that becoming an Imperial Scholar should mean that one has finally made it, shouldn't it?
Could there still be a hiccup?
"Daughter-in-law, our Young Master Qing is really making something of himself..."
"Indeed, Mother, Young Master Qing is highly accomplished!" Luo Xiu replied with a laugh, yet her heart beat warily.
"Young Master Qing has become an official, and our family's good days are all yet to come."
Luo Xiu's heart skipped a beat; why were the good days still to come?
"Originally, according to Master Huang, our Young Master Qing's literary works weren't profound enough and at most he would attain the same stature as an Imperial Scholar, which means he'd be assigned to some remote area as a County Magistrate. That would have been enough for our family, but Young Master Qing is so accomplished that, as the one bringing good news said, he ended up ranking in the second class!"
"Second... second class, what does that mean?" Luo Xiu stammered in her speech.
"Second class means that it's very likely he'll stay in the Capital City to be an official!" The old woman said excitedly. "The Capital City is a marvelous place, right under the emperor's nose, full of wonderful things. Once we move there with Young Master Qing and settle down, your children might even attend the Imperial College, and Er Ya could pick out a marriage in the Capital City, which is certainly better than Lyuzhou!"
"Is that so? That really is good news!" Luo Su said with a smile, but there was no joy on her face.
"But the thing is..."
Luo Su's face fell instantly. She knew it; she knew there would be a 'but'!
"The Capital City, you see, is where the emperor lives, and land is worth its weight in gold. Young Master Qing has just become an official, so his salary won't be enough. We can't give up our tofu-making skills; we'll need to secure a residence there, won't we?"