Chapter 230: Don't Accept Your Fate
Qin Yao thought he had a heat stroke from driving, but it turned out that his self-esteem was hurt.
She waved her hand, signaling him to stay away from the fire. She sat in front of the stove and said while looking at the noodles in the pot:
"Look at the map. We are almost at the capital city. As the head of a state, it must be much bigger and more prosperous than a small Kaiyang County. There are countless wealthy and powerful people living there."
"Above the provincial capital, there is Shuntian Prefecture in the north, Yingtian Prefecture in the south, and the two capitals of Sheng State. The top dignitaries are all there. If a kid from a certain village in Kaiyang County is thrown in there, I'm afraid he will be worse than a beggar on the street. After all, he has been there since he was a child and has seen countless luxury of the top dignitaries."
The noodles were cooked. Qin Yao signaled Dalang and the others to take out their bowls, and filled them with enough noodles according to their appetite. She sprinkled a handful of salt and added a few drops of sauce to make them taste delicious.
"Father, your bowl." Si Niang handed the bowl to Liu Ji. He took it with a forced smile. Not daring to trouble Qin Yao, he served the noodles himself.
The food was served, but he didn't eat it.
The rest of the food in the pot belonged to Qin Yao. She ate directly from the pot, saying as she ate: "A person's birthplace is very important, but we don't get to choose it. Being born in a small mountain village, we lack resources and have nothing to ask for."
"Born in Kyoto, even if you are a beggar, you can occasionally eat delicacies that the nobles don't want."
"But people born in small mountain villages can still choose their own future path."
"He could inherit his ancestors' one acre and three mu of land and be an honest farmer, or he could work hard, study for the imperial examination, and walk out of the village, the county town, the prefectural city, and go to Kyoto."
Hearing this, Liu Ji smiled bitterly, "But how can I, who was born with nothing, compete with them in the same examination room?"
He sighed, "Maybe, this is fate."
"Well, you can accept your fate." Qin Yao slurped the last big mouthful of noodles, put the bowl down, stood up, and counted on her fingers seriously:
"I gave Lin Erbao thirty-eight taels of silver to redeem you, and the tuition and miscellaneous fees for the academy are five taels of silver. In the past year or so, you have eaten my food and used my things. From head to toe, everything was paid for by me. I will give you ten taels. Add in the interest for so long, the total is..."
Liu Ji was shocked, "I won't accept my fate! I will never accept my fate!"
Qin Yao gave him a belated look, "The total is fifty-five taels of silver. Oh, and your bookcase and books, plus another five taels of silver, so it's sixty taels in total. Give me the money and you can go back. The world is so big, you can go wherever you want."
Of course, if you can't give the money, then I'm sorry, you can only let him die.
The four brothers and sisters of Dalang who were eating noodles stopped and looked at Liu Ji in shock, who was in tears. They couldn't understand why their father didn't know how to cherish his life.
No, he values his life very much. He was able to crawl back from the border and has been struggling all the time.
Liu Ji just didn't think things through as many other kids did and was stuck in a rut.
But now that Qin Yao had provoked him like this, he finally realized that he had never accepted his fate since he was born!
"My wife, don't be angry. I'm thinking about it. Come on, sit down and rest for a while. I'll go to the river to wash the dishes and we'll set off right away."
Liu Ji finished all the noodles in the bowl in two bites, picked up Qin Yao's bowl and chopsticks, and went to the river with Dalang and his siblings.
"Father!" Si Niang chased after him angrily, "I still haven't finished eating a bite!"
Sanlang also ran after his sister. He ate slowly and there was still a small bowl left. "Wuwuwu, Si Niang, wait for me."
Qin Yao stood under the cool thatched shed, watching the father and his two sons go to the river. She raised her eyebrows and thought that Liu Ji's repeated jumping around was quite funny.
Little did people know that Liu Li, who was listening to the whole process, secretly said that he had learned something!
They cannot choose where they are born, but they can choose what path to take.
"Alas~" Liu Li sighed regretfully. With Madam Qin's knowledge and martial arts, if she were a man, she would definitely be able to achieve great things.
Qin Yao had already noticed the burning gaze behind her. She turned around and smiled at Liu Li, who looked at her with regret, "Get ready to go."
"Okay!" Liu Li responded loudly, waking up Da Zhuang who was sleeping beside him, "Are you leaving?"
Liu Li smiled and nodded, "Yes."
"Huh? Second Young Master, are you happy again?" Da Zhuang asked curiously, he was sighing just now.
Liu Li nodded. Not only did he feel better, he was also full of confidence.
Get in the car, open the book box and continue reading.
Da Zhuang scratched his head. Didn't we agree that we wouldn't read any books on the way?
After Liu Ji and his two sons returned, they packed up a bit and then the two families continued their journey.
The following journey was less thrilling than the first day, but more exciting as we were about to reach our destination.
As Liu Ji met more and more candidates along the way, he discovered that only one or twelve of them were traveling in BMW escorts, and the majority of the rest were actually ordinary people like them.
It's just that he had only focused on the glamorous ones and ignored the ordinary people who made up the majority.
As the number of candidates increases, more and more people are on the road.
However, when we got near the city, the number of people decreased significantly.
The price of grain has gone from being increasingly outrageous to gradually stabilizing at a high level. The prices of grain near the provincial capital are basically the same, and the environment is relatively stable.
When they saw the city gate with a tower, the children all exclaimed "Wow".
Dalang exclaimed, "It turns out that the city wall is really three meters high!"
Si Niang and San Lang also said excitedly: "This place is much bigger than the county town."
Erlang leaned on the car window, looking at the people coming in and out. Everyone was dressed in bright clothes, completely different from the gray and white crowd outside Kaiyang County.
On the other hand, they looked even poorer in their white linen clothes.
The roads in the city are neat and wide, enough for two cars to run side by side, and there is still enough space for people to set up stalls on both sides.
Most of the houses are made of bricks and tiles. I saw eight or nine two-story buildings in a row as I entered the city. It was not surprising at all.
The accent here is also different from that in Kaiyang County. Liu Ji got off the car and asked for directions. It took him a long time to find out where the Education Administration Department was located.
He and Liu Li had to report to the Education Commissioner first and submit the required documents to go through the formalities.
Outsiders who are not familiar with the local area usually look for an agent.
The agent industry has formed a stable industrial chain. Someone will handle the tedious procedures for you, saving you time and effort, so students can concentrate on preparing for the exams.
But there is also the possibility of being deceived, and you need to distinguish it yourself.
It's okay not to find an agent. It will just take more time if you do it yourself.
After arriving in the city and finding a cost-effective inn with available rooms, Qin Yao and the children stayed behind to pack their luggage, while Liu Ji and Liu Li immediately went out to inquire with the necessary materials.
Both of them were awkward in communicating with the locals, let alone dealing with the court officials.
So we plan to find a local agent to help us, so that we don't have to run around like a headless fly.
(End of this chapter)