met free Chapter 72 Hunting Wild Boars
Chapter 72 Hunting Wild Boars
Once glazed ceramics hit the market, they swept through the entire Great Xia Dynasty like a whirlwind. In just two years, Li Wancai, who was previously unknown on the rich list, rose to ninth place like a rocket!
Riding the wave of the popularity of glazed ceramics, the Li family rose to become a prominent imperial merchant family.
At the same time, Wen Yuxia's wealth also increased dramatically, from one mansion and three farms to four mansions, three farms, thousands of acres of fertile land, and two shops, with her family's silver savings reaching tens of thousands of taels.
After becoming rich overnight, Wen Yuxia did not tell Wen Dashan about her true assets. Instead, she quietly divided her wealth into two equal parts, keeping one for herself and giving the other to her younger brother, Wen Yunhong.
For Wen Yuxia, making money was important, but there was something else that made her very happy: her eight-year-old son, Wen Yunhong, had successfully passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination and become the youngest candidate for the imperial examination in the history of Xinchuan County!
Coincidentally, fifteen-year-old Wen Yunhai and twelve-year-old Wen Yunqing also successfully passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination.
After careful consideration, Wen Yuxia persuaded her three brothers not to participate in the county examination and sent them to the renowned Qingyun Academy.
In Xinghua Village, Wen Yunjiang and others, who had studied diligently for two years under the village's private tutor but were eliminated in the first exam, also faced a choice.
After taking a deep drag on his pipe, Wen Dashan said in a muffled voice, "Eldest daughter-in-law, second son, third son, Da Ya promised to pay for Jiang'er and the others' tuition for two years. Now that the two years have passed, it's up to you whether or not to send Jiang'er and the others to school."
Having paid tuition for the children of the first, second, and third wives for two years, Wen Dashan believed that his grandchildren's tuition should be paid by their parents, and that Wen Yuxia could no longer continue to be the one to pay for it.
Madam Yang spoke first: "Father, we've earned quite a bit of money these past two years from burning charcoal, raising chickens, sheep, and pigs. With money in the house, I plan to let Jiang'er and He'er continue their studies. Also, Yang'er is of school age, so I'll send him to school."
Wen Yuxia once said that knowledge changes destiny. Whenever her cousins passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination, she would send them to study at an academy for five years, covering all their living expenses and tuition.
The eldest son, Wen Yunhai, had passed the preliminary examination and had already been taken to the county town by Wen Yuxia. Madam Yang wanted to give her other three sons a chance to change their fate, so she decided to pay for their continued education herself.
Before Wen Zibai could speak, Zhang Shi interjected, "Qing'er went to the county town, and I plan to have Bo'er drop out of school and come home to learn farming from the head of the household. The land at home needs someone to farm it, doesn't it?"
Zhang had her own reasons. Wen Yuxia paid for all of her eldest son Wen Yunqing's school expenses, so Wen Yunbo's tuition should not be borne by the family. Wen Yunbo was not good enough and had no one to blame but himself.
Wen Zihua smiled wryly. His sister-in-law and second brother's families both had students who had passed the imperial examinations, but his family hadn't. His eldest son, Wen Yunchen, wasn't good at studying, and his youngest son was only three years old and still too young. Wen Zihua decided to let his second son study for two years to see how it went: "Dad, I'm planning to send Hu'er to school for his early education."
Wen Dashan said seriously, "Da Ya has sacrificed a lot for this family. From today onwards, apart from Hai'er and Shen'er, no one else can use Da Ya's money anymore, understand?"
The implication was that after today, grandchildren who had passed the preliminary examination would no longer be entitled to have Wen Yuxia pay their tuition fees.
Wen Linshi, engrossed in washing clothes in the courtyard, occasionally glanced up into the main room. She saw Old Master Wen and his wife, Wen Dashan, their two sons, and their three daughters-in-law, the whole family sitting happily around the large round table, chatting and eating melon seeds.
If she hadn't gone with her family when they fled the famine, if she hadn't moved the grain back to her parents' home, if she had shamelessly returned to the Wen family when settling down... she wouldn't have returned to the Wen family as a servant.
Alas, it's too late for regrets! Madam Wenlin wiped away the tears streaming from the corners of her eyes and vigorously rubbed the clothes in her hands.
"Master, there's a gap on the left, quickly block it! Eldest brother, go to the right front..." Nan Si shouted from a tree, directing his master and fellow disciples to surround the wild boar.
Two large wild boars and seven piglets were being chased frantically by Nan Yi and his group. Suddenly, Nan Wu dove and landed on the back of one of the large wild boars.
"Danger! Nan Wu, come down quickly!" Gu Jiusi, Nan Wu's martial arts master, shouted.
"It's nothing," Nan Wu said, turning his head to make a face at Gu Jiusi.
Just as Nan Wu was feeling smug, the wild boar suddenly jerked its body, and Nan Wu, caught off guard, was thrown away. The crowd gasped and rushed over to check on him.
Taking advantage of the situation, the wild boars scattered and fled. Nan Wu was extremely anxious, stamping his feet and shouting, "Quick, chase them!" They had finally managed to surround a group of wild boars; they couldn't let them escape.
In Xinghua Village, as Wen Linshi was secretly grieving, Wen Zibai approached her: "There's no need to wash clothes so vigorously; don't tire yourself out."
After all, she was his own mother. Seeing Wen Linshi working so hard, Wen Zibai still felt a little sorry for her.
Wen Linshi raised her head, her eyes filled with surprise and a hint of gratitude. "Second son, I know I was wrong. I will definitely work hard to atone for my sins."
Wen Zibo sighed softly, turned and walked out of the courtyard: "The past is the past, let's just live in the present."
No matter how much Wen Lin tries to atone, Wen Dashan will never forgive her. Torn between his mother and father, Wen Zibai feels that as a son, it's best to remain neutral.
Meanwhile, Nan Yi and his group regrouped and launched another attack on the wild boar herd. This time, Master Gu was in command, and the brothers and sisters cooperated seamlessly.
Nan Si seized the opportunity and threw out a rope, which quickly lassoed the head of the largest wild boar. With everyone working together, they subdued the boar.
The remaining wild boar quickly collapsed to the ground under Gu Jiusi's powerful punches.
The remaining seven piglets were defeated one by one by Nan Yi and his group, and all seven piglets were tied up into zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Two large and seven small, a total of nine wild boars. Lin Zhuangtou said with a beaming smile, "Nan Yi, put the small boars into the pigpen. Liu Tuozi, sharpen the knife and slaughter the pigs. We'll have a feast tonight. Old Yang, go to the county town to pick up the young lady."
Everyone got to work with great joy, slaughtering pigs, washing vegetables, cooking, and setting up tables and chairs. When Wen Yuxia arrived at Lingyuan Manor with Wen Yunhong, Wen Yunhai, and Wen Yunshen, the pig-slaughtering dishes were already laid out on the table.
When the Wen brothers first arrived at Lingyuan Manor and learned that it was owned by Wen Yunhong, they exchanged a glance, each seeing surprise in the other's eyes.
A pig-slaughtering feast brought Wen Yuxia closer to the villagers. That night, Wen Yuxia and her group stayed overnight at the farm.
The next morning, Old Yang drove a mule cart to take Wen Yunhong and the others to the academy, while Wen Yuxia, who stayed at the manor, went to inspect Lingdong Manor and Lingtong Manor, accompanied by the head of the manor.