Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Little Beggar
269 Little Beggar
Wei Zijian had developed a liking for learning all sorts of strange things with Zhao Zhitong, such as anatomical charts of organs and human skeletons.
Zhao Zhitong, finding him incredibly annoying, declared that she didn’t like playing with fools.
Her original intention was to stop him from bothering her unnecessarily, but Wei Zijian actually took her words to heart. After returning home, he picked up the books he detested the most.
If Wei Zijian truly passed this Elementary Scholar Exam, Zhao Zhitong would deserve great credit for it.
Just then, Qiao Muchen called out to Zhao Zhitong. After a quick word with Wei Zijian, she ran over to Qiao Muchen.
Qiao Muchen stood beside the horse carriage. "Tongtong, we’re leaving now."
The horse carriage would take them to the Xuzhou exam site and then wait for them there. After they finished their exams, the coachman would pick them up directly and bring them back.
Everyone else offered auspicious words, such as "may you leap over the Dragon Gate like a carp," "perform as effortlessly as a fish in water," and "have your name inscribed on the golden list."
Zhao Yue said to Zhao Zhitong playfully, "We’re leaving now, Zhao Zhitong! Hurry up and say something auspicious and pleasant for us to hear."
"Alright," Zhao Zhitong replied, standing outside the carriage with a smile as radiant as a flower. She said to the two of them, "I wish that after you enter the examination hall, you both wear plenty of clothes. With warm hands, your fingers will be nimble, and the essays you write will surely be neat and beautiful, as if divinely assisted!"
A wave of laughter spread through the onlookers, and the tense atmosphere instantly eased considerably.
A village elder chuckled and said, "This young girl usually has the most literary talent, but today’s words of blessing are very down-to-earth."
Mother Qiao smiled gently. "Though colloquial, they are good wishes indeed."
Qiao Muchen laughed heartily and said, "We’ll take your auspicious words to heart! We’ll definitely wear more clothes."
After bidding farewell once more, the two of them boarded their respective horse carriages. Accompanied by the sounds of the coachmen urging the horses, the two carriages sped off, quickly disappearing in a cloud of dust.
「——」
Not many people were able to participate in the Elementary Scholar Exam, which is why Mrs. Wang became so insufferably proud when her eldest grandson, Zhao Ji, passed it at the age of thirteen.
She even used this achievement as a bargaining chip to make the clan leader and the elders side with her, ultimately having Zhao Dong’s family expelled from the clan records.
However, during last year’s autumn screening, the provincial-level examination held every three years, he failed to make the list.
Still, he wasn’t considered too old; at only seventeen or eighteen this year, he could continue to try.
The next autumn screening was three years away, leaving him plenty of time to study hard.
This setback, however, did little to stop Mrs. Wang from boasting.
It was just that, in the past two years, another promising talent had emerged within their Zhao Clan: Zhao Yue, who had passed the Elementary Scholar Exam twice in a row.
Moreover, he had passed it at the tender age of ten, two years earlier than Zhao Ji, who had passed at twelve.
The Zhao Clan now had another beacon of hope, and Mrs. Wang’s eldest grandson was no longer the sole standout.
Hearing the people on the street praise Zhao Yue and Qiao Muchen, and seeing them fawn over Butcher Zhao’s family, both Mrs. Wang and Xiao Wang felt a pang of jealousy.
Once back home, they began to make veiled, cutting remarks.
"Pah! Do they really think the Elementary Scholar Exam is that easy to pass? Becoming a Cultivated Talent is no simple feat! Only my eldest grandson was smart enough to pass it."
"Exactly! Just look at that Mrs. Yang, showing off like that! What’s there to be so smug about? He only passed the first two stages by sheer luck. My son said the third stage is incredibly difficult!"
Her own Zhao Ji hadn’t managed to pass all stages in one go, let alone Zhao Yue! He looked so foolish and slow-witted; he was bound to fail.
Other clan members, while offering congratulations and good wishes, naturally felt envious as well.
Although they were all from the same clan, and tracing back a few generations would show they were all related, they knew that if a scholar emerged from the clan, everyone would share in the reflected glory.
However, who wouldn’t wish for that scholar to come from their own immediate family?
So, they would look at other people’s children and then at their own naughty children—who only knew how to roll in the mud and infuriate their parents—and feel an overwhelming urge to grab a broom and give them a beating.
Consequently, over these two days, many of the household "little monkeys" noticed that their own fathers and mothers seemed particularly irritable, and so, they all started to behave themselves.
Far fewer children were seen running wildly and playing on the streets.
「——」
Meanwhile, after seeing off her two friends, Zhao Zhitong headed to the medical clinic in the county town.
There weren’t many patients today, so Zhao Zhitong went to the backyard to chop medicinal herbs with her two older female cousins. The three young girls chatted and laughed as they worked, creating a very relaxed atmosphere in the backyard.
Just then, Sun Daqing’s voice suddenly carried over. A moment later, he ran in, saying, "Little Cousin, Grandfather wants you to go to the front hall and keep an eye on things. He needs to go out to see a patient."
"Oh, alright." Zhao Zhitong looked up and replied, then stood up and followed Sun Daqing towards the front hall.
Upon entering the medical clinic, she saw Sun Kang with his medicine box already on his back. Seeing Zhao Zhitong, he said, "Young girl, watch the clinic for a while. Grandfather is going out to see a patient."
Zhao Zhitong nodded immediately. "Alright, Grandfather, leave everything here to me. You can go without any worries."
Given Zhao Zhitong’s current capabilities, Sun Kang felt at ease leaving the clinic in her care. After giving her a few more instructions, he hurriedly left with the patient’s family member who had come to call for the physician.
Zhao Zhitong observed that there were no patients in the medical clinic, so she sat down by the entrance, propped her chin in her hand, and watched the people coming and going on the street, lost in a daze.
Just then, a beggar in ragged clothes slowly ambled past the entrance of their medical clinic.
Zhao Zhitong glanced at him once but paid no further attention. Having spent a considerable time in the county town, she had discovered that there was never a shortage of beggars there.
After staring blankly at the doorway for a while, she grew bored. So, she got up, went inside, found a medical book in her grandfather’s room, and returned to her seat by the door to read.
Just as she was engrossed in her reading, a sudden commotion erupted nearby, interrupting her.
Hearing the noise, Sun Daqing also ran out. He stood beside Zhao Zhitong, looking towards the disturbance. After a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, Little Cousin, it looks like Niu Yaoba is bullying someone again!"
"Isn’t that normal? If he weren’t bullying people, would he still be Niu Yaoba?" Zhao Zhitong replied casually, not showing much reaction.
"True," Sun Daqing mumbled, looking in that direction. "Humph, I think we gave him too little Da Huang last time. We should have given him more, enough to make him have diarrhea every day so he couldn’t leave the latrine. Then he wouldn’t be out here bullying people."
Zhao Zhitong closed her book. "Second Elder Cousin, severe diarrhea can lead to dehydration and even death."
Sun Daqing chuckled. "Hehe, I’m just talking big. I’d never actually do something like that."
As he finished speaking, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? That Niu Baishun is such a dog! He’s actually picking on a little beggar."
Zhao Zhitong looked over again. Sure enough, she saw Niu Baishun standing arrogantly before a small, raggedly dressed beggar, who looked utterly pitiful.
Sun Daqing’s curiosity was piqued. "Little Cousin, let’s go check it out. There’s no one at the medical clinic right now anyway."
Saying this, he started to pull Zhao Zhitong along with him towards the commotion. As they drew closer, they heard Niu Baishun’s haughty voice: "You little beggar! Do you even know who I am? How dare you snatch food from my precious kitty!"
The beggar, however, replied in a calm and unhurried tone, cupping his hands respectfully, "Sir, I did not intentionally try to take food from your cat. I was merely passing by and happened to see an unwanted fish on the roadside, so I picked it up to fill my stomach."