Chapter 430: Chapter 419: The Top Scorer from a Farming Family
The village chief, named Ye Baomin, just celebrated his sixtieth birthday this year. According to generational hierarchy, Ye Qiu should address him as Uncle Grandpa. While Uncle Grandpa appears fair and impartial on the surface, in reality, he only makes decisions that benefit his own family and those on good terms with him.
His family is the wealthiest in the village, and they also have a younger son who works as a Government Official in the county government. Because of this, even if some decisions are unfair, nobody dares to complain. Remembering the fate of his three sisters in his past life, Ye Qiu loathes this Uncle Grandpa intensely, but there’s nothing he can do about it right now.
He is only fourteen, merely a negligible child student. To ensure a carefree life for his three sisters in this lifetime, he must climb the ladder through the imperial examination. However, to proceed to the imperial examination, he needs recommendation letters from his clan, his teacher, and his classmates. Missing any one of these would complicate matters tremendously, and qualification might still not be guaranteed.
With the village chief’s current capabilities, although it might be troublesome, it’s not impossible to crush Ye Qiu and his orphaned siblings. Ye Qiu doesn’t want to confront the village chief directly, and what reason would he have to do so? In the eyes of others, it wouldn’t stand.
Ye Qiu, carrying a glossy feathered hen, knocked on the gate of the village chief’s household.
Footsteps approached from afar, and the door was opened by a middle-aged woman about forty years old. She was surprised to see Ye Qiu, then her face quickly filled with smiles: "Oh, it’s Qiu! Come in, come in. Oh, why are you holding a chicken? We’re all family here, you could have just come to see your Uncle Grandpa without such formalities."
This was Ye Wangshi, the elder daughter-in-law of village chief Ye Baomin. She had a round face, and her smile gave off a very warm feeling. However, upon closer inspection, one could see the cunning calculation in her eyes. It wasn’t surprising — to maintain his family’s status in the village, Ye Baomin intended to pass the position of village chief to his eldest son, so naturally, his future Lady must be carefully selected. Ye Wangshi might seem warm but was actually very calculating inside, able to manipulate situations to her advantage in the village.
Despite her polite words, she showed no hint of letting Ye Qiu take the chicken back. Normally, she would be even more polite, but who, in need of favors, would actually take back their offerings? She was probably concerned that Ye Qiu, being a scholar, might not understand these worldly interactions.
"Aunt Wang, is Uncle Grandpa at home?" Ye Qiu entered the yard, placed the hen, whose wings and legs were tied, beside the millstone, and asked timidly and shyly in the manner of a scholar, slightly bowing his head as if a bit embarrassed.
Observing Ye Qiu’s demeanor, Ye Wangshi felt a slight disdain in her eyes. Previously, he was merely touted as a prodigy scholarly wise. With this demeanor, how could he achieve greatness? Besides, there are no adults left in his family now, just four not yet fully grown kids — they can hardly get enough to eat, let alone think about continuing their studies.
Under normal circumstances, Ye Wangshi, who was set to become the village chief’s wife, shouldn’t be petty with a young teenager like Ye Qiu. However, her child was of the same age as Ye Qiu, yet not academically as accomplished. Despite taking the exam three times, her son remained a commoner. The villagers might not openly criticize her son, but behind closed doors, they spoke of how he didn’t measure up to Ye Qiu. Now, without the means to study further, and without any land in the family, her son might even struggle to find a wife.
Thinking about this filled Ye Wangshi’s heart with comfort; her gaze at Ye Qiu carried a mix of pity and pride.
"Have a seat for a while. Your Uncle Grandpa went to the ancestral hall, he should be back shortly." Ye Wangshi poured Ye Qiu a cup of tea, apparently using aged tea, judged by the many tea leaves floating around. Of course, given Ye Qiu’s current status, it was polite of Ye Wangshi to serve him aged tea. However, considering Ye Qiu brought a hen today, Ye Wangshi was indeed being a bit stingy.
"What are Qiu’s future plans? Will she continue her education? However, tuition isn’t cheap. I remember Daya seemed to be twelve this year, at the age suitable for discussing marriage. If she marries into a good family, the bride price could cover tuition for a year or two."
The more Ye Wangshi spoke, the darker Ye Qiu’s face became, his eyes flashing coldly. He lowered his head and interrupted while Ye Wangshi was drinking tea, "Aunt Wang is joking, Daya is only eleven this year, it’s still early to talk about marriage, and I would never sell my sister."
Ye Wangshi laughed carelessly, "Look at how serious you make it sound, where is there selling? Isn’t it normal to receive a dowry when discussing marriage? You’re too young to understand, choosing the right family is a skill. If you trust Wangshi, I can check out potential families for Daya."
"No need," Ye Qiu quickly refused, "I already said Daya is still young, there’s no rush to discuss marriage."
"It’s not a rush to discuss marriage, huh? Or is it because you want her to stay at home... Well, yes, your mother has just passed, and the home indeed needs a woman to handle things. Daya is young but has always been sensible." Ye Wangshi said, even giving Ye Qiu a glance, as if hinting that he had ulterior motives in keeping Daya from marrying and turning her into an old maid.
Ye Qiu restrained his anger, currently in a weaker position, there was nothing much he could do about Ye Wangshi’s misinterpretations, as long as she didn’t set her sights on his three sisters. For now, let her be, in the future when he gains power, all these rumors will collapse on their own.
"We have guests at home!" Just as Ye Wangshi was about to say more, the courtyard door opened, and it was village chief Ye Baomin along with his eldest son Ye Ming and the village chief’s two grandsons, Ye Ping and Ye Lin.
Ye Lin is the son of Ye Wangshi, but he isn’t the eldest grandson; that title belongs to Ye Ping, born from the village chief’s second daughter-in-law, who married the eldest son yet her child isn’t the eldest grandson, one of the few frustrations that gnaw at Ye Wangshi.
"It’s Ye Qiu!" Ye Lin greeted Ye Qiu. The two had been classmates, but Ye Lin was not good at studying, knew only a few characters and dropped out early, and he wasn’t as handsome as Ye Qiu, hence, like his mother, he didn’t like Ye Qiu, his tone somewhat sarcastic now.
"Uncle Grandpa." Ye Qiu ignored Ye Lin, his expression seemed strained, but his spine was straight as a rod.
"Qiu, is something the matter? Is everything settled at home? Talk to me directly if you need anything," Ye Baomin spoke amiably, but Ye Qiu knew it was just a polite remark, and getting him to do anything would require more than just words.
"This is the situation, Daya and the others are getting older, it doesn’t work to keep calling like this. Sometimes, calling one might get several responses, so I was thinking of giving them names, asking Uncle Grandpa for help. My mother is gone, the house doesn’t have much, just brought a chicken, don’t be polite," Ye Qiu said, with a "shy" smile.
"Why so formal, take this chicken back, I’ll look into the names," said Ye Baomin, thin and short, hands clasped behind his back, looking very dignified.