My Husband Comes from the Future

by Usui Takumii

not mine, shangai fantasy. After chapter 94 is MTL. Also at ao3.

3. 21 to 30

Chapter 21: Writing an Autobiography

Upon hearing Li Qingzhi's words, the middle-aged man smiled.

Everyone liked to hear kind words.

Li Qingzhi asked again, "May I know how to address you?"

Li Qingzhi loved everything about this world.

His current appearance might not look great—he was already thin and worn out—but his sincere love for everything was genuine.

"My surname is Zhu, call me Zhu Qian," the middle-aged man smiled, revealing yellow teeth.

As Li Qingzhi expected, Zhu Qian was a nouveau riche.

His family was poor, and when he was young, they couldn't even afford to eat enough. His father had no choice but to send him to work as a laborer for a wealthy family.

It was in that wealthy family that he experienced a life he had never imagined before.

He vowed to live a good life!

Other servants may live their lives in a daze, but he was different. He was exceptionally diligent, striving to learn all the knowledge he could.

After signing a five-year contract with that wealthy family, he left them at the age of eighteen with all his savings plus borrowed money to buy some goods. He rented a boat and left Chongcheng County to start his own business.

Doing business wasn't easy. Bad luck could lead to encounters with bandits. But he was lucky, and he succeeded.

He ran his business trip after trip, starting with renting boats and eventually buying his own. His business grew bigger and bigger.

Nowadays, although he wasn't the richest person in Chongcheng County, he was well-known there and even monopolized a trade route.

"Mr. Zhu, I'm an average scholar, but I'm very good at accounting. Would you like to hire an accountant?" Li Qingzhi asked with a smile.

Zhu Qian glanced at Li Qingzhi with some surprise.

He was already in his forties and had been in business for over twenty years, encountering countless people, including many scholars.

Most of those scholars looked down on him. Even those who wanted money from him due to their poverty often spoke to him with arrogance.

But he didn't care much.

He knew the high status of scholars, and he had long accepted it. Because of this, he urged his son every day to study hard.

Although the young man in front of him looked ragged, his demeanor suggested he was a scholar.

However, not only was this scholar enthusiastic towards him, but he also actively asked about becoming an accountant?

Zhu Qian liked people who were proactive like this, as he was also such a person.

But he still said, "Sorry, I don't need an accountant right now."

He genuinely didn't need one, and he wouldn't hire someone with an unknown background to manage his business.

Li Qingzhi wasn't surprised to hear this.

People nowadays preferred to hire those they knew or those recommended by others. Otherwise, if they hired someone and that person ran off with the money, they wouldn't even be able to find them.

However, when he saw Zhu Qian, he thought of another way to make money. "Mr. Zhu, do you need someone to write a book for you?"

"What?" Zhu Qian was puzzled.

Li Qingzhi explained, "Mr. Zhu, not only do wealthy families have genealogies, but some talented individuals within the family also write down their own achievements and compile them into books for future generations to learn from. Do you need someone to help you write such a book?"

Li Qingzhi asked this because after seeing Zhu Qian, he suddenly remembered something from his previous life.

When he was wandering alone, he once entered a splendidly decorated villa and saw thousands of books piled up together.

Those thousands of books were all autobiographies of the villa's owner.

The owner of that villa had suddenly become wealthy. He spent money to have someone write an autobiography according to his wishes, bought a book number at his own expense, and self-published the book…

He gave away many copies of the book, but some remained in his home.

In his previous life, Li Qingzhi had read many books. While contemplating copying books, he also thought about whether he could make money by writing stories. But now, he didn't even have money to buy pens and paper!

Moreover, writing stories might not necessarily sell. But if he were to write an autobiography for Zhu Qian… Zhu Qian wouldn't refuse to pay, would he?

"Is that possible?" Zhu Qian was somewhat surprised.

"Of course," Li Qingzhi affirmed. At this time, many people would write autobiographies to leave for their descendants, and some people's descendants would write books about their lives after their death.

He remembered that when historians researched history, they would refer to autobiographies preserved by certain families.

Thinking this way, Li Qingzhi explained in detail to Zhu Qian what exactly an autobiography was.

He felt that someone like Zhu Qian, who wanted everyone to know he was wealthy, would probably want an autobiography.

Zhu Qian was indeed tempted.

Although he had money these years, he had always been looked down upon—although the status of merchants in this dynasty was not as low as in the previous dynasty, it still wasn't high.

Now… he could write a book about his life?

And there were scholars willing to write it for him?

Li Qingzhi looked sincere. "Mr. Zhu, I was seriously ill before and not only depleted my family's savings but also incurred debts. I just wanted to find a way to make a living. If Mr. Zhu wants me to write a book, I will do my best to satisfy Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Qian asked again, "How much money do you need to write this book?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "Mr. Zhu, you can decide how much to give."

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qian said, "You can come to my house every day to write the book. I'll provide three meals a day, give you a silver coin each day, and when the book is finished, I'll give you additional compensation. Are you willing?"

Without hesitation, Li Qingzhi agreed, "Thank you, Mr. Zhu!"

One silver coin per day, ten days would be one tael, and in a month, he would have three taels, which was almost four taels!

This was like a deposit, and there would be additional compensation when the book was finished!

As for why Zhu Qian asked him to write the book at Zhu's house… It was probably because he was afraid that if he gave Li Qingzhi a deposit, Li Qingzhi would run away with the money. Moreover, writing such a book would definitely require a lot of chatting with Zhu Qian.

For Li Qingzhi at this moment, the most important thing was to find a way to make a living. If the Zhu family provided meals and paid him, it couldn't be better.

Li Qingzhi immediately started chatting with Zhu Qian, praising him without leaving a trace.

He genuinely thought Zhu Qian was good, so when he praised him, he naturally looked sincere, making Zhu Qian feel particularly comfortable listening to him.

Therefore, when Li Qingzhi proposed that he wanted to take his two children to Zhu's house to write a book, Zhu Qian agreed. It was just two children and it would be okay to let them follow.

Li Qingzhi expressed his gratitude once again. He knew that Jin Xiaoye had many things she wanted to do, but she had been held back by the two children before. If he could help take care of the children, it would make Jin Xiaoye's life much easier.

Although Li Qingzhi hadn't had much exposure to society when he just reached adulthood before the apocalypse, when the end times arrived, he was immediately confronted with the harsh reality of the world.

His experiences were not limited.

Coupled with the memories of the original owner, Li Qingzhi could chat with Zhu Qian about many things, and they became more and more friendly.

As they were chatting, someone beside Zhu Qian asked if they should prepare some "snacks," which in the local dialect meant lunch.

Zhu Qian looked at Li Qingzhi and asked, "Mr. Li, would you like to go somewhere for a meal?"

"I'm already hungry and couldn't ask for more," Li Qingzhi naturally wouldn't refuse.

Zhu Qian didn't like people who clearly wanted something but kept refusing it. Li Qingzhi's straightforwardness made him like him even more. He glanced at the nearby restaurants and suggested, "How about going to Zhengyue Restaurant?"

Zhengyue Restaurant was one of the largest restaurants in Chongcheng County, and Li Qingzhi remembered passing by it when he was looking for a job.

But Li Qingzhi declined, "Zhengyue Restaurant is a bit far. Let's just eat nearby."

On such a hot day, Zhu Qian had been busy inspecting goods on the ship and waiting at the dock, so he probably preferred to stay nearby.

Li Qingzhi thought the same way; he still had to wait for Jin Xiaoye!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qian pointed to a shop not far away and asked, "Then, shall we go to Aunt Cui's place for buns?"

There was a shop directly facing the dock with a cloth sign hanging outside, which read "Aunt Cui."

Li Qingzhi had no objections, "Of course!"

There were no high-end restaurants near the dock, and the food sold there was relatively ordinary. Aunt Cui's bun shop was considered one of the better ones.

Aunt Cui's bun shop offered two kinds of buns: one made with less refined flour and cheaper fillings, and the other made with fine white flour at a higher price, which customers could eat inside the shop. Apart from buns, there were also dumplings, noodles, and soy milk available for dining in.

Before entering, Li Qingzhi had already caught a whiff of the rich aroma, and once inside, his eyes were immediately drawn to the steaming baskets of buns. Even the cheapest buns sold outside seemed incredibly delicious to him, let alone the exquisite ones inside!

"Aunt Cui's buns and dumplings taste exceptionally good. Mr. Li, you should try them," Zhu Qian smiled and ordered five bowls of dumplings and five baskets of small steamed buns. He even asked Aunt Cui to pack ten large meat buns for takeout.

Before, when Li Qingzhi was chatting with him, he mentioned that his wife and father had also come to the county town.

Zhu Qian is good at socializing and doing business. If he is willing, he can naturally take care of every aspect of Li Qingzhi's needs.

Including Li Damao and Li Ermao, there were a total of five people dining. In fact, Li Damao and Li Ermao were not big eaters and couldn't finish a bowl of wontons and a basket of steamed buns. However, Zhu Qian still ordered them, making everyone feel comfortable.

Li Qingzhi sat in the restaurant, unable to focus on chatting with Zhu Qian properly because he was completely drawn in by the aroma of the food in the restaurant.

Li Damao and Li Ermao, feeling awkward, were also drooling with desire.

Seeing these three people, Zhu Qian inexplicably remembered his past—when he was young, he often couldn't get enough to eat.

As the buns and wontons were served, Zhu Qian smiled and invited Li Qingzhi and the others to eat.

Li Qingzhi picked up a steamed bun with his chopsticks, took a bite, and felt every cell in his body exclaiming, "Delicious."

The skin of the bun was not too thick, and the meat filling was not too much, but fine flour and such refined food were hard for him to come by, not to mention with pork inside.

Li Qingzhi once again revealed the expression he always had when eating, as if he were savoring a delicacy.

After becoming wealthy, Zhu Qian had eaten many delicious foods. Gradually, there were fewer things that he found truly delicious.

When he was young, even eating the cheapest steamed bun from outside would make him happy for half a day. But now… no matter how delicious the buns were, they only filled his stomach.

But seeing Li Qingzhi's expression while eating… suddenly he felt a surge of appetite and thought the buns today were exceptionally delicious.

Li Damao and Li Ermao also found the buns delicious.

They had eaten buns before. Jin Xiaoye had bought some buns for them to eat at home, but the buns she bought were cheap ones from outside and not as delicious as the ones they had now.

Moreover, that was half a year ago, and the two children had long forgotten the taste of the buns!

Now… these steamed buns were really delicious!

The steamed buns were delicious, and the wontons were delicious too!

The wonton skins were rolled very thin, and they were filled with mushrooms and pork… When the two children who had never eaten mushrooms took a bite, their eyes were full of amazement.

While Li Qingzhi and the others were eating, Jin Xiaoye arrived at the pier with Li Laogen.

After taking a brief look around and not seeing Li Qingzhi, she sat down on the ground with a sigh – she was quite tired.

Li Laogen sat down beside Jin Xiaoye. "Why haven't they come yet? Xiaoye, how could you give Li Qingzhi ten cents at once? Aren't you afraid he'll spend it all? Why don't you give me money?"

Jin Xiaoye took out five copper coins and handed them to Li Laogen.

As long as Li Laogen helped her, she would give him some money after she earned it. But she wouldn't give him too much, after all, Li Laogen couldn't save any money.

After giving him the money, she said, "Don't you want to eat buns? Go buy some buns to eat."

Eating buns bought with money was much better than losing it all!

Li Laogen held onto the five cents tightly, took a deep breath, then took out three cents and handed them to Jin Xiaoye with a hopeful expression. "Xiaoye, can you help me buy them? I want to buy three steamed buns."

Chapter 22: Steamed Buns

Li Laogen actually didn't even dare to buy a steamed bun!

Jin Xiaoye felt somewhat speechless, but still accepted the three coins from Li Laogen's hand, then took out another two coins from her pocket.

She intended to buy five steamed buns. In addition to the three for Li Laogen, she would give one to Li Qingzhi and split one between the two children.

As for herself, she had already eaten breakfast, so she could wait until evening to eat again.

There were plenty of food items sold on this side of the dock. The most common purchase for dockworkers was rice balls.

Cooked rice wrapped with pickled vegetables and dried tofu, one only cost two coins, but it could already fill an adult's stomach.

In addition, there was a popular rice soup, with rice as the main ingredient. The shopkeepers would also prepare two or three types of soup. For just two coins, the men working hard on the dock could get a large bowl of rice, scoop some soup into it, gulp it down, and feel full.

The most popular soup for this rice soup was pickled vegetable and tofu soup, along with kelp soup and the like. Of course, for those who wanted to improve their meals, they could spend an extra five coins to add braised pork, or two coins for a stewed egg.

There was only one bun shop here, and that was Aunt Cui's Bun Shop. After all, the people in Chongcheng County didn't grow much wheat, and they rarely ate wheat-based food.

Wheat-based food was considered relatively rare and precious by many people. Noodles mixed with soy sauce could be used to make porridge, and dumplings were a dish that could be served on the table for the people of Chongcheng County.

Being able to eat a steamed bun or a bun in the county was already something to boast about for the people of Miaoqian Village.

Jin Xiaoye walked towards the place selling buns, with Li Laogen following behind, saying, "Xiaoye, one of those three steamed buns is for you to eat. After all, I regard you as my own daughter."

The steamed buns at Aunt Cui's Bun Shop were the cheapest, one coin each. However, one bun wasn't enough for an adult man; basically, they needed to eat three to feel full, as people who did physical labor had big appetites.

However, Li Laogen was satisfied with two. He proposed to buy three because he wanted to bring one back to eat in front of other people in the village.

But he didn't mind saying a few nice words in front of Jin Xiaoye. Anyway, Jin Xiaoye wouldn't really take his bun; even if she did, she would give him another coin.

Jin Xiaoye glanced at Li Laogen and guessed the twists and turns in his mind.

But she didn't care and wouldn't take advantage of Li Laogen.

Aunt Cui's Bun Shop was run by a married couple. The man sold buns and collected money outside, while the woman sold buns and collected money inside.

They also hired three middle-aged women to help. Two of them were responsible for wrapping buns, and one was responsible for watching the fire and steaming the buns.

When this couple had some free time, they also had to help make buns. They would wake up at three or four in the morning, first go to the butcher to get pork, then light the lamp, knead the dough, and chop the filling. They would be busy until dark before going home to sleep.

When Li Qingzhi and the others were eating buns, the woman referred to as Auntie Cui, who was rolling out dumpling wrappers on the side, intended to prepare some – all the dumplings that had been previously wrapped had been taken by Li Qingzhi and the others.

Li Qingzhi looked at these people bustling about and felt even more satisfied with the job he had just found.

He had just asked, and the auntie who helped at the bun shop only earned thirty cash a day, but at least the bun shop provided two meals.

Li Qingzhi had already finished his own basket of small steamed buns and began eating the two children's small steamed buns.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were still young, unable to finish a bowl of dumplings. The buns ordered by Zhu Qian were too much for them to eat.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were used to this. Their father could eat a lot, even though he had already eaten a lot at home, he would still sneakily munch on grass when he went out.

Zhu Qian, however, was a bit surprised – this scholar looked so thin, yet had such a good appetite!

You see, there were ten small steamed buns in one basket, and they were quite big…

"Xiaoye!" Li Qingzhi finished another bun and then saw Jin Xiaoye walking towards them.

At first, Jin Xiaoye didn't notice Li Qingzhi, but when he spoke, she looked over and said, "A Qing, you…"

Why did Li Qingzhi go to the bun shop to eat buns? He couldn't have spent all ten cents, could he?

No, wait, for those kinds of small steamed buns at the shop, ten cents could only buy one basket. Before Li Qingzhi… she saw dumplings!

Jin Xiaoye had heard from Jin Moli about the taste of dumplings.

According to the rules set by her grandparents, their family only needed to give half of the money they earned outside to the family.

Her eldest uncle earned two taels a month, gave one tael to the family, and kept the rest for himself, so he was quite well-off, sometimes taking Jin Moli and the others to the county to eat good food.

As for her… although her father could earn a little by helping with banquet cooking, after giving half of it to the family, there was very little left, so naturally he couldn't be so generous.

"Xiaoye, I met Mr. Zhu just now. He gave me a job and invited me to dinner," Li Qingzhi stood up and walked towards Jin Xiaoye, "Come and have some."

The two children had eaten some small steamed buns earlier, and now their two bowls of dumplings were only half eaten.

Grabbing the somewhat surprised Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi asked again, "What about Dad?"

Jin Xiaoye looked over not far away.

Li Qingzhi looked in that direction and saw Li Laogen huddled on the side of the road with a basket, peeking over here.

Li Qingzhi: "…"

Zhu Qian had already finished eating, and since he still needed to look after his goods, he said goodbye when Li Qingzhi's family arrived and left first.

After Zhu Qian left, Li Qingzhi told the shopkeeper and then carried the dumplings that Li Damao and Li Ermao hadn't finished and the remaining small steamed buns, walking towards Li Laogen.

Eating in the shop, whether it was Li Laogen or Jin Xiaoye, would be uncomfortable, so they might as well eat outside.

"Is this dumplings?" Li Laogen held the bowl and looked carefully, couldn't wait to eat one, "These are so delicious! What flavor is this? I've never had it before."

"These are dumplings with mushroom and pork filling," Li Qingzhi said.

"Mushroom? It's really fragrant," Li Laogen asked Li Qingzhi again, "A Qing, how did you end up eating dumplings in the shop?"

Jin Xiaoye had just heard Li Qingzhi mention something, but she wasn't clear about the specific reasons. Now, holding a bowl of dumplings, she also looked at Li Qingzhi curiously.

Li Qingzhi briefly explained the situation, saying that Zhu Qian intended to have him help write a book and would pay him a silver coin a day.

He didn't mention that after finishing writing, Zhu Qian would give additional rewards. He planned to quietly tell Jin Xiaoye later in the evening.

Not afraid of anything else, just afraid that Li Laogen might change his mind.

But even if it was only a silver coin a day, Li Laogen was already excited, "A silver coin a day? Silver coin?"

"Yes."

"Does it include meals?" Li Laogen asked.

"It does," Li Qingzhi said.

Li Laogen gasped, "In this world, there are actually such good things!"

Even Jin Xiaoye's eyes lit up.

Today, she and Li Laogen carried so many things to the county town. If they sold everything, they could probably earn around thirty cents.

However, she couldn't buy so many chicken and duck eggs every day. If she carried things to the county town like this every day, most likely she wouldn't be able to sell them all.

Compared to those people who sell things by boat, she had no competitive edge at all.

Li Qingzhi could actually earn a silver coin in a day!

Li Qingzhi said, "This job won't last long. After finishing writing the book, Mr. Zhu won't hire me again. But I should be able to work for about a month and pay off the debts at home."

Jin Xiaoye's eyes lit up even more, but Li Laogen said, "Is Mr. Zhu blind? Why did he ask you to write a book? Can you even write?"

Li Qingzhi: "…"

Jin Xiaoye immediately glared at Li Laogen and said, "Go eat your dumplings! Why can't A Qing write a book?"

Although Jin Xiaoye said so, she still looked a bit worried when she looked at Li Qingzhi. After all, Li Qingzhi had said before that his knowledge was average. Could someone with average knowledge really write a book?

Li Qingzhi said, "Mr. Zhu asked me to write a storybook, not an academic book. Some storytellers who know little about characters can still tell stories, right?"

"I see," Li Laogen understood.

Li Qingzhi continued, "Explaining this matter to people would be complicated. If someone asks in the future, just say I'm helping Mr. Zhu copy books at his home."

Helping Zhu Qian write a biography to earn some money wasn't a big deal. At this time, there were many poor scholars. Some wealthy people would even specially invite many scholars to their homes when they celebrated their birthdays, asking those scholars to write poems and essays to praise them.

But explaining that he was writing a book to people would require too much explanation. It was better to say he was helping to copy books.

Jin Xiaoye also thought saying he was copying books was simpler. She turned around and gave Li Laogen a stern talking-to, telling him not to talk nonsense when talking to people.

She also calculated with Li Qingzhi, "Writing a book for a month, you can probably earn about four taels. After paying off the debts, there will be just over two taels left. By then, we can each make a set of clothes for you and the two children, and there won't be much money left."

She said this to Li Laogen to prevent him from thinking that there was money at home and then losing control of himself.

Li Laogen, despite being reprimanded, was still very happy. When Li Qingzhi took out ten large meat buns wrapped in oiled paper, he couldn't stop salivating.

Not to mention those pale meat buns, even the oiled paper wrapping the meat buns was a rare item for him.

The buns were sold outside, and the shopkeepers wouldn't provide oiled paper for packing.

Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen had only eaten two buns and dumplings that the children hadn't finished yet, and they were not full.

Seeing the large meat buns, Jin Xiaoye gave two to Li Laogen, saying, "Each of us gets two, and these two are for you."

Li Laogen took one, took a bite, and then put the remaining one in his own backpack. He happily squinted his eyes and said, "I've never had such soft and fragrant buns in my life."

As if nobody else had ever had them! Jin Xiaoye also took a bun and took a bite.

After finishing the buns, Li Laogen remembered something, "Xiaoye, about that three cents…"

"I've already given you two meat buns, so I won't give you the three cents," Jin Xiaoye said. If she gave Li Laogen the money, he might end up spending it all tonight.

Li Laogen wore a mournful face.

Jin Xiaoye added, "I'll buy ten cents of salted fish later." She used to be reluctant to spend money, but now she could afford to buy some.

Li Laogen smiled again, "Buying salted fish is great!" Jin Xiaoye would definitely have something to eat if she bought salted fish.

After finishing their meal and returning the bowls to the shopkeeper, Jin Xiaoye took out the goods she hadn't sold and started calling out to sell them. Seeing this, Li Qingzhi suggested going to buy the salted fish.

Jin Xiaoye then took out ten cents and gave it to Li Qingzhi.

"I already have money," Li Qingzhi said. He hadn't spent the ten cents Jin Xiaoye gave him before.

"You keep that money for yourself. Tomorrow when you come to the county town, you can take the boat," Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Qingzhi thought for a moment and accepted Jin Xiaoye's money.

He didn't mind walking to the county town every day; it would be good exercise. But thinking of what happened to the original host five years ago… it was safer to take the boat.

After all, Li Damao and Li Ermao were going to walk with him. If he looked like this and no one cared about him, what would happen if someone tried to snatch the two children away?

Thinking of this, Li Qingzhi said, "By the way, Xiaoye, Mr. Zhu said I could bring Li Damao and Li Ermao to his house to write."

"Can it be like this? Can I go too?" Li Laogen immediately asked.

Li Qingzhi said, "…There are people who bring children to work, but have you ever seen anyone bring their father to work?"

Li Laogen grinned sheepishly.

Jin Xiaoye was a little worried, "Wouldn't people have objections?"

"It's okay, Li Damao and Li Ermao are so well-behaved!" Li Qingzhi laughed.

After thinking about it, Jin Xiaoye didn't say much more.

Actually, she had always wanted to do some small business. After receiving a piece of news today, that idea became even more irresistible.

Although Li Qingzhi was physically weak and would pant after walking a few steps, his endurance was good due to having the golden finger, and he could still walk to buy things now.

It was Li Damao and Li Ermao who were the opposite… Despite being lively and energetic when they first set out, after walking for half a day, they were already exhausted, especially after filling their bellies…

While Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen were eating buns, the two children had already fallen asleep on the ground next to Jin Xiaoye.

Li Qingzhi gently touched the round bellies of the two children, then slowly walked towards the seafood stall.

He had a good impression of the seafood stall; the prices here were not expensive, and the children could eat more to replenish their nutrition.

As for the preserved food not being healthy… compared to malnutrition, that was worse.

Jin Xiaoye was in a good mood, having eaten buns to fill her stomach. She smiled while calling out, and people passing by were willing to stop and take a look.

The eggs she sold were not expensive, and they wouldn't spoil for a few days, so they sold out quickly.

At this time, Li Qingzhi also returned.

Seeing the still sleeping two children, Jin Xiaoye suggested, "Shall we take the boat back?"

She knew where Mr. Yao waited for Yao Zhenfu every day. They could take his boat back, and giving him two wen would be enough.

"Okay," Li Qingzhi agreed. He was actually quite tired now.

The two children were still fast asleep, so Jin Xiaoye didn't wake them up. She quietly put them into her and Li Laogen's baskets. They opened their eyes, took a glance, and fell asleep again.

How cute these two children were!

Li Qingzhi reached out and touched Li Damao's little face. Unexpectedly, Li Damao, who was usually stable, opened his mouth and tried to eat his hand. When he failed, he puckered his lips.

Li Qingzhi really wanted to kiss him, but he was already nestled in the basket, so it wasn't convenient.

After packing the baskets, Jin Xiaoye led Li Qingzhi along the small paths of the county town.

They had walked a lot today, perhaps even more than usual in the county town… Finally, they arrived at a riverside.

Jin Xiaoye put down the basket and sat in a shaded area. "Mr. Yao waits for Yao Zhenfu here every day. Let's wait for a while, and he should be here soon."

"Okay," Li Qingzhi nodded.

Jin Xiaoye glanced at Li Qingzhi and said, "When we go back, I'll borrow two sets of clothes for Li Damao and Li Ermao."

Li Qingzhi was fine; although his clothes from five years ago weren't great, they were still tidy enough to wear out.

But Li Damao and Li Ermao were different. Their summer clothes were worn-out.

These clothes were fine to wear in the village, but they were a bit inappropriate to wear to Zhu's house.

"Okay. Xiaoye, when I earn some money, we'll make new clothes for them," Li Qingzhi said. There were six hot months here every year, and the two children should have two decent sets of summer clothes.

Li Laogen immediately chimed in, "I want new clothes too."

"Dad, when we have money, I'll definitely make some for you," Li Qingzhi said.

Li Laogen thought for a moment, "Forget it, I don't need new clothes… I want a decent burial outfit, and I also want a coffin."

In their village, those with some savings would prepare their own coffin and burial clothes in advance.

Unfortunately, Li Laogen had no money; he couldn't afford a coffin, let alone burial clothes.

Before Li Qingzhi could speak, Jin Xiaoye said, "Dad, if you work with me diligently, I promise to buy everything for you. I'll make sure you have a grand funeral, and I'll invite more people to chant scriptures for you!"

Li Laogen was immediately touched, "Xiaoye, if you let me work, I won't say a word against it."

Li Qingzhi felt a bit speechless. It was strange that Li Laogen, who didn't care about having new clothes while alive, now wanted a decent burial outfit.

They waited for a long time before Mr. Yao finally came over with his boat. Surprisingly, Li Damao and Li Ermao hadn't woken up yet…

These two kids must have been exhausted earlier.

Mr. Yao agreed to take them on the boat without accepting any money, but Jin Xiaoye insisted on paying him two coins.

Previously, Yao Zhenfu complained about Mr. Yao's dirty boat, but it was actually quite clean. Jin Xiaoye woke the two kids up and took them onto the boat.

Soon after, Yao Zhenfu arrived as well.

Yao Zhenfu didn't like Jin Xiaoye, the shrew who often argued with her father-in-law, nor did he like Li Laogen, the shameless old man. When he saw them, he just nodded and went to talk to Li Qingzhi, "Brother Li, why did you come to the county town?"

"I want to see if I can find some work," Li Qingzhi said. "You know, I can't do farm work now. I can't just sit idle at home."

Yao Zhenfu knew that Li Qingzhi had been cooking and taking care of the children at home every day, which he looked down upon. Now hearing that Li Qingzhi wanted to find work in the county town, he felt sure that Li Qingzhi wouldn't find anything, "Brother Li, it's not easy to find work in the county town. I asked someone to help before but couldn't find anything. You should focus on recovering your health."

After speaking, Yao Zhenfu sympathetically looked at Li Qingzhi's frail figure.

Before Li Qingzhi could respond, Li Laogen said, "It's not easy to find work in the county town? How come my Ah Qing found work in just one morning! They even pay him a silver coin a day! "

Yao Zhenfu: "…"

Chapter 23: Borrowing Clothes

Yao Zhenfu had just said that it's hard to find work, and Li Laogen immediately told him that Li Qingzhi found a job… Yao Zhenfu didn't look too pleased.

However, Li Laogen was oblivious and continued, "Master Zhu values our Ah Qing greatly. Not only does he pay him a silver coin a day for work, but he also provides meals! Master Zhu even invited Ah Qing to dinner today, and he even invited me and Xiaoye. He also bought buns for us to take home."

Li Laogen spoke proudly, and Mr. Yao couldn't help but envy him.

Mr. Yao sent his son to study in the county town, not really expecting him to become a scholar; he just hoped his son could find a decent living without having to toil in the fields like him, rowing boats under the sun and wind.

But after over ten years of schooling, not only did his son fail to achieve scholarly success, he hadn't found a good job either.

Mr. Yao was very curious about Li Qingzhi's job. He immediately asked what kind of work Li Qingzhi would be doing.

"It's copying books for Master Zhu. Master Zhu asked Ah Qing to help him copy books at his home," Li Laogen answered eagerly.

"Can you earn money by copying books?" Mr. Yao was surprised. He worked hard all day rowing the boat and helping with cargo, and he might not even earn a silver coin in a day.

"As long as Master Zhu said he would pay," Li Laogen said.

"Brother Li, are you going to copy books? You need to have neat handwriting for that. Can you… write well?" Yao Zhenfu frowned at Li Qingzhi.

Yao Zhenfu knew Li's family situation very well; Li Qingzhi hadn't held a pen for five years!

Even if he could hold a pen, Li Qingzhi

Li Qingzhi is so thin, it's obvious he doesn't have much strength. Can he write well?

Li Qingzhi noticed that Yao Zhenfu wasn't very happy, so he quickly said, "Master Zhu knows that my family is poor and wants to help me, so he invited me to copy books." Although Li Qingzhi wasn't very kind to his parents, they had lent books to him before, and he didn't want to embarrass Yao Zhenfu.

Yao Zhenfu said, "I see! Which Master Zhu is it?" Li Qingzhi must have looked pitiful, attracting sympathy from this Master Zhu.

"It's Master Zhu from Shunlong Trading Company." The business under Zhu's hands was called Shunlong Trading Company.

When Yao Zhenfu heard the words "Shunlong Trading Company," his expression changed again.

Yao Zhenfu had been studying under a certain Mr. Li.

Mr. Li had opened a large school and had enrolled many students. One of the students, with the surname Zhu, had a father who was the boss of Shunlong Trading Company.

Yao Zhenfu had been very well-behaved in school and had never offended anyone. He didn't have any conflicts with this young Master Zhu, but he had always boasted to his family that his academic achievements in school were top-notch. In reality… his academic performance was average, leaning towards the lower end.

He knew that it was difficult for him to even pass the county-level examination, let alone aim for the imperial examination. But he didn't want to live like his father, rowing boats for a living or working in the fields, as that would be too shameful!

In recent years, he had actually been trying to find a decent living in the county town and had asked around for help.

Indeed, some people had introduced him to a few jobs, but he wasn't satisfied with any of them.

For example, they wanted him to become a shopkeeper… If he became a shopkeeper, would he have to smile and greet his classmates when they came to buy things?

He really didn't want to do these things, but he couldn't find a better job.

He could only use the excuse of preparing for the imperial examination to continue studying.

Now that Li Qingzhi was going to copy books at Master Zhu's house, if he happened to run into the young Master Zhu and found out about his situation…

No, that shouldn't happen.

That young Master Zhu was used to being arrogant because of his family's wealth and rarely paid attention to others. If Master Zhu asked Li Qingzhi to help with copying books, it was just out of pity for Li Qingzhi, and they wouldn't have much interaction… The young Master Zhu and Li Qingzhi shouldn't have much communication.

Even if Li Qingzhi heard something and told his parents, they wouldn't believe it.

With this thought, Yao Zhenfu relaxed.

Sitting on the boat, Li Qingzhi watched as the boat sailed along the river, feeling that everything around him was simply beautiful.

Since he would be going to Master Zhu's house tomorrow, Li Qingzhi told Mr. Yao that he would go to the county town with him tomorrow.

People from their village would go to the county town with Mr. Yao. Mr. Yao would charge one cent per person for a round trip. Li Qingzhi wanted to bring Li Damao and Li Ermao with him, but since they were children, Mr. Yao said he would only charge one cent for all three of them.

Li Qingzhi hesitated a bit, and Mr. Yao said again, "Some people who go to the county town bring much heavier things than Damao and Ermao! The three of you together don't weigh as much as one person, so one cent is enough."

"Thank you then," Li Qingzhi smiled. Originally, Yao Zhenfu liked talking to Li Qingzhi, but today he didn't want to talk to Li Qingzhi. Mr. Yao was also not very familiar with Li Qingzhi, and compared to Li Qingzhi, he preferred to talk to Jin Xiaoye, so Li Qingzhi was left idle.

With nothing else to do, he taught the two children some poems and had them review the Three-Character Classic.

Today, they had seen many things in the county town and had eaten buns and wontons. Although they were tired, after a nap, they felt much better… Li Damao and Li Ermao were in a good mood, smiling happily as they followed Li Qingzhi to recite poems. Their voices were clear and fluent.

Yao Zhenfu couldn't help but look at the two children several times.

When the boat docked at the village's riverside, Li Laogen was the first to get off the boat. He quickly took out the uneaten bun from his basket and said, "Today, when Ah Qing went to the county town, he met a benefactor. The benefactor not only pays him a silver coin a day for copying books but also invites him to eat, and even buys buns for us!"

"Look at these buns, they're so white! They're made of flour different from what you've eaten. This big meat bun costs five cents!"

"I not only had a big meat bun for lunch, but I also had small steamed buns and wontons. There were mushrooms in the wontons, do you know what mushrooms are?"

…

Li Laogen didn't go home with the bun; instead, he showed off by the riverside.

Jin Xiaoye knew his character and didn't bother to stop him.

She gave Li Laogen two big buns, ate one herself, and now there were seven left. Jin Xiaoye took three, leaving four for Li Qingzhi and the two children, giving each of them one, "Eat these buns, consider it dinner. I'll go to my mother's house to borrow some clothes."

Jin Xiaoye had three cousins, two older and one younger than her.

The two older ones were already married and had children. She planned to go and borrow two sets of clothes for Li Damao and Li Ermao.

Of the three buns, she ate one, and the other two were tokens of appreciation for lending the clothes.

Jin Xiaoye left, and Li Qingzhi took the two children to the riverside to wash up, continuing to teach them to recite poems.

Li Damao and Li Ermao had nothing else to do, and they liked reciting with Li Qingzhi, but they were children after all, so they were a bit playful. They started out reciting properly, but as time went on, their recitation turned into shouting, and they even started to see who could shout louder.

Li Qingzhi didn't stop them; it was still early, and everyone hadn't gone to sleep yet.

Not far away was the Yao family.

Yao Zhenfu heard the recitation coming from afar and looked at his son, "Xiaobao, didn't I teach you to recite? Recite it for me."

Yao Zhenfu's son happily started reciting, but he stopped after a few lines—he had forgotten the rest.

Previously, Yao Zhenfu had seen Li Qingzhi teaching the children to recite, so he also taught his own son a few times. However, he didn't have the patience and stopped teaching after a few times, so naturally, the child couldn't remember.

"Why did you stop? I can't remember?" Yao Zhenfu frowned. "Why are you so stupid that you can't even recite the Three-Character Classic properly!"

Yao Zhenfu usually returned home early and late, so he didn't have much affection for his children. Now that he saw his child couldn't even recite properly, he felt dissatisfied and scolded the child.

The child felt wronged and tears filled his eyes, which made Yao Zhenfu even more dissatisfied. He slammed the door and left in anger.

Seeing this, Jin Moli's eyes turned red too.

Yao's mother had always looked down on Jin Moli's antics. She scolded her now, making Jin Moli cry.

If it weren't for her bad relationship with her mother-in-law after her second marriage in her previous life, she would have been unable to bear it long ago.

Her life now was actually better than in her later years of her previous life. Leaving aside other things, she had fewer chores to do now and didn't have to raise silkworms or work in the fields.

She still had hope in her heart, that is, when Yao's family had money and hired servants, Yao's mother wouldn't scold her all day.

In her previous life, when Jin Xiaoye had just married Yao Zhenfu, Yao's mother had a bad temper and often quarreled with Jin Xiaoye. But when Yao's family had money, her temper improved, and she no longer quarreled with Jin Xiaoye.

Li Qingzhi was not aware of the situation in the Yao family.

After bathing the two children, they ate the buns together.

The buns had become a bit stiff. Steaming them again would improve the texture, but it was quite troublesome to start a fire in the countryside, so Li Qingzhi didn't bother.

Anyway, neither he nor the two children cared much about the slight change in texture.

While eating the buns, Li Ermao asked, "Dad, can we eat buns again tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll definitely eat something delicious," Li Qingzhi replied. Master Zhu's household should provide good meals; for children who usually only ate vegetables and rice at home, it would definitely be delicious. "But you two must behave well and not run around."

"We'll definitely behave!" Li Damao and Li Ermao assured together.

As long as they didn't run around, they could eat delicious food? They definitely wouldn't run around then!

"Dad believes that Damao and Ermao will behave very well," Li Qingzhi said, patting their short hair and kissing their little faces.

At this time, people indeed kept their hair long, but children's hair was usually shaved, especially in the countryside.

Keeping long hair for children was inconvenient to manage and was prone to lice.

Just then, Jin Xiaoye returned with borrowed clothes. "I've borrowed these clothes for two days. I also borrowed some fabric from my mother. I'll make new clothes for Damao and Ermao tomorrow."

"Xiaoye, thank you." Li Qingzhi held Jin Xiaoye's hand and instinctively touched it.

Jin Xiaoye's hands were rough from farm work, but he really enjoyed being close to Jin Xiaoye!

Jin Xiaoye: "…" After Li Qingzhi returned, he kept touching her hands!

Chapter 24: Zhu's Family

Jin Xiaoye didn't mind Li Qingzhi getting close to her, but Li Qingzhi taking the opportunity to touch her hands… she wasn't used to it.

Besides, Li Qingzhi's health was still not good, so it would be better not to think about these things!

Li Qingzhi didn't actually have any intentions; he just wanted to have skin contact with someone, especially with Jin Xiaoye.

Jin Xiaoye was his wife, exclusively belonging to him. Just thinking about it made him excited.

Their bed was less than 1.5 meters wide. After Li Qingzhi and the two children lay down, there was no room for Jin Xiaoye, so she had been sleeping on the floor all this time, even today.

After lying down, Li Qingzhi first told two stories to the children, then helped them review multiplication tables… When the two children fell asleep, Li Qingzhi called out, "Xiaoye."

"Hmm?" Jin Xiaoye responded. She hadn't fallen asleep yet and was thinking about what to do next.

Li Qingzhi said, "Xiaoye, Master Zhu said that when I finish copying the books, he will give me more money, and then we will buy a bed…" It was fine in summer, but sleeping on the floor wouldn't work in winter.

The winters in the south were not too cold just judging by the temperature. Even in winter, people in Miaoqian Village could still have vegetables like cabbage and radishes.

However, it was very humid here. Sleeping on the floor would make one feel cold due to the dampness rising from the ground.

Their house had mud floors!

Li Qingzhi was thinking about buying a bed for what? Jin Xiaoye coughed lightly and asked, "How much reward will Master Zhu give you?"

"It's not clear yet," Li Qingzhi said, "but if I do a good job, it shouldn't be too little."

Unexpectedly, there would be more income, which made Jin Xiaoye quite happy, and she began to talk about what they lacked at home.

In addition to a bed, they also needed a table, a water jar, and Jin Xiaoye wanted a rice jar, a dung bucket, a rice bucket…

"Our family has too few belongings; we need to save some, but we have to pay off the debt first…" Jin Xiaoye made plans for the future.

Li Qingzhi listened eagerly.

Jin Xiaoye's words were all about trivial matters, but it was precisely these trivial matters that supported a family.

Now that he had a family, he wanted to work hard to accumulate assets and make life better for his family.

The next day, Li Qingzhi woke up early as usual.

It was still dark outside, but Jin Xiaoye was already awake. Hearing the movement on Li Qingzhi's side, Jin Xiaoye said, "Ah Qing, lie down for a while longer. I'll make breakfast."

Before, when Li Qingzhi stayed at home all day with nothing to do, Jin Xiaoye entrusted him with cooking. But now that Li Qingzhi had found such a good job… she planned to take over the cooking herself.

Their family usually didn't have breakfast this early, but since Li Qingzhi was going to work today, they needed to eat something before going out.

"I'll help you," Li Qingzhi said. Master Zhu said they would provide meals, but he didn't know the specifics. It was the first day today, so he planned to eat something before going out.

He could withstand a bit of hunger, but the two children couldn't go hungry all the time.

Naturally, Jin Xiaoye had no objections, so the two of them went into the kitchen together.

The Yao family next door had already started cooking. Jin Xiaoye went over to get some firewood and brought it back.

There was still some white rice left from the pounding they did before. She decided to cook white rice and steam the salted fish they bought yesterday.

After that, all they needed to do was start a fire, and Li Qingzhi took care of that.

The fire in the stove illuminated Li Qingzhi's face, flickering intermittently. After some thought, Jin Xiaoye suddenly said, "Li Qingzhi, I want to rent a boat for business in the future."

"Sure, Xiaoye, what kind of business do you want to do?" Li Qingzhi agreed readily. He had noticed that Jin Xiaoye wasn't the type to be content with staying at home every day to tend to the fields and take care of the children.

This girl had ambitions!

Their family only had two acres of land. While they were busy during farming seasons, they were quite idle during slack periods. Jin Xiaoye didn't need to stay at home all the time.

Jin Xiaoye then talked about her ideas.

In Chongcheng County, besides buying boats, one could also rent them.

Some people specialize in the boat rental business. After buying several boats, they rely on renting them out to people in the vicinity to make a living.

There are also some households that own boats but don't want to work as boatmen. Instead, they simply rent out their boats to collect rent.

Buying a boat is not cheap, but renting a boat only costs fifty cents a day.

During the first three years of Li Qingzhi's disappearance, Jin Xiaoye didn't have any thoughts of doing business.

Pregnancy, childbirth, managing the household's fields, and Li Laogen's debts were all pressing on her. She simply didn't have the time to consider anything else.

At that time, she was not very familiar with the outside world and didn't dare to act rashly.

But in the past two years… she had entertained the idea of renting out boats to do business more than once.

However, she had two children to take care of. Occasionally going out for a few days was fine, but going out every day was out of the question.

She was still a woman, and going out alone was prone to danger. As for bringing the children… Li Laogen was unreliable.

At that time, she planned to start with some small businesses like selling needles, thread, and cloth. She intended to wait until the children grew older in a couple of years, then leave Li Laogen to look after the house and take her younger brother, Jin Xiaoshu, to rent a boat.

"The boat rental business isn't urgent. I don't have the capital now, but once you finish copying the books and Master Zhu gives you the reward, then I can go." Jin Xiaoye said.

She didn't plan to start renting boats for business immediately. She intended to wait until the family's debts were paid off before proceeding.

Writing books like this was a one-time opportunity for Li Qingzhi. There was no guarantee they would find another one. Relying solely on the reward would not be sustainable in the long run. It would be best to have another way to earn money.

She wanted to earn more money to buy more land so that she could distribute it to her sons in the future.

Li Qingzhi thought about it and agreed.

He had to write Master Zhu's autobiography well so that it could earn startup capital for Jin Xiaoye!

Early in the morning, seeing that there was white rice to eat, Li Damao and Li Ermao were extremely excited!

After changing into clean clothes… the two children happily surrounded Li Qingzhi: "Dad, look at my new clothes!"

"Dad, do I look good?"

"Dad…"

"Damao and Ermao are the best-looking. There are no children in the world who look better than Damao and Ermao!" Li Qingzhi kept praising them non-stop, and then they all sat on the doorstep to eat.

After finishing their meal, it was almost time for Mr. Yao and the others to go to the county town. Li Qingzhi took the two children onto Mr. Yao's boat.

Yao Zhenfu arrived late and complained after boarding the boat: "Dad, why do we have to leave so early every day? It makes me the first one to go to school every day."

Li Qingzhi felt a bit helpless hearing this. Being the first one to go to school wasn't a bad thing, right? When he was in his third year of high school, he used to go to the classroom early every morning to study.

At that time, he felt it was very hard, but when the apocalypse came… the once very difficult third year of high school became beautiful in his memories.

At least he didn't have to go hungry or worry about someone eating him while sleeping.

Seeing Yao Zhenfu's attitude, it seemed that he wasn't very focused on studying. But Yao Zhenfu wasn't his child, so he couldn't say anything.

Mr. Yao felt embarrassed and just smiled awkwardly without saying anything when he heard his son's words.

Actually, if his son didn't mind going to school too early, he would definitely leave half an hour earlier to earn a little more money.

When they arrived at the county town, Yao Zhenfu got off the boat and went to school.

He told others that his family had a lot of land, but he never told them that his father was a boatman because he felt it was embarrassing.

He even didn't want to get off the boat at the pier next to the school for fear that his classmates would see Mr. Yao.

Not everyone in their school was wealthy; some were even poorer than him, but there were also some who were very wealthy.

For example, Master Zhu from the Shunlong Trading Company. Every time he came to school, he would bring a servant to help him run errands, and at noon, someone would carry a load of food for him.

Seeing how luxurious others' lives were, but his father was just a boatman…

Li Qingzhi waited for Yao Zhenfu to leave before slowly getting off the boat and heading towards the address Master Zhu had mentioned yesterday.

The Zhu family.

After returning home yesterday, Master Zhu had already told his family about hiring someone to write his biography.

Hearing that there was a poor scholar who would write a book about Master Zhu's life for a silver coin a day, everyone in the Zhu family was very curious.

Master Zhu had been busy with his business in his early years and got married relatively late. His wife was more than ten years younger than him and had given birth to two sons and a daughter for him.

The eldest son, was fifteen years old and studying in school. The second son was only seven years old and in poor health, so he planned to send him to school when the weather cooled down. As for his daughter, she was eleven years old and still looked like a child, learning bookkeeping at home with her mother.

The most curious one about writing books was Master Zhu's eldest son, Zhu Xunmiao.

Zhu Xunmiao had been studying in school since he was six years old and had already studied for nine years. He was doing well in his studies, but every time the teacher asked him to write an article, he was in great pain. Now someone wanted to write a book about his father?

"Dad, when will that scholar Li come? Can you let him help me write a book too?" Zhu Xunmiao asked.

One silver coin a day, three taels a month. He had five taels of pocket money every month!

"You're just in your teens and haven't experienced much in life. Why would you need someone else to write a book for you?" Zhu Qian looked at his son speechlessly.

He was different.

Now that he was living a good life, he often recalled the past. Back then, he truly suffered.

While he was alive, he could still talk to his family about it, but once he was gone, no one would remember these things.

But if he could write a book… his future descendants would all know how he earned his wealth and made the Zhu family rich!

Last night, Zhu Qian tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, just thinking about what to write in the book.

He didn't know if Li Qingzhi could write his book well.

Just as he was thinking, the gatekeeper came in. "Master Zhu, Mr. Li is here!"

The Zhu family was nouveau riche and didn't have many formalities. Zhu Qian had already instructed the gatekeeper in advance, so Li Qingzhi came in with him.

The Zhu family was much smaller than he had expected. Although the house was beautiful, it didn't take up much space.

It made sense; the county town of Chongcheng was not very big, so how big could the Zhu family's house be?

Moreover, when he visited the water town in his past life, the houses there weren't big either.

There was a small courtyard after entering the main gate, and beyond that was the reception area. Zhu Qian was waiting there, accompanied by a round-faced young man who was curiously looking at him with his round eyes.

"Master Zhu," Li Qingzhi greeted with a smile.

"Mr. Li," Zhu Qian smiled back.

After exchanging pleasantries with Li Qingzhi, Zhu Qian sent his son to school and then took Li Qingzhi to the study he had prepared in advance.

It was a small room facing south in the front courtyard, furnished with a desk, chairs, inkstone, and some books. The environment was very good.

Li Qingzhi calculated based on the original host's memory that just the inkstone, ink, paper, and brush in front of him would cost at least twenty taels of silver.

He had been memorizing some books these days and had been wanting to practice writing. Now he could use the Zhu family's stationery to practice writing for free.

As for writing the book for Zhu Qian, he wanted something similar to vernacular novels, and Li Qingzhi was indeed capable of writing in that style.

The original host wasn't good at studying but loved reading vernacular novels and had read many of them. As for Li Qingzhi…

During the years of the apocalypse, he had actually been using pen and paper to record his experiences, as well as writing about the people around him and various events before the apocalypse.

Now, he might not be able to write immortal poems or prose, but writing about Zhu Qian's experiences as described by Zhu Qian himself wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, before starting to write, he wanted to have a chat with Zhu Qian.

Zhu Qian also planned to have a good conversation with Li Qingzhi. He had someone bring pastries and tea and began talking about his past experiences.

Li Qingzhi first took two pieces of pastry for Li Damao and Li Ermao, then took one for himself. He listened to Zhu Qian while enjoying the pastries.

After fifteen minutes of Zhu Qian enthusiastically talking, there wasn't a single piece of pastry left on the table.

Chapter 25: Writing a Book

The pastries brought out by the Zhu family were Zhuangyuan Cake.

These pastries were made from glutinous rice flour and sesame flour, which are incredibly fragrant to eat. Additionally, the Zhu family even added walnuts, making the taste even more exceptional.

Before the two children went out, they had eaten white rice, so they weren't hungry. After eating a piece of pastry, they couldn't eat anymore, but Li Qingzhi was different.

With a golden finger, he could digest whatever he ate, no matter how much.

Moreover, eating more could make him recover faster.

Most importantly, these pastries were really delicious, with sugar even inside!

In this era, sugar was not cheap.

In Chongcheng County, some people grew sugarcane and made sugar from it, but the ancient craftsmanship couldn't be compared to modern methods, so the sugar production was naturally very limited.

In front of the Miaoqian Village, Li Qingzhi had never seen sugar.

But there was sugar in these pastries, probably white sugar.

Nowadays, he found even plain rice deliciously sweet, so eating these sugar-added pastries… Li Qingzhi couldn't stop.

Of course, he would finish the pastries mainly because there weren't many in the plate.

"Mr. Li didn't have enough breakfast?" Zhu Qian smiled, "I'll have someone make some more for Mr. Li." He had asked Li Qingzhi before if he had eaten, and Li Qingzhi had said he had.

"I've already eaten, it's just that these pastries are really delicious, so I couldn't resist eating a bit more." Li Qingzhi said.

"If Mr. Li likes it, I'll have another plate sent over." Zhu Qian liked Li Qingzhi's frankness very much.

"Thank you,Mr. Zhu. Mr. Zhu, may I take these pastries home? My wife probably has never eaten such delicious pastries." Li Qingzhi said.

He had wanted to bring some back for Jin Xiaoye before, but it was fine to eat pastries while chatting with others, but sneaking them away wasn't quite appropriate.

"Of course." Zhu Qian was pleased to see Li Qingzhi's fondness for the pastries.

In the past, when he invited a scholar to dinner, the scholar actually turned up his nose at the food he offered…

Zhu Qian instructed someone to bring pastries and then chatted with Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi had read many biographies of famous people in his previous life and knew various writing styles. He asked Zhu Qian which style he preferred. After thinking for a moment, Zhu Qian suggested a first-person narrative, to which Li Qingzhi naturally agreed.

"Mr. Zhu, I'll write some today and give it to you later. If there are any deficiencies, I can revise them for you," Li Qingzhi said.

"Good! Then, Mr. Li, you go ahead and write first," Zhu Qian said.

Zhu Qian had many things to do. After talking with Li Qingzhi, he left. Not long after, another steward came and talked to Li Qingzhi about some matters.

The place where Li Qingzhi wrote was not far from the kitchen. If he needed hot water, he could go to the nearby kitchen to get it.

In addition, Zhu's family provided three meals a day, and Li Qingzhi could eat in his room. He could have it sent over or go to where they ate, and the food was accounted for by Zhu's family's bookkeeper and steward.

Li Qingzhi noted them down one by one, saying that he would go to where they ate.

After the people left, Li Qingzhi called Li Damao and Li Ermao over, and then introduced them to the writing materials on the table. He also scooped a spoonful of water into the inkstone and started grinding ink.

After preparing, Li Qingzhi dipped the pen in ink and wrote on the paper, "Damao, Ermao, Dad is showing you your names."

Li Qingzhi wrote down the names of Li Damao and Li Ermao on the paper, then thought for a moment and wrote his own, as well as Jin Xiaoye's and Li Laogen's names.

After writing, Li Qingzhi handed the paper to the two children, informing them of the words on it and said, "Damao, Ermao, your current names are nicknames. In a few days, Dad will give you real names."

He had wanted to give new names to Li Damao and Li Ermao long ago, but previously, the family couldn't even eat enough, so it was postponed.

These days he could think about it and flip through some books to give the two children nice-sounding names.

Li Damao and Li Ermao had recently listened to Li Qingzhi's stories and knew quite a bit, so they were also looking forward to their new names.

Li Qingzhi kissed the foreheads of the two children again. "Damao, Ermao, play for a while first, Dad will write something, and when Dad finishes writing, I'll play with you."

Li Qingzhi felt a bit fortunate that he had two sons.

If there was only one child, wouldn't it be boring to be alone? But now that he had two children, they could play together.

As for the children playing nearby possibly disturbing him… if he wanted to concentrate, no one could disturb him.

Li Qingzhi had come prepared and brought some small wooden sticks for the two children before. At this moment, the two children started playing with each other, placing the paper with their names written on it beside them and scratching the words on the ground according to them.

As for Li Qingzhi, without saying a word, he picked up his pen and began writing.

His handwriting was very ugly.

The original owner's handwriting was not very good to begin with, and he hadn't written for five years, plus his hands were weak now…

But Li Qingzhi didn't dwell on his handwriting. He planned to write some first and then see.

Zhu Qian had told him many childhood stories before, describing the family's poverty, and he could really empathize with that kind of life…

Li Qingzhi raised his pen: "In my childhood, my family was poor…"

Mr. Zhu had mentioned some things from his childhood before, and his expression was different when he spoke about them. Li Qingzhi intended to write all of those down.

He wrote very smoothly, but his handwriting was a bit messy… Unconsciously, he had already written five hundred words.

His arms were already too tired to lift. Li Qingzhi circulated his internal energy and rested for a while, talked to the two children, and had them kiss him: "Damao, Ermao, give Dad a kiss, so Dad can continue writing with strength!"

Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately leaned in to kiss Li Qingzhi, each kissing one side of his face.

After getting charged up by the two children, Li Qingzhi took out a clean sheet of paper and began copying.

He was very careful when copying, trying to write the words neatly. Although the written words were still not good-looking, at least they were clear.

By the time he finished copying, the morning had passed, and someone came to invite him to eat. Li Qingzhi immediately took the two children to the kitchen.

The steward of the Zhu family had already prepared his portion, which included a small plate of sliced boiled pork with soy sauce, a bowl of braised eggplant, and a bowl of pickled vegetable and tofu soup.

The portion of boiled pork was similar to that of other stewards, quite small, but the portions of braised eggplant and tofu soup were twice as much as others', probably considering that he had brought two children.

In addition, there was enough white rice.

This kind of food wouldn't be considered much in modern times, but it was already very good in this era. Li Damao and Li Ermao were very surprised. They didn't expect to not only have white rice but also be able to eat meat!

The two children didn't lift their heads while eating.

Li Qingzhi was the same. In the Miaoqian Village, they also ate eggplants, but either steamed or cooked with rice, and the rice was all coarse rice… Now, they could eat eggplant and rice in separate bowls, and they could enjoy it, not to mention there was meat!

Li Qingzhi intended to bring some meat back for Jin Xiaoye, even if it was just a few pieces, but he didn't have anything to pack it with.

Pastries were fine, he could wrap them in a piece of paper, but meat wasn't convenient to bring along.

After some thought, he divided the meat into three portions and gave two portions to the two children.

Unexpectedly, both Li Damao and Li Ermao took some from their own bowls and put them back in his bowl. "Dad, you eat more to stay healthy."

Their mother had always done it this way before, saying they were still young and could eat less, leaving more for their dad to keep him healthy.

Li Qingzhi was moved instantly. "Damao, Ermao, you're really good children!"

Touched by them, Li Qingzhi ate four bowls of rice in one go, still using a large bowl.

People's appetites were big at this time. They used large bowls for meals, generally, women ate one bowl, and men ate two.

Li Qingzhi actually ate four bowls… People who saw it were stunned.

Zhu Qian felt embarrassed to tell outsiders that he had invited Li Qingzhi back just to have him write a book, so he only told them that Li Qingzhi was there to copy books.

At this moment, the steward of the Zhu family couldn't help but suspect whether this scholar who came to the Zhu family to copy books had gone hungry for several days.

He looked quite pitiful.

Li Qingzhi didn't care about their thoughts. After eating, he asked the steward for a straw mat and laid it on the floor of the study for Li Damao and Li Ermao to take a nap. Then, he started writing again.

In high school, Li Qingzhi used to write 800-words compositions by hand, taking between forty minutes to an hour.

But the brush pen wasn't as easy to use as a ballpoint pen, and the words in this era were still in traditional Chinese… Even if he didn't care about the handwriting, he could only write a maximum of four hundred words in an hour now.

Not to mention that after finishing writing, he still had to revise and copy.

At the end of the day, Li Qingzhi had written about twelve hundred words.

When Zhu Qian came, Li Qingzhi handed him the twelve hundred words: "Mr. Zhu, my body has not fully recovered, and my right hand is weak, so the writing is not very smooth. Please forgive me."

Zhu Qian didn't have the opportunity to study when he was young, but later he did learn to read.

He had always found it difficult to understand those classical texts, but he could manage to read some colloquial works.

Now, when he took what Li Qingzhi had written…

These words… indeed, in his opinion, they were not good, but they were better than his own handwriting, and they were very clear.

Zhu Qian looked at them carefully, and the more he read, the more excited he became.

Li Qingzhi depicted his childhood life clearly. As Zhu Qian read the book, he felt that it was even better than what he had said himself.

But… why was it so little?

"Mr. Zhu, today is the first day. I wrote a bit slowly. Tomorrow should be faster," Li Qingzhi said.

He was actually getting used to writing with a brush pen today, so he wrote relatively slowly. After writing, because the words were too ugly, he had to copy them again.

Tomorrow he didn't plan to copy, he planned to write directly. If he persisted in writing for four hours a day, he should be able to write three thousand words.

If people used ballpoint pens at this time, it would be great. With a ballpoint pen, he should be able to write seven or eight thousand words a day.

But now there was only a brush pen, so he could only write slowly.

Of course, if he wrote more, his writing speed should also increase. In the memories of the original owner, the speed of writing with a brush pen by those scholars was not much slower than that of modern people using ballpoint or fountain pens.

"Good! Then I'll wait!" Zhu Qian said.

Li Qingzhi asked again, "Mr. Zhu, are there any changes needed in what I've written?"

"No need for changes, you've written very well," Zhu Qian said. He felt that the book was easy to understand at a glance, and Li Qingzhi had written about his childhood experiences with genuine feelings, without any problems.

Li Qingzhi smiled, "Then tomorrow, I'll continue writing like this."

He knew that writing a book for Zhu Qian, who hadn't read many books, wouldn't require high standards. As long as he wrote truthfully, Zhu Qian would like it.

In his previous life, he had read many novels. Next, he would write according to the style of novels, depicting Zhu Qian's life getting better and better, following the trajectory of a successful life… By then, not only would Zhu Qian like it, but others who read it would probably like it too.

Who doesn't love to read a feel-good story?

And Zhu Qian's life experience was already a feel-good story. Even in modern times, he could write a million-word farming novel based on it.

Chapter 26: Making Money

After Zhu Qian took away the twelve hundred words Li Qingzhi had written, it amounted to quite a stack of paper. Unfortunately, Li Qingzhi's hand lacked strength, making it difficult to control the brush pen well and write beautiful small words. Consequently, his handwriting was relatively large.

After Zhu Qian left, Li Qingzhi took the two children and went to the kitchen again.

The Zhu family ate three meals a day, and people in this era went to bed and got up early… By modern standards, the Zhu family would have breakfast around six o'clock, lunch around eleven, and dinner around four.

He could have dinner before going home.

Dinner was still white rice, not as white as modern rice, but much finer than brown rice. As for the dishes, there were salted fish, boiled green beans, and winter melon soup.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were not picky eaters. They even found plain white rice delicious and happily indulged. As for Li Qingzhi… to the surprise of those around him, he had another four bowls of rice, eating with particular relish.

He could actually eat more, but eating too much would make others think something was wrong with him.

After belching, Li Qingzhi went to the steward to get his wages.

He had previously told Zhu Qian about his family's situation, and Zhu Qian promised him daily wages.

At this time, ordinary families used copper coins, but the wages Zhu's family gave him were in silver. One silver coin was about the size of a modern dime, except it wasn't minted, just a small silver ingot hammered flat.

Li Qingzhi carefully tucked it away into his chest and then left the Zhu's house to find Mr. Yao.

He had timed it well; Yao Zhenfu hadn't arrived yet.

With his son not around, Mr. Yao seemed noticeably more relaxed and smiled as he asked Li Qingzhi about the Zhu family's situation.

Li Qingzhi didn't conceal anything and spoke selectively.

"Plenty of white rice and even meat, it's really good…" Mr. Yao sounded envious as he spoke.

He could earn a silver coin by running a boat all day, but he usually didn't get to eat meat.

"Mr. Zhu is a good person," Li Qingzhi nodded.

Mr. Yao agreed, "Mr. Zhu is indeed a good person. Whenever Shunlong Trading Company asks us to help transport goods, they never delay our wages."

As they were talking, Yao Zhenfu arrived, sweating profusely and carrying a book box.

Mr. Yao stopped talking immediately, but Yao Zhenfu wiped the sweat off his face and asked Li Qingzhi, "How are you doing at Mr. Zhu's? I heard the Zhu family is quite unruly."

Li Qingzhi helplessly replied, "I'm just a farmer and don't understand much about rules and such."

"Brother Li, then you should learn more," Yao Zhenfu spoke incessantly, talking about Zhu Qian's past experiences, showing obvious disdain for Zhu Qian.

Li Qingzhi felt even more helpless.

Both Zhu Qian and Yao Zhenfu were born into ordinary farming families. Why did Yao Zhenfu look down on Zhu Qian?

Before, Yao Zhenfu had asked Li Qingzhi to discuss knowledge with him, and Li Qingzhi had been interested. Now, however, he had completely given up on the idea.

The small boat stopped at the stone bridge of the Miaoqian Village. As soon as Li Qingzhi got off the boat, he saw Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen waiting here.

Li Laogen was the first to rush over and asked Li Qingzhi with wide eyes, "Ah Qing, what did you eat at Mr. Zhu's today?"

Li Ermao rushed to answer, "Grandpa, we had meat, fish, and white rice!"

Li Laogen's mouth watered, "Ah Qing, did you bring me some? I want to eat white rice."

"Rice dishes are not easy to carry…" The dishes were already portioned out, and while he could take his own portion of meat home, taking rice would look bad. He had already brought along two children to share the meal!

"Then I'll go with you next time and help you with the kids," said Li's father, full of anticipation.

Li Qingzhi took out a piece of Zhuangyuan cake wrapped in paper from his pocket and gave it to Li's father to silence him.

"What is this?" Li's father took a bite immediately and exclaimed, "It's sweet!"

Li's father went to show off the pastry, while Li Qingzhi handed the remaining pastry to Jin Xiaoye, saying, "Xiaoye, this is the Zhuangyuan cake given to me by Mr. Zhu."

Zhuangyuan cake was a common local pastry. People in the county would share it with their classmates as a good omen when they started school. But rural people had barely eaten it, and Jin Xiaoye had never tried it.

Jin Xiaoye put a piece of Zhuangyuan cake in her mouth and quickly squinted her eyes with delight at the rare delicacy.

This was too delicious!

When they returned home, Li Qingzhi gave her the small silver coin, and Jin Xiaoye couldn't suppress her smile.

On the other hand, Zhu Qian's eldest son, Zhu Xunmiao, had already returned home.

"Dad, how's the book about you going?" Zhu Xunmiao asked.

"It has just started. Take a look!" Zhu Qian said as he handed what Li Qingzhi had written to Zhu Xunmiao.

Zhu Xunmiao took it and was surprised by the childish, sometimes thick and sometimes thin strokes of the words. These words were barely better than his dad's!

Looking at the text… the story was clear, but there were no classical references or literary flair… He knew that some educated people would often begin their stories with a poem!

Zhu Xunmiao felt that the book was quite ordinary.

But thinking about it… no one with some knowledge would be willing to write a book for his father, and on top of that, the writer only earned one silver coin a day… As long as his dad was happy.

"How is it? It's written quite well, isn't it?" Zhu Qian asked.

The story was all about what his dad often talked about, so he couldn't say it was badly written… Zhu Xunmiao said, "The words are quite ordinary."

Zhu Qian said, "Mr. Li has just recovered from a serious illness and doesn't have much strength in his hands. It's understandable."

Thinking of Li Qingzhi's emaciated appearance, Zhu Xunmiao didn't say anything more.

Li Qingzhi, thin and worn, accompanied by two skinny children, seemed to be living a very difficult life at home.

Now, the Zhu family wanted to earn some extra money by having him write a book for his father, and he didn't want to ruin their livelihood.

Zhu Xunmiao said, "Dad, he writes extremely well. Once he finishes writing, I'll copy it out again and leave it for future generations."

"It should be!" Zhu Qian was very pleased.

The next day, Li Qingzhi followed Mr. Yao to the county town as usual to help Zhu Qian write the book.

When he arrived at the Zhu family's house, the family had already finished breakfast, but the steward had left him a portion.

The Zhu family's breakfast was porridge, and he also got a salted duck egg and a plate of pickled vegetables drizzled with rapeseed oil. In the pre-apocalyptic world, he would find dishes too oily if they had too much oil, but now… dishes with oil were really delicious!

Li Damao and Li Ermao were pleasantly surprised. "Dad, this pickled vegetable is really delicious!"

"Mmm," Li Qingzhi responded and casually put the salted duck egg into his pocket.

He could take it home for Jin Xiaoye to eat.

Li Qingzhi had written all day yesterday. If it weren't for the golden finger that could repair his body, he might not have been able to lift his arms today.

With the help of the golden finger, his arms had recovered quite well, and he wrote much more smoothly today.

However, after writing for a while, he still needed to rest for a while. During the break, he chatted with the two children.

Li Damao and Li Ermao often played together, and the two of them could pass the time very well. Plus, they still needed to nap for an hour at noon… The two children didn't feel bored at all while staying at the Zhu family's house, watching Li Qingzhi do calligraphy.

However, when Li Qingzhi was writing, they would occasionally come over, grab his chair, and call him "dad", standing on tiptoe trying to see what was on the table.

It was such a cute sight that Li Qingzhi couldn't help but kiss them a few times whenever he saw them. Then, he felt energized again and could continue writing the book.

This time, Li Qingzhi wrote carefully, one word at a time, writing it once and leaving any corrections there without rewriting… By the end of the day, he had written nearly three thousand words.

Li Qingzhi planned to write three thousand words every day from now on.

If Zhu Qian didn't want the book to be too long, he could finish writing in a month, and a book of around a hundred thousand words would be enough.

If Zhu Qian wanted a longer book, he could write for a few more months.

In short, everything was according to the demands of the benefactor.

After finishing writing, Li Qingzhi received another small silver coin and returned home with the two children.

Thanks to Li's father's blessing, the people of Miaoqian Village had already learned about Li Qingzhi's good job.

They had previously sympathized with Jin Xiaoye, but in the blink of an eye, Li Qingzhi, who was seen as a useless person, had found a good job in the county town.

Earning one silver coin a day, Li Qingzhi didn't earn any less than Mr. Yao!

In the county town, he could even eat meat every day, and he even brought back a zhuangyuan cake!

During the day, the villagers kept talking about this matter: "Didn't they say Li Qingzhi was not knowledgeable? How did he manage to find such a good job?"

"Yao Zhenfu has been studying for so many years, but I've never seen him bring money home."

"If Li Qingzhi can keep doing this, their family's life will definitely get better and better."

"What Li Laogen said may not be true. He's always bragging."

…

The villagers talked all day long. By evening, they were eagerly waiting on the stone bridge, hoping for Li Qingzhi's return.

As soon as Mr. Yao's boat docked, someone immediately approached, surrounding Li Qingzhi and asking questions: "Li Qingzhi, what's it like at Mr. Zhu's house?"

"Li Qingzhi, is it true that you can eat meat every day at Mr. Zhu's house?"

"Li Qingzhi…"

…

A large group of people surrounded him with smiling faces!

Li Qingzhi had been in a hurry to talk to Jin Xiaoye yesterday and didn't chat much with the villagers. Today, however, he planned to stay at the riverbank until dark before returning home.

Most of the day today, he had been writing a book, so he hadn't been able to enjoy the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by "fans". Now, he could enjoy it.

"Mr. Zhu's house is very beautiful, and we can eat some meat every day. For lunch today, we had minced meat steamed egg…" Li Qingzhi smiled and answered their questions.

The villagers listened with mouths watering.

Some people, envying him, went to ask Yao Zhenfu, "Zhenfu, why didn't you go to copy books for people? You can eat meat every day!"

"Yeah, you're very knowledgeable, aren't you? Why don't you go copy books for people?"

How could he go and copy books for his classmates? That would make people look down on him! Yao Zhenfu felt unhappy in his heart. "It's just that Mr. Zhu saw Li Qingzhi's pitiful situation and gave him a job. I don't know how long he can do it!"

After Yao Zhenfu finished speaking, he left.

But his words were absorbed by the villagers—It turned out that Li Qingzhi was able to find a job because Mr. Zhu felt sorry for him.

Some people went to ask Li Qingzhi, and Li Qingzhi did not refute: "I went to every shop looking for a job that day, but I couldn't find one. Later, Mr. Zhu saw my pitiful situation and let me go to his house to copy books. This job can't last long."

The villagers, who had been somewhat jealous at first, felt relieved after hearing Li Qingzhi's explanation and started asking about the Zhu family again.

Li Qingzhi chatted with them with a smiling face, telling them some things that people in the county town knew.

On the other side, at the Zhu family's house.

Yesterday, there were only over a thousand words, and Zhu Qian felt it was too few. But today, there were three thousand words!

Today's three thousand words even wrote about Zhu Qian's childhood experiences. The thoughts written there were exactly the same as what he had in mind!

Zhu Qian's eyes became moist as he read. He wanted to talk about the hardships he had experienced in the past. When his son came home, he couldn't wait to show him what Li Qingzhi had written today.

Seeing that there were many corrections in what Li Qingzhi wrote today, Zhu Xunmiao became speechless.

This scholar Li's writing was really perfunctory.

But after reading it, Zhu Xunmiao couldn't help but ask his father, "Dad, what's next?" He couldn't wait to see the content below.

"Although he knew about his father's affairs, after all, his father always boasted about his 'great achievements' at home.

But what was written in the book was somewhat different from what his father said. The book portrayed his father in a better light.

"I haven't written what comes next!" Zhu Qian spoke up and handed the paper to Zhu Xunmiao. "Amiao, didn't you say you wanted to help Mr. Li copy it? Go ahead and copy it now. When you're done, I'll take it to Uncle Li for you to see."

This was about his father! Zhu Qian had already started thinking that when the book was written, he would find someone to copy more copies.

He not only wanted to leave them for his own descendants to see but also wanted to give them to his friends so they would know about his past.

As for whether others might look down on him after reading it… everyone knew about his background, and there was nothing to hide.

Zhu Xunmiao: "…" His father used to want him to study all the time and not be distracted by other things, but now he wanted him to copy books?

While Zhu Xunmiao was thinking about this, Zhu Qian added, "Wait, if you're copying books, you won't have time to study… find someone in the school and ask him to copy them for you!"

That made sense! Zhu Xunmiao agreed and planned to find someone to help copy the book tomorrow.

Although his family was wealthy, some scholars in the county looked down on him. The best school in the county was run by an old scholar, and he didn't want to accept Zhu Xunmiao. He could only study with Li Xiucai, who only cared about money.

Li Xiucai loved money and accepted all students. Many of his classmates didn't intend to take the imperial examination path. They just wanted to learn a few words for future job opportunities, so they were willing to copy books for money.

Chapter 27: Update

After writing an introduction for Zhu Qian's autobiography, Li Qingzhi immersed himself in it, and it got better as he wrote.

By "better," it didn't mean literary prowess, but mainly emotions.

Although Zhu Qian came from a poor family, he was determined to live a better life and was willing to strive for it… Li Qingzhi could empathize with such emotions.

His current thoughts were exactly the same as Zhu Qian's when he was young.

He also wanted to live a better life; he wanted to eat well!

In addition, he embellished some of Zhu Qian's experiences… Unknowingly, ten days had passed, and he had written thirty thousand words, and Zhu Qian hadn't asked him to revise anything.

Zhu Qian was truly an ideal client.

After ten days of writing, Li Qingzhi's writing speed had increased significantly, but he still wrote three thousand words a day and consciously wrote more neatly.

He aimed to take the imperial examination, and to do so, he needed to have good handwriting.

By "good," it didn't mean having a unique style but rather writing that was neat, uniform in size, and resembled printed text.

Li Qingzhi understood this very well. Before the college entrance examination, he had practiced handwriting for bonus points.

Now he was practicing handwriting again from scratch with a brush.

He also had to write smaller characters… The characters written by people at this time with a brush were generally smaller than an adult's thumbnail, with some as small as five millimeters square, almost indistinguishable from pen writing.

He couldn't write such words at all now, so he had to practice slowly.

Helping Zhu Qian write his book happened to allow him to practice handwriting for free.

With more food these days, Li Qingzhi had a bit more energy, which he used to strengthen his hand strength and repair his hand bones, making his writing more stable.

And there was his memory… Li Qingzhi reserved some energy every day to optimize his brain.

As a result, he had no spare energy to repair his body.

So the steward who ate with the Zhu family and Li Qingzhi every day saw that Li Qingzhi ate two to three times more than them but didn't gain any weight.

Mr. Li could really eat!

That day at noon, Li Qingzhi ate boiled pork again.

Li Qingzhi separated one-third of the pork and placed it in a clean bamboo tube, intending to bring it back to Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen for an extra meal.

The amount of meat Zhu's family gave him for each meal wasn't much, but for Jin Xiaoye and the others, even just eating a thin slice of meat was a luxury.

After dividing the remaining dishes and sharing them with the two children, and after eating four bowls of rice, Li Qingzhi took the two children back to the study to coax them to sleep.

Li Damao and Li Ermao, who were still in kindergarten in modern times, had the habit of taking a nap. In no time, they lay down on the straw mat and fell asleep.

Seeing them lie down, Li Qingzhi took out his pen and paper and started writing his book.

Thirty thousand words later, in his autobiography, Zhu Qian already had thoughts of doing business. He secretly learned to read and saved some money. He planned to lease a boat and start a business after the five-year contract expired.

Zhu Qian had talked to Li Qingzhi about his experience in business. In reality, Zhu Qian's success was largely due to his good luck, but in writing his autobiography, it was necessary to highlight Zhu Qian's efforts.

Li Qingzhi had read some inspirational books in his previous life and used them to motivate himself in the post-apocalyptic world, plus he was naturally hopeful and loving towards life…

He added some inspirational quotes in the book.

Zhu Qian intended to leave this book for his descendants, hoping to inspire them.

"A person's life is not entirely determined by their background."

"If a person only has ideas but takes no action, they will inevitably achieve nothing."

"One must avoid complacency and acknowledge their shortcomings in order to progress."

"The fuller the rice grains, the lower they bow; a gentleman should be modest."

…

Li Qingzhi incorporated these thoughts or sayings into Zhu Qian's word in the book. Whenever Zhu Qian saw them, he would applaud and feel that everything he thought of was expressed by Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi: "…"

According to Zhu Qian's account of his experiences, the Zhu Qian of that time didn't have such thoughts. At that time, Zhu Qian's thoughts should have been very simple—he just wanted money.

However, when writing a book for the benefactor, portraying the benefactor in a positive light was necessary!

The Zhu Qian in his book was truly an inspirational model.

At this moment, Li Qingzhi had written about some related events again, mainly about the people who worked with Zhu Qian at the time. They thought Zhu Qian's desire to become wealthy was unrealistic, but Zhu Qian firmly believed in himself and was willing to strive for it.

As Li Qingzhi was writing, Zhu Qian entered from outside.

In the past few days, Zhu Qian had been very busy. Although he was very satisfied with the book Li Qingzhi had written, he didn't have time to chat with him much.

Today, he finally had some free time, so he took out what Li Qingzhi had written earlier and read it again. Then he became anxious to know what he had done next.

Although what Li Qingzhi wrote was his own experiences, for some reason, what Li Qingzhi wrote seemed different!

"Mr. Li." Zhu Qian came in with a smile and asked Li Qingzhi if he had just finished writing the manuscript.

Li Qingzhi handed over what he had written today to Zhu Qian.

Zhu Qian quickly finished reading all the content.

Before he went into business, he had been ridiculed by other servants. He had argued with those people, eager to prove himself to those who looked down on him… When Li Qingzhi wrote about this, Zhu Qian instantly appeared much more imposing!

In the book, he didn't argue with those people; instead, he thought that those who didn't want to change would always be servants…

Yes, that's what he thought!

"Mr. Li, could you write the next part faster?" Zhu Qian asked.

"Mr. Zhu, I've just recovered from a serious illness…" Li Qingzhi smiled bitterly.

Actually, he could speed up his writing. Now he could write four thousand words a day without any problem. But if he did that, he would be very tired, and writing quickly would prevent him from using writing to practice his handwriting.

Seeing Li Qingzhi's somewhat gaunt face, Zhu Qian realized that his request was a bit excessive.

According to his son… his son could only write a thousand words in a day, and Li Qingzhi could write three thousand words a day, which was already a lot!

"Mr. Li, my family's garden sent over several old hens today. I'll have someone stew one for you later, so you can eat it and replenish your health," Zhu Qian said.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhu!" Li Qingzhi looked grateful. "Mr. Zhu is truly benevolent!"

Zhu Qian looked at Li Qingzhi and then at what Li Qingzhi had written… Li Qingzhi portrayed him so well, he must have a lot of respect for him… Wasn't the treatment he gave Li Qingzhi a bit too low?

At the same time, in Li Xiucai's school, Zhu Xunmiao also felt that the money his father gave to Mr. Li was too little.

After Zhu Qian requested the copying, Zhu Xunmiao took some of Li Qingzhi's manuscripts to the school and asked one of his classmates to help copy them.

In Mr. Li's school, there were many students from average backgrounds. Some of these students avoided Zhu Xunmiao and didn't interact with him, but some tried to curry favor with him to gain some benefits.

This classmate belonged to the latter.

When he asked his classmate to help with the copy, the classmate readily agreed. According to the current market price, copying three thousand words would cost about one silver coin.

The money paid for the copy was the same as what the writer received!

At first, Zhu Xunmiao just felt that scholar Li wrote his father's experiences truthfully and movingly, which deeply moved him when he read it. But later…

Some statements in the book began to shake him!

Although those statements were straightforward, after reading them, he suddenly felt that he wasn't working hard enough.

When his father signed the contract to become a servant, he was working hard for the future, but what about him?

He had no worries about food or drink, but when he studied, he never exerted himself and always tried to slack off.

Zhu Xunmiao had read what Li Qingzhi had written repeatedly in the past few days, and every time he read it, he paid more attention when studying.

He didn't even want others to copy it for him anymore; he wanted to do it himself.

But every day when he arrived at school, those classmates who copied for him would immediately ask him for the manuscript…

At this moment, the students in the school had just finished lunch.

The one who helped Zhu Xunmiao copy was named Xu Qifei.

Li Xiucai had seventy students and couldn't teach them all. Xu Qifei had openly read Li Qingzhi's manuscripts in the morning and even copied some. Now during lunch break, he excitedly said to Zhu Xunmiao, "Brother Zhu, your father is truly remarkable! No wonder he could amass a fortune!"

Previously, Zhu Xunmiao hadn't mentioned Li Qingzhi much to Xu Qifei.

This was also for Li Qingzhi's good, as helping a businessman write a book wasn't considered a good deed.

At the time, Zhu Xunmiao had only told Xu Qifei that it was his father's oral account, written down by someone else.

Therefore, in Xu Qifei's eyes, this was Zhu Qian's true experience.

Xu Qifei was very fond of this book and praised it several times, expressing his admiration for Zhu Qian.

Zhu Xunmiao didn't know how to respond.

This book was indeed written based on his father's experiences, but those principles… they were definitely not something his father could come up with or articulate!

That Mr. Li looked frail and ordinary, but he actually had great talent! And this could be seen from Mr. Li's handwriting as well.

Zhu Xunmiao had previously looked down on Li Qingzhi's handwriting, but after ten days, Li Qingzhi's handwriting had improved significantly.

From this, it could be seen that Li Qingzhi's previous poor handwriting was indeed due to illness.

Now, Mr. Li was still very thin, his health hadn't improved, yet he could write three thousand words every day, and his handwriting was becoming more stable… Mr. Li was definitely not an ordinary person!

"What are you two talking about, Brother Zhu, Brother Xu?" one of Zhu Qian's friends asked curiously. In the past few days, Zhu Qian suddenly stopped hanging out with them and became close with Xu Qifei instead.

Before Zhu Qian could speak, Xu Qifei said, "I'm expressing my admiration for Zhu Xiong's father."

Zhu Qian's friend was a bit puzzled. In Chongcheng County, who didn't know that Zhu Qian had once been a servant for someone else?

There were also many unfavorable rumors in the city, saying that Zhu Qian was only interested in profit, and so on… Even though Xu Qifei came from a poor family, he was still a scholar with decent knowledge. Why would he admire Zhu Qian?

Seeing his friend's confusion, Zhu Xunmiao thought for a moment and then handed over the copy of his father's autobiography to his friend.

So, during Li Xiucai's teaching session in the afternoon, Zhu Xunmiao's friend kept reading the book.

Fortunately, Li Xiucai didn't bother with such things. With so many students and each having different learning progress, he couldn't manage them all.

After Zhu Xunmiao's friend finished reading… "Brother Zhu, I want to meet your father!" he exclaimed.

Zhu Xunmiao: "…"

"I used to blame myself and resent not being born into a scholarly family. But now, I realize that my starting point is already very good!" Zhu Xunmiao's friend sighed.

His father was also a businessman, and like Zhu Xunmiao, he would be looked down upon by some aristocratic families.

Before, he was full of frustration, but now after reading Zhu Qian's book… he realized he had been narrow-minded!

He also wanted to know what happened next… So he asked, "By the way, Brother Zhu, what happened next?"

Zhu Xunmiao also wanted to know what happened next.

He also wanted to go and see Li Qingzhi for a long chat!

Chapter 28: Renting a Boat 1/3

Around four in the afternoon, Li Qingzhi put down the brush in his hand and rubbed his stiff and sore right arm.

He had already finished writing the three thousand words for today, and he didn't intend to continue. Besides… he was hungry.

The Zhu family had breakfast early, and lunch followed suit. It had been almost five hours since he had lunch.

Dinner should be ready by now… Li Qingzhi glanced at his two children. "Damao, Ermao, let's go have dinner."

"Dad, what are we having today?" Li Ermao rushed to Li Qingzhi's side and asked, his current concern being what they would eat for each meal.

"We should have chicken today," Li Qingzhi smiled.

Li Ermao's mouth watered, and Li Damao couldn't stop swallowing saliva.

"Damao, Ermao, come give Dad a kiss, and later, Dad will give you chicken legs to eat." Li Qingzhi bent down.

Li Damao and Li Ermao each kissed his cheek.

Children's lips were soft, and their kisses made his face tingle… Li Qingzhi really wanted to pick up both children with one hand each.

But he couldn't.

With a sigh, Li Qingzhi held the hands of his two children and headed to the kitchen.

On the way, Li Damao asked, "Dad, don't we only eat chicken for New Year's? Can we eat it now?"

"Yes, we can. Dad earned money by helping people write books, so we can have chicken now," Li Qingzhi said.

"Dad, when I grow up, I want to help people write books too," Li Ermao said.

"Okay."

"Dad, I want to write too!" Li Damao chimed in.

"Sure, let's write together," Li Qingzhi smiled and reassured the children.

His sons were really cute!

And… the chicken stew in the kitchen smelled really good!

Li Qingzhi could already smell the chicken meat, and at this moment, he was as eager as the two children.

In this area of Chongcheng County, most households have some land and they usually raise chickens, but not too many.

The chickens can find food on their own, eating insects and vegetable leaves, but relying solely on this won't satisfy them; they definitely need to be fed some grains.

Families with more land and higher yields can afford to raise more chickens, but ordinary households can't afford to raise too many chickens as it would deplete their grain supply.

However, wealthy households like the Zhu family don't lack chicken meat. For example, Zhu Qian has bought a lot of land outside the city and hired people to cultivate and raise livestock.

"Mr. Li, you're here!" The chef in the kitchen saw Li Qingzhi and greeted him with a smile. "Your chicken stew is ready!"

The Zhu family hired a chef and four kitchen maids to help with cooking.

There were so many people because besides the Zhu family members, there were also quite a few stewards and servants.

The chef usually only cooks for the Zhu family, and what Li Qingzhi and his companions eat is prepared by the kitchen maids.

Li Qingzhi was very happy. "That's great, I can't wait to eat."

"Then Mr. Li, please come and eat quickly." The chef invited Li Qingzhi in and asked one of the maids to bring out the chicken.

He really liked Li Qingzhi, after all, Li Qingzhi always enjoyed the food whenever he came to the kitchen.

However, Li Qingzhi was here at the Zhu family to copy the books, being a scholar, the servants were not too comfortable talking to him.

The chicken was stewed in a clay pot, and chicken liver, gizzard, and heart were also in it. Li Qingzhi was wondering where the chicken intestines went and was worried about wasting them, but then he saw that the servants were having chicken blood and intestines winter melon soup today.

It made sense; at this time, people didn't even waste chicken feathers, so he didn't need to worry about them wasting food.

Li Qingzhi and the stewards had similar treatment and ate quite well, but the Zhu family's servants didn't eat as well.

The stewards could have one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, while the servants only had two vegetable dishes, occasionally with a bit of meat.

Today, the Zhu family slaughtered more than one chicken, so they could have some chicken blood and intestines… These servants were all very happy, they took their portion of food and found a place to squat and eat.

At this point, Li Qingzhi had already torn off two chicken legs for his children, scooped some chicken soup into their rice bowls, and let them soak their rice.

The chicken soup was full of fat, but people at this time still lacked fat!

Li Damao and Li Ermao ate happily, while Li Qingzhi couldn't wait to start eating the chicken breast with his chopsticks.

During this period, he had meat dishes in every meal, but the portions were always small, and he had to share with his two children and Jin Xiaoye… Having such a big piece of meat was a first for him.

It was really, really delicious! Li Qingzhi felt like he could gnaw on the whole chicken, even crush the bones and swallow them.

Indeed, in the original owner's memory, poor people would even eat the small bones on the chicken, but they didn't eat the big bones because chicken bones are brittle and could scratch the throat.

While enjoying the chicken meat, Li Qingzhi didn't forget to eat rice.

The rice was soaked in chicken soup… he didn't even need to chew, he could just gulp down a bowl!

Li Qingzhi ate four bowls of rice in a frenzy and, incidentally, finished every dish that each steward had.

But he only ate one side of the chicken meat, planning to take the rest home.

"Mr. Li, you have a really good appetite," the chef exclaimed.

Li Qingzhi treated him well, so he dared to speak to Li Qingzhi.

"I've just recovered from a serious illness and need to regain my strength, so I've been eating a bit more," Li Qingzhi said with a smile, "plus, the food here is just too delicious."

The chubby cook chuckled, "Mr. Li, with such a hearty appetite, you'll surely regain your health!"

"I think so too," Li Qingzhi chuckled, engaging in conversation with the cook and repeatedly praising the delicious food.

After chatting for a while, Li Qingzhi asked, "Can I borrow a clay pot to take the leftover chicken with me?"

"Of course," the cook quickly brought a clean clay pot and helped Li Qingzhi put the unfinished chicken inside.

When Li Qingzhi left, he carried a basket for his two children's toys. Now he put the clay pot in it and left the Zhu family's house to find Mr. Yao.

With his weak body, he had to take frequent breaks because of the weight he was carrying. By the time he reached Mr. Yao's place, Yao Zhenfu was already there.

"Why are you so late?" Yao Zhenfu sounded a bit annoyed.

"Sorry, something came up," Li Qingzhi said. He shouldn't have kept them waiting since Mr. Yao only charged him one cent for the round trip.

"It's okay, Ah Fu just got here too," Mr. Yao noticed Li Qingzhi's frail appearance and helped him with the basket, then took Li Qingzhi's arm and helped him onto the boat.

"Thank you," Li Qingzhi said.

"No need to thank me… Did you buy a clay pot?" Mr. Yao noticed the clay pot in Li Qingzhi's basket.

"The Zhu family gave me some food," Li Qingzhi said.

"They even gave you food…" Mr. Yao was extremely envious, then went to see his own son.

Yao Zhenfu, however, became increasingly displeased with Li Qingzhi, feeling that Li Qingzhi was deliberately showing off in front of him.

If he had known this would happen, he would never have lent books to Li Qingzhi in the first place!

Today, Yao Zhenfu refused to speak to Li Qingzhi again.

Li Qingzhi didn't mind and went to talk to his two children.

Every day on the boat, he would teach them poems. Now, he resumed the lesson.

Seeing this, Yao Zhenfu grew even more dissatisfied.

He had previously seen Li Qingzhi's two children reciting the Three Character Classic and poems, so he tried to teach his own child. But his child… After much difficulty, he managed to teach him, but the next day, the child still couldn't recite them. As time went on, he even cried and refused to learn anymore!

Why couldn't his son measure up to Li Qingzhi's son?!

If Li Qingzhi knew Yao Zhenfu's thoughts, he would surely be speechless.

Yao Zhenfu's son was nearly half a year younger than Li Damao and Li Ermao. For a child of this age to forget what he was taught today by tomorrow was completely normal. The reason Li Damao and Li Ermao could remember was that Li Qingzhi repeatedly reviewed with them.

Today, Yao Zhenfu would teach for a short while, and then expect his child to recite articles and poems the next day that the child didn't even understand… How was that possible!

Every time Li Qingzhi taught his children poetry, he would explain the meaning of the verses to them repeatedly.

The small boat shuttled through the river channels and soon arrived at the Miaoqian Village.

During the days when Li Qingzhi went to the Zhu family's house to copy books, there would always be a crowd surrounding him asking questions upon his return. However, it had gotten much better in the past few days.

But Li Laogen still came up to him first: "Ah Qing, did you bring back any food today?"

In the past few days, Li Qingzhi had been bringing back some food every day.

Even though it was just a few pieces of meat and a salted duck egg, for Li Laogen, it was a rare delicacy that he looked forward to all day long.

Li Qingzhi replied, "Yes, today Master Zhu gave me some chicken meat."

Li Laogen immediately looked into the clay pot in Li Qingzhi's basket and swiftly lifted the lid.

Li Qingzhi: "… It's common for children to run up to their fathers asking for food when they return home, but for the father to come up asking for food… That's really rare."

"Li Laogen, what are you doing! Let Ah Qing come up first!" Jin Xiaoye shouted – Li Qingzhi had just gotten off the boat and was still standing on the steps!

Li Laogen grinned awkwardly, helped Li Qingzhi with the basket, and took the lead up the stone steps, showing off the basket to the villagers, "Mr. Zhu is so generous. He didn't eat much of this chicken and gave it to Ah Qing!"

"Today I have chicken to eat."

"I thought we had to wait until New Year's to eat chicken, but I didn't expect to have it now!"

…

Everyone thought that Li Qingzhi was given the leftover chicken by the Zhu family.

But even so, the villagers still envied him—although the chicken leg was missing and some of the meat was gone, the chicken wings were still there!

Only Yao Zhenfu said, "Other people's scraps are treasured. How pathetic."

Li Qingzhi glanced at him helplessly and said to Li Laogen, "Dad, let's go back."

He didn't mention that Mr. Zhu had given him a whole chicken; if the villagers thought he had suddenly become rich, it wouldn't be a good thing.

Li Laogen wanted to boast on the riverbank with the basket, but he also wanted to eat chicken meat… He followed Li Qingzhi, "Ah Qing, later, ask Xiaoye to give me a little more chicken meat…"

When they returned home, Jin Xiaoye gave the remaining chicken breast to Li Laogen, who promptly ran off.

With such a big piece of meat, he would definitely go to the riverbank to show off to the villagers.

After Li Laogen left, Li Qingzhi said to Jin Xiaoye, "Xiaoye, Mr. Zhu gave me a whole chicken. I ate some at the Zhu's house… It's very delicious. Try it."

"Mr. Zhu gave you a whole chicken?" Jin Xiaoye was surprised.

"Yes, he wanted me to take care of my health."

"Mr. Zhu is so kind." Jin Xiaoye sighed.

"Xiaoye, try it quickly," Li Qingzhi urged Jin Xiaoye to eat.

But Jin Xiaoye didn't eat. She suddenly spoke up, "Ah Qing, I think I'll go rent a boat tomorrow."

Since the day she mentioned wanting to rent a boat for business to Li Qingzhi, Jin Xiaoye had taken the time to inquire about it.

Now that Li Qingzhi was taking care of the two children, she had more freedom. She quickly found out the rental prices for boats, which were generally fifty cents per day. In addition, she learned that there was an old boatman in a nearby village who couldn't work anymore and had lost his son. He wanted to rent out his boat, charging only forty wen per day, which was lower than what the county charged.

She originally intended to save up some capital before renting a boat, but now there was such an opportunity before her… She wanted to rent the boat as soon as possible.

Li Qingzhi said, "Okay!"

"I'll need to use all the money at home, and I probably won't have time to take care of things at home for a while." Jin Xiaoye looked seriously at Li Qingzhi.

"It's okay," Li Qingzhi really liked Jin Xiaoye's determined and money-making appearance. "Xiaoye, have you decided what kind of business you want to do?"

"I'll start by ferrying people in the county town. When I get used to it, I'll think of something else," Jin Xiaoye said.

People in the county town often went out on trips or needed to transport goods, so they would call for a boat, similar to calling a taxi in modern times.

In fact, ferrying people was mainly what Mr. Yao did. It might not earn a lot of money, but generally speaking, it was not difficult to make ends meet. During festivals and holidays, business would be very good.

"Good." Li Qingzhi smiled. Jin Xiaoye was indeed such a girl. Even if she encountered the end of the world, she would find ways to survive. She was really good.

"Then I'll go call Xiaoshu and talk to him," Jin Xiaoye said. "I'll give him some of this chicken too."

Jin Xiaoye's maiden family was also from Miaoqian Village, but the two families were a bit far apart, and they each had their own work to do, so Li Qingzhi hadn't met Jin Xiaoshu during this time.

Now Jin Xiaoshu was coming over… Li Qingzhi used a knife to cut the chicken, poured out the chicken soup, and planned to give it to Jin Xiaoshu later.

About half an hour later, Jin Xiaoye brought Jin Xiaoshu back.

They didn't have a table at home, so they sat on the doorstep, chatting while enjoying the cool breeze.

Jin Xiaoshu was only sixteen years old, like a high school student in modern times.

People didn't eat as well as they do now, so Jin Xiaoshu was very thin, not tall either, and his voice sounded like a duck's quack, still going through puberty.

"Sis, are we really going to ferry people?" Jin Xiaoshu was eager but also a little afraid.

"We are!" Jin Xiaoye decided firmly.

"I'll listen to you," Jin Xiaoshu immediately agreed.

"Then come find me tomorrow morning," Jin Xiaoye said.

Jin Xiaoshu agreed, then happily drank the chicken soup and ate the chicken.

Although the chicken breast and legs were gone, there were still chicken wings and other meat! Jin Xiaoshu ate with a greasy mouth and even fed some to Li Damao and Li Ermao.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were very familiar with Jin Xiaoshu. After eating the meat Jin Xiaoshu fed them, Li Ermao said, "Uncle, Ermao can write his own name now!"

"Ermao is so amazing?" Jin Xiaoshu was a little surprised.

Li Damao said, "I can write my mother's name too!"

"So can I!" Li Ermao quickly followed.

After the two children finished speaking, they took sticks and wrote on the ground.

Indeed, they were drawing. They didn't write stroke by stroke, but copied what Li Qingzhi wrote. However, the words they drew could still be recognized.

Li Qingzhi had known for a long time that they could draw, praised them many times, but didn't rush to teach them how to write.

The two children were not yet five years old, so there was no need to rush.

Jin Xiaoshu couldn't recognize characters at all, but seeing Li Damao and Li Ermao writing, he praised them repeatedly.

Li Damao and Li Ermao proudly puffed out their chests.

It was harmonious and joyful on the Li family's side. On the Zhu family's side, when Zhu Xunmiao returned home, he repeatedly read the three thousand words Li Qingzhi wrote today.

"Dad, Mr. Li's writing is really good."

"Of course, the first time I saw him, I felt he was not an ordinary person," Zhu Qian felt quite pleased with himself.

"Dad, let's take a rest tomorrow. I want to have a good chat with Mr. Li," Zhu Xunmiao said. Their school took rest on the first and fifteenth of every month, so he could finally have a break.

"It's time to have a chat, it will broaden your horizons," Zhu Qian said.

Zhu Xunmiao nodded, then took out a piece of paper and copied down the words written by Li Qingzhi that deeply touched him, intending to use them as motivation.

Jin Xiaoye chatted with Jin Xiaoshu until dark, and Jin Xiaoshu then took a stick and went back in the dark.

He specifically took a stick not out of fear of danger, but to chase away snakes, as the summer grass often hides them.

That night, Jin Xiaoye was excited but also somewhat nervous. She spoke a lot with Li Qingzhi and expressed her worries: "What if we can't earn any money?"

"It's okay if we don't earn any money. Even if you don't have a single customer in a day, it's just a loss of forty cents. I can earn a silver coin in a day," Li Qingzhi reassured her in a gentle tone.

Upon hearing Li Qingzhi's words, Jin Xiaoye's lingering anxiety vanished completely.

The next day, Li Qingzhi got up early as usual.

Now he always had breakfast at the Zhu family's house, so Jin Xiaoye didn't rush to cook. She cleaned the clay pot that Li Qingzhi brought back yesterday with water and poured the water from the pot into the pot, planning to use it to cook later—there were oil droplets in this water!

The Yao family needed some time before they could leave, so Li Qingzhi took a twig and wrote on the ground, teaching Jin Xiaoye in passing.

Previously, Li Qingzhi asked Jin Xiaoye if she wanted to learn to read, and Jin Xiaoye said she did. Li Qingzhi remembered this matter.

On the first day of going to the Zhu family to write, Li Qingzhi wrote down the names of his family members on a piece of paper and brought it back home to use it to teach Jin Xiaoye how to write.

Li Damao and Li Ermao only knew how to write their names, but Jin Xiaoye could already write, and Li Qingzhi also taught her a few more words.

He didn't demand how Jin Xiaoye wrote the words, he just hoped she could recognize them and not be illiterate.

As one taught and the other learned, after a while, Mr. Yao came out of the house.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi quickly followed.

As usual, they first went to the boat, and after a while, Yao Zhenfu arrived.

The gatekeeper of the Zhu family already knew Li Qingzhi and smiled when he saw him, inviting him in, "Go and have breakfast quickly, we've all finished eating!"

Li Qingzhi had been hungry for a while, so after entering the Zhu family's house, he headed straight to the kitchen with Li Damao and Li Ermao.

He returned the clay pot he took away yesterday to the cook, and Li Qingzhi took a bowl to scoop porridge.

In the Zhu family, the steward and the servants usually had porridge for breakfast, and the accompanying dishes were various pickled vegetables, each person had one portion. The steward had a salted duck egg every day, while the servants did not.

Today's side dish for the porridge was pickled cabbage.

The so-called pickled cabbage was actually mustard knots, which were commonly pickled and consumed by people in Chongcheng County.

While Li Qingzhi was eating porridge, the cook was beside him, cutting the pickled cabbage, saying they were going to make pickled cabbage soup for lunch.

"When it's ready, I'll add some oil residue to the soup to make it fragrant." The cook brought a small dish over and placed it in front of Li Damao and Li Ermao. "Damao, Ermao, Uncle invites you to eat oil residue."

Li Damao and Li Ermao were pleasantly surprised. Li Qingzhi immediately said, "Damao, Ermao, quickly thank Uncle."

"Thank you, Uncle!" the two children said in unison.

The cook was very happy. "Mr. Li, you've taught these two children really well."

"They are sensible on their own," Li Qingzhi said with a smile.

Li Damao and Li Ermao puffed up their chests upon hearing this.

"Yes, Damao and Ermao are sensible on their own. Mr. Li, please have your meal. There's still plenty of porridge left!"

Indeed, there was plenty of porridge left.

The porridge was thick, but much easier to swallow than rice. Li Qingzhi finished a bowl in two or three scoops, then immediately served himself another bowl, and finished that in a few more scoops…

Because there was so much porridge, he ended up drinking five bowls.

Knowing that Li Qingzhi had come specifically to visit, and because Li Qingzhi was busy eating porridge and didn't approach him, Zhu Xunmiao wondered, "…" Is Mr. Li… such a big eater?

How can he eat so much and still be so thin?

It wasn't until Li Qingzhi finished eating that Zhu Xinmiao approached him. "Mr. Li!"

"Young Master Zhu," Li Qingzhi smiled. "Young Master Zhu, did you not go to school today?"

"Today's a day off from school," Zhu Xunmiao said.

"Which school do you attend, Young Master Zhu? How often do you have days off?" Li Qingzhi was curious. If he wanted to take the imperial examination, he might also have to go to school.

Zhu Xunmiao explained about his studies with Li Xiucai, saying they had a half-month break once a month.

Li Qingzhi was somewhat surprised by this.

He often waited with Mr. Yao for Yao Zhenfu, and when Yao Zhenfu wasn't around, Mr. Yao was still talkative. Li Qingzhi was happy to chat, so he knew that Yao Zhenfu also studied with Li Xiucai.

But since today was a day off, why did Yao Zhenfu still go into town?

Of course, that was someone else's business, and he couldn't interfere… Li Qingzhi chatted with Zhu Xunmiao and asked about Li Xiucai's school.

Li Xiucai's school had many students, with about seventy or eighty students in total.

If one only wanted to learn to read, it wasn't expensive to study with Li Xiucai, costing only two silver coins a year.

Some people in town would send their children to study with Li Xiucai for two years if they only wanted them to learn to read, and then they wouldn't go anymore after the children learned to read.

However, if one intended to take the imperial examination, they would need Li Xiucai to explain the classics and teach deeper knowledge, in which case two silver coins a year wouldn't be enough; an additional five silver coins would be required.

In fact, those students who merely wanted to learn to read weren't being taught by Li Xiucai himself, but by his two apprentice sons.

"Why does Li Xiucai accept so many students?" Li Qingzhi was puzzled. Generally, people at this time wouldn't take on too many students, as each person progressed at a different pace. With so many students… Li Xiucai might be overwhelmed.

"Mr. Li is short of money," Zhu Xunmiao explained.

Li Qingzhi became even more puzzled. If he had already accepted so many students, how could he still be short of money?

Zhu Xunmiao cleared his throat. "Li Xiucai has one wife and two concubines, and between them, they've borne him seven sons and six daughters… Currently, five of those seven sons are married, and some have more than one child."

Li Qingzhi: "…"

Seven sons,Li Xiucai must be short on money!

In an era without contraception, people generally had many children, but in poor families with poor conditions, women were prone to malnutrition, making it not so easy to conceive. However, in wealthier families with healthy women… the average of four or five children per wife was not unusual. The previous owner's mother had borne five children, and she had managed to raise them all.

But for Li Xiucai to have seven sons… the expenses for such a large family must be considerable.

"Li Xiucai rents a house in the county town, and the monthly rent alone costs a lot of money. With so many people in his family, not every one of his sons has a job…" Zhu Xunmiao had visited Li Xiucai's house once and had been shocked.

There were about thirty people in their family, and they ate in batches.

Chapter 29: The Next Volume 1/3

Li Qingzhi has been wearing Daqi's clothes for some time now, so he has some understanding of Daqi.

In this era, it's a system of one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines. Men can take concubines, but Li Qingzhi knows that there are not many men who take concubines, while there are quite a few who can't even marry a wife—there are more bachelors like Li Laogen in Miaoqian Village.

Even Zhu Qian hasn't taken a concubine. It's indeed rare for someone like Li Xuicai, who has two concubines.

"Mr. Li must be having a hard time…"

"Indeed," Zhu Xunmiao couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the large number of people in his master's house. Fortunately, his father doesn't take concubines!

His father doesn't even want too many sons. After all, his father wants to pass on the wealth of the Zhu family, not divide it among a bunch of people, so that in the end, everyone has only a little money.

As for his master, for now, his master is strong and can still make money, and the family's life is still okay. But when his master gets old, when his master's seven children split up the family, it's okay if some of them have potential, but those who don't might end up impoverished.

After chatting for a while, Li Qingzhi finally understood what kind of person Li Xiucai was.

Chongcheng County has a small number of scholars, but the number of scholars is not bad. There are about twenty scholars living in the county.

Li Xiucai opened the school and opened it in such a large area because he had good knowledge and real ability.

When Li Xiucai was young, everyone even thought he could pass the examination.

But he, despite his modest family background, had a penchant for women, which prevented him from focusing on his studies. After failing the imperial examination twice, he simply opened a private school at home.

With a wife, concubines, and children to support, he had to find a way to provide for his family.

Li Xuicai had been running his private school for nearly twenty years. While he accepted many students without discrimination, he also produced several scholars. Therefore, people from the county were willing to send their children to him.

For instance, Zhu Xunmiao entered Li Xuicai's school to study at the age of seven.

Every year, Zhu gave Li twenty taels of silver, and he also presented gifts on festivals. Li Xuicai paid special attention to teaching Zhu Xunmiao, spending time every day explaining classic texts and carefully reviewing Zhu Xunmiao's essays.

"In that case, if I ever want to study in the future, I can go to Mr. Li Xuicai's place," said Li Qingzhi.

"Mr. Li still wants to study?" Zhu Xunmiao was somewhat surprised. He had read books written by Li Qingzhi, which contained many profound insights that had greatly benefited him. Subconsciously, he regarded Li Qingzhi as a formidable figure.

Li Qingzhi said, "I intend to participate in the imperial examination, but my academic skills are lacking. Therefore, I want to study in a school or find someone to guide me."

"Mr. Li is humble," Zhu Xunmiao said.

Seeing Zhu Xunmiao's expression, Li Qingzhi knew that Zhu Xunmiao might have idealized him after reading his books.

However, he was telling the truth. His academic skills were indeed lacking.

Li Qingzhi did not conceal his past learning situation and said, "When I was young, I did not cherish the opportunity to study. Later, my hometown suffered calamities, and I fled in distress. After finally settling down in Miaoqian Village, I encountered misfortune again… I couldn't even afford to eat properly before. I must thank Mr. Zhu for employing me to write books."

After listening, Zhu Xunmiao felt somewhat disappointed, but Li Qingzhi's frankness prevented him from getting angry. He even admired Li Qingzhi a little. Despite his circumstances, Li Qingzhi still wanted to study, while he had not cherished the opportunity to study before and had always been lazy.

Thinking of this, Zhu Xunmiao said, "Mr. Li, if you want to study, I can lend you books, and if you have any questions, you can come to me."

"Thank you very much, Young Master Zhu," Li Qingzhi thanked him.

The two chatted well, and Li Qingzhi mentioned Yao Zhenfu.

Zhu Xunmiao knew Yao Zhenfu: "Yao Zhenfu has been paying extra money for studying classics every year since ten years ago. He also participated in the county exam, but did not pass."

To study classics, one had to pay seven taels of silver a year, plus the cost of buying writing materials and books, as well as Yao Zhenfu's other expenses in the county… Mr. Yao had indeed spent a lot of money on Yao Zhenfu over the years.

Zhu Xunmiao continued, "I heard that he wanted to find a job before. I even wanted to let him manage one of my shops, but he refused."

Three years ago, the manager of one of his shops under his name was driven away for embezzling money by falsifying accounts, so he found someone to introduce a new manager.

Knowing from the intermediary that Yao Zhenfu had approached him, he wanted Yao Zhenfu to do it, but Yao Zhenfu refused.

Of course, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Later, one of Li Xiucai's sons died, and Li Xiucai gave him several annotated books because of it.

As Zhu Xunmiao spoke, he suddenly realized that he had said too much in front of Li Qingzhi.

But Li Qingzhi had always been sincere, so what harm was there in saying a little more?

Zhu Xunmiao had other things to do, and he didn't like being disturbed when he was writing. After chatting with Li Qingzhi for an hour, he left, saying before leaving, "Mr. Li, you've just recovered from a serious illness. You can write less for my father's book."

He was eager to read the following content, but Li Qingzhi looked so thin… he couldn't possibly exploit Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi smiled and agreed.

After Zhu Xunmiao left, Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately came to call their father.

They had been instructed by Jin Xiaoye not to disturb Li Qingzhi when he was busy, but when he had free time, they would approach him.

"Dad's little darlings, Li Damao and Li Ermao," Li Qingzhi kissed them and talked to them for a while before letting them play on their own. He needed to write.

He had brought some toys for the two children, which were actually just pretty stones and small sticks, but the two children could play with them for a long time by throwing and catching the stones.

But this was also quite boring. Perhaps he could buy a chess set and teach them to play backgammon.

Li Qingzhi added water to the inkstone and began to grind the ink, preparing to write the next plot.

Talking to Zhu Xunmiao took quite some time. Li Qingzhi only managed to write eight hundred words that morning, but his handwriting… he noticed they had improved significantly compared to before.

Seeing that it was time for lunch, Li Qingzhi took the two children straight to the kitchen.

The steward of the Zhu family often cooked pork dishes, and today it was braised pork. Each person had a piece of pork about two fingers wide. In addition, there was a soup made from radish and oil residue, along with pickled vegetables cooked with gourds.

These were the kind of gourds like those in the story of "The Calabash Brothers," with which almost all the people in Chongcheng County could grow. When the gourds were young, they could be eaten, and when they grew old, they could be made into calabash dippers or containers for liquor or water.

The braised pork smelled delicious, and Li Qingzhi planned to take some home for Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen to eat. As for the meat dish for tonight, he could share it with the two children.

Just as Li Qingzhi sat down, the cook brought him a bowl of braised chicken pieces.

"What's this?" Li Qingzhi was surprised.

The cook said, "Mr. Li, this is what the young master instructed. He said that from now on, some of their dishes should be set aside for you to nourish your body."

After chatting with Zhu Xunmiao, Li Qingzhi went to the kitchen, where he asked the cook to make extra meat dishes whenever they cooked them and to set aside some for Li Qingzhi.

This chicken was what the cook had set aside after making extra.

Zhu Xunmiao was truly a good person!

Li Qingzhi packed up most of the chicken before starting to eat.

The braised pork was just soy sauce stewed meat, with a mediocre taste, but this chicken was cooked by the cook for the Zhu family, and it smelled fragrant with the addition of sugar.

Jin Xiaoye probably hadn't tasted such delicious chicken before.

"Dad, this chicken is delicious!" Li Damao and Li Ermao had never tasted such delicious chicken before, and they looked pleasantly surprised.

"If it's delicious, eat more," Li Qingzhi said as he ate, finishing four bowls of rice. Then he used the energy gained from the meal to adjust his body, making his arms even stronger.

At the same time, two of Zhu Xunmiao's classmates arrived at the Zhu residence to visit Zhu Qian.

The two of them spoke highly of Zhu Qian, praising him with many words of admiration and expressing their determination to study hard and achieve success like him.

Zhu Qian… Zhu Qian didn't quite understand their words.

These two spoke in an elaborate manner and even quoted some allusions, leaving him bewildered.

Fortunately, Li Qingzhi's books weren't like this!

Even so, Zhu Qian warmly entertained them.

But he didn't introduce Li Qingzhi to these two.

After learning that Li Qingzhi wanted to take the imperial examination, Zhu Xunmiao specifically instructed Zhu Qian not to mention Li Qingzhi's affairs to others.

Even if people found out about Li Qingzhi helping his father write books, it wouldn't affect Li Qingzhi's participation in the imperial examination. But if someone used it to attack Li Qingzhi, saying that he flattered businessmen with his writing… that wouldn't be a good thing.

Zhu Qian always felt uncomfortable chatting with Zhu Xunmiao's classmates, so he didn't chat much.

After learning that Xu Qifei had already copied the contents of his book, Zhu Qian took the copied book and went to see one of his good friends after dinner.

Once Zhu Qian had money, he wanted everyone to know about it. Therefore, he liked to wear luxurious clothes and expensive jewelry.

He was never stingy about flaunting his wealth.

This made some intellectuals look down on him, thinking he smelled of copper.

But in Chongcheng County, there were still people who shared his aspirations!

One of them was his friend, Ding Xi.

Ding Xi's father was a traveling merchant who went around doing business with his goods.

He married Ding Xi's mother and had children, but he also had a mistress outside, and he treated Ding Xi and his mother very badly, giving them only a few taels of silver a year.

For ordinary farmers with land, earning a few taels of silver a year as extra income could make life quite comfortable. But for city dwellers who had to buy rice, vegetables, firewood, and other expenses… that little money was simply not enough.

Ding Xi's mother could only rely on weaving cloth to earn money.

In Chongcheng County, some wealthy people would buy several looms and place them at home, hiring people to weave cloth. That's what Ding Xi's mother did.

However, even though Ding Xi's mother could earn money, life for the Ding family was still difficult. At first, it was because Ding Xi's mother sent Ding Xi to school, but later…

Ding Xi's mother fell ill, and Ding Xi, who was only fourteen but already as big as an adult, started working at the docks to earn money to fill their stomachs. And because he was so strong, he was picked to be a guard.

One time he saved a merchant and received a substantial reward, which he used as capital to establish an escort business, and also did some business on the side.

Twenty years later, Ding Xi's wealth was not as great as Zhu Qian's, but he was still very rich, with many strong bodyguards under his escort business.

Seeing Zhu Qian, who was shorter than him by a head, Ding Xi walked up and patted Zhu Qian's shoulder, "Old Zhu, why do you have time to come and see me?"

If Zhu Qian weren't so thick-skinned, he would definitely have been hurt by the patting. He frowned, "Old Ding, stop being so handsy, don't you know your own strength?"

"I didn't use any strength at all. It's just that you're too weak!" Ding Xi patted his long beard.

He admired Guan Yunchang the most, so he grew the same kind of beard, and took great care to groom it neatly.

Zhu Qian couldn't be bothered to argue with Ding Xi and got straight to the point, "I came to see you because I want to show you a book."

"Show me a book? Don't you know that I get a headache every time I read?" Ding Xi frowned.

"This book won't give you a headache, you'll see when you read it." Zhu Qian took out his autobiography and showed it to Ding Xi.

Ding Xi snorted lightly. Was there a book in this world that wouldn't give him a headache? That's impossible!

He had thought about reading storybooks before, but they all started with a poem that he couldn't understand.

However, since it was given to him by Zhu Qian, he accepted it.

Zhu Qian said, "This is a book about me!"

Although Ding Xi was Zhu Qian's good friend, he didn't know much about Zhu Qian's past.

Zhu Qian liked to talk about it in front of his family, but he wouldn't say much in front of his friends.

Hearing that this was Zhu Qian's autobiography, Ding Xi began to read it seriously, and then… he unconsciously finished reading it.

After finishing it, Ding Xi asked, "What about the rest?"

"I haven't finished writing it yet," Zhu Qian said.

"It's okay if you haven't finished writing it. Just tell me!" Ding Xi was a bit eager. He didn't expect his friend Zhu Qian to be such a talented and visionary person!

Zhu Qian refused, "What I say is different from what I write." What he said casually would sound completely different when written down!

For example, when he encountered danger and fled later, he would only say a few sentences, still feeling scared when reminiscing about it. But when Li Qingzhi wrote it, it made him appear wise and brave.

Now he himself wanted to see what would happen next!

Ding Xi: "…"

At this moment, Zhu Qian smiled slightly, "Old Ding, do you want a book about yourself?"

Of course Ding Xi wanted it!

So that afternoon, Li Qingzhi hadn't written many words yet, but Zhu Qian and Ding Xi came together.

Li Qingzhi had been thinking of finding another job after finishing Zhu Qian's book, but he hadn't expected that Zhu Qian would introduce him to a job in the blink of an eye.

Li Qingzhi did intend to take the imperial examination, but in the short term, he definitely couldn't.

His body hadn't fully recovered, and his knowledge was insufficient.

Now, having the opportunity to earn more money was, of course, excellent.

Li Qingzhi agreed.

Seeing Li Qingzhi agree, Ding Xi was extremely happy and reached out to pat Li Qingzhi's shoulder.

But when he saw Li Qingzhi's thin as a bamboo figure… his outstretched hand froze in mid-air, silently retracting it.

He was really afraid that if he slapped Li Qingzhi, he might break him apart.

"Mr. Li, when you write my book, make sure to portray me as heroic!" Ding Xi said.

"Mr. Ding, rest assured, I will write according to your requirements," Li Qingzhi felt like he was writing customized text, so he must satisfy the other party's requests.

Ding Xi was very pleased, "Then I'll be waiting! Mr. Li, let me treat you to dinner!"

Li Qingzhi readily agreed.

Ding Xi invited Li Qingzhi to a restaurant near Zhu's house. He ordered eight dishes in one go, six of which were meat dishes. "Mr. Li, you're too thin, you should eat more."

Li Qingzhi could only say, "I've eaten quite a bit."

Ding Xi didn't believe it at all, leaving Li Qingzhi with no choice but to smile helplessly and envy Ding Xi for a moment.

Ding Xi, who was in his forties, was muscular all over, with thighs thicker than Li Qingzhi's waist… This was the physique that modern men liked the most!

As for why it was said to be the physique most liked by modern men… most people in this era didn't like such a physique.

In his previous life, Li Qingzhi had always wanted a physique like Ding Xi's. He had a golden finger, which he could use to adjust his own body. Logically, he should have been able to have muscles.

But there wasn't enough food in the apocalypse.

A clever wife can't cook without rice. Without being able to intake enough food, he simply couldn't grow muscles!

In the apocalypse, he was actually as thin as he is now, even thinner than before his death.

However, in the future, he should be able to have Ding Xi's physique.

The food at Zhu's house was already very good, but it couldn't compare to the restaurant.

The first dish brought out by the restaurant stunned Li Qingzhi.

He had eaten the ingredients of this dish before, which were common loaches, but this was deep-fried!

The loach, slender and long, became very crispy after being marinated and fried, and all the bones could be chewed and swallowed… Li Qingzhi served a piece to each of his two children, and after tasting one himself, he was amazed by the flavor.

Fried food is just irresistible!

Although there weren't as many condiments in ancient times as there are now, the cooking methods for dishes were very complicated.

For example, the signature dish of this restaurant was to put a whole chicken in the oil to fry, then scoop it out and cook it in a special sauce… The chicken made this way was very flavorful, and the chicken skin was even more exquisite to eat.

"Mr. Li, eat more," Ding Xi kept urging Li Qingzhi to eat more at the beginning, but as he continued to persuade him, he stopped talking altogether and even said, "Mr. Li, take care of yourself…"

Li Qingzhi ate quite a bit, which even scared Ding Xi a bit.

Zhu Qian was also a little worried—Li Qingzhi's appetite was almost catching up to Ding Xi's!

They ordered quite a few dishes, but Li Qingzhi not only ate vegetables. In just a short while, he had already had the waiter serve him six bowls of rice.

Hmm, the bowls in this restaurant are much smaller than those at Zhu's place; it takes two bowls here to equal one at Zhu's.

Li Qingzhi smiled at the sight. "I have quite the appetite…" After saying this, he had the waiter serve him another bowl of rice.

Ding Xi: "…" He was known for having a big appetite. In the past, when he ate out too much, he had been mocked, being told he looked like a starving ghost reincarnated.

But now… Li Qingzhi wasn't eating any less than him!

How could such a thin person eat so much?

If Li Qingzhi is in bad health, can he still write a book for him? Can I still continue writing Zhu Qian's book?

He now particularly wants to know the follow-up to Zhu Qian's book!

As Ding Xi was pondering this, he saw Li Qingzhi stop eating.

Finally, Li Qingzhi stopped eating. Ding Xi breathed a sigh of relief, but in no time, Li Qingzhi started eating again.

Ding Xi: "…"

Li Qingzhi paused for a moment without rushing to eat again because he saw Yao Zhenfu.

He and Zhu Qian Ding Xi were eating at the window on the second floor of the restaurant.

Looking out the window, he inadvertently saw Yao Zhenfu coming out of a door in a small alley across from the restaurant, lingering at the door with a woman in her thirties.

Even after lingering for a while, Yao Zhenfu went back inside with the woman.

They looked very intimate… Yao Zhenfu didn't have school today and came to the county town for a secret meeting with his lover?

Previously, Li Qingzhi just thought Yao Zhenfu was a bit narrow-minded and didn't appreciate his parents' feelings.

The former didn't matter much, but as for the latter… if Yao Zhenfu was like that, it was also because Mr. Yao was indulgent.

He had previously given Mr. Yao advice, suggesting he take Yao Zhenfu to work in the fields, but Mr. Yao just said, "My Zhenfu is a scholar, how can he work in the fields?"

Since Mr. Yao said so, he naturally wouldn't say anything more.

But now… Yao Zhenfu actually had a lover in the county town?

Li Qingzhi knew that Jin Xiaoye's relationship with Jin Moli was average, but they were still cousins and hadn't completely cut off contact. He thought that when he went back, he would tell Jin Xiaoye about it.

Keeping this in mind, Li Qingzhi asked for another bowl of rice.

Ding Xi: "…" If Li Qingzhi kept eating, he would throw up!

But Li Qingzhi didn't vomit.

He looked normal after eating, and seeing the leftover dishes on the table, he even asked, "Mr. Ding, can I take these dishes home?"

For the sake of face, Ding Xi and Zhu Qian inevitably ordered more dishes when they ate out, and in the end, they couldn't finish them.

For them, if all the dishes on the table were finished when hosting guests, it would be extremely embarrassing.

As for taking the unfinished dishes home, that would be even more embarrassing!

Now… Li Qingzhi wanted to take the leftovers home?

They were all stunned, but after the initial shock, they remembered their past.

Back when they were not well-off, they always took the leftovers home.

And when they were just starting their business, they didn't have much money on hand, but they still had to treat guests to meals. They ordered a lot of dishes, couldn't finish them to save face, and couldn't take them home. They felt really sorry when they got back home…

Ding Xi said, "Of course, you can."

Li Qingzhi thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Ding." Then he called the waiter over and asked him to bring some oil paper to pack the leftover meat dishes on the table.

He had eaten eight bowls of rice, but not much of the dishes, and there were still a lot left.

It wasn't that he had planned to pack them from the beginning, it was purely because he was afraid he would eat too much and others wouldn't have anything left, and he also knew the habits of people at this time. If he finished all the dishes, Ding Xi would definitely order more.

After packing the leftovers, Li Qingzhi's basket was full and a little heavy.

It was already late now, he had just seen Yao Zhenfu leaving in a hurry… Li Qingzhi carried the basket to find Mr. Yao.

When Li Qingzhi arrived, Yao Zhenfu had already arrived first and was panting.

Seeing him, Yao Zhenfu snorted, "You're late again!"

Li Qingzhi said, "Sorry… Mr. Yao, the Zhu family had chicken today, and I didn't touch it, so I brought it back for you to have as a dish."

Mr. Yao liked meat, but felt embarrassed to take it, "That's really not necessary."

"Today, Mr. Zhu also gave me some other dishes." Li Qingzhi pointed to the several oil-paper-wrapped packages.

Seeing Li Qingzhi say this, Mr. Yao didn't refuse, but Yao Zhenfu said, "Dad, why do you want everything that's rubbish!"

Mr. Yao was extremely embarrassed, and at this moment, Jin Xiaoshu's voice came, "If you don't want it, it's perfect for me, brother-in-law, give me the chicken!"

Li Qingzhi looked up and saw Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu rowing a boat coming from around the corner.

The boat they were rowing looked a bit old, Jin Xiaoshu stood at the bow of the boat, staring at the basket in Li Qingzhi's hand, drooling, "Brother-in-law, I don't mind leftovers, especially if they haven't even been touched! Give them to me to eat!"

Chapter 30: Rowing 1/3

Today, after Li Qingzhi took the two children to the county town, Jin Xiaoye made a pot of rice at home. She used to not make much plain rice, but recently Li Qingzhi brought money home every day… so now she made it every day.

The feeling of hunger wasn't good, and she didn't want to go hungry if she could eat her fill.

After finishing breakfast, Jin Xiaoshu arrived, and she walked with Jin Xiaoshu to find the old boatman who wanted to rent out his boat.

They asked around as they walked, and it wasn't until midday that they finally found the man and saw the boat.

This old boatman didn't have much land at home; he only had a little over an acre of paddy fields, and the grain he grew wasn't enough for his family to eat. Fortunately, when they divided the family property back then, his father gave him a boat. He could make ends meet with this boat.

The old boatman had a son and two daughters, both daughters were already married, and his son was already married with children. A few years ago, he intended to hand the boat over to his son and retire at home, but his son accidentally got injured when he was being forced to do labor and later died from a fever that wouldn't go away.

Luckily, his son left behind a grandson, so he continued to support the grandson by rowing the boat. However, he injured his back while helping the people he hired to move goods a while ago and couldn't work anymore.

He couldn't row the boat anymore, so he wanted to rent it out.

The rent he asked for was low because his boat was quite old, and also because his nephew and the brother of his daughter-in-law both had their eyes on the boat and wouldn't allow others to rent it.

After understanding the situation and checking out the boat, Jin Xiaoye decided to rent it.

The old boatman's nephew and the brother of his daughter-in-law both wanted the boat, which was indeed a bit troublesome. The people in the village where the old boatman lived were intimidated by these two, but she was from a different village.

The old boatman's nephew and the brother of his daughter-in-law—could they still come to her village and cause trouble?

Jin Xiaoye quickly negotiated the rent, agreeing to pay every ten days starting from today, and then took the old boatman's boat away.

During this period, the old boatman's nephew came to her door, but Jin Xiaoye wasn't afraid at all. "I'm from Miaoqian Village, my surname is Jin. If you have any complaints, you can come to Miaoqian Village and find me!"

After saying this, Jin Xiaoye added, "I have several brothers on my mother's side, and my eldest uncle works in Xiang Army!"

The old boatman's nephew didn't dare to cause trouble again.

If someone from the same village wanted to rent a boat, he could go to their house and make a scene or cry, but it was different for someone from another village. The people in the village wouldn't help him with this matter, and he wouldn't be able to contend with Jin Xiaoye, a local bully from Miaoqian Village, by himself.

As for why they were stopping Jin Xiaoye from leaving now… the people from Miaoqian Village would definitely come to them for revenge if they were wronged here.

Anyway, Jin Xiaoye successfully took the boat away.

Jin Xiaoye had long wanted to do business by rowing a boat. She has loved money since she was a child. When she was young, she would eagerly help when her father went to prepare for banquets, just to learn some skills.

But her father didn't have many skills, and Miaoqian Village already had her father, so she couldn't take over his work.

At that time, she thought the most powerful person in Miaoqian Village was Mr. Yao. She also wanted a boat like Mr. Yao's to earn money.

Because of this idea, she observed how Mr. Yao rowed the boat.

After she got married, she even wanted to learn how to row a boat from Mr. Yao, but because she was afraid that people would gossip about her and Yao Zhenfu, she deliberately kept her distance from the Yao family and ultimately didn't learn.

Although she hadn't learned, she would ask Mr. Yao or other boatmen about rowing techniques when she was on a boat before… Once on the boat, Jin Xiaoye started rowing directly.

This kind of small boat could be rowed with oars or pushed with bamboo poles.

Jin Xiaoye planned to figure it out today and try to make money tomorrow.

Jin Xiaoshu had never rowed a boat before. After getting on the boat and seeing Jin Xiaoye start rowing directly, she asked curiously, "Sis, when did you learn how to row a boat?"

Jin Xiaoye said, "I've never learned."

"Even though you don't know how to row, why did you rent a boat?" Jin Xiaoshu was a bit puzzled.

"So what if I don't know? I'm sure I can learn!" Jin Xiaoye was very confident. "If it weren't for Damao and Ermao not having anyone to take care of them, and you being too young to go out with me, I would have rented a boat to try it out long ago!"

Jin Xiaoshu said, "Damao and Ermao can be taken care of by Mom…"

"For a day or two, Mom can help me, but she definitely won't want to do it for long, or she might not dare." Jin Xiaoye snorted lightly.

She knew her mother too well.

Her mother was extremely soft, she just went along with whatever others said without any opinion of her own, and she was especially afraid of her grandmother.

As for her grandmother… she didn't want her married-out daughters and granddaughters to come back and take advantage of the Jin family.

In her grandmother's eyes, asking her mother to help take care of Damao and Ermao would be taking advantage of the Jin family, and she definitely wouldn't agree.

Of course, if she gave her money, that would be another matter… If that were the case, her grandmother might even fight to be the one to take care of her children.

But she had the most money on hand at most four taels, how could she afford to be so extravagant?

Jin Xiaoshu smiled awkwardly. His mother really couldn't handle things. When he was bullied when he was young, he never expected his parents to stand up for him. He would just cry in front of his sister, and then his sister would take him to seek justice.

Because of this, he always wanted to help Jin Xiaoye in the past few years, but he was only sixteen years old this year, and even younger before. He couldn't help much at all. At most, he could help when Jin Xiaoye was giving birth, catching some small fish and shrimp for her to eat.

Jin Xiaoye wasn't proficient in rowing the boat. The boat was wobbling along, but she had a smile on her face. "Xiaoshu, if I can earn money by rowing a boat, I can buy a few more acres of land! Your brother-in-law can read and calculate quickly. Damao and Ermao can learn from him, and in the future, they might even be able to find a job in the county town!"

"Okay." Jin Xiaoshu nodded happily.

Jin Xiaoye continued, "When we make money, we'll go to the restaurant in the county town for a meal. You can even build a big house and not live with them anymore!"

Listening to Jin Xiaoye describe the beautiful future, Jin Xiaoshu felt very motivated.

The two of them continued to row the boat while heading towards the county town to meet Li Qingzhi.

However, their boat rowing skills were not good, and they arrived a little late. They happened to hear Yao Zhenfu complaining about the chicken Li Qingzhi had given him.

Jin Xiaoshu and Jin Xiaoye had gone out after breakfast and hadn't eaten a second meal until now. They were already starving, so hearing someone complain about the chicken given by the Zhu family was hard to take…

Yesterday's chicken was so delicious! Jin Xiaoshu had never eaten such delicious chicken before!

There were many people in the Jin family, and it was rare to kill a chicken. His grandmother always chopped it up and cooked it with other ingredients in a big pot. He could only get one or two pieces at most, but yesterday? It was a whole chicken, including the chicken wings with the small chicken legs attached, all of it was his, and there was also oily chicken soup to drink, he even ate some extra chicken meat and skin…

Li Qingzhi saw Jin Xiaoshu's longing look and knew that Jin Xiaoshu was craving it.

Not to mention Jin Xiaoshu, even he was craving it!

Although he had been eating well these days, he had been hungry for many years before. He didn't mind eating a bit more.

Li Qingzhi appreciated Mr. Yao for taking him to the county town every day, and Yao Zhenfu had lent him books before, so he decided to give them the chicken. Now that they didn't want it, he wouldn't force it on them.

Li Qingzhi handed it to Jin Xiaoshu. "Xiaoshu, take it back and share it with your parents."

"Thank you, brother-in-law!" Jin Xiaoshu looked pleasantly surprised.

At this point, Mr. Yao finally wasn't awkward anymore and looked at Jin Xiaoye curiously. "Xiaoye, where did you get this boat from?"

"Uncle Yao, I rented it," Jin Xiaoye smiled.

"You have a lot of ideas, renting a boat is a good idea," Mr. Yao sighed.

Although Jin Xiaoye was a woman, she had courage and spoke confidently. After going to the county town a few times, she already knew people there. With a boat, she would definitely be able to earn money.

Why was it that Jin Xiaoye, who grew up with his daughter-in-law, had such a different personality?

At this moment, Yao Zhenfu disdainfully looked at Jin Xiaoye. "You, a woman, showing yourself off, it's not dignified!"

"It's none of your business!" Jin Xiaoye coldly snorted. There were more than just her rowing boats in the county town. Why did Yao Zhenfu care so much?

Mr. Yao used a bamboo pole to push the boat and walked away with Yao Zhenfu. "Xiaoye, since you have a boat now, I'll leave first."

Although Mr. Yao took his son away, they could still hear Yao Zhenfu's complaints from a distance.

"This Yao Zhenfu is really annoying," Jin Xiaoshu said.

Jin Xiaoye nodded in agreement and said to Li Qingzhi, "Come here, I'll help you onto the boat. You need to be careful."

Jin Xiaoye wasn't as skilled as Mr. Yao in handling the boat, so Li Qingzhi needed to be careful when boarding. After Li Qingzhi got on the boat, Jin Xiaoye lifted Li Damao and Li Ermao onto the boat by their arms.

Jin Xiaoye wasn't very strong, but she was used to farm work, so it was easy for her to carry two skinny children.

After Li Damao and Li Ermao got on the boat, they started chattering. "Mom, we're going to a restaurant today!"

"There's a table full of dishes! A whole table!"

"Mom, I had fried small fish, it was so delicious."

…

"You're going to a restaurant?" Jin Xiaoye looked at Li Qingzhi in shock. Going to a restaurant was one of her dreams!

"Yes," Li Qingzhi smiled. "Mr. Ding also wanted to invite me to copy books, so he treated me to a meal."

With that, Li Qingzhi opened the oil-paper package in his hand and took out a piece of fried fish, handing it to Jin Xiaoye. "Xiaoye, try it."

Jin Xiaoye took a bite and was amazed by the taste of the fried fish.

Daqi already had vegetable oil, and some landlords in Chongcheng County would plant large fields of rapeseed when it was too cold to grow rice. Rapeseed grew in the winter and blossomed into golden rapeseed flowers in the spring. When they matured, they could be taken to the oil mill to extract rapeseed oil.

In addition to rapeseed, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame seeds could also be used to extract oil.

Although there is vegetable oil available, at this time the production is very low, and thus the prices are high.

Ordinary city dwellers would buy some oil, using it to cook by wiping the bottom of the pan, or using it for lamps.

But in the countryside… hardly anyone buys oil for cooking.

Using oil to fry things… that's something only wealthy people do!

"Brother-in-law, can I eat?" Jin Xiaoshu asked.

"Go ahead and eat," Li Qingzhi said.

Jin Xiaoshu grinned and quickly grabbed a piece of fried fish. After taking a small bite, he exclaimed, "This is so delicious, how can there be such tasty things in this world…"

He kept talking while eating, but he didn't really eat much, just nibbling and savoring each bite.

Li Qingzhi smiled and opened several other oil paper packages. "Here we have roasted chicken, sauce duck, braised pork…"

Jin Xiaoshu's eyes widened, "Brother-in-law, you're amazing, you've managed to get so many delicious things!"

The restaurant's portions were quite large, but dishes like roasted chicken and sauce duck had little good meat left; Li Qingzhi's packages mostly contained things like duck heads and chicken feet.

These things were expensive in modern times, but to the people of this era, they were definitely not as good as chicken or duck breasts.

But even so, it was meat!

And most importantly… the food from the restaurant was delicious!

"If you like it, eat more," Li Qingzhi said.

"Let's not eat more for now, let's go back quickly, and we can eat this with rice later," Jin Xiaoye said.

Jin Xiaoshu also felt that eating such delicious food without rice was too wasteful, "Yes, let's go back and eat it with rice."

"Have you not eaten yet? Do you want to buy some steamed buns to fill your stomach?" Li Qingzhi asked.

"If we eat steamed buns now and then leave, it'll be dark by the time we get home! Let's go back first," Jin Xiaoye said. If she had the rowing skills like Mr. Yao, it wouldn't take much time to get back, but her rowing skills were quite ordinary!

Thinking like this, Jin Xiaoye started rowing back.

Jin Xiaoshu held a bamboo pole and occasionally helped push.

Li Qingzhi knew Jin Xiaoye had just learned to row, so he was initially worried, but Jin Xiaoye rowed fast and well, at most, her turns weren't as smooth.

"Xiaoye, you're really clever, you learned to row so quickly," Li Qingzhi praised.

Jin Xiaoye replied, "I couldn't do it like this before, I don't know how I suddenly got so good at it…"

Jin Xiaoshu quickly added, "Sister, we were in a hurry to go home, so we rowed well!"

When they came, they were worried about this and that, so they rowed very slowly, but just now, they didn't care about anything and ended up rowing exceptionally well.

"You're really good," Li Qingzhi said, feeding Jin Xiaoye a piece of braised pork, then calling Li Damao, "Damao, feed your uncle a piece of meat."

"No need, I'll eat by myself," Jin Xiaoshu said.

He could manage without holding the bamboo pole; he could use his hands to eat the meat.

Jin Xiaoshu let go of the bamboo pole, took a piece of meat, and after eating, his voice changed, "Brother-in-law, this meat is sweet, it's so delicious!" He held the meat in his mouth, reluctant to swallow.

Having eaten something delicious, Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu became even hungrier, and their rowing speed increased.

Li Qingzhi had intended to talk to Jin Xiaoye about Yao Zhenfu's matter, but seeing Li Damao and Li Ermao playing around happily on their boat, he decided against it.

It's better not to talk about these things in front of the children.

As the day was still long, when they arrived at Miaoqian Village, it wasn't dark yet.

Then they were surrounded, "Xiaoye, can you row a boat?"

"Xiaoye, where did you get this boat?"

"Xiaoye…"

…

The villagers were too surprised and asked many questions, so much so that Li Laogen, who was eager to get some food from Li Qingzhi, couldn't even squeeze through.

Li Laogen simply jumped into the water, swam to the boat, and asked Li Qingzhi, "Aqing, did you bring food back?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "I did, Dad. Is there rice at home?"

Li Laogen said, "Yes, Xiaoye asked me to cook, and I did."

"Then let's eat at home," said Li Qingzhi. "Can't I eat now?" Li Laogen asked.

Li Laogen's hair was gray, his face was wrinkled, and he had lost most of his teeth. There were sparse hairs left on his pointed chin.

He held onto the boat's edge, looking eagerly at Li Qingzhi, a sight that was a bit discomforting.

Li Qingzhi didn't want to attract too much attention in the village, as it could lead to resentment from others. "Dad, let's eat at home."

Fortunately, by now Jin Xiaoye had explained her situation to the villagers, and they had made way for her. "Xiaoye, go home and have your meal. When you're done, come back and tell us about this boat," they said.

"Okay!" Jin Xiaoye smiled and agreed.

The group returned home, and Li Laogen couldn't wait to ask, "Aqing, what delicious food did you bring back today?"

Li Qingzhi said, "I brought back several delicious dishes." He invited Li Laogen and Jin Xiaoshu into his room, then took out a bamboo tray and opened the oil paper packages on top.

Li Laogen's eyes widened as he looked at the array of food. "So many things…"

Li Qingzhi explained, "Mr. Ding treated me to dinner at the restaurant today, and since there were extra dishes, I brought them all back."

These were actually dishes from the restaurant! Without hesitation, Li Laogen picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth.

Seeing this, Jin Xiaoye said, "Dad, go get a bowl. I'll share some with you. And don't go eating outside, at most, take one dish out to show others, so they won't feel envious."

Li Laogen fetched a bowl, and Jin Xiaoye gave him a portion of each dish, about a quarter of each, letting him eat.

Li Laogen was very satisfied. With four people, dividing by four worked perfectly!

He took the bowl, ate some in his own room, and then took the rest to boast to others by the riverside.

Jin Xiaoye specifically shared some with Li Laogen, fearing that if she didn't, he would eat most of it without regard.

After Li Laogen left, she divided another quarter of the food and asked Jin Xiaoshu to take it back for her parents to taste. Then she and Jin Xiaoshu ate together.

Li Laogen had cooked the rice a bit early, so it had cooled down. Of course, in the hot summer, it didn't cool down much, but cold rice tends to be a bit hard, that's for sure.

But today, the delicious dishes made it easier to eat! Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu ate a lot of rice and finished all the remaining dishes.

Jin Xiaoshu even chewed and swallowed the bones of the duck necks, saying, "Even the bones have flavor, so tasty!"

Jin Xiaoshu became quite talkative while eating, repeatedly praising the food and saying that when they had money from rowing, they must go back to the restaurant again.

"We'll definitely have the chance in the future," Li Qingzhi said.

"Yeah!" Jin Xiaoshu nodded seriously.

After dinner, Jin Xiaoye went to the riverside.

When she rented the boat, she indeed had to inform the villagers, and her boat had to be parked in a small pond dug out by the villagers next to the riverside. This small pond was also connected to the irrigation canal for the paddy fields.

The connection between the small pond and the river was very narrow, and there was a fence. Mr. Yao usually parked his boat in the small pond at night.

By parking the boat inside and taking away the oars, there was basically no risk of theft. Their village was rarely visited by outsiders, and even if they came, they weren't familiar with the area. It wasn't easy to open the fence in the middle of the night.

Jin Xiaoye didn't like chatting with people, but she was somewhat excited today after renting the boat. So she lingered a bit at the riverside until it was dark before returning home.

When she got home, Li Qingzhi had already bathed the two children and put them to bed.

Seeing Jin Xiaoye return, Li Qingzhi asked about her day's events and praised her while listening.

Jin Xiaoye was truly proactive. As a girl like her, she would always strive to make her life better, which was quite likable.

After hearing Jin Xiaoye's experiences, Li Qingzhi mentioned the matter of Yao Zhenfu having a lover.

"Oh, this… I've known about it for a long time, and so does Jin Moli," Jin Xiaoye said.

"She knows?" Li Qingzhi was somewhat surprised.

"She does! She knew before marrying Yao Zhenfu, but still went ahead with the marriage. I don't know what kind of potion Yao Zhenfu used to bewitch her," Jin Xiaoye said.

Before Jin Moli got married, her father had already seen Yao Zhenfu with his lover in the county town. He hurried back from the county town to inform her uncle's family.

Although the Yao family was fairly well-off, if Yao Zhenfu had a lover… who knew where he would spend his money? If that person had another child…

The Yao family wasn't wealthy enough to support two mistresses… It was simply uncomprehensible!

Jin Xiaoye felt that if she were Jin Moli, she would either find another man to marry or find a way to go to the city. Alternatively, she would take her brothers to Yao's house to cause a scene, forcing Yao Zhenfu to break up with his lover from the county town, and then demand adequate compensation. You couldn't let Yao Zhenfu continue like this.

But Jin Moli acted like she didn't know about this matter at all…

In recent years, Yao Zhenfu hadn't given Jin Moli a penny, but perhaps she had gotten some money from Yao Zhenfu from the county town. Otherwise, why would she stay with Yao Zhenfu? Yao Zhenfu was so ugly!

Hearing Jin Xiaoye say this, Li Qingzhi asked, "Does Mr. Yao know about this?"

"My uncle mentioned it to him, and he said there was no such thing," Jin Xiaoye replied.

Li Qingzhi felt somewhat helpless. If that was the case… then he would pretend not to know about this matter.

Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye talked about Yao Zhenfu. Yao Zhenfu was also talking to Jin Moli about Li Qingzhi: "Li Qingzhi is becoming more shameless. He even takes home leftovers as treasures! Jin Xiaoye is a woman, yet he lets Jin Xiaoye show her face by rowing…"

Jin Moli echoed Yao Zhenfu's words and scolded along with him. After a while, Yao Zhenfu finally felt relieved and went to sleep.

Jin Moli had gone to the riverside today and saw the leftovers that Li Laogen had brought back to boast about.

Indeed, they were leftovers, but they smelled really good!

When she was at Yao's house, she occasionally had tofu to eat, and before cooking, she could put some oil in the pan. But she hardly ate meat throughout the year.

She wanted to eat the meat that Li Laogen was eating!

Unfortunately, Yao Zhenfu didn't want her to…

Forget it, eating someone else's leftovers was indeed not respectable. She would be a rich person in the future; she couldn't do something like this that would make people look down on her.

As for Jin Xiaoye, in her past life, she didn't rent a boat, but she always showed up with Mr. Yao when they went out on the boat. Her quarrels and even fights with Yao Zhenfu had this reason.

She wouldn't do such a thing; she had pushed Yao Zhenfu away for no reason.