Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 48

In the days of midsummer, the old man at Shuiyun Pavilion finally cannot stay still. Even with a fan blowing, he feels extremely irritated. The students at the academy study diligently, and there haven’t been any incidents where students from wealthy families bully those from poorer backgrounds.

The old man knows well in his heart that it is not that the wealthy students do not want to bully others, but that they dare not. The Zhang family hates internal strife the most. With the rapid development of the Zhang family, they have no time to deal with internal conflicts. Any sign of trouble is immediately dealt with.

The academy expels four students in succession, and after that, everyone behaves themselves. Expulsion means expulsion; no amount of pleading can save them. The rules are clearly laid out, and anyone who dares test them faces serious consequences.

“Grandfather, I can’t write anymore.” Xin’er stops her pen in the pavilion, watching the dragonflies dart across the lake, feeling even more irritated.

“Then go find the children from Zhang and Wang’s two villages to play.” The old man also feels irritable. Even though he catches more than ten fish, he is still in a bad mood.

Xin’er pouts, “I don’t want to. When they play, they only think about playing; when they study, they only think about studying. It’s better to be with Xiaobao and Juanjuan. They play and study at the same time. Grandpa, when will they come back?”

“It’s still early. How about I take you to find them? I’ll take care of things at the academy, then we’ll set off.”

Since leaving Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, the old man feels like he’s lost something important. At first, he thought the two little ones were just close to each other, but later he realizes it is because there are no better students. The students at the academy study well, but compared to the two little ones, it is different.

When the same thing is assigned to the two children, they memorize it the next day and even understand it. The smarter students can barely memorize it, while the less clever ones take three days. Even after explaining it again and again, they still have questions.

At this rate, they might fall ill. It’s better to find the two little ones, and while he’s at it, check on things over there. It’s always better to see with his own eyes.

Xin’er feels lonely, and unexpectedly, just one sentence makes her grandfather suggest the plan of visiting. She nods happily, “Great, Grandpa, let’s set off quickly. I want to see how much Liu’er Sister has learned.”

“Okay, okay, let’s go, return, and make some arrangements before we set off.” The old man can’t sit still anymore. He packs up his fishing rod and heads back.

Just as they leave the pavilion, there’s a loud splash, and someone shouts, “Someone jumped into the water, come look! Truly a leap full of passion, a summer cooling dive into the water.”

The old man looks in the direction of the voice and sees a person filled with poetic spirit by the connection between Shuiyun Pavilion’s main building and another nearby building. Looking down, a person is floundering in the water.

The old man sighs. He does not know which fool has jumped. If one wants to die, there is no need to jump here. Jumping from the top of the three-story building headfirst would do the job; jumping into water would not only fail but also result in a fine.

Xin’er, standing nearby, doesn’t worry either. The rescue team is already there. Watching the person who was pulled out of the water still struggling to get back in, she says, “Grandfather, isn’t that Liu Feiteng? He’s the one who keeps complaining that he hasn’t learned anything.”

“Indeed, it’s him, the second time now. He wants to enter the Zhang family to learn, and they agree, arranging for him to study here. It seems like he hasn’t learned much. Take him along, so he doesn’t keep jumping in the water. After all, he’s Liu Shangshu’s nephew.”

The old man squints and takes out his telescope to get a clearer view. He sighs helplessly.

Liu Feiteng, who was saved, is still shouting, “I can’t learn anything, let me die, let me die.”

“If you want to die, go somewhere else, not here in Shuiyun Pavilion.” The person rescuing him is not at all polite. There’s no attempt to talk him out of it, and they tie him up before sending him to the shore.

“Xin’er, go tell Liu Feiteng about this. I’ll arrange things at the academy.” The old man leaves a message for his granddaughter and quickens his pace.

At the academy, the old man teaches in a relaxed manner, only having one hour of class a day. They’ve brought in a lot of good teachers, and anyone can be assigned to teach.

The old man walks along, looking at the clean clothes the students are wearing and the glow on their faces. He feels assured about leaving. Since the Zhang family promised to take care of the students’ clothes, food, and other things, they’ve really kept their word. Recently, they even invited people from other academies to compare.

To the old man, winning or losing is not important. Losing shows your shortcomings, while winning shows your strengths. What matters is that the competition got them half a year’s worth of materials for the students. He doesn’t have to worry about these things, as the people left at Shuiyun Pavilion will take care of it.

With all this arranged, the old man finally sets off for Luchou, taking his granddaughter and the family’s guards. They board a small boat to the capital, having sent a letter to the dock workers in advance. When they arrive, a large ship is waiting for them.

The newly built large ship is not a modified one. Before boarding, the old man specifically checks the back of the ship. Sure enough, the propeller is installed, and the current manual propellers are much better than before. They won’t break after one or two hours of use, mainly thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.

“Grandfather, isn’t Lingnan a place of exile? Many people say it’s a life-and-death journey, but I don’t see that much danger. There are willows by the shore, fish leaping in the water, a light breeze, the sky is high, and the sun is setting. This journey seems fine,” Xin’er says, standing on the ship and looking at the sunset reflecting on the fishing boats.

The old man chuckles. “Xin’er, we’re traveling differently from those being exiled. They travel by land, crossing mountains and hills. We’re going by water and sea, on a large ship, so it’s much easier.”

“Oh, I thought the exiled people also traveled by boat. Aren’t they afraid of dying on the way?” Xin’er thinks positively.

The old man doesn’t say much. Large ships are not so easy to come by. How many people can specifically call for a ship to travel that far? If they could travel, they’d rather use a cargo ship, earning a few hundred guan. Only the Zhang family, with their wealth and their relationship with the two little ones, would arrange a special ship.

There aren’t many people on the ship, just the ones handling the sails, those below turning the wheel, and two chefs who have been specially arranged to cook along the way. Besides the old man and his group, the ship carries copper coins, neatly strung together, to supply the other side and also to anchor the ship.

There are also cloth and some miscellaneous goods. It’s not that they’re unwilling to travel with an empty ship; it’s just that they’re worried about encountering a storm at sea. If the ship were empty, that would be dangerous.

While sailing, a fleet of ships suddenly appears ahead, their flags fluttering in the wind. A large rice plant is embroidered on the flag.

“Grandfather, it’s the Zhang family’s fleet, they’re back,” Xin’er exclaims happily when she sees the flag. She thought the Zhang family members had returned. Now, everyone here knows whose ship flies the rice plant flag; the news has spread. It’s the champion’s family’s ship from last year.

Even though the champion’s family insists they aren’t engaged in trade, people know better. This is how things work: if you don’t use the family name for business, people won’t consider you a merchant. How many of the noble families don’t engage in trade? It’s become nothing unusual.

When the fleet sees their ship, a flurry of flag signals passes, and as they cross paths, one of the ships throws a large bundle of goods onto the old man’s ship.

Before the dust even settles, Xin’er runs over. She is curious about the large package, which is taller than she is when standing and wider than she is when lying down. She waves at those around her. “Open it quickly and see what’s inside.”

They don’t wait for her to shout. The package is opened, and Xin’er starts rummaging through it. It’s labeled “For Grandpa Bi,” which means it’s for her grandfather.

“Grandfather, grandfather, come look, this bracelet is mine! And this necklace, this hairpin, there’s so much, I can’t choose! Grandpa, there are even roasted fish slices, I’ll taste one first.”

Xin’er picks and chooses, and finally bites into a fish slice. It’s a small one, but there’s also a large fish jerky that’s five feet long. If the package were any smaller, it wouldn’t fit.

The old man slowly walks over. He knows these are local specialties from Luchou. Looking at the bracelets and necklaces, he says to his granddaughter, “These are all made of turtle shell. Do you know how much these things are worth?”

“One hundred guan,” Xin’er casually guesses. She thinks one hundred guan is a lot, since her allowance is only a bit more than a hundred wen a month, which she spends when she goes to the market.

“That bracelet alone is worth one hundred guan. All of these things together are worth at least three thousand guan. It must have been prepared by the two little ones. This is still their capital. If it were sold here, it could easily go for six or seven thousand guan,” the old man looks at the items, sighing as he speaks.

Xin’er is startled and almost drops the bracelet in her hand. Looking at it under the sunlight, the bright red, translucent bracelet, she murmurs, “This thing is worth one hundred guan?”

“Oh? A solid red bracelet? Xin’er, this one is worth much more than one hundred guan. If you shout that it’s for sale at five hundred guan, many people will rush to buy it. This gift cannot be accepted. Choose something else. When we get there, return this bracelet to its owner. This one solid red bracelet is enough to buy everything else.”

The old man had been looking at another bracelet earlier, one with a mix of red, black, and yellow. Seeing the solid red one now, he is also moved.