Chapter 18: Four Silver Beans (Please add to favorites and keep reading)

This family letter was not sent through the complicated channels of the Shan family by Wei Tu; instead, he entrusted a carter who frequently traveled between the county town and Sanyuan Township to deliver it to the Li residence.

The carter's fee was not high, just a dozen or so copper coins, roughly the price of a meal.

...

After the letter was sent out.

About seven or eight days passed.

Xinghua also entrusted the same carter to send a reply back.

In the letter, Xinghua first expressed her joy regarding Wei Tu being taken in as a disciple by Martial Scholar Shan, and urged Wei Tu to serve Martial Scholar Shan well as a master who appreciated him...

There was no need to worry about coming home for the New Year.

Then, Xinghua detailed the arrangements for harvesting the three mu of wheat leased by the family this year.

—The eldest grandmother, Lady Li Tong, was considerate and arranged for several tenant farmers to harvest it without charging a single penny.

At the end of the letter, Xinghua mentioned that she had sewn a winter coat out of cotton cloth and asked if it fit Wei Tu well, or if the dimensions needed adjusting.

She added: She couldn't estimate his waistline accurately, so she left it to Wei Tu to judge for himself.

After reading the family letter.

Wei Tu pondered for a moment before opening the parcel sent by the carter.

Inside the parcel, besides a purple wool padded jacket, there were two pairs of newly sewn satin cloth shoes.

Next.

Following Xinghua's instructions, Wei Tu stood up to try on the winter clothes and shoes.

But as soon as he put on the jacket, Wei Tu discovered that this purple wool padded jacket indeed did not fit quite right; it was a bit tight around the waist.

Wei Tu found some scissors to cut the stitching, but as soon as he started, he discovered a slip of paper with writing hidden inside the jacket, along with a few silver beans.

There wasn't much written on the slip of paper; Xinghua only said she had tucked four silver beans inside the jacket, totaling a little over one tael, and told Wei Tu to use this one tael to buy a formal apprenticeship gift for Martial Scholar Shan in the local area.

Wei Tu found the four silver beans one by one within the cotton padding of the purple wool jacket. Clutching this little more than a tael, he felt a slight sense of heat in his hands.

"A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick."

"Lady Li Tong's saying is indeed correct."

Wei Tu let out a sigh, suddenly feeling that he owed Xinghua quite a lot.

Xinghua was three years older than him and had entered the Li family two years before him; furthermore, because women mature earlier, she had always looked after him.

After marriage, although Xinghua deferred to him as her husband in major matters, she had not completely lost her habit of teaching him how to do things.

"A bride is also a mother..."

Wei Tu shook his head with a smile. After composing himself, he decided to follow Xinghua's instructions and use the one tael to buy an apprenticeship gift for Martial Scholar Shan.

In the days since he had officially become his disciple.

Martial Scholar Shan had indeed treated him like a true protégé, rather than just giving him a title.

Stance work.

Archery.

Horsemanship.

Military strategy.

For these items required in the martial examinations, Martial Scholar Shan had taught Wei Tu almost everything he knew. While guiding him in practicing military tactics, he had even shared the preferences and dislikes of the county examiners with Wei Tu.

Over these past few days, Wei Tu had also harbored the thought of providing Martial Scholar Shan with an apprenticeship gift.

It was only because he had recently redeemed himself from servitude and was short on cash, and all the family's extra money was kept with Xinghua, making it difficult to carry far...

He hadn't expected that Xinghua would have thought of this as well, and her decision was far more decisive than his.

—After all, the apprenticeship was already completed and the master-disciple relationship was established; in the eyes of the short-sighted, not sending a gift was indeed not important.

Walking out of the second courtyard.

Wei Tu gave an instruction to Deng An, the long-term laborer who was currently mixing feed for the horses, then led a horse out from the stable and left the Shan residence.

A few days ago, while teaching him riding and archery, Martial Scholar Shan had told him that among the four horses in the stable, aside from his usual yellow palomino, he could use the others for practicing horsemanship.

Seeing this scene, Deng An's face showed a look of envy. He stared blankly at Wei Tu's departing back for a long time.

A few days ago.

He and Wei Tu were both long-term laborers in the west wing.

Wei Tu even had to take orders from him.

But in just these few days, in such a short time, Wei Tu had turned his fortunes around to become someone who rode horses, while he still had to toil at cleaning toilets, sweeping courtyards, and chopping grass for feed—unchanged for decades.

...

Heading south.

Wei Tu arrived at the town in Sanyuan Township. Leading the horse along the bustling streets, his gaze swept over the roadside shops, contemplating what would be the best apprenticeship gift for Martial Scholar Shan.

The tailor shop.

The blacksmith shop.

The medicinal herb shop.

Wei Tu's eyes were dazzled.

His one tael of silver was quite a lot for a poor person—with frugal living, it could last several months—but for selecting an apprenticeship gift, it seemed somewhat inadequate.

The expensive items were beyond his means.

The cheap ones, he feared Martial Scholar Shan would look down upon, thinking he was being perfunctory.

"That's right, Master once said that for old age and end-of-life care, one needs sons and daughters; I only need to preserve this sense of filial piety..."

Tired from looking, Wei Tu paused, and the words spoken by Martial Scholar Shan echoed in his mind.

Thinking of this, Wei Tu no longer hesitated. He stepped into a pastry shop, bought three boxes of best-selling pastries, and then went to a grocery store to buy some seasonal fruits.

Finally, Wei Tu went to a butcher shop and cut two catties of large meat with some fat.

"Brother Wei, why did you buy so many things today?"

"Is there some happy news?"

Upon entering the Shan residence, the maidservants who had become familiar with Wei Tu over the past few days greeted him and asked curiously.

At this time, Wei Tu explained Xinghua's letter and the silver beans sewn into the jacket.

Since he hadn't sent a gift before.

And was sending it late now...

He needed an explanation.

Furthermore, Wei Tu did not think Xinghua was something to be ashamed of; he couldn't possibly look down on his former wife just because his status had risen.

Wei Tu had not forgotten that half of his redemption money had been provided by Xinghua.

"Brother Wei has a good wife."

"She really knows how to handle things..."

The people of the Shan residence praised her one after another.

At this moment, Martial Scholar Shan, who was sitting in the main hall drinking tea and enjoying the breeze, was stunned for a moment upon hearing the commotion outside, before a smile spread across his face.

However, when Martial Scholar Shan came before Wei Tu, he maintained a stern expression, saying only that there was no need for the large and small gifts Wei Tu was carrying, and that the thought was enough.

"Master, this was my wife's idea; she wanted me to make up for the apprenticeship gift..." Wei Tu said, bowing to Martial Scholar Shan.

Hearing this, Martial Scholar Shan no longer insisted. He nodded and let Lady Shan Gao take the gifts from Wei Tu's hands.

"To marry a virtuous wife can influence a family for three generations. This wife of yours is quite good." Scholar Shan also offered a word of praise for Xinghua's "virtue."

"If your mistress were here and heard these words, she would surely dote on you."

Martial Scholar Shan smiled.

Hearing this.

Wei Tu's heart stirred.

The "mistress" Martial Scholar Shan spoke of was certainly not the third wife, Lady Shan Gao, but his true, legally wedded wife—Lady Shan Min.

Having been at the Shan family for so long, he had learned some things about Martial Scholar Shan's first wife, Lady Shan Min, from the conversations of the servants and maids.

Martial Scholar Shan had married Lady Shan Min before he had achieved prosperity; she was considered his first wife, his companion through hardship.

Martial Scholar Shan himself respected his first wife immensely, rarely scolding or arguing with her.

It was only because Lady Shan Min's health had declined as she aged, and because she could not bear to see the frequent intimacy between Martial Scholar Shan and Lady Shan Gao, that she had moved out of the Shan residence a few years ago to live in the prefectural city with her son.