Chapter 2: Parents

Shutong saw Mother Ma and immediately bowed in greeting, "Many thanks, Mother Ma. You’ve worked hard."

Mother Ma gave a polite smile, opened her mouth, then hesitated, feeling it wasn't quite appropriate to speak.

Su Ruojin quickly tugged on Shutong’s sleeve.

Shutong bent down and leaned toward her.

"Uncle Shutong, half a tael for the midwife fee, twenty coins for the lucky money."

"Oh, oh." Shutong pulled a silver ingot from the pouch at his waist. "This is for your hard work, Mother."

Mother Ma had originally thought she wouldn't get a tip today, so she was surprised to find it hadn't fallen through. No matter how small an official he was, he was still an official; how could he owe her this little bit of money? She left in high spirits.

Shutong turned and closed the courtyard gate. "Where is the Master?"

"Father went out."

"Eh? Didn't the Mistress just give birth? Why did he go out?" Shutong asked, puzzled.

Su Ruojin said helplessly, "To borrow money, of course."

Living in the capital, everything was expensive. The Master’s salary wasn't enough to cover their expenses; Shutong hadn't received his monthly wages in over a year. Just as he was about to sigh, his hand touched the pouch at his waist, and he quickly smiled happily. "Second Young Miss, guess how much we sold it for?"

Su Ruojin shook her head; she didn't know.

She had been in the Great Yin Dynasty for six years. Even though she arrived with her memories and the skills of a thousand years later, she couldn't just open her mouth as a newborn and say, "This can be sold for money," or "That can earn money." She would have been burned as a monster.

Su Ruojin followed the standard path, starting from babbling to learning to walk, step by step. After she turned three, her father began tutoring her five-year-old brother, and she would move a small stool to sit on the side, silently listening and learning.

The household only had one manservant and one rough-work maid, and Mother Cheng also had to handle the chores, so she studied alongside Su Anzhi without making a fuss. Su Yanli didn't pay much attention to her, but occasionally, on a whim, he would test her on what she had learned. Su Ruojin would recite the lessons fluently, no worse than Su Anzhi, which shocked Su Yanli. He even exclaimed, "It is a pity Jin'er is not a boy; otherwise, she would surely have topped the imperial examinations and become a pillar of the nation."

Su Ruojin could only smile guiltily, thinking to herself that if it weren't for her past-life memories, she really wouldn't be as good as five-year-old Su Anzhi.

While sneaking in lessons and learning to read, she also followed her mother, Cheng, to learn how to manage a household in the Great Yin Dynasty, and she would pester Shutong, who often went out, to tell her about the world outside, quietly gaining an understanding of this society.

As she learned, Su Ruojin gained a comprehensive understanding of her parents in this life.

Her father, Su Yanli, was a son born to a concubine but raised as a legitimate heir.

What that meant was that a boy born to a concubine was placed under the name of the legal wife, making him a "legitimate son by status." The Su family were not from the capital; they were from Pingjiang Prefecture in Jiangnan. The legal wife had given birth to three daughters in a row, and after the third, her health was damaged, and fearing she would never have a legitimate son, she allowed her husband to take a maid as a concubine. The maid was capable, and ten months after being with the master, she gave birth to her father, Su Yanli.

The Su family were gentry in Pingjiang Prefecture with considerable assets. As long as the child was willing to study and capable of learning, they had the financial means to support a scholar through the imperial examinations. Su Yanli lived up to expectations, achieving the rank of Jinshi at the age of twenty, and was recommended by his chief examiner to enter the Imperial Academy.

Since the Su family were wealthy people from Jiangnan, logically, Su Yanli’s life in the capital shouldn't have been so strapped for cash!

Of course, there was a reason for this. When Su Yanli was twelve and passed the Xiucai exam, his legal mother gave birth to a son in her later years. This child began his studies at five and was exceptionally bright, making the Su couple so happy they burned incense at the ancestral graves every day.

If Su Yanli hadn't been strong-willed, whether he could have passed the Juren and Jinshi exams would have been a question. Ever since his father waited for an official appointment in the capital, the Su family in Pingjiang Prefecture never sent another cent to the capital.

Her father had become entirely self-reliant.

Then there was her mother, Cheng Yingzhen. It was said she was born into the mansion of the Earl of Loyalty and Courage, but she was merely the daughter of a concubine of a concubine.

Logically, one was the son of a gentry concubine, and the other was the granddaughter of a concubine from a noble mansion; the two had absolutely no connection.

But fate is truly magical. After passing the Jinshi exam, Su Yanli was waiting for an appointment in the capital. During the Lantern Festival, he met Cheng Yingzhen while watching the lanterns on the Imperial Street, and the two fell in love at first sight.

The usually bookish Su Yanli actually activated his social butterfly mode, not only shamelessly asking his chief examiner to act as a go-between but also reaching out to his family for money to hire a matchmaker.

The Su family had a real legitimate son, so they didn't care at all who Su Yanli married; they were focused on cultivating their true heir anyway.

Life for a concubine's son in the Earl’s mansion was not easy, and being able to marry off a concubine's granddaughter without needing a dowry was a win-win.

The two married smoothly and rented a house to live their small life.

Before the marriage, Su Yanli had been recommended by his chief examiner, Master Fan, to the Imperial Academy as a teaching assistant, a rank of 9b, with a monthly salary of five shi of grain, equivalent to nine taels of silver.

After marriage, perhaps because marriage makes one grow up, Su Yanli was promoted from a 9b teaching assistant to a 9a academic official, with a monthly salary of five shi and five dou, equivalent to ten taels of silver.

Rent, food, clothing, daily necessities, the mule Su Yanli used for work, and the wages for two servants—at the end of the month, it was barely enough. And this was when they only had one child!

Two years later, Su Ruojin was born. Expenses increased, and life suddenly became tight. Su Yanli had to shamelessly go to his chief examiner, Master Fan, to borrow money for the holidays. Shortly after he borrowed the money, he was promoted to a 8b Imperial Academy Doctor, with a monthly salary of six shi, equivalent to about 10.8 taels—a raise of less than one tael.

Fine, a raise was better than nothing.

Just as Su Ruojin was praying for her parents to practice family planning, her younger brother, Su Ganzhi, was born. Life went from tight to destitute, often failing to make ends meet.

Her father went to borrow money again, still from that same Master Fan. The magical thing was that after borrowing the money, her father was promoted and got a raise again, from Imperial Academy Doctor to 8a Imperial Academy Doctor, with a monthly salary of six shi and six dou, equivalent to about 11.7 taels.

Another raise of less than one tael.

Does one child not even worth a tael? Su Ruojin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She wondered if her father had gone to borrow money from that Master Fan again today, and if he would be promoted another level after borrowing it?

"Second Young Miss... Second Young Miss..."

Su Ruojin was awakened by Shutong. She smiled slightly and shook her head. "I really can't guess."

Painting on broken stones was a novelty, and such clever tricks required meeting the right person. If no one appreciated it, it was worthless. She really couldn't guess how much it would sell for.

Shutong proudly opened the pouch to reveal two round, bright silver ingots. "I already spent a small one just now."

"Wow, the purity of the silver is so good?" Su Ruojin happily pinched the silver from the pouch. The newly minted silver, not yet oxidized, was shiny and lovely.

Shutong lifted his chin. "Not only is the color good, but the weight is also substantial. Each one is over three taels; the two together are almost seven taels!"

Wouldn't that be enough to last until Father received his salary? This was truly great news; the cold winter would finally be bearable.

Su Ruojin and Shutong chatted away, discussing how to add items to the household, when the sound of a baby crying came from the inner room. She immediately stopped talking to Shutong and ran toward the room on her small legs.

She first huddled by the fire basket to warm herself up before reaching out to hold her little brother. At this time, her mother also woke up. "A-Jin..." Her voice was hoarse, lacking energy.

Su Ruojin tucked her little brother into her mother's arms. "I'll go get Mother some rice soup and sugar water."

(End of chapter)