Struggle in Ancient Times

“What’s the different? I just brought some pheasant’s home.” Liao Tingyu’s heart skipped a bit but he still calmly replied.

“It really changed a lot. You didn’t like to teach me, although mother always told you to teach me. You always say that I’m stupid, I can’t do anything.” Big brother Liao didn’t realize it, but he replied with a little resentment.

Liao Tingyu calmed down and smiled, “Aren’t you a bit dull? Let’s talk about learning the word, my teacher thought me three times and I already understand. But da-ge, I thought you several times you still forgot it the next day. What you write always missing one stroke, if you are in school the teacher will hit your hands.”

Big brother Liao also thought he actually wasn’t smart but his little brother was truly a genius. Back then, his er-di was at the village chief’s house and listened to village chief’s son reading aloud, he was able to follow and remembered the words.

But he didn’t think much about it, after all there were many other students. At the beginning, the teacher said that his er-di was extremely smart and could obtain the scholar fame. Not only that, he could find better jobs with his father because his er-di teaching.

Thought about it, his er-di was really good, then he said triumphantly, “I made the trap today, you also watched, I learned it quickly. I’ll come and see it tomorrow; I will try to make a better one. Let’s have another good meal, I haven’t eaten enough today.” Big brother Liao rubbed his stomach sadly.

“Same with me, actually I asked sister-in-law to cook them all but mother said only need one. Those pheasants can only be sold few pennies. It’s better for us to eat them.” Liao Tingyu nodded in agreement, “Well, da-ge can catch bigger prey tomorrow. Are you still going to work in the town?”

“I still have to go; I will go home earlier. Everything almost done, we just need to finish it tomorrow.” Big brother Liao suddenly thought of something, “Let me tell you, there are two children in the master’s house and they are looking for a teacher. I heard of them saying their current teacher have to be replaced. If you pass the exam, you can go to those rich people’s home to teach their children. I heard the teacher eat very well, the payment is ten taels a month, you don’t have to do anything all day, just teach those children.”

“Is the master a merchant?” Liao Tingyu asked.

“Oh, it seems to be, but he has a lot of lands. In our village, there are 30 mu (Chinese land measurement) of land belongs to his family.” Big brother Liao realized; no wonder the teacher’s salary was high. In the eyes of scholars, merchants were less prestigious than those who run around digging the ground.

It was only a few years ago that I heard the children of merchants had to pay hundred of taels before they could take examination. Some scholars and farmers looked down on them. Big brother Liao thought this topic seemed a bit wrong, “Haha, I just said it, you don’t have to think too much. Da-ge didn’t mean anything.”

“There are children of merchants who study with me in the school. Actually, they are much better than us who watch the sky to eat.”

In fact, Liao Tingyu didn’t have any special thought in his heart, he just said on a wimp. He thought, even if the merchant status was low, aren’t they live very well? The country’s economy also developed by business.

Big brother Liao nodded in agreement, “Yes, even the master family has so many servants to serve the children.”

.

The next day, big brother Liao went to check the trap, he was lucky enough to catch a rabbit. Mother Deng smiled so wide and held the rabbit tightly in her arms, “This fat rabbit could be sold for two taels. Old man, you sell it tomorrow.”

After the rabbit, they didn’t catch it again. Even so, their life was much better. They couldn’t eat meat every day, but there was meat once a few days. Liao Tingyu also started his own plan.

He gave himself a nice fake name, combined the stories his heard and saw with his own imagination then wrote them into books. He sold the book in a bookstore; the contents of his book had never appeared here and it won the interest of many readers.

Because the sale was quite good, he signed a contract with the bookstore owner. In less than three months, he already earned sixty taels. Even for small business, targeting a scholar was the best; these were the people with good pocket money and willing to spend some for book.

Thought about those protagonists in transmigration novels, they usually sold recipes and do some handicrafts. He had the same idea but who could guarantee the recipes would be accepted? Every restaurant had their own unique taste, it was all from ancient cooking method. 

He couldn’t think of anything else, as a physic student and single man who could only do simple home-made foods. He really couldn’t try selling recipes.