Chapter 198: Chapter 184: The Third Son’s Life, Xie Family Fish Pond (1)
Someone summarized Song Wei’s life:
Born amidst hardship, difficult examinations, and even harder to find a wife.
A miserable childhood, endless struggles in youth, but finally improvement in his thirties.
At thirty years old, he finally saw the clouds clear and the moon shine, making an impressive name for himself by attaining third place in the scholarly examination.
Such a tale could be crafted into a theatrical story to be told in tea houses and taverns, surely drawing packed audiences every time.
...
Xie Zheng also became an Advanced Scholar, but compared to the stark contrast and impact of Song Wei’s achievements, it seemed rather ordinary.
When Aunt Xie received the news and came over, she found that many villagers from Upper River Village were delivering gifts to the Song family.
In front of Granny Song, she no longer heard the familiar addresses of "Big Sister," "Old Sister," or "Scholar’s Mother," but instead, everyone respectfully called her "Old Lady."
Granny Song, having lived to such an age, was receiving respectful greetings for the first time and found it quite enjoyable.
Seeing this, Aunt Xie followed suit and smiled, greeting, "Paying respects to the Old Lady."
Despite the awkwardness, Granny Song loved hearing it. She glanced at Aunt Xie, "I heard from Yuanbao that your son also passed the exam, and soon you will become an Old Lady like me."
Xie Zheng had not yet sent a letter back, and currently all messages from Upper River Village and Qingshui Bay were conveyed through Song Yuanbao’s chatter.
Whatever he said was believed.
When the news first came out, most people automatically overlooked Xie Zheng and focused their attention on Song Wei.
When the news reached Qingshui Bay, Xie Zheng’s achievements were even less noticed, as the talk was all about how the Song Family’s Third Son had achieved success in the Capital as an official, arranged for a carriage to bring his parents over to enjoy life’s comforts.
Such success! Truly impressive!
Aunt Xie had come to congratulate her second brother and sister-in-law, but unexpectedly Granny Song suddenly burst out such words, leaving her stunned for a while.
Granny Song glanced at her, standing rigid like a log, realizing that no one had yet passed the news to her.
Aunt Xie thought she must be dreaming.
In her youth, she hadn’t thought about how life would unfold. Seeing that Xie Family’s First Son was handsome, she didn’t care about her parents’ opinions, put on the bridal veil, and stepped into the Xie family.
Once the novelty wore off, life became nothing but cooking, cleaning, fieldwork, and endless chores around the house.
The Xie family was not like the Song family.
No matter how poor the Song family was, they never lacked food.
The Xie family’s land was scarce; even though they worked tirelessly, they were often hungry.
Especially during the years when Xie Zheng and Xie Tao, aged five or six, were growing, always clamoring for food, and the family couldn’t even provide coarse grains, let alone fine grains.
But Aunt Xie was tenacious; no matter how poorly they lived, she gritted her teeth and endured, never reaching out to her parents for help.
That was also when the Song family sent Song Wei to start school.
Granny Song had no expectations, only hoped that more schooling would slightly expel the misfortune from the Third Son’s life, allowing him to live a long and healthy life.
Seeing this, Aunt Xie gritted her teeth and borrowed money to send Xie Zheng to start school as well.
She thought differently from Granny Song.
If Xie Zheng could study well and earn a name, the Xie family would completely rise, and she could finally hold her head high, not slumping when visiting her family.
Once Xie Zheng started school, life in the Xie family, which was already difficult, became even more strained.
Her mother-in-law thought she was wasteful, using money unwisely, accusing her often.
No matter how tough it got, Aunt Xie tightened her belt, accelerated her work, finishing in half an hour tasks that normally took an hour, freeing up time to gather mountain goods and dry them for money.
While other families only raised two pigs, she would raise an extra couple, bearing the hardship, knowing that wealthy families from the county would come to buy pigs for the New Year; selling a pig could fetch over two taels of silver, and selling both meant Xie Zheng’s next year’s tuition was assured.
The money for Xie Zheng’s schooling was meticulously saved by Aunt Xie, penny by penny, from her painful graft.
Working tirelessly day and night, by the time she became old, the ends of her hair had turned white, finally earning her son the Scholar’s title.
Aunt Xie was satisfied, feeling that her years of hard work had not gone to waste.
Later, when Xie Zheng failed the provincial examination and rested for three years, Aunt Xie didn’t mind, as the Scholar’s title had already exempted the family from taxes, and a few acres were leased out, providing additional annual income, being a support to the family, and she could confidently chat with people.
Then, later, Xie Zheng and Song Wei went to the province for the examination together, directly earning the scholar’s title for her.
On the day the news came back, Aunt Xie truly sat by the bedside and cried for a while.
She was happy.
Her son had come this far, and as a mother, even if something unexpected happened and she closed her eyes for the last time, she wouldn’t feel any regret in this life.
Just like Granny Song, Aunt Xie felt that achieving the title of scholar was already the pinnacle, and she didn’t dare to think about anything beyond that.
However, when Xie Zheng expressed his desire to go to Beijing for the imperial examination, Aunt Xie didn’t stop him.
In the past, she would have thought that passing the provincial examination was already impressive and that there was no need to spend extra money to go to Beijing. A scholar could get a minor position in a government office and earn a modest salary, something beyond the reach of a peasant family like theirs.
But this year was different. Their family had dug a fish pond, and they occasionally went to town to sell fish and shrimp. Sometimes, villagers would also come to buy, and the income was decent. While they didn’t have much extra, they could still afford to support Xie Zheng’s trip to Beijing.
Aunt Xie really didn’t think much about it, just letting Xie Zheng follow Song Wei to the capital to see the world, hoping that when he returned, he would settle down and focus on serious work.
At this moment, her sister-in-law told her that her son had passed!
Passed what?
A title more honorable and respectable than a scholar.
What exactly it was, Aunt Xie couldn’t say.
But that didn’t matter; what mattered was that passing this examination meant he had the opportunity to become an official in the capital and could completely change their family’s status.
...
Coming to her senses, Aunt Xie pinched the back of her hand, feeling the pain only then realizing she wasn’t dreaming; what her sister-in-law said was true. Her son really passed the Advanced Scholar examination!
"Then why hasn’t that little brat Xie Zheng sent a letter?"
Aunt Xie was worried.
No matter how proud she was of her son’s success, her primary concern was his safety, afraid that something might happen to him in the unfamiliar capital city.
"Didn’t our Third Son also not send a letter?" Granny Song said. "Yuanbao said that this time there are no letters, only verbal messages. Don’t foolishly stand outside; quickly go inside and let Yuanbao tell you what that brat Xie Zheng wants to say to you."
The two sisters-in-law entered the main house one after the other.
Song Yuanbao, back from Wen Wan’s west room, meticulously reported the situation to Aunt Xie, saying that Uncle Xie still needed to take another examination to confirm if he would stay in the capital. The timing of the exam wasn’t arranged, so he didn’t send the news of passing the Advanced Scholar exam, letting Aunt Xie and the others wait for news at home.
Hearing that nothing major had happened to her son and that he was doing well, Aunt Xie felt a great sense of relief.
She asked Song Yuanbao, "Is your father sure about staying in the capital?"
Song Yuanbao nodded, "The Emperor bestowed the third-place scholar’s plaque. My father is now a Capital Official, so naturally, he has to stay in the capital. I returned this time to take my mother and grandparents away according to my father’s wishes."
Oh my, the Emperor personally bestowed a plaque?
Aunt Xie was stunned, "So our old Song family won’t be just peasants anymore?"
"Yes," Song Yuanbao patiently explained, "The Song family’s generations of poor farmers end with my father; he passed the Advanced Scholar examination. My mother is now an official’s wife; the grandparents are now the grandparents of an official. If my father gets promoted, he might even earn my mother and grandmother a title."
Aunt Xie didn’t quite understand all the official lingo, but she knew one thing: the Third Nephew had succeeded, becoming an official in the capital, elevating the Song family’s status; this is what it means to change one’s family’s fortunes.
Seeing Aunt Xie’s admiration, Song Yuanbao added, "Uncle was born as an Advanced Scholar, and if he does well in the exam and stays in the capital, it won’t be long before he sends word for you all to move to the capital."
Aunt Xie was taken aback, "Really?" Then asked suspiciously, "Didn’t your uncle score less well than your father? So why can he stay in the capital?"
This explanation was a bit lengthy, and Song Yuanbao knew even if he explained, Aunt Xie wouldn’t understand, so he simply told her it was possible; as long as the exam was passed, he could stay.
Even before leaving, Aunt Xie started worrying, "If your uncle doesn’t come back, what will happen to our big fish pond?"
The fish pond, which had only been dug a little over a year ago, was full of fish and shrimp she had raised herself. Suddenly leaving it behind made her a bit reluctant.
Granny Song asked her, "Is it more respectable to be an official’s wife or to stay home raising fish and shrimp?"
"Isn’t it obvious?" Aunt Xie laughed. "Of course, being an official’s wife is more respectable; it’s comforting just to hear it. But I can’t let it go."
"No matter how hard it is to let go, you can’t pack it in a bundle and take it with you. If you really leave, find someone in the trade to sell it to, pocket the silver, and go to Beijing to enjoy a life of comfort instead of worrying about fish and shrimp."
Aunt Xie let out a long sigh, "When that time comes, no matter how hard it is to let go, I’ll have to let it go."
Mrs. Zhou had been listening outside, thinking that since Granny Song was her relative, and they were soon going to Beijing to become an official’s wives, she felt a bit uncomfortable. But then she thought that her family had a store, and if the business grew in the future, they might be even wealthier than the officials.
Mrs. Zhou wasn’t that fixated on becoming an official’s mother; her eyes only saw money. She believed that as long as she had money, she wouldn’t be inferior to anyone.
Having followed Father Wen in business for a year, Mrs. Zhou had learned some business skills and, after listening to the sisters-in-law, began to consider the Xie Family Fish Pond.
However, just as she was about to enter the main house to discuss with Aunt Xie, Song Erlang’s couple came rushing in.