Chapter 25: The Youth's Promise of High Ambitions

In the following few days, Lu Beigu went to Erlang Shoal every day to find Lu Guangyu, and through diligent study, his understanding of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Rites grew ever deeper.

So much so that by the end, Lu Guangyu could not provide answers to many of Lu Beigu's questions.

And this diligent study came to a temporary halt on this Qingming Festival day.

Lu Beigu planned to rest at home for half a day today, and after packing his luggage, do more physical labor like carrying water and chopping firewood; especially firewood, as he would be away from home for a long time attending the county school next, so he needed to prepare more to avoid having none for cooking.

In their own small courtyard in Gulin Town, Lu Yuchi and Lu Yanxi were eagerly waiting for Mother to distribute the last bit of snacks.

"The ice is about to melt; who among you two still wants to eat snowflake ice?"

"I, I want to eat snowflake ice!" Lu Yanxi clapped his small hands and said eagerly.

In his heart, nothing in this world could compare to the taste of snowflake ice; that sticky texture mixed with a faint milky fragrance was simply sweeter than any honey he had ever eaten!

"Then what if big sister wants to eat it?"

At this moment, Lu Beigu, who was packing luggage, walked over and interjected with a question.

Lu Yanxi fell silent.

He swallowed hard, then said softly, "Then let's give it to big sister."

Pei Yan, standing aside, couldn't help but laugh; she lifted the rope from the well and took out the remaining two pieces of snowflake ice inside the iced container.

"Here, one piece each; no one is allowed to snatch, understand?"

"Understood!"

Lu Yanxi answered loudly, his small hands already eagerly holding the bowl.

The snowflake ice shimmered with a crystal luster in the sunlight; he carefully licked a bite and happily squinted his eyes.

Lu Beigu smiled watching this scene; he turned to continue packing his luggage, carefully wrapping two notebook-style books, the Collected Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the half-volume of the Supplementary Annotations on the Guliang Commentary that he had copied by hand, placing them at the very bottom of his travel satchel.

These books were, for him, the most precious personal property he currently possessed.

Regarding the two notebook-style books, he was not clear on the names of the predecessors who took the notes, but there was no doubt they had given him great help; although the imperial examinations of the Former Tang differed greatly from those now, the Five Classics with Righteous Interpretations remained the primary reference books, and studying them seriously was never wrong.

"It's just a pity these books are too old; if there is an opportunity, I should still buy some Confucian books by the 'Three Great Scholars of the Early Song'."

Lu Beigu, living in a remote place, was not clear on which of these three great Confucian scholars, who held a pioneering status in Neo-Confucianism, had passed away and which were still alive; even those who were alive, he had no chance to consult in person.

But he could be certain that the learning of these three great scholars was definitely the closest to the current viewpoint of the imperial examinations.

Therefore, merely studying the knowledge related to the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Rites from the Former Tang, while having the effect of restoring the original source, the versions were still somewhat outdated.

However, these were matters for the future; the books he currently had on hand were sufficient to cope with the county trial.

Afterwards, Lu Beigu took half of the Jiaozi notes from the depths of his travel satchel and handed them to Pei Yan.

"Leave 10 guan of money at home; renting a house and handling the transfer of household registration is not urgent; it will be enough to do it after returning from Chengdu."

Pei Yan did not take them, only saying, "Renting a house will cost 5 guan, and when traveling outside, it is best not to let the county magistrate spend money on the road; if you can pay yourself, then pay yourself; better to bring more."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Beigu took three Jiaozi notes and put them back in his travel satchel, leaving one for Pei Yan.

"Then leave 5 guan at home, I will take 15 guan; is there any loose change left at home?"

"Yes." Pei Yan nodded: "There are both copper coins and iron coins; the miscellaneous bits will be enough in total."

"Little Uncle, are you leaving?"

Having finished the snacks, Lu Yuchi suddenly ran to his side and asked, looking up with her small face.

Lu Beigu squatted down, meeting her gaze: "Yes, Little Uncle will return to the county school to study in a little while."

"Then, then when will you come back?"

The little girl's eyes were a bit red; it could be seen that she was very reluctant to part with Lu Beigu.

"I will return in two months." Lu Beigu rubbed her hair, "When Little Uncle passes the examination and becomes a metropolitan graduate later, I will take you and Yanxi to Kaifeng to see the Great Xiangguo Temple, okay?"

Lu Yuchi nodded vigorously, suddenly pulling out from her bosom a small embroidered purse with a crooked peach blossom pattern: "Here! Inside are the pretty little stones that my brother and I picked up these past few days; they can bless Little Uncle's examination success!"

The stitching on the purse was rough, yet it made Lu Beigu's heart grow warm.

He solemnly tied it to his waist; just at that moment, a gust of wind blew, and several petals from the old peach tree in the courtyard rustled down; one petal landed right on the purse, complementing the clumsy peach blossom pattern stitched on it.

After chopping several more piles of firewood for the home with a grunt and a groan, Lu Beigu washed the wood shavings and dust from his hands; it was finally time to set off.

Taking the Anle Creek water route from Gulin Town, going downstream, one could reach Hejiang County town in most of a day, which was much easier than the road back.

At this time, Tofu, who had just returned from fighting with the neighbor's cat, brought a small fish as a trophy, placed it beside Lu Beigu's luggage, then squatted nearby, its tail elegantly curling around its front paws, its amber eyes staring unblinkingly at him.

"A farewell gift for me?"

Lu Beigu laughed helplessly and gently scratched its chin.

The white cat enjoyed closing its eyes, emitting a "gulu gulu" sound from its throat.

With the sun high in the sky, Lu Yuchi, who was still growing and usually took a noon nap every day, was now so sleepy she was swaying back and forth but forcing herself not to sleep, her small head nodding like a drowsy sparrow, while Lu Yanxi lay on her knees fast asleep.

Seeing Lu Beigu leave the house, Lu Yuchi quickly woke up, stood up, and pulled her brother, insisting on seeing their Little Uncle to the door.

"With two children at home, I will see you off to the ferry."

Pei Yan went into the room and came out holding a blue cloth bundle, her voice very soft.

"Good."

The Qingming Festival in Gulin Town was quite quiet and peaceful; dew still condensed in some places on the bluestone paths.

At the dock, many passenger boats were moored, and further away were a few men panning for gold.

"Just see me off this far."

Lu Beigu took the bundle; it felt heavy to the touch.

"The weather is getting hot; besides the short shirt and undergarment, there are also a few pairs of hemp socks inside; the county school is not like home, remember to wash and change frequently."

Her fingers rubbed the bundle once, and she added, "I sewed 18 copper coins in the inner layer for emergencies."

Pei Yan looked up at Lu Beigu; her cheeks were somewhat thin.

"The ancestral home cannot be sold; the graves of the ancestors are all here; if everything goes smoothly on your end, when you rent a house later, we will move to Hejiang County; over there, I should also be able to find some work, save up money, and send Yuchi to a private school to learn a few characters, so she won't be looked down upon by her future in-laws when she grows up."

Pei Yan straightened his collar: "I will take care of everything at home; do not worry."

Lu Beigu opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end merely nodded.

When the passenger boat pulled away from the shore, Lu Beigu stood at the stern, watching the figure at the ferry crossing grow smaller and smaller until it vanished.

The mist gradually dispersed, and sunlight spilled across the water, shattering into thousands of points of golden light.

He took out the embroidered sachet with a peach blossom pattern from his waist, held it gently in his palm, then took a deep breath and turned to face the direction where the waves surged.

Ahead lay Hejiang County, Luzhou, and an even vaster world.

The river roared, carrying a light boat and a family's heavy expectations toward where the sun rose.

Gazing at the distant sky, Lu Beigu's eyes were unshakably firm.

"A youth should vow to reach the clouds, swearing to be the foremost among men!"

(End of this chapter)