The Cannon Fodder in Quick Transmigration Refuses the Usual Path

Chapter 627: The Villainous Cannon Fodder in the Imperial Examinations, (11)

Early February, the county examinations were approaching, and the prefecture city was in full bustle. Flower-picking and wine-buying, talented scholars reciting poetry and composing essays, all lent the streets and lanes a splendid air.

In contrast, on the west side of the city, a somewhat remote small inn sat quietly.

In a cramped room of barely ten square feet, more than ten people were already squeezed in; examinees and their accompanying parents huddled together on the narrow, shabby communal mattress.

Most had traveled long distances, and leaving aside everything else, the smells alone were enough to make some people drink a whole jug.

At night in particular, the small window occasionally let cold gusts whistle through.

Through the system, watching a sullen-faced man finally, after much coaxing from Oldest Lin, reluctantly lift his dignified foot and step into the room, An Ning saw Lin Young Uncle enter.

Looking at his expression now,

to put it bluntly, he was so green he looked nearly like a toad!

Thinking of that, An Ning couldn’t help shaking her head, lowering her face to take a small bite of the hot chestnut pastry the kitchen had just brought.

Since she began studying, with Old Man Liang doubling down on his support, the siblings—and the whole west courtyard—had gradually enjoyed a steadily improving life.By contrast, without that dismissed concubine sister’s aid, the Old Lin Family!

Remembering their previous incidents, An Ning clicked her tongue in disapproval.

The system, savouring schadenfreude while watching this pitiful scene, couldn’t help but grumble:

“This family truly has… nothing left!”

If it remembered correctly, just the bolts of cloth the original owner’s mother brought back over the years should have been worth at least dozens of taels, easy!

And the fact that they could think of sending their grandson to study suggested the Old Lin Family’s assets weren’t completely depleted.

“If only they had been more frugal!”

An Ning understood enough to reply,

“Dozens of taels? That’s wishful thinking. Those bolts of cloth are worth that if sold at top price, but in reality, if you add them up, getting ten taels would already be excellent.”

“Not possible—weren’t those… weren’t those all top-grade materials?”

“They were. Precisely because they’re top-grade materials, the question is where to sell them, and who will buy them?”

An Ning spoke in an ordinary tone.

There was a lot to unpack here.

Huaishi County, though not far from the capital, was still only a small county town overall. Aside from the Liang family, there were only two other cloth shops in town.

Of those, only the shop the Liang family dealt with could absorb such high-end materials.

Anyone could see that the linen shop that almost monopolized business was off-limits; and one could imagine the gossip: a woman dressed plainly, looking like a peasant, yet in possession of the county’s rarest, finest materials.

It was obvious what rumors that would spark!

Anyone in business is crafty; to extract favors from such people, the Lins were still too inexperienced!

System: “…”

While the two spoke, on the other side of the room, after a while, accompanied by a violent rumbling in his stomach, Lin Qingyun seemed unable to endure it any longer and stormed out with a sullen face.

Inside, the others looked no better, yet they only pulled their thin covers a little higher over their heads. Some didn’t even furrow their brows, continuing instead to carefully light lamps and flip through their worn books.

Without another glance, Oldest Lin hurriedly grabbed his coat and chased after him.

Early February was still cold; near dusk, barely having stepped outside, father and son both shivered involuntarily.

Oldest Lin was used to hard labor since childhood—working in winter to repair reservoirs, digging in the mud—so this bit of cold was nothing. But Lin Qingyun, who had dashed out first, soon sneezed violently.

That single sneeze pierced Oldest Lin’s heart with worry. Facing the only promising son he had, Father Lin’s affection ran deep; he immediately threw a thick cotton jacket over his son.

He even murmured soothingly:

“Son, endure it a bit longer. Father has no choice. We arrived late; many of the better inns in the city are already full.”

Of course, what Oldest Lin didn’t say was that even if there were vacancies in those places, the enormous expense would be beyond their means.

As the imperial examinations approached, inns were full and prices had risen considerably.

Thinking of this, Oldest Lin’s regret deepened—if only Big Nier…

He had heard that the Liang family had connections in the prefecture city.

Yet looking at his son in plain white clothes, neat and tidy, exuding scholarly aura, he could not blame him. Because of the eldest daughter’s situation, Qingyun had been mocked by classmates at the academy—he had heard how cruel their jibes had been.

After a moment, braving the biting wind, Oldest Lin could only rub his hands and wrap his thin black-gray jacket tighter, continuing in a muffled voice:

“Son, endure it a while longer; once you pass this exam…”

The thought of possibly producing a Xiucai for the family soon filled Father Lin’s chest with warmth.

It was as if even this cold winter suddenly felt not so harsh.

Lin Qingyun’s face remained unpleasant; feeling an itch in his throat, he silently turned and went back inside.

In the room, a few candles still flickered.

Seeing that, An Ning stopped peeking.

How hard it was for a poor peasant family to have a chance at officialdom!

Yet despite everything, a whole family would tighten their belts and endure hardship, all to support one precious scholar.

Was that wrong?

Not really. Taxes, corvée labor, and officers’ extortion were heavy; corvée could be deadly. A single natural disaster could wipe a family out.

In this era, the imperial examinations were almost the only way out for a poor household.

Even the original owner’s mother, when mentioning this past, had been sold into the Liang residence at a young age; disappointment existed, but it was not beyond understanding.

If those who endured it showed some bit of empathy or gratitude, the relationship might have been healthy.

But alas!

Since that was not to be, one must return to one’s proper place.

Without the disreputable sister dragging them down and without sudden good fortune, this Lin Young Uncle should still be able to strive on his own, right?

***

“Great is the primal power, the origin of all things…” (taken from the I Ching)

At dawn in the west wing, a woman’s low recitation drifted through the air.

Unlike An Ning, who studied and during playtime would occasionally glance at Lin Young Uncle, Lin Ting—blessed with the system—was already deeply immersed in her studies, oblivious to the world.

Especially after Old Man Liang pitched in, spending heavily to procure many useful books.

Of course, celebrity annotations were out of reach. Those were not for their social level. But that was fine; those were luxuries anyway.

“Amazing!”

Looking at the compact space within the system, where explanations progressed from easy to difficult, shallow to deep, clear and straightforward, Lin Ting admired it sincerely and felt extremely fortunate.

Then, visibly, Madam Lin doubled down on her efforts…

Months later, when the news came that Lin Young Uncle had failed the exam, Lin Ting’s first reaction was:

What? Who is this? Mind your own business, woman!