Chapter 59 The Teacher's Precepts

"Teacher, this is far too precious!"

"What precious or not precious? It's just some leftover odds and ends from when they struck down the landlords and local tyrants. Those folks knew I was a teacher, so they handed this stuff over to me! I have no use for it now, so take it and play with it!"

"Well, this counts as an antique. Keeping it might even help build a bit of a foundation for little Fei and the others down the road!"

"Antique, my foot! At most, it's sixty years old. Look at where we live—is there anything here that isn't at least a thousand years old? Which family doesn't have a few old copper coins lying around? Those are way better than this thing!"

Hearing this, Yang Xingwu was momentarily speechless. His teacher's words were undeniably true; around these parts, Ming and Qing dynasty architecture didn't even rate a mention, and city walls made of pounded earth were dozens of times older than this trinket!

"Teacher, that may be so, but now that I've moved back to the village, I really have no use for this kind of thing!"

"You, ah! I had just finished praising you a moment ago, and you're already being stubborn again! Very well, now that the college entrance examination is over, what are your plans?"

"I'll stay home and farm the land! The results will be out at the end of the month, and then I'll know how well I did."

Hearing Yang Xingwu's reply, Yang Liuzhi looked thoroughly satisfied!

"Good. Earlier, I was worried you might start getting restless and trading goods on the side again, just like you did two months ago."

"Thank you for worrying, Teacher. A while back, our family ran out of grain, so I had no other choice. We managed to make a little money for ourselves, but I still feel a bit guilty for dragging the fellow villagers into it."

"You, ah! Still as honest as ever. Those people were simply too greedy and deserved what they got, but by doing that, you've certainly offended quite a few people!

Some people from the township came by recently, but Jianguo helped smooth things over for you. You should just stay quietly at home for the next few days.

Policies are changing much too fast right now; you mustn't lose the big picture over small gains! Once the exam scores come out and you get into university, just focus on your studies. There's no rush to make money."

"Teacher, I understand! What did the people from the township say? It didn't cause any trouble for Uncle Jianguo, did it?"

"The people from the township said they received a report that someone in our village was the first to trade wheat ears on the sly. They came down to investigate, questioned Jianguo, and found out that quite a few people in our village had actually lost money on the deal, so they eventually left.

This crisis has passed, but don't take such risks again! Strictly speaking, what you did didn't count as speculation and profiteering, but because many of the people who sold the stuff ended up losing money, someone went and filed a report.

At first, the authorities didn't plan to interfere—plenty of people sell corn and sweet potatoes in the autumn anyway. The main thing was that while those wheat ears tasted good, the yield was too low, and ordinary folks couldn't bear to sell them so early. If they left them until the harvest, they could get ten percent more grain; harvesting them now was just too big a loss!

That was how you managed to spot a gap. Once a lot of people found out the prices and calculated the figures, realizing it was much higher than the negotiated grain prices, they all jumped in—and ended up losing out.

At first, nobody paid attention to the reports, but as more and more people reported it, the authorities finally started an investigation. It's a good thing you were quick-witted; otherwise, if you'd gotten sucked into it, you certainly wouldn't have been able to take this year's college entrance examination!"

Hearing this, Yang Xingwu felt a chill run through him, mixed with a deep sense of relief!

"I never imagined there were so many twists and turns hidden behind all this."

"Everything happens for a reason. If someone greets you with a smile, it's only because your interests don't conflict with theirs—try eating two of their family's steamed buns and see what happens!

Back when Jianguo asked you to help out, it had nothing to do with those people, yet didn't some of them still come right to your door and curse you out? If Jianguo hadn't locked them up in solitary confinement for a few days, would they have quieted down?"

"When the people from the township came, didn't those people go and report me?"

"Report you? Hmph! Unless their family doesn't want to stay in the village anymore, those folks may be unruly, but they still know which side their bread is buttered on!"

At this point, Yang Liuzhi was so angry his mustache twitched. Seeing this, Yang Xingwu quickly tried to soothe him, then got up and went over to the teacher's kitchen to pour two bowls of tea.

The two of them had been talking for a long time and were getting quite thirsty.

Yang Liuzhi accepted the tea handed over by his student, took a couple of sips, and set the bowl on the table.

"Alright, sit down and have some yourself. Stop fussing about!"

Hearing this, Yang Xingwu promptly sat back down and pressed on for details.

"Will they just let it go and not hold a grudge?"

"Hold a grudge? What can they do about it? All of us in this village survived the great famine years precisely by relying on methods like this! Otherwise, our village wouldn't have as many people as it does today. Besides, it's not a matter of life-and-death enmity—isn't it all just driven by poverty?

Later on, when you have the ability, lend a helping hand to the fellow villagers! Having someone successful to lean on will make life much easier for everyone here."

Saying this, Yang Liuzhi let out a long sigh.

Seeing that his teacher was feeling rather melancholic, Yang Xingwu quickly gave his assurance.

"Teacher, rest assured! 'When poor, attend to one's own virtue; when prosperous, rescue the whole world.' That's what you taught me, and I've always remembered it!"

Hearing these words, Yang Liuzhi clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"Good, good! Well, you don't necessarily need to set your sights quite that high—just lend a helping hand to the villagers once you've made something of yourself, without delaying your own future!

A couple of years ago, I was worried that failing to get into the vocational school would crush your spirit completely. Now, seeing you looking so full of high spirits and vigor, I can finally set my mind at ease. Do you still remember that essay I had you study back then?"

"I remember. I've already memorized it, and over the past two years, I've relied on it often to inspire myself!"

"Good, then recite it for me to hear!"

"From my youth, I was fond of study. Being from a poor family, I had no way to acquire books to read..."

"Good, very good! I hope that one day you, too, can be like this Song Lian."

Hearing this, Yang Xingwu couldn't help but offer a wry smile. The teacher was placing far too high expectations on him.

Seeing Yang Xingwu's self-deprecating little gesture, Yang Liuzhi felt a mixture of exasperation and high hopes for him.

"You, ah! At such a young age, this is the very time to exclaim, 'If not me, who?' Why are you acting like an old man?"

"The teacher's reprimand is well deserved. This time, I will definitely pass the university entrance examination! When the time comes, our village primary school won't lack funds anymore. When I meet the people from the education bureau, I'll make them build a proper primary school for us so the students won't have to attend classes in a classroom that leaks wind and rain, and I'll make sure the teachers get a raise!"

Hearing this, Yang Liuzhi burst into a happy laugh!

"What are you all talking about? What's so funny?"

Hearing the voice, Yang Xingwu saw that the teacher's family had all returned, and looking at the time, it was already seven o'clock.

He hurriedly stood up to greet them.

"Mistress, Uncle Wanli, Aunt Xinghua, you're back?"

"Oh, it's little Wu! Xinghua, hurry up and brew a bowl of brown sugar tea!"

"There's no need, Mistress! I just poured two bowls of tea and haven't even finished drinking them yet!"

"What's the point of drinking that plain tea? Brown sugar tea is sweet; let your aunt brew you a bowl to drink! Little Wu, you've finished your exams, haven't you?

My goodness, your complexion is so much better now, and your face is much more ruddy. The last time I went to your house to see you, your face was frighteningly pale, but you're doing so much better now. You've escaped a disaster, and great fortune is sure to follow!"

As Mrs. Yang spoke, she pulled Yang Xingwu over and looked him over for a long time.

Seeing this lively scene, Yang Liuzhi watched with a broad smile on his face.

Yang Xingwu warmly responded to the mistress and tried to stop Aunt Xinghua from brewing the tea, but to no avail. Before long, a bowl of brown sugar tea was brought out and placed before him.

After finishing his tea and chatting a bit longer with his teacher, Yang Xingwu prepared to take his leave.

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Yang insisted that he stay for a meal.

"Stay for dinner before you leave! I just picked some fresh sweet potato leaves; I'll steam them up, and they'll be just delicious!"

"Mistress, really, no need! You all go ahead and eat. I'll come back to visit you in a few days!"

With that, Yang Xingwu practically bolted away in a hurry!

On his way home, thinking over the words of wisdom his teacher had given him, his heart was filled with profound gratitude for having had the fortune to meet such a teacher.