CH 25.1

Jiang Kangning didn’t keep the two for long since he had official business to deal with. When they come out of the Yamen, Wang Shijing said to Shao Yunan, “Yesterday, Shaojia’s Village head come to see you. I went there for you.” Shao Yunan raised his eyebrows. “What did he want to see me for?” Wang Shijing said, “He said that your adoptive parents saved your life by adopting you and asked you not to pursue your origins. He did not go into details, but I think he knows something. I told him that as long as he can control your adoptive parents, you would stop talking about your life experience. Uncle Zhao reminded me that Shaojia Village should have already heard about your relationship with Jiang Kangning, so he came here in fear that you might mention something to him.” Shao Yunan said coldly, “As long as they are smart, I am not picky either.”

“That’s what I said to him. He said that since you signed a letter of separation with your family, from now on, both sides will not deal with each other since you are no longer a member of the Shao clan.”

“Then I Should really thank them for their great kindness.” A blank stare from Shao Yunan sealed the matter. Therefore, they should hold tight the thigh of the county magistrate, Jiang Kangning. The two then went to the county school. Coincidentally, the county school was closed, but the guard at the door was Uncle Zhuang, so Shao Yunan took out a jar of goat milk jam and gave it to him. When he received the gift, Uncle Zhuang smiled happily and told Shao Yunan in great detail where Dean Cen and the two teachers lived. The two teachers lived in the county school with their families, while dean Cen’s residence was not far away from the county school.

After Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing discussed it for a bit, the two of them first went to visit the two teachers, before going to Dean Cen’s house. The two teachers were quite surprised at Shao Yunan’s visit, but Shao Yunan just gave them the jam and mountain products, and apologized once again. They received a novel gift called ‘jam’, while Shao Yunan showed great courtesy and ‘cleverness’, making the two teachers who were already impressed with Shao Yunan, like him even more. Knowing that Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing’s son wanted to go to private school the next year, the two teachers gave Shao Yunan some educational books and reminded him that ordinary private schools could be attended in advance, with some extra money.

The books given by the two teachers could be bought in the county bookstore. Although Shao Yunan had already bought the books, the books given by the two teachers were full of commentaries and their own insights, which completely provided free pre-school education! Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing say thank you again and again, this was really a treasure which could not be bought with money alone!

For Shao Yunan, the ancient people’s courtesy was really an eye opener and also showed the ancients’ interpretation of the word ‘gift’. After all, there are only a few scholars as immoral as Wang Zhisong. Most of the scholars in this era were orthodox, educated, cultured, sophisticated, quality people.

When they arrived at Dean Cen’s house, luckily he was at home. After being informed by the servant boy, Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing were brought to the main hall. Seeing the two, Dean Cen showed a kind smiling expression as the couple respectfully greeted him. Shao Yunan then directly explained the purpose of his visit. “Dean Cen, this junior made some jam, so please have a taste while it’s still fresh.” Wang Shijing put the jar in his hand and a bag filled with mountain goods into Dean Cen’s hand. Dean Cen was equally curious. “Jam? What is it?” Shao Yunan told the story. “One jar is made from goat milk fruit, or red sour fruit, while the other is made from wild peaches. What it is, Dean Cen will know after giving it a taste.”

“Huh.” Dean Cen stopped asking and just said, “How are you today? Did the clan patriarch make it difficult for you when he got back?” Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan were very grateful. They had only met each other once, but the other side was mindful of them. Wang Shijing replied, “Thank you for your concern. Most of the clan members understand. As for the rest, Shao Yunan and I won’t care about them.” When Wang Shijing didn’t mention the clan patriarch. It became clear in Dean Cen’s mind, so he turned to say, “You two have two children, a boy and a girl, right?”

Shao Yunan… “Yes. The eldest son is six years old and the daughter is four. Shijinga and I want to see if we can send our eldest son to study in the county town next spring.” Dean Cen nodded. “At the age of seven next year, it’s not too early to start attending private school. Whether or not he can get a place in the examination is secondary. The important thing is to let him know the principles from a young age and not be an uneducated person.”

Dean Cen did not mention his own “White Moon Academy”, so Shao Yunan did not mention it either. The two sides talked for a while, then Dean Cen gave Shao Yunan some educational books for Wang Qing. The books given by Dean Cen were naturally better than the ones given by the two teachers. They could not be bought at the county bookstore, but were full of comments and insights. The couple sincerely thanked dean Cen and then offered to leave. Dean Cen did not stop them.

After leaving Dean Cen’s home, the two found a teahouse to drink some tea and casually bought two fruit cakes. Since Shao Yunan didn’t plan to save money, they acted very prosperous. At this time, the food and beverages were still very underdeveloped, like Yizhang Xuan food. If it was served in modern times, it would taste worse than some stalls. Shao Yunan, who was not too hungry, did not have much of an appetite, while Wang Shijing would rather eat Shao Yunan’s cooking.

There was still a jar of goat milk jam and peach jam in the basket. After the two people who had a good rest left the teahouse, Shao Yunan said, “Shijing lets go to the Butterfly Jewelry Pavilion. Let’s be good and see if we can find a buyer for Uncle Lizheng’s family first.” Wang Shijing wondered, “Isn’t the Butterfly Jewelry Pavilion selling jewelry?” Shao Yunan said, “The value of something delivered to your door is definitely different from something that someone begs for. We should give jam to the owner of the Butterfly Jewelry Pavilion to thank him for his kindness in buying the stone and solving our urgent needs. But if we go directly to Yizhang Xuan restaurant that can use jam, then what we send is the goods. The shopkeeper of Butterfly Jewelry Pavilion is not stupid, if he see the value of the jam he will immediately tell the shopkeeper of Yizhang Xuan restaurant. If they are really interested in the jam, they will certainly come to our door and then we will have the initiative in naming the price.” Wang Shijing understood. “I will listen to you.”