Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 67 Enemies meet on a narrow road!

One arithmetic class taught addition and subtraction within ten, and even counting rods and fingers were used, but many children still couldn't understand it, which made the teacher and the students tired.

After class, the teacher also assigned homework, which included ten addition and subtraction problems within ten. The students were asked to copy them down and complete them. The homework would need to be collected and reviewed tomorrow.

As for homework, whether it is practicing calligraphy or arithmetic, paper is needed. As a result, those from poor families have to reluctantly take out paper.

In this ancient society where the literacy rate was less than one percent, studying was a very expensive thing and poor families simply could not afford it.

Take the lowest quality straw paper, for example. It costs thirty coins per piece, which is three coins of silver, and one piece of paper is only about one hundred sheets, two-thirds the size of an A4 paper.

This amount of money is equivalent to a month's salary for a waiter at Deweilou in Yang County, even without food or drink. Deweilou is one of the best restaurants in Yang County, and the waiter's salary is considered high among people of the same profession in the local area.

Many of Gao Jingming's classmates came from poor families, but which family didn't have at least a hundred acres of land? Otherwise, supporting a scholar would be a pipe dream.

Even so, those poor students are reluctant to use paper for practicing calligraphy except for homework.

As for those who are truly poor at the bottom of society, if they want to go to school, most of them can only dream about it. How can they be qualified to go to school when they can't even get enough food to eat?
Occasionally, there are a few lucky people who get the opportunity to study, which is already considered as good as their family graves exploding.

The reason why Chen Xuan knew this was because he heard some students chatting about a child named He Yuanqing in their class. He was the only educated person under the age of sixteen in their village.

He said that there had never been any illiterate people in their village before, and that he was able to come here to study because his family was lucky. They had the good fortune to pick a centuries-old wild ginseng, which they sold and made a fortune. They bought more than 200 acres of land, and his family was considered well-off in the village, and could barely afford his studies.

Then, seeing that his family was able to grit their teeth and support his studies, the villagers collectively contributed money to help ease the burden, hoping that he would help the villagers in the future after he achieved success in his studies.

This favor is enormous. If He Yuanqing becomes an ungrateful person after learning a lot in the future, everyone will look down on him and feel ashamed to be associated with him.

However, even so, He Yuanqing didn't know when he would drop out of school, because no one could guarantee good weather every year. Once the fields were damaged, his family and even the village would not be able to provide for them.

So he studied hard, not wanting to lose the opportunity to study, which was also his only chance to change his destiny.

He is currently one of the best students in the class. He is the one who leads everyone to stand up and greet the teacher during class, which is similar to the role of class monitor and study committee member.

He Yuanqing's family owned more than 200 acres of land and had the help of villagers, yet he still faced the risk of dropping out of school. It is not an exaggeration to say that the literacy rate here is less than 1%.

For poor people who make a living by working in the fields, studying is just a dream.

In the farming era, more than 90% of the people were poor farmers. They were lucky enough to fill their stomachs and survive. The imperial court did not block anyone's opportunity to study, at least in Jingguo. But for them, there was a way to study, but the reality did not allow it. Not despairing was worse than despair!
How many people have to live their entire lives as blind men.

There are less than 200 regular students in Yushan Academy, and they come from dozens of surrounding counties. As it is a "private prestigious school", naturally all those who have the conditions are sent here.

Of course, every county had a county school, which was a matter of official performance. However, on average, not many people could receive an education. Some wealthy families even opened private schools to give their children, and even the descendants of slaves, the opportunity to receive an education...

After class at noon, there was about three hours of break time. Gao Jingming ate and then went to take a nap. He had no energy to play after studying for a whole morning.

Chen Xuan was not sleepy, so he simply went to fetch water to wash the dirty clothes that Gao Jingming had taken off yesterday. This was his job.

Deep down, Chen Xuan came from a society where everyone was equal, so he didn't feel inferior to others. Even though that was true, he only regarded being a book boy as a job, and as a job, he naturally had to take it seriously.

The Gao family provides food and accommodation, and also provides clothes for all seasons. The monthly salary is three taels of silver, with occasional bonuses, and you can even study together. Where can you find such a job?
Being pretentious and noble is foolish. It's much better than working like a slave for a few thousand yuan a month...

Washing clothes is not a difficult task, as cleaning products include soapnut powder. However, Chen Xuan is not strong enough to wring them out, which makes him a little troubled.

"Let me help you," a friendly voice sounded from the side.

Chen Xuan looked up and saw that it was Shu Yao. He had a book stuck on his waist. He was reading under the shade of a tree not far away. As he spoke, he began to roll up his sleeves.

When he has nothing to do, he always seizes every minute to read. Not long ago, after class, Chen Xuan saw him busy everywhere, helping people get food and water. It seemed that he was everywhere. This must be because he has some free time.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Xuan asked, "Do I need to pay?" It's not that Chen Xuan is stingy, but let's be clear. After all, other people's services are paid, so it's better to ask clearly to avoid any unpleasantness.

"Haha, that's not necessary. It's just a convenient thing. It would be too much to talk about money. Just treat it as making friends," Shu Yao said happily.

He was not completely obsessed with money, but it is not ruled out that he knew that he was Gao Jingming's servant and deliberately made a good relationship with him. It is also human nature to say that he is good at specialization.

It is a tragedy if a person is not even worth being associated with.

"Thank you," Chen Xuan said with a smile, and then the two of them each held one end and tried to squeeze out as much water as possible. Shu Yao helped to dry it.

During the process, Chen Xuan asked casually, "Brother Shu, I'm new to the academy and I'm not familiar with anything. Before I came here, I saw a river at the foot of the mountain. Do you know where that river leads to?"

Shu Yao had no doubts and was happy to communicate. "Just call me by my name. Brother Shu is too polite. Chen Xuan, you mentioned the Yushui River. I don't know where its source is, but I know it ends at the Qingping River. Then, starting from our Yushan, there is a small pier more than ten miles downstream called Yangliu Ferry. There are several villages around Yangliu Ferry, and more than ten miles downstream is Jiming Town. People from the surrounding villages go there for the market. From Jiming Town, it's about ten miles downstream to Lanfeng County. Then, I don't know where the Yushui River goes after the county town."

"Is that so? Shu Yao, you know a lot," Chen Xuan said casually, but he was muttering in his heart that the old guy really never told the truth. All the talk about Meiliu Village and Daniu Township was bullshit.

After a little thought, Chen Xuan roughly judged based on the time he fell asleep that day that the human traffickers' hideout might be in Lanfeng County. After all, the old man's broken boat could not go far in one night.

Now Chen Xuan almost knows that the old boatman who kidnapped him is active on the Yu Shui River, but it is not certain whether he is upstream or downstream. The human traffickers' den is most likely in Lanfeng County.

But after knowing this, how can we settle the score with the old boatman, and how can we destroy the human traffickers' den?
I was a nobody now, so it would be a mistake to act rashly. Especially since the old boatman didn't look like a bad guy. Who would believe a child like me if I revealed he was a kidnapper? I might even be accused of false accusations.

There are quite a few resources around that can be used, especially in the school. The teachers are all well-read people who have read books of sages and have a certain social influence. I don't know if they all hate evil. Anyway, Chen Xuan just needs an opportunity to use everything around him and "let nature take its course" to do what he wants.

"That's nothing. My home is in Jiming Town. I can't say I know the surroundings like the back of my hand, but I am very familiar with it. Sometimes when I have holidays and I am in a hurry to travel, I will go to Yangliu Ferry to take a boat home. There is an old boatman who ferries people on the Yu Shui River all year round. He is a lonely and pitiful man. He has never been to school. Occasionally, when we take a boat ride, he would ask me some questions about the school. I was quite impressed. Chen Xuan, if you want to know more about the Yu Shui River, I will find time to ask him in detail and then tell you. He has been ferrying people on the Yu Shui River for decades and must know more about it than me," Shu Yao waved his hand.

Chen Xuan was shocked when he heard this. The old boatman Shu Yao mentioned was most likely the one who kidnapped him, or it could be someone else. If so, he never thought that he could get the news about the old boatman so easily.

Chen Xuan remained calm on the surface, but was extremely shocked in his heart. You can't judge a person by his appearance. The old boatman looked honest and had personal experience. He asked Shu Yao about things in the school, and he might be scouting for a target!
But why didn't he attack Shu Yao? Was Shu Yao too old or did he just not eat grass near his burrow?

Just when Chen Xuan was about to ask for confirmation, someone called Shu Yao from a distance. He quickly said, "Chen Xuan, there's something going on in the cafeteria that needs my help. I'll be there first. I won't be with you. We'll talk again when there's a chance."

With that, he left in a hurry. Chen Xuan felt a little regretful, but he was still in school and had plenty of opportunities.

Subconsciously looking in the direction where Shu Yao left, Chen Xuan's pupils suddenly shrank and he was shocked again.

"It's really a narrow road for enemies to meet in. I can still see an old friend here!"

After taking a look over there, Chen Xuan immediately withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, poured the water and went back to the house.

In the direction where Shu Yao left, there was a carriage parked in front of the cafeteria entrance. It was filled with large jars and emitted a strong smell of soy sauce. It was clearly delivering soy sauce to the school.

And next to the cart, Chen Xuan saw the guy who had whipped him in the basement not long ago!
He was deeply impressed by that person.

In order to avoid being recognized by the other party, Chen Xuan had to avoid his sight. It was not that he was afraid of the other party. It was impossible for the other party to do anything to him in the school. He was just worried that if he was recognized by the other party, it would alert the enemy. Once they ran away, things would be difficult to deal with. It was also possible that after the other party recognized Chen Xuan, he would worry that the matter would be exposed, and then take the risk of killing him to silence him!
This kind of thing is not impossible, human traffickers are not human beings.

'This world is too small'

After returning to the house, Chen Xuan was upset. Those human traffickers were really bold. They actually dared to deliver goods to the school. Could they take the opportunity to look for targets?

Within one day, all the things I had been thinking about actually came to fruition. It really is fate.

……

(End of this chapter)