Top Scholar

Chapter 35 Going to Collect Debts!

The sorghum they were referring to was the harvest from the Su family this autumn. The sorghum yield was not low; one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) could yield five dou (approximately 1.5 tons), and ten mu yielded a total of five shi (approximately 1.5 tons).

The local grain merchants bought the grain for 500 wen per shi, but the glutinous sorghum from Erlangtan was particularly suitable for brewing and could be supplied to their own distilleries for 700 wen per shi.

However, the Su family's sorghum liquor had been unsold for many years, and they simply couldn't keep up with the demand. Everyone had to find their own sales channels. The eldest aunt asked her eloquent and resourceful younger uncle to come up with a solution. The younger uncle truly lived up to expectations, and within a few days, he sold the sorghum to He's Distillery, the third largest in town.

This was no easy feat, because the owner of He's Distillery was the son-in-law of the Cheng family, and therefore never clashed with the Su family. Yet, the younger uncle managed to sell the unsold grain to the He family at cost price—he was practically a sales genius!
At that time, my uncle made a big splash at home, and my aunt even promised to give him a tael of silver for a day's work.

Later, when his affair with Cuicui was exposed, he learned that this sales genius actually relied on nepotism... He had Cuicui ask her cousin, Cheng Xiucai's daughter, He Ji's proprietress He Chengshi, for help, and only then did she reluctantly agree to the acquisition.

Of course, as long as you can sell it, you're a hero, and there's no need to worry about the details. But these days, businesses only settle payments at the end of the year, so you have to wait until the very end of the year to get the money.

Last month, devastating news arrived – Mr. He, the owner of Heji, was personally escorting a boatload of wine to the county when it struck a reef at Dabingtan, resulting in the loss of the boat and all its occupants…

Now, He Ji can't even pay off his debts, let alone pay wages. His uncle had been worried about this for a while, which is why he hoped Su Lu wouldn't pass the exam. That way, he'd be free from his dilemma and wouldn't have to worry anymore…

But Su Lu happened to pass the exam, which has been causing him a lot of worry lately...

Moreover, Uncle dared not make a sound. If Chun-ge found out, given his personality, he might refuse to go to the Wenzhan Hall. Uncle had already spent tens or even hundreds of taels of silver on Chun-ge over the years; how could he let all his efforts go to waste now?
Fortunately, his wife, who had taken the blame, came back, so he didn't have to worry about these things anymore. After arguing with his wife, his eldest uncle went to sleep with his younger brother, clutching his blanket.

He didn't need to worry about the rest; his aunt would take care of it.

He wasn't worried that his aunt would prematurely provoke a conflict. When it came to her son, that woman was more shrewd than anyone else. She would definitely wait until Su Man left home before speaking up…

~~
The next morning, the family saw the younger brother, sister-in-law, and Chun-ge off on the boat.

Su Man also took this boat to Hejiang, and it would be much easier to get to Luzhou from the county town. Actually, his uncle didn't want him to take the boat, because even in this season, traveling by boat on the Chishui River is still quite dangerous.

However, traveling by land would require traversing towering mountains and deep valleys, a journey of two hundred li that could take ten or eight days. Moreover, the mountains were teeming with wild animals and even more dangerous creatures, making the chances of an accident far greater than traveling by water. Between two evils, the lesser was chosen, so Chun-ge'er opted for the boat.

"Only when you want to leave the mountains will you truly understand how suffocating they can be." Before parting, the elder brother said to Su Lu, "I'll go first, and you must catch up as soon as possible. Sooner or later, we'll take the whole family out of here!"

"Yes, brother, we must get out of here!" Su Lu wholeheartedly agreed. To be honest, although he had only been here for three or four months, he was already finding it hard to bear living in a canyon surrounded by steep cliffs every day.

"Okay." Su Man nodded, bid farewell to his elders, and boarded the boat with his book box on his back.

"May you return home in glory, wearing a traditional Chinese robe and a square scarf!" Su Lu shouted from the pier.

Su Man kept waving to him until the crooked boat disappeared into the bay.

"Alright, woman, stop crying. Didn't you hear what Qiu-ge said? When Chun-ge comes back, he'll probably be a scholar by then." The eldest uncle looked away and comforted his wife, who was still wiping away tears.

"That's great." Auntie is so easy to please; she was immediately thinking only about the good things.

"You all hurry home for dinner, I'm going to my shift too." The uncle put on his helmet, tightened his belt, and headed along the riverbank towards the Hundred Households Office.

The others went home along the bluestone steps.

"Hurry up and eat, I'm starving!" Jin Bao'er shouted as soon as she entered the door.

"Wait here." Auntie quickly brought out the food that was still hot in the big pot.

Su Lu had finished his exams, and his special privileges had expired. He obediently joined his family in the main room, eating the same sorghum cakes and pickled cabbage made by his aunt...

While they were eating, Auntie suddenly praised Su Lu, saying, "I never expected that Qiu-ge'er could actually get into the academy. I'm impressed. You really are cut out for studying."

"Mmm..." Su Lu nodded vaguely while chewing on a biscuit. He also wanted to slap his shrewish aunt in the face, but he still had to rely on her to pay his tuition.

He had assumed his aunt had seen his "promising success" and wanted to reconcile with him. But instead, his aunt sighed and said, "There's a debt we can't collect, and I'm afraid your tuition won't be covered..."

Su Lu immediately choked up, and Su Youcai and Su Tai's expressions changed, causing the atmosphere at the table to plummet to freezing point.

The old man glanced at his eldest daughter-in-law, his expression dark, and said, "How have you two managed this household? Shouldn't these things be planned in advance?"

"Father, there's nothing we can do. Plans can't keep up with changes." Auntie hurriedly explained, forcing a smile, "Everything was arranged perfectly. We sold this year's harvested red grain to pay for Qiu-ge's tuition. But who would have thought that the He family would run into trouble, and we can't collect this debt now?"

"What about the money you've been saving?" the old man asked, frowning.

“Originally, there was still five or six taels left, but the third son's wedding cost a lot, and Dad wouldn't let us contribute. He even gave the money to the third son's wife. Plus, there were the expenses for Chun-ge'er's exams. Not only was the money gone, but we also incurred a lot of debt.” The eldest aunt spread her hands, complaining bitterly:
"Father, this is the kind of time when our family is always short of money, and no one in charge has ever complained!"

"..." The old man was speechless for a moment, rubbing his temples and having a headache for a while, before finally saying to Su Lu in a deep voice:

"Don't worry, Qiu-ge'er. Now that you've passed the exam, the family will definitely support your studies! Even if Grandpa has to sell everything we own and swallow our pride to borrow money, we will make sure you can afford the tuition." "Grandpa, I'm just adding to the burden on the family..." Su Lu was about to say something when his father stopped him.

Then Su Youcai spoke up, "Dad, don't get so worked up. There's still almost a month left. We'll all try to figure something out. If all else fails, we'll talk about it later..."

"Hmm..." The old man nodded, letting out a long sigh. Then he stopped eating, put his hands behind his back, and went downstairs for a walk.

His steps were much heavier than usual, as if he had aged several years.

~~
Su Youcai and his two sons hastily ate a mouthful of rice and went back to their room.

As soon as the door closed, Su Youcai kicked the washbasin and laundry tub into the air.

Fortunately, Su Tai reacted quickly and made a diving save, managing to catch the only basin the three of them had.

Su Tai's body suddenly slammed to the ground.

"Second Brother!" Su Lu quickly helped Xia Ge'er up. Su Youcai also said apologetically, "I acted impulsively, are you alright, son?"

"It's alright, I'm tough as nails." Su Tai chuckled as he hugged the basin. "It's good that the basin is alright."

"Silly children." Su Youcai choked up, looking at his two sensible sons, and finally couldn't hold back his tears.

He quickly turned his head away, not wanting his sons to see his vulnerable side, but he was just too devastated... A man's self-esteem, a father's dignity, were all trampled into the mud by a mere penny.

"Old man, don't cry." Su Tai was at a loss and handed the wooden basin back to him, saying, "If you want to vent your anger, just kick it."

“Father isn’t angry, it’s just that even a hero can be brought down by a penny,” Su Lu said softly. “Ultimately, it’s because I insisted on going to school, which added an extra burden to the family.”

“Nonsense! It’s the father’s fault if he doesn’t raise his children properly! If you don’t pass the exam, fine, but if you do, I have to make sure you study. It’s a father’s duty!” Su Youcai said, covering his face with his sleeve and muttering, “I don’t deserve good children like you.”

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Su Lu had never realized before that his father was so sensitive and vulnerable deep down.

"There's no better father in the world than you, right, second brother?" He quickly encouraged his father.

“Yes, yes!” Su Tai nodded vigorously and said seriously, “I think so too.”

"Sigh." Su Youcai forced a smile and sighed, "You don't need to comfort me. What kind of good father can't even come up with a few taels of silver?"

"Father doesn't manage the household, so how can you blame yourself?" Su Lu hurriedly said in a deep voice, "Besides, money is earned by people. We are human too, if we don't have it, we'll find a way to earn it!"

“Qiu-ge’er is right,” Su Tai immediately agreed. “I can go to Shawan to carry salt. It’s only ten coins per trip, and if I carry a few more trips, I’ll be out of money.”

"Save your breath. It's five miles from the salt well in the mountains to the riverbank, and you're only getting ten coins for a round trip? Even livestock aren't that cheap!" Su Youcai waved his hand decisively. "Besides, with the year drawing to a close, where can we find a place to work?"

"Yes, we have to earn money with our brains, not by working like oxen and horses." Su Lu nodded. He thought to himself that he really needed to find a way to make money. Sigh, he should have read more time-travel novels back then…

But this is indeed very difficult, as the isolated mountains have blocked all avenues to wealth.

~~
The three men sat around the table, continuing to rack their brains for a solution.

“Although my sister-in-law may not be very tactful, she would never intentionally make things difficult for us. Our family is indeed facing some difficulties.” Su Youcai quickly composed himself, regaining his composure, and sighed.
"We can't let the old man worry, that would be too unfilial, so we have to solve the problem ourselves!"

"Yes." Su Lu nodded. Seeing that his father had set the tone for the family meeting, he asked, "How much does it cost to go to this school? If it's too expensive, I really won't go."

"Tuition is two taels a year, plus the cost of books, paper, and ink, which is another one tael and fifty cents." Su Youcai then counted on his fingers and said, "The academy provides free accommodation, but you have to pay ten coins a month for lamp oil. Then there's food, which requires payment for grain and firewood. Based on your brother's experience, this cost is two hundred and fifty coins a month. But this money is paid monthly, so there's no need to rush."

Su Lu felt a headache coming on. Taiping Academy was indeed good, but the fees were really high. However, considering the scene of more than a thousand people competing for sixty places, it didn't seem right to say that they were just greedy for money.

It just goes to show that education is incredibly expensive, no wonder it dragged the Su family into this state...

After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "So, if we don't stay at the school dormitory or eat the school meals, then it will only cost three and a half ounces."

“That’s right.” Su Youcai nodded. “This is exactly the money from selling the sorghum! So the best way is to collect that debt!”

"Paying back debts is a matter of course," he said, making up his mind. "We'll go collect the debt tomorrow!"

P.S. Please enjoy the following story of Master Su collecting debts.

(End of this chapter)