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“Tss, Tss, Tss…”

Zhang Yun, standing by, suddenly burst out laughing.

His laughter dumbfounded Zhang Peng!

“You little rabbit! What are you laughing at? Are you possessed or something?”

Zhang Yun laughed even more joyously: “Hehehe, Dad! Xuan’er and I both passed the test. Elder Mr. Xu said that we could come back to school on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month.”

“What? You two have passed the test?”

Several people expressed their astonishment simultaneously. While Di Ye Lei and Liu Sisi were excited, Zhang Peng was incredibly annoyed.

“Of course! We all passed the test!”

It was just now that Di Xuan raised his head, and saw his face beaming with joy. Where was there the slightest bit of earlier sadness?

This prank seemed to have stunned Liu Sisi and Di Ye Lei for a while, before Di Ye Lei reacted by extending his hand and giving a sharp knock on Di Xuan’s head.

“What is wrong with you, boy? Who told you to deceive people like this? Don’t you know that your Mom and Dad were worried sick?”

Indeed, Liu Sisi was still recovering from the shock.

Di Xuan looked at Liu Sisi, licked his lips, and then bowed before her.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have played such a prank which worried not only you and Dad, but also everyone else.”

Liu Sisi managed a feeble smile, squinted her eyes, and looked at him: “Don’t worry! Kids should be lively. Moreover, you’ve passed the test conducted by Elder Mr. Xu. Even in Macheng County, there aren’t many fortunate students like you. Let’s go now! We’ll submit the education gift and return home.”

Her words naturally gained a consensus from everyone, and they all briskly headed towards their next destination with laughter and joy.

At this moment, the figure lying at the edge of the flower bed moved, and after a while, Zhang Shixin slowly propped himself up.

His consciousness was still hazy and hadn’t fully recovered from the sudden incident. Just as he was just crawling to his feet, he fell back to the ground, unconscious.

From his original prone posture to now lying on his back, his identity was revealed to all.

“Eh? That person looks familiar. Have I seen him somewhere?”

“I recognize that face, too. Judging from his clothes, he seems to be someone important.”

“Oh, wait! Isn’t that Zhang Shixin, the prominent businessman of the town? His family is really a wealthy one. What is he doing here? Did he come to register his son? But that can’t be. Families like his would typically hire private tutors for their children. There’s no way they’d send their child here to endure hardship.”

“I also think he’s not supposed to be here…”

The crowd chattered, but not a single person offered a hand to help him up.

Zhang Chengping and his houseman rushed in from outside, only to find themselves hindered by the crowd that was pressing in from all directions.

“Make way! Make way, let us through! Old Master Businessman…”

The houseman shouted, flailing his limbs about. They picked him up and carried him straight out of the main entrance to the carriage they had ridden in this morning.

Feeling the rocking motion, Zhang Shixin woke up in a daze, looking out through half-open eyes at the buildings fading into the distance. The clear voice still echoed in his heart.

“But he passed Elder Mr. Xu’s examination,”

The voice was like a clear spring flowing slowly into his heart.

Passed Elder Mr. Xu’s test, huh?

Hmph!

Liu Sisi, I, Zhang Shixin, am not done with you!

This time, I, Zhang Shixin, will show no mercy; it’s either you or me!

After Liu Sisi and the others paid their education gift, the village school was unlike those private schools, it specifically provided fertile land for the teachers for their daily meals and expenses.

These fertile lands are specifically allocated by the small town and are exempt from levies and corvee labor.

Every child who comes to enroll is referred to as a student. The student must pay a certain amount of money to the school teacher as tuition. The age of admission and examination for the student does not matter. As long as they pass the “Institutional Examination” of the Prefecture City or County, they will obtain the scholarly honor once they meet the pass standard. Then they can be assigned to a county or government school to continue their studies.

Once the scholarly honor is attained, they are deemed “official persons,” who need not pay homage to officials nor pay levies.

Truly, when one man attains the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven!

Since Di Xuan and Zhang Yun were admitted into Elder Mr. Xu’s school, their education gift alone was double that of others!

Fortunately, both families had some savings. Facing the five-tael education gift for each, although it was somewhat painful, they could still afford it.

After all procedures were taken care of, they were about to leave when they were stopped by Mr. Meng.

“Please wait a moment!”

Upon hearing this, Liu Sisi amongst others looked at each other, then turned their heads to see.

Mr. Meng, with a triumphant look, said: “There is still some money you have not paid.”

“What money?”

Several people asked in unison.

Mr. Meng had a cunning smile on his face: “Everyone, all students in our school wear uniforms. Two sets are required for each season. Each set costs five taels of silver. Now, because only winter uniforms are being purchased, it’s ten taels per person!” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand towards them in a beckoning gesture.

“Two sets of winter clothes for ten taels? Why don’t you just rob?”

Zhang Peng immediately burst out in anger! The education gift was only five taels of silver, and here they wanted another ten taels? How could the uniform be so expensive?

Mr. Meng withdrew his hand and immediately rolled his eyes: “How can you say that? Our school has always charged this way. Can you go to school for free? That’s a huge joke!”

Liu Sisi wiped away her sweat secretly, no wonder people said, the whole family had to pull together to support one scholar studying!

Such expenditure was indeed unbearable for farmers who had no profit and could only struggle on their farmlands!

“Humph! We’ll pay!”

I’d like to see what else you have in store for us to spend money on!

After paying another ten taels of silver, Liu Sisi and the others finally sighed in relief.

Di Yelei was obviously running out of patience too: “Mr. Teacher, is there anything else we need to prepare?”

“Yes! Don’t forget, when school starts, prepare a set of the ‘four treasures of the study’ for the child, understand?”