Chapter 31
"You can decide that yourselves."
Old Master Gang said,
"Then in a few days, once we're less busy preparing for the business, go buy the tuition gift for the teacher."
"Understood."
The second son answered.
There was nothing wrong with that arrangement.
The family business was more important right now, and delaying school by a few days wasn't a serious problem.
Old Master Gang then looked at Gang Jo-hang.
"Third Son, what are you thinking about Little Six's studies?"
Gang Jo-hang replied,
"I think I need to consider it a little more."
"Since I'm going into town tomorrow anyway, I plan to ask around and learn more about the situation."
Unlike the second son, Gang Jo-hang wanted to find a better teacher for Gang Gye.
His son was naturally talented.
It seemed better to start properly from the beginning so they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of changing teachers later.
They also had to take Gang Gye's health into consideration.
After the family discussion ended, Gang Jo-hang asked Gang Gye,
"Little Six, do you want to start studying properly right now?"
"Yes!"
Gang Gye answered immediately.
He was practically desperate to learn more.
According to the novel, Zhao Yongchang would become a xiucai two years from now.
After that, through a stroke of luck, he would barely become a juren, placing last.
But even the lowest-ranked juren was still a juren.
The influence of a juren and a xiucai was completely different.
People didn't regard a xiucai as particularly impressive.
Some even looked down on them for being poor.
Life could remain difficult even after becoming a xiucai.
Besides, the Zhao family had five sons and more than ten grandsons.
All of them were supporting Zhao Yongchang.
There was no way they would let him enjoy all the benefits alone.
But becoming a juren meant gaining both reputation and material benefits.
Considering the relationship between his mother and Jang Un-mo...
If Zhao Yongchang really became a juren, public opinion in the village could change.
People who didn't want to offend a juren might begin avoiding the Gang family.
And if his mother had to watch the person who harmed her continue living comfortably and successfully in this life, her resentment would probably only grow.
Gang Gye absolutely didn't want that to happen.
The best solution was for him to rise high enough to suppress Zhao Yongchang himself.
Or, even better, if he could become a xiucai at the same time as Zhao Yongchang two years from now, then Jang Un-mo wouldn't even have the chance to act superior in front of his mother.
But the time was extremely short.
Even Gang Gye couldn't be completely confident.
Still, he had to start studying.
On this point, he felt a strong sense of urgency.
That evening, Gang Gye soaked his feet in a basin and washed them together with his father.
Gang Gye finished first.
He rested his feet on the edge of the basin to let them dry, then his father took off his shoes and placed his feet in the water.
His mother had already washed separately in another basin.
After Gang Jo-hang finished washing and dried his feet, Jang Un-chu began massaging his injured leg.
It had already been several days since they visited the medical hall.
But after returning home, they had argued over Little Six's studies.
Then the matter involving Jang Un-mo happened.
Because of everything going on, only now had they finally found time to resume the massage treatment.
The couple had agreed to massage the leg once every night before going to sleep.
If the leg ever felt especially uncomfortable, they could do it an additional time.
Gang Gye took advantage of the opportunity to perform today's check-in.
As expected, the reward had nothing to do with his father's leg.
Looking at the pattern so far, healing the leg really wasn't going to be easy.
It seemed that if the wish he focused on was too valuable or too difficult for the system to fulfill, it simply gave him some random inexpensive item instead.
Today's reward was three copper coins.
After checking in, Gang Gye didn't remain in his parents' room.
He returned to his own sleeping area.
Howa and Munsaeng were already lying down.
When Gang Gye entered, they shifted aside to make room for him.
"Little Six, hurry up and get in."
Gang Gye climbed onto the bed.
The quilt was warm and comfortable.
There was still sunlight during the day at this time of year, but the nights had already become somewhat cool.
Howa pulled the thin quilt over Gang Gye.
Lying there, Howa suddenly spoke in a miserable voice.
"If both of you go to school, who am I supposed to play with?"
Howa had quite a few friends in the village.
But children around his age already had work to do, so they couldn't always play with him.
He especially had to graze the ox every day.
Daejang was already nine years old, so he had to follow the adults and help with heavier work.
He couldn't come along to graze the ox anymore.
Did that mean Howa would be left spending all his time with only Dohwa and Haenghwa?
Just imagining it made him feel miserable.
Before, he hadn't thought much about quiet Munsaeng or the much younger Little Six.
But now that he realized they might spend less time together, he suddenly found it difficult to accept.
Munsaeng quietly said,
"You still have Dohwa and Haenghwa."
Howa pouted.
"I don't like being with those two."
Whenever Dohwa was around, Haenghwa only listened to her.
The two girls were always together.
Howa would end up alone.
Gang Gye fell silent.
This really didn't seem very fair.
There were four boys in the family, yet Howa alone hadn't even been given a chance to attend school.
"Brother Howa, if our business does well, let's all go to school together."
"What we ate today was so delicious. I'm sure it'll sell well."
"Ugh!"
The moment Gang Gye finished speaking, Howa violently shook his head.
"No! No way!"
"I'm not going to school!"
"If you're going to send me to school, you might as well stab me with a knife!"
His older brother Daejang had suffered terribly while attending school.
Their mother had already tried teaching Howa some characters too.
But Howa hated studying.
He also had no desire to sit in a schoolroom for several shichen every day.
Thinking about it that way, grazing the ox with Dohwa and Haenghwa suddenly didn't seem so terrible.
Howa immediately felt better and flopped back down.
"..."
Gang Gye and Munsaeng were both speechless.
The next morning, the children woke to find the adults already busy outside.
The eldest and second sons were sawing wooden boards to make a table for the stall.
Gang Jo-hang was no longer weaving bamboo baskets.
Instead, he was making small bamboo picks.
Of course, they weren't round and polished like modern toothpicks.
He simply split bamboo into thin strips, then used a specialized tool with a small hole in it.
By pulling the bamboo through the hole, the edges were gradually shaved smoother and rounder.
As long as there were no sharp splinters that could prick someone's hand, that was enough.
Bamboo was fairly hard.
Small picks made this way would have no trouble piercing springy pieces of spicy konjac.
After everyone had been busy for a while, breakfast was ready in the kitchen.
The whole family ate together.
After breakfast, everyone went about the tasks Old Master Gang had assigned the previous day.
Gang Jo-hang headed into town to buy oil paper.
Naturally, Gang Gye followed him.
Buying the oil paper didn't take long.
Once they finished, Gang Jo-hang took Gang Gye around asking people about the private schools in town.
The largest and most famous academy in the area was White Crane Academy, the academy Gang Jo-hang and Gang Gye had discussed before.
The headmaster, Liu Yunhe, had once worked at the Imperial Academy.
After offending someone, he had been driven out of the capital.
Still, simply having served at the Imperial Academy carried considerable weight in a small town like this.
Since Liu Yunhe had no other special skills, he opened a private school and began teaching students.
In truth, his teaching ability was only average.
But Liu Yunhe did have one strength.
He understood his own abilities very well.
He was quick-witted and skilled at flattering powerful people.
He knew that his reputation might be impressive now, but if several years passed without him producing any successful students, everything would collapse.
So rather than focusing only on the children of officials and wealthy households, he also accepted naturally talented children who sought him out on their own.
Those students had usually come to him because they wanted to rise above their circumstances.
Naturally, most were diligent and hardworking.
And while Liu Yunhe's teaching ability was mediocre, the fact that he had once entered the Imperial Academy meant he had performed extremely well in the Imperial Examinations himself.
His own academic ability was genuine.
On top of that, he possessed many books he had collected during his years in the capital, along with commentaries and notes written by famous scholars.
Under those circumstances, some of his students eventually passed the examinations.
Once Liu Yunhe's name became known, he received support from the prefectural authorities and opened White Crane Academy.
From the sons of prefectural officials at the top to the sons of wealthy merchants below, all sorts of students studied there.
After becoming headmaster, Liu Yunhe stopped teaching most classes personally.
Instead, he decisively recruited people who were actually good at teaching.
Some were young scholars.
Some were talented men whose careers hadn't gone as expected.
Without question, many of them were better teachers than Liu Yunhe himself.
They included both xiucai and juren, all with strong foundations in classical learning.
There were also instructors who taught the Six Arts of the Gentleman and similar subjects.
Overall, White Crane Academy had the richest educational resources in town.
In fact, it was among the best and largest academies even in the prefectural city.
Because it received support from wealthy merchants and officials, the dormitories and meals were excellent.
Students with outstanding results could even receive large cash rewards.
For talented commoner students, White Crane Academy was practically paradise.
Unfortunately, in recent years the academy had failed to produce any truly exceptional geniuses.
The headmaster's prestige had begun to decline.
And as if that weren't enough, a major scandal had occurred.
A few years ago, the son of a powerful marquis family had been sent away from the capital and ended up at the academy.
Since the marquis's household was highly influential, his arrival caused quite a stir.
Then, not long ago, one of the academy's best students had his hand broken by that nobleman's son.
The rumor spread instantly.
Unpleasant stories about White Crane Academy began circulating everywhere.
With a ruined hand, how was that student supposed to sit the Imperial Examinations?
Worse, there was nowhere for him to seek justice.
Gang Gye had already heard about the student whose hand was broken.
That was why he had no intention of attending White Crane Academy.
Still, the story itself was fascinating.
The waiter telling them about it paused as though his throat had gone dry.
Gang Gye immediately poured him a cup of tea and urged him on.
"And then?"
"What happened after that?"
It was almost as entertaining as listening to an old storyteller.
If one wanted fast information, tavern and restaurant waiters were among the best sources.
After buying their things, Gang Jo-hang and Gang Gye had come to a restaurant to eat.
They hadn't ordered much food, but the waiter had still treated them warmly.
Gang Jo-hang asked several questions, and the waiter answered in considerable detail.
The waiter drained the tea Gang Gye handed him in one gulp.
Then he simply sat down and began chatting with them.
This restaurant really did seem unusually friendly.
"As for the rest..."
The waiter looked at them.
"Judging from the fact that you two came to eat here and are asking about these things, I'm guessing you live somewhere nearby?"
"Yes!"
Gang Gye nodded.
"We live in a village very close to town."
"Then that's perfect."
The waiter said,
"In that case, let me tell you about several private schools around this side of town besides White Crane Academy."
He immediately began explaining in detail.
"There are actually quite a few private schools in town, but most are similar."
"And many of them are fairly far away."
"You'd be better off choosing one on this side so it'll be easier to return home."
Gang Gye agreed and nodded his small head.
At this moment, his eyes were sparkling as he looked at the waiter.
Anyone could see that he clearly appreciated the man's kindness and was listening with genuine gratitude.
