A Scholar of Great Learning

The village head of Qingmu Village was named Yang Zhuzi. He was just over thirty, and years of working the fields had left his skin dark and ruddy. There were not many wrinkles on his face, but the ones he had ran deep. He wore a worn-out short tunic, its elbows and cuffs patched over with fraying cloth.

At that moment, Yang Zhuzi was in the fields top-dressing the wheat.

His wife, Jiang Cuihua, was working alongside him.

Summer was drawing near, and the sun had already begun to grow fiercely hot. But the two of them had long grown accustomed to the scorching summer days, so this level of heat was hardly a challenge. They still had enough energy to chat.

“Husband, is what the County Magistrate said before really true? It’s already been half a month, so why haven’t we seen any sign of it?” Jiang Cuihua was thinking of how, half a month earlier, Yang Zhuzi had returned home beaming. He had told her that the County Magistrate had issued a notice saying that learned scholars would soon come to their village to establish a school and teach the children to read.

When she had first heard the news, she had been just as delighted as Yang Zhuzi. But once the initial excitement had passed and she had thought it over carefully, she no longer felt quite so cheerful.

For ordinary folk like them, the thing they feared most was too much upheaval.

Their greatest hope was simply to live in peace and stability. If one of their children showed promise, perhaps the child could someday wash the mud from their feet, enter the county town, and become an apprentice. After enduring a few hard years, they might eventually find respectable, easier work.

Now that the higher-ups had suddenly announced that someone was coming to teach in their village, who knew what it really meant?

Yang Zhuzi paused to catch his breath and shook his head. “The County Magistrate didn’t give us a specific date either. He only said that once the people arrived, I was to do my best to make things convenient for them… But tell me, what convenience can a farmer like me possibly provide a scholar?”

He did not know, and Jiang Cuihua knew even less. She suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Hey, husband, do you think these scholars might come here and stir things up?”

She did not explain what she meant by “stir things up,” but after more than ten years of marriage, Yang Zhuzi understood her immediately.

He leaned closer as well and whispered, “It’s hard to say. Judging by the County Magistrate’s manner, whoever’s coming seems like someone we’d best not offend.”

Thinking back to how the County Magistrate—who had never once deigned to look him in the eye—had been unusually amiable that day, Yang Zhuzi felt even more uneasy.

But what could they do? They could only leave it to fate.

“I hope the gentleman who comes will be a good person…” Jiang Cuihua muttered before returning to her work.

The two of them had not worked for long when they heard the voice of their youngest son calling from a distance.

“Father—Father! Third Granduncle wants you to come over—”

Yang Zhuzi turned and saw his youngest son running toward him along the field ridge. He raised his voice and called, “What is it—?”

“He just wants you to come over—some outsiders have arrived—” The child’s clear voice echoed across the fields.

Yang Zhuzi strode up onto the ridge. He took off his straw sandals, slapped the mud from them, and put them back on. Then he washed his hands in the nearby irrigation ditch and wiped his face before turning to Jiang Cuihua.

“I’ll go take a look.”

Jiang Cuihua nodded. “Go on.”

Neither of them said anything more, but both knew that it was very likely connected to the matter they had just been discussing.

Jiang Cuihua continued with her work, her heart filled with unease. She silently prayed that it would not be anything bad…

Meanwhile, Yang Zhuzi hurried to his youngest son. The little boy was sweating profusely, leaving streaks of mud and dust across his face. He waved his arms excitedly and grinned up at his father.

“Dad, Big Gua and the others and I caught five grasshoppers just now! We’re going to roast them and eat them later!”

Yang Zhuzi wiped the sweat from his son’s forehead. Then he gently patted the boy on the back and instructed him, “Go home, drink some water, and wash your face. Then bring a bowl of water over for your mother before you go play.”

“Okay!” the boy answered brightly.

The thin, small child lifted his feet and raced toward home. The blazing sun did nothing to hinder his happy dash.

Watching his carefree child disappear into the distance, Yang Zhuzi smiled and shook his head. Then he turned and hurried toward the house of Third Granduncle at the edge of the village.

When Yang Zhuzi reached the gate of Third Granduncle’s home, he found quite a crowd gathered outside the fenced courtyard. They were villagers who liked to sit at the village entrance and chat whenever they had nothing else to do, most of them elderly men and women.

When someone saw him arrive, they called out, “Zhuzi, a few outsiders have come to our village. They’re inside. Go have a look and see what’s going on.”

The others stepped aside to make room for him. Yang Zhuzi exchanged greetings with several of the older villagers before entering.

Third Granduncle’s house was small, but the courtyard was fairly spacious. Vegetable plots occupied both sides, while in the middle stood a simple large table made from stacked stones and slabs. Whenever guests came to the village, they were usually received here at Third Granduncle’s home.

The moment Yang Zhuzi entered the courtyard, he saw the people seated across from Third Granduncle.

At a single glance, he knew that these must be the scholars the County Magistrate had mentioned—the ones coming to teach in their village.

Yang Zhuzi had never studied and had not met many scholars, but for some reason, the moment he saw the group—especially the young man sitting in the middle—he felt certain that they were highly learned men.

They were dressed very plainly.

But in Yang Zhuzi’s eyes, they were clearly a group of scholars dressed in simple clothes, the sort who carried a belly full of profound knowledge.

The moment Third Granduncle saw him, he immediately rose and waved him over.

“Zhuzi, you’re here! Come, come. These gentlemen say they’ve come to teach in our village.” As he spoke, he turned and introduced him to Sun Yigao and the others with some diffidence. “This is Village Head Yang of Qingmu Village.”

Sun Yigao rose as well and bowed courteously. “I am Sun Yigao. It is a pleasure to meet you, Village Head Yang.”

Wen Yuejun and Shen Yingzi also stood and saluted him.

“You honor me far too much,” Yang Zhuzi said hastily, stepping aside so he would not receive their bows.

Seeing his unease, Sun Yigao did not press the matter. He withdrew his hands and said gently, “We have come rather suddenly. We hope to establish a small village school here in your village and would like to rent an unoccupied house. Would that be possible?”

Once the conversation turned to practical matters, Yang Zhuzi’s awkwardness faded. He let out a sigh of relief and said, “There are a few empty houses in the village. You can simply have one; there’s no need to rent it. It’s just that those houses were abandoned by people who left the village during the drought a few years ago, so they’re in pretty poor condition…”

He was already considering how the fields were not especially busy at the moment. If necessary, he could ask a few families whose circumstances were not quite so strained to pool together several decent meals. With food as payment, it would not be difficult to gather a few strong young men and repair one of the ruined houses.

But the handsome young gentleman before him said, “If there is already a house, that will be more than sufficient. A little damage is no problem. We can make the repairs ourselves.”