Chapter 34: Chapter 22: Little Shitou’s Ambition (Part 2)

He thought about it carefully, as if making a momentous decision, and said to Juhua with great solemnity, “Sister Juhua, don’t you worry. When I grow up, I’ll marry you!”

Juhua was scrubbing the Huang Shan. When she heard him, she almost tossed the small basket into the river. She stared at Little Shitou oddly and asked, “Why would you want to marry me?”

Shi Tou said chivalrously, “Sister Juhua, you don’t want to marry an old man, right? Then I’ll marry you instead. You’re so capable, and Mom says you’re a good girl. I don’t want you to marry an old man either—they all have a mouthful of yellow teeth and pant and wheeze when they talk!”

Juhua’s eyes couldn’t help but grow warm. ’This Shi Tou… Back when I saved his life, he didn’t offer to marry me. But now, after just eating at my house a couple of times, we’ve become fast friends. He no longer minds my ugliness, and just to keep me from marrying an old man, he’s solemnly promising to marry me himself!’

’A child’s mind is so simple and strange, yet so incredibly sincere!’

Fighting back tears, she chuckled and said to Shi Tou, “You’re still just a little boy. By the time you’re grown, I’ll be an old woman. We wouldn’t be a good match!”

Little Shitou said anxiously, “Then just grow more slowly! I eat tons of food at every meal, so I’ll grow up really fast. You won’t have to wait that long.”

Juhua smiled, pursing her lips, and teased him, “But as you grow, I grow too. We can’t stop it. How about this, Shi Tou? You study hard. In the future, pass the exams to become a Scholar, then a scholar, then the Champion Scholar. Once you’re an official, if anyone bullies me, you can have them arrested and paddled—then I won’t have to be afraid!”

Shi Tou thought for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, then. Starting tomorrow, I’ll study really hard and try to become an official so I can keep people from bullying you. But, Sister Juhua, you’ll still have to get married! If I don’t marry you, who will you marry?”

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. This kid was really stuck on this point!

She said softly, “If no one wants to marry me, it’s not a big deal. A woman doesn’t have to get married, you know. Living alone is perfectly fine. If you can’t marry someone who makes you happy, or if the person you marry looks down on you, it’s better not to marry at all!”

Shi Tou watched her as she stared into the river. He couldn’t tell if she was looking at the water or the fish swimming within it. Little fish had seen the vegetable scraps floating out from her basket and were swimming over to gobble them up. Her gaze was distant, her pensive expression suggesting she was lost in thought.

Shi Tou didn’t dare to break the strange silence. He just squatted beside her on the riverbank, staring intently at her cheek. He thought the terrible, scabby texture of her skin seemed to have faded somewhat. ’Am I seeing things?’

Many years later, when he truly did become an official, he would never be able to forget the sad yet serene expression of the ugly girl from that day by the Little Qing River.

By the time Qingmu returned from the mountain, dinner was already on the table.

The crucian carp had been made into a fragrant, milky-white soup garnished with bright green scallions. The Huang Shan was stir-fried again, and with the addition of some leafy green vegetables, the table was laden with seven or eight bowls of food.

Zhao San and Zheng Changhe were drinking and discussing their plans to go hunting in the mountains the next day.

Qingmu asked in surprise, “You’re going hunting tomorrow?”

Zheng Changhe replied, “That’s right. There isn’t much work left to do around the house. You’re off to school tomorrow, right? Have you got all your things ready?”

Qingmu glanced at Little Shitou and answered a little awkwardly, “Mhm.”

Just as expected, Little Shitou chimed in, “Brother Qingmu, I’m going to sit with you, not with Gou Dan—he’s too mischievous.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Shi Tou’s mother laughed. “You’re a little tyrant yourself, and here you are calling someone else mischievous. If you don’t study properly, your father and I will pull you out and make you work on the farm—no point in wasting money on tuition!”

Little Shitou said with a perfectly straight face, “I’m definitely going to study hard. I’m going to be a great official someday!”

Zhao San, not expecting his son to have such lofty ambitions, couldn’t help but ask, “What put the idea of becoming a great official in your head? Your mother and I want you to be successful, of course, but we’d never dare to dream that big!”

Shi Tou peeked at Juhua. ’This is a secret between me and Sister Juhua,’ he thought. ’I can’t tell anyone else.’ So he said aloud, “Isn’t the point of studying to become capable? And once you’re capable, you can become an official!”

He thought for a moment, then added, “And if I become an official, I won’t have to pay a bride price to get a wife. I hear that families are scrambling to marry their daughters to scholars.”

“Hahaha…” The whole table erupted in laughter.

Zhao San laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face. Wiping his eyes, he said, “By the time you’re a Scholar, you’ll want to marry a young lady from a wealthy family. And those young ladies require an even bigger bride price!”

Little Shitou pouted. “Who’d want that! I wouldn’t marry a lady from a family like that anyway.” He sulkily shoveled a few bites of rice into his mouth, thinking, ’When the time comes, if Sister Juhua is still single, I’ll marry her. She definitely wouldn’t want a bride price.’

Zheng Changhe praised him, “Little Shitou, you’re really something else. Who knows, maybe you’ll become Qingnan Village’s first Champion Scholar. Imagine that, a high-ranking official in our Jing Country! Your father would have it made!”

Juhua’s ears perked up. ’Jing Country?’ she thought. ’Is that written with the character for ’pacify’ or ’tranquil’ or something else?’

She asked quietly, “Dad, who is the Emperor of our Jing Country?”

Zheng Changhe laughed. “Oh, your father really has no idea about that! The first Emperor was Great Ancestor Jing, whose family name was Qin. After the Great Ancestor passed away, as for which Prince became the new Emperor… a commoner like me wouldn’t know the details!”

Zhao San thought for a moment. “I seem to recall hearing that the Second Prince succeeded the throne. Ah well, no matter who’s Emperor, we’re still just farmers.”

Qingmu said to his sister, “I’ll ask the teacher tomorrow.”

Juhua nodded, then asked, “Brother, how many two-hour periods of class do you have a day? Do you come home for lunch?”

“I don’t know yet,” Qingmu said. “I’ll find out after the first day. I’ll probably come home for lunch.” He glanced at Juhua again. “If there’s any heavy chores at home, just leave them. Wait for me to get back, and I’ll take care of it.”

Juhua kept her head down, eating, and mumbled, “Okay, I got it.”

’Heh, we’re going to have an educated man in the family.’

Little Shitou added, “Once I learn how to read, I’ll come and teach you, Sister Juhua.”

Juhua loved the sound of that. She smiled at Shi Tou’s earnest expression. “I’ll be waiting, then.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep