Chapter 3: Deciding to Abandon Farming and Continue the Imperial Examinations

He remembered that after reading an article titled "An Analysis of the Evolution of Chinese Ploughs from the Perspective of Ergonomics," he had gone out of his way to learn about this field—from the ancient digging sticks to ploughs, to the various designs and functions of ploughs. All he could say was that fate had its own plans; the knowledge stored in his mind might one day prove useful when he least expected it. The saying, "Within books lies a house of gold," could not have been more true.

It is common knowledge that making money from money is the easiest, making money with knowledge comes next, and earning with physical labor is the hardest and most grueling of all. From starting work to returning home for a meal, it hadn't taken much time, but Li Su had already given up the idea of retiring to farm. His shoulders were sore and aching—he simply wasn't cut out for farming.

With his current physical condition, he would need to seriously train his body if he wanted to participate in the civil service examinations. He had so much knowledge in his head; it would be a waste not to take the exams and put it to use! He should put that knowledge to work, contribute to the progress of this era! Why think about retirement at such a young age? It's time to strive!

Was the ancient civil service exam competitive? No matter—he could be even more so. Let’s see who would outlast whom in this contest of diligence. Ancient scholars studied day and night? Well, students in the 21st century also spent all day and night at school—though whether they actually studied was another matter. Still, the time was spent, so it was much the same, wasn't it?

Moreover, he was clever; even if he had to learn a new examination system and new test-taking strategies, he was sure he could manage it. Li Su forced himself to maintain his dignity; he would never admit that it was the farming experience that had dealt him such a blow.

As the family packed up their things to head back for lunch, Li Daping asked, seemingly offhand, "Fourth, are you really going to give up studying and come home to farm with us?"

"I've decided to continue my studies. After the labor just now, and in combination with a book I read before, I’ve come up with some ideas on improving the plough. The improved plough will be lighter and easier to use—one person can pull it. This made me realize how crucial it is to keep studying," Li Su replied, holding his head high and speaking with conviction. If he weren’t covered in mud, he might have sounded even more convincing.

His family paid little attention to the latter part; they saw it merely as Li Su trying to save face. They focused only on the fact that he wanted to continue his studies—some rejoiced, some worried.

Jiang Yu sighed quietly and said nothing more—she hadn't placed much hope in the outcome anyway.

Feng Cui's face lit up with delight. "That's more like it. Come on, let's go home for lunch. I'll ask your second sister-in-law to cook you some rice porridge."

Li Su's excitement faded. More rice porridge? He was about to turn into porridge himself, his mouth nearly tasteless from eating it so often.

A few villagers returning home for lunch passed by. "Oh my, Aunt Feng, your Su boy knows how to work in the fields?" a woman exclaimed in surprise.

Feng Cui forced a smile. "He insisted on trying, so we let him." As if she didn't know what these people said about her family behind their backs.

"Is it true about the improved plough? If it really works, you must let us try it and see for ourselves."

"He’s just saying that."

After the Li family left, the villagers began to whisper among themselves.

"I heard that Su boy has failed several times now and is still only a child student. They used to say he was a prodigy—I thought he'd be something special."

"The Li family used to be one of the better-off families in the village, but now they’re struggling because they have to support Su's studies."

"I heard Su boy got into trouble with some powerful people this time and was beaten up. He probably won’t be able to study anymore, so now he’s farming. That’s how it’ll be from now on."

"He doesn’t know the first thing about farming and yet talks big about improving the plough. What a joke."

Rumors spread quickly throughout the village, growing more outrageous as they went. Soon, people were saying that Li Su had beaten up a rich family’s young master, that he was forbidden from studying, and that the young master had sent people to beat Li Su to death, only for him to survive by sheer luck. Even so, he was still restless, boasting about making a better plough.

When the Li family returned home, Dong Fangfang had already prepared the meal.

This was the first time Li Su had eaten with his whole family since arriving here. For the past few days, while he was recovering from his injuries, his rice porridge had been brought to his room.

Everyone washed their hands and rinsed the mud from their feet in the courtyard before going in to eat.

Li Su cleaned the mud from his body outside and changed into clean clothes before joining them.

Once inside, he noticed that only one bowl held rice porridge; the others had millet gruel. On the table were a plate of stir-fried radish, a bowl of boiled cabbage, and a pitifully small dish of scrambled eggs—placed right next to the bowl of rice porridge.

It was obvious—the rice porridge and eggs were meant for him. And yet, he felt tired of eating porridge…

Three little children eyed the porridge and eggs hungrily, swallowing their saliva.

Li Su wondered how the original owner of this body could so shamelessly believe he deserved all this—the best food, doing nothing in return, always asking the family for money. He was like a parasite.

Thinking about it made him dizzy with worry. If things went on like this, the family would fall apart sooner or later! He didn’t want that. He finally had a family, after all.

He thought his two sisters-in-law were remarkably tolerant, having never demanded to split up the family. But given the state of things, all their money had gone to support his studies. If he quit now, all that investment would be for nothing.

He needed to find a way to make some money. There were plenty of ways in his mind to earn a fortune, but as an ordinary commoner, if he brought out those things, it was questionable whether he could keep them—let alone keep his life.

An innocent man gets into trouble by holding a valuable treasure.

It wasn’t that he wouldn’t use those ideas, but he had to wait until he had power and influence. He needed to be cautious, to act at the right moment, or it would be pure folly.

Oh, that’s right—he remembered that the friend who’d talked him into standing up for himself still owed him a good sum. The original owner hadn’t dared to ask for it, afraid the others wouldn’t befriend him, but Li Su was different! He’d even ask for medical expenses.

Back then, the original owner had been a simple youth, but after going to the city and mixing with "good friends," he’d become someone always asking his family for money, driven by vanity. The silver he asked for was spent not only by himself, but also by that so-called scholar friend.

That person always found excuses to borrow money and never paid it back.

He had been a real sucker.

Once he finished drawing the design for the curved-beam plough, he would go to the private school to get his money back from that friend, then use it to hire a blacksmith to make the new plough, and spend whatever was left to buy some meat for the family.

Who knows, maybe he could even strike a deal with the blacksmith and earn a little extra.

Why not make it himself? This was ancient times—iron was strictly controlled, since it was a key material for weapons. Besides, being able to draw a design and being able to construct it were two different things. Rather than racking his brain, it was better to let professionals handle professional work.

Since he had decided to take the civil service exam, his studies had to become his main focus. For now, studying was his priority.

Li Su planned all this out in his mind as he sat at the table. He took the eggs and gave each of the three hungry little ones a chopstickful, then pushed the dish to the center.

Let family harmony begin—with a plate of eggs.