This day fell in the peak of midsummer, and the weather was exceptionally scorching.
It hadn't rained for half a month…
Even the early morning, long before noon, was already suffocatingly hot, the intensity of the sun enough to make one's heart race.
In the fields.
A young girl named Xu Xuan'er wiped the sweat from her forehead. Looking at the weeds she had finally finished pulling, she let out a small sigh of relief.
"I finally managed to finish pulling the weeds before the sun got too high…"
Shading her brow, she squinted at the fiery sun and murmured to herself, "Summer this year is truly hot. I hope there isn't a drought. Otherwise, this winter will be hard to endure."
Her family's plot wasn't large, and the grain they produced was meager. After paying taxes, they barely had enough to survive the winter.
Nearby, her father straightened up and massaged his lower back, saying, "Hey, you child, don't jinx us. Although it’s hotter than usual, a drought won't come that easily. After all, our Long County is blessed by Lady Azure Spirit!"
"Lady Azure Spirit…" Xu Xuan'er used a dirty hand to brush a stray hair from her temple. She murmured, "I hope the Goddess continues to protect Long County this year."
"She definitely will. We've had favorable wind and rain for so many years; there's no reason she’d stop now." Xu Xuan'er's father, Xu Chang, smiled and patted her head. "I'm telling you, just a while ago, Lady Azure Spirit helped our Huai County eliminate a great evil!"
"A great evil?"
"Haven't you heard the rumors? They said a man-eating monster appeared on the mountain. Well, just a few days ago, the corpse of that monster appeared right in the temple," Xu Chang laughed. "So don't you worry, Lady Azure Spirit will always watch over us."
Xu Xuan'er curled her lip, not quite believing these tales.
In her view, if Lady Azure Spirit truly protected them, her mother wouldn't have died of illness.
However, she didn't intend to argue with her father, who was a devout believer. Even if she didn't believe it, she couldn't win an argument against him, so she might as well play along.
She nodded dismissively and said, "Yes, yes, she will definitely protect our family."
"Hahaha, that’s the spirit!"
Xu Chang clapped his hands together and glanced at the sky. "Come on. It’s still early. If we head back now, we should make it in time for the opening of Mingyin Hall. I heard that everyone who goes to offer their congratulations today will receive a share of the ‘festive spirit.’ If both of us go, that’s two portions!"
Xu Xuan'er paused, but quickly remembered the event.
The Mingyin Hall her father spoke of was actually a new opera house built recently.
Today was its grand opening. According to the staff, anyone who came to celebrate on opening day would receive a piece of the ‘festive spirit.’
What exactly was this ‘festive spirit’?
To put it simply, it was a red packet.
The amount might not be much…
But even a tiny bit was better than nothing!
Even a single wen could buy a cabbage-filled pancake.
With three wen, one could even buy a solid wheat pancake.
"Is there still time?" Xu Xuan'er asked herself, looking at the sun.
Xu Chang laughed. "What’s there to fear? We’re heading back anyway. If we make it, we get the gift. If we don't, we can still offer our congratulations. Maybe we’ll even get to see a free show."
"It’s good to see the world! When the time comes, I can boast to the neighbors that I'm a man who has sat in an opera house."
"Wow, Father, you’re truly shameless."
Despite her teasing, Xu Xuan'er intended to go. She felt her father had a point.
At the very least, a trip was worth it for that little bit of good luck.
So, the father and daughter quickly packed their tools.
They walked briskly toward the county town.
On the road, Xu Xuan'er looked at her father's silhouette, deep in thought for a long time.
Finally, she spoke up. "Father… I, I want to go attend the female teacher’s classes!"
"The female teacher? You mean that Great Benefactor Su?" Xu Chang was momentarily stunned. He turned around to ask.
Xu Chang had lived in Long County all his life.
He naturally knew who the female teacher his daughter mentioned was.
No one knew where she came from. People only knew she had arrived in the county several years ago and opened a private school.
This school was small, and the fees were minimal…
Only about ten wen a month.
That was the equivalent of three wheat pancakes and one cabbage pancake.
Compared to other private schools in the county, this price was practically charity work.
However… although the fees were low, the number of people willing to send their children was even lower than the cost.
The poor didn't see the use of literacy; they felt farming was more practical and would rather their children work the fields.
Wealthy families, naturally, looked down on such a tiny school. They could afford better teachers.
There was also one crucial reason: the teacher was a woman. This made wealthy families even more reluctant to send their children there.
Because of this… even though Teacher Su kept the school open, students were extremely rare.
But strangely enough, even though the school had so few people and certainly made no profit, Teacher Su managed to keep it running. Even if she was just teaching her own daughter every day.
Oh, right.
The school teacher was apparently a widow.
Xu Chang scratched his head. He didn't quite understand how the minds of those scholars worked, especially the mind of that female teacher. Even if he didn't understand her, it didn't stop him from considering her a truly kind soul. That much was a consensus in town.
"Yes… that female teacher," Xu Xuan'er nodded quickly.
"Child, why the sudden desire to study with her?"
Xu Chang scratched his head, puzzled.
"Besides, studying isn't particularly useful. Without books, we survive just the same. We can figure out how many wen a meal costs. Even if you can't write your name, as long as you can press a thumbprint, that’s enough."
It wasn't that Xu Chang was strictly opposed to his daughter studying, nor was he too poor to support her education. The fee was only ten wen a month, after all. She could come home for meals, too. Practically speaking, it cost almost nothing. He was just confused.
He didn't understand why she had suddenly taken an interest in it.
"The teacher told me… that by studying, one can take the civil exams! One could become a female official! So…"
"But look around the neighboring villages; where do you see any female officials?"
"But… at least if I'm literate, our family won't be cheated by the landlords." Xu Xuan'er hesitated for a long while before finally admitting her true reason.
"You…" Xu Chang let out a long sigh. He didn't agree immediately, nor did he refuse. He simply said, "You have a point. Fine… go follow that teacher for a month and see how it goes. Once you realize how hard studying is, you won't want to go anymore."
"Father… you're agreeing?"
"Why wouldn't I? Do you think your old man is so stingy he wouldn't spend ten wen on you?"
"No… that's not it."
"Alright, stop overthinking." Xu Chang chewed on a stalk of grass, smiling broadly. "But we have a deal. If it doesn't work out after one month, I'm not paying for the second."
"Understood, Father!" Xu Xuan'er beamed instantly, throwing her arms around him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hahaha, alright, alright, watch the road," Xu Chang said with a laugh. "Sigh, you child… when you smile, you look just like your mother."
"Father, do you miss Mother again?"
"Yes. Speaking of which, the Ghost Festival is approaching. When the time comes, let's go visit her grave." Xu Chang smiled and shook his head.
Xu Xuan'er nodded vigorously.
Father and daughter chatted as they walked, and soon arrived in the county seat.
Without even putting their hoes away, they hurried toward the street where Mingyin Hall was located.
The street was a sea of people. From a distance, one could only see a vast, dark mass of bobbing heads.
Clearly, these people were all here to claim a bit of 'bliss' and celebrate the opening.
"Oh my, look at all these people! In all my years, I've never seen such a grand scene for Mingyin Hall."
Looking at the crowd, Xu Chang couldn't help but marvel.
"I wonder if the two of us will actually get any of that bliss."
Seeing the massive crowd, Xu Xuan'er’s heart sank halfway. With so many people, by the time it reached them, there would probably be nothing left.
Still, Xu Chang decided to try his luck. Instead of dragging his daughter into the press of bodies, he handed his farming tools to her and squeezed into the throng alone.
Xu Xuan'er watched her father disappear into the crowd. Looking at the tools in her hands, she decided to sit down on a nearby stone step. It would be a disaster if she accidentally injured someone with a hoe in the middle of that crowd. If she just left them somewhere to join the scramble and they were stolen, that would be even worse. After all, these tools were borrowed from the landlord. If they were lost, they’d have to pay ten times their value in compensation!
Meanwhile.
Upstairs in Mingyin Hall.
A woman in green sat by the window, frowning as she watched the bustling crowd below.
"Are there really this many people today? It seems I underestimated how determined people are to get something for free…"
Su Qing sighed softly and spoke to herself.
She hadn't expected the opening day to be quite this lively. She had assumed there would be some excitement, but it had turned into absolute chaos.
However, she wasn't worried about running out of money. Each red packet contained five wen. A single silver tael was a thousand wen—enough for two hundred people. So money was not the concern.
What truly worried her was whether the overcrowding would lead to accidents. Although she had assigned staff to maintain order, people’s enthusiasm was too high… or rather, their fear of missing out made things chaotic. In this state, a minor disturbance could lead to a stampede.
"Sigh… a miscalculation," Su Qing shook her head, feeling helpless.
She thought her plan was airtight, but in reality, she had been too optimistic about human nature. Fortunately, there were remedies.
Su Qing had already sent someone to bring the authorities. She didn't want them to chase people away, but rather to manage the crowd. People rarely listened to the theater staff, but they were bound to obey the county officials.
As expected, once the officials arrived, order was quickly restored.
The people below became far more organized.
Su Qing rested her chin in her hand, sighing. "In the end, I had to involve the government… then again, perhaps it's because people think a theater troupe is an easy target. Oh well…"
Su Qing shook her head as she watched the now-orderly lines. As she watched, she suddenly spotted a familiar face.
Actually, two.
"Oh, isn't that… that girl is here too? That is truly unexpected." Su Qing gave a helpless smile at the sight of the father and daughter.
Su Qing was somewhat acquainted with them.
After all, Xu Xuan'er’s home was only about a mile away from her nearly empty school. They crossed paths occasionally. Xu Xuan'er was a friendly girl, often praised by her neighbors. Su Qing liked her quite a bit, too. The girl was a quick learner. Once, Su Qing had shown her how to write her own name, and she had mastered the characters in no time.
"What a waste. If she were in my previous world, she’d probably be a straight-A student."
Su Qing shook her head slightly. Unfortunately, the girl lived in this era. Su Qing doubted her father would pay for her education. First, literacy wasn't viewed as useful for farmers; second, she was a girl. Whether her father prioritized the former reason or the latter was unknown.
Turning her gaze back, Su Qing remembered she was currently keeping a low profile. If she could change the child’s destiny naturally, she would be happy to do so, but she didn't intend to force anything. After all, her own capabilities were limited.
"Yudie, the calligraphy I assigned you, how is it going?" Su Qing walked away from the window and turned toward the desk where Su Yudie was writing furiously.
"Almost, almost done." Yudie looked miserable. She asked piteously, "Mother… I'm just a sword spirit. I don't have to perform on stage like the others, and I don't write plays like you. Why do I have to learn this?"
Su Qing walked to her side and said calmly, "Have you forgotten? Right now you are my daughter, not a sword spirit. Therefore, this is what you must learn."
"…But I’m still a sword spirit!"
"Keep writing!"
"Ugh…"
Yudie looked pained, but she lowered her brush and continued practicing. She had been a sword spirit for over a hundred years, but these past few years were easily the most agonizing of her life.
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