FIMA Ch50: Get Started

The matter of the Gu family dividing their household still caused some ripples in the village. After all, the Village Chief’s sons were all quite good, and his grandsons were all studying and showed great promise.

Everyone in the village envied this situation, thinking it would continue like this until there were four generations living under one roof.

Although there had been an ugly scene beforehand, dividing the family was something all three branches were happy to see happen, so it was executed very quickly.

Of course, during the specific division of property and land, some friction still arose. Eldest Aunt Li Xiangtao stated that her son was the most promising and would soon become a Xiucai (licensed scholar), at which time he could be exempt from agricultural taxes. Therefore, all the fields should be registered under her family, and her family should also take more silver than the other two branches.

However, the others weren’t fools; would they just let you swallow it all without making you spit it back out?

In the end, under the suppression of the Old Master and Old Madam, they divided things to a number that all branches were barely satisfied with.

Naturally, the lion’s share went to the First Branch, since the two elders would be living with them, and furthermore, Gu Zhen, the eldest grandson, had not yet married. However, the Second and Third Branches each received a few mu of land and several tens of taels of silver.

The Third Aunt was originally quite dissatisfied with this. Her family ran a business and was sensitive to money. Watching over the years, the two elders should have had at least five or six hundred taels of silver in their hands, yet now they only brought out a little over a hundred taels to divide. Needless to say, the rest would definitely be used to secretly subsidize the First Branch in the future.

But regarding the silver, if the two elders said they had it, they had it; if they said they didn’t, they didn’t. Could she really dare to go rummage through their room?

There was also a crucial point: Third Sister-in-law Gu also thought that Gu Zhen of the First Branch was indeed good at studying and might have great prospects in the future, so it was better not to offend them too much.

After the division, Gu San rented out his land to the villagers, and his family hurriedly returned to the county town.

The First and Second Branches still lived in the same courtyard, just not sharing the same stove.

That afternoon, Gu Er built a simple stove on the east side against the wall, and their family of four began cooking there.

Xie Changyue was the happiest about this.

Situations like before, where no matter what you cooked, Li Xiangtao had to poke her head in to take a look and make a sour remark, were truly hard to accept.

Due to being overly excited, Xie Changyue even very generously contributed the two fish he had caught for them to eat.

Meanwhile, over at the First Branch, as soon as evening arrived, the atmosphere became unpleasant.

Before the family division, Li Xiangtao had relied on her status as the eldest sister-in-law to push basically all the kitchen duties onto Mu Xia. Especially whenever Gu Zhen was home for a holiday, she would order him around until he was dizzy, demanding he do this and that.

Now that it was her turn to cook for her family, either the portions were too small, or she put too much salt in the dishes.

Xie Changyue gloated over this for a while.

However, soon everyone had no free time to focus on this, because the autumn harvest had begun.

This was also the reason the academy placed the Winter Clothing Break in September: to free up time so peasant students could conveniently return home to help out.

On this day, just as a sliver of light appeared on the horizon, Gu Siyuan got up.

He rummaged through the cabinet and found a grey short jacket and black trousers. However, they probably hadn’t been worn in a long time; once on his body, the trouser legs were actually a section too short.

Still, it wasn’t enough to hinder major matters.

Gu Siyuan took out some hemp rope, bent down, and tied off the bottoms of both trouser legs.

Lying in bed, Xie Changyue groggily opened his eyes and saw his husband in an outfit completely different from his usual scholar’s long robe, widening his eyes in surprise.

“Husband…”

Hearing the sound, Gu Siyuan turned his head to look at him: “You woke up very early.”

Xie Changyue giggled: “Husband, you look so heroic like this today, I really like it too.”

Gu Siyuan walked over to the bed, bent down, and kissed his forehead: “I’m going down to the fields today, be good at home.”

“Ah…” Xie Changyue sat up with a whoosh and said loudly: “I’m going too.”

Gu Siyuan pulled him into his arms and frightened him: “There are lots of bugs in the fields.”

Xie Changyue giggled: “Husband, you forgot, I also farm. There were bugs on the corn, and I caught them. I’m not afraid of bugs.”

As he spoke, he pinched his two slender, white fingers together, making a gesture of squishing a bug.

At the same time, he made pfft… splat… sound effects with his mouth: “I’ve also stomped a lot of bugs to death, they squirt juice.”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

This was the person who, when he had nothing to do, would pitifully complain and then throw himself into his arms…

He narrowed his eyes and continued: “I’m going down to the paddy fields. There are leeches in the paddy fields; they’re different from other bugs. They’ll crawl up your ankles and trouser legs, wrap around your entire calf, and then start sucking your blood…”

“Really…” Xie Changyue gave a full-body shudder.

Okay, bugs were indeed different from other bugs. Leeches were definitely the most terrifying kind of bug in the world.

Seeing this, Gu Siyuan’s thin lips curled slightly. He rubbed his head and said: “Just work at home with Papa. If you have nothing to do later, you can bring us some water and food.”

“Okay, I’ll definitely go,” Xie Changyue immediately responded loudly, as if he had accepted some grand task.

When Gu Siyuan pushed the door open, he saw his father washing his face at the doorway.

Gu Er looked up slightly, saw his attire, and paused: “You’re…”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained characteristically cold and stern: “I’m going down to the fields with you.”

Gu Er’s heart felt warm, but he firmly shook his head: “No need. Our family has six mu of land; even though there’s only me, it’s still less than my share before the family split. I’ll be done after a few days of work. You are a scholar, how can you go down to the fields?”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged: “The academy gave us a holiday precisely so we could help with the work at home.” After speaking, ignoring his father’s reaction, he went straight into the kitchen to fetch hot water.

Gu Er stood in place and smiled.

After eating breakfast, the father and son headed out carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, holding sickles and straw ropes.

The fields were not far outside the village, about a four or five-minute walk away.

In their Northern region, they planted two seasons of wheat a year. Now was precisely the harvesting season for spring wheat. Looking out, as far as the eye could see, there were golden ears of wheat, magnificent and passionate; even the air drifting by carried a faint fragrance of wheat.

However, all beautiful scenery lost its meaning before sweat and toil.

Although September was not as scorching hot as mid-summer.

However, bending over continuously under the twenty-plus degree sun still left his entire body soaked in sweat. Coupled with the sticky wheat chaff, his body felt both itchy and painful.

After reaping for an unknown amount of time, Gu Siyuan took the wet towel draped under his straw hat and wiped his face, which was covered in sweat and red from being pricked by the wheat ears.

This wet towel was actually a little trick for working. Draped under the straw hat and blocking the sides of the cheeks, it prevented the sharp wheat ears from scratching the face and neck, or even poking the eyes, when bending over.

However, this also had limited effect; wheat chaff still flew over from the front from time to time.

Fortunately, in his own original life, he had also grown up in a small mountain village and was somewhat familiar with farm work; otherwise, it would have been truly agonizing.

It was a good thing he hadn’t let Xie Changyue tag along just now. With his delicate skin and tender flesh, he probably would have lost a layer of skin.

After sighing with emotion, Gu Siyuan looked again at the wheat stalks he had just cut in his hand, touched the shriveled wheat ears, and frowned slightly once more.

In modern times, the yield of wheat had already reached nearly a thousand catties per mu. But here, the yield of a single season of wheat couldn’t even exceed two hundred catties per mu; the gap was truly too large.

This forced ordinary peasants to rush about their entire lives just for a full stomach, yet often fail to achieve it.

Thinking of this, Gu Siyuan turned his head slightly to look at his father. He was a microcosm of countless farmers today.

Not far in front of him, Gu Er seemed to sense something. He immediately set down the wheat stalks in his hand, straightened his back, turned around, and smiled: “Really not bad. For a scholar who hasn’t really worked in the fields on regular days, I didn’t expect you could do it so well.”

“Father has worked hard.” Gu Siyuan shook his head faintly.

A smile rose on Gu Er’s flushed face, but he didn’t know how to respond.

The two bent over and reaped for a while longer, leaving neat rows of wheat stalks on the ridges behind them.

Right then, Gu Siyuan heard the familiar, crisp calling voice: “Husband…”

Holding his sickle, he quickly walked over to the shade of a large tree on the field ridge and responded loudly: “Over here.”

He was tall, and after calling out a few more times and turning his head, Xie Changyue saw him. He hurriedly skipped over, carrying a basket.

However, right as he was getting close, he tripped over a small mound of dirt and practically lunged forward.

Gu Siyuan quickly tossed aside his sickle, took a step forward, and caught the person in his arms.

Xie Changyue wasn’t panicked at all; instead, he beamed with joy: “Husband is so amazing.”

Gu Siyuan wiped the wheat chaff off his hands before raising one to pinch his chin. With a cold and stern face, he said: “There are lots of wild grasses and vines in the field. You’re not allowed to run too fast; what if you fell?”

Xie Changyue wasn’t afraid of him at all. Hugging his waist, he smiled smugly: “I know Husband will catch me.”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

This was truly becoming spoiled and demanding due to favor!

Setting down the basket in his hand, Xie Changyue presented it like a treasure: “Papa had me bring cold tea water, as well as a few autumn pears, eggs, and fried pumpkin pancakes.”

Hearing him list them off like a menu, Gu Siyuan smiled: “It’s actually more sumptuous than breakfast. Go call Father over.”

Xie Changyue giggled twice, stood at the head of the ridge, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled loudly: “Father.”

Gu Er responded, set down his sickle, and walked over. He sat on a rock to the side to rest and drink water.

Xie Changyue peeled an egg and held it to Gu Siyuan’s mouth.

Gu Siyuan was indeed hungry. While eating, he accidentally licked Xie Changyue’s slender, white fingers. The warm and soft sensation was distinctly different, so he gave it a gentle bite.

“Ah…” Xie Changyue retracted his hand, hid it behind his back, and began to smile mysteriously.

Gu Er was entirely accustomed to the intimacy between his son and son-in-law.

After eating, the three continued to rest under the shade of the tree.

Xie Changyue’s eyes darted around. Suddenly remembering something, he glared at Gu Siyuan angrily: “Husband, you lied to me. This isn’t a paddy field at all! You’re cutting wheat, there are no leeches.”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged: “There are. We have one mu of paddy field. We’ll go there after finishing cutting the wheat.”

Since Wuqing County was situated at the confluence of several rivers and was close to the Grand Canal, compared to other places in the North, paddy fields did exist, they were just very rare.

Xie Changyue wasn’t listening anymore. He reached out and hugged Gu Siyuan’s arm, saying sweetly: “Husband, I understand. I know you couldn’t bear for me to go down to the fields and work.”

Gu Siyuan reached out and pinched his fair, tender cheek, his gaze slightly cold. Being intentionally angry just a moment ago—he really knew how to act coquettishly.

Xie Changyue slowly opened his mouth, bit down on the thumb pressing against his lips, and gave it a gentle lick, smiling with extreme smugness.

Tsk, selling what he just learned.

After delivering the food, Xie Changyue didn’t go straight back.

He carried the small bamboo basket Gu Siyuan had brought earlier on his back, following behind Gu Siyuan and Gu Er, picking up the wheat ears that had fallen on the ground to save them the trouble of having to look back while cutting.

By noon, the sun was completely directly overhead. Gu Er stopped his movements, turned around, and smiled: “Let’s go back and eat. Two people working is indeed much faster. I originally thought the autumn harvest would take about ten days to finish; looking at it now, five days should be about right.”

Xie Changyue happily flattered him: “Husband is so capable. Not only is he amazing at reading and writing, he’s also amazing at working in the fields.”

Meeting his father-in-law’s teasing gaze, he thought for a moment and added: “Father is also very capable.”

Gu Er was used to this by now and even joked back: “Then your husband is still more amazing. I don’t even know how to write.”

Xie Changyue blushed in embarrassment.

Looking at his flushed little husband, boundless tender affection rose in Gu Siyuan’s heart. His large hand gently held onto his, and they walked toward the field ridge.

Gu Er walked faster than them, leading the way far ahead, completely ignoring what the young couple was doing behind him.

After turning onto another large field ridge, the path was lined with large trees on both sides, offering a stretch of cool shade, and they could smell the aroma of food wafting from the village.

The group quickened their pace. Just as they were about to turn the corner onto the village road, the three of them happened to run straight into the three from the First Branch.

Although the family had divided, the two families’ wheat fields were quite close, so running into each other was also to be expected.

Those working in the fields for the First Branch were Old Master Gu and Eldest Uncle Gu. Li Xiangtao didn’t have a sickle but carried a basket on her back; it seemed she, like Xie Changyue, was here to pick up wheat ears while delivering water.

Seeing Gu Siyuan, Old Master Gu paused before asking: “Why is A’Yang working in the fields too?”

A smile blossomed on Gu Er’s face, and he replied: “The child is filial. The academy gave him a holiday, so he followed me down to the fields.”

Hearing these words, Li Xiangtao felt uncomfortable, as if he were implying her Zhen-er wasn’t filial.

She curled her lip and said directly: “Tch, before the family split, I never saw him working in the fields.”

As soon as her voice fell, she looked up and saw Xie Changyue glaring fiercely at her.

Her arrogance immediately surged a few notches: “Hmph, and here I thought he actually came to work. It’s really just to earn a good reputation for filial piety; in reality, he just changed locations to be intimate with his husband.”

“Eldest Aunt certainly knows a lot. It seems you’re still just as interested in your nephew’s private affairs,” Gu Siyuan raised his eyes and shot her a light glance.

His tone sounded utterly calm and rippleless, yet it wasn’t hard to glimpse the deeply hidden violent storm within.

Li Xiangtao shrank back.

Eldest Uncle Gu’s face also looked ugly. Having his wife spoken of by his nephew with such nonsense was no different from pointing at his nose and cursing him.

Seeing this scene, Old Master Gu’s tone also lowered a few notches. He scolded coldly: “Yang-er, you are a scholar, how dare you spout such nonsense to outsiders? Stop thinking about working in the fields and put more of your mind on your studies to earn a scholarly honor early. That is true filial piety to your father.”

Gu Siyuan nodded dismissively: “Oh.”

Believing she had gained the Old Master’s support, Li Xiangtao immediately took advantage of the situation and chimed in like a petty person: “Yes! Just like our Zhen-er. He doesn’t engage in this superficial vanity; he studies hard at home every day. He has already passed the Tongsheng exam, and when he passes the Xiucai exam next year and exempts the family from land taxes and corvée labor, that will be true filial piety.”

Hearing this, Gu Er’s expression turned unsightly, and he said faintly: “The child is grown and has his own ideas. Sister-in-law need not worry.”

Gu Siyuan suddenly looked at Li Xiangtao again and asked softly: “Is Eldest Cousin studying at home right now?”

Li Xiangtao nodded without hesitation, her tone smug: “Of course! My Zhen-er is not only smart but also diligent. Unlike some people, hmph…”

Gu Siyuan nodded and responded: “Oh…”

He dragged out the syllable quite long. It didn’t sound like his usual cold and indifferent tone when speaking; rather, it felt a bit like when Xie Changyue was being mischievous and acting coquettishly.

Right at this moment, some commotion came from the small mountain path behind them.

The woods over here in Huangyang Village were dense and dark, and ordinary people didn’t dare go up. The group looked over with some curiosity, wanting to see who was so bold.

With a sound of trampling branches, several young men in matching attire jumped down from the mountain path. Subsequently, three or four more people walked out one after another.

It was none other than Shen Changhuan, Gu Zhen, and their group.

Gu Siyuan shot a glance at Shen Changhuan. So it was starting from this time that he helped Xiao Jingchuan and the Fourth Prince raise private troops. No wonder he suddenly made a trip back to Huangyang Village out of nowhere.

To actually prepare to do so in the mountain forests of Huangyang Village—he truly didn’t take the lives of the villagers seriously at all!

Both Shen Changhuan and Gu Zhen had close ties to Huangyang Village. Once this matter was exposed, the entire village could be implicated as accomplices; this was a grave crime punishable by clan extermination.

Seeing the newcomers, Li Xiangtao’s expression changed several times before she hurriedly took a few steps forward: “Zhen-er, why did you go up the mountain out of nowhere? The mountains are very dangerous.”

Gu Zhen hadn’t expected to run into his family head-on either. He simply prevaricated: “Changhuan hadn’t returned to the village in a long time, so he wanted to go up and take a look. We brought guards with us, so nothing will happen.”

“I… I see, oh…” Li Xiangtao responded, but her face looked a bit ugly. Because of the incident that day, she wasn’t as eager toward Shen Changhuan anymore.

Of course, more importantly, the words she had just spoken with such certainty in front of Gu Siyuan were instantly slapped back in her face by her most beloved son…

“Haha… haha… so funny!”

A crisp laughter echoed across the quiet village road and field ridges, even startling the birds resting on the branches into flight.

Xie Changyue was never one to swallow his anger. Seeing Li Xiangtao’s expression as if she had eaten a bug, he directly burst into uncontrollable, mocking laughter: “So this is what it means to be ‘so diligent’ and ‘so filial.’ Then my husband certainly cannot compare, hahaha…”

Li Xiangtao, who was always thick-skinned, flushed red.

Gu Er, who was usually a steady and honest person, also couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He glanced at his father and elder brother, then turned directly and took large strides toward the village.

Gu Siyuan’s expression was cold and stern, as if everything had nothing to do with him. Holding Xie Changyue’s hand, he leisurely followed his father’s pace.

Gu Zhen looked at the noticeably ugly expressions of the three people from his family, then at the elegant retreating backs of Gu Yang’s group. He roughly figured that his sudden appearance had caused some awkward joke.

Such awkwardness seemed to always befall him ever since Gu Yang got married…

It truly made one feel uncomfortable.

Gu Siyuan wasn’t clear on what happened afterward, but the next day, Gu Zhen followed Shen Changhuan and left Huangyang Village early.

The First Branch also spent some copper coins to hire a few families in the village with less land to help harvest the wheat.

As for the work of harvesting wheat, Gu Siyuan became more proficient the longer he did it. By the end, he was even much faster than Gu Er.

Gu Er also gained a new understanding of his son’s capability.

Just as estimated on the first day, the two of them spent four days harvesting all the wheat from the five mu of land and hauling it back home.

They spent another day harvesting the rice from the one mu of paddy field, totaling exactly five days.

Next was to wait for the wheat and rice to dry in the sun, after which it had to be threshed.

In another day, Gu Siyuan’s Winter Clothing Break would end, and he would return to the academy to continue his studies.

On this final day, he intended to finish up the last bit of the autumn harvest work.

It was precisely because he had personally experienced this hardship that he hoped even more everyone could relax a little bit as much as possible.

He walked out the door and looked at Gu Er, who was drying the wheat: “Father, do you know any familiar blacksmiths?”

Gu Er stopped his movements: “There’s one surnamed Zhu in Plum Village.”

Gu Er possessed many hand skills; not only could he weave rattan, but he also usually did carpentry to supplement the household income. Since most furniture required iron for fastening, he naturally had a good relationship with the blacksmith.

Gu Siyuan handed over a piece of paper: “Father, could I trouble you to make a trip and ask Uncle Zhu to forge these items?”

Gu Er looked at the drawing on the paper and muttered to himself: “These fine iron hooks are easy to forge, it’s just that the quantity is a bit large. What do you need sixty of them for? This round thing next to it looks like a wheel bearing, just bigger and with teeth…”

Gu Siyuan said flatly: “To use for making a threshing machine.”

Gu Er stared: “What is a threshing machine? Sounds like it’s for threshing grain; is it better than a threshing bed?”

Gu Siyuan smiled: “More than ten times less effort.”

Gu Er stood up with a whoosh, tucked the blueprint into his shirt, and beamed: “Alright, wait here. I’ll go find your Uncle Zhu to forge them right now.”

It was probably the first time that blacksmith had made such a bearing. Coupled with the fact that it required a considerable amount of iron, which needed to be registered and reported to the county office, it wasn’t until the night of the third day after Gu Siyuan returned to the academy that Gu Er excitedly returned with a basket of fine iron hooks and two bearings.

Gu Siyuan didn’t delay, immediately starting to work on it with Gu Er.

Of course, he primarily directed, while his father did the hands-on carpentry work.

What he wanted to make was a treadle-operated threshing machine.

The principle was similar to a bicycle: using small bearings under the foot pedals to drive a large roller to spin rapidly.

The large roller was a cylindrical drum enclosed by spaced wooden boards, with its surface evenly studded with curved fine iron hooks. When the large roller spun at high speed, a person would hold mature rice or wheat and place it on top. The reversed hooks would continuously and rapidly scrape through the rice or wheat ears, thereby achieving effortless threshing.

The main thing for this item was understanding the principle and making the bearings; the carpentry was secondary.

Staying up until midnight, the finished threshing machine was officially completed.

Gu Siyuan immediately tested it. Stepping lightly on the pedal a few times, the large roller spun rapidly, the reversed hooks scraped past, and in almost the blink of an eye, a handful of wheat was effortlessly threshed.

The threshed wheat kernels splashed onto the faces of Gu Er and Mu Xia, who were watching, but neither felt pain—only boundless pleasant surprise.

“My goodness, this is too fast.”

“It’s like a dream. Who would believe it without seeing it with their own eyes…”

In the past, they would thresh on a threshing bed, holding a handful of grain and fiercely smashing it down with great force. Repeating this over a dozen times would roughly clean one handful.

However, usually after half a day of this, their arms would be unbearably sore; this was a hundred times more exhausting than harvesting wheat.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have imagined there was such an effortless method in the world.

Gu Er hurriedly pushed forward, shoved his son aside, sat down behind the threshing machine himself, and grabbed handful after handful of wheat to try it out, growing happier the more he tried.

At this speed, the autumn harvest that usually cost them half their lives could probably be nearly finished in just half a day more.

Xie Changyue’s eyes were full of stars as he looked worshipfully at his husband: “Husband, what are we going to do with this threshing machine? Should we sell it to earn silver, or…”

Gu Siyuan shook his head and said faintly: “All living beings suffer. It is currently the autumn harvest season; it’s better to report it to the local magistrate so that more people can benefit from it!”

Xie Changyue’s eyes grew even brighter, and he nodded deeply: “Husband deeply feels Father’s hardship in farming. To express a filial son’s heart, you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into developing this item, allowing all farmers under heaven to benefit. You are truly an exemplar for all sons, and an exemplar for all scholars under heaven.”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

Although spreading his name was indeed one of his goals, his little husband truly deserved to be the one who understood him best—a top-tier competitor in blowing rainbow farts (flattery).

After Gu Siyuan explained the key points to Gu Er, Gu Er spent an entire night overcoming a commoner’s fear of high officials.

Then, bright and early the next morning, he went to find Old Master Gu. The Old Master was both their elder and the Village Chief of Huangyang Village; the task of going to the county office to report the threshing machine required him to take the lead.

Whether it was the emergence of such a tool beneficial to the people under his jurisdiction, or the emergence of such a filial scholar, for the county magistrate, it was a major, outstanding political achievement worthy of being sung about.

Thus, when Gu Siyuan returned from the academy one day, a crowd of people was gathered outside the Gu family’s green brick courtyard.

Upon seeing him, the villagers happily called out: “He’s back, Young Lad Yang is back!”

“Truly incredible, to actually be able to make such an amazing thing!”

“Gu Er is truly blessed to have a son like this!”

Gu Siyuan bowed to the crowd and continued walking into his home without looking sideways.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw an unfamiliar middle-aged scholar sitting inside, talking with Old Master Gu and his father. There were also several armored guards drinking tea. Beside them was an object covered in bright red cloth, which looked like a plaque.

In addition to them, there were also several elders with white hair or beards. From the original owner’s memory, he recognized them as several clan elders of their Gu clan.

When Gu Er raised his eyes and saw Gu Siyuan, he immediately said to the middle-aged scholar beside him: “Advisor Lu, this is this lowly one’s only son, Gu Yang.”

Advisor Lu immediately stood up with a smile: “A man of striking appearance, as expected!”

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged; he merely cupped his hands and bowed slightly, carrying himself with natural grace.

Advisor Lu nodded, viewing him with even more respect. Unmoved by fame and fortune at such a young age, he was bound to achieve great things in the future. Thus, he began to praise him for having the demeanor of a great family, and for truly being worthy of the “Loyal and Filial Heritage” personally bestowed by the Prefect.

Gu Siyuan thought to himself: This plaque wasn’t actually bestowed by the Wuqing County Magistrate, but by the Prefect of Tongzhou. That was truly fast.

He was not a pedantic person either. Hearing this, he responded with a few words about the county magistrate’s effective education and enlightenment.

Next, amidst the sound of firecrackers, the plaque reading “Loyal and Filial Heritage” was hung in the Gu family’s ancestral hall.

Naturally, Old Master Gu couldn’t have become Village Chief by his own power alone. The Gu clan was the largest clan in Huangyang Village. Therefore, this glory obtained by Gu Yang didn’t just belong to the Gu family, but to the entire Gu clan.

Gu Siyuan didn’t mind this at all, especially after learning that the county magistrate had rewarded him personally with one hundred taels of silver and renamed the threshing machine the “Filial Son Machine.”

However, Old Master Gu’s emotions were complex. This threshing machine was created by Gu Yang after the family division, and he always felt a bit uncomfortable about it in his heart.

When Li Xiangtao saw Gu Siyuan, her expression was even more indescribable. She wanted to say some sour words, but it was clear she had been lectured by the family and could only leave with a huff.

She was probably just waiting for her son to become successful in the future so she could hold her head high again.

The news of this Filial Son Threshing Machine spread extremely fast, disseminating throughout all of Wuqing County and Tongzhou almost in an instant.

For scholars in this era, reputation was extremely important.

And within that reputation, loyalty and filial piety were naturally paramount.

In the imperial examinations, when the educational commissioner determined the exam rankings, they would also consider the current reputation of the student.

Since Gu Siyuan had already decided to aim for the Xiao Sanyuan (ranking first in all three local exams), having a good reputation first was naturally very necessary.

The next day, after Gu Siyuan returned to the Anping Academy.

After inspecting his policy essay, Master Chen also took the initiative to ask him about this matter, and afterward praised him greatly for it.

The Juren Qi of the academy also met with him and encouraged him to study earnestly.

His classmates even became more enthusiastic toward him because of this.

At noon, when Wang Xu sat across from him to eat as usual, he also sighed slightly: “I don’t even understand where you squeeze the time out from. During a ten-day Winter Clothing Break, you not only wrote ten excellent policy essays, finished copying nine volumes of the Complete Compendium of the Book of Documents, and went to the fields to harvest wheat, but you also came up with this amazing threshing machine thing.”

Gu Siyuan shot a glance at him and said flatly: “You’re mistaken.”

Wang Xu raised a brow with interest: “What, did you write the policy essays beforehand?”

Gu Siyuan shook his head: “The threshing machine wasn’t made during the Winter Clothing Break; it was made a few days ago.”

“…” Wang Xu.

You’re so precise.

But it’s unnecessary.

Wang Xu looked at him again and said mysteriously: “But speaking of which, when you have such a good thing, there’s no need to report it to the county magistrate. With layers of benefits stripped away from the Central Secretariat to the Ministry of Revenue, and then to Tongzhou, by the time it reaches you, it’s just a hundred taels of silver and a broken plaque. What does that count for? You might as well have just told me directly; I guarantee I could get it to reach the Emperor’s ears and secure even greater benefits for you.”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

You are a scholar, mind your words.

However, this viewpoint happened to coincide with his own. Gu Siyuan cleared his throat and said faintly: “This is a small thing, there was no need to trouble you. But in the near future, I will probably truly need your help.”

Wang Xu smiled excitedly: “Oh, then I certainly won’t decline.”

Time spent studying always passes the fastest.

From deep autumn to white snow everywhere, it passed in a mere flash.

The academy was on holiday again, this time for the New Year, and the very last day of the year had arrived.

This was also the first time their family of four celebrated the New Year together. Gu Er and Mu Xia were older and went to rest early.

They left Gu Siyuan and Xie Changyue to keep watch for the New Year. By midnight, Xie Changyue was so sleepy he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but he still stubbornly held on.

It wasn’t until he heard the sound of the night watchman’s clapper that he suddenly jumped up, hugged Gu Siyuan, and said loudly: “Husband, I hope we stay this good forever and ever, and you must always, always love me and treat me this well.”

Gu Siyuan complained in exasperation: “Truly uncultured.”

Rolling his eyes, Xie Changyue angrily opened his mouth to bite him: “When I was in the capital, I was quite famous for my talent…”

Gu Siyuan scooped the person up into his arms.

Xie Changyue had always been afraid of the cold. Dressed round and chubby in the winter, his hands and feet were already clumsy. Trapped like this, he struggled in his arms like a little white bear, but couldn’t break free no matter what.

Finding it amusing, Gu Siyuan hoisted the person onto his shoulder and walked toward the bedroom.

On his shoulder, Xie Changyue yelled angrily: “I will really get angry, I’m telling you, Gu Yang.”

Gu Siyuan’s voice was faint: “Is that so? I’m so scared.”

Xie Changyue grew even angrier: “Your attitude is not right. Gu Yang, has your love for me faded because my looks have declined?”

“So your looks have declined…” Gu Siyuan’s leisurely, deep voice drifted out softly.

Xie Changyue was furious: “I’m really angry now, you won’t be able to coax me back… Mmph…”

However, this angry voice quickly faded into faint panting and moaning.

In the end, Gu Siyuan felt a slight tinge of regret. It was a pity that because they stayed up for the New Year, the hour had passed.

Otherwise, perhaps they could have done it continuously from last year into this year.

Once New Year’s Eve passed, the Lantern Festival flew by in a flash. There were still dim, cold winds and fog in heaven and earth, while the plum blossoms within the walls of the County School were still in full bloom.

Registration and verification for the County Exam began.

Not long after, on the morning of the eighteenth day of the second lunar month, Gu Siyuan stood in the long line of candidates outside the County School, beginning the very first imperial examination of his life.

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