Chapter Nine: The Harvest

After having gone to bed early, on the following day after Lu Yun left for school, Lu Ying continued her calligraphy. By the time it was nearly the end of classes, she had written fifteen more characters.

At dismissal, the entrance to the school was bustling with students coming and going. The gate had not yet opened, but Lu Ying had already chosen a spot by the entrance to sit down. On the cloth she spread out, twenty-three bamboo slips were neatly arranged.

As a chorus of raucous voices echoed from within the academy, Lu Ying stood up and called out in her clear, cool voice, "Characters for sale! One coin per character!"

Lu Ying's features were exquisitely refined, and as she stood in the spring breeze, her slender figure was as graceful as a willow swaying in the wind. Even in silence, she could catch the eye of any youth. Now, as she made her call, a swarm of curious boys quickly gathered around her.

A tall, thin youth stared at Lu Ying, mesmerized. Seeing that she paid him no mind, he was the first to speak up, "Greetings, miss. Did you just say you are selling characters? Can characters truly be sold?"

"Of course," Lu Ying replied, picking up a bamboo slip inscribed with the character 'Righteousness' and handing it to him with a gentle smile. "Please, have a look."

The youth took the slip, glanced down, and gave a little exclamation before squatting to sift through the selection. Others followed suit, and soon three or four boys were rummaging through the bamboo slips. A boy of about ten cried out in delight, "I know this character! We just learned it—it’s 'Hao.'” He picked up the slip and recited, “Sun above, sky below, that is 'Hao.' Hao means great, profound, and may also be a surname."

Seeing the boy so obviously tempted, Lu Ying raised her voice, laughter ringing clear, "Gentlemen, have you felt it yourselves? The characters you remember so well in the daylight are all forgotten after a night's sleep. Over and over, how much time is wasted! But if you had one of these bamboo slips at home to review at will, how could you forget? Today, I counted them: there are only a few hundred commonly used characters. That means, for just a few hundred coins, you could read all the classics of the land!"

Her words struck a chord, and after a lively discussion, the boys began buying. Those who could afford to attend school would not begrudge a handful of coins, so before long, Lu Ying's twenty-three bamboo slips had all been traded for twenty-three five-zhu coins.

She reflected that a month’s embroidery would earn her no more than this. Weighing the heavy coins in her hand, Lu Ying could not help but beam with delight. In her happiness, she failed to notice her younger brother hiding in the distance, keeping out of sight.

Lu Yun had never expected his sister to come sell characters at the school gate. Hmph, tomorrow there would surely be hordes of classmates pestering him for news of his sister.

After selling all the bamboo slips, two more boys approached Lu Ying to reserve some for the following day. After a moment’s thought, Lu Ying made her way through the crowd to catch up with several teachers striding away.

A while later, Lu Yun approached his sister from behind, face flushed, his voice gruff with embarrassment. "Sister, why did you talk to the teachers?"

Lu Ying turned to see him and smiled gently. "I wanted to ask them which characters would be taught tomorrow. That way, I can write the ones you all are learning each day to sell." Her eyes sparkled as she continued, "Do you know, Ah Yun, just how much this helps you?"

"Helps me?" Lu Yun’s eyes widened in surprise.

Lu Ying’s expression became serious. She lowered her voice and said, "You understand, though I am selling characters, I am also solving puzzles for others. Moreover, your explanations are included on the slips. Imagine, Ah Yun, one day if these bamboo slips bearing your annotations reach the hands of the great scholars, will they not praise your interpretations and your desire to enlighten the world?"

Since the current emperor rose to power with the support of many powerful merchants, the times had changed since the Western Han. Merchants were now numerous, and even many officials engaged in trade. Nowadays, profit was on everyone’s lips, and it was only natural for scholars to pursue both fame and fortune. Thus, no one would accuse Lu Ying and her brother of being tainted by greed; their work would be judged on its merits alone.

As she spoke, Lu Ying’s eyes glimmered with determination. Just as her third aunt and the others believed, with neither wealth, influence, nor kin to rely on, if her brother was to be noticed by great scholars and rise above the rest, she must find a new path. Selling characters was one such path she had chosen.

From then on, the siblings made selling characters their livelihood. As Lu Ying had said, with only a few hundred common characters to master, once they were learned thoroughly, no classic would be beyond their reach.

Her words even inspired some noble families, and before long, several clans had compiled similar character dictionaries to guide their newly initiated children. Of course, such families would not compete with Lu Ying for a few coins, and as for smaller households wishing to do so, they lacked the siblings’ rich collection of books.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. With a steady income and daily immersion in the classics, the siblings no longer worried about food and clothing, and their learning progressed swiftly.

One day, just after Lu Ying had sold the day’s bamboo slips and was walking leisurely down the street, a donkey cart approached from ahead.

In a cloud of dust, the cart halted beside her. Then, a clear, familiar male voice called out, "A-Ying."

It was Zeng Lang!

Lu Ying slowly raised her head.

Meeting her gaze, Zeng Lang’s handsome face broke into a smile. He looked at her gently, his heart quickening: in just over twenty days apart, A-Ying had grown even more beautiful. His eyes drifted to her chest, musing privately: she’s becoming more shapely too.

With the siblings eating and sleeping well, and growing quickly at their age, such changes were only natural.

Faced with Zeng Lang’s gentle yet self-assured, affectionate yet proud demeanor, Lu Ying curved her lips in a faint smile. "Congratulations, Zeng Lang. Has your father been promoted?"

Zeng Lang started in surprise. "How did you know?"

Following her gaze to the donkey cart, he understood and smiled with satisfaction. Raising his voice, he announced, "A-Ying, my father has been officially appointed as Commandant." With that, he glanced around, chin lifted.

So his father had not previously held the commandant's rank. Lu Ying's lips twitched with a faint smile. "Congratulations, Zeng Lang!"

Catching the coolness in her tone, Zeng Lang frowned slightly and sighed inwardly: A-Ying is still naïve, she doesn’t understand what it means to be Commandant. Ah Yin was different—she had been overjoyed at the news.

After a moment’s thought, Zeng Lang decided to forgive Lu Ying’s ignorance. He softened his tone. "A-Ying, my father is on his way home. He’ll be back soon." Gazing at her face, now flushed and healthy, he bent down and offered his hand. "Come, I’ll give you a ride."

Lu Ying took a step back, smiling politely, "That won’t be necessary."

Rejected, Zeng Lang frowned again. Suddenly recalling something, he jumped off the cart and approached her, speaking earnestly, "A-Ying, I heard from Ah Yin that you were rude to your third aunt and were expelled from the Ping household?" Pressing his lips together, he said with great seriousness, "That is not good. Be good—go to the Ping household tomorrow and kneel before your aunt to apologize."

Seeing Lu Ying lower her head in silence, Zeng Lang spoke again, with a hint of exasperation, "A-Ying, your parents are gone. The only thing you have to your name is your status as a cousin of the Ping family. If you offend your third aunt, you’re cutting off your own future. Listen to me: go and apologize tomorrow. If she ignores you, kneel until she forgives you."