Transmigration: The Farm Life of a “Fool”

Guoguo decided not to take the provincial examination for Juren but to go to Beijing with Tangtang instead.

It was at least a month’s ride to get to Beijing from the Xu Village. If Tangtang went there alone, the whole family would be worried about him.

Besides, they had no relatives or friends in the capital. And Tangtang had never been away from his dad or daddy since he was young. The furthest place he had ever been to was to go to the Yanzhou Residence with the whole family.

Therefore, he could not be allowed to go to the capital alone.

Before Guoguo came back, Xu Ran had planned to accompany Tangtang to the capital. Now that Guoguo was back, it was fine for him to leave this job to him. The brothers were good at martial arts and they shouldn’t be bullied thus. And it was also a good practice for them when there was no adults around.

In April of the next year, after they two brothers came back from Beijing, they would go to Yanzhou to receive Guoguo’s spouse and children home. After that, he could also rest for a while.

As for the matter that Tangtang was still not married even though he was the elder brother, Xu Ran felt that he should allow him to handle the matter himself. If he found the right person, he would get married if he liked it. If he couldn’t find the one he loved, he would just be alone. Anyway, Xu Ran felt that he had no objections about this.

It was a long time ago that he discussed with Liu Tong about this kind of matters after their children grew up. Liu Tong used to point it out that he was not like a dad. How could a dad deal with his children like that?

Xu Ran did not take it seriously. He knew such a case as Tangtang’s was normal in modern times. What if Tangtang went away from home because he forced him to get married? Then, he would turn to no one for help. Xu Ran sounded very reasonable and Liu Tong could not refute it. He could only sigh helplessly, instead.

……

When Guoguo returned, the village was bustling with noise and excitement. Soon the village returned to its usual calm. The villagers returned to their normal life. And this peace lasted until the time before the coming of the Spring Festival.

Xu Ran’s family had not enjoyed such a happy reunion on the new year eve for two years, so Xu Ran and the other elders were particularly interested in this coming Spring Festival. Thus special goods for the Spring Festival were to be stored at home early. From Dec. 23rd to the new year’s eve, food for the Spring Festival was being prepared busily.

Liu Tong and Qin Shuwen were responsible for getting the food ready, while the others were responsible for eating and enjoying them.

On the eve of the lunar New Year, Xu Ran invited all the Qin family over. He felt it was not easy for them to come back this year, so they should enjoy the festival together.

The adults at the dinner table were talking about their business, while the children were having their concerns. Those married or unmarried young people also gathered together sharing their topics.

When they heard that Tangtang and Guoguo would go to Beijing for the imperial test after the new year, the adults could not help repeatedly instructing them to be careful. The one who was most repeatedly exhorted was not the protagonist in the test, Tangtang, but Guoguo, who went to Beijing for company only.

Guoguo was quite disturbed by this, but he understood these were the adults’ good intentions. Thus he could only listen to them caefully while keeping on nodding his head to show his agreement and obedience.

However, what made him very unhappy was that he saw his brother sniggering at him by the side….

Guoguo was in despair at that moment. He had hoped that Tangtang could help him get rid of the adults’ gossips.

After lunch, Xu Ran led the team for the New Year’s Eve family dinner. Ever since they left the Xu Village for Yanzhou, they had never enjoyed such an important dinner. After returning from Yanzhou, their families were not united then, so they felt there was no atmosphere for the New Year’s Eve at that time.

This time, however, everyone was home, so it was time for them to enjoy the traditional feast for the the special eve.

This time, there were quite a few children, and they had a long team together. Xu Ran let Tangtang, Guoguo, Baozi, and Qingshu took the lead at the team, and each of them brought a few people to water the fruit trees in the orchards.

It was a new year, and everything should be fine.

……

This Spring Festival passed very quickly. It seemed as though they had only visited a few families and didn’t get many red packets yet, and the festival was over.

To attend the test at the beginning of March, they left in mid-January. They were delayed on the way for a month. When they reached the place, they would find a place to live, find food to eat, familiarize themselves with the environment, and make a few candidates who also came to the Spring Test.

The living cost in the capital could not compared with that at home. Thus Xu Ran gave Tangtang some silver notes of a thousand taels and told him, “You’ll have to save the money you can’t use up.If it’s not enough for you two, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.Anyway, you can’t starve yourself.”

In fact, in any case, one thousand taels of silver should be a large sum. Even in the capital, this sum of money was enough for an ordinary family to live for a lifetime.

Tangtang looked at the silver notes in his hand and said to Xu Ran, “Dad, we can’t spend so much money. A total of 100 taels will be quite enough for us. Guoguo and I will never starve ourselves.”

Xu Ran , however, insisted, “Take it! Money matters when you are out from home. I won’t agree that you will make money on your own this time. It’s important that you won’t suffer any hardship on the journey. Also, remember not to let others bully you. You have to remmeber what Dad has taught you and take care of yourselves, okay? ”

Tangtang nodded, “Dad, I know. Don’t worry. We won’t be bullied.”

Xu Ran patted him on the shoulder, “I am glad if you can take good care of yourselves.”

At last, on January the eighteenth, Tangtang and Guoguo started their trip to the capital city. Hearing that they two were leaving for the imperial examination, all the villagers came to see them off.

There had not been a Xiucai in this village for a long time. Later, Xu Ran got an official title, followed by his two sons. So far, there had been two Xiucais and a  Juren in the village. The villagers estimated that before long, they would have a Gongshi and even a high-ranking official in their village. In this way, they felt more proud and  superior to those living in the neighboring villages.

Of course, neither Tangtang nor Guoguo knew what the villagers were thinking in their minds, but they were still very happy to see them coming.

After bidding farewell, they both finally left home.

The two brothers slowly drove the carriage while sitting out at the door of the carriage talking..

Guoguo asked Tangtang, “Bro, what did Dad tell you before we left? You both looked mysterious.”

Tangtang didn’t try to hide it from Guoguo. He said, “Dad asked me to find someone in the capital if we encounter difficulties. He is the minister from the Ministry of Work. It is said that he is only in his twenties. He used to make a contribution to our uncle’s fief. Dad thinks that this person is a good official as well as a capable person. He thus believes this person can offer us timely help.”

Guoguo waved his hand carelessly, “Dad thinks too much. We will behave ourselves and take our exams peacefully, after which we will come back safe and sound. How can we meet any trouble?”

Tangtang knocked Guoguo on the head, “Are you silly because of these two years’ staying outside? This time, I am going to the Test for Gongshi, the top ten of whom can participate in the Hall Test. Those who pass the Hall Test will get their official positions in the government.

Guoguo thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case. Still he was a little unhappy, “Isn’t it that we’re going to stay there for a long time in this way? If you can become a government official, when can you go back? Dad has planned to go to Yanzhou in April.”

Tangtang shook his head, “I’m not sure about it either. I don’t know what will be going on with the test. I am also not sure whether I’ll be an official in the capital or a local official.”

Seeing that his elder brother was in a difficult situation, Guoguo felt he couldn’t go on talking about the business of Yanzhou. He just said, “Bro, don’t think too much. You can feel free to be a government official or a local one. The Xu Village is not far from the capital. If you are in the capital in the future, Dad and Daddy can come to the capital to stay with you for a few months when they are not busy. Anyway, life will be the same for all us.”

Tangtang nodded, “I don’t know anything yet. Let’s talk about it later! By the way, what about you? You’ve already have your own children, but you can’t stay at home forever! Dad used to say that the family property will belong to Baozi and we’ll have nothing to do with it, if you want to support yourself and your family, you must find something to do.”

Hearing Tangtang’s words, Guoguo was a little embarrassed. He replied frankly,”I don’t have any good idea about it yet. I had planned to go to war after becoming a martial Zhuangyuan. Now that I have married and got children, I want to live a stable life. However, I don’t want to give up my ambition. I reckon that after my spouse and children return home, I will go to the northwest. That place has always been a battlefield and I am sure I can always find myself a place there.”

Tangtang praised, “It’s good that you have your own idea. Dad always encourages us to go forward for our goal. Your spouse and children will surely not be a burden. Just like Daddy and us in our family, Dad has never thought that we are his burden and we shouldn’t have such thoughts.”

Guoguo turned his gaze to the distance far away, “I know and I’ll always remember what Dad has said. I will think about it. Bro, you should think about it too. I am sure we can always think of a suitable method.”

Tangtang nodded and looked in the direction that Guoguo was looking at. There, were endless mountains.

Their carriage slowly moved forward, heading towards the place of dreams, towards the place of hope, and towards the place of love.

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