Chapter 40: The Loyal Servant

At this moment, Fan Jin had only one thought in mind: A thousand feet of the Peach Blossom Pool cannot compare to the money Master Jingzhai gave to me.

Since he had already accepted the generous gift from gentry member Zhang, it was naturally difficult to decline the gift from gentry member Zhou.

Fortunately, the gift from gentry member Zhou was not overly extravagant, meeting the standard of reciprocal courtesy without leaving him indebted for a personal favor.

"Well, the two of you, no matter how far we travel together, a parting is inevitable. Let us say goodbye here. Next year, we shall drink wine and laugh together once more—would that not be one of life's greatest joys!"

The sea breeze brushed his face, fluttering Fan Jin's meticulously neat hair wildly. His wide sleeves billowed like snapping flags, and as his black-booted feet stepped briskly onto the ferry, he offered this parting advice instinctively.

Both gentry members Zhang and Zhou wore expressions of reluctance, sighing leisurely, "Very well. We sincerely wish Elder Brother Fan smooth sailing in your scholarly pursuits, soaring upward like a great roc riding the winds for ten thousand miles, and spreading your wings like a colossal kun across a thousand miles of drifting snow!"

With that, the two men watched as Fan Jin and his entourage boarded the ferry, gazing after them from afar.

When the steamship had drifted far into the distance, looking like a single lonely leaf or a mere grain of sand in the vast sea, gentry member Zhou hesitated slightly before speaking, "Brother Zhang, that jade embryo..."

That was by no means something Zhang Jingzhai had casually stumbled upon in his early years; it was clearly a treasured heirloom passed down through the Zhang family for a hundred years!

In earlier days, he had once asked to take a look at it, but Zhang Jingzhai had hidden it away like a precious jewel, rarely willing to show it to anyone.

Yet who would have thought he would actually present such an item to Fan Jin today!

Fan Jin was an elderly man well past fifty when he finally passed the provincial imperial examination. Zhou simply could not comprehend why Zhang Jingzhai was so confident in Fan Jin, seemingly certain that he would place high in the upcoming imperial examination.

Hearing this, Zhang Jingzhai stroked his beard slightly and smiled without a word.

Only after being pressed repeatedly did he slowly counter-question, "In Brother Zhou's opinion, what is Elder Brother Fan's literary talent like?"

Gentry member Zhou was taken aback, stammering, "If we speak solely of the Eight-Legged Essay, you and I are far from his equal. He might well be called a top-tier talent of our times."

Pausing for a moment, he added, "However, in this day and age, men of talent are as numerous as carp crossing a river, yet those who languish in obscurity and never find their ambitions fulfilled are also not in the minority."

Zhang Jingzhai refuted, "Elder Brother Fan is different from you and me; he is definitely not a creature of a pond. Having spent decades studying by a cold window in bitter hardship, the moment he encounters wind and clouds, he will transform into a dragon."

"Whether it is Provincial Examiner Zhou or Magistrate Tang of Gaoyao County, who among them does not feel inferior upon reading Elder Brother Fan's essays?"

With Provincial Examiner Zhou as his backing and having secured a connection with the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel, as long as nothing went wrong, ascending to the Third Rank and securing the status of a Tong Jinshi would not be difficult.

Should fortune favor him, achieving the Second or First Rank was not entirely out of the question.

To take a step back, even a Third Rank Tong Jinshi was an existence far beyond what they could ever hope to reach in this lifetime.

Zhang Jingzhai knew his own limitations when it came to scholarly aptitude; no matter how persistently he tried, it would merely be wasted effort and a futile drain on his spirit.

Therefore, he had long since extinguished any ambitions regarding the imperial examinations, focusing entirely on cultivating relationships with officials and nurturing younger generations in order to maintain the immense wealth and prosperity of the Zhang family.

After listening to this, gentry member Zhou remained silent for a long time before finally raising his sleeve and saying, "Brother Jingzhai, Xuecheng has been enlightened!"

As he spoke, a deep sense of regret filled his heart for not rushing to offer goodwill the moment Fan Jin passed the provincial examination, thus missing the opportunity to provide timely assistance when it mattered most.

Fan Jin, who had already boarded the ship and traveled far away, knew nothing of the thoughts running through the two men's minds. At this moment, he was seated inside the cabin, with a small square table before him holding a bowl of warmed yellow wine and a small dish of spiced fennel beans.

In his left hand, Fan Jin held a copy of Master Zhu's Annotations, while his right hand ground the inkstone. After pondering for a long time, he slowly lowered his brush.

The original owner's mastery of the Eight-Legged Essay was already extraordinary, and he naturally had no intention of abandoning this greatest advantage.

Whether he could pass the metropolitan examination in one stroke depended entirely on this.

After the space of an hour or so, the steward lifted the curtain and walked in carrying a food box, "Master, it is already noon. Concubine Qinghe was worried your body might not hold up, so she specially had the ship's cook prepare some food for you. Would you like to partake?"

Just at that moment, Fan Jin had finished his essay. He slowly laid down his brush and stretched his somewhat sore arm, "Very well, let us eat first."

Upon these words, Steward Fu immediately cleared away the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the table, and arranged the dishes from the food box one by one onto the small square table.

"Has Uncle Fu eaten yet? Why not sit down together and make do with some?" Fan Jin asked casually.

Uncle Fu hurriedly refused, "Master, you are overworking this humble servant!"

Hearing this, Fan Jin did not insist further.

Choosing Uncle Fu as a steward meant he must have investigated him beforehand; he certainly did not want those around him to harbor too many hidden schemes.

"By the way, Uncle Fu, I heard you still have a son studying at the academy?" After finishing his meal, Fan Jin wiped his hands, took a sip of tea, and spoke as if mentioning it casually.

Hearing Fan Jin bring it up of his own accord, the wrinkles on Uncle Fu's face instantly bloomed like a chrysanthemum, and his desire to talk surged, "My little boy, Guowei, lost his mother when he was three years old. I acted as both father and mother, bringing him up with my own hands."

"This child has loved reading since he was small. Before he was even as tall as the table, he would sit properly in a chair writing and drawing, getting ink all over his face while smiling happily..."

Speaking of Guowei's childhood, a blissful smile involuntarily appeared on Uncle Fu's face. No matter how bitter or exhausting his own life was, as long as his son made progress and amounted to something, even the bitterest days would carry a touch of sweetness.

"How pitiful are the hearts of parents everywhere!" Fan Jin sighed, involuntarily thinking of his own mother.

Fan Jin's father had passed away when he was thirteen, and it was his mother who single-handedly supported him, enabling Fan Jin to be free from manual labor and devote his heart and soul to studying classics, growing old over books for the greater part of his life.

"When the child grows up, things will get better. If he achieves an official rank, Uncle Fu, you will become a master yourself in the future and can simply sit back and enjoy the blessings!" Fan Jin said politely.

These words were hardly false. In feudal dynasties, there were plenty of examples of being a farmer in the morning and ascending to the Son of Heaven's hall by evening.

It was much like in fantasy novels, where the protagonist falls off a cliff and magically acquires a divine martial art, becoming a top-tier figure in the world within a short span of time.

Joy bloomed even brighter on Uncle Fu's face as he waved his hands repeatedly, "What talk of masters is this? I only hope he makes progress and doesn't end up like me, living a truly decent life—that would be enough!"

Despite saying this, the bright gleam in Uncle Fu's eyes could not be concealed no matter what.

Having been a servant all his life, who wouldn't want to turn the tables one day and become a master envied by all?

Without exposing him, Fan Jin pondered for a long time before saying, "How about this: if Guowei manages to pass the prefectural examination, I will write a recommendation letter to the prefectural academy later and see if we can get Guowei admitted to study there!"

To attain an official degree, one first had to pass three hurdles: the county, prefectural, and academy examinations. Passing these three major hurdles conferred the status of a Xiucai scholar.

If Uncle Fu's son could pass the prefectural examination, he certainly wouldn't mind doing a favor to completely win over Uncle Fu's loyalty, ensuring the man would serve him wholeheartedly.

Hearing Fan Jin's promise, Uncle Fu trembled with excitement, dropped to his knees with a thud, and kowtowed, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

Fan Jin smiled, not rushing to help him up, "If there is an opportunity in the future, bring Guowei before me so I may have a look at him..."