Going to the County Seat

Waking up early because Sun Shan insisted on accompanying Sun Bomin to the county seat, Sun Shan was promptly caught, washed up, and made to eat breakfast.

Mrs. Huang said with deep concern, "Go early and return early, buy what you need and come straight back."

Ordinarily, they would rarely let the grandson leave the village. Bomin had only this single precious heir, so he had to be raised with the utmost care.

Mrs. Su also instructed from the side, "Master, after buying the school supplies in the county seat, buy a strip of pork and bring it back so we can cook it for Shanzhu to take with him tomorrow."

Since Shanzhu would not be coming home for lunch, Mrs. Su planned to make the midday meal more bountiful, with both meat and vegetables.

Studying required mental effort, so he needed proper nourishment.

Sun Bomin hoisted a large bamboo basket onto his back, took Sun Shan by the hand, and smiled as he said, "Understood, we'll start early and return early."

Passing by the third uncle's house, Sun Bomin called out, "Third Brother, hurry out, it's time to go."

Before the Third Uncle could emerge, Little De came bounding out eagerly, shouting happily, "Big Uncle, Shanzhu, you're here! I've been ready for ages. I wanted to come over and find you long ago, but Dad is just too lazy—humph, he woke up even later than I did."

Sun Bomin patted Little De on his big head and agreed, "Your dad has been like that since he was a child; don't you go copying him."

Little De nodded earnestly and said, "Of course not. Eldest Aunt always says I'm nothing like Dad, that I'm much more promising than him."

Oh dear, he was about to keep going.

Little De was cut short when the Third Uncle, rushing out hurriedly, gave him a solid knock on the head that raised a huge bump, just like Shin-chan.

The Third Uncle scolded angrily, "You little rascal, how dare you badmouth your old man? See if I don't give you a thrashing."

Third Aunt, who followed them out, hurriedly pulled Little De over, greeted Sun Bomin, and urged anxiously, "Master, hurry and set off with Big Brother. Go early and come back early; it gets dark fast."

The New Year had just passed, spring had not yet arrived, and the weather remained quite cold.

Sun Bomin and the Third Uncle set off, dragging Sun Shan and Little De along.

To get from Sun Family Village to the county seat, one had to skirt around two mountains just to reach the township.

From the township, it was another full two-hour walk to the county seat.

Therefore, the journey from Sun Family Village to the county seat took at least four hours of walking. Unless there were special circumstances, villagers never went to the county seat.

Halfway through the journey, the short and skinny Sun Shan could no longer endure it. Sun Bomin smiled and said, "I told you not to tag along, feeling miserable now, aren't you?"

With that, he placed Shanzhu into the bamboo basket and hoisted it onto his back. Fortunately, his son was not heavy, so it posed no problem for Sun Bomin.

Glancing at the bouncing Little De, Sun Bomin said with envy, "Little De is truly impressive; he's been walking for so long and still has boundless energy."

Little De, distracted by the roadside flowers and plants, grinned and said, "Big Uncle, I eat a lot, so my body is naturally strong."

That was true. Sun Shan had a small appetite—a single bowl was plenty for him. Little De, on the other hand, normally polished off two bowls, and when he encountered something delicious, three or four bowls were no match for him.

He had grown tall, robust, and sturdy, making him a favorite among the village elders.

The Third Uncle exaggerated, "Humph, eating so much every day, you're going to eat us out of house and home."

As he spoke, he began to air his grievances once again, focusing mainly on how his three boys were all bottomless pits. A huge pot of rice would vanish completely, yet they would still claim they weren't full.

He and Mrs. Zheng lacked capability and couldn't make much money. In the future, when the boys grew up, they would need money for betrothal gifts, and after that, money to support grandchildren.

In short, he rambled on about the heavy financial burdens of the household.

Then, comparing his situation to Sun Bomin's, he expressed envy that his eldest brother had only one son to worry about. As for the girls in the family, marrying them off settled the matter without requiring too much toil.

As he talked on, his envy shifted to the second brother, remarking that Second Brother Dingming was soon going off to work in the prefecture capital, and once he struck it rich, he would likely forget all about his third uncle.

He also praised the second brother's good fortune, noting that his two sons were older than his own three boys, and that the eldest sister would certainly help them out first.

Finally, with a sorrowful tone, he sighed, "Big Brother, my heart is heavy. Eldest Aunt doesn't care for Mrs. Zheng. Will Eldest Aunt forget about my three boys in the future and fail to find them a good path in life?"

Sun Bomin hurriedly comforted him, "What's in the past is in the past. Even if Eldest Aunt doesn't like Mrs. Zheng, Dingguang, Dingyong, and Dingde are still descendants of the Sun family. Eldest Aunt is the most impartial person and treats all the children in the family equally. If she truly disliked your boys, she wouldn't have forked out money for them to study. Third Brother, we must learn to be content. Eldest Aunt has already helped us immensely; without her, we'd struggle just to put food on the table, let alone talk about going to school."

The Third Uncle had originally intended just to vent his frustrations about life to his eldest brother, but as he complained, his genuine feelings poured out. He was truly sad and worried about the future of his boys.

Hearing Sun Bomin's explanation, he felt it made sense. Although Eldest Aunt might not like him or Mrs. Zheng, she paid close attention to Little De and the others.

Whatever the eldest and second brother's families had, his boys had as well.

Thus, comforted, he smiled and said, "Hehe, Big Brother is right after all. I was out of line just now."

Sun Shan sat perched on the basket, listening blankly to the Third Uncle's grievances. Even if the man was usually unreliable, when it came to their children, no parents failed to worry, and the Third Uncle was no exception.

Walking and stopping, eating a little dry rations, and drinking a few sips of water, their legs turned to jelly until they finally reached the gates of Huangyang County City.

As for why they didn't take an ox cart? Firstly, country folk cherished their oxen; apart from farming, they rarely used them.

Secondly, they weren't buying many things. If they drove an ox cart, they would have to find a place to park it, which cost money. Country folk would rather waste physical energy and save wherever they could.

Thirdly, although the road to Huangyang County had been repaired, it was still nothing like modern paved highways. Traveling by ox cart would exhaust both the people and the beast.

Sun Bomin and the others stood at the city gates, lining up to enter. If ordinary commoners came just to stroll around, they needed neither household registration documents nor an entry fee.

If traveling merchants entered to sell goods, they had to pay a tax determined by the size of their cargo.

Of course, if you were a nearby farmer carrying a load of vegetables into the city to sell, you wouldn't be charged.

Huangyang County only levied taxes on bulk goods and merchants with large volumes of items.

The four of them entered the city smoothly. Sun Shan had been to the county seat before.

How should he put it? It was slightly larger than the townships of his previous life, but not prosperous in the least.

Huangyang County was divided into three districts. One centered around the county yamen, where officials and wealthy people lived. Another was where ordinary commoners resided. The third was specifically designated for traveling merchants and street stalls.

If you wanted to buy goods, you went to the East District, which was the place with the most complete selection of commodities in Huangyang County. If you couldn't find what you were looking for there, it truly didn't exist anywhere else.

The "Top Scholar" bookstore was located in the West District, which was the yamen and wealthy residential area.

It was said that the private schools of the two scholars were also located over there.

Scholar Zheng had specifically instructed Sun Bomin to make his purchases there.

The streets of Huangyang County were old and worn, yet reasonably clean. Some grounds were paved with flagstones, while others were simple dirt roads.

Walking on them produced entirely different sensations.

For a remote little county town, this appearance was quite normal. Sun Shan felt that the magistrate of Huangyang County had done his absolute best with the town planning.

Sun Bomin intended to buy the school supplies first before strolling over to the East District.

The four of them passed by the prefectural yamen.

Sun Shan saw two bailiffs dozing off as they sat on the stone steps of the yamen on duty. Glancing again at the yamen itself, it looked quite dilapidated, fully living up to the image of an impoverished county.

Passing the yamen, cutting through a few small alleys, and emerging once more, they reached a slightly broader avenue.

The street was not long—less than fifty meters—but all the shops were open.

There were grain shops, fabric shops, and more.

According to the Third Uncle, the goods sold here were higher-end than those in the East District, affordable generally only by the wealthy families in the county.