Chapter 1027 - 1029 Unexpected Past_1
Bai Fu was not a native of Back Mountain Village; shortly after his marriage, with his wife and newly born eldest daughter in tow, he left Maple Leaves Village and settled down in Back Mountain Village.
The reason was simple: since childhood, he always had everything he wanted, like calling the wind and summoning the rain, because he was the firstborn son of his family and the only child allowed to study. His father was a merchant who had made a bit of money and wished for their family to become an Agricultural and Scholarly Family, with hopes of having an officer among their ranks. Unfortunately, Bai’s journey in academia halted at the level of Scholar.
He felt that it was because he had failed the Imperial Examination that the Family did not allow him to become the clan leader, instead handing the position to his worthless brother who could only scrabble in the earth for food. Out of indignation, he moved to Maple Leaves Village.
In the following years, his eldest son was born, and he even tried to take the Imperial Examination again, but to no avail...
However, during that examination trip, he befriended a good friend with the same surname. The man’s name was Bai Yuanqing, who was even two years his junior and possessed an exceptionally delicate appearance. He once felt rather emotional that others had such scholarly names while his own, Bai Fu, clearly indicated his father’s lack of education.
The two of them traveled together and even shared a Guest room. Bai Yuanqing was very generous, taking the initiative to pay the room fee and sparing Bai Fu the worry— regrettably, both of them failed the examination later.
Afterwards, they each returned to their own homes, and perhaps due to the blow of failing the examination, they didn’t stay in touch much, only agreeing to take the examination together again in three years.
Time quickly passed, and two years later, Bai Fu’s wife, Liu Family, became pregnant. He originally thought his second son was about to be born, but it turned out to be a crying girl who sounded like a kitten, and the baby only lived for two days.
He didn’t feel much regret, for after all, a girl could not study or do much farm work, and in the future, she would require a dowry as well. It was Liu Family who was devastated, crying and lamenting every day that because she hadn’t eaten well during pregnancy and the family was so poor, the child died shortly after birth.
Bai Fu was also very annoyed, knowing that by the time the examination came, he would probably not be able to scrape together enough provisions and would have to shamelessly borrow from relatives in the Family.
It was on this night that Bai Yuanqing suddenly paid a visit, cradling a tiny Baby in his arms, clearly a newborn only a few days old.
At the moment, Bai Fu was surprised and moved to pat him on the shoulder, but the other man hastily stepped back, saying, "Don’t come near me, I’ve contracted Tuberculosis, I don’t want to pass the illness to you!"
Bai Fu was startled and stopped in his tracks, while Liu Family, upon hearing the commotion, came out from the house, looking at Bai Yuanqing with a guarded expression.
"You’re still recovering from childbirth, go back inside and rest, don’t hang around here," Bai Fu said to Liu Family, turning his head in displeasure.
Reluctantly, Liu Family went back inside, but her ears were perked up, straining to listen.
"Brother Fu, I come to you with an unreasonable request; my wife had complications during childbirth, dying after delivering the child, and with my Tuberculosis, the doctor says I won’t live past a month. I don’t dare to care much for the child, for fear of passing the illness to him. As you know, I have some discord with the Family, so I had no choice but to turn to you," Bai Yuanqing said, his face filled with shame.
Bai Fu stiffened. He intended to refuse. What was the situation in his household, where his own family could barely survive? How could he take in another child to raise?
At that moment, Bai Yuanqing pulled out a stack of silver banknotes from his bosom and placed them on the table nearby. Bai Fu glanced at them, and they were all banknotes with a face value of a hundred taels of silver!
"I have a thousand taels of silver here," said Bai Yuanqing. "Half is for Brother Fu and sister-in-law as a reward for your troubles, and the other half is for the child’s education. Brother Fu, you are a scholar, and I trust you to raise the child. Make sure he achieves more than I ever did. When he manages to pass the Imperial Examination, then you can tell him his true identity and see if he wishes to acknowledge his kin. If he never becomes a scholar, let him be your son for life and never let him know of my existence."
Bai Fu’s eyes heated up as he stared at the banknotes—a thousand taels! A peasant family could live for a year on just twenty or so taels. With this money, he wouldn’t have to worry about pursuing his examinations or the child’s education.
"Who, who exactly are you?" he asked with a stammer. How could an ordinary person produce such a large sum of money all at once?
"Don’t ask too much," Bai Yuanqing replied, "this money is obtained honorably, rest assured. Take this token; if the child passes the Imperial Examination, then you can give it to him." Bai Yuanqing looked at the tiny child in his arms with unspeakable reluctance. "I hope he grows up with grand ambitions. Let’s name him Yihong."
Thus, Bai Fu’s third child who died at birth became Bai Yihong. No one knew he was not born to the Liu Family, nor that the Liu’s original child had already passed away.
That very night, Bai Yuanqing left and never appeared again, nor did he send any letters to Bai Fu. Bai Fu suspected that he must have succumbed to his illness not long after.
The days in Bai Fu’s household improved significantly because of that unexpected money. Bai Fu bought several more plots of land; of course, he didn’t farm them himself but rented them out instead. The rent was enough to support his family. He went on to take the examinations with ease but, unfortunately, his knowledge was limited, and he failed to pass.
Five or six years later, his eldest son, Bai Yibo, was already nine years old, could read quite a few texts, and was a smart and clever child. He also began teaching Bai Yihong how to read and write. Whether it was because one finds his own child’s attributes preferable, or because Bai Yihong indeed had duller aptitudes, Bai Fu always felt that Bai Yihong couldn’t compare to his son, finding him much slower in learning.
He attempted the examinations several times over the years without success, and that money had also diminished substantially. So, when Bai Yihong was ten years old, Bai Fu still couldn’t bring himself to send him to study in town.
He would remember his friend’s trust, but he always found himself tight on funds and thought of waiting a bit longer, or he would reason that the child was a bit slow, better taught by him than attending the Private School in town where he might not keep up. Why waste the money needlessly?
So, procrastinating became the norm, and Bai Yihong’s formal education gradually ceased. With his strong physique and willingness to work, he quickly took on many household chores, and his study time was greatly reduced. Later, he started working the land with the experienced farmers of the Village, learning how to farm, quickly taking on field work, and having even less time to study.
Naturally, Farming Own Land was more profitable than renting it out, so Bai Fu certainly wouldn’t stop Bai Yihong from farming and even spent the following decades treating Bai Yihong like a beast of burden.
As time passed, Bai Fu grew accustomed to the arrangement and the initial worries in his heart faded. As Liu suggested, raising the boy to adulthood was the greatest kindness he could offer. He shouldn’t have any further expectations.
Eventually, Bai Yibo passed the examination to become a Scholar, and Bai Fu, overjoyed, shifted all his attention to his own son, neglecting Bai Yihong even more. When it came time for Bai Yibo to marry, in order to find him a wife from a decent family in town, Bai Fu even sold the token given by Bai Yuanqing to gather enough money for a dowry.