After indulging in a little quiet satisfaction, Yi Shuyuan set down his brush and noticed that neither man beside him had reacted. The County Registrar, in particular, was staring at the writing as though lost in a trance.
"County Registrar, would you say my handwriting passes muster?"
Yi Shuyuan already knew the answer. He had some eye for calligraphy, after all. If even this failed to pass muster, the county office might as well stop recruiting altogether.
"County Registrar?"
"Ah? Oh, yes, yes! Splendid writing, truly splendid! May I ask your name, sir?"
As he spoke, the County Registrar actually came out from behind his desk and walked over specifically to cup his hands in greeting before Yi Shuyuan. A little nervous, Yi Shuyuan promptly returned the salute and answered.
"My name is Yi Shuyuan. My ancestral home is here in Yuanjiang County, and I only recently returned."
So he was indeed from elsewhere. The County Registrar had never heard the name Yi Shuyuan, but that hardly mattered. All he knew was that calling this man's skill in calligraphy "not to be underestimated" would fall far short of the mark. Afraid of losing the opportunity now that it was within reach, he ventured a question.
"Mr. Yi, surely you haven't come to make sport of me? Do you truly intend to take this clerical post?"
Now Yi Shuyuan was puzzled. Was this job like signing himself into bondage-easy to enter, impossible to leave? He cautiously asked,
"County Registrar, is this a post one may enter but never leave?"
"How could that be? I merely fear that, should you become an official someday, others might look down on you for it."
Yi Shuyuan relaxed. As though he feared being looked down upon! Lately, he had all but been treated like a performing monkey or a peep-show curiosity. An easy smile spread across his face. Officialdom was far beyond his reach, anyway, and the competition in the imperial examinations was terrifying.
"You worry too much, Chief Clerk. I've always been easygoing and accustomed to my freedom. I have no intention of becoming an official."
Hearing this, the County Registrar decided not to press further. Naturally, he sincerely hoped Yi Shuyuan would stay. He nodded and prepared to draw up the written agreement.
The document amounted to a contract, and its terms were by no means harsh to Yi Shuyuan. When he mentioned that he lived in West River Village and that traveling back and forth would be inconvenient, the County Registrar immediately added a clause providing accommodation at the county office. He even included bedding, taking every possible care to demonstrate his sincerity.
After reading through all the terms, Yi Shuyuan entered West River Village as his current residence and signed his name.
"Then we shall be honored to have you! Shall I send someone to West River Village in two days to fetch you and help bring your luggage?"
"No need for the trouble. I'll travel light; there's little I need to bring."
"In that case, I, Wu Minggao, shall await your arrival here!"
The County Registrar relaxed somewhat and gave his name outright. Yi Shuyuan likewise breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Yi Shuyuan and the County Registrar then exchanged salutes, and the attendant led him out along the way he had come. He was to report here in two days, when his work would formally begin.
Yi Shuyuan felt a great weight lift from his heart. He had not expected to find a suitable job so directly today, much less one that would help him escape a rather bothersome environment. As for explaining things when he returned, he need only invoke the county office.
Inside the office, the County Registrar saw Yi Shuyuan off with a smile. Once he could no longer see his departing figure from the doorway, he sprang back to his desk in a single bound. Carefully picking up the sheet of rice paper, he admired the calligraphy, then hastily set it back down for fear that the still-wet ink might run and leaned close to examine it.
Much calligraphy required close study before its mastery became apparent, but these words possessed a subtle spirit even at first glance. That was the hardest thing of all to achieve. Whether they could rival the great masters of antiquity remained uncertain, but given time, his accomplishments would surely be beyond imagining.
"Wonderful calligraphy, wonderful poetry! To attain such mastery at so young an age! He will surely become a great master of his generation, his name known throughout the world!"
The County Registrar murmured to himself as he carefully waited for the ink on the rice paper to dry completely. This sheet, of course, would be mounted and kept in his private collection. His salary as County Registrar could hardly buy him an authentic work by a celebrated master.
"Oh dear, I forgot to ask Mr. Yi to sign it! Still, the days ahead are long. There will be other chances."
While the County Registrar was still secretly rejoicing, Yi Shuyuan had just cupped his hands to bid farewell to the two attendants outside the county office. A man sweating profusely with anxiety finally spotted him and rushed over, heedless of the fact that this was the county office.
"Uncle! Uncle, where did you go? I was worried sick!"
Yi Shuyuan strode over and gave Yi Yong'an a glare. The latter immediately lowered his voice and hurried along beside him, ingratiatingly offering an oil-paper parcel containing several steaming buns.
"Try these, Uncle! They're from Tongxin Pavilion, with meat and vegetable filling!"
Yi Shuyuan made no ceremony of it. He reached out, took one, and bit into it. With hunger lending its aid, the bun tasted exceptionally delicious, and he finished it in a few bites.
"Next time, I'll treat you to some proper hearty dishes at Tongxin Pavilion!"
Having painted that tempting promise, Yi Shuyuan reached for another bun and began eating. There had only been three to begin with; the rest of their lunch consisted of the coarse steamed buns they had brought themselves. Seeing this, Yi Yong'an hurriedly grabbed the last one.
"Mmm, delicious! By the way, Uncle, what were you doing in the county office?"
"I found a job to earn a little money. I have hands and feet, after all. I can't expect your family to keep supporting me, can I?"
They talked as they walked, already heading home. Yi Shuyuan glanced back and saw that the two attendants seemed to be watching him from afar as well.
Toward evening, faint flames still burned in the stove beside the counter in the Yi family's kitchen. The dining table had been set in this relatively warm room, where an oil lamp provided light, its flame flickering now and then.
"What? Brother, you're going to work as a clerk at the county office? That's so far from home!"
Yi Baokang was still staring in astonishment when his wife stepped on his toes beneath the table and smiled at Yi Shuyuan.
"It's a good thing for you to find work, Brother! By the way, how much will the county office pay you?"
While their elders spoke, Yi Yong'an, his wife, and their child ate silently beside them, though their ears were tuned to the conversation. Yi Yong'an had asked his uncle earlier, too, but on the road he had merely smiled without saying much.
At Zhao's question, Yi Shuyuan considered his answer and decided not to reveal the full amount. He cut the figure in half before stating it. After all, the County Registrar had said he had secured the highest compensation possible.
"For writing at least two thousand words a day, I'll receive one dou and five sheng of rice, paid in copper coins at the market rate."
Compiling the county gazetteer naturally involved far more than copying. He would have to consult old records, add new information, organize and categorize it, and enter it all into volumes, among other things. But Yi Shuyuan explained it in terms everyone at the table could understand.
"One dou and five sheng of rice!" "One dou and five..."
Yi Baokang's wife, Zhao, exclaimed in surprise. This was white rice, not millet or anything of the sort. At current rice prices, it would amount to seventy or eighty copper coins at the very least-a considerable sum for country farmers.
Farming households had grain but little cash. Even when someone came to buy grain, they would not press the price down hard in the countryside.
Yi Yong'an and his wife could not help whispering to each other as well.
"That much!" "How much money is that?"
"Nearly a hundred copper coins, surely!" "All that in one day?"
Yi Yong'an had only steeled himself to buy those buns from Tongxin Pavilion because he seldom visited town more than a few times a year, and even those had cost just nine copper coins. Three coins would buy a bowl of plain noodle soup.
Only the child, whose bottom kept rocking about on the seat like a wheel, had no idea what the adults were making such a fuss over.
Zhao's face wreathed itself in smiles. She nudged Yi Baokang twice with her foot, but when he said nothing, she spoke up herself, her happy expression immediately turning into one of sighing sorrow.
"Ah, you really are capable, Brother. It's been so hard for us all these years, caring for Father and Mother in their old age and seeing them through to the end. Mother was ill for years before she passed and kept calling for you. If only you'd come home sooner!"
Never before had Zhao addressed him as "Brother" with such warmth and sincerity.
Everyone could hear what lay beneath Zhao's words. Yi Baokang's weathered face was about to flush red, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Yi Shuyuan forestalled him.
"Don't worry, Sister-in-law. As the elder brother, I will certainly make up for my absence all these years. Let's eat."
As he spoke, Yi Shuyuan patted Yi Baokang's shoulder and picked up his chopsticks. Even the few pickled vegetables and radishes tasted delicious to him, and he ate with greater ease than on any previous day here. How could he fail to understand the little calculations in Zhao's heart?
"Don't just stare. Eat!" "Oh, yes, yes!"
"Brother, you should have this egg."
Zhao made a show of offering him the sole boiled egg, but to her surprise, Yi Shuyuan accepted without the slightest refusal. He tapped it twice against the corner of the table-crack, crack-and began peeling it.
Once he had peeled the egg, Yi Shuyuan glanced at Zhao and shook his head with a smile, then placed it in the child's bowl.
He shoveled the last mouthful of rice into his mouth, then rose and left the table, while even Zhao looked a little embarrassed.
That night, Yi Shuyuan fell asleep with an easy heart. His livelihood was settled for the time being, sweeping away more than half the troubles of life in this world.
But after waking in the latter half of the night, Yi Shuyuan found it difficult to sleep again. His immediate worries had eased somewhat, only for homesickness to descend upon him. His future remained shrouded in uncertainty. How should I live this life? He also felt the same faint apprehension he had experienced when first looking for work in his previous life.
Yi Shuyuan's thoughts kept reaching farther. This world was so vast that he had no idea where its boundaries lay, and so unfamiliar that he had no idea what awaited beyond his surroundings.
That strange snake must have been a monster, right? If monsters truly existed, then what about ghosts, gods, immortals, and buddhas?
Yi Shuyuan felt torn. On the one hand, he hoped they existed-few people could entirely resist longing for such things. On the other, he hoped they did not, because their existence would mean uncertainty and danger.
Unfortunately, martial arts would be difficult to learn. From what he had gleaned through roundabout questions to A Fei, Yi Shuyuan had already passed the proper age to begin training.
Before you continue