Furnishing the house was a bit of a hassle.

Back when their home was cramped, their lack of possessions wasn’t so obvious. But now, with six new tile-roofed rooms, the house felt quite bare.

Since the rooms were all partitioned into front and back sections, effectively creating eight rooms in total. Juhua and her brother’s rooms had nothing in them but their beds. The rooms facing the backyard were even emptier, without so much as a bed, holding only some odds and ends.

Qingmu smiled. "We’re not trying to show off to anyone, so why furnish it so completely? From now on, we can just get things as we need them. One step at a time."

Juhua nodded. ’Empty is fine for now,’ she thought. ’We’ll get more things when we have money. We can’t afford to spend any more right now.’ Building the house had cost thirty taels of silver, and Yang Family was still heartbroken over the expense.

So, she helped her brother make his bed neat and comfortable, refilling his pillow with fresh, soft wild chrysanthemums. She had Zheng Changhe make a simple bamboo bookshelf and sent Qingmu to Li the carpenter’s to order a desk.

"It doesn’t need to be high-quality wood, just make sure it’s planed smooth. Otherwise, it won’t do for you to always be studying at the dining table. This is one expense we shouldn’t skimp on."

Yang Family agreed when she heard. She was always willing to spend money on her son’s education.

Thus, Qingmu went and had Li the carpenter make a desk and a chair.

With these new additions, Qingmu’s room, though still simple, felt warm and inviting. He smiled happily at Juhua and told her he loved it.

As for Juhua’s own room, it was mostly filled with all sorts of small baskets and bamboo tools. Her father had woven them, so they didn’t cost any money.

Zheng Changhe made all the other miscellaneous household items—small stools, baskets woven from bamboo strips, and storage chests—himself. As long as they were functional, that was all that mattered.

Their home was gradually taking shape.

Back in the village, Li Gengtian had arranged for the village elders to plant acorns with Zhang Huai and Qingmu. He rented two mu of the Zheng Family’s land by the mountain to use as a nursery, and other villagers also sorted through their acorns and contributed some for seed.

According to those who had paid close attention, the acorns were supposed to sprout the following spring. So, following Qingmu’s instructions, everyone planted a portion of them deep and another portion shallow. They would compare the germination rates come springtime.

However, they were all veteran farmers. Based on experience, they felt that even the deep-planted seeds shouldn’t be buried too deep, or it would hinder their sprouting.

Juhua also secretly planted some in their backyard as an experiment. She even selected some seeds and stored them in the root cellar, planning to soak them in warm water for a day next spring before planting to see how that would work.

In the heart of late autumn, when the frost lay heavy on the ground, a joyous event took place in Qingnan Village: the village chief’s son, Li Changfeng, had passed the county examination and become a Scholar. He returned home with his younger brother, Li Changyu, who had unfortunately failed.

Qingnan Village erupted with excitement.

A Scholar! In the eyes of the villagers, that was an incredible, highly respected title. You could tell just from the reverence they showed Mr. Zhou.

Li Changfeng had become a Scholar at such a young age! In the future, he might even become a scholar, or a Champion Scholar!

Of course, they had only heard about these things from educated folk like Zhang Huai and Qingmu. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known what the next level, ’scholar,’ even was. They did, however, know of the Champion Scholar—that was the most amazing of all.

The simple-hearted villagers believed that with a Scholar from their own village, if he became an official one day, the entire village would bask in his reflected glory.

Everyone was beaming with joy, and they flocked to the Li home to offer their congratulations.

Li Gengtian himself was overjoyed, so happy he’d wake up laughing in his sleep.

He threw a day-long banquet, inviting relatives, friends, and fellow villagers to feast.

There were so many people that the young men, like Qingmu, Zhang Huai, and Li Changxing, all went to lend a hand. Plenty of the village wives were helping with the cooking, too. The boisterous celebration could be heard all the way over at Little Qing Mountain.

Juhua was delighted as well.

She truly hoped Li Changfeng would become an official someday. It would surely bring some benefits to Qinghui County, and especially to Qingnan Village. And if he became a high-ranking official, well, that would be even better.

Yang Family was drying acorns when she heard the sounds from the village. She smiled and said, "This must be a huge relief for your Uncle Li. His eldest is a Scholar, and the younger one won’t be far behind. Your Aunt Fang is truly fortunate."

Juhua smiled without a word. ’Aunt Fang is certainly fortunate,’ she thought, ’but even though Li Changfeng won’t be farming anymore, he’s just started down a different, arduous path in life. That path won’t necessarily be any easier than farming.’

As mother and daughter were talking and laughing, Black Dog suddenly started barking at someone outside the courtyard.

Juhua peeked out and saw that it was Little Shitou and his mother. Shitou’s mother was also carrying her baby daughter.

She quickly invited them in, taking the little baby from her arms as she did, and beamed down at the infant with a happy smile.