Chapter 9: CH 9

After Cui Xie was done trying out all of the hard disk’s functions, he reopened 《The Classic of Filial Piety》, he checked for any discrepancies compared to the printed copy in his hands.

See, see, see, see, he suddenly found a problem—

These words, he recognized all of them! And looking at the vertical blocks of texts that were filled with small, cramped handwritten notes in the margins, he suddenly felt that they no longer felt awkward or difficult to read. His speed of reading was not much slower than when he previously used to read simplified Chinese books with horizontal lines of text!

Before he transmigrated, he rarely used or read traditional Chinese characters, and as for the vertical versions of the book, he was even more lazy and reluctant to read such works. How could he suddenly read them so fluently? Could this be the instinctual reflexes of the original body? Even though the body’s spirit and soul had changed, it could still recognize all the words it should know?

Then what about the books that had been memorized before?

Cui Xie was a little bit expectant and was looking forward to it. He closed the PDF file projected in front of him and tried to recall the content of the large characters he had just read: Chapter 1: Setting the Theme and Illuminating Its Meaning. Confucius was at leisure in his home and Master Zeng was attending to him. The Master said, “Do you understand how the former kings were able to use the model of their consummate excellence and their vital way to bring the empire into accord….”

Master Zeng refers to Zeng Zi, one of Confucius’ disciples; presumed editor/author of the Confucian classic, the ‘Great Learning’.

What were the next few lines again?

He opened the book again and passed over a section of text before seeing the small phrase “how the civilians were able to attain harmony”, and the gears in his head turned and he automatically connected and followed it with the subsequent phrase “to live with each other as good neighbors so that those above and below alike did not resent each other”. After recalling a few more memorized phrases, he encountered another missing part and then had to roll his eyes up and ponder over it again before he continued to recite. After rolling his eyes so many times, he finally bumpily stumbled along and finally memorized the book all the way to the end.

It seemed that he had not inherited any memories from the original owner, furthermore, the book had to be memorized by himself.

Fortunately, this body was still 13 or 14-years-old, an age where the brain was the most active and the ability of rote memorization was quite strong. In addition, his soul was already an adult, naturally, his comprehension and concentration would be much better than an ordinary child’s. He had also learned some ancient Chinese when he was younger and memorizing the book went smoothly and without a hitch. Later, if he just followed after Ebbinghaus’ curve* to consolidate the new information a few times and did a few more sets of mock questions, wouldn’t he have firmly memorized all of it?

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve is a psychology theory hypothesized by Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. It hypothesis that over memories of meaningless information is lost shortly after learning and that this ‘forgetting’ initially plunges and then levels-off slowly until it declines until completely forgotten. Constant rehearsal of information will result in better memory retention.

There were only four trunks of reading material and questions from previous years’ exams. In his previous life, he had been learning arithmetic and English since kindergarten; compared to the textbooks, exercise books, and test papers he had used for so many years, these trunks were not any more than that!

Cui Xie encouraged and hyped himself for a while and then shut his eyes to resume memorizing and reciting. He repeated this process two or three more times and after feeling that he was about done, he conjured the PDF file from his sea of consciousness and then concentrated his energy on memorizing and reciting the small commentaries at the end of the main text in the book.

After an unknown amount of time, the main gate suddenly ‘creaked’ and it seemed that someone was talking outside in the outer courtyard, the voice was also quite high-pitched and raised. Cui Xue thought it was Cui Yuan who had returned and thinking of Cui Yuan’s hen-like nagging before he left, Cui Xie quickly threw himself onto the bed. He pulled a quilt over himself and pretended to look like he was obediently resting. He then closed his eyes and continued to memorize the book.

But, the voices outside were getting closer and closer. He gradually realized that it was not Cui Yuan and his son who were back, but was an old married couple talking in his courtyard. Both individuals were quite loud, and their voices poured straight into the room. It seemed like they were talking about him—

“The Cui Family’s old servant only asked us to lend someone to watch their gates to help them look after their little Master. Just picking a nimble and clever servant to come over is enough, but you as an old lady, just why are coming over to see what the Young Master is doing!”

….Could it be that he was so handsome, that even elderly ladies wanted to take a look at him? But usually, those who peeked at the transmigrators were all beautiful little ladies. How come when it came to him, they suddenly became old ladies?

Knowing that it was not Cui Yuan, but rather a neighbor, he pulled down his quilt, the edges of the material overlapping again.

He hurriedly scrambled up and folded up the quilt, hearing the old lady outside shouting: “Little Official Cui is sick in bed, how can a simple servant suffice? I am the Matriarch of the Zhao family and at the time Madam Qian….Old furen also often interacted with me. The matter of me coming to visit the junior official is justified! You haven’t even put on all the newly-made clothes designated to welcome guests and still want to visit others. The other is the incarnation of the Wen Qu constellation*, what words can you, an old village chief, have to say to him!”

Wen Qu Constellation: Wen Qu is a Daoist deity in Chinese mythology, known as the God of Culture and Literature. He is physically represented by the constellation of six stars near the Big Dipper. Those who are born under the Wen Qu Constellation are seen as lucky stars with an affinity/talent for literature and art.

夫人(fū ren): the mistress/wife, also a general term to refer to an official’s wife/madam.

This was the neighbor Cui Yuan entrusted the residence to right? Really…what a refreshing old elder…..

Cui Xie folded the quilt at lightning speed, got up to dust off his clothes, and went out to the courtyard to welcome the guests. In the courtyard, an old married couple was angrily glaring at each other, and two young married women trailed behind them, carrying baskets, kettles, and other baggage in their hands, silently laughing into their sleeves.

Cui Xie quickly rushed down the steps and cupped his hands in greeting: “Greetings to these two elders, this junior is Cui Xie who just moved here today. This junior should have come to visit, but troubled the elders and two older sisters to personally pay a visit instead.”

The two elders immediately stopped quarreling, turning to look at him. The four people’s gazes, eight eyes in total, fell onto him, their eyes shining. However, no one spoke for a long while, their fixated gazes making him feel embarrassed and at a loss. Cui Xie stiffly put down his arms, awkwardly smiled and motioned to the hall, and said, “This is not a convenient place to talk. Elders, please come with me to sit in the hall.”

Landlord Zhao sighed twice as if he had just come back to his senses and twirled his grizzly beard to lament: “As expected of a capital official’s son, with such an outstanding appearance and bearing, there really isn’t a more handsome little junior in the entire county.”

Old Zhao furen was long accustomed to squabbling with her husband, so upon hearing him say this, she subconsciously retorted: “If you don’t know how to speak then don’t open your mouth! What can’t be found in the entire county? Isn’t Official Cui from our county? Although the furen was said to be from the Fucheng county (county in Hebei), she was still our county’s married woman for years. If it was me, I say if it wasn’t for this little official acquiring some of our Qian’an’s feng shui and spiritual influence, how could he have such a  delicate and refined appearance!”

Since she had said the furen had been from Fucheng, then this meant that this old neighbor personally knew the original owner’s biological mother. In the future, he would have to ask about his biological mother and his maternal family’s matters. Cui Xie squinted his eyes and beamed: “Landlord and furen are too polite. We are all neighbors, no need to call Official or Little Official, just Junior Cui Xie is fine. The sun is too strong in the yard, please quickly rest in the hall.”

Landlord Zhao smiled so hard, that all his wrinkles squeezed together and he kept saying: “What Landlord and furen, if Little Xie-ge wants to get closer, just call us Grandpa Zhao and Grandma Zhao.”

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-ge: means older brother but is used as an affectionate endearment this case and the household servants , friends, family refer to the Young Masters of the house by their age, so Cui Xie is the eldest son of the Cui Household

Cui Xie hummed in agreement and invited them into the hall.

At the time when Wang xiucai canceled his lease on the residence on account of the calamitous flooding, he had been embarrassingly short of money, so he left a portion of the tables and chairs he had bought behind to use to pay for the cancellation fee. Hence, the furniture in the hall was complete. Cui Xie welcomed the guests into the main hall and settled them into chairs. He then tried to pour some water to serve the guest, but the two woman servants brought by the Zhao family hurriedly placed the bamboo baskets and the teapot on the tea table. From the bamboo baskets, they took out a plate of freshly-picked walnuts, a plate of pickled pear strips, a plate of pear-leaf crabapples, and a plate of milky flaky pastries. They then poured a cup of hot water for the three of them.

Xiucai: a person who has passed the county-level imperial exam

The old furen smiled and spoke: “Little official…Little Xie-ge, quickly try it. This is our own family’s personally manufactured fragrant jasmine refreshment, and can’t be found outside in the markets.”

Cui Xie held up the teacup, a fresh and clean fragrance wafting into his nose. The water tasted slightly of honey, light and sweet, that refreshing scent was thoroughly steeped into the water. When he swallowed it, Cui Xie felt a lingering fragrance in his mouth. It tasted a bit like modern jasmine-honey tea, but the water was pure and transparent, and he could not perceive that there was any tea in this concoction.

When he first transmigrated over, he had actually thought of selling some delicious delicacies to take the people of the Ming Dynasty by storm, but just a sip of water had him amazed by the people of the Ming Dynasty instead. Cui Xie took another two sips and remarked: “It’s very fragrant, is this infused with jasmine?”

Zhao furen, looking quite pleased and proud of herself, began to elaborate: “The inside of the teacups were coated in honey beforehand and then placed upside down with some freshly-picked jasmine inside. Once the fragrance has been fully absorbed, the water is added to make such an infusion. This technique is not difficult, but in a small place like Qian’an, only a few families can grow this jasmine native to Southern China. This old woman just happens to have a jasmine tree, if Little Xie-ge likes, I can ask the gardener to separate a tree root and give it to you.”

Cui Xie smiled and responded: “How can I take something Grandma loves? Besides, my residence only has three men, all careless and clumsy. I am afraid that we will not be able to raise such a precious flower.”

Zhao furen swept her eyes across the entire house and suggested: “Yes, you have few family members, even if flowers were planted, I am afraid that you will have no time to take care of them. I know of a broker surnamed Qian, once she trains a few good maids, you can buy a few to help you plant flowers and even bring tea and pour water. Don’t people like red sleeves adding fragrance? 

There was something called the Three Aunts and Six Wives, describing the several occupations or professions of ancient Chinese folk women. This phrase came from the second chapter of a novel on manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the Late Ming Dynasty, ‘The Plum in the Golden Vase’. The broker or yapo profession sells rouge, perfume, and other women’s products; also an intermediary for human trafficking for slaves, concubines, and prostitutes.

The phrase ‘red sleeves adding fragrance’ is referencing a line from a poem, ‘The Immortal of the Magpie Bridge’, written by a Song Dynasty poet. It basically refers to a beauty wearing red sleeves attending a scholar during late-night reading sessions. It has very sentimental/romantic connotations.

Master Zhao coughed heavily a few times and scolded: “What red sleeves adding fragrance, your son is just negligent in his studies, always having a young maid flying around him and making him confused! Don’t take out your feminine notions and accidentally mislead Little Xie-ge, he is the Young Master of one of the great families in the capital! For the sake of studying well, they are not allowed to have servant girls to attend to them!”

Cui Xie swiftly picked up the teapot to refill the cups of the two elderly people. Interrupting their quarrel, he wryly smiled and then commented: “I understand Old furen’s kind intentions, but Father is a clear-headed and pure official in the Ministry, governing the family extremely strictly. At home, only some young boys were allowed to be used as manservants and the household did not dare to purchase people as one wishes. Besides, when we left, we did not bring too much money with us. Can’t say for sure, but I may have to ask the servants to start some business in the future. At the time, I will have to ask these two elders to look after me.”

The old couple could not care to continue bickering and looked at him in shock. Stupefied, they asked, “Really? How could this be? Isn’t your Master a fifth-rank official? In our county, your household would be considered to be the local wealthy landlords. Did studying to become an official make the household fall into poverty?”

Cui Xie really hated that he could not expose the true face of the Official Cui couple at the moment. Unfortunately, this era emphasized the principle, ‘the son cannot accuse the father of his fault’. If he really told the truth, others may sympathize with him, but they would immediately turn around and accuse him of being unfilial behind his back. 

Moreover, as a minor, he arrived at the ancestral home with two no-status servants, which would make it easy for others to take unfair advantage of them. The status of an eldest Di son favored by a fifth-rank official compared to the status of a son born from an unfavored ex-wife was vastly different.

Di: this label is given to children born to the first wife/current madam

Shu: label given to children born to concubines

If people were to learn that he had been abandoned by his father, who knows, maybe someone would dare to blackmail him or bully him.

He sighed, enduring the wave of disgust he felt wash over him, and spoke, “Us two families are considered close neighbors. You can see how our household is living just by looking at this residence. I also do not want to slap one’s face until it’s swollen in an effort to look imposing and forcefully wave around an official’s son’s mannerisms. My Father is honest and upright, a valuable official, and in the capital, rice is as expensive as pearls and firewood is as expensive as osmanthus. My grandfather and grandmother are still in poor health, and there are many younger brothers and sisters in the family….although my family has some properties, we have to live our days frugally.”

slap one’s face until it’s swollen in an effort to look imposing: phrase meaning there is no point in keeping up vain appearance when one cannot really afford to do so

Hearing Cui Xie’s words, the expressions of the two elders fluctuated a few times. They interjected with a few sounds of shock and sighed a few times, not knowing how to respond.

Cui Xie picked up the teapot and filled the two cups with fresh water, comforting with a smile: “These two elders do not need to be polite, just say what you want to say. Treat us as if I were your junior.”

Landlord Zhao first dismissed the servants and instructed them not to leak the Cui family’s situation to outsiders.

Turning around to glance at Cui Xie, he saw that the boy’s body seemed to possess an even stronger feeling of tension and restraint. He felt that the boy was kind, but had been dealt a pitiful fate. His brows and eyes were no longer scorchingly bright and luminously delicate like before, this aura made others dare not approach.

Landlord Zhao kindly smiled: “Little Xie-ge rest your worries, neither my wife nor I are too talkative. Once we return home, I will teach them and instruct them not to let outsiders here so much as the slightest noise. Our two families are also considered close friends. This may be a bold line, but this old man will treat you like a dear grandson in the future. If there are financial problems, just tell us, don’t treat us like outsiders.”

Cui Xie grinned, “Grandpa Zhao has overthought it. I only brought two servants and a few trunks with me. I will definitely have a hard time in the future, how can my neighbors not see it? I have read the Sage’s teachings since I was a child and am not ashamed of being poor. Rather than letting others conjecture about my poverty-stricken state, it is better to make it clear from the start to avoid people guessing behind my back and spreading some rumors instead.”

TN: New release! I love this author’s laidback and detailed narration style, especially when they describe food or the landscape, its absolutely terrific! Hope you guys enjoy Cui Xie’s story as he adjusts to his new life!

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