Xu Huaqian knew nothing of what happened in the prefectural city. After getting the money from Pei Wangshu, he immediately handed it to Chen Liejiu and said, "Let's go home."
Staying in the prefectural city was burning through money too fast!
They had no residence in the city; staying at an inn meant daily expenses for food, lodging, and everything else. It was better to return home.
"What about your exams and treatment?" Chen Liejiu had recently been looking for a residence in the prefectural city, thinking of moving the family there.
"I've seen Physician Miao's acupuncture points. It's the same few each time. Have him write them down, and we can do the treatment back in Mishan County. As for the exams, don't worry even more." Xu Huaqian remembered Ji'an Medical Clinic was a chain. "The results will be posted next month. If I passed, someone will notify us in the village."
"If I didn't pass, I'll find out when Brother Meng passes and invites me to his Xiucai celebration banquet."
"Alright." Seeing Xu Huaqian had everything arranged so orderly, Chen Liejiu didn't object.
In the prefectural city, he truly couldn't find any quick ways to make money unless he fought in underground boxing matches—ten taels per fight. But if he didn't make it down from the ring, what would happen to the whole family?
Hearing Xu Huaqian suggest returning home, he thought about it. Going back to the village might be good. Back home, he could probably make bricks to sell!
Fire them in winter, sell them in spring! The Chen clan members who made money from charcoal this year would surely build houses come spring; he wouldn't even have to worry about finding buyers.
Remembering this idea was something his little husband had inadvertently mentioned, Chen Liejiu looked at the two hundred taels Xu Huaqian had given him, then at Xu Huaqian—his eyes bandaged, yet growing more handsome—and felt his heart grow warm. How was his little husband so capable?!
Even like this, he could still earn money!
Xu Huaqian didn't see Chen Liejiu's heated gaze, but since putting on the eye bandage and adapting to darkness, his hearing had become sharper. He heard Chen Liejiu's noticeably unusual breathing.
He asked: "Were you just thinking about something naughty?"
"No!" Chen Liejiu denied it.
Xu Huaqian curled his lips, not believing it: "Really?" He had heard it—his husband was thinking of him!
Xu Huaqian had left the village perfectly fine but returned blind.
The village instantly erupted.
How could taking the exams in the prefectural city blind him?!
Were the exams that terrifying, that torturous?! Could they actually blind someone?!
By now, the villagers knew the methods for making charcoal and hatching chicks had come from Xu Huaqian. While they were away for the exams, the villagers had been discussing:
"Scholar Xu is so capable; he might actually become a Xiucai!"
"Hard to say. Someone who can make money from books might also gain rank from them—seems possible."
"Oh, then wouldn't Chen Liejiu have it made? Not only does he have Scholar Xu, his live-in husband, earning money for him, but he could also easily become the husband of a Xiucai."
"Truly. Chen Liejiu really has good fortune. A ruffian who couldn't find a husband, just randomly snatches a sickly man and gets someone so capable. Who could have imagined that before?"
Village opinions changed daily. Initially, when Xu Huaqian married into Chen Liejiu's family, no one was optimistic, thinking their life would be chaotic and they'd split up sooner or later.
Now, seeing them succeed, their words were filled with envy, wishing they had Chen Liejiu's good luck.
But this envy lasted less than two days. Seeing Xu Huaqian return blind, with Physician Sun visiting daily for acupuncture, the villagers suddenly felt not so envious after all.
What did it matter to find a capable husband? A sickly person was still sickly. With the slightest trouble, he fell apart.
Now it was his eyes; who knew what would fail next? Endless worries every day—it must be exhausting.
Whether others found it exhausting, Chen Liejiu didn't feel tired at all. He was currently curled up at home playing "write in the palm" with his little husband.
After Xu Huaqian entered the exam hall last time and wrote his name on Chen Liejiu's palm, after returning home, Xu Huaqian insisted Chen Liejiu write it back on his palm.
Now that he couldn't see, only on his palm could he "see"!
Chen Liejiu had no choice. He opened Xu Huaqian's palm and wrote three characters.
Xu Huaqian curled his lips: "Were these the three characters I wrote then?"
"Yes." Chen Liejiu affirmed. "Exactly these three!"
"Good. I missed you." Xu Huaqian went along, half-raising his face, which was gradually recovering. "Did you miss me?"
Chen Liejiu didn't answer, because the man's line on his brow burned him—it seemed even hotter than when he last kissed Xu Huaqian.
Time flew by busily, and soon it was September. A month passed with no news from the prefectural city.
The villagers started saying Xu Huaqian probably hadn't passed the Xiucai exam. It had been a month; if there was news, it would have arrived by now.
No news likely meant no news.
The villagers still wanted to curry favor with Xu Huaqian. Seeing the charcoal and chicks were still being produced daily, even blind, he could support himself. They didn't dare speak discouraging words, only expressed regret for Xu Huaqian.
"What a pity about Scholar Xu's eyes!"
"Even blinding his eyes wasn't enough to pass. Shows how hard the exams are. I was planning to send my second son to study, but now I think I'll forget it. Being a healthy country kid is fine too."
"If you can afford it, send him. Look at Scholar Xu, blind but still having his little sister read to him every day at home. Who knows, he might find another money-making method from books someday!"
They remembered Xu Huaqian's words: studying might not lead to official rank, but it might lead to money!
The villagers thought Xu Huaqian had no hope of becoming a Xiucai, and Xu Huaqian felt the same. If he didn't pass, he didn't pass. It was a chance to focus on treating his eyes.
But then, while he and Chen Liejiu were up the mountain inspecting the newly produced white charcoal, the bearer of good news arrived in the village, exciting the villagers like they'd been injected with chicken blood, spreading the news eagerly.
"Scholar Xu has passed the Xiucai exam!"