Chapter 109: Shopkeeper Qiu's Past

“Is that so?” Wen Xiuyi asked. Only after seeing Shopkeeper Qiu nod did he sit back down again.

Shopkeeper Qiu wiped the moisture from his robes before saying, “The child known as Big Head is gifted and bright, a rare seedling indeed. Before Old Jin and I came to Cloudmist Town, I was considered a rather respected tutor in the capital. So I thought I would personally instruct him.”

Wen Xiuyi understood that much. What he did not quite understand was the phrase “considered a tutor.” As expected, this Shopkeeper Qiu had a story.

And yet, looking at his age, he did not seem old at all—forty-something, at most around fifty. Why had he retired so early?

“Shopkeeper Qiu, you don’t look that old. Since you were in the capital, why would you choose to come to such a small place and be only a humble shopkeeper?” Wen Xiuyi truly could not understand. Were not men supposed to have ambition? Especially the scholars of olden days—once they took up books, they seemed ready to read until the end of time.

Perhaps thinking of the past, Shopkeeper Qiu gave a helpless laugh. “I am fifty. Not exactly young anymore. To tell you the truth, when I was younger I relied too much on my talent and reputation, and was inevitably rather arrogant. After passing the highest imperial examination and entering the court as an official, I found I could not bring myself to flatter and maneuver like the others. Besides, I simply could not tolerate the atmosphere in officialdom, so I petitioned for an imperial decree and became a teacher instead.”

Fifty? He really did not look fifty. Wen Xiuyi had assumed he was no more than in his forties.

Then suddenly, Wen Xiuyi froze.

Wait. Passed the highest exam? So the man before him was a top scholar?

Entered the court as an official? To become a teacher, one had to request an imperial decree? Was this an ordinary schoolmaster? Obviously not.

“May I ask something impolite?” Wen Xiuyi leaned in and lowered his voice unconsciously. “Where did you teach before?”

Seeing this, Shopkeeper Qiu also leaned closer and replied in a hushed tone, “At the Imperial Academy.”

Wen Xiuyi nearly toppled off his stool. He staggered, then quickly grabbed the table to keep from making a spectacle of himself.

He looked at Shopkeeper Qiu in astonishment. However little he knew, he still understood what the Imperial Academy was. It was not merely a place for princes and nobles to study, but the very destination toward which scholars all over the world longed and rushed.

And Shopkeeper Qiu had actually taught there. What kind of ability and learning must that require?

“Ah, Brother Wen, are you all right?” Shopkeeper Qiu was startled as well and hurried to stand up and help him.

Wen Xiuyi steadied himself and waved a hand. “No, no need. I’m fine. Sit down, please sit.” As he spoke, he pressed Shopkeeper Qiu back onto the stool and then stared at him, dumbfounded.

What had Shopkeeper Qiu just said? That he wanted to personally teach Big Head?

His Big Head had truly stumbled upon a fortune.

After his initial shock, Wen Xiuyi turned and called out for his eldest son. “Big Head, where’s Big Head? Xiao Jun, hurry and call your younger brother back.”

He had to bring him back quickly and let him pay his respects to a teacher, didn’t he? If he missed this chance, there would be no other. And this was not just any chance—it was the real thing, top-tier, national-level.

Wen Xiuyi was already delighting in the thought of his son studying under Shopkeeper Qiu. He was overjoyed. With Shopkeeper Qiu teaching him, and this man having once served in the capital, he would surely know the ways of officials inside and out.

His Big Head was clever; in the future, he would certainly walk that road. Sooner or later, he would inevitably cross paths with that old bastard surnamed Meng. With such a great man to guide him, what was there to fear from the Meng family?

But before Wen Xiuyi could be pleased for long, Shopkeeper Qiu let out a deep sigh and said, “Unfortunately, after my parents passed away one after another, I left the Imperial Academy and swore that I would never accept a student again in this life.”

“What? Why?” Wen Xiuyi felt that his emotions had turned too quickly from joy to sorrow. His poor heart could not take it.

If you swore never to take students again, why bring it up at all? You gave a man a false moment of joy.

Sigh.

Shopkeeper Qiu gave a bitter smile. “The matter is too complicated, and it happened many years ago. It is better not to mention it.”

Wen Xiuyi: “……”

Then what was the point of bringing it up? Were you teaching Big Head or not?

For the first time, Wen Xiuyi felt that speaking with cultured men was truly exhausting.

He sat up straight and looked at Shopkeeper Qiu with a solemn expression. “Shopkeeper Qiu, if you have any conditions, just say them plainly. Since you brought up today that you wished to personally teach Big Head, you must already have made up your mind. Say it—so long as I, Wen Xiuyi, can do it, I will do everything I can.”

“This...” Shopkeeper Qiu looked at him and murmured, “Actually, it is not difficult.”

“Mm?” Wen Xiuyi leaned over the table, bringing his ear closer.

Being teased thus, Shopkeeper Qiu unexpectedly relaxed. He could actually tell that the people of the Wen family were all kindhearted; it was only that he himself had worried too much and considered too much, and in the end had made the matter seem more complicated than it was.

Once he had thought it through, even Shopkeeper Qiu smiled at himself. Looking at Wen Xiuyi’s ear leaning in close, he then stated his request in a lightened tone: “I want to take Big Head as my adopted son. In this way, I would not violate the vow I made back then, and I could also personally teach him.”

“An adopted son? A godson?” Wen Xiuyi frowned. Wasn’t that still taking his son from him? Though not in the usual sense. An adopted son was still a godson—and still kept the surname Wen Xiuyi. In the future, when he called him father, he would even have an extra word in it.

However he looked at it, he did not seem to be at a loss.

“You just said Big Head did not tell me; you told him?” Wen Xiuyi asked.

Shopkeeper Qiu nodded. “Yesterday, when you all went out shopping, I spoke with Big Head for a while. He said he wanted to ask your opinion.”

Well now. That little bean sprout had not even mentioned it to him at all; he had no idea this was happening.

But then again, if it were before he knew of Shopkeeper Qiu’s background and status, Wen Xiuyi might not have agreed so readily.

Yet now, after thinking it over, Wen Xiuyi felt that according to the plot of the original book, Big Head would certainly have to cross paths with those people in the future. If he relied only on himself, he could not guarantee what sort of person he could shape such a clever child into.

But following Shopkeeper Qiu would be different. There was no need to doubt his learning—a top scholar, after all, the most learned man in the entire country. And he had also served as an official in the court. Compared with that useless scholar that he himself was, Shopkeeper Qiu could surely offer Big Head far more help.

“Brother Wen?” Seeing Wen Xiuyi frown and then relax again and again, Shopkeeper Qiu could not help calling out to him.

Wen Xiuyi came back to himself and looked at him. “We’ll ask Big Head about this when he returns. So long as Big Head is willing, I have no objections. After all, with no mother around, it is also good for him to have another father who will dote on him.”

The corner of Shopkeeper Qiu’s mouth twitched. The words sounded rather strange, yet somehow they also seemed to make sense.

He had only heard that Big Head’s biological mother had divorced Wen Xiuyi and left. As for where she had gone, Shopkeeper Qiu had not asked. After all, it was another person’s private matter, so he said no more. He would simply wait until Big Head returned and ask whether he was willing to become his adopted son.