The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 58 - 54 Clubs

Chapter 58: Chapter 54 Clubs

Xu Qing felt his face twitch involuntarily upon hearing the nickname "Timely Rain".

That’s ominous.

He remained silent for a while, which made Yan Shan anxious and uncertain about what might have been wrong with his words. Then, Xu Qing slowly spoke: "Brother Yan, I was just pondering over my writing and have just come back to my senses. Just tell me, what do you need help with?"

Yan Shan breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that Xu Qing was simply distracted, which had given him quite a scare.

One must say that, having not seen him for a while, Xu Qing has shot up in height and his build has visibly become more robust than during the court exams.

Sudden rapid growth in adolescents is not uncommon, and although Yan Shan was surprised, he didn’t dwell on it.

He slowly outlined the purpose of his visit.

It seems that the country selects scholars through the eight-legged essay, and scholars seek to refine their writing in pursuit of fame and official positions. Thus, seeking teachers and friends and forming societies has become all the rage.

This trend is particularly common in affluent jurisdictions like South Zhili.

Everyone understands that running society activities definitely requires funds.

Especially for poetry and literary gatherings, it’s customary to invite a renowned Oiran to amp up the atmosphere.

Hence, at some literary gatherings, certain Scholars may produce poems and writings that attract the favor of beauties and lead to a romantic evening, seemingly at no cost.

In reality, the organizing society would have already paid the Oiran before she attends the gathering.

That’s called an appearance fee!

Of course, if the society is well-known and includes credible scholars among its members, some Oiran seeking to boost their own fame might even waive their appearance fee.

Recently, Yan Shan joined a society in Qingshui County.

This was a society formed by local impoverished scholars, funded by a Zengsheng who runs a chicken farm.

Students at the Prefecture School and county schools are categorized into lin students, zengsheng, and attached students.

Lin students are the high-achievers in schools who receive public grain and local fiscal subsidies. Zengsheng are students with slightly lesser achievement than lin students and lack fiscal subsidies.

Attached students are those who have just passed the entry exams and haven’t yet taken the exams at the Prefecture or county schools.

Thus, even though Xu Qing is a Champion Scholar, he is still considered an attached student.

After the future Prefecture School exams, if one achieves excellent results, they could become a lin student and receive public grain.

Additionally, if a scholar seeks to take the provincial civil service examination, they generally need to pass an exam hosted by the Academic Supervisor. With acceptable results, they can participate in the provincial exams.

Besides, there are also supplementary examination methods such as recruitment exams and makeup exams; if one passes these, they too can take the provincial exams.

In reality, this system is essentially a means for the Academic Supervisor to wield authority while also generating revenue for the Government Office. In actuality, anyone willing to pay can gain eligibility for the provincial exams.

Talented scholars can also earn eligibility by passing exams.

At the same time, it could limit the number of candidates at the provincial exams to avoid overcrowding, which also reduces the workload for presiding and associate examiners.

The society Yan Shan joined is about to disband since the scholar who provided funding, having difficulties running his chicken farm, has cut off the financial support.

This situation, in some ways, is due to Xu Qing. His partnership with Dong Dahai now dominates over half of Qingshui County’s market with cheap prices and quick turnover rates.

Furthermore, the farm proactively provides chickens to county and Prefecture Schools, earning a good reputation among scholars. As a result, other chicken farms had no choice but to slash their prices even further to make sales.

What’s even more infuriating is that Xu Qing’s farm actually pays wages to its chicken farmers, which has led to demoralization among competitors’ employees!

But as a young man newly associated with a society, Yan Shan had quickly become quite popular.

To experience the thrill of such popularity, only for his society to potentially disband soon after, the disappointment was considerable.

The remaining scholars, aware of his family name, assumed Yan Shan must be wealthy, so they approached him to take over. However, Yan Shan was just a minor branch of the Yan family, merely a scholar with a degree. While his family supported his education, they certainly couldn’t supply funds for him to run a society.

Now somewhat trapped by the situation, if Yan Shan couldn’t secure funds, he’d surely be ridiculed and would not be able to hold his head up in the county.

Reputation is vitally important for scholars in this era; a tarnished reputation can be somewhat fatal. If word got back to the Academic Supervisor, Yan Shan could even face disciplinary actions, which would be disastrous.

Having previously studied away from home, Yan Shan didn’t have many local contacts. After considering his options, he realized that the only person who could help was Xu Qing.

Thus, he had no choice but to seek help from him.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing thought it over and felt it wouldn’t be a bad idea to run a society.

After all, the influence of scholars’ public opinions was evident.

If they could rally hundreds or even thousands of scholars in a march, even the governor would surely quake in fear.

In this regard, the zenith of the ancient dynasties could be seen in the late Ming Dynasty’s Donglin Party. At its peak, its factions spanned the entire land and its calls were echoed by multitudes.

"Antiquity has it that self-study without friends leads to ignorance and limited perspective. Since Brother Yan, you and your peers are facing difficulties, I will naturally help. However, I have one condition."

"Please, Brother Xu, give your instructions."

"I’d like to restructure the society. From what Brother Yan has described, it seems no one really knows what the society is for, merely exchanging poems and enjoying banquets without a clear purpose."

"A clear purpose?"

At that time, even the Court’s factions rarely had a clear purpose.

If one had to pinpoint their specific ambitions, the scholars’ goal in the Court would be to fill it with upright officials.

Of course, by that definition, they’d consider the Court filled with upright officials only when they themselves were in power, otherwise, the high positions were surely occupied by corrupt officials!

Xu Qing said: "We are all scholars with some status, but not officials who can serve the country. Therefore, if we form a society, our purpose should be to study the eight-legged essay together, with the prospect of serving the world better."

Yan Shan quickly agreed: "Exactly, that’s indeed what we all have in mind. With Brother Xu’s guidance in writing, which is second to none in Jiangning Prefecture, we will surely improve rapidly."

Xu Qing smiled: "Brother Yan overpraises me. I think we should focus on this core, to refine our knowledge and character, not just empty talk. We should also understand the common people’s livelihood in preparation for the future."

Yan Shan felt elevated by Xu Qing’s words, perceiving a new level of sophistication for the society. He said approvingly, "Brother Xu’s words are like piercing haze to reveal clarity. Our society was originally named after the phrase ’roused by the rooster’s crow,’ symbolizing diligent study. Now it seems inappropriate. Perhaps Brother Xu could give us a new name."

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Qing suggested, "The eight-legged essay traces back to Ancient Studies. We should aim to revive Ancient Studies with the ultimate goal of using our learning to benefit the world upon becoming officials. Let’s call it the ’Recovery Society.’"

Yan Shan exclaimed, "Such sentiments could only come from the greatest of scholars."

He keenly sensed that, with Xu Qing’s development, the society might indeed stir significant momentum in the future.

Being the second-in-command, he might well earn an everlasting place in history.

Effort in life is important, but so are choices!

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