Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Out with the Old, In with the New

In a daze, Gu Nan Xi found herself supported on both sides—Sun Shu Yao to her left, Su Yun Yan to her right—as they guided her around the shop three full circles.

A servant boy walked ahead, sprinkling polished rice on the ground and murmuring, “River god bless us. Great fortune, great luck.”

By the time Gu Nan Xi finished the third round, Sun Shu Yao and Su Yun Yan were already congratulating each other.

“Congratulations. With the river god’s blessing, your shop will surely be packed with customers.”

“Same to you. Shu Yao, may you gain another thriving shop!”

Su Yun Ting grabbed Gu Nan Xi by the arm and tugged her toward the carriage. “River god—no. Mother. Let’s go take a look at the academy.”

The modest carriage clopped out through Cang Lou Gate at the southwest corner of the capital and headed straight south.

Gu Nan Xi didn’t notice that nearly a hundred meters behind them, people with carts and donkeys had begun trailing along, curiosity pulling them like a hook.

Down by the Hui Min River, impatient men had already taken boats toward Si Li Bridge.

“It’s right up ahead!”

Su Xuan Ming leaned out, lifted the curtain, and pointed excitedly toward an even more decrepit farmer’s courtyard.

When Gu Nan Xi reached the entrance, the crooked gate finally gave up. It collapsed with a loud crash, blasting dust into the air.

The crowd gasped as if it were a sign.

“Look!” someone cried. “The courtyard is welcoming the River Goddess! That gate didn’t break for years, and it breaks at this exact moment—how could that be a coincidence?”

The onlookers were certain. To them, this was the River Goddess’s warning.

Gu Nan Xi didn’t care who was a god.

She cared about one thing: what could possibly make a farmer’s courtyard worth six hundred taels?

She toured the place with a face like stone. The land was spacious enough.

Three buildings and a yard covered a full ten mu.

But inside, the rooms were empty—so empty it was almost absurd.

There wasn’t even a roof.

The sky stared back at her through gaps where tiles should have been.

“Mother?” Su Xuan Ming asked eagerly. His eyes glittered like stars. He wiped a stone clean with his sleeve and offered her a seat in the northeast corner. “What do you think?”

“Very good,” Gu Nan Xi said.

She forced the words out through clenched teeth and took a long breath in, as if that could keep her temper from boiling over.

You didn’t grow without loss. If children never got fooled, how would they learn?

Not angry. Not angry at all.

[Not angry—]

She opened her eyes and stared toward the setting sun, gripping that thought like a lifeline. “Out with the old, in with the new.”

A thousand-tael note had to be spent to come back as two thousand, three thousand… right?

Su Xuan Ming looked confused at first—then his expression hardened with sudden conviction, like he’d taken it as a lesson.

Gu Nan Xi, heart heavy, silently counted her dowry in her mind. The remaining money should be enough to keep the family alive for the next few years. Only then did she finally feel her lungs loosen.

She decided to head back.

Around her, the commoners who had followed to witness the “gifted” courtyard stared at the ruins and looked as if they’d been punched awake.

“This place…” someone muttered. “You could give it to me for free and I still wouldn’t want it. How much would it cost just to fix it?”

“Is this the River Goddess’s second trial?”

“Didn’t the marchioness just say ‘out with the old, in with the new’?” another whispered. “Maybe she’s testing Su Da Lang and the others—seeing how they’ll repair the place with the least money.”

“That makes sense!”

“It must be!”

Soon after, Su Xuan Ming and the others gathered at Chen Yi Xuan’s residence to pool their thoughts.

“I asked my father,” Chen Yi Xuan said. “A normal brick-and-stone room costs sixty taels. A green-brick, tiled room costs a hundred. Our courtyard has three rooms, but the footprint is large—we have to count it as four or five.”

At least three hundred taels…

Su Yun Ting added, “These past years, the capital’s been using more timber for building. The imperial palace is repairing old halls too, and that takes a lot of wood. Most timber is imported from the south, and prices rise every year. Even at the lowest discount, one sturdy wooden room costs seventy taels.”

Building an academy meant they couldn’t throw up thatched huts and call it a day.

A gloom settled over the group. Out of a thousand taels, six hundred had already gone to the courtyard and fields. After taxes, they had only a little more than three hundred left.

They couldn’t spend it all on construction—how would they hire teachers? How would they buy books, paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones?

Li Ming De pulled out a pouch and set it on the table. “This is my private savings. My father is stingy. I’ve only managed thirty taels.”

Jiang Guang Hai went red and added twenty. “My mother’s saving for a house, so…”

Others began reaching into sleeves and waist pouches—until Su Xuan Ming stood up sharply.

“Brothers,” he said, stopping them. “I’ll never forget your loyalty. But I don’t think Mother meant it that way.”

“Huh?” someone asked. “Didn’t she say ‘out with the old, in with the new’?”

Su Xuan Ming smiled, quiet confidence spreading across his face. Of course he understood Mother best.

“Mother would never ask us to do what we can’t,” he said. “If we want to build the Hundred Rivers Academy, teachers and students matter most.”

He lifted his chin. “A humble room, but great scholars coming and going—that’s what I want.”

“Well said!” Chen Yi Xuan clapped.

Su Xuan Ming opened the notebook he carried everywhere. “This is the courtyard’s layout. It looks ruined, but the foundation is deep and the beams and pillars are made of good timber. We don’t need to replace them. We only need to redo the roof and add tables and benches.”

“A roof tile is fifteen wen on the market,” he continued. “If we buy in bulk, we should be able to bargain down to thirteen.”

Li Ming De exchanged a look with Jiang Guang Hai, then nodded. “All right. We’ll do it your way. When do we start? I’ll bring my household’s servant boys. We can’t do delicate work, but we can haul bricks and tiles and clean rooms.”

“Same,” others chimed in. “If we all go, we can save money and buy more books for the academy.”

Su Xuan Ming laughed, eyes shining with tears. “Good. When brothers are of one heart, they can cut through metal. Then let’s meet on this month’s rest day and go together!”

With the plan set, Su Xuan Ming and Su Yun Ting spent days roaming the capital, hunting for tile sellers and carpenters.

Inside Fu Quan Restaurant, business had cooled lately—there wasn’t any scandal gripping the whole city.

The main hall was still full, but instead of groups packed at every table, most seats were taken by one or two people at a time.

“Song Da,” someone called, “I heard you struck another big deal.”

Song Da sighed into his tea. “Don’t mention it. There’s barely any profit—just a little pay for the trouble.”

“How can that be?” a man scoffed. “Your clients are Marquis Yong Chang Manor’s two young masters! Su Da Lang spends over a hundred taels on a single meal, and Su Er Lang can tip twenty or thirty just for a martial performer!”

Song Da grimaced. “I thought the God of Wealth had come. Who knew those two would cut a roof tile from fifteen wen down to twelve?”

A colleague nodded in sympathy. “Then there’s no money to make. Why take the job at all?”

Song Da scratched the back of his head and chuckled. “Because I made a bet at the gambling house—two hundred wen. If the Hundred Rivers Academy gets built, I’ll win two thousand.”