71: dragging the Zhou family into this mess

The wooden stairs of the inn creaked underfoot, each step a groan.

Zhao Rui was practically hanging on Su Ming, less walking and more being dragged back. His face was paler than the rough paper used in the examination hall, and he kept repeating the same sentence.

"It's over, it's all over... For the policy essay, I wrote 'The King Should Govern with Virtue'... My father will surely break my legs..."

Su Ming tossed him onto the hard bed board, which protested with a groan under the sudden weight.

He poured a bowl of cold water, took a sip himself, then pushed it toward Zhao Rui.

"Drink some water."

Zhao Rui didn't take it, just stared at Su Ming with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.

"Why aren't you anxious at all? What did you write for your policy essay? You didn't also write about virtuous governance, did you?"

Su Ming didn't answer. He walked to the window and pushed open the rickety wooden frame. The afternoon sun, mixed with the clamor of the market, poured in, carrying the smell of dust and heat.

He needed some quiet.

"Disciple." Lin Yu's voice echoed in his mind, with a hint of teasing, "Don't mind that kid. His father must have paved the way for him long ago, otherwise, why would he let his precious son come to take the exam with you? Zhou Kang is probably pinching his nose and doing Professor Liu a favor right now. Getting on the list by the skin of his teeth, no big deal."

Su Ming's heart stirred: "Master, are you saying..."

"If nothing unexpected happens," Lin Yu yawned lazily, "your classmate is about to become a model of 'approaching people with billions' in the County School. As for you, that policy essay was practically copying the answer onto the examiner's face. That kid Xu Qing has done you a huge favor."

Su Ming was silent. He had read the gazetteer of qingzhou county no less than a hundred times; the hydrology and geography of the Southern Five Villages were already etched into his mind. Professor Liu setting this question indeed seemed like highlighting the key points for him in advance.

"So, the xiucai title..." Su Ming's breathing became slightly hurried.

"It's secure." Lin Yu's tone was understated, yet carried an undeniable certainty. "I've divined it; not only is it secure, but your ranking won't be low. Now, we can officially activate Plan B."

Su Ming's fists silently clenched in his sleeves.

"Master, I understand." He suppressed the excitement in his heart, turned around, and said to Zhao Rui, who was lying stiffly on the bed: "You rest first, I'm going out for a bit."

He needed to write a letter, but he couldn't let Zhao Rui see it, so he took his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to another inn and rented a room.

At the inn, Su Ming closed the door to his room.

He calmly spread out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone he had bought on credit from Xu Qing on the table.

"Master, why didn't you let me write home before? Such a big thing happened in the village, my parents must be worried sick." This was what Su Ming had been holding back.

"Worried?" Lin Yu snorted, "What's the use of worrying? Disciple, you must remember, before you have the ability to solve a problem, transmitting anxiety itself is the biggest problem."

Inner thoughts: "Nonsense, I wasn't sure you could pass the exam before! If you messed up, we'd have to run overnight, and the bit of Soul Power in my ring can't handle that kind of trouble. Writing a letter? That's telling the enemy our escape route!"

"I ask you, if you failed this time, what should we do?" Lin Yu's voice became serious.

Su Ming answered without hesitation: "According to your plan, we would leave the city overnight, take our family far away, and live in anonymity."

"That's right. What good would that letter do, besides making your parents worry with you? Let them pack their bags in advance, waiting to be discovered by those hungry wolves and wiped out?"

Lin Yu patiently explained: "But now it's different. You are about to have the 'xiucai' amulet. Although this thing isn't very sturdy, in Qingshi Town, at least it can turn you from a fat lamb waiting to be slaughtered into a horned goat. If a wolf wants to eat you, it will have to weigh whether it will break its teeth."

"So, this letter can only be written now. It is no longer a death warrant transmitting panic, but a reassurance for morale, a... challenge letter with a blade."

Su Ming took a deep breath, picked up his brush, and dipped it generously in thick ink.

"Master, please speak."

"Prepare two letters." Lin Yu's thoughts were exceptionally clear. "One is for your second brother, Su Yang, to pass on to Village Head Zhao Dequan. This is a 'public letter,' to discuss strategy and survival."

"The other is a 'private letter' only for your second brother, to discuss bottom lines and fallback plans."

Su Ming nodded, listening attentively.

"In the public letter, first report that you are safe and sound, then say that the exam results are almost certain. Give them a reassurance first."

"Then, you must use the harshest words to warn Village Head Zhao Dequan! Tell him that the Merchant Chen he brought in earlier, and the decision to expand the Workshop, is like putting the entire Su Family Village on a fire! The County Yamen Advisor's inquiry is not an honor; it's the butcher estimating how fat the pig is before the cleaver falls!"

Su Ming's brush tip paused on the paper, the ink blooming like a heavy drop of blood.

"Then what should be done?"

"Make him immediately stop all expansion plans!" Lin Yu's voice carried a chill. "Not only can he not expand, he can even find an excuse, such as insufficient raw materials, technical Bottleneck, temporarily reduce production, or even stop work for half a month! Cool down the heat! Externally, claim that the previous paper was accidentally produced and the quality is extremely unstable. In short, feign poverty and show weakness!"

Inner thoughts: "Playing dead is one of the core Profound Truths of The Way of Cautious Survival. As long as I die fast enough, danger won't catch up to me."

"Secondly, spend money to avert disaster. Have Village Head Zhao Dequan consider proactively giving away two-tenths of the dry shares. One portion, through Zhao Chunlan, who is Zhao Rui's paternal aunt, should be given to Zhou Kang. The reason, of course, is to thank Second Master Zhou for taking care of Zhao Rui's studies in town. The other portion, find a way to get it into the hands of Advisor Sun at the County Yamen, with the same reason: thanking the esteemed official for his patronage of the younger generation in the village."

"Master," Su Ming's voice deepened, carrying a hint of imperceptible sternness. "Give it to Zhou Kang? This person is insatiably greedy and narrow-minded. If we give him money, isn't that like asking a tiger for its skin? If he thinks we are weak and easily bullied, he will only become worse, demanding endlessly."

"Disciple, you are still too young." Lin Yu smiled. "People like Zhou Wenhai pride themselves on being upright, valuing reputation and rules. It's difficult to make him fall out with other forces in town for our small interests. Unless you can bring him benefits far exceeding the risks. This is our first choice, but it cannot be the only choice."

"But Zhou Kang is different. He is greedy and has no bottom line, but precisely because of this, he is easier to control. Giving him money isn't asking him to do things; it's buying a 'tiger's skin.' Let him think that the Su Family Village's paper Workshop is an industry he protects. If anyone else tries to meddle in the future, he will be the first to jump out and bite them. This is called driving out wolves with a tiger. We are giving gifts to Zhou Kang not to ask him to show mercy, but to drag him down into the mess."