Chapter Four: A Father's Love as Steadfast as a Mountain

A few days ago, breakfast was wild vegetable porridge; today, it was porridge with wild vegetables. This marked the third day Bai Yu longed for salty tofu pudding and fried dough sticks.

By his father’s order, Bai Yu was to accompany him to the elephant training grounds to start learning the tasks in the elephant stables.

Yet, Bai Yu was reluctant to go, and as he was about to leave, he excused himself, saying, “After being struck by lightning the other day, my body hasn’t fully recovered; I can’t do heavy work.”

This time, Bai Yu’s father didn’t scold him. Instead, he said mysteriously, “The water in the courtyard will be deep today, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it, so I can’t leave you alone at home. Come with me to the elephant stables and pass the day there. When we return in the evening, you’ll have a great reward!”

“What do you mean by ‘won’t be able to handle it’?” Bai Yu asked eagerly. “Don’t tell me some woman’s going to tempt me and then set me up?”

His father was speechless. Ever since the lightning strike, he had no idea what was going on in his son’s mind day by day.

At the gate of the crowded courtyard stood an elm tree. The elm seeds that sprouted in spring could serve as food for the poor, and Bai Yu’s name probably derived from this.

Standing outside the gate and looking south, one could see the city wall—literally living at the foot of the wall.

Although the capital was famed for being “wealthy in the east and noble in the west,” the “western nobility” certainly did not apply to the southwestern corner where the Bai family lived.

It’s hard for later generations to imagine that, beside the Xuanwu Gate of the Ming capital, there were dozens of elephants kept.

Following his father through the elephant training grounds’ entrance, Bai Yu barely stepped into the front yard before he covered his nose, overwhelmed by the smell in the air.

Even centuries later, with modern technology, zoo elephant houses struggle to eliminate odors; it was no different, if not worse, in this era.

The entire day was a blur, and Bai Yu wasn’t sure how he endured it.

After work, walking home through Cheng’en Alley, Bai Yu felt a faint stench emanating from himself.

If there was any gain from the day, it was the strengthening of his resolve to try his luck with the imperial examinations. After all, the ultimate goal in the universe was to become a government official.

Time was tight. At the all-courtyard meeting last night, Old Man Wang announced that the county-level exam would be held next month.

That meant it was time to hurry and register and start preparing for the exam.

With this in mind, Bai Yu opened his AI assistant and looked up the relevant regulations.

In the Ming dynasty, household registration was divided into several types, with the largest numbers being civilian households and military households.

Civilian households were managed territorially, while military households fell under the jurisdiction of the various garrisons. Especially in the densely militarized northern and southern capitals, military households could account for nearly half the city’s population.

Children of military households could participate in the imperial exams, but only after obtaining a certificate called a “jieshuang” from their respective garrison’s administration office—a document akin to a letter of recommendation or proof.

Only with the jieshuang could they register and take the exam at the exam organizers.

Understanding the process, Bai Yu asked his father on their way home, “Which garrison does the elephant training grounds belong to?”

His father looked at him in surprise. “Have you really been struck silly by lightning? How can you ask such a question? Our elephant training grounds belong to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It’s one of the fourteen divisions under the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

Bai Yu was stunned. So he was actually a son of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Rising suddenly from a near-death state, the Guard was, in fact, himself?

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was one of the most famous symbols of the Ming dynasty—the emperor’s own elite troops. Even novices in history knew of them.

He recalled the depictions from his past life’s films: embroidered fish robes, spring knives, arrogant and domineering.

Then he looked at his father, holding an iron fork, dressed in coarse, durable linen work clothes.

Bai Yu couldn’t help but doubt, “That can’t be right, can it? Doesn’t seem like it.”

His father took off his wooden waist tag and slapped it heavily into Bai Yu’s hands. “Open your eyes wide and look carefully!”

Bai Yu held the tag made of willow wood and read the inscription: “Embroidered Uniform Guard Elephant Training Grounds Strongman Bai He.”

After seeing the tag, Bai Yu had to admit that his father was indeed a formal member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The full name of the elephant training grounds was the Embroidered Uniform Guard Elephant Training Grounds. Who would have thought the Embroidered Uniform Guard would have a department for raising elephants?

“So, if I want to take the imperial exams, I have to get a jieshuang from the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters first?” Bai Yu muttered to himself.

In online novels, the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was usually a high-level dungeon. Who starts out by going straight to the headquarters?

Hearing this, Bai Yu’s father scolded him again, “What’s gotten into you these days? Talking about the imperial exams every three sentences—you’re truly crazy! Do you think the exams are that easy? Even passing the lowest level is one in a hundred. Do you have that kind of ability? Don’t use the exams as an excuse to slack off. Our family can’t afford to waste time and money. Be practical!”

Bai Yu sighed helplessly. From the current situation, the greatest obstacle to his participation in the exams wasn’t anyone else but his father.

First, his father didn’t believe in his ability to emerge through the crowd.

Second, his father thought he was just pretending to prepare for exams to avoid hard work.

Third, studying and taking the exams was a long-term process, during which he would be out of the labor force.

For a poor family, the cost was high, and his father, fearful of poverty, didn’t want to take the risk.

Back at the crowded courtyard, the Bai father and son had just entered their home when Old Man Wang came to visit.

“Today, the neighbors pooled together three taels of silver to ask your family to represent the courtyard in service for a year. What do you say?” Old Man Wang got straight to the point without any pleasantries.

Bai Yu’s father was less fierce than the previous night. He smiled and accepted the silver, saying repeatedly, “Of course! Of course! Neighbors should help each other! Our Bai family will take on the duties of the Fire Armor Squad!”

Bai Yu was stunned. Could this be the “great reward” his father mentioned in the morning?

Yesterday, his father brandished the iron fork as if risking his life—not to refuse the duty, but to make the neighbors pay for a substitute?

Is this how the grassroots ecology works?

Then Bai Yu heard his father say, “But isn’t three taels a bit little? If we hired someone from outside to serve, three taels a year definitely wouldn’t be enough!”

Old Man Wang replied, “Our courtyard isn’t wealthy, and the neighbors can’t chip in more. Besides, don’t forget, Bai He, you are part of this courtyard too!”

His father continued, “Money isn’t the main point, but please, Old Man Wang, act as a matchmaker and talk to the second sister of the mud mason, Old Li, who lives in the back house. They’re well matched in age, childhood sweethearts, and it would be fitting for them to marry.”

Old Man Wang nodded, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Bai Yu, listening, was speechless. Pressured to marry before crossing over, pressured to marry again after—was this what they called a “white crossing”?

After seeing Old Man Wang off, Bai Yu immediately objected, “I don’t want to marry now!”

His father ignored his objections, shaking the three taels of silver in his hand. “Don’t say foolish things! This is your dowry!”

Then he arranged, “In the next few days, get familiar with the work in the elephant stables and take over my shifts.

I’ll serve in the Fire Armor Squad and earn the neighbors’ substitute silver.”

Bai Yu pointed seriously at the silver, “I’ll say it again: first, I don’t want to marry right now; second, please give me a chance to try the imperial exams. This silver can be used for calligraphy practice and exam fees.”

Seeing his eldest son repeatedly resist, Bai Yu’s father’s face darkened. He shouted, “This is all for your own good! Why are you still so stubborn and unwise? You know our family’s situation perfectly well! Do you want me to work two jobs to support you? I’ve barely brought you up to adulthood—can’t you settle down a bit?”

A father’s love was like a mountain, a great pressure pressing down.

Bai Yu was certain: the greatest “antagonist” right now was this so-called father.

He was only willing to follow familiar paths, too stubborn to try other possibilities.

Perhaps he understood grassroots life well and was skilled at bargaining, but his vision and ambition were limited.

Worst of all, this antagonist carried the “patriarchal” aura, living in a Confucian world where “a father is the head of the son” and “if the father suffers, the son must suffer.”

This made resistance extremely difficult, akin to defying the heavens.

Many common tactics of showing off, slapping down opponents, or decisive action were utterly ineffective here.