“Go ahead and speak.” Richard Foster said with a smile, “What does The Benson Family want?”

“It’s that good land in Qunan.”

“Or the small house in the county town?”

“Or do you want me to recommend you to the county as one of the Three Elders of the township?”

He simply assumed that The Benson Family wanted to use this quota to make a deal with his family.

Charles Foster became anxious: “Father, I can just go to the Imperial Academy next year, why bother…”

“Silence!”

Richard Foster sternly stopped him, feeling a bit disappointed in his son. This boy still hasn’t figured out the current situation. Look at Henry Benson, always smiling in silence, so composed—despite being three years younger than you.

Who gets to go to the Imperial Academy—is it really based on scholarship? Isn’t it just the two families competing behind the scenes? They still have to wait until the bigger scholarly families in the county have no more eligible children before it’s their turn. But The Benson Family, who clearly won a spot by paying extra, suddenly gave up the quota, which caught everyone off guard.

Henry Benson took the initiative, and in just one afternoon, news of him giving up his place had spread throughout Changling County.

Whether The Foster Family liked it or not, this favor was now owed.

In these times, what is most important for a neighborhood leader? Not land or slaves—since the new dynasty issued the royal land and private property decree banning annexation and slave trading, these two things have been almost locked down and are hard to increase quickly. The only thing that can be accumulated is reputation!

If this matter is not handled properly, it would be repaying kindness with resentment, and their reputation in the county would suffer greatly. That would cost far more than painfully giving up a hectare of land or a few acres of house.

Yet Robert Benson remained unmoved, smiling at Richard Foster, his expression clearly saying: “I want nothing, I just want your family to owe The Benson Family a favor.”

“Mr. Foster.”

Henry Benson finally spoke. He picked up the lacquered pot handed over by a maid and poured three cups of wine into exquisitely crafted black-and-red lacquered ear cups—his family was only a minor local gentry, with limited means, so they were always frugal, using pottery for daily drinking and lacquerware only for guests.

He stood up and brought two cups to Robert Benson and Richard Foster, then knelt in the open space between the east and west seats, raised his cup, and said, “I’ve heard that people in this world are divided into those of different surnames, same surname, same clan, and same family.”

The so-called surname refers to the ancient surnames like Ji, Jiang, and Mi before the Spring and Autumn period, representing the original lineage—different surnames are like different trees in a forest. As generations passed and people migrated, surnames branched out like trees, and these branches became the shi (clan names).

The Gui surname, for example, split into the Chen and Tian clans, and within the Tian clan of Qi, the branch of Tian Guang migrated and further produced the Benson and Foster clans. Though the eight families are now beyond the five degrees of mourning, they still acknowledge each other as kin.

Henry Benson said, “Benson and Foster are clansmen, bound by blood, and are close neighbors, with no disputes over land or water. I’ve also heard that in the past, Mr. Foster and my grandfather were very close, only falling out later due to a misunderstanding.”

Henry Benson sighed, “I once heard a ballad in the county town: ‘A foot of cloth can still be sewn, a peck of grain can still be pounded, but two brothers cannot get along.’ So many people are watching our two families make a spectacle of ourselves over this Imperial Academy spot!”

“That’s why I’d rather give up the opportunity to attend the Academy than see our two families break apart. I only hope that The Foster Family and The Benson Family can, through this matter and this cup of wine, laugh away all past grievances!”

With that, he raised his cup and drained it in one go!

The maturity of Henry Benson’s words far exceeded his age. Not only were Richard Foster and his son stunned, even Robert Benson was taken aback, and after a long while, he slowly said, “Ashamed, we have lived so many years in vain, yet are not as open-minded as the younger generation.”

With that, he took the initiative to raise his cup and toasted Richard Foster.

Richard Foster also raised his cup, saying with embarrassment, “Indeed, clan brother, you have a fine grandson.”

The two drank together, finally showing the bottoms of their empty cups and bursting into hearty laughter.

……

Afterwards, the servants timely brought in meat dishes and rice. Among Chinese people, the atmosphere at the table often becomes more relaxed and lively, and the earlier tension vanished.

Robert Benson and Richard Foster seemed to have restored their former friendship, drinking and toasting until they were tipsy. In their drunkenness, they even tapped their chopsticks on the rims of their bowls and sang songs from their youth.

It was late at night when the small banquet finally ended. Robert Benson, being a good drinker, personally saw Richard Foster and his son out. The news that the two families had reconciled today would surely spread quickly throughout Linqu Township.

Charles Foster was truly drunk. He had studied Confucian classics for many years, and his blood was steeped in Confucian moral principles. Today, Henry Benson’s words had truly made him see him in a new light. Admiration replaced any lingering resentment, and he hiccupped to his father, “F-father, Henry Benson really is truly filial and brotherly. I misjudged him before.”

Richard Foster, however, was only pretending to be drunk, secretly unimpressed: “You silly boy, after a few years of study, all you know is benevolence and morality, but you don’t understand how devious people can be. Henry Benson kept calling you ‘clan brother,’ toasting and flattering you, and now you don’t even remember your own surname!”

Henry Benson had spoken so magnanimously that if they still clung to minor grievances, they would seem ungrateful. Richard Foster could only smile and go along, and the final result was…

They had made a trip for nothing today, and Foster still owed Benson a favor! In the future, they would have to cooperate with The Benson Family in putting on this act of brotherly harmony!

“But then, this does my family no harm either.”