Lin Yuanshan was the fifth son in the Lin family and the village scholar. Most of the money that the Lin family earned was spent on him. They hoped that he could make the family prosper through his studies.
Unfortunately, he was already 16 years old but had yet to pass the examination. He passed the county examination but failed in the capital examination.
Because of that, the Lin family still had high hopes for him.
Lin Yuanshan was going to take the examination again next year, so he asked for more money from the Lin family so that he could ask the headmaster to give him special lessons.
This put the Lin family in a difficult situation. However, Old Lady Lin was always willing to spend money on Lin Yuanshan.
She gave Lin Yuanshan the forty taels of silver that belonged to her father, but she also wanted to sell her off to an old widower in a neighboring village in exchange for more money.