When Zhu Ping'an came out of Li's house, it was around four or five in the afternoon. He went to his mentor's house again to take a look, but there was still no one there. It seemed that his mentor would not be back in the short term.
The autumn weather is clear and crisp, but still very hot. Farmers in the fields are still working tirelessly, sweating profusely to ensure a good harvest this year. The yellow rice turns golden under the sunlight, making the sweaty farmers smile brightly.
A breeze blew, and golden waves rolled up in the rice fields, bringing the fragrance of rice into one's nostrils.
Walking on the country road, Zhu Ping'an greeted the neighbors in the fields from time to time, complimenting them on the good crops in the fields, which made these neighbors happy for a long time.
When I was almost home, I saw my mother Chen chatting with a group of aunts and grandmas. My mother Chen was saying something to the aunts and grandmas with a very excited look on her face, and the aunts and grandmas all looked envious.
"Hey, auntie, isn't that your Ping Anlang?" An old lady saw Zhu Ping An and said to Chen.
Then Chen turned around and saw Zhu Ping'an, and then waved to Zhu Ping'an to come over.
Zhu Ping'an took two quick steps over, called out "Mom" first, and then greeted several aunties and grandmas around him.
"Zhi'er, tell me again what's the use of you as a student in the imperial academy? I can never remember." Chen's face was full of pride as she spoke.
My mother really enjoys this.
However, since my mother likes it, I must fully cooperate, so Zhu Pingan described the role and privilege of the students in the imperial academy in plain language, with some exaggerations. But my mother Chen just loves to hear it.
"Shouyi, you can wait to enjoy the good life. Your Ping'an is so smart, he will definitely become a high official in the future." The aunts and grandmas all expressed their envy of Chen's mother and praised Zhu Ping'an for his intelligence.
"He's not smart, he's just a little hardworking. Every time I get up to cook, I can see him reading and practicing calligraphy in the yard."
Mother Chen said this, but her brow was filled with pride for her son.
In the past, my mother, who didn't like chatting with aunties and grandmas, always likes to hang out with them these past two days. No matter what they talk about, she can always shift the topic to her own little kid, and then enjoy everyone's envy and jealousy, and she can be happy all day every time.
This time was no exception. After enjoying all kinds of envy from everyone, Chen reluctantly went home with Zhu Pingan. On the way, the mother Chen's smile never stopped, and she looked radiant, as if she was ten years younger.
When Zhu Ping'an and his mother returned home, no one was home yet. His father drove the ox cart back and forth between the town and the mountain village as usual, and his eldest brother went into the mountains to prepare for the banquet three days later. His mother Chen began to prepare dinner, and Zhu Ping'an returned to his room to copy the books from the Li family's collection that he had borrowed today.
Everything is in order and orderly.
The first one to come back was the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan, who seemed to have made a much bigger harvest than usual. The basket he carried was full of things, and he was holding two fat rabbits in his hands.
The next person to come back was Zhu's father. After driving the carriage into the house, he took out the meat buns, fruits and other items he bought from the town from the carriage.
The dinner was very warm and I could feel the love of my family everywhere.
It’s nice to be home.
Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but sigh.
It’s so nice to be at home
Not everyone holds a positive opinion. For example, Zhu Ping'an's uncle Zhu Shouren, who was exhausted but waited until dark before returning home, did not think so. Home? How could home compare to the prosperous Qinhuai River
Qinhuai River is still better. I am handsome and charming, and people admire me. It's not like now, when I have to sneak back home.
As for why he was doing it secretly, it was because his nephew took the boy's exam for the first time. Unexpectedly, he not only passed the county exam, the prefectural exam, and the academy exam smoothly, but also won the first place in the very difficult prefectural exam and the even more difficult academy exam. Not only did he pass the exam, he also won the first place in the case. As for me, I was unlucky and had a bad life. It was another year when I failed the exam. I had been studying for decades and took the exam more than ten times, but I was beaten by a young boy who had just finished his studies.
It was not a big deal outside, but the closer I got to the village, the more ashamed I felt, so I waited until it was dark and there were not many people to see clearly before entering the village.
Alas, our ancestors only protect our nephews but not our uncles.
Before the exam, I consulted a fortune teller, who said that my Zhu family ancestors had blessed me and I was sure to win this time. I didn't expect that my nephew would snatch it away. I will consult a feng shui master someday. I always feel that the second son's family is hindering my family and suppressing my luck.
While thinking about this, Uncle Zhu Shouren sneaked towards the Zhu family's old house from the village entrance.
Fortunately, everyone was eating or resting at home at this time, and there was no one on the streets of the village, which allowed Uncle Zhu Shouren to walk to the Zhu family's old house smoothly.
Zhu Shouren stood in the Zhu family's old house for a long time, and after he had calmed down, he gently pushed open the door of the Zhu family's old house.
At this time, the Zhu family had already had dinner, and Grandpa Zhu was sitting in the yard under the starry sky to enjoy the cool. In the past few days, Grandpa Zhu was happy and painful. He was happy because his little grandson won the first place in the examination for the scholar, and he was painful because his eldest son failed the exam again. In fact, what Grandpa Zhu wanted most was that his eldest son could pass the exam. If he could make the decision, he would definitely exchange the fame of his little grandson for his eldest son. However, reality is reality, which made Grandpa Zhu happy and painful, and he was a little disappointed with his eldest son.
Old Master Zhu also missed his eldest son very much. His little grandson had been back for two days, but why hadn't his eldest son come back yet? I hoped nothing had happened to him on the way.
When Mr. Zhu was talking about his eldest son, he found the door was pushed open and someone walked in.
The figure looks familiar.
Before Mr. Zhu could take a closer look, he saw the figure walking towards him, yelling, and kneeling on the ground.
"Dad, I am an unfilial son. I failed the exam again. Woo, wow, I am an unfilial son. I left home in early February to prepare for the exam. I got up in the morning to recite and reviewed at night. I never stopped. I didn't have to take the county exam or the prefectural exam, but I never stopped studying. During that time, I gave my son many pointers, which helped him pass the county and prefectural exams. But, I was unlucky. My son's health was not good. He didn't get sick early or late, but he got sick when the college exam was approaching. I was also worried that he would not be able to bring honor to the family, so I taught my son carefully, and he didn't let me down. But I was unlucky. He was still seriously ill during the exam and failed at the last minute. I am an unfilial son."
My uncle knelt on the ground, hugged my grandfather's thighs, and cried sadly.
It turns out that the reason why Zhier was able to pass the exam to become a scholar was all thanks to his eldest son's teaching. No wonder. The grandfather's faint disappointment with his uncle just now disappeared after hearing his uncle's sincere words.
"Zhi'er has been back for two days, why did you come just now?" Grandfather still had a question in his mind.
"In order to save money, my son walked for several days, traveling day and night."
The uncle hugged my grandfather's thigh, crying and sobbing, and spoke very sincerely.
It wasn't like he was traveling day and night. It was dark when his eldest son came home. In order to save money and reduce the burden on the family, the grandfather believed his eldest son's words. He almost burst into tears when he saw his eldest son coming home at night. (To be continued...)
Chapter 163: Ancestors Help Nephews, Not Uncles: