After being in Pingzhou for a week, Zhulan has become familiar with the surrounding environment. Zhou Shuren is busy studying or going out with Zhao Bo to expand his social circle. When she has nothing to do, she goes out for a walk or plays with the children at home.
Today, Zhou Shuren not only went out by himself, but also took Mingqing and Shumo with him, and did not come back for lunch.
It was rare for Wu Lishi not to bring any food back. Zhulan asked, "Aren't you going to bring some back for the children?"
Mrs. Wu Li smiled and said, "The four of them went to my grandmother's house, and I am the only one back home."
Zhulan's eyes lit up. Since Wu Li was not in a hurry to go back, she could just have a chat with her.
The neighbors around were quite arrogant. The family on the left was a scholar, and the family on the right was a minor official. They knew everything about Zhulan's family. Zhou Shuren was so old that he still wanted to take the exam to become a scholar, which made people look down on him. They thought that Zhou Shuren was not worth making friends with. Zhulan visited them according to etiquette. The two families were neither friendly nor indifferent, and Zhulan had a smile on her face.
After returning, she inquired about the situation of the two families in detail. The neighbors thought that the Zhou family was not worth making friends with, so she wanted to investigate it carefully. If she had not been afraid of troubling Zhao Bo, she would have asked him to find out when she came to Pingzhou.
After asking around, Zhulan understood clearly that the scholar's family was just arrogant because of their studies, and the neighbor on the right was just looking down on others, but he didn't have any bad intentions.
Zhulan was relieved. As long as the etiquette was followed, the only person she could talk to was Wu and Li.
Mrs. Wu Li and Zhulan got along well. She knew that the Zhou family was kind-hearted and did not look down on her. They often asked her to bring more food back home. She was grateful and did not go home after dinner, but stayed to chat.
Wu talked about the difficulties of life. "Ordinary people in the state capital don't live as well as people in the countryside. Everything costs money. It's not like in the countryside where you have your own land. Although you don't have much left after paying taxes, you won't really starve to death if you tighten your belt. At least food doesn't cost money, and you can grow vegetables in the vegetable garden, so you can be self-sufficient."
Zhulan agreed, "Life in the city is indeed not easy, and it is even harder when a natural disaster strikes."
Mrs. Wu Li shuddered. "Who says it's not true? Just look at the severe drought four years ago. The price of grain doubled before it became a disaster. If it weren't for the increase in grain prices, my youngest son and daughter-in-law wouldn't have died in a man-made disaster."
Seeing Wu Li wipe away her tears, Zhulan hurriedly comforted her, "Life will get better and better. Your eldest grandson will soon become a successful person, and it will also comfort the spirits of the two of you in heaven."
Mrs. Wu Li wiped her tears and smiled. "This child is sensible. He is only fifteen this year. Neither I nor I thought he would pass the county exam. I wish I could pray to Buddha every day and hope that the Buddha will bless Wu Ming to pass the exam and become a scholar."
Zhulan said, "I will definitely do that."
Everyone likes to hear good words. Mrs. Wu Li smiled happily and said, "Thank you for your good words."
The next day was the day of the provincial examination. Zhulan saw Zhou Shuren off when it was just dawn. Zhulan had not been too concerned about him at first, but Wu Li kept mentioning her grandson, and Zhulan felt worried too.
Zhulan didn't feel at ease until Zhou Shuren came back in the evening. There were several provincial examinations to take, so Zhulan bought several hens for Zhou Shuren to nourish him.
In the evening, Zhulan didn't ask. Zhou Shuren was very tired, so he had dinner and went to rest early to recuperate.
Although Zhou Shuren didn't say how he did in the exam, Zhulan could tell from his expression that he did well. As for Mingqing and Shumo, they both looked unhappy and had no appetite even for the good food.
In order to establish a good relationship, Zhulan would bring some extra meals back to Wu Li these days. Wu Li was grateful to her profusely. From her smiling face, she knew that Wu Ming had done well in the exam.