Li's heart was pounding with fear, and she thought to herself it was all over, no hope, she had been thinking about it for nothing the whole morning. Woohoo, in order to make better mooncakes, she had cruelly added a hundred coins, but this time she couldn't get her money back.
Zhulan patted her daughter's hand and said, "It's okay. You are too young to bear any injustice."
Xuemei pursed her lips. She had never expected that her father's decision not to go to the county would have such a big impact. She said worriedly, "Mom, it won't affect the marriage between the two families, will it?"
Zhulan said: "No, the county magistrate is a wise man."
Because the county magistrate was a sensible man, she was not worried at all about the marriage failing.
Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it didn't turn yellow. "Mom, don't we need to worry about Chang Lian?"
Why does she look at her mother without any intention of comforting her
Zhu Lan waved her hand, "What Chang Lian needs now is to calm down. When he calms down, he will take the initiative to find your father."
She couldn't be unconvinced. She could educate the children, but in ancient times she was not allowed to show her knowledge, and Chang Lian would not seek comfort from her.
It was time for lunch, and Zhou Shuren took Jiang Sheng out to eat. The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted for a long time, and Jiang Sheng's face was no longer serious, but smiling.
Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren aside and whispered, "Changlian is back, and he's still bored in the room. Mingteng went to call him for dinner, but he didn't respond."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows. Chang Lian was quite upset. "Leave the food for now and ignore him. Let's eat ours."
The lunch table was very quiet. After being disappointed, Li no longer concealed Chang Lian's purpose. Everyone in the family knew what Chang Lian was doing and had mixed reactions.
Boss Zhou really didn't realize that Li was hiding something from him. He felt bad and suddenly realized that his silly wife had grown up with her own ideas and was no longer his silly wife. As for Chang Lian's setbacks, he thought it was normal. He really thought that if he learned from his father he would have his father's abilities. On the contrary, he thought that it was better to suffer setbacks sooner, as Chang Lian had gone a little too far recently.
Zhou Laoer was full of contempt, thinking that Chang Lian hadn't even learned to walk yet he wanted to learn to run. He really thought it was easy for his father to have a respectable reputation outside. He was just being stupid and it was his own fault.
Chang Zhi just said "oh" and thought about how to comfort his third brother. His third brother had been very nice to him these days.
Xuemei felt that Chang Lian was naive. Jiang Sheng had his father's support outside, but he was still humble and it was common for him to make things difficult and be cheated when entertaining guests. However, this kid's luck was probably used up in his engagement. This time his luck was really bad, as his father happened not to go to the county. All the anger directed at his father in the past was taken out on Chang Lian. In addition, since the son of a scholar could marry the county magistrate's daughter, he was also an object of jealousy!
Xue Han is a little worried about the third brother. He hopes that he will not get so upset that he will never recover!
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were the calmest people.
After dinner, Jiang Sheng felt relieved and no longer thought about making money. With the help of his father-in-law, he copied books and went to the county to help. In total, he saved up 15 taels of silver. With the subsidies from his mother-in-law, even if he didn't make money, he could study safely until the exam.
His father-in-law told him the truth, that his family would move to Pingzhou next year, and starting next year, he and his wife would no longer have to spend money on renting a house, and they would save money on helping his father-in-law look after the fields and food. Plus, since his father-in-law was going to Pingzhou next year, he would no longer have to spend extra money on taking the exam. With money in his hands, he would have a place to stay and food to eat. As long as he passed the exam and had the fields registered under his name, he would make a lot of money a year!
Jiang Sheng was panicking when he came, but when he took his wife and children home, he felt at ease and had a bright future.
Zhulan and Zhou Shuren planned to take a rest. Not long after they lay down, there was a knock on the door. Zhulan opened her eyes and mouthed, "Chang Lian."
Zhou Shuren stood up and said, "Go to sleep. He is here to see me."
Zhulan: "Yeah."
Zhou Shuren put on his shoes and opened the door. Chang Lian's clothes were wrinkled and his hands had scars. This was self-abuse. Zhou Shuren said with disdain, "What a loser."
Chang Lian put his hands behind his back in panic. His father got angry and said, "Dad, I was careless."
"Do you think I'm as easy to fool as your elder brother?"
Chang Lian, “… . . . .”
He was clearly suppressing his anger, but his father's words made him want to laugh for some reason. He felt that his eldest brother had a hard time, and his father could even pull his eldest brother out and poke him in the heart!
Zhou Shuren sat in the main seat in the main hall. He felt thirsty after sleeping for a while. "Tell me, what unpleasant words did you hear today?"
Zhou Shuren picked up the teapot and found that it was empty. Worried about Zhulan waking up and having no water to drink, he stood up with the teapot in hand and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go get your mother a pot of water so she won't have a dry mouth when she wakes up. The fire was a little too strong at noon, and the kang was too hot, so the room is very dry."
Chang Lian, “… … ..”
He finally prepared himself mentally and was about to say the difficult words, but his father was only worried about his mother getting up and having no water to drink. Well, he suddenly felt that his father was the biggest blow to him. All the grievances he suffered in the county today were nothing. In his father's eyes, he must have been an innocent person. Oh yes, there was also his elder brother, and there was someone to support him and give him an inexplicable balance.
Chang Lian's expression looked a little strange. Why did he pull his eldest brother out
Zhou Shuren brought water into the house, made tea for himself, and brought back some snacks, "Okay, go ahead!"
Chang Lian, "... ... ... "
He suddenly didn't want to talk anymore! Dad, if you treat your own son like this, you will lose your own son. He obviously needs comfort, comfort!
Zhou Shuren poured some tea, "Don't want to talk? Then why did you look for me?"
Chang Lian's face was wooden. If he didn't speak, he suspected that his father would really take the tea and leave. "... Some people say that I am a gigolo and that my father is a flatterer. Chuchu's cousin negotiated with me about the prescription without Chuchu's knowledge and gave me twenty taels of silver as alms. He also forced me to sell it. Dad, I don't even have the right to refuse to sell it."
He really didn't care whether his father was a gigolo or not. He trusted his father inexplicably. He was angry and thought that his father was a flatterer. Once he said it, he couldn't suppress his anger. In his heart, his father was great all this year. He argued with him a few times, but all he got in return was more ridicule!
Zhou Shuren looked at the anger in Chang Lian's eyes. He was indeed a child. Just a few words could make him really angry. "Actually, you are not wrong. Your father did behave in a humble manner outside and flattered many people."
Chang Lian's eyes widened, "Dad, aren't you angry?"
Zhou Shuren drank his tea slowly. "Today, Dad will teach you a lesson. Don't get angry over irrelevant people, because it's not worth it. When you can remain calm in the face of sarcasm and go out for social events, then you will be considered a beginner."
Chang Lian was dumbfounded, "You entered without changing your expression?"
He didn't throw a punch today. It was all the result of a year of learning from his father, but his restraint wasn't even at the entry level!
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "Yes, keeping a straight face is the entry level. You need to be able to distinguish useful words from sarcastic remarks. This is for beginners. If you can distinguish which words are truly sarcastic and which are out of jealousy, and analyze why they are sarcastic, why they are jealous, and what interests are involved behind them, then you have achieved a small success."
Chang Lian took a breath and asked, "Dad, what are the criteria for becoming a master?"