In the other room, Wan Li looked at his wife and son with a smile on his face.
Wan Xiao Fan was holding a doll in hand.
They made many dolls for the store and there would be some defective products. These defective products were usually not for sale. Lu Lin would give them to the kids in the house, and Wan Xiao Fan got several.
In the past few months, Wan Xiao Fan had become more and more cheerful.
Yun Niang looked at Wan Xiao Fan who was having fun and showed a grin. There were two young masters in the house, Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai, but both of them had good temperament and never had they bullied Xiao Fan. Yun Niang hoped they could have a peaceful life like this.
"This year, our masters must have earned a lot of money. I wonder how the next year will be."
"Next year should be a good one. The products in the shop this year are very popular," Yun Niang said.
Wan Li said with some concern, "I'm not too sure about that. There are imitations shops already."
"Don't worry, I'm sure the master will launch new products," Yun Niang was very convinced of Lu Lin, she admired Lu Lin's various wonderful thoughts.
Wan Li was full of admiration for Lu Lin as well, he said, "Our master is not an ordinary person, next year will be even better for everyone."
The Imperial Examinations and Dolls
Spring returned to the earth after winter passed.
After Chinese New Year, Chen Xiao Cai pestered Lu Lin for going back to Willow Town to reopen the branch there.
The shop in Forest Town had been open the whole time. The sales had hit record high during the New Year season, which made Chen Xiao Cai extremely jealous.
On New Year's Eve, Chen Xiao Mi called Chen Xiao Cai into his room and told Chen Xiao Cai that both stores at Forest Town and Willow Town belonged to them. There was no other 'Big Boss' behind this.
At first, Lu Lin thought that Chen Xiao Cai was too young to handle this 'breaking news'. However, Chen Xiao Mi felt that his brother was already engaged, and he had been a shopkeeper for so long, Xiao Mi thought it was time that Xiao Cai should know the truth.
Chen Xiao Cai had his doubts before Xiao Mi told him the truth, but it still took him a little while to digest this.
Chen Xiao Mi told Chen Xiao Cai that after two years, when he and Shen Chi officially got married, he would transfer the property and the shop in Willow Town to them.
Chen Xiao Cai didn't expect his brother would suddenly mention this. He blushed and declined.
Chen Xiao Cai had a deprived childhood, so did Shen Chi. They both believed in hard work, so they happened to have the same view about going back to Willow Town and started working.
Chen Xiao Mi knew that Chen Xiao Cai was leaving soon, he was reluctant to say goodbye to his brother, but he let him go in the end.
…
When Chen Xiao Cai arrived at Willow Town, he went into overdrive, happily.
Shen Chi looked at Chen Xiao Cai and asked, "Cai, why are you so happy?"
Shen Chi looked at Chen Xiao Cai and felt that Chen Xiao Cai looked inexplicably pumped.
Chen Xiao Cai smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just think our store is going to be re-opened soon. I'm just happy we are going back to work and make money."
Chen Xiao Cai thought that the shop was the big boss's, they were just working for someone else. Now that he knew that the store was his brother and brother-in-law's, he started to see this completely different.
As the shopkeeper of the store, Chen Xiao Cai naturally knew how much money the store would make per month. Chen Xiao Cai did some quick math in his mind, he just found everything too good to be true.
Shen Chi nodded and said, "Yes, I'm excited about going back to work as well."
During the New Year holiday, Lu Lin made quite a lot of delicious food. Shen Chi felt that he didn't deserve to have those yummy dishes because he didn't work much in Forest Town. However, the dishes Lu Lin made were too irresistible, especially the hotpot. When he first tried it, he felt his mouth was on fire, but the more he ate, the more he wanted.
Shen Chi tried so hard to stop eating, but he couldn't control himself.
It was very comfortable to eat hotpot around the stove in winter times. Shen Chi felt he had gained weight.
Shen Chi still couldn't forget how Granny Shen told him that he should watch what he ate now.
Shen Chi scratched his head and thought to himself, 'I need to listen to my grandmother. It's not good to become too fat.'
Chen Xiao Cai glanced at Shen Chi who was in a daze and asked, " Chi, what are you thinking?"
Shen Chi blushed and shook his head, "Nothing."
As soon as Chen Xiao Cai's shop reopened, there was a stream of customers rushing in. Forest Town's store stayed open during the holiday, so the business in the store had been relatively stable, but Willow Town was different. Chen Xiao Cai closed the store for Chinese New Year, so the customers had been wanting to get some new stuff.
Chen Xiao Cai did not expect that customers would actually flock to the store as soon as he reopened it.
The two of them worked hard from early morning to nightfall.
…
In Lu family.
Tang looked at Li Fang Yue's girl in her arms and said unhappily, "Why is this girl crying all the time?"
"She is hungry, I don't have enough milk to feed her."
Tang looked at Li Fang Yue with a frown and said, "You have been eating so many good things, but you just don't have enough milk to feed your own daughter. Tut tut tut, what a waste of food!"
Li Fang Yue bit her lips and lower her head after she was once again scolded by Tang. She was frustrated at herself for not having enough milk. Lin Xiu'er, on the other hand, had no trouble breast feeding her son. Li Fang Yue had begged Lin Xiu'er to feed her daughter, but Lin Xiu'er would just turn her down on lame excuses.
Li Fang Yue could only carry her daughter out and beg other new moms to feed her. Occasionally, she would make some fine porridge to feed the baby girl. But Grandma Lu would scold her for doing that, Grandma Lu said making porridge for babies was a waste of money. These past few days was dark as hex for Li Fang Yue.
Bios couldn't breast feed. Bios in the village could only beg other new moms to feed their babies. Tang was curious about how Chen Xiao Mi was going to feed his baby.
From the people who often went to town, Tang heard that Chen Xiao Mi had hired a wet nurse. And on top of that, Lu Lin had bought three female goats.
One female goat was worth a few hundred cents, three goats had cost Lu Lin at least 1 tael of silver.
Tang turned green with envy after she heard that. But she also found it strange that even if Chen Xiao Mi had saved the owner of the commercial house in town, how come the owner had actually allowed them to raise goats in the backyard!
…
After spring, the Lu family was busy. Tang pestered Li Fang Yue for networking with her brother-in-law for Lu Cheng Yu for the upcoming imperial examination, Li Fang Yue felt so embarrassed, but she dared not disobey Tang.
Li Fang Yue's second brother, Li Hong, was also a Tongsheng and had yet to be a Xiucai. She didn't think networking with her brother-in-law could actually help.
Li Fang Yue's father had asked Li Ru to let the Secretary-General to help Li Hong in the exam, but the Secretary-General said any misconduct in the imperial examinations would give rise to discharge from a post. Even the magistrate's hand were tied, let alone a Secretary-General.
There were so many influential families in town, if it were feasible to pull strings at imperial examinations, they would have done that already. The Lu family had a good opinion about themselves, but they were nothing compared to the wealthy families in town.
However, Li Fang Yue e dared not say that out loud, she was well aware that the Lu family had spent a lot of money to marry her for the sake of Lu Cheng Yu's official rank in the exams. She dreaded to think what would become of her once the Lu family found out there was nothing she could do to help.
Li Fang Yue could only hope that Lu Cheng Yu would be able to pass the exam fair and square.
Li Fang Yue was full of regret. Back then, she agreed to be betrothed to Lu Cheng Yu when she heard that Lu Cheng Yu was willing to give a such a generous betrothal present, but she never imagined that she would lead such a miserable life after she married into the Lu Family.
Grandma Lu was domineering and her mother-in-law was ferocious.
…
After spring, there were some cheap imitation doll shops in town. However, Lu Lin's store had the most exquisite designs and the best sales.
Although Lu Lin had always thought that his store should take a high-end route, he would do some discount promotions from time to time, so the store's image became more approachable.
Yuan Bao was now able to move his tiny arms and legs.
Lu Lin always felt that his baby demonstrated more strength than other babies, and his legs and feet were particularly strong.
Yuan Bao couldn't crawl yet. Occasionally, when Yuan Bao wriggled on his tummy, he would lift his head up high. Lu Lin felt that his son's eyes were particularly sharp when he raised his head. That only made Yuan Bao more adorable considering he was wearing a diaper and had no idea what he was doing.
Business in Lu Lin's store had been very stable.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi's savings now had reached a new high, 1300 taels. Lu Lin never felt so rich in both his live.
Chen Xiao Mi carefully put away the jar for their savings.
Lu Lin held his chin and said, "It's still not enough to buy an official title!" Even though in this era you could buy official titles, most of the titles were in some remote areas.
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and found that Lu Lin was still very persistent about buying an official title.
"Lin, we need to give the matter of buying an official title further thought."
Lu Lin nodded and thought to himself, 'Yeah, things like this cannot be rushed. Me and Mi are still young, we have plenty time for this. In my past life, young men of my age are still at college, but look at me now, I have a family with Mi, and I also have two commercial houses and three properties.'
…
After the weather warmed up, the town became lively and the school was reopened.
The Spring Imperial Examination had become the talk of town again.
Lu Lin launched rooster dolls in the store. There were many other dolls in Lu Lin's store, but the rooster dolls were most popular ones among the students.
Roosters brought honor and were considered a symbol of triumph, they were considered auspicious in the traditional culture. Therefore, a lot of students and their family members would buy one rooster doll.
The moment the rooster doll was launched, the students went crazy.
Yang Heng Zhi went to Lu Lin and said, "Master Lin, you have another busy day today!"
Lu Lin hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Yang, welcome!"
" Master Lin, you are such a genius! All of my classmates are inquiring about the rooster dolls."
Some students claimed that they found it naïve to buy a rooster doll as an auspicious symbol. However, as far as Yang Heng Zhi knew, those students had secretly let their families buy roosters for them.
The popularity of rooster dolls had surprised Lu Lin, they were selling like hotcakes, which made Lu Lin think about changing the most-treasured piece in the store to a giant rooster doll. Lu Lin had already asked two workers to get started.
"I'm so flattered, Young Master Yang. I just want to do something for the students! Good luck to all the students who are going to attend the Spring Imperial Examination this year!"
Yang Heng Zhi smiled, "Thank you so much, Master Lu, that's very thoughtful of you."
…
As soon as the giant rooster doll appeared in the shop, several established councilors had showed great interest in making an offer.
One of them had directly offered thirty taels of silver.
A young master had bought one lifesize bear for thirty taels of silver.
After that, some of the lifesize dolls on display were sold for 20 taels to 25 taels. Someone bought a lifesize tiger doll for 30 tales days ago, but they were all on display for days.
Lu Lin couldn't believe someone had made an offer on the first day they had put the giant rooster doll in the store.
Other councilors started to bid against each other.
Lu Lin could only sigh in his heart. Parents were willing to do anything for their children, they were willing to spend more than 30 taels of silver on a doll for good luck!
Lu Lin sold the rooster doll to a councilor for 50 taels of silver.
After getting 50 taels of silver, Lu Lin could not help but feel excited.
"Wealth people are so strange!" Chen Xiao Mi held 50 taels of silver, and he couldn't figure out what was in the councilor's mind.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "I don't care what is in their mind, I only care how much they are willing to pay us!"
Chen Xiao Mi, "I agree." In that case, it seemed right.
…
"Lu Cheng Yu is attending the exam again this year!" Chen Xiao Mi said.
Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah! Chen Jing, your cousin, is going to attend it too!"
Chen Xiao Mi pouted and said, "Chen Jing won't make it. as for Lu Cheng Yu, I say fifty-fifty."
Lu Lin rolled his eyes and said, "Who knows."
Yang Heng Zhi, the eldest son of the Yang family, only got the title of Xiucai two years ago. Yang Heng Zhi had a tutor since he was a toddle, and he studied so hard for well over a decade for that title.
Chen Xiao Mi held his chin and said, "Tang spread the word that Lu Cheng Yu will get the title of Xiucai this year. If he can't, Li Fang Yue will suffer big time."
Lu Lin rolled his eyes. He had recently asked Yang Heng Zhi about whether it was feasible to pull strings for the exam. Yang Heng Zhi told Lu Lin that it was impossible for the magistrate to have a say in the exam, let alone the Secretary-General. It was usually the governors who were in charge of the in charge of the examination.
Yet Another Failure
When spring arrived, people started to get busy again.
The students were busy preparing for the exam, while the farmers were busy with looking after domestic animals and crops.
Tang continually pestered Li Fang Yue for information. Li Fang Yue dared not guarantee anything, she would just evade the issue and looked away.
They were struggling financially, Tang desperately hoped that Lu Cheng Yu would be able to get the title of Xiucai so she could show off in the village.
Li Fang Yue didn't dare to promise Tang something that was beyond her and her family's ability. The Secretary-General had taken another concubine recently, they were passionately attached to each other at the moment. Li Fang Yue's sister Li Ru was out of favor with the Secretary-General, she was deeply troubled by the new concubine, she felt sorry that she was not in a position to give help to her sister.
The exam was just around the corner, Tang was frustrated by Li Fang Yue's ambiguous statements, what she wanted was a promise. She started to quarrel with Li Fang Yue. Tang asked Li Fang Yue whether her sister was just a concubine.
How could Li Fang Yue admit it? She avoided that question, she kept saying that her sister and the Secretary-General were very much in love, the Secretary-General promised her sister that he would marry her as his wife once she gives birth to a son.
Tang wasn't satisfied with the answer, the two started to argue loudly, Lin Xiu'er who was walking past the hallway had heard it all.
Lin Xiu'er was shocked to the core when she heard what the argument was about. She walked back to her room in a daze.
…
"What's going on with you? You look unwell." Lu An couldn't help asking when he noticed Lin Xiu'er's expression.
After a while, Lin Xiu'er calmed down and said, "Li Fang Yue's sister is a concubine."
Lu An was stunned by Lin Xiu'er's words. "What did you say?"
Lin Xiu'er calmed down and said word by word, "Li Fang Yue's sister is a concubine. She said it herself."
Lu An's eyes widened. "How is that possible? If Li Ru is just a concubine, why would Cheng Yu marry her?"
Lin Xiu'er thought for a moment and thought, "Yeah!" If Li Ru was just a concubine, why would Cheng Yu marry Li Fang Yue?
"Perhaps Cheng Yu didn't know at first that Li Fang Yue's sister was a concubine."
Lin Xiu'er suddenly remembered that Tang treated Li Fang Yuewell at first, but it went downhill all of a sudden. Lin Xiu'er thought that Tang must have known the truth back then, but she was afraid of losing face, so she kept it from Grandma Lu and the rest of the family.
Lu An's face darkened and he said indignantly, "We have spent so much money for this marriage only to marry a concubine's sister? "
Concubines of rich people was a special existence in the villagers' eyes. They were jealous of their comfortable lifestyle but they looked down upon their status.
Lu An thought about the betrothal presents that Lu Cheng Yu had sent to the Li family and now the family was arguing for 1 tael of silver. Anger simmered inside Lu An, it took him so long to finally calm down.
Lin Xiu'er looked at Lu An and asked in confusion, "You were in town before. Don't you know about this?"
"I've heard people say that the Li family's daughter married Secretary-General, who would have thought that she was just a concubine."
Lin Xiu'er was indignant as well. Li Fang Yue had recently given birth to a girl, so she was less arrogant. However, when she first married into this family, it was not like this. She put on airs in front of Lin Xiu'er. Back then, Lin Xiu'er dared not offend the Secretary-General's sister-in-law.
"An, shall we tell Grandma Lu about this," Lin Xiu'er asked.
There was a trace of malice in Lu An's eyes. He pondered for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it after Cheng Yu's exam."
If Lu Cheng Yu passed the exam, they could let this matter go. But if otherwise, then Lu An would have to talk about it in details with the entire family.
Lin Xiu'er nodded and said, "Then we will wait. It's just a few days away."
…
The Spring Imperial Examination was a life-and-death event for many students. There were students who fainted during the exam every year.
On the day of the Spring Imperial Examination, Lu Lin couldn't help but smile when he saw the nervous students attending the exam.
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and asked, "What are you grinning at?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's just a very different feeling to watch others getting so nervous about exams."
Lu Lin recalled his college entrance examination, he was so nervous that he didn't sleep well the night before the exam. But now he got to sit in his store and watch others getting nervous, he secretly enjoyed this feeling.
Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and felt that was not very cool.
"I heard that there are some customers who burn incense and say prayers to our rooster dolls," Lu Lin rubbed his nose, not understanding the people in this time and era.
Chen Xiao Mi sighed and said, "We sell our dolls to the customers. We shouldn't care what the customers do with the dolls."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yeah!"
Roosters and several other dolls which were related to the Spring Imperial Examination were sold out.
…
Chen Xiao Cai organized the dolls in the store. Recently, the dolls sold in the store all had a touch of auspicious characteristic. For example, this bear doll held a heart in its hand with three words written on the heart, "Number One Scholar". Next to it were bunnies and deer held hearts with similar writings.
Recently, quite a few people came to buy dolls with "Number One Scholar" writings.
Chen Xiao Cai had sold a giant rooster in Willow Town for sixty taels of silver.
Looking at the silver in the cupboard, Chen Xiao Cai had the jitters. In the past, he thought that the money he earned was for the Big Boss. He was amazed by the profits, but he was able to keep a level head because he always saw himself as an employee who was earning a regular wage. Now that he knew that there was no 'big boss who was on a business trip', he just felt all the silver in hand had become much heavier.
There was a time when Chen Xiao Cai's dream was to earn a little money and buy 2 mus of farmland like the ordinary people in the village. If he had land, his brother wouldn't have to risk his life hunting. But now, he had just earned 60 taels of silver from selling a doll, enough to buy several acres of land.
Shen Chi cupped his face in hand and said, "The giant doll is really profitable! However, Lin Gege has told us to only sell one from time to time.
Chen Xiao Cai replied, "Lin Gege said that things are precious when they are rare. If we sell them like regular dolls, people won't be interested in them anymore."
Shen Chi tilted his head and said, "I'm not sure whether I really understand, but Lin Gege is really amazing! He has all the genius business ideas and he is such a quick learner on the books."
The tutor that Lu Lin hired for Cai and Chi assumed great airs, he went on strikes. However, as long as the tutor read through the article for once, Lu Lin could memorize how to read all the characters. It was Lu Lin who taught the kids to read when the tutor was not available.
Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Lin Gege is something else." Chen Xiao Cai secretly admired Lu Lin, but he would never admit it in front of Lu Lin.
…
In the midst of the torment among the students, the government finally released the announcement of examination results.
On the day of the ranking release, many people joined the scene of bustle. Many villagers who were not able to read also surrounded the announcement.
Lu Lin stood in the outer circle and looked at the crowd with mixed feelings.
"I passed, I passed!" With an exciting scream, a student fainted.
Lu Lin thought to himself, "Wow! Someone really fainted because of excessive excitement."
A thirteen-or-fourteen-year-old boy suddenly uttered cries of anguish. "I did not pass, I did not. How can I go back to see my father?"
Lu Lin looked at the young man's outfit and suspected that he was born in literary family. He must be very confident in this exam. So he couldn't take it when he found out that he had failed.
Lu Lin looked at the young man and thought to himself, 'You are just a baby. It's really unnecessary to cry like this. If you can't get the exam this time, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Look at the old Tongsheng standing right next to you, he didn't pass it either, but look how poised he is! Of course, maybe he is used to it and he doesn't care anymore.'
Lu Lin looked at the list and he didn't see Lu Cheng Yu's name.
Lu Lin checked again, there was still no Lu Cheng Yu's name.
Lu Lin shook his head, thinking that Lu Cheng Yu might not have a healthy mentality for the exam. Lu Lin couldn't help but recall some of his classmates in his previous life, they were straight A students, but they tended to get so nervous and fail in big exams.
…
Lu Cheng Yu had once again failed in the exam, provoking an uproar from the village.
"It's useless to marry a lady in town!"
"This exam is really fair, you just really have real materials, and all those attempts to take shortcuts are useless."
"To think the price he has paid to take that so-called shortcut! Tut tut tut, 30 tales of silver as betrothal present!"
"But it's worth a try, if he can pass the exam, he will have a bright official career in the future!"
"It's not that easy, he still has a long way to go after he has passed the exam! "
…
The Lu family was of course in a turmoil. Lin Xiu'er knew that Li Fang Yue's sister was a concubine and had been holding it back for some time. However, she didn't plan to tell anyone before the result of Lu Cheng Yu's Spring Exam was released. Seeing Lu Cheng Yu having failed again, she couldn't hold it back any longer.
Grandma Lu who had high hopes this year was left disappointed.
At this point, Lin Xiu'er exposed that Li Fang Yue's sister was just a concubine, the news was no difference than adding fuel to the flames for the entire family.
Grandma Lu slapped Li Fang Yue right away while Grandpa Lu collapsed in the yard in shock.
Tang was a little guilty at first when Lin Xiu'er exposed the secret. However, she turned around and scolded Lin Xiu'er after Grandpa Lu fainted. Grandma Lu cried her heart out when she saw her husband slumping down on the ground.
Lin Xiu'er was not to be trifled with. She argued back when Tang scolded her for going too far.
Li Fang Yue knew that Lu Cheng Yu didn't pass the exam again, she held her daughter and hid inside the room.
The little baby in Li Fang Yue's arms was frightened by the noise in the yard and started to cry. Li Fang Yue covered the little baby's mouth anxiously.
Li Fang Yue also preferred a boy, but she loved the baby girl in her arms, and she always felt sorry for her daughter that she didn't have enough milk. Tang was different. Tang kept cursing Li Fang Yue and her daughter.
Lu Cheng Yu didn't even check on his daughter when she was crying. Instead, he was quite annoyed by the crying.
Grandpa Lu is Paralyzed
The Lu family was in a ruckus for a while. Even though Grandma Lu was stingy, she could not remain indifferent when her husband had fainted. She gnashed her teeth and sent for a doctor.
The doctor shook his head helplessly after seeing Grandpa Lu.
Soon, the news that Grandpa Lu was paralyzed spread across the village.
The news reached Lu Lin's ears, which shocked Lu Lin, but Lu Lin soon felt relieved.
Most people in this time and space were malnourished and overworked, and their lifespan was very short. Many people died in their forties, sixty or seventy years old was considered longevity. Grandpa Lu now had a great granddaughter, so it wasn't that shocking that he suffered some medical diagnosis at his age.
Lu Lin didn't care about Grandpa Lu that much.
Although Grandma Lu was domineering and she was the initiator of evil for many things, but if Grandpa Lu had said a few words for the father of the host Lu Lin, the host's father wouldn't have died on the battlefield.
Chen Xiao Mi pouted and said, "This is a really bad timing for Grandpa Lu to get paralyzed."
The Lu family just had two babies, things were already hectic for them. But Grandpa Lu had suddenly collapsed, it was going to be troublesome.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm sure they will be just fine. A starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although a rich family has become less rich than previous, they are still richer than a poor family. "
The Lu family had some family property accumulated over a long time, they were by no means impoverished.
"Grandma Lu's psychological endurance is strong!"
Lu Lin felt that Grandma Lu would be furious when she found out they were tricked by the Li family, however, it was Grandpa Lu who had collapsed.
…
As soon as Grandpa Lu fell down, Tang started to worry. The entire family was now relying on the income from the field, which was not much.
The income could barely cover Lu Cheng Yu's tuition fee and family expenses at the same time. They couldn't make ends meet now with Grandpa Lu's medical condition.
Grandma Lu sent the doctor away when the doctor said his hands were tied, and she was reluctant to find a better doctor.
Lu Ming paced back and forth in frustration, he asked Tang discontentedly, "Why did Cheng Yu flunk again! The Secretary-General didn't do anything for Cheng Yu, right?"
Tang sighed and said, "It seems that the Secretary-General can't affect this exam."
"How is that possible," Lu Ming stood up excitedly. If not for the fact that Li Fang Yue was the Secretary-General's sister-in-law, he would not have approved this marriage in the first place.
Tang said sullenly, " Li Fang Yue's sister might not be able to help at all." After all, she was just a concubine.
Lu Ming said angrily, "Damx our luck! "
Tang sighed and said, "Look, Grandma Lu now is sick. What should we do?"
Lu Ming's mind was in a turmoil as well. There were some elders in the town who also suffered the same condition. Their family had spent a large amount of money but to no avail.
Lu Ming felt now that it was incurable, maybe they should just give up and let nature run its own course. Doctors were not cheap, but Lu Ming knew the final decision was Grandma Lu's to make.
"It's all Lin Xiu'er's fault. She just had to publicize that Fang Yue's sister is just a concubine, it didn't even occur to her that news was too much for Grandpa Lu to handle," Tang gritted her teeth. If Grandpa Lu wasn't sick, he could even help out with the field. The elder was now paralyzed and was unable to do anything, to make matters worse, they had to take care od Grandpa Lu. Tang was worried that they had to hire more help for the farmland this year.
More help meant more expenses. There wasn't much harvest in the field. If they hired more help, the cost would be huge.
Lu Ming was also very angry. "That Lin Xiu'er and Lu An, they have gone too far."
…
Grandma Lu looked at Grandpa Lu who was completely bedridden and wailed, "Why is my life so bitter? I can never catch a break."
After the elder was paralyzed, Grandma Lu had to feed him, bathe him and wipe him. This was fine at first. As time went on, Grandma Lu felt that was too much and she couldn't take it anymore.
Grandma Lu demanded that Tang should take care of Grandpa Lu, Grandpa Lu said that was against the custom.
"Look at your daughter-in-law. I can't believe you married such a useless wife for my grandson," Grandma Lu vented all her anger on the rest of the family, especially Tang.
"Mother! I'm tricked by them!"
"Why didn't you do more research and ask more people to find out the truth, you and that daughter-in-law of yours are both useless and ill-starred, you both have brought bad luck to the family!" Grandma Lu directed a torrent of abuse at Tang and Li Fang Yue who was hiding in her room.
At first, Grandma Lu was quite tolerant of Li Fang Yue for the Secretary-General's sake. But now Grandma Lu had no scruples about cursing her since her sister was just a concubine.
Grandma Lu clenched her fists on thinking about how much money they had spent on Li Fang Yue.
Before the Spring Imperial Examinations, Grandma Lu had taken out some hard-earned silver and asked Li Fang Yue to pay a visit to her brother-in-law with that money. When Grandma Lu thought about the silver that she had just given out, Grandma Lu's heart was shattered.
Li Fang Yue had been scolded so much recently but she could only endure it because she was in the wrong.
Grandma Lu looked at Tang and said angrily, "You already knew that a long time ago, and you hid it from me."
Tang smiled awkwardly and said, "Mother, I didn't hide it from you, I was kept in the dark as well" That was a lie, Tang had known it for a long time but she just wished Li Fang Yue could somehow help her son and she would pretend she didn't know that forever.
…
"Granny Shen, you're all packed, are you going back to the village? " Lu Lin asked.
"Yeah! Grandmother Li died recently, we've been neighbors for a few decades. I need to go back and say a goodbye, "Granny Shen said.
Granny Shen was on good terms with the deceased Grandmother Li. It was Grandmother Li's son who was renting Granny Shen's field.
Lu Lin nodded, "I'm sorry, Granny. I'll ask Qin Lang to accompany you."
Granny Shen shook her head. "No, there is no need for such trouble."
Qin Lang hurriedly said, "It's no trouble. Granny, please listen to Lin Ge. You can save Chi from worrying."
At the thought of Shen Chi, Granny Shen smiled and said, "Okay then, thank you."
As soon as Granny Shen returned to the village, she was surrounded by the curious villagers. Granny Shen had rented her field out and she lived in town, which made people curious about her life in town.
"Granny Shen, I heard that two new female workers were hired! They didn't affect you, right?"
Granny Shen nodded and said, "That is true, but it didn't affect me!" A few months ago, Lu Lin bought two female servants Xique and Lin Chun from the human traffickers. Granny Shen estimated that the villagers didn't know the details and they thought Xique and Lin Chun were hired by Lu Lin.
"Granny Shen, you seem to be a lot more energetic! Looks like you've been living a very comfortable life recently!"
Granny Shen smiled and said, "You are flattering me, thank you."
After some small talk, the topic shifted to the Lu family.
"Granny Shen, the Lu family has been arguing so much recently. I heard Grandma Lu cursing her granddaughter-in-law all day."
"This Grandma Lu is so mean. And isn't she afraid of offending the Secretary-General?"
"Lu Cheng Yu flunked the exam again. Maybe Grandma Lu is just too indignant."
" This examination is so fair. It doesn't matter who you are related to."
"This Lu Cheng Yu has taken the exam many times. Tang always guarantees that her son can pass, but she ends up disappointed every year. "
"This exam, you can never predict it! I heard there was a fifteen-year-old-Tongsheng who had passed."
Granny Shen was not very clear about the recent events of the Lu family, but she was well aware the fact that Lin Xiu'er's sister was just a concubine. Granny Shen listened to villagers' description and guessed in her heart that Grandpa Lu probably knew that Li Ru was just a concubine, so he fell sick from anger.
"The Lu family seems to be cursed with bad luck!"
"Yeah! They are going to sell more farmland I heard."
"Why are they selling farmland again? You cannot buy the land back that easily! "
Granny Shen frowned and thought to herself, 'The Lu family only has themselves to blame! They are going to sell land again. The more they sell, the less they have! Soon they will be poor.'
"Are they going to sell land again? Do you know how many mus they are selling?" Granny Shen asked.
"It seems to be two mus."
…
Lin Xiu'er hid in her room, feeling very depressed.
Lin Xiu'er had been waiting for the right time to expose Li Fang Yue. She waited for so long and finally decided to do it after Lu Cheng Yu flunked the exam again. However, Grandpa Lu fell ill on hearing that Li Ru was just a concubine. There was one less person in the family who could help out with the farm work, life was miserable and they had to sell farmland again!
Lin Xiu'er looked at Lu An and said, "How was it? Did anyone show interest?"
"Not really. The Village Head said the price mother asked for was too high, people were unwilling to pay such a high price." Lu An said.
Lin Xiu'er said sullenly, "On a second thought, we don't have to sell more farmland, we can always work for more income. Cheng Yu is a Tongsheng. Let him copy books. I heard someone say that copying books can make a lot of money. He has been studying for so long and he still hasn't passed the exam. It's time he should do something for the family, we've spent so much money on his tuition fee."
There weren't many literate people in this time and space, books were very pricy. Thus, most poor students would copy books and sell them on the market to make money.
Lu An thought for a moment and said, "Cheng Yu probably won't agree."
Lin Xiu'er said disdainfully, "How much money have we spent on him and his wife, I don't think he really has a say in this. He needs to observe the times and judge the occasion, look at our financial condition now, he can no longer live like a young master! "
"I'll go talk to Mother," Lu An said.
Lu An wasn't sure how Grandma Lu would react. His mother pampered Lu Cheng Yu the most. No matter how difficult it was at home, she couldn't bear the thought of letting Lu Cheng Yu suffer. However, the situation was different now. It had actually come to a point where they were at the end of their resources. Lu Cheng Yu had to work and bring some income, otherwise they would have to sell more farmland.
Tang told Lu Cheng Yu about this book copying idea, Lu Cheng Yu was furious.
Lu An mentioned the idea to Grandma Lu and Grandma Lu agreed with alacrity. In Grandma Lu's opinion, Lu Cheng Yu could gain new insights through reviewing old material by copying books he had read, he could also bring some income to the family, it was perfect.
Lu Cheng Yu was already in a bad mood due to his failure in the exam. Lu Cheng Yu had been hiding at home to seclude himself from the villagers and the gossips, but he didn't expect he couldn't find a moment of peace at home, and now his family was asking him to copy books.
Lu Cheng Yu was very arrogant. In Lu Cheng Yu's opinion, copying books for money was something that only his poor classmates would do. Other classmates would laugh at people who supported themselves by copying books, so they could only do it on the sly.
Lu Cheng Yu didn't expect that he would be reduced to copying books for a living, and his grandmother agreed.
The moment Lu An opened his mouth, Grandma Lu agreed. Although Grandma Lu doted on Lu Cheng Yu, she was really mad at Lu Cheng Yu's wife. On thinking they had sold 2 mus of farmland to marry that concubine's sister, Grandma Lu would clench her teeth in bitter hatred. Every time Grandma Lu saw Li Fang Yue, she wanted to give her a good beating.
Tang looked at her son helplessly and said, "Cheng Yu, you need to start to think about the family now! "
Tang had heard so many villagers comparing Lu Cheng Yu and Lu Lin. They all said that Lu Lin was now entrusted with a heavy responsibility by the big boss of the commercial house. But Lu Cheng Yu had failed so many times in the exam, he was not as capable as Lu Lin.
Anger simmered inside Tang when she heard that. In Tang's opinion, Lu Lin was not in the same league with her son, but in the eyes of the villagers, Lu Lin was the more outstanding one.
Chen Jing Borrowing Usury
After the Spring Imperial Examination, Lu Lin's shop became the center of the attention again. There was a Councilor who bought the giant rooster doll from the store for 50 taels of silver, and his grandson had passed the exam and became a Xiucai!
The grandson was only fifteen years old. Among the candidates who had passed this time, he was the youngest and the most outstanding one.
Everyone was impressed and they praised him for his talent. They all said in the future, this young man would definitely succeed in the government examination and be conferred a rank of nobility.
The Councilor was bursting with happiness, he held a banquet for a few days straight to celebrate.
On the banquet, the Councilor took out the rooster to impress the guests, he said that it was all thanks to this rooster. His grandson had such luck was all because of this auspicious rooster from Sino Commercial House, even though to tales of silver was expensive, it was totally worth it.
It was rumored that the dolls at Sino Commercial House were auspicious and they would do wonders. This rumor even spread to the surrounding towns and villages. Many people came to buy dolls with admiration, and all kinds of dolls became popular again.
Granny Shen had been busy working and training new workers, but she found pleasure in it.
Recently, business in the shop was good, so the workers had to work day and night. Although it had been a little hard, the workers were grateful.
Xique and Lin Chun became proficient thanks to Granny Shen's training.
The rooster dolls were sold out right away. The customers had to pick other dolls.
Lu Lin didn't think that the dolls in his shop could do wonders like helping people pass exams. He felt that it was just a coincidence, but he was happy to see how satisfied the customers were.
…
The villagers all liked to talk about Imperial Examination.
"Have you heard that, a 15-year-old young talent has passed the exam, amazing!"
"It's Councilor Xu's grandson, right? It is said that Councilor Xu hired a scholar for his grandson when he was three years old. Tut tut tut, they are so privileged, our kids could only play in the field when they were three years old."
"Yeah! The price of writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones are not cheap, let alone hiring a scholar. The rich people in town don't have so many concerns."
When the villagers thought of Lu Cheng Yu, they sighed again. They all thought that Lu Cheng Yu could make it this time, they did not expect him to fail again.
"I heard that this time Councilor Xu said that it was all thinks to the doll in Sino Commercial House that his grandson could pass the exam. The most-treasured piece in the store!"
"This most-treasured piece in the store is just a big doll, isn't it? It doesn't seem special at all."
"Why isn't it special? It's worth 50 taels."
"In my opinion, no doll is worth such a big amount of money! That Councilor Xu was just too anxious for his grandson. "
"I heard that when the giant doll was first launched, quite a few Councilors offered to buy it."
…
In Sino Commercial House.
Wan Li noticed a woman staring at the store from afar with a strange expression.
After a long time, the woman finally walked up to him and said that she was Chen Xiao Mi's aunt Chen Chun'er and wanted to see Chen Xiao Mi.
Wan Li was surprised to hear that and he sent Qin Lang in to report this to Chen Xiao Mi.
Chen Xiao Mi asked Qin Lang to bring took Chen Chun'er into the backyard to see Chen Xiao Mi.
Chen Chun'er ranked the fourth in the family, she was Chen Xiao Mi's Aunt.
Grandpa Chen preferred sons to daughters, so he didn't care much about this daughter.
Chen Chun'er got married when Chen Xiao Mi was young. Chen Xiao Mi didn't have a deep impression of this Aunt.
Chen Chun'er married to a village far away, and she was married to a butcher due to the high betrothal present.
Butchers made good money in this time and space, but people tried to keep away from them as much as possible because of their occupation, no one deemed a butcher as a good match.
The butcher offered 20 tales of silver as betrothal present, Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen agreed to marry Chen Chun'er to the butcher with boundless joy. After Chen Chun'er got married, she chose not to be estranged from her family.
Chen Chun'er came back home when Chen Xiao Mi's father passed away, she wept bitter tears of remorse on the funeral. Before Chen Chun'er got married, she and Chen Xiao Mi's father was very close.
Chen Chun'er stuffed 100 cents into Chen Xiao Mi's hand before she left, telling him to take good care of himself.
100 cents was not a small amount for Chen Xiao Mi back then, therefore, Chen Xiao Mi was forever grateful to this aunt.
…
"Aunty, welcome! Long time no see, how have you been? " Chen Xiao Mi was so happy.
Chen Chun'er hesitated for a moment and said, "Your grandfather and grandmother came to my house two days ago."
Chen Xiao Mi was confused, "Why?"
Chen Chun'er was married to a butcher. Chen Xiao Mi was very young when his aunt got married, he couldn't recall what the butcher looked like. However, Chen Xiao Mi remembered how the villagers talked about that butcher, he had an ugly, ferocious pugnacious look, he was short-tempered and he showed a propensity for violence.
Chen Chun'er didn't have much dowry when she got married. The two villages were pretty far away, so Chen Chun'er didn't visit her parents that much.
"A while ago, Chen Jing met someone who said that he could get the examination paper for 50 taels of silver."
Chen Xiao Mi was shocked, "Is there such a thing? How is that possible?" It was the governor who kept the examination papers, Chen Xiao Mi doubted anyone could have access to it. "It's a lie, aunt, right? "
Chen Chun'er nodded. "It is indeed a lie."
Chen Xiao Mi thought to himself, 'Sure enough, it's a big scandal if anyone else has access to the paper other than the governor."
"Did Chen Jing fall for it?"
Chen Chun'er nodded. "Chen Jing falls for it. He went back home and asked Mother to give him some money, Mother turned him down and he went so far as to borrow usury!"
In fact, Grandma Chen was very excited when she heard that Chen Jing could get the examination paper with fifty taels of silver. However, Chen Jing pressed too hard and Grandma Chen didn't have that cash in hand. If they wanted to gather fifty taels as soon as possible, they had to sell some farmland at a cheap price.
Grandma Chen thought about it and found that too risky, she had to bite the bullet and turned Chen Jing down.
Chen Jing fell prey to the con artist, he felt that success or failure would be a hang upon this single action, so he borrowed usury at extortionate rates of interest.
Chen Xiao Mi frowned and said, "He's crazy! I can't believe he has borrowed usury!"
Chen Chun'er shook her head. "Jing was not in his right mind."
After Chen Jing bought the so-called 'examination paper' from the con artist, he slacked off on his study completely, all he had in mind was getting the title of Xiucai and having a meteoric rise. He couldn't wait for the exam to come. He thought he could always return the money after the exam, his whole family would act upon whatever he said after he passed the exam.
As a result, on the exam day, Chen Jing realized that he had been deceived. The contents of the test were completely different from the test questions Chen Jing bought before.
Chen Jing realized that he was deceived. When he went to look for the person who sold him the exam paper, the person had already disappeared.
Buying imperial examination paper was pure slick opportunism. If you were to report the con artist to the government, the government would detail you first. Self-seeking misconduct like that would incur severe consequence like fine and jail time.
Chen Jing had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit.
Chen Jing flunked the exam. The family was disappointed, and Chen Jing dared not mention the matter that he had borrowed usury.
Chen Jing was terrified at first, but to his surprise, no one had sent him any waring about the money, as time went by, he decided to muddle along in the hope of repudiating his debt.
People who practiced usury were not to be trifled with. No way could you repudiate a debt with them.
A few days ago, a few husky fellows burst the Chen family's door open and gave Chen Jing a good beating, they threatened the Chen Family that if they failed to return 100 taels of silver within a certain number of days, they would chop Chen Jing's right arm.
Grandma Chen had always been domineering, but she couldn't go crazy when facing a few hired roughnecks.
Chen Xiao Mi asked with indifference, "Really? But it shouldn't be a problem, his grandparents will save him, they still have over 20 mus of farmland which are worth about 200 taels of silver in total, they can just sell half and repay the debt for Chen Jing."
Chen Chun'er sighed.
Chen Chun'er and the Chen family hadn't been in contact for a long time. Unless something major happened to the Chen family, otherwise they usually wouldn't bother to inform Chen Chun'er. Grandma Chen lied to Chen Chun'er, she just said Grandpa Chen was sick, she didn't mention a word of Chen Jing and the usury.
Grandpa Chen was already old, so Chen Chun'er wasn't suspicious when she heard that Grandpa Chen was sick.
When Chen Chun'er returned to the Chen family, she was surprised to find that her father was hale and hearty. But her nephew Chen Jing was beaten black and blue.
At first, Chen Chun'er was still wondering why her family insisted that she should pay a visit home. Later on, she found out her older brother, Chen Jing's father, was too desperate to think straight. Her older brother demanded that she should contribute some money to repay Chen Jing's debt as well.
…
By the time Lu Lin came back, Chen Chun'er had already left.
"Xiao Mi, I heard that your aunt was here," Lu Lin walked in and asked.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah!"
"Why is she here? Shouldn't we ask her to stay for dinner?"
"I've asked her to, but she said she needed to go back home. Otherwise, it would be dark and it wouldn't be safe to walk at night."
Chen Xiao Mi told Lu Lin what Chen Jing had done.
" Aunt borrowed 5 cents as fare," Chen Xiao Mi said.
"Five cents?" Lu Lin asked in surprise.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded. "She is cash-stripped due to the Chen family, so…"
When Chen Chun'er heard that her father was sick, she didn't think much about it and headed straight back to the Chen family. In the end, Chen Chun'er found out that she was tricked.
Lu Lin rolled his eyes and was a little speechless.
"Chen Jing is deceived by a con artist! The thing is even though he is a victim, he dares not to report this to the government, because he will be in big trouble as well!"
Lu Lin had heard the students in the store talking about buying exam papers as well, but the students seemed to know it was a scam and they would just dismiss the matter with a sneer.
Chen Xiao Mi pouted and said, "This idiot actually believed in such a thing."
Lu Lin thought to himself, 'Because some people are gamblers who don't believed in shortcuts! There are people who spend their entire fortune in the casino in modern society."
"If Chen Jing really owes one hundred taels, surely Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen will bring us into matter as well, they know we are doing pretty good now," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "That's most likely the case."
100 taels of silver was not a small sum for the village people. It was not impossible for the Chen family to repay it by themselves, their constitution would be greatly undermined.
Internal Conflicts in the Chen Family
In the Chen family.
"Father, you can't just stand aside when I'm drowning! Jing is your grandson, my son!" Chen Shou Xin said emotionally.
Chen Shou Ren, Chen Jing's uncle, said with a cold face, "Father, I've already said that my nephew Jing is no studying material. He got the title of Tongsheng by luck, no way can he become a Xiucai, we should know his limits."
Chen Shou Xin looked at Chen Shou Ren angrily, "Third Brother, what do you mean by that?"
Chen Shou Ren retorted, "Big Brother, Chen Jing has a debt of 100 tales of silver now! We have to sell at least half of our farmland to repay his debt, brother, have you thought about other family members? Have you thought about our future? You want us to starve to death so you can save your son?"
Chen Shou Xin was reluctant to admit it, "How can it be as serious as you said?"
"100 Taels is not serious, I beg your pardon! Brother, if you don't think it's serious, then you pay the debt by yourself. Don't beg our parents."
" Jing is your nephew. Do you want to watch him die? Why are you so ruthless?!"
Chen Shou Ren said discontentedly, "Big Brother, it is your son who has caused this terrible disaster. And now you are calling me ruthless?"
Grandpa Chen looked at his two sons and sighed, "Alright, stop this, let's solve this problem together like a family."
Chen Shou Xin changed the subject sullenly, "I cannot believe our Fourth Sister has only brought two hundred cents."
Chen Shou Xin was still a little frightened by the butcher Chen Chun'er married, so he didn't dare to say it directly. He only told Chen Chun'er that theri father was critically ill and father wanted to see her.
As soon as Chen Chun'er came back, the whole family surrounded her, asking for money. Chen Chun'er had to give them all she had —200 cents— before she could leave.
"Father, you really want to sell farmland!" Chen Shou Ren asked.
Grandpa Chen sighed and said, "We have to sell a few mus, and we can borrow the rest from Xiao Mi."
Grandma Chen said excitedly, "Chen Xiao Mi has money. If he is willing to help, we don't have to sell even one mu of our farmland."
Grandpa Chen glared at Grandma Chen and said, "Don't talk nonsense. You don't know what kind of personality Xiao Mi has, don't go too far!"
"But I don't want to sell our farmland. If he doesn't lend us this money, I'll hang myself in front of his store. I don't believe that I can't change his mind," Grandma Chen howled.
Chen Shou Xin nodded and quickly said, "Yeah! Xiao Mi is family. How can he fold his hands and see his cousin die?"
Chen Shou Ren and Chen Shou Xin saw eye to eye when it came to Chen Xiao Mi. Chen Shou Ren really didn't want to give Chen Jing this money, but it was impossible for him to not get involved in his nephew's matter. Moreover, even if he didn't help Chen Jing and Chen Jing didn't repay them in the end, he knew those people wouldn't leave them alone.
Therefore, in this situation, he just wished Chen Xiao Mi could help out with, so the rest of the family could have a break.
…