SFL Chapter 42

Although Mei Mingxuan opened a school, he did not rely on teaching for a living. Sometimes he copied books, and sometimes he painted. His income was considerable, and naturally, Mei Mingxuan also honored his parents with many gifts. The more outstanding Mei Mingxuan was, the more regretful Mei mother felt that her son married Liu Jinniang, the daughter of a merchant. After all, Mei Mingxuan would not continue to pursue official ranks, and their son was capable of earning money. In this way, Liu Jinniang lost her last advantage in Mei mother’s heart.

After coming to the Mei family’s courtyard and finding Mei Mingxuan, Mei mother did not scold him like Mei Dazhu’s brothers did. Instead, she asked about Liu Jinniang, “Mingxuan, how come your wife, a woman from a respectable family, is also at the school?”

“Although your students are young, you still need to avoid suspicion,” Mei mother directly pointed out Liu Jinniang’s fault.

“Mother, I can’t agree with that. In the hot summer, which man in the fields doesn’t work with his bare arms? If we follow your logic, the women in the village won’t need to leave their homes in the future.”

“Besides, Jinniang attends my classes and will be with me after class. Only someone with a guilty conscience would criticize this,” Mei Mingxuan said coldly, his face showing hints of anger.

Mei mother was speechless. Mei Mingxuan had placed Liu Jinniang under his watchful eyes, which seemed safer than leaving her alone at home.

However, Liu Jinniang also dared not have any ulterior motives towards her son.

“Then tell me, did Liu Jinniang instigate you to punish your nephews?” Mei mother asked, with an attitude that if Mei Mingxuan said “yes,” she would start a fight with Liu Jinniang.

Mei Mingxuan frowned. “Mother, did you come here specifically to question me? How did they explain to you when they got home?”

“They, they… Your nephews said they only surrounded the child and didn’t do anything to him. It’s too much to punish them to write an extra sheet of paper every day just for such a small matter,” Mei mother muttered.

Mei Mingxuan’s eyes turned cold. “They are just trying to downplay it. Did they not do anything? No, they just didn’t have the chance. When Jinniang found them, they were already trying to snatch the child’s book. Mother, you scrimped and saved to buy me an extra book. You know how precious books are. If they had damaged that child’s book, the blame would fall on me and my brothers. That’s why I only punished them to write more, which is lenient.”

“Mother, do you know? For the children outside to enter my school, they must meet my two conditions. My nephews barely made it in, just to repay the kindness of my brothers. Yet, they have taken advantage of my school, often looking down on their classmates.”

“If my brothers at home are unhappy, then I will have to ask them to take their children back,” Mei Mingxuan said.

Mei mother was stunned to hear this and quickly responded, “It’s not that serious. Your nephews didn’t say anything. It was me, I felt sorry for them and the children. It has nothing to do with them.”

“I’m afraid it’s not you, Mother, but my brothers, right? I know you love me the most. How could they scold me for the sake of those few children?” Mei Mingxuan said in a softened tone.

Indeed, Mei mother would not blame her favorite son for the sake of her grandsons, but she might indirectly vent her anger on her daughter-in-law, whom she disliked.

After all, Mei mother only loved her son, not her daughter-in-law whom she did not give birth to.

“Your brothers haven’t even taught their children proper manners and relied on you for everything. Mother knows it’s not your fault and it’s not right to see your own children suffer. Your brothers may feel uneasy, but I came here today to remind you not to let outsiders mistreat your own family,” Mei mother instilled the idea of ‘supporting kin over justice’ in Mei Mingxuan.

Even though Mei Mingxuan now had some anger, Mei mother didn’t want this son to lose the help of his brothers.

Can outsiders be as close as family?

“Mother, it seems you still don’t understand. A son is like a master. If I can’t balance the interests, my school won’t last long. Just as you said, I haven’t taken anything from my brothers, but other students have to pay. Unless my brothers can provide me with enough to live on without depending on other students’ fees, I can naturally favor my nephews unconditionally. Otherwise, if you let me offend my students and fail to collect fees, I’ll have to live on the wind.” Mei Mingxuan said, not bothering to explain any further to Mei mother, only considering his own interests.

With a different perspective, Mei mother’s mind finally cleared. She now clearly understood the difference between her grandson and other students.

Other students paid fees to attend school and didn’t come empty-handed. On the other hand, her grandson had been freeloading off her youngest son, even the cost of books and other expenses was covered by her youngest son.

Yet, their whole family had been blinded by Mei Mingxuan’s slight dissatisfaction with the children, forgetting how good her youngest son had been to them.

Feeling ashamed, Mei mother said, “When I go back, I will definitely talk to them properly. If they can’t even endure this bit of hardship, how can they succeed in the future?”

Mei mother had lunch at Mei Mingxuan’s place, with food cooked by Liu Jinniang. Despite enjoying the meal, Mei mother didn’t say anything to Liu Jinniang.

It wasn’t that she no longer had any issues with Liu Jinniang. She had noticed Mei Mingxuan’s protective attitude towards Liu Jinniang.

A man’s attitude often reflects his mother’s true feelings towards her daughter-in-law.

Although Mei mother still had reservations about Liu Jinniang, she wouldn’t embarrass her daughter-in-law in front of her son, knowing that Mei Mingxuan valued his wife.

This was much better than the mother-in-law relationship Liu Jinniang had previously thought about.

Before getting married, Liu Jinniang had prepared herself to live with the whole Mei family. However, she didn’t expect Mei Mingxuan to decisively split from the family and even buy a house in the county. The couple moved to the county to live.

Seeing Mei Mingxuan’s firm decision, Liu Jinniang’s previous worries about the marriage faded away.

As for the disdain of the Mei family, it all came down to one thing: she married Mei Mingxuan, and his attitude was the key.

No matter how many people were in the Mei family, Mei Mingxuan’s attitude alone made her feel warm-hearted.

After the meal, Mei Mingxuan found a carriage in the county to send Mei mother home. Mei mother repeatedly said there was no need, but she was still forcefully sent by Mei Mingxuan.

When she arrived, Mei mother, to give an account to her three sons at home, didn’t give Mei Mingxuan anything. However, when she left, she had two baskets full of food on both arms, including meat and vegetables, which made Mei mother feel very honored.

When Mei Dazhu and his brothers saw Mei mother return with so much delicious food, they naturally couldn’t hold onto their previous discomfort.

Especially after learning that their children were planning to tear up someone else’s books, nearly burdening them with a heavy debt, Mei Dazhu and his brothers couldn’t help but gasp. They looked at their children, who were eagerly reaching for the meat, without the previous pity, and immediately gave them a good beating.

When several of Mei nephews, who had been beaten by their father at home, returned to the school, their buttocks were swollen.

After this experience, they no longer dared to be arrogant because they knew Mei Mingxuan would not unconditionally stand by their side.

Without a backing, several semi-grown children naturally didn’t have the courage to provoke others.

In addition to academics, Mei Mingxuan also taught courses related to character and morality. After all, not to mention these nephews of the Mei family who had gone astray, even many scholars who passed the imperial examinations and entered the court as officials had questionable morals. Otherwise, how would there be so many corrupt officials?

The Mei family’s initial support for Mei Mingxuan was not for the country or the people, but for the expectation that Mei Mingxuan, once in a high position, would bring back returns to the Mei family a hundred or a thousand times over.

Mei Mingxuan aimed not only to educate his students well but also to improve his own character.

His teaching effectiveness was undoubtedly remarkable. For example, Liu Jinniang, who used to need an abacus to calculate her accounts, now only needed a few formulas to get the answer.

Most of the other students came from merchant families. After returning home, they faced their fathers or elders without fear. They could even win quickly and steadily in competitions of calculating with their elders.

Moreover, some small business ideas were suggested by those children and implemented by their families. Some parents tried them and were silenced by the visible increase in profits.

When they came to their senses, they came to the Mei family school with heavy gifts to thank Mei Mingxuan for teaching their children.

With these skills, even if their children took over the family business in the future, it would not decline. Instead, it would thrive. Seeing their children’s determination and hard work, they saw hope for the continuation of the family business. How could these people not be grateful to Mei Mingxuan?

Only when they visited the Mei family school did they realize that the school had unexpectedly expanded, with some noticeable figures inside.

They were noticeable not because of their special status, but because of their age and attire. They clearly weren’t from the school; their presence there was indeed quite strange.

Some wore scholar robes, some were plump, and some were hunched over like old farmers. However, without exception, they were all very quiet, leaning against the wall, listening to Mei Mingxuan’s lectures inside.

“What’s going on?” asked the merchants who came with heavy gifts to thank Mei Mingxuan, feeling surprised.

Someone explained to them, “Mr. Mei is knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge. People from all industries can gain a lot from his lectures. Somehow, everyone has started gathering at the Mei family school to listen to his classes.”

“Is Mr. Mei willing?”

“Of course, it was with Mr. Mei’s consent. See the wide-open gate? He personally opened it.”

Some savvy merchants immediately looked around and found a place to squat down and listen for a while. Mei Mingxuan’s clear voice could be heard from inside, accurately entering their ears.

Some in the courtyard were already listening intently, subconsciously nodding and swaying.

“Sir, why are you listening too?” a scholar-dressed man’s book boy asked subconsciously.

He remembered that their master had come to see Mr. Mei to discuss issues together. How come their master ended up listening to his lecture halfway? Could it be that Mr. Mei was more knowledgeable than their master?

That’s impossible.

After all, Mr. Mei is just a Xiucai.¹TL: A scholar.

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  TL: A scholar.