“Dad, I want a Scholar Pastry! Have you bought me some today?” Lu Song Shi demanded.
Lu An rubbed his forehead and said: “I bought you a piece today, leave me alone for the rest of the day.”
Lu Song Shi pouted: “Dad, all my friends have now became friends with Chen Xiao Cai, they no longer hang out with me, and they keep saying Chen Xiao Cai has treated them to some Tangyuan balls.”
Lu An felt very sad to hear that, he had noticed Lu Lin when Lu Lin lived under the same roof as them, he always looked down on this nephew who looked a bit slow.
But surprisingly, this Lu Lin had changed after he got married.
Lu An worked in the city, he knew Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had done business with Manager Wang, but he was unable to pry out more information such as what business it was and how much money Manager Wang had paid them. However, he was sure they made a lot of money considering how often they visited the restaurant.
Lu Tong now stepped in: “Song Shi, what are you eating?”
Lu Song Shi quickly hid the cake behind his back.
Grandma Lu usually doted on Lu Cheng Yu and Lu Song Shi the most, but she paid more attention to Lu Cheng Yu who was about to attend the Imperial Spring Exams recently.
Grandma Lu had spent a lot of money to buy and cook amazing dishes for Lu Cheng Yu, as a result, the other family members could only live on a limited budget so Grandma Lu could afford to buy luxury items for Lu Cheng Yu.
Lu Song Shi felt very jealous seeing Lu Cheng Yu’s luxurious lifestyle, his mother didn’t like it either, but she knew now was not the time to make a fuss, so she had to appease her son.
Lu Song Shi was a spoiled child, he sneaked into the kitchen and served himself a bowl of chicken soup secretly.
Tang was so angry when he found the chicken soup missing that he slapped Lu Song Shi.
Lu Song Shi was not as obedient as the host Lu Lin, he made a fuss after he was slapped, his mother also joined him, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu tried hard to calm them down.
Grandma Lu doted on Lu Cheng Yu, she also doted on her youngest grandson Lu Song Shi, so she scolded Tang harshly for this. Tang knew she went too far and she apologized reluctantly.
Lu An bought cookies for her son today to make him feel better. Lu An’s face darkened when she saw Lu Tong walk in without even knocking.
Lu Tong looked at Scholar Pastry and said: “Fourth Uncle, you bought this Scholar Pastry for my elder brother, right? Give it to me now, I’ll give it to him.”
Lu Song Shi’s heart sank when he heard that, he had just eaten a few bites of pastry. He cried after Lu Tong took the plate and the pastry away.
Lu An started to dislike Lu Tong when he saw his son crying.
Lu Song Shi’s mother Lin Xiu’er frowned upon hearing the story.
“Damn Tang and her stupid children, they all act like Lu Cheng Yu is already a scholar now, that Lu Tong is also so arrogant, she’s a country girl, but she points her nose at people like she’s a young lady in the city. She’s not getting any younger, I say let’s pray that she doesn’t end up becoming an old maid!” Lin Xiu looked very upset.
Lu An sighed: “Let’s keep it to ourselves, hope Cheng Yu can pass the exam and have a successful official career, we will be relatives of officials by then.”
Lin Xiu’er frowned: ‘I know! That’s why I put up with this nonsense! That Tang has become more annoying these days!’
“Hope Cheng Yu can pass this time!” Lin Xiu’er gritted her teeth.
Lu An gave half of his salary to Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu, and he knew the money went directly to Lu Cheng Yu’s school fees.
Lin Xiu’er stroked her son’s head.
Lin Xiu’er is also not having fun, Tang has made a lot of excuses like she has to stay at home and look after Lu Cheng Yu to avoid doing farm work, so Lin Xiu’er has done a lot of work. She had washed the whole family’s clothes by hand. It was really terrible.
Lu An felt sorry for his wife, but there was nothing he could do, he sighed and said: “Let’s wait until Cheng Yu finishes the exam.”
Lin Xiu’er nodded: “Yes, there is no better way.”
Lu Cheng Yu paid 3 taels of tax last year, so Lin Xiu’er thought Lu Cheng Yu should get married this year regardless of the exam results.
On the one hand, Lin Xiu’er wanted Lu Cheng Yu to become a Xiucai so that their farmland tax would be greatly exempted, on the other hand, she didn’t want it, because Tang would become more and more arrogant if her son really did well in the exam.
Lu An let out a long sigh: “The exam is difficult, I hope he can do well.”
The villagers didn’t know much about the exam, but Lu An worked in the city, he was more cultured than the villagers, so he knew the Spring Imperial Exam was actually very scary.
