Li Shi’s heart pounded with fear, thinking, “This is bad, it’s over, there’s no hope.” She had been worrying all morning. Oh no, she even added an extra hundred wen just to make the mooncakes better, and now she wouldn’t even get that money back.

Zhulan patted her daughter’s hand, “It’s okay, he is too young to bear the grievance.”

Xuemei pursed her lips. She didn’t expect that her father’s absence from the county would have such a big impact. She said worriedly: “Mom, will it affect the marriage between the two families!”

Zhulan said: “No, the County Magistrate is a sensible person.”

Because the County Magistrate was a sensible person, she was not worried at all that the marriage would go wrong.

Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief, as long as nothing went wrong, it would be fine. “Mother, don’t we need to worry about Chang Lian?”

Why did it look like her mother had no intention of comforting him?

Zhulan waved her hands, “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 help but feel aggrieved inwardly, but there was nothing she could do. She was capable of educating her children, but in ancient times, she wasn’t allowed to display her knowledge. Chang Lian also wouldn’t seek comfort from her.

Lunch was served at noon, and Zhou Shuren took Jiang Sheng out to eat. After chatting with his son-in-law for a long time, Jiang Sheng’s face was no longer serious, and had a smile.

Zhulan pulled Zhou Shuren and whispered: “Chang Lian is back. He is still holed up in the room. Ming Teng called him for lunch but he didn’t answer.”

Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows. Chang Lian was a bit irritated, “Save the food first. Ignore him, let’s eat ours.”

The lunch table was very quiet. After being disappointed, Li Shi did not hide Chang Lian’s purpose. Everyone in the family knew what Chang Lian was doing, and they had mixed reactions.

Boss Zhou really didn’t realize that Li Shi was hiding something from him, and he felt bad. He suddenly realized that his stupid wife had also grown up and was no longer his stupid wife. As for Chang Lian’s frustration, he felt it was normal and that he should learn from it. Dad had the skills of a father, but he thought that it was better to suffer setbacks sooner than later. Chang Lian had been flying a little high for the past few days.

Second Zhou looked down on Chang Lian in his heart, thinking that he hadn’t even learned to walk properly yet he wanted to run. He believed Chang Lian thought it would be easy for their father outside, but he was being foolish and bringing trouble upon himself.

Changzhi just said oh, thinking about how to comfort his third brother, who was really good to him these days.

Xuemei thought that Chang Lian was naive. Jiang Sheng had her father to support him outside, but he still kept a low profile. Then also people made things difficult and he got tricked into entertaining guests. However, this kid’s luck was probably used for getting engaged. This time it was really bad luck that her father had stopped going to the county. In the past, all the anger against her father was taken out on Chang Lian. In addition, a Xiucai’s son could marry the county magistrate’s daughter, so he was also the target of jealousy!

Xuehan was a little worried about Third Brother. Don’t let Third Brother get so excited that he collapses!

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were the calmest people.

After dinner, Jiang Sheng felt confident 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. He accumulated fifteen taels of silver, plus the money given by his mother-in-law. With several subsidies, even if he no longer made money, he could still study steadily until he took the exam.

His father-in-law had confided in him. His father-in-law’s family would be moving to Pingzhou next year. Starting next year, he and his wife wouldn’t have to spend money renting a house, as they would help his father-in-law look after the fields and save on food expenses. Additionally, with his father-in-law moving to Pingzhou next year, he wouldn’t have to spend extra money on exams. With money in hand and food and shelter provided, as long as he passed the imperial examination and had his name listed on the fields, they would earn a considerable amount of money each year!

Jiang Sheng was panicking when he arrived. He took his wife and children home with him, feeling at ease and having a bright future.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren planned to rest. After lying down for a while, there was a knock on the door. Zhulan opened her eyes and mumbled: “Chang Lian.”

Zhou Shuren stood up, “Go to sleep, he is here to find me. “

Zhulan, “Yes.”

Zhou Shuren put on his shoes and opened the door. Chang Lian’s clothes were wrinkled and there were scars on his hands. This was self-abuse. Zhou Shuren said with disgust, “Get out.”

Chang Lian put his hands behind his back in panic, and his father was angry, “Dad, I was not careful.”

“Do you think I am as easy to fool as your elder brother?”

Chang Lian, “…”

Despite suppressing his anger, he couldn’t help but feel amused by his father’s words. He couldn’t help but feel that his eldest brother had it tough. His father’s ability to provoke his eldest brother’s emotions was truly remarkable!

Zhou Shuren was sitting on the main seat in the main hall. After sleeping for a while, he felt very thirsty. “Tell me, what unpleasant things have you heard today?”

Zhou Shuren picked up the teapot and there was no tea in it. He was worried that Zhulan would wake up and have no water to drink. With a dry mouth, he stood up with the teapot in hand, “Wait a minute, I’ll get a pot of water for your mother so that she won’t have a dry mouth when she gets up. The fire that was burning at noon was a bit strong, the kang is too hot, and the room is strangely dry.”

Chang Lian, “.”

He finally made some mental preparations and planned to speak out the difficult words, but his father only thought about his mother getting up and having no water to drink. Well, he suddenly felt that his father gave him the biggest blow today. All the grievances he suffered when he was in the county were nothing. In his father’s eyes, he must have been picked up. Oh, yes, there was also my eldest brother, and there were people who provided the inexplicable balance.

Chang Lian’s expression was a little weird, why did he drag his eldest brother out?

Zhou Shuren brought water into the house, made tea for himself, and brought back some snacks. “Okay, tell me!”

Chang Lian said, “…”

He suddenly didn’t want to talk anymore! Dad, if you treat your son like this, you will lose your son. He obviously needs comfort, comfort!

Zhou Shuren poured the tea, “You don’t want to say it? Then why are you looking for me?”

Chang Lian’s expression remained wooden, and he continued to stay silent, suspecting that his father might actually leave without saying a word. “Someone said I’m living off others, and they even called you a flatterer. Chu Chu’s biǎogē¹ talked to me about the recipe behind her back and forcefully bought it from me for twenty taels of silver as if it were charity. Father, I didn’t even have the right to refuse.”

He didn’t care whether people thought he was living off others. He inexplicably trusted his father’s capability. He felt enraged by the slander against his father as a flatterer. As soon as he spoke out, he couldn’t contain his anger. In his heart, his father had a towering presence throughout the year. He argued vehemently, only to receive more ridicule in return!

Zhou Shuren looked at the anger in Chang Lian’s eyes and realized he was indeed just a child. A few words were enough to spark real anger. “Actually, it’s not entirely wrong. I have indeed been humble and flattered many people outside.”

Chang Lian’s eyes widened, “Dad, aren’t you angry?”

Zhou Shuren leisurely sipped his tea and said, “Today, I’ll teach you a lesson. Don’t get angry with irrelevant people because it’s not worth it. When you can face ridicule without changing your expression, that’s when you’ve truly entered society.”

Chang Lian stared in disbelief, “Entering society means not changing your expression?”

Today, he didn’t throw a punch; it was all the result of a year of learning from his father. But he couldn’t even control himself enough to enter society!

Zhou Shuren chuckled lightly, “Yes, not changing your expression is just the beginning. If you can distinguish useful information from mockery, that’s for beginners. If you can discern which criticisms are genuine and which stem from jealousy, analyze why they mock you, and what interests are involved behind the scenes, then you’ve made some progress.”

Chang Lian took a deep breath. “Father, what’s the standard for graduation?”

(End of this chapter)

---

Footnote

1. Son of father’s sister elder to you or son of mother’s brother/sister who is older than you.

T/N And thus starts lifelong lessons that Zhou Shuren gave to Chang Lian.