Top Scholar

Chapter 133 Who is the most despicable?

Some are happy, some are sad; just look at the other side.

At the south end of Erlangtan, the Cheng clan members all had long faces and were hurling extremely offensive insults.

"What? Seven hundred coins per person? Are you trying to feed beggars?"

"Exactly! In previous years, we'd get at least two ounces! How come it's been halved again?"

"What else can we do? The wine isn't selling. Many regular customers have cancelled their orders, and there aren't any new customers at all. Getting 700 coins is already a miracle." Those who worked at the winery naturally knew the inside story.

"Even the head manager is so worried he can't sleep, and he's been staring blankly at the wine jars in the storeroom in the middle of the night!"

"What's the use of just standing there in a daze? What we want is money! Incompetent! Cheng Chengcheng is incompetent!" The clansmen showed no sympathy whatsoever, only anger.

"I just took a walk around the north end, and guess what? The Su family got their share of the profits! And each of them got one tael, more than we did!" At this point, someone added fuel to the fire.

"How could that be? Aren't they heavily in debt?" Many members of the tribe still hold outdated views.

"Why not? Haven't you seen how popular Erlang wine is?" One clansman couldn't help but shake his head and say, "Haven't you heard these two lines? This year, no gifts are accepted for the festival, except for Erlang wine..."

"I've heard of it..." the clansmen said dejectedly, "And that 'After drinking Erlang's wine,' even children who have never left home can sing it. It's really strange. Could it be that they invited a shaman to perform a ritual?"

"What 'Duan Gong'? We only heard those Su family boys sing it at the village school!" Many people were annoyed when this topic came up. "Damn it, the recipe for Erlang wine is clearly in our family's hands!"

"Alas, who told that scholar to be so heartless? He stood by and watched his daughter die at this time last year! If only he had helped her then, this wouldn't have happened!" A clansman who had gone to the He family compound to collect debts revealed the truth:
"As a result, Lan Jie'er made a fortune selling sweet drinks during the first month of the lunar year, and when he went back to looking for his daughter, she didn't care anymore!"

These creditors had thought that with the He brothers dead, they would never get their money back. To their surprise, the landlady paid off the He family's debts, principal and interest, six months ahead of schedule. How could they not be overjoyed?
The creditors all praised the landlady's abilities and character, naturally blaming Cheng Xiucai. "She could have led us to wealth, but her own father pushed her to the Su family, where she stole all her family's business..."

"It's all the scholar's fault! He's made it impossible for us to celebrate the New Year!" The Cheng clan members blamed all the responsibility on Cheng the scholar.

They're used to a comfortable life and aren't used to living frugally. But that's alright, they'll get used to it eventually…

~~
By the time the group arrived home, it was already dark.

After his uncle's relentless bribery, Xiao Jinbao finally stopped rushing straight for the "three pots".

The uncle proudly opened his arms, ready to welcome Su Youjin's precious baby. But Jinbao'er darted past him and into He Tiantian's arms...

"Sister, I miss you so much!"

“Little sister, you’ve gained weight again…” He Tiantian’s face twisted in pain.

"She's always talking, no wonder she's getting fat!" The uncle forcibly picked up Jinbao'er and asked, "Where's your mother?"

“Let’s play with my big pot in the main room!” Jinbao said.

"What?" Everyone turned to look at the main room, where they saw the eldest aunt deftly tying up the bundle while issuing commands:
"Tie up those quilts from the east room and bring them over!"

"And you have to bring the toilet too!"

"Have you collected the Sichuan peppercorns I dried? Pack them up and take them with you!"

Poor Chun-ge was being bossed around by his aunt, and his forehead was covered in white sweat in the dead of winter.

Upon seeing Su Lu enter, he greeted him as if he had seen a savior, saying, "Qiu-ge'er, you're finally back! Come and take over! I'm about to faint from all the bossing my mother is doing."

"No." Su Lu asked, puzzled, "Auntie, do we need to bring blankets when we go to Uncle's house for the New Year?"

“With so many of us, what if they don’t have enough blankets? It’s the Lunar New Year and there’s nowhere to buy more. We can’t all share one blanket, can we?” Auntie argued vehemently.

"Then there's no need for a toilet, right? Can't we just put a toilet in a bed?"

"What can we do if the old lady only recognizes this one child? She won't accept any others!" the eldest aunt said, then asked the old lady who was drinking tea by the fire pit, "Right, Mother?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes." The old lady didn't know what they were talking about, but she just nodded and that was it.

Looking up, she saw the proprietress and exclaimed with delight, "Second son's wife is here! Come on over and chat with your mother! They can't understand what I'm saying..."

As for the old man, he had long since stopped bothering with all the noise and went out for a walk.

"What about Sichuan peppercorns? Don't the Sichuan peppercorns from the county town make people feel numb?" Su Lu was still trying to dissuade his aunt from moving to the county town.

"Take what you have at home, every penny saved counts!" the aunt said matter-of-factly, then warmly greeted the proprietress:

"Young lady, you're here? Come and have some tea with the old lady."

"Sister-in-law, let me help you tidy up." The proprietress rolled up her sleeves.

"No need, really no need, the more you help, the more chaotic it will become..." The emotional intelligence gap remained stable.

~~
But one thing is one thing, another is that my aunt was so quick and efficient that she didn't miss the meal despite being so busy.

Dinner was relatively simple. Meat and vegetables were chopped up and cooked together in a hot pot. We ate the vegetables first, then the noodles, and the whole family enjoyed it just as much. During the meal, the conversation naturally turned to tomorrow's trip to the county town, and this time almost the entire family went.

The old man and woman hadn't seen their grandchildren yet, so they went with Su Lu to visit them.

Little Jinbao kept asking to see her younger siblings, and her aunt also really wanted to go... She even thought she was doing quite well with her sisters-in-law.

The old man considered that although his aunt had visited the wedding once, in the eyes of the clan, she had only gone to see her son. If she didn't go this time, people would inevitably gossip about discord between the sisters-in-law, so he agreed.

Su Tai had been busy all year, and finally got to rest during the New Year, so naturally he wanted to join in the fun.

Chun Ge'er didn't want to join in the fun, but as a tenured teacher at Erlangtan Community School, he also had to attend the county's phonetic tutoring class!

Magistrate Lu was determined; he had already issued a notice that anyone who dared to ask for leave and not come would have three months' tuition fees withheld. Which of these poor scholars dared to be absent?
Now only Su Youjin and Su Youcai are at home.

My uncle still has to stay at his post. Although he has already collected all the stall fees for the twelfth lunar month, the end of the year is when the bosses express their gratitude, and he has to give them that opportunity! So he has to stay in town until the 28th of the lunar month, but he can go to the county to spend New Year's Eve together.

As for Youcai, starting tomorrow, he will be visiting clients everywhere with the boss's wife to thank them and also to find out their wishes for next year.

Then, after the Lunar New Year, I'll be busy with the temple fair during the first month of the lunar calendar, and I really won't be able to find the time...

Actually, if I really wanted to, I could always find the time. But it's the Lunar New Year, how could I leave the boss's wife behind?
So the old man decided to put up the couplets first thing tomorrow morning, then lock the door and leave.

There wasn't really anything to lock; my aunt had packed up all the valuables in the house and taken them with her...

~~
"Leaving tomorrow?" Su Daji and the old clan chief arrived just as they were finishing their meal.

“Yes, how can we not go and see the baby after it’s been born?” The old man hurriedly got up to greet his old friend, and then quickly sent his eldest aunt away, saying, “Eldest daughter-in-law, go and make some tea.”

"No need, I'm very busy, I'll just sit for a bit and then leave." The old clan chief sat down next to the old man and said, "I heard from Daji that your family doesn't want to share the profits? How can that be? If you break the rules, things will fall apart!"

"See, I told you, Big Brother couldn't agree." Su Daji said, reaching into his leather bag and pulling out silver wrapped in red cloth. He complained, "You made me suffer a day's punishment."

The old man sighed and said, "Brother, you're making me look bad. The family already has a full ten percent of the shares, how can I take another share from the clan?"

"One thing at a time. Is it more important for you to be a good person or to follow the rules?" The old patriarch waved his hand, not allowing him to say any more nonsense.

"Sigh, alright." The old man could only obediently obey.

"That's right! If they weren't your good children, would each branch of the family have received money today? We must remember those who dug the well when we drink the water; no one will be envious!" The old clan chief said, patting the sixth son on the shoulder with delight.

“Exactly, do you think they’d be so envious?” Su Daji laughed as he emptied his leather satchel, spilling out two more wads of silver.

He handed the smaller envelope to his aunt, who had come over after smelling the silver, and said, "This is your family's share, thirty-nine taels. Weigh it quickly, or I won't be responsible if you say it's less than what you've received."

"Wow, so much?" His aunt almost threw the teapot at his head. She excitedly put down the tea tray, took the silver, weighed it in her hand, and said, "Not a single tael off!"

"This is the proprietress's share of the profits; I brought it along with her." Su Daji handed the proprietress an extra bundle of silver. He had long since noticed that the more he treated the proprietress like family, the happier she became.

Besides, we're all shareholders, so I know exactly how much I'll get, there's no need to hide anything.

"Master Zhang has worked hard this year." The proprietress smiled and took out ten taels of silver and handed it to him, saying, "Lang-ge'er will be going to academy next year, so buy him some stationery."

"Thank you for the gift, madam." Su Daji declined a few times, but happily accepted it nonetheless.

“Boss lady, you don’t need to feel sorry for him.” The old clan chief then smiled and said, “The head chef earns twenty taels a year, plus a year-end bonus. He earns no less than the sixth son’s family.”

"Brother, I didn't take any reward!" Su Daji hurriedly cried out, "I won't take a single penny as a reward until the winery's debts are paid off."

"I didn't want it either..." Xia Ge'er added, "Even the second-in-command gets a reward..."

"This is your decision, and I can't interfere if you don't want it." The old patriarch laughed and stood up, saying, "Go back now, hurry up and finish your work and get some rest. I'll see you off tomorrow morning."

The two then took their leave, and the others escorted them to the courtyard.

Su Daji, lagging behind, whispered to Su Lu, "I wonder if Lang-ge'er will pass the exam tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Seventh Uncle, there won't be any problems." Su Lu smiled and reassured him, "Su Lang's basic skills are already very solid."

"That's right, look who taught him!" Uncle heard this, turned around and laughed, "Qiu-ge'er is going to teach teachers in the county town, so teaching you, you rascal, should be a piece of cake."

"That's true, then I'm relieved." Su Daji breathed a sigh of relief and said, "When Lang-ge'er passes the exam, I'll have to thank Qiu-ge'er properly."

~~
When the guests returned, the proprietress handed over one hundred taels of silver, along with the fifty taels given by Commander Ma, to the eldest aunt.

My aunt was so happy she almost fainted...

Seeing this, the old man shook his head and sighed inwardly that money was a damn bad thing; when the family was poor, not a single penny would come.

The richer the family is, the more they flock to their home, those cheap bastards!

(End of this chapter)