Top Scholar

Chapter 225 Let You Marry a Husband
"Don't worry, sir, it won't be as pessimistic as you think," Su Lu reassured him. "Huang Bingxian is a man with connections to the highest levels, and he's going to use phonetic symbols to get things done, so there's definitely more to this story."

"Ah, that's true." A glimmer of light returned to Magistrate Lu's eyes. "Last time he asked for twenty of my teachers to teach phonetic notation in the army. That matter will surely cause quite a stir."

Then, mustering his remaining courage, he said, "It's not appropriate this time. I will come again to pay my respects on the day the coffin is laid to rest, and I will visit you then."

"Alright." Su Lu thought to himself, "If you go now, you'll be conscripted." But then he thought that this was also an opportunity for Magistrate Lu, so he didn't say anything more.

After escorting Magistrate Lu back to his office and settling him in, the calming medicine was prepared. Magistrate Lu took it and fell asleep, and Su Lu quietly left.

It was already close to noon, and there wasn't enough time to go back to the academy, while going to the Zhu family's house for lunch was a bit too early. Su Lu was hesitating about where to go when he looked up and saw his own front door…

"Isn't our own food delicious?" He couldn't help but chuckle, and then asked Xiaoyuer to go to the Zhu family to inform them that he wouldn't be going over for dinner today.

~~
At home, the winery was closed during the national mourning period, so Su Youcai and his godmother were both idle, while Xiao Tiantian went to study with Huang E.

The two brewed a pot of tea, prepared a few plates of dried fruit and snacks, and sat under the pergola in the courtyard, enjoying tea and chatting leisurely.

Seeing Su Lu come in, his godmother said happily, "Son, why are you back at this hour?"

"Something came up." Su Lu briefly explained what had happened, and his godmother asked anxiously, "Is the master alright?"

"It's nothing, just too much grief. I'll be fine once I recover." Su Lu sighed softly, "What a cruel twist of fate..."

"It's good that you're alright, may the Bodhisattva protect you." The godmother prayed to Amitabha Buddha.

The winery's patron has changed from Commander Ma to Magistrate Lu; 80% of Erlang Wine's orders are now negotiated within the county. The Su family sincerely hopes their patriarch stays healthy and can serve in Hejiang County for another two years…

"Sit down and have some tea with your father, and I'll go cut you a watermelon." The godmother pressed Su Lu back into the chair and went to the well in the backyard to retrieve the watermelon.

Only the father and son remained in the courtyard. Su Lu looked at Su Youcai with a half-smile.

The stress monster is transmitting stress again...

Sure enough, Su Youcai, who had been relaxed and carefree, became uncomfortable under his gaze. He broke off a piece of mung bean cake, tossed half to his son, and popped the other half into his mouth: "What, you're busy all day, but you can't stand seeing others idle?"

"Has Father not decided yet?" Su Lu caught the mung bean cake.

"You mean go back to the exam hall?" Su Youcai looked conflicted, and suddenly the mung bean cake in his mouth didn't taste so good anymore.

Su Lu had excitedly told him about this during the Dragon Boat Festival, but there were too many people and things to do at the time, so Su Youcai said he would think about it first and discuss it again when he returned to Luzhou.

As a result, I spent more than a month considering it...

"Yes." Su Lu didn't want to press him, but seeing his father wasting time here, he couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't this a time of national mourning?" Su Youcai changed the subject, saying, "I was too busy grieving..."

"Come on. What does national mourning have to do with us ordinary people?" Su Lu said irritably. "Father, just give me a straight answer: take the exam or not? If you say no, I promise I'll never ask you again."

"Of course I wanted to take the exam," Su Youcai confessed under duress. "I studied from the age of seven until I was thirty-five, a full twenty-eight years. I dreamed of passing the imperial examination, otherwise my life would be too much of a failure."

"Then take the test!" Su Lu said. "You're thirty-seven this year, not particularly old."

"But I'm worried I won't pass the exam," Su Youcai said with a bitter face. "It's embarrassing enough for a father and son to go to the exam together. If my son passes on his first try and I fail, how will I ever face anyone?"

“It’s a good story that Scholar Yang and his son entered the examination hall together. What’s so shameful about it?” Su Lu said.

“Of course it’s not shameful to pass the exam, but wouldn’t people laugh at a father if he failed?” Su Youcai said.

"Then just pass the exam, right?" Su Lu said.

"Can my word count for this? It's been twelve times already, and every single time I've wanted to pass the exam!" Su Youcai covered his head with his hands, the unbearable memories attacking him again and again, causing him great pain.

The godmother returned with a watermelon and, seeing the situation, said with heartache, "If you don't want to take the exam, that's fine. You can still live a glorious life by relying on your son in the future."

"Spending your wife's money to get your son an official position." Su Youcai objected again. "Then what do I become?"

"That means you're lucky," both godmother and Su Lu said in unison. "Others would envy you."

"Hehe, that's true." Su Youcai chuckled, ate a piece of melon, and then reflected on himself, "Back then, our family wasn't well-off. I ate coarse grains every day, lit pine torches, and had to endure my sister-in-law's sarcastic remarks, yet I persevered despite repeated failures. Now that things are so much better, I'm afraid to fight. That's really not right." "That's the truth," his godmother laughed. "Now that we have enough to eat and wear, we don't expect our second brother to pass the imperial examinations and bring glory to the family. Just consider it making up for your own regrets. So what if he doesn't pass? Are we afraid of being laughed at? If we were, we wouldn't be where we are today."

"Lanlan, what you said makes so much sense..." Su Youcai looked at the proprietress with emotion. "Alright, since you put it that way, I'll pass the imperial examination and become a scholar for you! Then I'll help you marry a good husband!"

"Second Brother..." The landlady's heart melted; Youcai always managed to maximize her emotional value.

"..." Su Lu could only bury her head in her food, so what I said made no sense?
~~
Lunch was still delivered by the county government.

Because Steward Tian is serving the master, Chef Hu is the one delivering meals today.

"Now that the master is here, let's not trouble the chef. We can cook it ourselves," Su Youcai said apologetically.

"Oh, it's just a matter of adding a few more ingredients, making two portions, no trouble at all," Chef Hu said with a smile. Finally, it was his turn to shine in front of the young master; how could he not come?

As he spoke, he placed the dishes from the food box onto the table one by one. Although meat was forbidden during the national mourning period, for a good chef, this was the perfect opportunity to showcase their skills.

What's so difficult about cooking meat dishes well? It's the vegetarian dishes that are also delicious, visually appealing, and aromatic—that takes real skill.

"First dish, Braised Jade Plate with Scallion Oil." Chef Hu placed a plate of stir-fried mushrooms and bamboo shoots on the table. The aroma of scallion oil, the freshness of mushrooms, and the fragrance of bamboo shoots blended perfectly, creating a rich and enticing aroma.

"That's impressive, Uncle Hu," Su Lu couldn't help but praise, "You even know the story of Zen Master Yuban."

"Serving a scholar like you every day, I must also be a little cultured, right?" Chef Hu grinned from ear to ear. His flattery had indeed worked, and all his efforts in searching through the recipes had been worthwhile.

"What's the story behind this?" the proprietress asked, puzzled.

"It was our ancestor, Mr. Dongpo, who invited a friend to go into the mountains to dig for bamboo shoots. That friend had always been afraid of walking mountain paths, but Mr. Dongpo said that going into the mountains would also allow him to visit Zen Master Yuban, so he gladly went," Su Youcai explained.

"The two arrived in the deep mountains, and Su Dongpo ordered someone to dig up bamboo shoots and cook bamboo shoot rice. His friend thought the bamboo shoots tasted exceptionally good, so he asked the name of the bamboo shoots. Su Dongpo replied with a smile: 'These bamboo shoots are the Jade Tablet Zen Master! This Zen Master was good at expounding the Dharma, and he could make people experience the taste of Zen joy.' Then his friend realized that he was joking and laughed loudly, and Su Dongpo was also pleased."

"Mr. Su is truly learned," Chef Hu praised, then placed the second dish, braised gluten with fermented bean curd. The gluten was coated in a bright reddish-brown fermented bean curd sauce, with shredded shiitake mushrooms embedded in it, its color as rich as braised pork.

There were also two lighter dishes: stir-fried mushrooms with fermented black beans and steamed crystal winter melon with goji berries... These were prepared for the proprietress.

Served with a bowl of lotus seed and lily bulb soup to cool you down, it not only caters to everyone's stomach but also makes them feel healthy.

Finally, Chef Hu made his successful retirement amidst a chorus of praise...

Once outsiders were gone, the proprietress said to Su Lu, "By the way, son, I just received a letter from my father. They have finally agreed to accept your proposal and let Chengji Distillery join Erlang Winery."

“Oh.” Su Lu nodded. This was within his expectations, because his proposal was the only solution acceptable to both parties. Even the time it took to reach an agreement was within his predicted timeframe.

“That’s good. We can finish distributing the dividends in the first half of the year and then start joint ventures in the second half.” He ladled out a bowl of soup, gently blowing on the steam, and said, “However, everything is difficult at the beginning. There will definitely be some bumps and stumbles at the start.”

"Yes. Reaching an agreement is only the first step. Next, we need to take stock of our respective assets and liabilities, agree on how to integrate craftsmen, skills, and cellars, revise the rules and salaries... and there will be a lot of arguments," the proprietress said with a wry smile.

"Let them argue," Su Lu said indifferently. "If they argue for three months, we'll merge in September; if they argue for half a year, we'll merge by the end of the year. There's no rush."

"We can't keep up with demand, so of course we're not in a hurry. The Cheng family is in a real rush," the proprietress said with a wry smile.

“Whoever is in a hurry should give way more,” Su Lu said. “Actually, once the shareholding is settled, everything else is a minor matter and won’t have a big impact.”

"That's true." The proprietress nodded, but it's often these minor disputes that take the most time. "It's better to settle it sooner, preferably before the Double Ninth Festival in Xiasha, so we can have a fresh start."

~~
After having dinner at home, Su Lu was about to go to the Zhu family's house for class when Su Youcai chased after him carrying a bag of fresh lychees.

"Son, son." Su Youcai handed the lychees to Xiaoyuer and said with a smile, "Take these for your teacher to try. He can't eat meat these days, so it's good for him to eat some fresh fruit."

"Okay." Su Lu nodded and instructed, "Study hard this afternoon, don't slack off just because I'm not home. Your father hasn't touched a book in a year and hasn't written an essay in two years, so you need to make the most of the remaining six months."

"Oh, oh," Su Youcai responded quickly. "Don't worry, Dad isn't lazy. Otherwise, how could he have such a diligent son?"

"That's good." Su Lu noticed that Su Youcai was still with him. "Dad, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Ah..." Su Youcai glanced at Xiaoyuer, who immediately vanished. He then said to Su Lu sheepishly, "Son, you have to help your father, otherwise even if I pass the county exam, everything else will be for nothing..."

(End of this chapter)