Top Scholar

Chapter 252 Feeling at Home
When the ship arrived at Guanyizui Wharf, Manager Tian came to pick it up in person.

"Congratulations, young master, on achieving the highest honor in the imperial examination! Congratulations, Mr. Su, on advancing to the prefectural examination!" Before Su Lu even disembarked, Steward Tian excitedly offered his congratulations, showing no sign that he had known all along.

"He is the top scholar in the county," Su Lu said solemnly, then greeted Steward Tian with a broad smile.

She then introduced him to her husband, elder brother, and classmates.

"Oh my, what a distinguished gathering!" Steward Tian exclaimed with delight, bowing deeply and asking with fiery enthusiasm, "May I ask where you all plan to stay?"

“There’s a Waiting-for-the-Moon Pavilion at Heshan Academy; we plan to stay there,” Mr. Zhang said.

“How can anyone live in such a place?” Steward Tian shook his head and said, “It’s a communal dormitory with dozens of people in one room. The doors and windows let in drafts, and there are lice and rats! No one will stay here for long without getting sick.”

“Indeed.” Chun Ge’er wholeheartedly agreed, as memories from two years ago suddenly flooded back, making his nose tingle.

“Then…” Su Lu then smiled and said, “Uncle Tian, ​​do you have a better place?”

“Of course, it’s our county government office!” Steward Tian said with a smile. “Isn’t that the place where the county serves you gentlemen?”

"No, no, no, that would be too much trouble." Although Su Lu had already said so, Mr. Zhang was still very embarrassed.

"Ah, it's all part of my job!" Steward Tian hurriedly said with a smile, "The master has long instructed that we must serve the young masters who have come to the prefecture for the examinations well. Besides, you are all good friends of our young master Su. If you don't come to stay with me, you're disrespecting me!"

"Well, we have limited funds..." Mr. Zhang said softly.

"Don't worry, sir, we have plenty of funds. The master has allocated extra money this year because of the exams, specifically for the young masters," Steward Tian said with a smile. "Money or no money, just give them to a couple when the time comes."

“Then I’ll accept it with a smile…” Mr. Zhang said somewhat embarrassedly, “I’m sorry to have troubled Steward Tian.”

"No trouble at all," Steward Tian said with a smile, waving his hand. He then helped the young masters load their luggage and examination baskets onto the carriage with the coachman and his attendants.

The classmates were all very excited. Everyone knew how terrible the conditions were at Waiting for the Moon Cottage, and no one from a well-off family wanted to stay there. But since the whole class was going together, there couldn't be any exceptions, so they would definitely have to stay together...

On the way into town, they whispered among themselves, "I specifically inquired before coming here. The county government only serves the county officials; they won't serve anyone else even if they pay them."

"Nonsense, the government office isn't an inn," Li Qiyu said with a fawning smile. "This is all because of my connections!"

“Indeed.” Cheng Wanfan, unusually, did not refute him.

"Indeed, we owe it all to you, brother." The others nodded in agreement, still addressing each other as brothers in front of outsiders.

~~
Upon arriving at the county office, Steward Tian led everyone to the east wing where Su Lu and his brother had previously stayed.

There are three main rooms and two side rooms in the courtyard. All five rooms have beds, which is more than enough to accommodate more than a dozen people.

Every time the magistrate came to the prefecture, he would bring twenty or thirty attendants, and the public office could easily accommodate such a small number of people. Steward Tian arranged everything in an orderly manner, and the teachers and students quickly settled in.

"Gentlemen, please rest first. I will arrange the meals. Lunch will be served on time at noon." Steward Tian then took his leave with a smile.

The students were deeply moved by the thoughtful service and stood up to express their gratitude: "Thank you, Manager Tian."

"Oh, you are all Young Master Su's classmates and friends, it's only right, it's only right." Steward Tian waved his hand repeatedly and left with a smile.

As soon as he left, all the classmates bowed and smiled at Su Lu, saying, "We felt the warmth of fatherly love again."

"Well, when they take advantage of me, they're like godfathers; when they don't, they're like Hongzhi." Su Lu laughed and scolded, "None of you are sincere."

"I'm just afraid of making you sound old." The classmates laughed and joked, but they were all just kidding.

Su Lu chatted and laughed with them for a few moments, then left the government office and returned to his home across the street.

Back home, the eldest brother has also settled in. He shares a room with his uncle, but his uncle is always traveling and can only stay for three to five days a month, so he basically lives alone.

The proprietress brought over new bedding for her nephew, smiling and saying, "The quilts have been aired by Manager Tian; they're soft and perfect for him."

"Thank you for your trouble, Auntie." Su Man quickly took it.

Speaking of which, the landlady has already completed her mourning period. She's just waiting for Su Youcai to finish his exams before the two of them officially get married. That's why Su Man calls her "Second Aunt" so naturally.

"Brother Chun, you don't need to be so polite. This is just like home. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll get it for you," the proprietress said with a smile.

"This is already excellent, a thousand times better than my last exam..." Su Man was extremely satisfied.

As soon as the proprietress left, Su Lu and Su Tai couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you two laughing at?!" Chun-ge'er asked, bewildered.

Su Lu lay down on the bed, her face weak and plaintive, and said in a pitiful voice, "Mother, I want to go home..."

“I’m tired, let’s destroy it…” Su Tai said in a muffled voice.

The eldest brother instantly recalled his embarrassing past, and his handsome face turned bright red. He glared at his two younger brothers and said, "Still talking? I told you to forget about that!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh: "I was desperate and had no one to rely on back then. I really thought I was going to die." "Fortunately, those days will never come again," Su Lu said with a smile.

"Yes, it will definitely never happen again." Su Tai nodded emphatically.

“Our family has undergone tremendous changes in the past two years, but unfortunately, I, the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, have not contributed anything. Whenever I enjoy the fruits of others’ labor, I feel ashamed and embarrassed.” Su Man said with a face full of shame.

“What are you thinking, brother? We all have different roles. Our task is to study hard and pass the imperial examinations! As long as you pass the county-level exam, you’ll have made a contribution to the family. If you pass the provincial-level exam, the whole family will depend on you. If you pass the metropolitan-level exam, our family might just become the next Zhu family.” Su Lu encouraged him.

"Yes!" Su Man nodded emphatically. As the eldest grandson of the Su family, he was mentally strong and ambitious. This kind of emotion would only motivate him to work harder.

He stopped wallowing in self-pity and changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of the Zhu family, when do you have time to take me there? Mr. Zhu has been kind to me, and I can't leave without paying him a visit."

“Okay,” Su Lu replied. “I’ll ask my dad when we eat. If he’s not going anytime soon, then it’ll be just the two of us.”

"Yes." The older brother nodded.

~~
During lunch, the older brother was startled again.

Surprisingly, the county government's head chef personally delivered the meal.

"Since your teacher and classmates arrived the day before, Steward Tian couldn't very well not show up. I've finally had the chance to come and congratulate you, young master and Mr. Su," Chef Hu said with a smile as he served the dishes.
"I am not good with words and don't know what to say, so I'll just cook a few dishes for you and Mr. Su as a congratulatory gift."

Then he rattled off the names of the dishes: "The first dish is Kui Xing Pointing at the Dipper, the second is Victory After Victory, the third is Fish Leaping Over the Dragon Gate, the fourth is Passing the Imperial Examination, the fifth is Passing the Triple Examination, the sixth is Five Sons Winning the Top Prize, the seventh is Yellow-Clad Scholars, the eighth is Banquet at the Jade Forest! And there's also the Top Scholar's Congee!"

Not to mention Chun Ge'er, even Qiu Ge'er and Su Youcai were stunned by Chef Hu's tricks.

"Old Hu, it's a real waste that you're working at the government office. You should be in charge of cooking at the Imperial Household Department and specialize in preparing the Qionglin Banquet!" Su Youcai gave a thumbs up.

"Indeed, Uncle Hu is truly amazing!" Su Lu also praised.

"I'm just waiting for you to make it big in the future, so you can help me out." Chef Hu immediately beamed and took his leave, saying, "I won't bother you any longer, please enjoy your meal, sir."

"Thank you for your hard work." Everyone saw them off politely.

After he left, Chun Ge'er looked at the large table of exquisite dishes and finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you eating this well in Luzhou?"

"Didn't I say so? I'm just celebrating this. It's not usually this exaggerated..." Su Youcai said somewhat guiltily.

"That's really too much. I don't even dare to pick up my chopsticks anymore." My uncle held his chopsticks up in the air, unable to bring them down for a long time.

"What is all this nonsense? I can only understand that braised carp is 'fish leaping over the dragon gate,' braised pig's trotters are 'passing the imperial examination,' and stir-fried crab is 'the yellow armor being passed to the top,' so how did this braised bok choy with mushrooms become 'the god of literature pointing to the Big Dipper'?"

"Didn't you see the five-pointed star pattern on the back of the shiitake mushroom?" Su Youcai laughed. "The rapeseed symbolizes talent and also represents the pure spirit of the God of Literature!"

"Wow!" Su Youma exclaimed admiringly, "It seems that cooking requires the right person to do it. If it were made for me, it would be like throwing a blind man's eye."

"This is originally a scholar's dish, it's all about the essence, and it doesn't necessarily taste that good," Su Lu laughed. "For example, in this 'Winning Streak' dish, Chef Hu used nine-section lotus root, wouldn't it have been better to slice it?"

"Mmm." Su Tai picked up a piece of lotus root, took a bite, and exclaimed in surprise, "They've stuffed sausages into the lotus root eyes! It's delicious!"

Upon seeing that it was indeed true, Su Lu was convinced and changed his tune, saying, "My apologies, I take back what I said."

The remaining dishes included longan, meatballs, and glutinous rice balls, which were considered the top three in the imperial examination. The five-egg combination consisted of chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, pigeon eggs, and quail eggs, because eggs are also called "zi" (子).

The most elegant dish is undoubtedly "Banquet at Qionglin"! It involves deboning and shredding Yangtze River whitefish, then mixing it with mung bean sprouts. The dish is as white as snow and has a smooth and fragrant taste!

~~
While enjoying the auspicious dishes painstakingly prepared by Chef Hu, Su Lu asked Su Youcai if they wanted to go to the Zhu family together.

Su Youcai scooped up a spoonful of the top scholar's porridge, gently blowing on it to warm it up, and said, "Of course I have to pay a visit. How could I not go after the New Year?"

“Then it’s better to do it sooner rather than later. I’ll go pay my respects to Mr. Gangshan after I finish eating, and also make an appointment with my senior brother,” Su Lu said.

As they were talking, Zhu Zihe peeked in from outside the door, sniffing the air, and said, "It smells so good."

"You're well-informed; you found me the moment I walked in," Su Lu said with a smile.

After bowing to the three elders, Zhu Zihe smiled at Su Lu and said, "That's right, we've been waiting for you for so long, and you're finally back, brother."

"How did the exam go?" Su Lu asked.

"Is that even a question?" Zhu Zi said arrogantly, "With you not here, they can only fight for second place."

"So you also topped the list?" Su Youcai exclaimed with delight, "Quickly sit down, let's have a 'Winning Streak'!"

"Alright." Zhu Zihe washed his hands with Xiao Yu'er's help, took a piece of lotus root, tasted it and praised it highly, then pretended to smile bitterly and said, "It's a pity that with Brother Qiji around, no matter how much we eat, we can't expect to win every game in a row."

Clearly, after Su Lu's absence for a month, he's become assertive again...

(End of this chapter)