Top Scholar

Chapter 83 The Third Battle

"Then let Sweet Water Shop and Su Shop go into partnership?" Godmother asked Su Lu.

"It's best not to mix them together; it's cleaner to eat them in separate pots," Su Lu suggested. "Actually, I recommend using He Ji's pot; that way, Godmother can negotiate better terms."

He paused for a moment and then said, "The pressure on my shoulders is also less."

"Good child, I'll listen to you." The godmother nodded, touched. Of course, she understood that Su Lu was thinking of her.

Whether it's reputation, public opinion, or her family's connections, the Heji brand can withstand considerable pressure for her.

Of course, Su Lu was also thinking of his own family; he absolutely couldn't let the Su family be stigmatized as a family that had no heirs...

Su Tai was more satisfied with this decision, as he was the one who sympathized most with the He brothers.

“Then He Ji and Su Ji will partner up. You and Uncle Qi can decide whether to invest or set up a new winery.” Su Lu said, then patted Su Tai’s arm and said, “Second Brother has already completed his apprenticeship and can be Mother’s representative at the winery.”

"That's exactly what I was thinking," the godmother said happily. "I won't cooperate with them unless Xia-ge'er gets a second job!"

"I can't be the mastermind, being a foreman is the best I can do!" Su Tai quickly waved his hand and said.

"If you don't know how, then learn! Xia-ge'er, don't always think you can't do it!" Godmother raised an eyebrow and said, "I was forced into this role back then too. Now, don't I manage Sweet Water Shop perfectly?"

"Oh, I remember, Liang..." Su Tai honestly accepted the instruction.

"What about the specific shares?" the godmother asked again.

"It's really best not to ask that," Su Lu said with a wry smile. "It's not appropriate for me to say it."

“Okay, I’ll talk to them.” His godmother stopped pressuring him.

"Is everything alright now?" Su Lu wanted to leave and go back to studying. For the King of Scrolls, holidays were just a change of scenery for studying.

The godmother thought for a moment and whispered, "One last question, what about Lord Qianhu? Does he think we're deliberately ignoring him?"

“That’s possible, but we can’t let him get his hands on the distillery.” Su Lu nodded and smiled, “How about this, let Sweetwater Distillery be the exclusive distributor of the distillery in Taiping Town, then Commander Qian will have no objections, right?”

"That's a great idea!" The godmother's eyes lit up. "It cuts off all ties with him while still letting him benefit. Naturally, he won't have any objections."

~~
The next day, Su Tai returned and told the head steward that his godmother had agreed to the meeting.

Su Daji pondered all night, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was God's last chance for the distillery. This time, he didn't care about any sectarian differences, and that very noon he prepared a 'grand opening gift' that was half a year late, and headed straight for Taiping Town.

Upon entering Sweet Water Restaurant, Su Daji saw Su Youcai and the proprietress chatting and laughing across the counter. He instantly understood everything…

"Oh, Uncle Seven is here?" Su Youcai knew he was coming, but he didn't expect him to arrive so suddenly. His old face immediately turned red as he said, "I've come to help out for a couple of days..."

"No need to explain, no need to explain," Su Daji quickly waved his hand and said, "Do whatever you want."

He then asked Su Lang to present the congratulatory gift, and bowed to the proprietress with a smile, saying, "I've long heard that your shop is thriving and always packed with customers. Today, I've prepared a small gift to share in your shop's good fortune!"

"You flatter me, Mr. Su. It's just a small shop to make a living. Please come upstairs for some tea." The proprietress gave a curtsy and politely invited Su Daji to the small living room upstairs. She served him tea and his grandson the seasonal new product, 'Peach Dew'.

Su Lu had already done his homework in advance, so the conversation between the two sides was naturally very pleasant.

Just as he had predicted, Su's Distillery was indeed on the verge of collapse. Su Daji saw Suisha Wine as a lifeline and was willing to give up up to 30% of its shares in exchange for cooperation.

The proprietress didn't haggle with him, and said with a smile, "Okay, thirty percent, thirty percent, but I have one condition."

"Please speak, madam." Su Daji breathed a sigh of relief; any more words and he wouldn't be able to convince the clan.

"He Ji will take 20% of the 30% shares, and the remaining 10% will go to Su Tai," the proprietress said directly.

"Why?" Su Daji asked in surprise, "Xia Ge'er is a member of my Su family, and he originally had a share in the winery."

“It’s either all or none.” The proprietress pointed out, “A mother has to fight for her son’s interests so that he can take care of me in my old age and see me off when I die.”

"..." Su Lang, who was listening from the side, was dumbfounded and wished he could call her "mother" too.

"This..." Su Daji hesitated. Logically, the proprietress hadn't asked for a penny more, and hadn't harmed the distillery's interests in the slightest. But emotionally, it was just hard to accept...

People have become accustomed to viewing individual members as part of the clan. The advantage is that the entire clan feels like one big family, and they truly support each other in times of trouble. The downside is also this: it's very inconvenient for family members to discuss interests…

This is why Su Lu resolutely refuses to come forward; it's simply too difficult for him to discuss interests with the clan. One heavy accusation after another is being hurled at him, and no one can withstand it.

However, Su Lu couldn't contribute to the clan for nothing, so he asked his godmother to talk to him, which eliminated that concern.

My godmother is indeed very generous. Actually, what would be most beneficial for her is for the two families to jointly establish a new winery, rather than directly merging He's into Su's Winery.

Su's Distillery is also heavily in debt, and it's not even in the same league as the debt the proprietress owes...

The proprietress's willingness to merge with Su's and share the debts deeply moved Su Daji. She was practically a living saint, a savior from suffering!

So in the end, Su Daji gritted his teeth and agreed, "Okay, I'll take it. I'll give him 10%!"

"Okay." The proprietress nodded in satisfaction and said, "I will give the secret recipe to Su Tai and have him be the head chef's assistant, in charge of the production of Erlang wine." "No problem, it's only right." Su Daji nodded, because Su Tai had become the third largest shareholder and the largest individual shareholder, and was already a small boss of the winery.

He picked up his teacup and toasted the proprietress, saying, "Proprietress, you are too kind. I never expected the negotiations to turn out this way. Whether this matter succeeds or fails, the Su family owes you a great favor!"

"Really?" The proprietress smiled slyly upon hearing this, "In that case, can this favor be repaid now?"

"Uh... of course." Su Daji's heart tightened. He thought to himself, "I was just being polite. Why isn't this young widow playing by the rules?"

"It's nothing serious," the proprietress said softly. "It's just my godson's grandfather..."

"Oh, my sixth brother." Su Daji breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What happened to him?"

"The old man always thinks I'm a member of the Cheng family, so he can't help but feel uneasy about it," the proprietress said with a troubled expression. "It makes me feel embarrassed to even visit my son. It's really frustrating."

Su Daji thought to himself, "You're not just a member of the Cheng family, you're also the daughter of Scholar Cheng..."

But compared to the winery's problems, this was indeed a minor matter, so he patted his chest and assured her, "Don't worry, boss lady, I've got it covered. I'll get you through even the biggest problem!"

"Really?" the proprietress exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course it's true. If I can't make it, there's still the old clan chief." Su Daji laughed. "Besides, it concerns the livelihood of the entire clan. Sixth Brother has to consider the big picture, right? Can't we let the whole clan lose their jobs because of a little temper?"

"Then I'll leave it to you, Master." The proprietress bowed deeply.

"Don't worry, there's absolutely no problem," Su Daji said confidently.

~~
The two only reached a framework agreement that day; many details still needed to be discussed. Su Daji also needed to persuade his clansmen; it wouldn't be settled for at least ten days to two weeks…

Su Lu really couldn't care less about these things, because nine days later would be May 15th—the third monthly lesson!
The atmosphere at the academy grew increasingly tense, and the laughter and chatter of the past few days gradually faded away. All the students were engrossed in their writing in the classroom. Even in the dead of night, some students were still burning the midnight oil in the study.

The students suddenly realized that their mood was actually linked to the phase of the moon.

One student then wrote a humorous ditty:
When the moon is waning, relax; as the moon waxes, sorrow grows.

The full moon of the fifteenth day brings heartache, but after the exams, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and await the next one.

Even more outrageous, some people directly compared monthly lessons to a woman's menstrual cycle, composing an even more mischievous limerick:
"The beautiful woman sighs at the red moonlight, and I too lament the passing of the moonlight."

We both experience pain once a month, but hers is back pain while mine is headache.

It added a touch of humor to the students' tense and tedious study time...

The fifteenth day arrived in the blink of an eye, and the students of the lower hall finally welcomed their third monthly lesson.

There's no need to go into the details of the beginning; let's go straight to the final technique, which is titled—

'Bathe in the Yi River, enjoy the breeze at the Dance Altar, and sing as you return!'
This is a "two-ends-one-legs" problem, a three-part problem that appears parallel but actually has a focus. Unlike the two problems we've seen before, this one is significantly more difficult.

It wasn't just the question type; even the question itself made the students curse. This was Zengzi recounting his spring outing, and the description was incredibly detailed... swimming in the river, dancing in the wind, singing songs on the way home—how delightful!

The problem is, how the hell do we even begin to solve this?!
The students were scratching their heads, biting their nails, and chewing on their pens, like a bunch of hamsters, completely losing their previous composure during the exam.

Many people spent a long time without any ideas, and with little time left, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and force out a lump of ideas...

After handing in their papers, the previous two times were no longer filled with joy. They sat there looking dejected, all feeling they had failed the exam.

"Why did the questions suddenly become so difficult?" The students of Sheng Shen Zhai were also discussing it.

"Maybe the first two times were too easy, and they won't do it again," someone speculated.

"Won't it always be this hard?" Li Qiyu said with a mournful face, "Then I'm doomed."

"Sigh, who knows?" Even Su Dan lost confidence. He thought he was pretty good, but he didn't expect to show his weakness when the difficulty level increased.

Seeing that everyone was unhappy, Ma Qianli felt that as the head of the vegetarian restaurant, he had an obligation to cheer everyone up, so he stood up and announced, "Let's go, I'll treat everyone to a meal at a restaurant, no one can be left out!"

He glanced at the 30,000 and said, "You all must go too."

Cheng Wanzhou and Cheng Wanfan, however, looked at Cheng Wantang.

Cheng Wantang's acne got worse. He had been studying day and night lately, and especially with Su Lu's guidance, he felt that his skill level had improved significantly.

I couldn't help but harbor some illusions, but then I was confronted with this very problem.

Before he could recover from the shock, someone gently patted him on the shoulder.

Looking up, I saw Su Lu.

"Let's go together. We can talk about it tomorrow," Su Lu said gently.

"Yes, brother." Cheng Wantang then stood up and left the study with his classmates.

(End of this chapter)