I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

In Jiangcun, summer brings frequent thunderstorms; the morning brings torrential rain, while the evening brings clear skies.

A storm brings coolness.

Not long after the rain stopped and the sun came out, Dege and Sun Dingnan finally returned to the Yuanlu County government office.

Sun Shan was drinking congee with Little Fatty when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew by. He pounced on her and met a pair of "puffy eyes".

Sun Shan was startled and took ten steps back, still thinking of his beloved chubby daughter.

One pull, one dash.

Once you see who it is, suppress the urge to curse them out.

There's no way around it; scholars have to maintain the image of a "refined scoundrel."

He said irritably, "Brother De, what are you doing? Did you crawl out of the deep forest?"

Oh my, is the tall, mighty, and handsome De Ge'er standing in front of me still the same guy?

Look at that skin, so dark. Look at that face, so颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of listlessness, dejection, and a lack of motivation).

Look at those eyes, they look like they've been swollen from being beaten.

Oh dear, how did Dege'er turn into such a horrible sight in just one or two months?

Little Fatty wasn't alarmed by Sun Shan's pulling; instead, upon seeing De Ge'er's appearance, she screamed in fright, "Shan Niu Hong is here!"

Little Fatty's body trembled, and with a turn and a leap, he fell into Su's arms, his little hands tightly gripping the big gold bracelet.

Her eyes darted around, wanting to look but not daring to look, she buried them in Su's arm.

The so-called "Mountain Ox Red" is a monster in Lingnan legends that eats tiny mosquitoes.

As night falls, there are rustling sounds in the valley, the old woman knocking on the door, and the crunching sound of someone gnawing on a child's fingers.

The adults would shout sternly, "The mountain bull is here! It loves to eat tiny mosquitoes that kick off their blankets. You must obediently cover yourself with the blanket, go to sleep quietly, and don't make a sound."

Grandma Huang would often "scare" Sun Shan into going to sleep. Little Fatty was always taken care of by Su, and when she didn't want to sleep at night, Su would also "scare" Little Fatty in the same way.

At this moment, Dege'er was still tall, but his loose black hair covered his face, and his unkempt, dripping wet clothes made him look just like a mountain bull coming down the mountain to eat children.

Sun Shan glared at the past, thinking, "So what if you came back? You even scared my precious daughter."

No, not only the chubby girl, but even the dark-skinned girl was so frightened that she threw herself into Li Jinhua's arms.

Fortunately, Hu Ming went to school, otherwise he would have been so frightened by De Ge'er's appearance that he would have nightmares at night.

Dege felt even more aggrieved after being glared at by Sun Shan, and cried out with a mournful face, "Shanzi, you heartless Shanzi! You left me in some remote mountain village where only birds poop, and life there was so miserable!"

Not only were they starving and unable to sleep, but they also had to do heavy labor all day long. And to make matters worse, they had to join a large group to transport bird droppings as fertilizer.

It's bitter, bitterer than eating bitter melon. The weather is so hot, it's like steam is rising from the sky, exposed to the sun and rain, with thunder and lightning. Shanzi, how cruel you are!

Dege'er was so engrossed in his speech that he didn't give anyone else a chance to speak.

He was venting his anger on his own, and if anyone tried to stop him, he'd definitely punch them.

Everyone looked at Dege'er, unsure of what to do.

After all, Dege'er looked rather pitiful, completely different from his "young master from a noble family" appearance a few days ago.

Oh dear, it seems that no one can be born naturally beautiful. No matter how handsome you are, you can still be ruined by a coolie.

When Uncle Sun saw his handsome son turn out like this, he felt heartbroken for three seconds.

He ran forward, grasped Dege'er's hands tightly, and said excitedly, "Dege'er, my good son, you've suffered so much."

Then he pulled Dege forward and pushed him next to Sun Shan, saying, "Shanzi, look at my Dege. For you, he has gone through fire and water, suffering hardships and toil. Shanzi, you must not betray Dege's loyalty to you. Shanzi, you must cultivate Dege well and help him make a fortune. Don't forget his kindness."

Sun Shan: ...

Well done, Uncle Sun! You took advantage of the situation and performed it to the fullest!

Sun Shan completely ignored what De Ge'er and Uncle Sun were saying and sat leisurely at the dining table.

He waved his hand and ordered, "Brother De, don't say any more. Change into some clean clothes before you come over."

Pointing to the floor, he frowned and said, "Look, the floor is dirty again. I got up early this morning to sweep it, and it was spotless. Now I have to sweep it all over again."

Dege'er & Uncle Sun: .....

How heartless Shanzi! Dege'er has suffered so much, and all he cares about is whether the floor is dirty or not.

Sun Bomin also looked at Dege'er, who was suffering, and felt much more genuine heartache than Uncle Sun.

He called out with concern, "Brother De, go take a hot bath quickly, be careful of catching a cold. The weather in July and August is always the same. It just rained, did you get wet? Oh, this won't do, what if you get sick? Go change your clothes and take a bath."

After saying that, she called out, "Granny Wang, boil a pot of ginger soup. Everyone should drink three big bowls to get rid of the dampness and cold."

Madam Su also said, "Yes, Dege, don't stand here. Go take a bath quickly. Oh, it's raining heavily, so don't come back. Mengzai, why don't you find a place to shelter from the rain and come back when it stops?"

After finishing with Dege'er, he also scolded Sun Dingnan, Sun Dalang, and Sun Erjie: "You're all grown up, how come you don't know how to think about things and don't take care of yourselves? Luckily, your family is in Sunjia Village. If they had seen you, they would have given you a good scolding."

He waved his hand and ordered, "Go take a bath, drink some ginger soup, and then come back for dinner. We can talk about anything else later."

After giving a haughty order, Su said to Sun Dali, "Dali, kick them out, tidy them up, and then bring them back in."

Sun Dali thought so too, and accepted the order, saying, "Yes, Madam, I'll go right away."

Dege didn't want to leave and wanted to continue complaining, but Sun Dali was famous for his strength.

Even if they weren't as tall and strong as Brother De, they could still carry them out.

So the group of people who had just returned were kicked out, except for Uncle Sun, who was left out.

Uncle Sun continued to murmur in Sun Shan's ear, "Shanzi, you mustn't forget Dege'er. He's doing things for you. My poor Dege'er, he'd go to great lengths for his brothers. I hope he won't be let down."

His eyes darted around, his gaze constantly fixed on Sun Shan.

Sun Shan forcefully blocked the way, saying calmly, "Third Uncle, don't you know who I am? Since Brother De is staying, I'll make proper arrangements. Don't worry, no one else can be missing, but Brother De is my brother I've known since childhood."

Sun Shan gave him a reassuring look.

Uncle Sun was not at all at ease. Among the Sun family, Shanzi was the most cunning and heartless.

He continued, "Shanzi, your third uncle is not well-educated, don't lie to him. This is not a sign of being valued, how can your third uncle not see it? You are even worse than Anan. Poor Dege, his pure heart shines like a ditch."