Zhenfubao waved his hand and the warehouse was full of grain, and the whole family regretted it

He forced a smile, but his eyes wandered around the yard:

"You may not know that my son-in-law is now a scholar, and my writing is the best in the whole village!

The other day the county magistrate praised my writing skills and said that I would be able to..."

"Really?" Madam Bai looked coldly at his long fingernails, which were still stained with unwashed dirt. "If that's the case, then supporting the family shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The scholar's smile froze on his face in an instant, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Master Bai didn't even raise his eyelids, but tapped the table with his fingers: "Since you say your writing is good, show it to me."

The scholar raised his head, feeling extremely proud. He stood up and took out a few yellowed papers from his bag and shook them open:

"Please take a look! Even the county teacher praised the writing of this 'Essay on Encouraging Learning' as being well-written, and even commented on every word beside it, saying it was a gem."

A few days ago, the neighboring town held a literary gathering. I read my essay and everyone said I would definitely pass the imperial examination!

Master Bai took the paper and looked at it, his brows immediately furrowed.

The words on the paper were crooked, and the ink was smudged in many places, making it pitch black.

Reading the content again, it's all nonsense over and over again, and there's no logic at all.

He threw the paper to the ground and said:

"What the hell is this writing!

You're talking so much nonsense, I think you must have gotten in by sheer luck!"

The scholar's face turned pale, and he quickly squatted down to pick up the paper: "You must have seen it wrong..."

Master Bai sneered and reached out to push the paperweight aside.

"Don't think that passing the exam to become a scholar is a big deal.

Anyone you pick up in Bianjing might be more knowledgeable than you.

If you really want to be successful, go back and practice your calligraphy and lay a solid foundation first!"

The scholar was so angry that his face turned ashen. He shook his sleeves fiercely, and his coarse cloth gown raised a gust of wind. He rushed out of the yard without looking back.

Not long after, the sound of a heated argument between him and Zhao Qiaolan could be heard from the corner of the yard.

"Your father is clearly deliberately humiliating me!" The scholar's face flushed, spit flying everywhere:

"You're so arrogant just because you're a second-rank official?

I don’t know how many people have praised my article, but how come it becomes bullshit in his mouth?

This is clearly an insult to our family!"

Zhao Qiaolan stamped her feet anxiously and tugged at his sleeves in panic:

“No, that’s really not the case!

My father must be hoping that you can reach a higher level, so... "

"Go up a level?" The scholar sneered and shook her hand away.

"Is there anyone so ruthless? I've studied so hard for so many years, getting up before dawn every day to copy books and write.

After finishing my housework during the day, I rush to town in the afternoon to discuss literature with my friends, rain or shine! Why does he humiliate me like this?

Zhao Qiaolan's eyes were red, and she didn't bother to wipe her tears. She stumbled to Madam Bai and Master Bai.

She fell to her knees with a plop, her voice filled with tears:

"Mom and Dad, please stop looking at my husband with such displeasure!

It's really not easy for him, getting up early and going to bed late every day, you guys just... just give him some face!"

Mrs. Bai looked at her daughter crying bitterly and sighed helplessly:

"Qiaolan, your father and I were just speaking the truth and pointing out the flaws in his article.

If you can't handle this little bit of criticism, how are you going to handle bigger setbacks in the future?"

Zhao Qiaolan waved her hands hurriedly:

"No! My husband's articles are famously good.

Dad has been away from home for many years and doesn't know much about the science and technology events in Bianjing!"

She clutched the corner of Mrs. Bai's clothes, her tone a little anxious:

"When the next provincial examination comes, my husband will surely make a splash!

He gets up at cockcrow every day and doesn't go to bed until three o'clock in the morning. Even his neighbors say he is a role model for scholars..."

Baiyin walked into the house with a sullen look on his face, waving his sleeves and placing the teacup firmly on the table.

"It's better not to have such a narrow-minded son-in-law!

If you get angry and embarrassed when someone points out your shortcomings, how can you handle big things in the future?"

He grabbed the letter on the desk, the pages rustling between his fingers. "I've sent someone to check his background. If he's truly guilty of misconduct, this marriage should be called off immediately!"

Madam Bai sighed and said:

"It's not like you can just break up. Didn't you see what Zhao Qiaolan looked like?

She did all this willingly. Even if you want to support her, you have to make sure she's willing to do it!"

As soon as it got dark, Zhao Qiaolan was busy in front of the stove wearing a patched apron.

The big iron pot was bubbling loudly, and the cabbage stalks mixed with wild vegetables in the pot were emitting sporadic drops of oil.

While adding firewood to the stove, she took the time to knead the dough. Beads of sweat on her forehead kept seeping into her clothes.

"Isn't the meal ready yet?" A hoarse scolding voice came from the east wing. The blind old lady banged around the room with her cane. "My son studies so hard every day, and he can't even have a hot meal! You, as a daughter-in-law, only know how to be lazy!"

"Alright, alright! We'll be able to eat it soon!" Zhao Qiaolan stamped her feet anxiously, and hurriedly put the steamed steamed buns on the table.

Just as he wiped the sweat off his face, he saw the scholar come into the room, shaking his sleeves. He sat down on a chair without even raising his eyelids and said, "What are you dawdling about for? You're starving."

Just as they were about to start eating, they saw Mrs. Bai and Bai Yin coming out of the main room carrying bowls and chopsticks.

Mrs. Zhang immediately perked up and stood up shakily with the help of her cane: "My dear relatives, let me serve you some food!"

She fumbled for the wooden spoon and stirred the rice in the pot: "We are all family, everyone should have the same amount of rice in their bowl, no favoritism!"

As she spoke, she scooped up half a spoonful of porridge and poured it into the scholar's bowl first, with the rice grains piled up.

I added another half bowl for my son and daughter-in-law.

When it was Mrs. Bai and Bai Yin's turn, the spoon tilted slightly, leaving only a thin layer of rice soup in the bowl.

"My dear relatives, your family is well off, so it's not a big deal if you eat less.

My son uses his brain a lot in studying, so he needs to eat more..."

Baiyin put down his chopsticks with a snap, and the porcelain bowl made a crisp sound on the wooden table:

“These rice and flour were all purchased by my family.

You said your son was studying hard, but I review documents and handle government affairs every day, so I have nothing to do?"

The wrinkles on Old Lady Zhang's face curled into a smile as she fumbled around and put another piece of pickled vegetable into the scholar's bowl:

"What are you saying, my dear relative? Can the hardship of being a scholar be compared with being an official?

Besides, it's just some food... We are a family, so isn't it your responsibility to entertain guests?"

Her cloudy eyes turned to Madam Bai, and her dry lips moved in and out: "You can't just watch us poor relatives starve, right?"

The Zhang family members surrounded the dinner table like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

The scholar ate the rice with his arms wide open, and the soup dripped from the corners of his mouth onto his clothes.

Several brothers-in-law were fighting over the food and almost overturned the plates.

The sister-in-law held the child and stuffed the steamed bread directly into her mouth with her hands.

Mrs. Bai had just picked up the chopsticks when she saw that in the blink of an eye, only empty plates and leftovers were left on the table, and even the soup at the bottom of the pot had been scraped clean.

"I'm sorry, dear in-laws!" Old Mrs. Zhang wiped her mouth and burped loudly.

"We're used to being poor, so we're inevitably a bit anxious to eat. I'm afraid you won't eat these two bowls of porridge, right? Then give them to us!"

Would you like to...cook some more?"