My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Scholar Song's house was in a mess. The stewed meat on the table, along with the bowl, had been thrown to the floor, rolling all over it. Song Chunbo was crying uncontrollably, hugging two books, while his mother lay on the floor, groaning.

"Sister-in-law, Chunbo, what happened to you?" Chunbo's mother was startled when she came in. She hurried to help Chunbo's mother and asked her son to take care of Chunbo. "Dahe, go and help your brother up!"

When Chunbo's mother saw someone coming, she cried even harder: "Sister-in-law, why is my life so miserable! The scholar passed away so early, and I raised Chunbo alone with all my hard work. I have endured so much hardship. But now Chunbo actually treats me like this. Woo woo woo, what's the point of living? It would be better for him to follow his father!"

"Oh, what are you talking about, sister-in-law?" Chunbo's mother quickly tried to persuade him. "Children are like this when they grow up. Look at my two sons, each one is more disobedient than the other. Chunbo is still young, so we can teach them slowly."

Song Dahe went to help Song Chunbo: "Chunbo, what are you doing? You spilled such a good pot of meat? Get up, get up quickly!"

"Don't worry about me, these are my books. I want to finish reading them and I can't let my mother tear them up!"

For Song Chunbo's family, books were their lifeblood. The scholar was not only the hope of the family, the clan, but also the village. With the scholar gone, their hope now lay in Song Chunbo.

The only thing they could think of to help Song Chunbo succeed was books.

The peasants working in the fields could not understand the books, but the teachers in the school could, so they naturally thought that these books must have been given to Song Chunbo by the teachers.

Uncle Chunbo just walked in. Upon hearing this, he immediately frowned and said, "Even if the child made a mistake, your sister-in-law shouldn't tear up Chunbo's book. It's a book!"

Chunbo's mother was not happy with this and said, "Brother, listen to his nonsense. Those were given to Chunbo by the Si family. Chunbo has been deceived by the Si family these days. He just plays around every day and doesn't learn his lesson!"

"Well... I heard from the village head that Si Xingzhi is quite knowledgeable. The children in the literacy classes he teaches not only learn to read and write, but are also much more well-behaved than before. I was thinking about sending my eldest grandson there when he turns five next year."

Chunbo's mother said hurriedly, "Humph, that's what the Si family did on purpose, to win over others. But at the end of last year, Chunbo had a fight with that bastard from the Si family, and Si Xingzhi must have been jealous, so he wanted to destroy Chunbo. That's why he torments Chunbo like this every day to make him learn his lesson."

Uncle Chunbo was shocked when he heard this. Chunbo was his younger brother's child, and he had watched him grow up. He had hoped that Chunbo would become successful in the future, and that the Song family would prosper. He couldn't let him be ruined.

"really?"

Chunbo's mother said bitterly, "Of course it's true. This morning I went to the Si family's literacy class and made a scene. In the evening, Si Xingzhi stuffed two idle books into Chunbo's pocket, hoping to make him do bad things! They were idle books, so I tore them up. Big uncle, you also know that Chunbo was so young when the scholar passed away. I have been so hard all these years! I raised Chunbo with great difficulty, but he turned out to be a traitor. Poor woman like me, I have to be both a father and a mother. Life is not easy..."

These complaints gave everyone a headache. Aunt Chunbo was actually a little unhappy. Although her brother-in-law passed away early, they still had their family.

Her husband loves his brother-in-law the most, and he also takes special care of his brother-in-law's wife and children. Over the years, his sister-in-law has been complaining of feeling unwell every other day, either with a headache or a fever, or because she "misses" her brother-in-law and can't eat. Aren't all the chores at home and outside done by their family?

Even after the family split up, everything good was given to her younger sister-in-law and Chunbo. Her husband and their two sons worked hard every year to cultivate the land for her younger sister-in-law. The family contributed part of Chunbo's tuition and the money for pens, ink, and paper, and the rest came from their own family.

Aunt Chunbo couldn't see that it was not easy for my sister-in-law, a woman.

But she just thought about it in her heart. The man's heart was inclined towards the weak and unable to take care of herself sister-in-law, and towards Chunbo. What could she do?

Song Chunbo hugged the book tightly and shouted, "Why did you go to the teacher? No wonder the teacher didn't teach me today and told me not to practice calligraphy. He just gave me the book to read! Learning from the teacher is better than learning from the master!"

"You! You bastard, you're actually obsessed with Si Xingzhi? What a bullshit teacher, is he worthy of being a teacher? You don't listen to the teacher, but listen to him? Give me the book! Dahe and Xiaohe, grab the book for me, I must tear it up today!"

The two Dahe brothers looked at each other, both at a loss.

Uncle Chunbo said sullenly, "Chunbo, why are you so disobedient? Give me the book."

"No, I won't give it to you!" Song Chunbo burst into tears. "I know the teacher is good to me. He refused to teach me anything and just asked me to memorize things. When I couldn't, he would beat me with a ruler. The teacher taught me bit by bit and told me how to memorize things. I memorized a lot from the teacher and learned a lot! This is the teacher's book. I won't let you tear it up!"

Uncle Chunbo said, "Okay, I won't tear it up. Give me the book and I'll send it back to the Si family. Now listen to your mother and don't go to the Si family anymore."

He was thinking of a compromise so as not to offend the Si family and prevent Si Xingzhi from deliberately doing bad things to Chunbo.

Song Chunbo wiped away his tears and choked up as he said, "The teacher said that if I memorize both books, I'll be able to take the exam next year."

"Bullshit, he is not a proper teacher, how can he possibly teach you well!" Chun Bo's mother cursed.

Song Chunbo said, "Teacher, I learned to read in order to take the imperial examination. But the imperial examination is not just about memorizing eight-legged essays. I also need to understand the world and know everything from the top to the bottom, from politics to agriculture and sericulture. Even if it is not used in the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the imperial examination, it is still necessary for the provincial examination!"

Chun Bo's mother scolded again: "Don't talk nonsense, ask your uncle, does your father know about all that? Didn't he still pass the exam and become a scholar?"

Song Chunbo said, "But Dad doesn't know anything, so he can only be a scholar. As for me, I will continue to take exams in the future. Next year I will be able to take the Tongsheng exam. After a few more years of studying, I will definitely be able to take the Academy and Provincial exams."

His words touched his uncle's heart. He didn't understand all the tests in the imperial examinations, but he knew that if he continued to take the exams, becoming a scholar would not be considered a sign of ability, and if he passed the imperial examination, he would become a master, and their family's status would change.

But, was what Song Chunbo said true or false? He couldn't read, so how could he know?