The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Zhuge Yunshu heard her father's shameless voice, "Mother, can you give your son another vegetable pancake? I've really worried myself sick for the family. Even when I'm sick, I still have to work hard in the fields."

After saying that, he even coughed a few times in a mock manner.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Could it be any more fake?

Old Mrs. Chen had become accustomed to the behavior of her third son's family, especially her son, who would get more excited the more you responded to him.

So he pretended not to hear and quickly went into the kitchen.

She didn't want to fall for the old couple's tricks, their feints and diversions, thinking she didn't know.

The reason for stalling here is simply to give her wife time to cheat on him.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the kitchen, they found Lin frantically stuffing something into her pockets.

"Get out of here too! You call yourself a merchant's daughter? You've disgraced them!" Old Madam Chen roared.

Lin was so frightened that she swayed on the spot, her weak body leaning against Old Chen, who instinctively supported her.

"Mother, it's all my fault. If my dizziness hadn't flared up again recently, I wouldn't have resorted to this. Do you think we should find a doctor to take a look?"

Before she could finish speaking, Old Chen quickly grabbed some more food and put it in her pocket. Although she felt bad about it, she forced herself to speak softly, "Take this to nourish yourself first, and you might feel better later. You can go out now!"

Looking at her third daughter-in-law, Lin, who appeared delicate and frail, she didn't dare to say anything to her. Although she suspected that she was faking it, she had no evidence.

Then I saw my eldest daughter-in-law, Su, watching the commotion by the stove. She was picking on the weakest link, which is what they mean by her grandmother.

"What? You expect this old woman to serve you personally? What sins have I committed to deserve being stuck with you spendthrift good-for-nothings?"

Su remained expressionless and continued with her work. She scoffed at her mother-in-law's words, even though she knew they weren't being directed at them. But the fact that the third son's family dared to act this way was because their in-laws spoiled them.

She didn't say anything about her third sister-in-law's behavior, after all, she had a skill.

But the third son is a grown man, a father himself, so why are his parents so biased?

When the meal was ready, Grandpa Zhuge returned with the rest of his family.

The men were all dressed in short browns and trousers, while the women wore dresses that revealed their shoes. The group entered the house one after another, put down their farm tools, and washed themselves clean. Then they sat around two round tables, each with two bowls in front of them, one large and one small. The large bowl was for rice, and the small bowl was for vegetables.

Many of the bowls had a broken corner; it's said that these were all discarded by my uncle from restaurants in town.

After all the food was served and the whole family sat down, Grandma Chen Shi picked up a spoon and began to serve the food.

That's right, the Zhuge family practices the system of serving food separately. In my grandfather's words, the Zhuge family is a family of farmers and scholars, and there must be rules for eating. We can't fight and grab food like ordinary families, because that would be uncivilized and would bring shame to the family.

However, in Zhuge Yunshu's view, her grandparents thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of having power in the family.

Even so, arguments were inevitable. "Why did you give so many eggs to my eldest brother and cousin? Grandma is biased, waah..." At this point, the youngest fourth cousin started crying in protest, making a racket that gave everyone a headache.

Before Grandma Chen could speak, Aunt Su scolded her sternly, "You still have the nerve to cry? When you were working, why didn't you and your older brother compare yourselves to your older cousin?"

"Waaaah! I want it... I want it!"

"If you cry again, believe me, I'll give all the eggs in your bowl to your cousin, Big Flower."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She was used to the scene, and so were the others. With a large family living together, especially with many children, it was inevitable that some disobedient ones would get a beating.

However, the Zhuge family was too large, with three generations living under one roof, a family of eighteen, which far exceeded her capacity to handle.

Grandpa Zhuge Fengshou and Grandma Chen are both 49 years old and in good health. They are the heads of the Zhuge family.

My eldest uncle, Zhuge Lairong, is 31 years old this year. He is hardworking and honest. His wife, Ms. Su, is also 31 years old. Compared to her honest husband, she is more clever and quick-witted. They have two sons and three daughters. My eldest cousin, fourth cousin, eldest cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin are their children. The eldest cousin is 14 years old this year and has reached marriageable age. My eldest cousin is 13 years old, my third cousin is 11 years old, and my fourth cousin and her brother are twins, a boy and a girl, who are 9 years old this year.

My second uncle, Zhuge Laihua, is 29 years old this year. He is a quiet and reserved person. His wife, Zhang, is also 29 years old. She is also a hardworking and honest man. They are the epitome of hard work and little food. They have two sons and one daughter. My second cousin, my second cousin, and my third cousin are their children, aged 12, 11, and 10 respectively.

Her parents, Zhuge Laifu and his wife, are both 27 years old this year. They have a daughter, Zhuge Yunshu, who is 8 years old this year.

My uncle, Zhuge Laigui, is the most successful person in the family. He is 18 years old this year. He was fortunate enough to be admitted to the clan school when he was young and studied for three years. Now he works as an accountant in a restaurant in town.

At the age of 16, he was noticed by the daughter of a rice shop owner in town and they became engaged. Because the girl's grandfather had passed away, in order to express her filial piety, the girl volunteered to observe three years of mourning for her grandfather. After the mourning period, she would get married. She was a well-known filial person in town.

This is also why Zhuge Laigui, the younger brother, was not married until he was 19 years old (by Chinese reckoning).

The names of all the younger generation in the Zhuge family were chosen by this learned uncle. According to the fact that the third generation of the second grandfather's family in the capital was of the "Yun" generation, all families that followed this generational naming convention would follow this.

The grandsons of the Zhuge family used the characters for benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, as well as gentleness, kindness, respect, humility, and yielding. The granddaughters, on the other hand, used characters for spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

As she was the only daughter in the family, her father insisted that her uncle give her a grand name so that the family could stand firm. So, under the scrutiny of her parents, the name 'Shu' was finally chosen as her courtesy name, which comes from a poem: "Sparse clouds with leaves, fine rain waves without flowers."

Although she felt it had nothing to do with the atmosphere, it suited her just the way it was.

However, villagers are used to calling each other by their nicknames, so they can't even distinguish their grandparents' names from their parents' names.

"Dahua, what are you daydreaming about?" Zhuge Laifu said, picking up an egg from his bowl and giving it to her.

Although her father had many flaws, it must be said that he was truly good to his daughter.

"Eat more so you'll have the energy to work in the afternoon and the spirit to cover for Dad."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

We shouldn't have too much hope for her father.

After lunch, the family habitually takes a nap, otherwise it's too hot at noon and they are prone to heatstroke.

Just as Zhuge Yunshu was about to close her eyes and rest, she heard her father's voice from next door, "Wife, do you think it was a mistake for us to only have Dahua?"

"I suddenly realized that it's strange to have only one child at home. Da Hua will be under a lot of pressure in the future, and it will be difficult to find a spouse for her."

"Husband, are you complaining that I'm not healthy and that you haven't done anything for me?" Lin said, choking back tears.

"No, that's not true. You're such a widow, always overthinking things. Look how good our family is. We only have one child, so it's so easy to raise him. Unlike our eldest and second sons, who are both mentally challenged. Especially the eldest, who had five children in one lifetime. Look at him, he's only in his early thirties, and he could practically be brothers with the old man."

"Get lost, you never know how to keep your mouth shut." Lin laughed through her tears.

"Wife! Our lives will be much better when Da Hua grows up. At that time, we must keep our eyes open and find a hardworking, honest, and strong young man for Da Hua to marry into our family," Zhuge Laifu suggested.

Upon hearing Zhuge Laifu's words, Madam Lin suddenly became excited. "Husband, we're on the same page. If we're going to find someone, we should find someone with many brothers, preferably the youngest, so they'll be more favored and their brothers can help them out."

“We can’t marry the youngest. Look at our fourth child, how much his parents cherish him. It’s more reliable to marry the second child, who isn’t loved by his parents. Then we can show him more care and attention, and over time, he’ll definitely side with us.”

"My dear husband, you are so clever!"

......

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She's still so young, and her parents are already planning for her future.

Also, she really doesn't want to find a husband; if she could, she wouldn't even want to get married.

She can't keep going on like this.

Zhuge Yunshu thought that other transmigrated women made their fortunes by selling food recipes, soy sauce, vinegar, and wine, or gained favor from the powerful and wealthy by selling soap, cement, and glass.

She knew nothing but how to eat, and Zhuge Yunshu deeply resented her past life where she had been a lazy bum who just lazed around and waited to die.

"Ugh! It's so hard for ordinary people to travel to ancient times."

Anyway, she was definitely not cut out for business. After thinking it over, Zhuge Yunshu still felt that studying was what she was best at right now.

After all, she has more than twenty years of modern thinking than children her age.

But how can she convince her family to allow her, a girl, to go to school?