The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

After all that commotion, by the time Zhuge Yunshu and his group arrived at their own courtyard at the east end of the village, it was past lunchtime.

Old Madam Chen was the first to spot them. She then strode quickly and pulled Zhuge Yunshu from the crowd into her arms, kissing her sweetly as she called her "my dear granddaughter."

After finishing, he didn't forget to shout at the top of his lungs, "Eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, quickly bring out the cured meat from the house, and fry a few eggs to nourish my precious granddaughter."

Meanwhile, Zhuge Laifu, Lin Shi, and Chunxia Qiudong looked helplessly at the two grandparents who were oblivious to their surroundings.

They all came to the same conclusion:

Mom/Grandma, you're so biased!

The four who were most touched were Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They had witnessed how their cousin, Big Flower, went from being at the bottom of their grandmother's heart to becoming her most beloved grandchild.

They all made a firm decision in their hearts: to follow the example of their cousin, Da Hua, and to read more books and learn more skills.

……

Soon, Su and Zhang had prepared the meal. In addition to two meat dishes, they also cooked two vegetarian dishes.

There was no other way; seeing their long-lost daughter and the third son's family bring back a truckload of stuff, they were overjoyed.

In the Zhuge family, in addition to the separate serving system, there was no rule of not talking while eating.

As they ate and chatted, the rest of the Zhuge family learned why Zhuge Yunshu and the others had returned, thanks to Zhuge Laifu's eloquent explanation.

In particular, Zhuge Yunshu's experience once again refreshed their understanding.

They knew their granddaughter/niece was clever, but they never expected her to be so clever as to be so clever as to impress the county magistrate.

"Da Hua is really amazing!" This was the unspoken answer in the hearts of everyone in the Zhuge family.

Perhaps due to the vast difference in status between commoners and officials, the Zhuge family, like other members of their clan, was always full of curiosity about the families of officials.

Zhuge Yunshu patiently answered his family's questions, picking out whatever he could say.

The elderly couple, Zhuge Fengshou and his wife, listened intently to their granddaughter's story, even though they couldn't understand many parts.

They suddenly remembered the prophecy given to Zhuge Laifu by a wandering Taoist priest when he was a child—this child will surely rise to prominence in the future.

Looking at their granddaughter, who seemed like a god of literature descended to earth, and then at their third son, who was talking incoherently, the elderly couple suddenly realized they had an epiphany.

Isn't this exactly what they call "a father's status rising because of his daughter" in traditional operas?

They just didn't expect such a good thing to happen to their old Zhuge family.

It still fell on their laziest son and daughter-in-law.

If Zhuge Laifu could hear what his parents were thinking, he would definitely say something like, "You can't envy luck."

After the meal, Zhuge Laifu and Lin distributed the cartload of goods to the whole family.

"Father, Mother, this is a fine fabric bestowed upon us by the magistrate. Da Hua said it's so soft and she'll definitely save it for you to make your linings. And these pastries are the magistrate's wife's favorite. They're so sweet and delicious. Da Hua won't let me and her mother eat too much, saying that since your teeth aren't good, they're perfect for you. And this pipe and wooden comb..."

“Brother and sister-in-law, these are the best things in the county town, you can’t even buy them in the town. Da Hua’s mother and I thought it would be good to send some of these good things to our in-laws, which would also make Yun Ren (Da Zhu) and Yun Chun (Da Ya) look good…”

"...Second brother and sister-in-law, this set of writing brushes and ink was a gift from the county magistrate. There are only two sets. My daughter, Dahua, thought of her third cousin and specially saved them for him."

"Don't worry about the fourth brother either..."

"..."

Looking at the smiles on his family's faces, Zhuge Yunshu looked at his father with admiration. Look at how this food was divided; it was perfectly distributed to everyone's hearts.

Perhaps Zhuge Laifu was a little carried away by the praise from his two brothers and sister-in-law, and coupled with his tendency to boast, he soon spilled the beans, revealing all his "glorious deeds" of purchasing goods for his family of eight.

Zhuge Lairong: "What? A family of eight?"

Zhuge Laihua: "Buy them all at once?"

Aunt Su: "My goodness! How much money will this cost?"

Second Aunt Zhang: "I...I thought it was just Aunt Wu."

Seeing the elderly couple's sudden change in expression, Zhuge Laifu instinctively sensed something was wrong. He carefully moved the stool further away, and only after it was almost ready did he hesitantly speak:

Actually, it's not that many.

"That saves half the money."

"Given Aunt Wu's family's wealth..."

"..."

"Get to the point," Zhuge Fengshou said sternly.

"Sixty taels." Zhuge Laifu looked at the expressionless old man and honestly spoke his mind.

Upon hearing this, a deathly silence fell over the room... or rather, everyone was speechless with astonishment at the data.

They all thought to themselves: Lai Fu/Third Uncle is still the same Lai Fu/Third Uncle, the only change is that he's become bolder than before.

Zhuge Laifu seized the opportunity to make a quick escape, but Zhuge Fengshou swiftly grabbed a long wooden stick from behind the stool and gave Zhuge Laifu a good beating.

"You little brat, don't think you're a big shot just because you've made some money in town. You haven't done much work, but you've already learned to enjoy life. Do you think you're a landlord? You even hire people to serve you. I'll beat you to death, you wasteful wretch."

No wonder Zhuge Fengshou was so angry; sixty taels of silver! That's enough to buy a small courtyard in town.

Besides, the Zhuge family has always been well taken care of by the clan. If others knew that they had started hiring servants to serve them, how would they explain it?

At this moment, Old Madam Chen looked at Zhuge Laifu with exasperation, then glanced at the others who were watching the commotion, and said irritably, "Can't you see your father/grandfather is busy? Get out of here now."

If it weren't for her beloved granddaughter, Dahua, she might have let the old man beat her even harder.

After being yelled at by Old Madam Chen, the rest of the Zhuge family members lowered their heads like quails and silently retreated.

Finally, the honest man Zhuge Laihua came out and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Just as the door was closing, Zhuge Yunshu saw his father's pleading eyes.

There was nothing she could do but rub her eyes and pretend she hadn't seen it.

She dared not provoke the angry old man.

Well, I guess I'll just have to put up with his tough-skinned dad.

"My dear dad, be gentle, it hurts so much!"

"Hey, hey, I told you to be gentle, be careful of your back."

"...Oh dear! Son was wrong, he should have discussed it with you beforehand."

"The whole family is watching. Please give your son some face."

"..."

In the courtyard, the other members of the Zhuge family, who had initially looked pained, couldn't help but feel sympathy upon hearing the screams.

The brothers Zhuge Lairong and Zhuge Laihua, in particular, felt this deeply, as they had been beaten by their grandfather quite a bit since they were young.