Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 5 Heart-to-Heart Talk

The courtyard was quiet for a while.

Lu's mother sat in front of the stove for a long time without moving.

She was more tired than anyone else during this period.

First, her husband fell seriously ill, and the family ran out of medicine.

Then, when the son went to the city to get medicine, they didn't have enough money.

When the others finally returned, they ran into the clan elder and the eldest uncle.

Thinking of this, Lu's mother's eyes reddened.

She lowered her head, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then turned back to the stove, saying as she went, "Xiaoman, don't let the fire burn too high, the medicine is very bitter."

"Okay," came the little girl's voice from the stove. "I'm watching."

Lu Chuan looked at his mother and younger sister by the stove, then turned back to glance into the house.

His father, Lu Shouye, probably heard the commotion in the courtyard. After coughing for a while, he fell silent.

Lu Chuan stood for a moment, then tiptoed into the inner room.

The room was dark.

Lu Shouye leaned against the headboard, an old coat draped over his body, his chest rising and falling, his breathing somewhat heavy.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Lu Chuan.

"I'm back," he said.

His voice was hoarse and sounded weak, a sign of prolonged illness and exhaustion.

Lu Chuan sat down on the edge of the bed.

"The medicine has been brought back, and Mother is brewing it."

Lu Shouye hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on Lu Chuan's face, and said, "I heard everything outside just now..."

The commotion outside was quite loud. Although the door was closed, Lu Shouyou wasn't dead, so how could he not hear it at all?

"Your uncle is stubborn, both in words and in heart. You contradicted him in front of the clan elders today, and he'll probably hold a grudge against you for it."

Lu Chuan moved closer to the head of the bed. "Let them write it down. If we don't get those accounts out today, things will only get harder for our family in the future."

Lu Shouye looked at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"You weren't this sharp before."

Lu Chuan said to himself, "In the past, my family always thought we could just put up with it and it would pass, but now they've been forced into this situation."

After listening, Lu Shouye remained silent for a long time.

The crackling of firewood coming from the stove outside, along with Lu Xiaoman's voice saying, "Mother, the medicine is overflowing," eased the tension somewhat.

Lu Shouye sighed.

"It's because Dad is incompetent."

Lu Chuan looked at his cheap father, who was clearly not even forty years old, but whose hair was already gray, all due to years of hard work.

"If your father weren't so weak, your mother wouldn't have had to beg for grain. And you wouldn't have had to go to buy medicine today, without even enough money."

As he said this, his throat seemed to be blocked, "Chuan'er, I know that you are working hard outside today for the sake of this family. But you are still young, and some things should not have to fall on your shoulders."

Lu Chuan's thoughts drifted away.

In both his past and present lives, he rarely spoke to his father like this; they were usually separated most of the time.

He looked at the cracked porcelain bowl beside the bed and said, "I'm not young anymore."

"At eight years old, he's not young anymore. He can work in the fields, carry water, and do manual labor. In other people's eyes, he's already half a laborer."

"But in your father's eyes, you're still a child."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Lu Shouye seemed tired. "I heard what your mother was saying to your second uncle outside. Tomorrow morning, you'll go with your second brother to your seventh uncle's place."

"Seventh Uncle is a fair man, impartial and honest. He studied for a few years when he was young and passed the imperial examination. Even though he's old now, he still has a strong sense of justice. If you can truly earn his respect, you might actually be able to make it on this path in the future."

As he spoke, a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.

"But you must remember this."

People are willing to watch you not because they pity our family, but because you deserve it.

"The poor who want to climb the social ladder are not most afraid of hardship, but of underestimating themselves. But don't overestimate yourself either. If you can find fault with the accounts today, that's a skill. But when you meet truly educated and knowledgeable people in the future, never think you're so capable."

He spoke these words slowly, and Lu Chuan listened attentively, nodding in agreement.

Just then, Lu's mother's voice came from outside: "Chuan'er, the medicine is ready, bring it in."

Lu Chuan got up and left the room.

The stove was very hot. Lu Chuan took the medicine pot off the stove, and the bitter smell was pungent. Lu's mother carefully poured the medicine into a porcelain bowl, stirred it with chopsticks, blew on it twice, and handed it to Lu Chuan.

"Bring it in slowly, it's hot."

He turned and went back into the house, handing the medicine to the bedside.

Lu Shouye wanted to catch it himself, but when he reached halfway, he still couldn't muster the strength.

Lu Chuan sat on a low stool and said in a low voice, "I'll help you."

Lu Shouye didn't try to be strong and let his son help him up and put him by the bedside.

After Lu Chuan finished drinking the medicine, he handed him half a bowl of warm water to relieve the bitterness.

Lu Shouye took a breath, then suddenly remembered something and pulled a small cloth bag from beside his pillow.

It took him a long time to finally open the tower.

There were more than a dozen copper coins inside.

Lu Shouye pushed the cloth bag towards his hand: "You're going to Uncle Qi's house tomorrow morning. It wouldn't be right to go empty-handed. The dried dates and coarse tea that your mother found during the day are a token of her affection. And this money... take it with you too. If Uncle Qi refuses to accept it, you can keep it for yourself. That way, you'll have some leeway."

Lu Chuan did not go to pick him up.

"We need money a lot at home, what am I going to do with this?"

"Just take it when I tell you to." Lu Shouye's voice wasn't loud, but it was firmer than usual. "No matter how difficult things are at home, we can't let people think that we can't even ask for help empty-handed."

He sighed deeply as he said this.

"Chuan'er, your father has accomplished nothing in this life. Your mother has also had a hard time living with me. If you are truly destined for this path, I cannot just watch it slip away from you."

Lu Chuan looked at the small packet of copper coins and felt extremely distressed.

At that moment, he understood better than anyone else.

These dozen or so coins are not for him to spend.

This sick man, on the verge of collapse, had everything weighing him down.

Lu Chuan still reached out and took the cloth bag.

Lu Shouye finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go."

Upon arriving at the front hall, Lu Xiaoman, who had somehow somehow crept to the doorway, peeked out, and said, "I'll go find my brother's clothes. He can't possibly wear these clothes that smell of medicine to school tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he ran forward quickly.

Hearing this from outside, Lu's mother couldn't help but scold, "Slow down, why are you running?"

......

As darkness fell, the family finally had dinner.

In those days, ordinary people could only eat two meals a day.

This was supposed to be dinner, but it was really just a bowl of thin porridge and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Since Lu Shouye was ill, there was also a small bowl of steamed egg custard, which his mother had specially set aside for him that afternoon.

Lu's mother brought the steamed egg custard to Lu Shouye, who only ate two bites before pushing the bowl toward Lu Chuan and Lu Xiaoman.

"You're going out tomorrow, eat now."

Lu Chuan didn't move.

"I'm full."

Lu Xiaoman stared intently at the half-bowl of steamed egg custard, but still turned her head away and whispered, "I don't like this."

Lu's mother glared at her: "Is there a single word of truth in your mouth?"

Despite saying that, she took a spoon, scooped up a small spoonful, put it into Lu Chuan's bowl first, and then scooped up another small spoonful and put it into Lu Xiaoman's bowl.

Lu Xiaoman's eyes crinkled into a smile, and she quickly lowered her head to sip the spoonful of steamed egg custard into her mouth.