usatvline Chapter 20 I Want to Make You the Top Scholar's Wife 4
Chapter 20 I Want to Make You the Top Scholar's Wife 4
Li Erlang stepped out of the bookstore and tripped and fell flat on his face.
On the bustling street, Li Erlang quickly got up.
He got up, but before he could take two proper steps, he fell again.
"Young man, are you alright?"
Someone saw Li Erlang fall and asked him a question out of concern.
"It's alright, it's alright."
This is really embarrassing in public.
Li Erlang hurriedly got up, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
As a result, *smack*, it fell again.
"Mom, that big brother is so funny, he looks like a big turtle. Hahaha."
"You shouldn't laugh at others casually."
"But I don't fall anymore, but the big brother is such a big guy and he still falls."
Li Erlang blushed with embarrassment and just wanted to leave as soon as possible.
*Thud*, he fell down again. He almost knocked over an older woman.
"You young man, you have no manners at all."
Although the woman was old, she still retained her charm.
"You little brat, are you looking for death?" The uncle standing next to the aunt grabbed Li Erlang by the chest.
He dared to bully his wife; he must be taught a lesson.
"I, I didn't mean to."
This uncle is a butcher, and Li Erlang is genuinely afraid of being chopped down.
"Husband, let's stop here. We still need to see our daughter."
"Hmph, you brat, don't let me run into you next time."
The uncle punched Li Erlang in the left shoulder, sending him flying like a piece of pork.
He left with his wife in his arms.
Li Erlang was so hurt by the punch and the shove that he couldn't straighten up.
But nobody wanted to lend a helping hand.
I just saw it; he was the one leaning against her.
If you don't dodge, wouldn't you be taken advantage of?
If it were that girl, would anyone even be able to live?
He might just be a lecher.
Moreover, because he had fallen several times and was disheveled, he looked even more like a hypocrite.
Li Erlang lowered his head, lay on the ground for a while to recover, and then got up.
He was so embarrassed today that he didn't dare to lift his head.
He covered his face and ran out of the city.
"Mom, that older brother was stumbling and falling just now, how come he's running so fast now?"
"That's no good person. He was just putting on an act. Remember to stay away from people like that in the future."
"Mom, why do we need to stay away?"
"He might be a bad person."
"Bad people? What are bad people?"
"They're bad people, people with strange illnesses. You see them stumble and fall one minute, and then they run so fast the next. Isn't that because they're sick? If you get close to them, you'll catch their strange illness too."
"Mom, I don't want to fall. I'll stay far away from him."
Li Erlang ran all the way to the outside of the city before stopping, panting heavily.
The oxcart to Lijia Village had already left, but Li Erlang was reluctant to ride in it.
He walked step by step toward Lijia Village.
Then, he fell again.
There aren't that many people outside the city who will laugh at him.
But falling down is not a pleasant experience.
The roads outside the city were already full of potholes.
Li Erlang accidentally fell into a pit and twisted his ankle.
When Li Erlang finally returned to Lijia Village, his head was covered in grass, his face was scratched by tree branches, his left shoulder was dislocated, his clothes were torn in several places, and he was missing one of his shoes. He limped back.
"Oh dear, Erlang, what's wrong with you?"
"Mom, I'm fine, I just fell. Let's go home first."
His mother's shout drew everyone's attention, and Li Erlang felt utterly humiliated.
I don't know him anyway, since I'm out there.
But everyone in the village knew him and had seen his disheveled state.
His mother quickly helped Li Erlang home.
As I stepped into the house, I tripped and fell on the stone steps at the entrance.
Li Erlang felt a numbness in his teeth, and a bloody taste filled his mouth.
He spat, and a tooth fell out.
"Erlang, what's wrong with you? Dalang, Dalang's wife, Sanlang, come quick!"
"Mother, what's wrong?" Da Lang's wife was cooking when she heard the noise and came out.
"Quickly, go and fetch the doctor."
The eldest son's wife looked at the second son and said, "It's just a fall. Is it really necessary to call a doctor?"
I don't know how much money it would cost to see a doctor.
The eldest son's wife spotted her younger brother-in-law returning from outside.
My brother-in-law is always out; he only comes back after he's eaten.
"Sanlang, you're fast! Go quickly and fetch a doctor. Mother, the vegetables are still in the pot. Go check the fire."
Dalang's wife quickly handed over the task.
"Mother, what's wrong with Second Brother?"
"Sanlang, your second brother fell and knocked out all his teeth. He's also covered in injuries. Go find a doctor quickly."
"Mother, I'll go find a doctor, and you give me the money."
Sanlang's eyes darted around, and he reached out for money.
This job is great, there's money to be made.
Saburo grabbed the money and ran outside.
Dalang and his father are still busy in the fields and won't be back for a while.
His mother helped Li Erlang back to his room.
Li Erlang felt he shouldn't have gone out today; one bad thing after another had happened.
This is the worst luck imaginable.
Jiang He got off the oxcart and walked home.
"Sister, you're back?" Jiang Miao was playing in the mud at the door again.
"Come on, go home."
"Sister, what delicious food did you buy?"
"Go wash your hands first, I'll show you later."
"Okay, I'll go wash my hands now."
When I entered the house, there was more meat and cakes in the basket.
"Father, I'm back."
"He'er is back."
Jiang He placed the basket on the table, with several books on top.
“These books were sold cheaply by the bookstore because they had creases, so I bought them all. My younger brother should start learning to read now.”
"Sister, are these all for me?"
"Yes, starting today, your older sister will teach you to read."
“Okay, sister, teach me to read.”
Jiang He took out the meat from below.
"Dad, I bought a piece of meat. Can you make braised pork for us?"
"Okay, okay, Dad will make it for you."
"Let's eat braised pork! Let's eat braised pork!" Jiang Miao clapped her hands and laughed happily.
"Here, have some snacks."
Jiang He took out the newly bought pastries and gave one to her father and one to Jiang Miao. She also took one for herself. The taste was alright.
"Sister, this snack is delicious."
"There's still a lot left, you can save it and eat it slowly."
"Sister, is this pastry very expensive?"
"Yes, this one is twice as expensive as that one. You can buy one of these for one dollar and two of those for two dollars."
But this one tastes better, so it doesn't matter if we buy some to try.
Good things are always more expensive.
"It's like meat—it's delicious, but expensive. I like to eat meat, but I can only eat it occasionally. One piece of meat can be exchanged for a lot of other vegetables and grains. If I ate meat every meal, I would go hungry." Jiang Miao thought for a moment and expressed her understanding.
"Yes, because we only have this much money in total. If we buy meat, we can't buy anything else. But we can find a way to increase our money so that we can eat meat more often."
You can make money by studying. By studying and passing the imperial examinations, you can become an official, and as an official, you can receive a salary and thus have money.
Today, my sister saw someone copying books at the bookstore; they can earn money by copying books. But not everyone can copy books; you have to be literate and have beautiful handwriting.
Shopkeepers in the county town are literate and can do arithmetic, so they can do business and make money.
However, among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, those who studied, took the imperial examinations, and became officials were the most respected.
Just like Dad, who is the village chief, everyone in the village respects Dad.
The magistrate was respected by everyone in the county.
The prefect was respected by everyone in the prefecture.
The higher the official rank, the greater the responsibility and the more people respect him/her.
Of course, I don't necessarily want you to take the imperial examinations. There are many scholars, but some people only ever become xiucai (a lower-level scholar) in their entire lives. Studying requires both talent and hard work.
“Sister, I will study hard to learn to read. If I have the talent, I will take the imperial examination. If I am not so talented and can only become a scholar, I can teach at a school. If I am good at arithmetic, I will become a shopkeeper.”
Jiang Miao listened with longing. He wanted to make money so he could buy meat every day and lots of delicious pastries.
"Okay, then I'll teach you the Three Character Classic today."
Jiang He and Jiang Miao sat in the courtyard, opened the Three Character Classic, and began to study.
Father Jiang took the meat to the kitchen; he was going to make a bowl of braised pork today.
The braised pork was delicious, and Jiang Miao secretly resolved to study hard so that she could eat braised pork every day in the future.
Jiang Miao stopped playing in the mud and started reciting the Three Character Classic that his sister had taught him, while writing characters on the ground with a twig in his hand.