Chapter 47: Internal Contradictions Within the Lus
"Dad, I want Scholar Pastry! Have you bought me some today?" Lu Song Shi demanded.
Lu An rubbed his forehead and said, "I bought you a piece today, just leave me alone for the rest of the day."
Lu Song Shi pouted, "Dad, all my friends now have become friends with Chen Xiao Cai, they don't hang out with me any more, and they kept saying Chen Xiao Cai have treated them with some Tangyuan balls."
Lu An felt so bitter on hearing that, he had bever paid any attention to Lu Lin when Lu Lin was living under the same roof with them, he always looked upon on this nephew who looked a bit slow.
But to his surprise, this Lu Lin had turned it after he got married.
Lu An worked in town, he knew Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had been doing business with Manager Wang, but he couldn't pry for more information like what business it was and how much money Manager Wang had been paying them. However, he was sure they had made a lot of money considering how often they visited the restaurant.
Lu Tong now walked in, "Song Shi, what are you eating?"
Lu Song Shi quickly hid the pastry behind his back.
Grandma Lu usually doted on Lu Cheng Yu and Lu Song Shi the most, but she had been paying more attention to Lu Cheng Yu who was going to attend the Spring Imperial Examination recently.
Grandma Lu had spent good money buying and cooking amazing dishes for Lu Cheng Yu, as a result, the other family members could only live on a budget thus Grandma Lu could afford to buy fancy stuff for Lu Cheng Yu.
Lu Song Shi felt so jealous on seeing Lu Cheng Yu's lavish lifestyle, his mother didn't like it either, but she knew now wasn't the time to make a scene, so she had to mollify her son.
Lu Song Shi was a spoiled child, he sneaked into the kitchen and served himself a bowl of chicken soup stealthily.
Tang was so furious when she found the chicken soup was missing that she slapped Lu Song Shi.
Lu Song Shi wasn't a pushover like the host Lu Lin, he made a scene after he was slapped, his mother also joined him, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu tried so hard to appease them.
Grandma Lu doted on Lu Cheng Yu, she also doted on her youngest grandson Lu Song Shi, so she scolded Tang hard for this. Tang knew she went too far and she apologized reluctantly.
Lu An bought pastry for his son this day to make him feel better. Lu An's face darkened on seeing Lu Tong walking in without even knocking on the door.
Lu Tong took a look at the Scholar Pastry and said, "Fourth Uncle, you bought this Scholar Pastry for my brother, right? Come on now, I will bring this to him."
Lu Song Shi's heart sank as he heard that, he had just had a few bites of the pastry. He cried after Lu Tong took away the plate and the pastry.
Lu An started to dislike Lu Tong on seeing his son crying.
Lu Song Shi's mother Lin Xiu'er frowned on hearing the story.
"Damn that Tang and her stupid kids, they all act like Lu Cheng Yu is already a scholar now, that Lu Tong is so arrogant too, a villager girl she is, but she turns her nose up to people like she is a lady in town. She is not getting any younger, I say let's just pray that she won't end up being an old maid!" Lin Xiu'er looked really upset.
Lu An sighed, "Let's keep it to ourselves, hopefully Cheng Yu can pass the examination and have a successful official career, we will become official's relatives by then."
Lin Xiu'er frowned, 'I know! That's why I have been putting up with this nonsense! That Tang has become more annoying recently!'
"Hopefully Cheng Yu can make it this time!" Lin Xiu'er gnashed her teeth.
Lu An gave half of his wage to Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu, and he knew the money went directly to Lu Cheng Yu's tuition fee.
Lin Xiu'er stroked her son's head.
Lin Xiu'er wasn't having a good time herself either, Tang had made up a lot of excuses like she needed to stay home and take care of Lu Cheng Yu to avoid doing farm work, thus Lin Xiu'er had been doing an awful amount of work. She had been doing the entire family's laundry by hand. It was terrible.
Lu An felt sorry for his wife, but there was nothing he could do, he sighed and said, "Let's wait until Cheng Yu finishes the examination."
Lin Xiu'er nodded, "Yeah, there's no better way."
Lu Cheng Yu paid 3 taels of tax last year, so Lin Xiu'er thought Lu Cheng Yu had to marry this year regardless of the result of the examination.
On one hand, Lin Xiu'er wanted Lu Cheng Yu to become a Xiucai so their farmland tax would be exempted to a great degree, on the other hand, she didn't, because Tang would become even more arrogant if her son really did well in the exam.
Lu An let out a deep sigh, "The examination is hard, hopefully he can do well."
The villagers didn't know much about the exam, but Lu An worked in town, he was more cultured than the villagers, so he knew the Spring Imperial Examination was actually very daunting.