Chapter 347 Zhao Tiezhu's Ideal

Night had fallen.

With an extra person in Cheng Wanwan's household, although she disliked creating class conflict between masters and servants, she promptly wrote a contract of sale to prevent the Xu family from causing trouble later. She then had Old Lady Xu and Xu Mei sign the contract, and only then was the matter truly settled.

Cheng Wanwan gave her a new name, Cheng Fang, with the surname Cheng, hoping that her life could bloom again and flourish all the way.

That night, Cheng Fang made do with sleeping for the night. The next day, just as dawn broke, Cheng Wanwan took her to a restaurant in the city. They happened to be short of a dishwasher, so they asked Cheng Fang to do the job for now and stay in the back room of the restaurant. They would make other arrangements after they discovered the girl's strengths.

Wu Huiniang pulled Cheng Fang into the carriage together.

"No, no, no, I'll walk there." Cheng Fang waved his hand. "I'm fast on my feet, I know where it is."

Cheng Wanwan lifted the carriage curtain and said calmly, "It would take at least half an hour to walk there. Who's going to be responsible if we're delayed from working?"

Cheng Fang hesitated for a while before finally climbing up. However, she only dared to sit on a tiny bit of the spot, keeping her back straight and moving cautiously, afraid of displeasing anyone.

The carriage slowly drove away.

The villagers gathered together and talked about it nonstop.

"Old Mrs. Xu, you're really making a bad deal. You sold your maid for two taels of silver. She could have gone to work for Aunt Dashan and earned at least five or six hundred coins a month. You could have earned it back in less than six months. Why did you do this?"

Old Mrs. Xu looked very unhappy. She forced a smile and said, "I consulted a fortune teller. She has bad luck and brings misfortune to those around her. Her going to Aunt Dashan's newly opened restaurant will definitely affect the business."

Sister-in-law Xu snorted: "Just wait and see, Aunt Dashan will soon regret it and want to return the goods, but our Xu family will not accept this jinx again."

"It's good to return it," Brother Xu said thoughtfully. "Selling it to a broker will earn us some more money."

The villagers all shook their heads, their eyes filled with disdain.

She's a girl born of the same mother, how can she be so cold-blooded and ruthless? The Xu family is really impossible to get along with; they might stab you in the back at any time.

On the second day after the opening of Dahe Banquet, business was even more booming.

It wasn't just the locals and wealthy people from Ping'an County who came to visit; wealthy people from neighboring Hekou County, Baiyun County, and Fenghuang County also came to join the fun.

Most of the people who traveled this far to patronize Dahe Banquet were wealthy, so on this day, the number of people applying for membership cards skyrocketed. Many of them used the excuse of applying for membership cards to curry favor with the newly promoted seventh-rank Lady Sui.

“Madam Sui, I am the head of the Zhou family in Hekou County. I have long admired Madam Sui’s name, and today I am finally able to meet you.”

"Madam Sui received the Emperor's personal title at such a young age, she is a role model for us women and we should learn from her."

"I took a great liking to Madam Sui the moment I saw her. I wonder if I could come here often in the future?"

The men talked business, while the women used all sorts of excuses to get close to them, leaving Cheng Wanwan feeling overwhelmed.

Finally, she chose to go to the back room for some peace and quiet, and took out a book to read slowly.

After the lunch rush, the restaurant finally quieted down.

"Mother, I made the list!"

Zhao Sidan's excited voice came from the entrance of the restaurant.

Cheng Wanwan straightened her clothes and walked out of the back room.

Of the three children, Yu Zhan remained reserved, Zhao Sidan was excited, and Zhao Tiezhu hung his head.

Upon seeing this scene, Cheng Wanwan immediately understood what was going on.

"Brother Yu is really amazing. He got first place in the first round and first place in the second round as well." Zhao Sidan's eyes were filled with envy, and then he puffed out his chest and said confidently, "Of course, I'm not bad either. I got seventy-ninth place. I think I'm pretty good too."

Lu Yingxue smiled, her eyes narrowing: "I knew my son was the best."

Yu Zhan coughed and gave his mother a wink, implying that there were other people who had failed the exam.

Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but sigh. Yu Zhan and Si Dan were both ten years old. Yu Zhan was already very knowledgeable about human relationships, but Si Dan didn't understand anything.

Showing off like this in front of someone who is down on their luck can easily arouse jealousy.

She said, "Yingxue, did you make some snacks? Why don't you take Xiaozhan and Sidan to have some snacks?"

Lu Yingxue belatedly realized what was happening and took the two children to the kitchen in the back.

Cheng Wanwan looked at the dejected Zhao Tiezhu, pulled him to sit down in a chair, and asked softly, "Tell your aunt that you failed the exam, right?"

Zhao Tiezhu nodded: "I felt it was very difficult during the exam. Although I expected this result, I still feel very upset."

Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Failure is normal. If we learn from our failures and strive to do better next time, then this failure is worthwhile."

"Huh?" Zhao Tiezhu looked distressed. "Does Auntie mean I should take the exam again later?"

He took two exams, which lasted for two whole days. It was an inhuman experience, and he realized that he was simply not cut out for the imperial examinations.

"Of course that's not what I meant." Cheng Wanwan chuckled. "Studying isn't for the imperial examinations, but for wisdom. In the past six months, haven't you learned a lot of principles from books? No matter what you do in the future, the principles in books will give you strong support, so that you won't be at a loss when you encounter difficulties."

Zhao Tiezhu pressed further, "Then what does Auntie think I can do in the future? Should I follow my parents and farm the land?"

“You can do whatever you like in the future,” Cheng Wanwan said patiently. “For example, your brother Dashan likes farming, he’s willing to farm for the rest of his life, farming makes him happy, so let him do it. Or your brother Ergou likes doing business, so let him do business. You’re only twelve years old, still young, your life has just begun. It’s never too late to decide what to do at this age. But, you can’t give up halfway through anything.”

Zhao Tiezhu fell into deep thought.

His eyes suddenly lit up: "I think it would be interesting to help my grandfather manage Dahe Village. I want to be the village head in the future."

"Good boy, you have ambition!" Lu Yingxue came out carrying a plate of snacks. "If we're going to do something, we should do it well. The village head of Dahe Village is in charge of nearly two thousand villagers. He has a lot of power. From now on, our Yu family will rely on you to protect us."

Zhao Tiezhu couldn't wait to grab a pastry and stuff it into his mouth. The delicious food cured his disappointment, and he immediately got up and jumped around, playing around with Zhao Sidan.

Lu Yingxue sighed: "Last night, my husband, Lao Yu, secretly told me that he didn't want Xiao Zhan to go to Huzhou to take the imperial examination, and he even asked me to put medicine in Xiao Zhan's tea..."

Cheng Wanwan had heard about Master Yu's situation and knew about his concerns, so she asked, "What does Xiao Zhan think?"

“This child started studying at the age of two. After hearing about what happened to his father when he was five, he began to work hard. He could have taken the county exam when he was eight, but Old Yu blocked his way. It's just that Old Yu wasn't with the child this year, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to register.” Lu Yingxue continued to sigh, “Xiao Zhan will definitely be the top scorer this time and will also be able to take the prefectural exam. It's just that I can't persuade Old Yu. Sister Wanwan, I can only beg you. Everyone in the village says that you have golden words. If you go and persuade that blockhead, he should listen.”