Chapter 156 Dishwashing Incident

Everyone looked at the window eagerly, but when they saw that there was no possibility of getting even a piece of meat, they had no choice but to give up.

Slowly returning to their seats, the rich aroma of braised meat still lingered in the air, mercilessly tantalizing their taste buds.

Everyone resisted the urge to grab the food and continued to eat the remaining food in silence, enjoying the tempting aroma.

According to school rules, they must wash their used dishes and chopsticks after the meal before leaving the cafeteria.

Su Yichen frowned as he looked at the remaining food scraps in the bowl, his face filled with disgust and resistance. "It's outrageous that this young master has to be reduced to washing dishes!"

Asking someone who has lived a life of luxury for over a decade to wash the dishes himself?

Chen Shuyan stood aside, watching Su Yichen's expression change completely, and sighed helplessly. "Brother Su, you still haven't learned your lesson. Now that we're here, we should make the best of it. We have to do as the Romans do in Taohua Village."

He remembered how Su Yichen had gotten into trouble before because of all his inappropriate words and deeds, and he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

After hearing what Chen Shuyan said, Su Yichen subconsciously looked around, his eyes showing a hint of nervousness and panic. After confirming that Jiang Luli was not in sight, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his shoulders relaxed.

If the headmaster saw this, he would be severely reprimanded and might even be sent back to Kyoto early.

He didn't want to go back in such a dejected manner, but he couldn't bear to be asked to wash the dishes.

Su Yichen's eyes fell on Chen Shuyan, who was washing the dishes skillfully, and an idea flashed through his mind like lightning.

His eyes lit up instantly, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a sly smile. "Brother Shen, if you help me wash the dishes, I'll give you silver!"

As soon as Su Yichen said this, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the two of them with surprise and questioning eyes.

"Su Yichen, your request is too much, isn't it? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money!" A student who was traveling with him couldn't help but stand up to speak up for Shen Shuyan.

"That's right. Although Brother Chen comes from a poor family, we are all studying at Huaqing Academy. There is no difference in status. How can you treat him like this!" Another student echoed, his eyes revealing disdain for Su Yichen's behavior.

Facing everyone's accusations, Su Yichen's face instantly became extremely ugly, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Seeing this, Chen Shuyan thought to himself that it was not good. He knew Su Yichen's temper too well. If he allowed the situation to continue, it might lead to a bigger conflict.

He hurriedly put away the dishes he had washed, a smile plastered across his face. "Don't get excited, everyone. Brother Su is also kind-hearted. He knows my family is in financial difficulty and wants to take this opportunity to help me. He's not targeting me."

The student who helped defend him looked at Chen Shuyan in disbelief when he heard what he said, his eyes full of confusion. "Brother Chen! Are you going to give up your dignity for such a small amount of money?"

After hearing this, Chen Shuyan smiled bitterly in his heart. He lowered his head slightly, and a trace of helplessness and loneliness flashed in his eyes.

How can these students who come from wealthy families understand the helplessness and sadness of the poor?

In their eyes, dignity may be an inestimable treasure, but for poor people like me, survival is the most important issue.

In his opinion, helping Su Yichen wash dishes was just a simple job, just like copying books for the library and writing letters for others.

The other party is willing to pay, and I only need to put in a little effort. Why not do it? This does not mean that he has lost his dignity. On the contrary, he feels that it is a reward for his labor, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Seeing this, another student hurried forward and grabbed the student who was speaking, "Brother Fu, don't be angry. If someone is willing to do this, why should we meddle in other people's business? I heard from Brother Zhang that there are many rare books in the school's library. Why don't we go and take a look?" As he spoke, he signaled Fu Wenhan with his eyes to stop talking.

"That's right, Brother Fu, if someone is willing to be a dog, let him be one."

After hearing this, Fu Wenhan gradually calmed down. He looked at Chen Shuyan deeply, his eyes full of disappointment and regret.

Chen Shuyan and he had been ranked first and second in the entrance exam, so he had a mutual sympathy for Chen Shuyan, thinking that he, like himself, had his own pride. But what he saw today was truly disappointing.

Then he seemed to have finally figured something out, bowed to Chen Shuyan and Su Yichen, and said coldly: "It is Fu who is meddling in other people's business." After that, he turned around and left the cafeteria with the other students without looking back.

After everyone left, Chen Shuyan walked over to Su Yichen and took the dishes from him with a smile. "Brother Su, please go sit aside and wait for me. After I finish washing, we'll go around the village and see if there are any people who need our help."

"Okay." Su Yichen responded and took a few steps back, standing far away from the sink, fearing that the dirty water from washing dishes would splash onto his expensive clothes.

Looking at Chen Shuyan busy at the sink, he suddenly felt a surge of guilt. He couldn't help but explain, "I didn't treat you like a dog. If you feel uncomfortable, then don't help me in the future."

There was a hint of hesitation and entanglement in his voice, and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

In his mind, he simply didn't want to wash dishes, and Chen Shuyan needed the money. It was a fair trade, mutually beneficial. But he hadn't expected it to cause misunderstandings among his classmates.

He himself didn't care much about his reputation. After all, he was the son of a businessman, and those self-righteous children of powerful families looked down on him.

When Chen Shuyan heard Su Yichen's words, his heart skipped a beat.

What does this mean? Does that mean I won't be allowed to wash dishes anymore? How will I earn money to support the family then?

A flicker of panic crossed his eyes at this thought. But he quickly composed himself, forced a smile, and said, "Brother Su! Don't listen to Brother Fu. They don't understand the situation at all; they only see the surface. Even if I don't help you with the work, won't I have to find other work outside? This is a normal employment relationship. I really won't think too much of it."

Recalling that when the two of them first entered Huaqing Academy, they were assigned to the same dormitory.

Huaqing Academy stipulated that students must live in the school and were not allowed to bring servants with them.

At first, Su Yichen disliked Chen Shuyan's "poor vibe" and was always sarcastic towards him. Although Chen Shuyan was disgusted by this arrogant rich boy, he had no choice but to tolerate him in order to continue his studies at the academy. Later, Su Yichen saw that Chen Shuyan always accepted his fate and gradually became bored, so he stopped deliberately making things difficult for him.

The change in their relationship stemmed from an accident. The clothes Su Yichen brought to the academy were all dirty, but no one helped him wash them, and he didn't know how to wash clothes himself. Just when he was worried, he saw Chen Shuyan washing clothes quickly and cleanly, and he thought of asking Chen Shuyan to do his laundry.

Chen Shuyan naturally refused at first, and deliberately said in a difficult way: "Okay, one tael of silver for one wash."

Unexpectedly, Su Yichen was not angry, but took out the silver very readily and said, "So cheap? Then I'll subscribe to a monthly plan!" Then he handed over a silver note.

From then on, the relationship between the two began to become more complicated. From the initial dislike for each other, it gradually became the relationship of employer and servant. Later, because of mutual appreciation of each other's knowledge, they finally became good friends.

At this moment, seeing that Chen Shuyan's face did not show any embarrassment, Su Yichen finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, here are five taels of silver. I'll leave it to you during your time in Taohua Village."

He handed the silver to Chen Shuyan. He was secretly glad that Chen Shuyan was not angry about this matter, otherwise his life in Taohua Village would be miserable. After all, he really didn't want to wash dishes at all.

Chen Shuyan accepted the money with great joy, "Don't worry, Brother Su, I promise to wash your dishes cleanly."

You can earn five taels of silver by washing dishes for half a year, which is much faster than making money by writing letters to others.

Writing a letter to someone only costs three cents, and copying a copy of the Three Character Classic costs only twenty cents. It's such a good deal, and anyone who's not stupid can understand the benefits.

The two bowls were quickly cleaned by Chen Shuyan.

"Brother Su, let's go for a walk in the village now." Chen Shuyan always kept the instructions of the headmaster in mind and did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

Su Yichen also knew that Jiang Luli's orders could not be disobeyed. He could turn a deaf ear to other people's words, but he had to strictly follow the headmaster's words.

"Let's go." He nodded and walked out of the school with Shen Shuyan.

It was summer, and the days were exceptionally long. Although it was already five in the afternoon, the sun had not yet completely set.

As they walked towards the village, they saw the fields on both sides of the road filled with busy people. Some were bent over carefully pulling weeds from the fields, while others were diligently planting vegetables.

Ever since Gu Jiayue's school opened, scholars have appeared in the village from time to time, and the villagers have long been accustomed to it. When they saw Chen Shuyan and Su Yichen squatting on the roadside watching them work, they didn't think it was strange. Some cheerful and talkative villagers even took the initiative to strike up a conversation with them.

"Two gentlemen, are you here to study in our village?" A middle-aged woman straightened up, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand, and asked them with a simple smile on her face.

Chen Shuyan quickly stood up, nodded politely, and replied with a smile: "Yes, we heard that Mr. Gu is knowledgeable, so we came here because of his reputation."

His voice is gentle and humble, making people feel very friendly.

Hearing him praise Gu Jiayue, the woman's face suddenly lit up with joy. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and the pride on her face was evident. "That's right, my Jiayue's knowledge is top-notch!"

When Su Yichen heard this, he knew that this woman must be Gu Jiayue's relative. His eyes rolled and he immediately had an idea in his mind.

He smiled broadly and pretended to be curious. "Auntie, I see your family isn't well off. How could you allow a girl to go to school?"

"Hey, my family doesn't have that ability, it's..." Su was about to continue speaking when her grandmother suddenly picked up a piece of dirt from the ground and threw it at her.

The mud hit Su's butt right on the spot.

Su shuddered with fear, "Mother..."

Grandma glared at her fiercely and was about to scold her, but she saw that the two young men who didn't understand her were still squatting there with no intention of leaving, so she had to swallow the words back.

She raised her voice and angrily said, "I feed you three times a day, is this for you to come to the fields and chat? If you can do it, do it. If you can't, get out of here and go back to your parents' home!"

Seeing that grandma was really angry, my aunt Su quickly picked up the hoe, walked obediently to grandma's side, and began to dig the ground hard.

As she dug, she quietly explained to her grandmother, "Mom, you misunderstood me. I just wanted to find out more about these two young men because they are so handsome and about the same age as my second brother's Xi Que."

Especially when I saw Su Yichen squatting on the left, he was wearing gorgeous clothes and had a crystal clear jade pendant hanging around his waist. He was obviously a young man from a wealthy family.

Su secretly thought that if her daughter Chunyan had not yet been betrothed, she would definitely try every means to recruit this young man as her son-in-law. But now that Chunyan had found a home, she turned her attention to Gu Xique.

After all, they are all family, and she will be proud if her niece marries well.

Grandma moved to the side, fearing that she would accidentally dig her with the hoe.

After hearing Su's words, she frowned. "A pot fits its lid, a key fits its lock. High branches aren't easy to climb. You'd better put away those frivolous thoughts as soon as possible."

Many people in the village wanted to marry their daughters off to wealthy families, but she had never considered such a thing. She only hoped that her granddaughters could find an honest and easy-going family and live a simple and peaceful life. That was enough...

Oh, except Jiayue, no one in this small mountain village is worthy of her.