It's autumn exam season again, and Lu Chengyu is once again putting all his energy into preparing for the exam.
Two years ago, the old lady started to fall ill. Mrs. Tang felt that the old lady was too old and that it would be a bottomless pit to find a doctor to treat her. So she ignored the old lady's complaints and locked her in the house, not allowing her to go out.
A few years ago, the old lady was still able to work, but in the last two years, her health has deteriorated and she can no longer do any farm work. Mrs. Tang has long been unable to bear her.
The old lady cherished her life very much. After she fell ill, she insisted on seeing a doctor and buying medicine.
The old lady would gladly use her other sons' belongings to subsidize Lu Chengyu, but she was unwilling to ask him to sacrifice his own life for Lu Chengyu's future.
Fearing that the old lady would cause trouble in the village, saying that their family was unfilial for not taking her to see a doctor and that it would damage Lu Chengyu's reputation, Tang only gave the old lady a bowl of thin porridge every day to keep her alive.
The old lady was already quite old and only had a bowl of thin porridge a day, so she had no strength and naturally couldn't go out and cause trouble. The old lady had originally hoped that her son would stand up for her, but the eldest and fourth sons of the Lu family were worried that taking care of the old lady would be a burden on the family, so they turned a blind eye to Tang's actions.
In this village, there are people who have sold all their land to pay for the old lady's medical treatment, leaving them destitute. The eldest and fourth sons of the Lu family are not kind people, so of course they are not willing to sacrifice themselves for the old lady.
Seeing that everyone in the family approved of her actions, Mrs. Tang suddenly felt more confident. Before, she was worried that her husband and fourth son would have opinions about her, but judging from the situation, she found that everyone hoped that the old lady would pass away quickly. Originally, Mrs. Tang had prepared porridge for the old lady, but after that, she just gave her the leftovers.
The leftovers from this farmhouse meal were obviously not anything good. The old lady was so angry with Tang that she fainted.
The old lady was arrogant and domineering her whole life. In her old age, she was plagued by many illnesses and was mistreated by her eldest daughter-in-law. She died in depression. When she died, she was very thin and there was no one by her side.
The old lady longed to see Lu Chengyu, but Tang refused.
Madam Tang did not ask Lu Chengyu's opinion. However, no one knows a son better than his mother. Even if she had asked, Lu Chengyu would not have gone to see the old lady.
The old lady, who had been bedridden for a long time, had a foul odor, and Lu Chengyu was trying to avoid her, so of course he didn't want to see her.
On her deathbed, the old woman suddenly remembered the good things about her second son. She thought that her second son was the most honest, and if he were still alive, he would not have stood by and watched her being mistreated like this. However, it was already too late.
After the old lady died, Tang was afraid that her mistreatment of the elderly would be exposed, so she used the excuse that the old lady's illness might be contagious and quickly had the old lady cremated.
Lu Chengyu was busy participating in the autumn imperial examinations, while the villagers were busy with the autumn harvest, creating a bustling scene in Dashi Village.
"Zhang the Quick-Knife's son is back again. I heard that Lu Lin has been transferred to Yucang County."
"Really? Was he transferred?"
"Yes! The merchants are saying the same thing. Lu Lin has been transferred, and several of them are worried that the new magistrate will be difficult to deal with." Lu Lin came from Linzhen. When the merchants from Linzhen arrived in Shaxian, most of them would visit Lu Lin. Since they were from the same hometown, Lu Lin would often do them a favor.
"Yucang County? That place sounds nice! The fish from Yucang County are very famous."
"A few years ago, Shaxian was poor and dangerous, so it was naturally not as good as Yucang County. However, in the last two years, Shaxian has been managed very well. It would be a pity to leave just like that."
"Yes! I heard that Chen Xiaocai opened a hot spring resort in Shaxian. There are lots of things to eat and do there. It's like being in paradise!" Most of the business leaders who went to Shaxian were quite wealthy. After arriving in Shaxian, they would inevitably visit the hot spring resort. Afterwards, they would inevitably exaggerate their experience. In this place where entertainment options were scarce, the hot spring resort had become a paradise in the hearts of many people.
"Although Shaxian is prosperous, everything will be destroyed if war breaks out. Yucang County is different. Even if there is a war, it rarely reaches there."
"That's right! This official position in Sha County was bought by Lu Lin back then. Since no one wanted this position, it was put up for sale."
"Lu Lin isn't short of money now; his life is more important."
"I didn't expect Lu Lin to be so secure in his official position." Back when Lu Lin bought his position, many people in the village were not optimistic about him. In the villagers' eyes, an official should be a learned scholar, and no one had ever seen Lu Lin study.
Lu Lin knows the prince, and he also knows about the whole roasted lamb. Zhang the Swift-Knife's son said that Lu Lin made a whole roasted lamb, and this whole roasted lamb is extraordinary. The emperor praised it highly and gave him a reward of one thousand taels of silver. The whole roasted lamb was even designated as a national dish to entertain foreign envoys. Lu Lin is already well-known to the emperor. If you ask me, if Lu Lin gains more experience in a few years, he might not just be a county magistrate, but a prefect.
"..." That's incredible! That's incredible.
"Cheng Yu is going to take the autumn imperial examination too! I wonder if he will pass. If he does, the Lu family might produce two officials."
"It's a pity that the two elders of the Lu family passed away before Lu Chengyu passed the exam."
"High school is not that easy! Every year so many scholars go to take the exam, but only one or two pass. I heard that a scholar was sixty years old when he finally passed the provincial exam. As a result, he was so excited that he went straight to the exam. It was truly a case of joy turning into sorrow."
Over the years, the villagers have become increasingly optimistic about Lu Lin, while their opinion of Lu Chengyu has become increasingly pessimistic. Many villagers feel that the Lu family elders made the wrong bet back then. Lu Lin has achieved a lot of political success despite not having received much formal education. If the Lu family elders had allowed Lu Lin to study back then, he might already be a high-ranking official by now.
Not long after Chen Xiaomi arrived in Yucang County, she began preparing to build a fish farm and open various seafood shops there. Since Chen Xiaocai was not present, Chen Xiaomi had to personally supervise the construction work on site.
Chen Xiaomi, carrying Yuanbao, was quite happy, heading towards the fish farm every day.
"You're back?" Lu Lin asked, glancing at Chen Xiaomi.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Yes! Xiao Cai sent someone to deliver a message. He should be able to come and join us soon. Everything else is easy to handle, but the hot spring resort is a bit more difficult to deal with."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "It's a bit of a pity that the hot spring resort is being built." The hot spring resort cost a lot of money from start to finish!
When the hot spring resort was first built, it caused a sensation. Afterwards, the hot spring resort underwent several expansions and added some recreational facilities. The hot spring resort also specially set up a hot spring restaurant, which many people like to eat at.
“If you can’t bear to part with it, you can entrust it to someone you trust to manage; you don’t necessarily have to sell it,” Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "That's true." However, the situation of hot spring resorts is rather special. If they are managed well, they can make a fortune every day; if they are not managed well, they can be deserted and may be forgotten at any time.
When Lu Lin was in Shaxian, he would often organize events to attract customers. Now that they have left Shaxian, it is not easy to manage them.
"If all else fails, let General Ji take charge for now," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomi sighed and said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy!"
General Ji seemed overly rigid; he detested people who indulged in pleasure and lacked ambition. In his eyes, this hot spring resort was, to some extent, a den of iniquity that tempted people to depravity!
Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's right, that guy was an idiot. He doesn't understand! A product can only realize its value and promote economic development if it is consumed."
Chen Xiaomi asked, somewhat bewildered, "What is that?"
Lu Lin blinked and said, "You should spend money if you have it! It's a waste to hoard it."
Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "You're just making excuses for wasting money again."
Lu Lin: "..."
"Ji Yun'an is taking the imperial examination again! If he fails, he'll be in big trouble," Lu Lin said, changing the subject.
Chen Xiaomi said helplessly, "Can't you think of the good things about him? Who knows, this guy might become the top scholar in the imperial examination!"
If Ji Yun'an becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, Xiaomai will become his wife. In that case, as Xiaomai's brother, he can also benefit from the honor. If that happens, their mother should be happy.
Mother had always envied Chen Jing for being able to study, and had even said that if Xiao Cai could study like Chen Jing, she might have a bright future. Lu Lin tilted his head and thought to himself: Ji Yun'an, that stupid little brat, climbed over the wall and went into Xiao Shuang'er's room. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who could become a top scholar at all!
Lu Lin said coolly, "Of course I hope he gets better, but I'm just taking precautions."
"Lu Chengyu should also be participating in the autumn examination, right?" Chen Xiaomi said.
Lu Lin narrowed his eyes, "Ignore him, even if we pass the exam, we don't need to be afraid of him."
He used to be a commoner and was worried that Lu Chengyu would scheme against him after passing the exam. Now that he has been in officialdom for so many years, even if Lu Chengyu is lucky enough to pass the exam and fill a vacancy, it doesn't matter. He is an old hand who has been in officialdom for many years and naturally has nothing to fear from a newcomer.
"I heard that Lu Chengyu's personality seems to have changed a lot, and he's even become a bit obsessed." Back when he was in the village, no matter how wicked Lu Chengyu was, he always maintained the demeanor of a gentleman on the surface. However, it seems that after he became an official, Lu Chengyu's personality became more and more extreme. He couldn't stand the villagers saying anything good about him and became very aloof and arrogant.
Chen Xiaomi thought to herself: Lu Lin was raised being abused, while Lu Chengyu was pampered. People like Lu Chengyu, who were raised like this, are fine if they have smooth sailing, but if they encounter setbacks, they are very likely to become discouraged. Lu Chengyu always wanted to become an official, but he let Lu Lin, whom he looked down on, become an official first. With Lu Chengyu's personality, he is very likely to walk into a dead end.
“It seems the old lady died a terrible death! It appears she didn’t die of illness, but rather from starvation,” Lu Lin said, shaking his head.
Although Mrs. Tang kept the old lady's situation a secret, it was very difficult for the village to completely conceal the matter. The villagers mostly knew that the old lady of the Lu family was sick and hadn't called a doctor. Although they knew, they would only gossip about it for a while.
Resources were scarce in this era, and sometimes when famine struck, there was no other way but to abandon the elderly in the mountains to fend for themselves. There were also many cases where the elderly fell ill, could not afford medical treatment, and were simply left to their fate.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "This is reaping what you sow; you deserve to die."
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "Forget it." The old lady wasn't exactly a saint either. This woman abused her second daughter-in-law to death, only to be abused to death by her eldest daughter-in-law in the end. Perhaps, this is the cycle of karma.
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