Jin Dashan's eyes reddened, and the man stared in surprise: "I never expected that you and your mother had such a good relationship. Usually, people your age don't treat their mothers so well."
Jin Dashan twitched twice: "Don't laugh at me, sir, but my mother is the pillar of our family. My brothers and I are all thanks to her care. Otherwise, we would probably have starved to death when we were fleeing famine."
"It's obvious that your mother isn't an ordinary village woman!"
Students from Shengming Academy emerged one after another, dressed in uniform. Some came to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, while others bought drawing books and snacks. Among these stalls, Liang Shuyan's cold jelly stall, though inconspicuous, was a special presence.
"Delicious cold noodles and steamed buns, not many left, five coins a bowl!" Liang Shuyan called out as she saw students coming out.
Jin Erniu's mind was preoccupied with Dashan's plans to go to school, and he began to feel troubled: "Now that my older brother has this skill, maybe he can earn money to open a painting studio in the future. As for me, I still have to help my mother with the business."
"Erniu, what are you standing there for? Don't you see someone's coming? Hurry up and greet them!" Liang Shuyan called out when she saw Jin Erniu standing there in a daze.
Jin Erniu then ran over: "Students, would you like some liangfen (cold mung bean jelly)? We have delicious liangfen, and also mini steamed buns, pretty and delicious mini steamed buns!"
At this moment, a student dressed in a light blue robe walked over, glanced coldly at Jin Erniu, and said, "You mean, you're the ones who sell those little steamed buns? Let me tell you, what kind of skill is it to draw on steamed buns? It's all because your mother seduced the teacher and got him to take that country bumpkin!"
Upon hearing this, Liang Shuyan became displeased and walked towards the student in front of her: "Scholar, how can you speak like that? How am I seducing the teacher? Is my son not capable enough? He passed the teacher's on-site test. How can you say such a thing?"
The student looked extremely arrogant. He glanced at Liang Shuyan and sneered, "Is that so? A country bumpkin dares to compete with the magistrate's son? Do you still want to do business here? Let me tell you the truth, the only student of the Master is me, Zhao Heng!"
How could Liang Shuyan be intimidated by a mere student? She stood up, her sharp eyes fixed on the student named Zhao Heng: "No matter who you are, let me tell you now, there is no law that says I can't set up a business here, nor is there any law that says the magistrate's son can bully people at will!"
At this shout, several students nearby stood up and began to whisper among themselves: "Zhao Heng, the county magistrate's son, is the most popular person in this prestigious school. I don't know why the new teacher accepted Jin Dashan but not Zhao Heng. This makes Zhao Heng very confused. Why is the son of a county magistrate not as good as the son of a peasant woman?"
"This woman doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with. We'd better tell Zhao Heng not to cause trouble. If things escalate to the school and the county magistrate is summoned, it might not be this woman who suffers the consequences!"
"Yes, yes, think about it. The gentleman accepted her son after eating a bowl of cold noodles. If this woman wasn't really capable, could her son really be a genius?"
"Zhao Heng, let's not make a scene. If this gets to the school and the county magistrate comes looking for you, you might not be a match for this woman!"
"In short, I, Zhao Heng, will not lose to your son, a peasant woman. Don't think that just because your son is old, I'm afraid of him. He'll get what's coming to him!"
After saying that, Zhao Heng stormed off in a huff.
A nearby vendor said, "Auntie, is this your first time setting up a stall in front of Shengming Academy? Let me tell you, you can't afford to offend this magistrate's son, or it will be difficult to set up a stall here in the future."
"It's alright. Even if the magistrate comes, I haven't broken the law. I don't believe the magistrate can do anything to a peasant woman like me."
Soon, another group of people arrived at the school and surrounded Liang Shuyan and her two children in front of her stall.
A young student stepped forward and said politely, “Auntie, you saw what happened just now. This county magistrate’s son, Zhao Heng, is used to bullying people by abusing his power. He didn’t eat, so we didn’t dare to either. But we just learned that your son, Jin Dashan, can paint such exquisite paintings. We admire him. Auntie, how much cold noodles do you have? Bring them all out for us. We’ll each have a bowl. Oh, and steamed buns too. We mainly want to learn from Brother Dashan’s superb painting skills!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, they're not here to cause trouble."
He then placed the remaining bowls of cold noodles in front of the students and politely said, "I'm sorry, there are only a few bowls of cold noodles left. Please enjoy!"
"Thank you, the five of us are just right."
"Yes, Auntie's cold noodles are really delicious. No wonder so many of them sold out in no time."
Liang Shuyan smiled faintly: "As long as you like it, I'll come again next time!"
After seeing off the students, Liang Shuyan instructed Erniu and Zhang to pack their things and prepare to head back.
When they returned, the basket was much lighter. Jin Erniu said with some worry, "Mother, what if my older brother gets bullied at school? I always feel that the magistrate's son is no good."
"No, Dashan is already an adult. He's going to school to better learn painting. Once your older brother finishes his studies, we'll open a painting studio for him."
When Liang Shuyan got to this point, she noticed that Jin Erniu looked a little disappointed, so she understood what he was thinking and asked, "Erniu, is there anything you particularly like, like carpentry or business?"
As if remembering something, Zhang excitedly grabbed her mother-in-law's arm: "Mother, isn't Erniu eloquent? Let Erniu go into business with me. If the business grows big, it will be the most profitable!"
Jin Erniu chuckled: "Mom, I haven't decided what to do yet."
As the three walked and talked, Liang Shuyan quickly calculated her earnings for the day. She weighed the money bag in her hand and asked, "Guess how much silver we earned today?"
As soon as Jin Erniu mentioned silver, he immediately perked up: "That's right, Mother, it should be about 300 coins!"
Liang Shuyan laughed and said, "You little rascal, are you plotting something in your head?"
"Hehe, Mom, no, Erniu was just guessing."
"Erniu, take this money and buy some spinach and persimmons. Also, see if the butcher has any pork skin and buy some."
There wasn't much left in the basket, so Liang Shuyan picked it up and pulled Zhang Shi toward a clothing store.
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