Chapter 120 No matter how rich you are, you can only rely on yourself
Xiao Yan smiled and nodded: "Okay. Do you need me to bring anything else? Buy some food?"
"No need." Lu Qiniang waved her hand. "I'll go buy the vegetables myself. The vegetable seller will look at you like you're a nobleman and won't give you a discount. At most, he'll give you a head of garlic. It's not worth it."
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go then."
"Oh, by the way, when you pass by the tea shop, weigh out two taels of good tea." Lu Qiniang opened the money box and reluctantly took out a string of coins and gave it to Xiao Yan, "That's enough. You have to go, I can't tell the difference between good and bad."
"Buy good tea?"
They don't usually drink tea, and the tea they serve to their guests is coarse tea that costs thirty cents per pound.
One hundred coins for two taels is a bit of a luxury.
"Give it to your grandfather when he comes."
"No need." Xiao Yan said.
To the emperor, tea that costs thirty wen and tea that costs five hundred wen are actually the same - they taste bad.
"Why not? He's our elder after all. We don't have anything good to offer him, but it would be nice to have some good tea when he comes to sit down."
Xiao Yan didn't say anything else.
In fact, he kind of liked the process of waiting with his palms facing up for Lu Qiniang to give him money.
For ordinary couples, life in this world is probably like this.
He gave her the money he earned, and she carefully calculated the whereabouts of every penny before giving it to him.
After Xiao Yan left, Lu Qiniang saw Yun Ting sitting in the yard in a daze. She came over, holding the lotus pod that a fisherwoman she knew well had given her yesterday. She took a small stool and sat down next to him. While peeling fresh lotus seeds, she asked him, "What's wrong? Are you still angry with your father because of what happened a few days ago?"
"He's not my father anymore." Yun Ting turned his face away. "I was thinking, why not just change my last name to Xiao?"
Lu Qiniang: "...I've never heard of an uncle taking his nephew's surname."
"He is unkind, and I am unjust!" Yun Ting snorted.
"Eat lotus seeds?" Lu Qiniang peeled a plump white lotus seed and gave it to him.
Yun Ting threw it into his mouth.
It's crispy and delicious.
"Don't always think that you've been too patient with your father. Your father has been patient with you for a long time. Your family isn't short of money, and you don't need to worry about food and drink. The maids and old women pamper you, and they just hope that you can either study or practice martial arts, so that you can have a future..."
"What's the point of me studying and practicing martial arts? What's the use of passing the imperial examination?" Yun Ting said, "I'll never be able to become a Duke."
He lay down, and as soon as his father died, he would immediately become the Duke.
What about the top three in the imperial examination? They have to bow and nod when they see him, right?
"You can't say that. What I said may sound a little harsh, but the truth is there. Just listen to me, don't you think?" Lu Qiniang put the peeled lotus seeds into the bowl without stopping her hands.
"Although your family may have always been a duke, that is the legacy left by your ancestors. Although it is very powerful, it cannot withstand squandering."
"Why can't I afford it? My grandmother said that if she left me her dowry alone, I would have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of my life."
I can’t rely on my dad anymore, I can only rely on my grandmother.
"I don't understand big principles. Let me tell you about my own family." Lu Qiniang said with a smile, "My ancestors were also rich!"
"I didn't see that."
"As for my ancestors, it's not that far back, actually. My great-grandfather." She smiled and said, "My great-grandfather was a famous strongman at that time. Wrestling was very popular among the nobles at that time, and my great-grandfather won almost every match and received many rewards."
Without money, how could he possibly marry the all-time popular and expensive Hu Ji?
"My family used to have servants and maids, a big house, and more than a dozen shops. But my father heard all that from my grandfather."
"How did you lose?" Yun Ting asked.
"When my great-grandfather was alive, he was defrauded of a large sum of money. Life was manageable at the time, but he was so angry that he died."
"My grandfather had never suffered hardship since he was a child, and he knew nothing. He was only sixteen when my great-grandfather died."
If it were someone else, they would probably be able to take on the family business.
He's just a young master who grew up in a honeypot, what does he know?
"...The family fortune was completely swindled out. Luckily, my grandmother saved a little money and bought a small, run-down house, which allowed us to stay in the capital. Since my grandfather's generation, our family has been impoverished and has never recovered."
Lu Qiniang paused, "My great-grandfather must have thought that his descendants would at least have enough food and clothing. But people encounter too many obstacles in life."
“Everyone falls, but some people can get up on their own after falling, while others can’t and can only stay in the mud.”
"Your Duke's Mansion isn't that bad," Lu Qiniang said. "After all, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. But to put it bluntly, isn't it true that each generation is worse than the previous one?"
Yun Ting was silent.
"In the past, everyone had to be respectful when they met your ancestors. Now, when they meet your father, they still have to be respectful. But, aren't there many favored ministers who are not as respectful when they meet your father?"
"What will others think of you when they see you thirty years from now?"
"The Duke is different from the Duke."
"Let's talk behind closed doors. Let alone the Duke's Mansion, even the Emperor has changed his surname several times."
When the glory was at that time, who wouldn’t feel that it would last for thousands of years?
Lu Qiniang concluded, "I just want to say one thing: nothing anyone else has is as good as what you have. Although you are still the Duke, if you don't work hard, your family will become weaker and weaker with each generation. You can still work hard now, but when you are old and are neglected and looked down upon, it will be too late for you to work hard."
People should work hard to live.
Because in most cases, one generation can only take care of the next generation at most, and that only until they close their eyes and kick their legs.
In the future, it will depend on the luck of our descendants.
If a family has a lot of wealth but its descendants are not promising, the decline cycle may be longer, but it can still be wiped out in two or three generations.
Those with average financial resources have nothing to brag about.
"Would you, as the Duke, be willing to force yourself? Or would you, as a parent, be worried about your future? Now, all those elders who have spoiled and pampered you will be gone before you. When you become an elder, what can you leave for your descendants?"
"You eat and use the family's food, but you can't feel so at ease." Lu Qiniang said, "The elders can't always be with you. If they encounter difficulties in the future, shouldn't you rush forward? What can you do? The Duke is being neglected at court. What can you do to help him get honor?"
The first thirty years are about the father respecting the son, and the last thirty years are about the son respecting the father.
People are very realistic.
"Go home early, study and practice martial arts, and don't waste your precious time every day." Lu Qinniang said sincerely.
Before, she would not tell Yun Ting these things because he would not listen.
But now the child has suffered a blow and has calmed down a bit. I hope he can listen to me.
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