007, dragging people into the water
007, dragging people into the water
"Mother, I want more."
"That's all, let's go play after we finish eating."
“…”
In a flash, the adults and children at the table had eaten up the food they were given, and even the little soup left in the soup bowl was snatched away by everyone.
Lu Mingfei had long been accustomed to this scene. He just protected the small bowl in front of him and slowly ate his steamed bun. He did not join the team that robbed the food, nor did he give others the opportunity to snatch the food from his hand.
The vegetable soup had no hint of oil, not even enough salt; it was as bland as water, with a few vegetable leaves floating in it. The whole-grain steamed bread was fresh out of the pot, thankfully still soft and not too harsh.
Although the food was not very tasty, he would be hungry if he did not eat. The feeling of being hungry was really uncomfortable. He did not want to experience the feeling of being so hungry that his stomach felt like it was burning and he was vomiting acid.
At this moment, his mother was still sitting next to him, so no one around dared to snatch the food from his hand.
When he was younger, his food was stolen a few times by his older cousins who would take advantage of his mother's absence to grab the food from his hands. So he learned his lesson. If his mother wasn't around, he would hide with his father. With the adults around, his older cousins wouldn't dare bully him in front of them.
During the meal, Mrs. Chen, the fourth wife of Lu, glanced at Mrs. Liu Sanniang and saw that the other two sisters-in-law were still there, so she did not ask about the hairpin.
When the people at the small table finished eating and stood up, the people at the big table had also finished eating.
Lu Youtian held a bowl in his hand and called to his son, "Qilang, come here, Daddy."
"Your father is calling you." Liu Sanniang carried her son out and pushed him: "Go, go to your father, mother will help you clean up." Although it was not her turn to cook and wash dishes today, she also knew the character of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. If she saw that she was full and did not help to clean up the dishes, her sister-in-law would find a reason to make trouble for her.
She wasn't afraid of her eldest sister-in-law causing trouble for her, but she was afraid that the eldest wife's children would cause trouble for her son. So sometimes Liu Sanniang would rather do more work herself to avoid her eldest sister-in-law muttering bad things about her behind her back, which would be heard by her nephews and then bully their children.
She was the youngest child in the family, while her eldest nephews were the oldest and most aggressive, often bullying their younger cousins. However, these matters were best left to the adults; if they were to tell the nephews about it, it would turn into a conflict between the adults. Therefore, sometimes, even though they knew their son was being bullied by his nephews, they found it difficult to stand up for him.
Whenever her child was bullied by her cousins, she would never cry or complain in front of them. But it was precisely because of this that Liu Sanniang, as a mother, felt even more distressed for her child.
"Mom, you go ahead. I'll go find Dad." Lu Mingfei knew very well that today was not his mother's turn to cook. Since his mother was going to help clean up, he couldn't ask her not to go. He nodded and went to his father obediently.
"Why haven't you finished eating yet? You're eating so slowly?" Lu Youtian asked, looking at the half-eaten steamed bun in his son's hand. He didn't know what was wrong with this child, he had always been a slow eater. When others had finished, this child would still be eating with his little hands.
"Dad, my mouth is small." Lu Mingfei found a reasonable excuse for eating slowly.
This sentence made several adults present laugh.
Lu Youtian also smiled. He held his son in his arms and fed the remaining half bowl of soup to his son's mouth, "Drink it, this is what Daddy left." He deliberately said the latter sentence to tell the people at home that the soup in his bowl was his share and he didn't deliberately fill it with more for the child.
Although there is no food distribution at the big table, there is a fixed amount for each person to eat. If everyone takes too much and distributes it to the small tables, the people at the big table will have nothing to eat.
So in the past, even if there was something delicious at the big table, Lu Youtian would not take food from the big table to give to his wife and children. But today, thinking that the meat was bought by his child at his request, but the child could not eat a single bite, he specially left the meat in the bowl for the child.
Lu Mingfei took a sip of the broth. The meat in it was much better than their vegetable soup made with water. Seeing two slices of meat in the bowl, he knew his father had left them for him because he couldn't bear to eat them himself.
Lu Dalang, who had just finished his meal and was about to go back to his room to study, saw his cousin being held in the arms of an adult and fed. A hint of malice flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "Qilang is about seven or eight years old this year, right?"
"Cousin, you're mistaken. I'm only four and a half, not even five." Before his father could speak, Lu Mingfei told his cousin his age. He could easily tell the reason behind his cousin's question: he simply felt that his father had broken the family dining rules by leaving him half a bowl of soup.
Fuck you!
The meat you, Lu Zhiyuan, just ate was earned by my father and I from selling things. We walked dozens of miles to buy it! You can eat the meat, but I can't have a sip of the soup?!
Despite the rage burning in his heart, Lu Mingfei still wore a smile when facing his cousin. Before his cousin could speak a second time, he pretended to be innocent and asked him, "Cousin, what did you study with the teacher in the academy? Can you tell us about it?"
"Hey, you little kid, and you're asking your eldest cousin about studying?" Lu Laoer teased his little nephew.
Seeing his second uncle teasing him, Lu Mingfei suddenly had a sinister idea in his mind, and he thought of dragging his second uncle and his younger uncle's family into trouble. He deliberately put on a worried look on his face and said to his second uncle, "Grandma said that only those who study can have a bright future. Those of us who don't study will just be peasants in the countryside in the future. We have no land, no future, and we are useless."
"Second uncle, my eldest cousin is studying with a teacher. If he comes back after finishing his studies and can teach me and my fifth and sixth brothers, can we also become scholars in the future?" Although he didn't want to study with his eldest cousin, it didn't mean that his other cousins didn't want to either.
In those days, studying was not easy. Many peasant families could not afford the tuition alone, let alone the writing brushes, inkstones, and pens, which were the main expenses. Books, writing brushes, and inkstones were expensive in those days.
But don't they have a ready-made "scholar" in the family? If they let this scholar teach their younger brothers who don't have the opportunity to go to school, they can save a lot of time and effort, right? It's like one person goes to school, and all the children in the family follow suit.
Sure enough, when Lu Laoer heard what his nephew said, his eyes lit up.
However, the expressions of Boss Lu, Lu Dalang, and Old Lady Lu darkened. Old Man Lu paused in his cigarette, his face expressionless.
Upon hearing this request, Lu Dalang subconsciously refused.
But before the eldest grandson could open his mouth to say no, Old Lady Lu jumped in to help him refuse. She angrily scolded the youngest grandson who had come up with the idea, "Da Lang is so busy studying, how can he have the time to teach you fools? Studying is such a difficult thing, how can everyone understand it? You are a bunch of blockheads, and you are wasting Da Lang's study time by asking him to teach you!"
"Da Lang, go back to your room and study. Don't pay attention to these people who have a full stomach and dare to think about anything. Don't you see what kind of life you have and what kind of education you have! You don't work hard and just cheat all day long!" What makes Mrs. Lu most angry is that this little grandson actually dares to want to study! Is everyone qualified to study? Without her eldest grandson's intelligence, studying is just a waste of money and delays the work at home!
Seeing his grandmother scolding his little cousin, Lu Dalang finally felt relieved. He still maintained the gentleness and courtesy that a scholar should have on his face. He turned to his grandfather and father who were sitting in the main seats and said, "Grandpa, Dad, I'm going back to my room to study."
"Well, go ahead, study hard, and strive to pass the imperial examination as soon as possible. Whether our Lu family will have a future depends on you." Old Man Lu's last words set the rule that only one grandson in the family would go to school, and this put an end to the wishes of his other sons and grandsons.
Boss Lu also told his eldest son to study hard and strive to pass the imperial examination as soon as possible. At the same time, his eyes were filled with vigilance and warning when he looked at his other two brothers.
Lu Dalang replied "yes" and went back to his room with a leisurely look on his face. He closed the door and hid inside.
As soon as the door was closed, Lu Dalang in the room showed a look of gnashing teeth on his face, and he wanted to go out and catch the little cousin outside who asked him to teach his younger brothers to read and beat him up!
In fact, he knew in his heart that if another younger brother went to school, he would have no chance to study.
All brothers who threaten his position will be his enemies!
…
Out in the courtyard, after scolding her little grandson, Old Lady Lu turned to her third son: "How did you two raise your children? How can you say such things carelessly? What are the personalities of your boys? Don't you know them?"
"All of you are so eager to tear the sky down all day long. Study? What kind of books should you study? If you naughty boys were half as smart and sensible as me, Dalang, would I still be angry with you every day?"
Seeing his father opening his mouth to explain for him, Lu Mingfei threw himself into his father's arms, opened his mouth and cried "wow", while grabbing his father's thigh with his little hands.
These little tricks between father and son are very well known to both the father and son.
Lu Youtian, who was originally still feeling sorry for his son, knew that his son was just pretending to cry, not because he was scared. However, not wanting his mother to continue scolding him, he could only choose to calm things down and explain to his son: "Mother, Qilang knows his mistake. Sanniang and I will teach him a lesson later."
"Hmph, if you can't teach him well, send him here to me from tomorrow and I'll help you teach him!" After scolding for so long, Old Lady Lu was tired of it. Finally, she threatened her third son and grandson. The look she gave her grandson was like a knife, as if she wanted to cut a piece of flesh off this little grandson! He was born to be a slave, and he still dared to dream of studying!
How could Lu Mingfei not know that if he fell into the hands of this old lady, he would suffer, so he immediately "cried" even louder, and while crying he admitted his fault, "Wuwu, Qilang was wrong, Qilang was wrong... Cousin, only cousin can study, we can't study, wuwu..."
"Hmph!" Grandma Lu's expression softened a little after hearing her grandson admit his mistake.
When my mother scolded my nephew and my third brother, Lu Lao Er and Lu Lao Si were sitting by and listening. Neither of them spoke up for my nephew or my brother. However, one thing my nephew said resonated with them: only those who study can have a bright future. Those who don't study will be like peasants in the future and will never achieve anything.
My eldest nephew clearly studied with a teacher and could read, so why couldn't he come back and teach the other children? The tuition and writing materials for his studies were all earned by the whole family through farming and working outside. Why was it only my eldest nephew who could go to school? Their children didn't even have the chance to learn to read?
What do you mean only my eldest cousin can go to school and their children can’t?
Why didn't their father and mother even give their children and their eldest nephew the opportunity to go to school? This eldest nephew was so selfish. Even if he really had a bright future, would he still take care of them, his uncles and cousins?
At this point, Lu Lao Er and Lu Lao Si didn't say anything, but in their hearts, they began to doubt the family's hard work in farming and earning money to support their eldest nephew's education. Could they really be willing to support their eldest nephew's education, so that he would become an official in the future, while their children could only farm in the countryside and be peasants for the rest of their lives? From that day on, their youngest nephew's words planted a seed in their hearts: to send their own children to school.
At the same time, Lu Lao Er and Lu Lao Si also realized the favoritism of their grandfather and mother.
Even Lu Laosi, who used to think that his father and mother were partial to him, suddenly realized today that his mother was partial to the eldest grandson and the eldest wife, and no longer favored him, the fourth son.
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