Zhao Yuansheng has been a little distressed recently. The reason is simple: the dean's young master has entered the academy, and the dean has arranged for him to be in the same class with him and to guide his studies in his spare time.
Zhao Yuansheng was busy taking care of himself, so how could he care about others? But he couldn't refuse the dean's request. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
The young man was very outgoing and enthusiastic when they first met. He bowed and introduced himself: "Brother Zhao, I've heard a lot about you. My name is Chu Lan. Please take care of me in the future." Before Zhao Yuansheng could react, the young man started chatting and asked about his family from his parents to his brothers and sisters, leaving Zhao Yuansheng at a loss. He stammered and didn't know how to answer.
Although Zhao Yuansheng also grew up in Xiaopi, he was very afraid of trouble and was not the kind of person who liked to chat. He was suddenly asked to guide others' studies for no apparent reason, and he didn't know how much of his time it would take up.
At the age of ten, Zhao Yuansheng passed the examination for a Tongsheng (a student) and now studies at the county's Baishan Academy. The academy's dean, a retired Imperial College alumnus, is knowledgeable and approachable, often mingling with the students. Zhao Yuansheng sighed helplessly, having not expected his son to have such a personality.
Zhao Yuansheng was on his day off, and he planned to go to his family's restaurant in the county town for dinner. He wondered if his father and dad would come.
The restaurant hired a special manager to manage it. Lin Yan and Zhao Shiyun came once every seven days to check the account books. Sometimes, if Zhao Yuansheng was not on leave, they would go to bring him food.
"Brother Zhao, where are you going? Can you take me with you?" As soon as they walked out of the academy gate, Chu Lan popped out from nowhere and spoke in a familiar manner.
Zhao Yuansheng thought about it and agreed, since he was alone anyway.
The county town was quite large, and the academy was located on the outskirts of the city, by the river. It was quite far from the central market, so it took them almost half an hour to reach the destination. Chu Lan was so tired that he was panting. "If I had known it was so far, I would have come here on horseback."
"I didn't think it through. I'm sorry." Zhao Yuansheng looked at the dense beads of sweat on his face and felt sorry for him.
Chu Lan recovered and waved his hand carelessly, "It's okay, we can just find a carriage when we go back. So where are we going now?"
Zhao Yuansheng brought him to Douxiang Pavilion Restaurant. The waiter, with sharp eyes, saw him come in and hurried over to greet him, leading the two to Zhao Yuansheng's exclusive private room on the second floor. After Douxiangzhai became a restaurant, its name was also changed.
After sitting down, Chu Lan slapped Zhao Yuansheng on the shoulder and said, "Sure, Brother Zhao, are you a regular here?"
Zhao Yuansheng spoke frankly: "This restaurant is owned by my family."
"Wow, I see!" Chu Lan's eyes lit up, filled with envy. "Brother Zhao's family is so impressive, the food in this restaurant must be amazing." He picked up the menu and carefully examined it, muttering the names of the various dishes. Zhao Yuansheng couldn't help but find him amused. He was the son of the dean, so how could he be so envious of a restaurant?
After a while, the dishes were served one by one. They were all home-cooked dishes, such as white jade tofu soup, stir-fried bean curd with meat, chicken feet pot, and pickled fish.
Zhao Yuansheng hadn't eaten in a while, and looking at the dishes on the table, he felt a little greedy. Chu Lan devoured the food without hesitation, praising it as he ate, "Brother Zhao, your food is so delicious! I've never eaten such delicious food before."
Zhao Yuansheng didn't believe it. He had tasted all kinds of delicacies from land and sea. Looking at Chu Lan, whose mouth was full of grease, his mood inexplicably improved, and he began to enjoy the food himself.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a sudden commotion erupted from downstairs. Zhao Yuansheng frowned and stood up to check on the situation. Chu Lan also stood up, patting his chest and saying, "Brother Zhao, I'll go with you. Maybe I can help." After they went downstairs, they discovered that it was Lin Yan and Zhao Shiyun who had come to inspect the place. Because Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, they had brought a lot of mooncakes as gifts. The shopkeeper and the waiters had all tasted Lin Yan's mooncakes last year and loved them. Since there were few customers at the moment, they were scrambling to get the mooncakes, hence the commotion.
Zhao Yuansheng breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Dad, Dad."
"Sheng'er, are you on leave?" Lin Yan turned around and saw his son, overjoyed.
Zhao Yuansheng nodded, "Dad, this is my classmate Chu Lan. He came with me."
Chu Lan was actually a little shy in front of his elders, "Hello, uncles."
Lin Yan smiled and nodded, "Have you ordered yet?"
"I ordered it and am eating it now."
"Is the food enough? If not, add some more."
"That's enough, thank you."
"Okay, then go ahead and eat. We'll come find you after we're done."
Zhao Yuansheng said "Okay" and tried to pull Chu Lan up, but accidentally pulled his coat down. Chu Lan was immediately frightened and at a loss. Chu Lan quickly put it back on and, without even looking at the others, fled up to the second floor. Lin Yan looked at their backs, thinking about the flash of red that had just passed by, wondering if he had seen it wrong.
*
Life at the academy was dull and tedious. Zhao Yuansheng sat in his dorm room. Outside the window stood an osmanthus tree, its blossoms densely packed together. The fragrance of ink mixed with the sweet scent of the flowers lingered in the corridors. The teacher stood at the podium, ruler in hand, his gaze scanning the students below. He was currently administering a quiz, selecting suitable candidates. Finally, the teacher's gaze fell on the new boy behind Zhao Yuansheng. He wore an indigo headscarf, his neck as slender as a newly emerged lotus stem in the academy's pond.
"Chu Lan, you come and solve this math problem."
Chu Lan shrank like a quail, but still couldn't escape the teacher's call. He suddenly looked up, slowly stood up, and stuttered as he began to solve the problem. The teacher's brows furrowed more and more as he listened, and finally slammed the ruler on the table: "You can't even do something so simple? Where did you listen to in class?"
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