"Brother Chen Gen, why would you slander your own cousin like this?"
Everyone already thought Chen Gen was lying, and now that his cousin Cheng Jun was saying the same thing, their expressions towards Chen Gen became even more strange.
Chen Gen's expression changed, and he said urgently, "I didn't! I'm telling the truth! Cheng Jun, you're just a cousin, I haven't seen him for years, how could you know Chen Lin as well as I do? You're the one talking nonsense!"
Song Zhibo could watch from the side. He was a very noble person. If she misunderstood him, how could he still be friends with him?
Gao Sheng scoffed, "I don't know what kind of person would insist on proving that their cousin is an idiot!"
How dare he call himself my cousin? Who treats their cousin like this?
Cheng Jun chimed in, "Of course he's someone who can't stand to see others do well, and naturally he doesn't treat his cousin like family!"
Cheng Jun hadn't been home for a long time, so he didn't know about Cheng Yue's family split. If he had known, he wouldn't have said those words.
What family? Bah! He wouldn't deign to admit it.
Although he has had very few opportunities to see his aunt since she got married, he doesn't know much about how she is doing.
However, he understood Chen Gen and also loathed him. It was clear that his aunt's family was no good for raising such a child!
Chen Gen glared at Gao Sheng and Cheng Jun. They were deliberately trying to slander Song Zhibai so that he would be misunderstood.
The two of them must know that if he becomes friends with Song Zhibai, then it won't be their business anymore, since he is more worthy of their friendship than they are.
Thinking of this, Chen Gen felt a slight warmth in his chest and unconsciously raised his head.
Gao Sheng felt a chill run down his spine. How shameless this person was! He didn't feel ashamed at being insulted; instead, he became even more arrogant.
Chen Gen looked at him with a very strange gaze. Song Zhibai frowned almost imperceptibly. "The academy is a place for studying, not for gossiping. Let's not talk about this anymore."
Tomorrow I plan to hold a poetry gathering at Chengze Lake and would like to invite all my classmates to come and exchange ideas. Of course, if anyone is in a hurry to go home, they are welcome to attend.
As soon as Song Zhibai finished speaking, a chorus of agreement arose around him, and the previous discussion was immediately forgotten.
"Come on! I'll do it!"
"I'll definitely come!"
What a joke! Who would refuse a poetry gathering hosted by Song Zhibai?
So what if I go home a day later? What does that matter compared to the poetry gathering? If I gain Song Zhibai's favor, even if I don't pass the imperial examinations, I'll still have a future to strive for, won't I?
Chen Gen's heart burned with excitement; he was determined to perform well tomorrow!
Song Zhibai didn't want to invite Chen Gen, as he genuinely disliked him. However, with everyone else present, he couldn't very well leave Chen Gen out, as it would make him appear as if he were the one leading the isolation of Chen Gen.
He disdains doing such things. Let him go with me if he wants; I can just ignore him.
After finishing this, Song Zhibai called Cheng Jun and Gao Sheng to a quiet place with fewer people.
The others also sat down and pondered silently. Tomorrow's poetry gathering was very important; they wanted to make a splash.
Only Chen Gen was looking in the direction of Song Zhibai, his eyes darting around, seemingly lost in thought.
Gao Sheng glanced at it coldly, then turned and suggested, "Since tomorrow is a poetry gathering, we should prepare some food. Why don't we go to Cheng Ji's and buy some braised dishes? Enjoying the scenery, composing poems, and tasting delicious food, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The more Chen Gen said this, the more uneasy he felt. If Cheng Ji Braised Food hadn't been open for only one lunch break and was always packed with people, he would have gone there long ago.
I only asked my mother to buy it because I was afraid of wasting time queuing, and I can only taste it when I get home at night.
I happen to have time tomorrow, and since I'll be passing by Chengji Braised Food on my way to Chengze Lake, I might as well go and check it out myself.
Song Zhibai agreed, "Brother Gaosheng is absolutely right!"
Cheng Jun was somewhat embarrassed, "I only have fifteen coins on me, I'm afraid even if I add them all, it won't be enough to buy anything..."
Cheng Jun had also eaten there, but of course he wouldn't buy it himself; he only did so because of Song Zhibai and Gao Sheng.
Just thinking about the taste makes my mouth water, but I don't have much money to spare, so I can't really offer my opinion.
Since Song Zhibai, the host, had agreed, he naturally had to go, so he had no choice but to take out all his belongings.
Gao Sheng stopped him, saying, "Hey? What are you doing, Brother Cheng Jun? There's no need to be so formal between us. You even lent me your annotations from class to study. Are you saying they're not worth a little bit of braised food?"
Knowledge is priceless; how can a little money compare?
“Brother Cheng Jun, we associate with you simply because we feel that we are of similar temperament. You don’t need to care about family background or social status.”
Although your family is poor, you are of excellent character and exceptionally talented.
This is just a temporary setback. If you study diligently and stay true to your original aspirations, why worry about not soaring to great heights in the future?
Song Zhibai's voice was gentle, and his attitude was very sincere.
Gao Sheng nodded deeply in agreement.
Cheng Jun was deeply moved and said, "Thank you!"
Gao Sheng patted Cheng Jun on the shoulder and joked, "No need to thank me, take your money back. You can't humiliate us like this. Let's think about what kind of braised food to buy tomorrow!"
"Oh, right, we have to go early tomorrow. My mom said we need to queue up early, otherwise we won't be able to buy any!"
Song Zhibo smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Cheng Jun had no objection, but Chen Gen had already caused such a scene today, and who knew what he would do if he went there tomorrow.
If Chen Lin really works as a shop assistant, it would be good for him to go there. His cousin is not good with words, so if he goes there, he can protect him and prevent him from being bullied by that wicked Chen Gen.
Besides, he hadn't seen his cousins for a long time and missed them. He also wanted to ask his cousin how he ended up working as a shop assistant.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yue and the others had appeased Zhang Shaowen and were already on their way home.
After getting the ingredients from Wu's shop, Cheng Yue went to the cloth shop instead.
Chen Tong asked in surprise, "Mother, didn't we just buy clothes? Why do we need to buy fabric again?"
Cheng Yue jumped off the oxcart and laughed, "I didn't buy this for us. I have other uses for it. Wait a moment, I'll be right out."
A short while later, Cheng Yue came out carrying two bolts of cloth, one indigo blue and the other ginger yellow.
Zhang Shaowen was wearing patched clothes, which, although washed clean, were still not very nice. His family was dressed neatly, making him look out of place.
So Cheng Yue thought of buying some fabric to make work clothes. Since she had already bought some for Zhang Shaowen, she couldn't be biased towards Zhao Xiangxiu and Cuicui, so she had to buy some for them too.
They're all linen clothes for work, durable and easy to clean, and not expensive, making them perfect for work clothes.
Cheng Yue said she had a purpose, and no one asked her about it along the way.
When they arrived at the village head's house, Zhang Shaowen jumped off the car and was about to go home when Cheng Yue called out to him, "Shaowen, wait a minute. Take this cloth back and have your mother make two sets of clothes for you to wear to work."
Before Zhang Shaowen could speak, Qian Yulan came out at the sound. She had been on tenterhooks all day, afraid that the child would not do well, and had been listening intently, eagerly waiting.
"No, no, no! The work hasn't even been done yet, why are you delivering the cloth? How much money is that? Cheng Yue, how did Shaowen do today? Did he make any mistakes?"
Cheng Yue was completely overwhelmed. With so many questions, which one should she answer first?
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