Chapter 141 Wu Ming

After being in Pingzhou for a week, Zhulan has become familiar with the surrounding environment. Zhou Shuren is busy studying or going out with Zhao Bo to expand his social circle. When she has nothing to do, she goes out for a walk or stays at home to play with the children.

Today, Zhou Shuren not only went out by himself, but also took Mingqing and Shumo with him, and they would not come back for lunch.

It was rare for Mrs. Wu Li not to bring food back. Zhu Lan asked, "Aren't you going to bring it back for the children?"

Mrs. Wu Li smiled and said, "The four of them went to my grandmother's house, so I was the only one left at home."

Zhulan's eyes lit up. Since Mrs. Wu Li was not in a hurry to go back, she could just have a chat with her.

The neighbors were quite arrogant. The family on the left was a scholar, and the family on the right had a relative who was a minor official. They knew everything about Zhulan's family. Zhou Shuren was so old that he still wanted to take the exam to become a scholar, which made people look down on him. They thought Zhou Shuren was not worthy of friendship. Zhulan visited them according to etiquette. Both families were very friendly and Zhulan had a smile on her face.

After returning, she inquired about the situations of the two families in detail. The neighbor thought that the Zhou family was not worth making friends with, so she wanted to investigate further. If she had not been afraid of troubling Zhao Bo, she would have asked him to find out when she first came to Pingzhou.

After asking around, Zhulan understood clearly that the scholar's family was just arrogant because of their studies, and the neighbor on the right was just looking down on others, but he didn't have any bad intentions.

Zhulan was relieved as the ceremony had arrived, so the only person she could talk to was Mrs. Wu Li.

Mrs. Wu Li and Zhulan got along well. She knew that the Zhou family was kind-hearted and did not look down on her. They often allowed her to bring back more food. She was grateful in her heart and did not go home after dinner, but stayed to chat.

Wu talked about the difficulties of life, "Ordinary people in the state capital don't live as well as rural people. Everything costs money. It's not like in the countryside where you have your own land. Although there's not much left after paying taxes, you won't really starve to death even if you tighten your belt. At least food doesn't cost money, and you can grow vegetables in your garden, so you can be self-sufficient."

Zhulan agreed, "Life in the city is indeed difficult, and it would be even more difficult if a natural disaster hits."

Mrs. Wu Li shuddered, "Who says it's not true? Just look at the severe drought four years ago. The price of food doubled before it became a disaster. If it weren't for the increase in food prices, my youngest son and daughter-in-law wouldn't have died in accidents."

Zhulan saw Wu Li wipe away her tears and hurried to comfort her, "Life will get better and better. Your eldest grandson will soon become a successful person, which will also comfort the souls of the two of you in heaven."

Mrs. Wu Li wiped her tears and smiled. "This child is sensible. He is only fifteen this year. Neither I nor I thought he would pass the county exam. I wish I could pray to Buddha every day and hope that the Buddha will bless this child Wu Ming to pass the exam smoothly and become a scholar."

Zhulan said, "Of course I will."

Everyone likes to hear good words. Mrs. Wu Li smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words."

The next day was the day of the provincial examination. Zhulan saw Zhou Shuren off when it was just dawn. Zhulan had not been too concerned at first, but Wu Li kept mentioning her grandson, and Zhulan's heart began to worry.

Zhulan didn't feel relieved until Zhou Shuren came back in the evening. There were several provincial examinations to take, so Zhulan bought several hens for Zhou Shuren to help him prepare.

In the evening, Zhulan didn't ask, Zhou Shuren was very tired, so he had dinner and went to rest early to recuperate.

Although Zhou Shuren didn't say how he did in the exam, Zhulan could tell from his expression that he did well. As for Mingqing and Shumo, they both looked unhappy and had no appetite even for the delicious food.

In order to fulfill a good relationship, Zhulan would bring some extra food back to Wu Li these days. Wu Li was very grateful. From the smile on Wu Li's face, she knew that Wu Mingkao had done well.