Before Master Sun could ponder where Lin Shikang's money came from, he heard Lin Shikang say, "I can't accomplish anything alone, so I want to cooperate with a few of you to run a student aid program to help more students. From now on, no matter how much my salary is, I'm willing to contribute half of it. I'll provide the money, and you can contribute your efforts."
Upon hearing this, everyone's thoughts began to stir.
Regardless of where the money comes from, as long as he can contribute, I can participate in this matter, and my status in Shilin will be extraordinary in the future.
They were all scholars who studied to get ahead and make a name for themselves. Master Sun, Xu Chong, and Li Minqing were getting old and it was unlikely that they would take the imperial examinations again. Their path to fame and success could only end there, but they could help more promising talents!
These people receive financial assistance and will eventually enter officialdom; that's where their connections come in!
The key point is that they don't even have to pay!
Li Minqing, Xu Chong, and the Sun family father and son were all extremely excited.
For them, this was like a windfall!
After some discussion, the next day, Dean Xu Chong gathered all the students of Nanshan Academy together, and Lin Shikang delivered a passionate speech.
When Nanshan Academy learned that Lin Shikang was going to establish a scholarship fund to benefit underprivileged students with his own resources, the academy was in an uproar!
The students discussed it animatedly, all praising Lin Shikang's noble character and integrity.
Previously, Lin Shih-kang's scandals were simply ignored by everyone. Even when someone brought them up, people only sympathized with Lin Shih-kang, saying that he had finally escaped rural life but was harmed by his ignorant and vicious clansmen. Now, no one believes that Lin Shih-kang is an ungrateful scumbag.
Yang Cui is still unaware of everything Lin Shikang has done. She has been busy making rice noodles these past two days. She had said she would do it before, but it was delayed again and again because of the child's accident.
Su Murong had been waiting impatiently for a long time.
That day, Yang Cui and Cen Xiao made preparations early and invited Su Murong to come and taste the food.
The carriage stopped in front of Yang Cui's house. Su Murong lifted the curtain and jumped down, looking around: "There shouldn't be any of those blindly confident women here to spoil the appetite today!"
Yang Cui understood that Su Murong was referring to the matter concerning An Xiuping.
Yang Cui had never seen anything like this mother and daughter before in her two lifetimes.
"Don't worry, there will definitely be no outsiders to disturb us this time. Miss Su is here too, please have a seat. Er Ya and San Ya, please pour water for the guests."
As soon as Yang Cui finished speaking, another man got off the carriage. He looked quite refined and sized up Yang Cui.
Yang Cui's gaze fell on Su Murong: "And this is..."
Su Murong said irritably, "Ignore him. He's just a shameless freeloader. We'll just let him eat some leftovers later."
Yang Cui: "..."
“My name is Chen Shaoyun. I have long heard of Miss Yang’s superb cooking skills and have always wanted to try them. I have come uninvited and hope that you will forgive me.”
Yang Cui suddenly didn't know how to address this person. Calling him "Young Master" seemed too old, and calling him "Master" didn't seem that old.
After hesitating for a while, Yang Cui finally addressed him as, "Master Chen, what are you saying? If you don't mind the simplicity of my humble abode, please sit here."
Chen Shaoyun looked around the farmhouse. It looked simple, but it was clean and tidy. What surprised him most was that Cen Xiao was actually helping in the kitchen!
The rice noodles are all made by hand. Yang Cui is not strong, so the pressing work was handed over to Cen Xiao.
Su Murong walked over: "Are you making vermicelli?"
"Yes, it was really difficult to make. Luckily, Brother Cen was there, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do it."
Su Murong stood and watched for a while, then said, "By the way, you guys don't know yet! Lin Shikang has set up a student aid group. He said that when he becomes an official, he will take half of his monthly salary as student aid. Whenever a student goes to the capital for the imperial examination and doesn't have enough travel money, they can privately ask Dean Xu for ten taels of silver for travel expenses. Lin Shikang said that the money doesn't need to be repaid. He hopes that if they have the ability in the future, they can help more people and spread this spirit of mutual help, unity and friendship."
"What did you say?" Yang Cui was stunned!
This is a plot point that is completely absent from the original work!
Was it because of my appearance that the plot took a completely different turn?
Even Cen Xiao was stunned.
After a while, Cen Xiao said, "He is indeed good at currying favor. If he gains the support of scholars all over the country, I'm afraid the emperor will not revoke his academic title."
Yang Cui sighed softly, "He even came up with a way to help students with their tuition fees. He truly deserves to be called...the third-ranked scholar." (The original male protagonist.)
Hearing Yang Cui praise Lin Shikang, Cen Xiao felt uncomfortable and couldn't help but want to belittle him: "He's just a minor scholar, how much trouble can he cause?"
Su Murong didn't catch what the other person was saying at all. He was a little jealous and said, "Yes, he's just a third-place scholar. If you really want to deal with him, give me some recipes or something so I can make money. I can help you deal with him."
Cen Xiao glared at Su Murong, thinking to himself: Why should I use you as a scapegoat? Do I need an outsider like you to help me with this?
Su Murong was somewhat confused. Why was Cen Xiao glaring at her for no reason? She had said she would help deal with Lin Shikang, and she was wrong?
Before they could ask, Yang Cui said, "Don't underestimate him."
This is the original male lead. Even if he's a scoundrel, he's still intelligent and has the protagonist's halo.
Hearing this, Cen Xiao felt even more annoyed. How could a piece of trash like him deserve her praise?
Yang Cui didn't realize that her words had already made someone overthink things.
Chen Shaoyun said with a smile, "Miss Yang speaks highly of Lin Tanhua, could it be that you still have feelings for him?"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com