Mr. Cui is over 70 years old and has a head full of white hair.
He started from scratch, experienced the ups and downs of changing dynasties, and worked hard for the family business all his life. After suffering a stroke more than ten years ago, he handed over the burden of the family to Cui Wuniang, and only then did he have some free time.
In the past two years, his health has recovered a lot, but he still cannot work hard. He often meets some old friends to chat, drink tea, and go fishing. His life is very leisurely.
Normally, when he returned home at this time, he would ask if the children had come back and then prepare to go to bed.
Today he specifically called Cui Fei to his side, obviously there was something going on.
When Cui Wuniang went over, she heard Old Man Cui asking, "I met Old Man Li while fishing this afternoon. He said you haven't been to the school recently?"
Old Master Cui has stepped down from the Cui family's burden for many years, but his prestige remains, and no one is not afraid of him except Cui Wuniang.
Not to mention that Cui Fei had been "educated" by him when he was a child, and he didn't dare to refute when being held accountable.
Although the book boy beside him did not follow him to the government school, he and other servants would help him get on and off the carriage every day. He saw the opportunity to explain: "Old Master, please understand. The young master went there yesterday and today!"
Mr. Cui slammed the table and said, "You went yesterday and today, which means the day before yesterday, and the day before yesterday...you didn't go?"
Cui Fei hung his head in dejection and dared not say a word.
Seeing him like this, Mr. Cui became even angrier. If it had been ten years ago when he was younger and stronger, he might have directly attacked Cui Fei if his grandson was so unmotivated.
Cui Wu Niang knocked on the door and went in, explaining, "Grandpa, don't be upset. I was the one who asked for leave for Ah Fei. If you are angry, just vent it on me. Don't get yourself hurt by it."
Of course Old Master Cui knew that it was Cui Wu Niang who was in charge of Cui Fei. Cui Fei's mother passed away a few years ago, and Cui Wu Niang really raised this brother as her own son.
But Cui Wuniang is now the head of the family, and apart from being a little partial to Cui Fei, she has done nothing wrong. Old Master Cui was reluctant to criticize her, so he went straight to Cui Fei.
"Don't think this is good for him!" Old Master Cui snorted, "He's eighteen! Not eight!"
Cui Wuniang stood behind Mr. Cui and stroked his back to calm him down. "Don't be upset, Grandpa. Let's sort out what happened today. Mr. Li and you have always been at odds. You two usually don't talk to each other. He came to you specifically to talk about Ah Fei. Was he just trying to make you angry?"
Old Master Cui thought about what she said and it was true. The Cui and Li families both opened a bookstore. The Cui family bookstore was founded by him when he was young, while the Li family bookstore was a family business left over from the previous dynasty.
The old man Li had been fighting with him for half his life, and gradually the Li Family Bookstore was no match for the Cui Family. After Cui Wu Niang took over the family, the scholars in the city only knew about the Cui Family Bookstore and not the Li Family.
Old man Li should be happy to see that the descendants of the Cui family are not making progress. Why would he kindly come to remind them?
He frowned and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure it out, so he subconsciously looked at Cui Wuniang.
In fact, although Cui Wuniang noticed that there was something fishy, she couldn't figure out the reason for a while.
Finally, Cui Fei spoke up: "It seems to be because of what happened in the prefectural school today."
The two people who made fun of Cui Fei in the cafeteria at that time were the burly Zhang Shuo, and the other one who seemed to be trying to reconcile but actually called him an ugly nickname in front of others was Li Rufeng, the eldest grandson of the Li family.
The two men failed to make fun of Cui Fei, and were instead scared away by Mei Ruochu with just a few words, which was a great embarrassment.
Something else happened this morning. Li Rufeng failed his homework and the professor sent it back, but he didn't let him redo it. Instead, he asked him to figure out where he went wrong. He said he could attend his class again when he had figured it out and revised it.
The professor usually didn't punish students like this, but at that time his face was livid, and it was obvious that he was extremely dissatisfied with the student's homework.
Li Rufeng did not dare to ask more questions, but scratched his head and thought for a long time, and then went to consult his classmates who were familiar with him, but he still could not understand what he did wrong.
During lunch break, he found Mei Ruochu and asked him for advice.
Mei Ruochu took a quick look and said, "There are indeed serious problems with your article. The professor is punishing you for your own good."
Li Rufeng felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly asked Mei Ruochu to explain it in detail so that he could rewrite it immediately during the lunch break so that he could attend the professor's class in the afternoon.
Mei Ruochu nodded, and then said: "I help you, naturally out of the mutual help between classmates. But I don't want to help someone who only knows how to bully his classmates."
Then Mei Ruochu put forward the conditions.
"After leaving the cafeteria yesterday, Brother Wei asked people and found out that my nickname 'Fattening' was given by Li Rufeng, and he was the one who usually took the lead in making fun of me. I advised Brother Wei not to make trouble because of me and hurt the relationship, and it just so happened that he ran into him today. Brother Mei asked him to apologize to me in front of all the classmates and promise that he would never form cliques and bully classmates in the prefectural school again before he would guide him. Li Rufeng was the most proud person, so of course he refused. After the lunch break, he didn't even think about what was wrong with his article. In the afternoon, the professor had a class, so he went home. I think he complained to his family after he went back..."
Mr. Cui's face became even more furious. "That damn old man Li has never fought me in his life, and his son, who is in charge of the family, has never fought your sister... Why do you, a family of useless people, dare to attack you instead of looking for the cause in yourself? And even give you a nickname? Why have you never come back to tell me?"
As he said this, he looked at Cui Wuniang again. Cui Wuniang was obviously unaware of what Cui Fei had experienced in the provincial school. She thought that he simply couldn't stand the strange looks from others. She didn't expect that under the instigation and leadership of Li Rufeng, he had encountered all that in the provincial school!
Cui Fei lowered his head even lower, but soon he raised it again and said, "I was wrong before. I thought that Grandpa Li never beat you, and his son never beat my sister. But when it comes to me, I am bullied by his grandson, and I have to rely on my family to help me. Isn't that embarrassing for you and my sister? Now I know I shouldn't do that. I can't be afraid of them just because they have so many people. I am fat, but being fat is not a reason for them to have fun with me. I won't be bullied by them in the future! I also have to go to the government school every day. If they think I'm an eyesore, it's their business."
Mr. Cui was scolding him today because he was very disappointed with him and wanted the best for him. At this moment, he finally stopped being as timid as usual, and his temper became calmer. He nodded and said, "Don't pick fights, but don't be afraid of them either. This is what a man from our Cui family should be like!"
Cui Wu Niang gave Cui Fei an appropriate look, and then said to Old Master Cui: "A Fei has to go to the government school tomorrow, and it's getting late, go and rest."
Mr. Cui nodded and let him go first.
After he left, Mr. Cui said, "Send someone to find out about the Scholar Wei and Scholar Mei that Ah Fei mentioned. They are willing to help Ah Fei in the prefectural school, so we should thank them."
After saying this, Mr. Cui paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued, "If...if they really don't dislike our A Fei, then we can ask them to take care of A Fei in the government school. We will remember their kindness and thank them separately someday."
Old Master Cui knew that Cui Fei had a powerful friend like Mu Yunchuan before, and that Mu Yunchuan later passed the imperial examination and became a Liyuan official, so he specially invited Cui Fei to his home for a banquet. But at that time, Cui Fei never came back to mention the fact that he was nicknamed and made fun of in the provincial school.
In comparison, the few people who just found out today were more open-hearted towards their good-for-nothing fat grandson.
Cui Wuniang said, "I was just about to tell Grandpa about this."
So Cui Wuniang told Mr. Cui about Cuiwei's story.
Before doing so, Mr. Cui would definitely have hesitated for a while. After all, if he didn't know the whole story, it would be a cause for concern if he sent his grandson, who was in poor health, to the academy.
Moreover, this was the first time he had heard of the name of Cuiwei Academy, which was not well-known.
Now that Mei Ruochu and the Wei brothers are both well-known figures in the provincial school, they have naturally become Cuiwei's living signs.
Not to mention that the Mu family also had Mu Yunchuan, who won four top prizes in the imperial examination. The Mu family is definitely a family of scholars.
Moreover, Cui Wuniang also knew that Cui Fei’s obesity was also a concern for Mr. Cui. The old man never interfered in the upbringing of so many younger generations in the family, with Cui Fei being an exception.
He even brought up the story of Mu Erpang's successful weight loss and said, "A Fei once told me that the reason he and Mu Jieyuan got to know each other was because Mu Jieyuan's younger brother was much fatter than ordinary people since he was a child, and he had a lot in common with A Fei. But guess what, I just met Mu Jia Erlang not long ago - the young boy nicknamed 'Erpang', and he actually has nothing to do with the word 'fat'!"
Mr. Cui immediately became interested and asked, "Does his family have any secret recipe?"
Cui Wu Niang felt that Shen Cui was not the kind of person who would hide things from Qiao, but in order to convince the old man to agree, she deliberately kept it a secret, "I think there must be, but they can't tell us outsiders, right? But if A Fei marries Cui Wei, he will be their own family. I know you are as worried about him as I am. Cui Wei happened to be short of a handyman, so I sent A Yao to live there. I have mentioned her to grandfather. She is the most grateful person. She has taken care of A Fei for all these years and treated him as her own junior. She is also familiar with medical knowledge. With her care, A Fei will definitely not get into trouble."
Cui Wuniang thinks more highly of Cui Fei than he does. She must have known Cui Wei's background well enough to bring it up like this. Old Master Cui thought for a while and nodded, "Then let Fei go. He stays in his room all the time anyway. It's rare that Cui Wei's students get along well with him and are really doing it for his own good, so let him go and give it a try... When you have time, go and see him more often."
So Cui Fei's admission to school was quickly confirmed.
After it was finalized, Cui Wu Niang went to tell Cui Fei - after all, he was scolded by Old Man Cui, and he was still a little depressed after returning to the house. When he heard the news, he was so surprised that he almost dumbfounded.
Cui Wuniang's heart softened, and she patted him lightly with amusement, "Don't just be silly and laugh. This is the first time you've ever been to someone else's house. I have something to tell you. Listen carefully, and don't turn back or someone will chase you back."
Cui Fei quickly straightened his expression and listened attentively.
When he went to the provincial school the next day, the Cui family had already sent all his luggage to Cuiwei.
The scene was quite grand, with dozens of people, much larger than the scene of the Wei family before.
Cui Wuniang really didn't have time to come here in person today, so A Yao led the group here.
Chen Cui was quite worried, not because she felt that the Cui family had too many things to do, but because Cui Fei was in poor health and came from a wealthy family, so it was normal for him to bring more luggage. However, the wing where the children lived on a daily basis - which already had two wooden beds, might not be able to accommodate so many things. Another empty room must be vacated.
A Yao explained, "Please allow me to report to you, the young master only has one box of luggage. I will also be working here in the future. If he needs anything, I can bring it to him the next day. These people are all here to work."
What kind of job do you do?
Cui Fei came to have dinner two days ago. Before that, Mu Erpang had taken him to visit the classroom, and the second time he took him to visit the bedroom.
Cui Fei was very excited when he saw the double-decker wooden bed. Mu Erpang saw that he was jealous and asked him if he wanted to try sitting on it.
Cui Fei thought about his body shape and naturally said no, he just asked: "I have never seen this bunk bed before, the lower tier is better, will the upper tier be inconvenient?"
Mu Erpang said that there must be some. "I am young and my junior brother is in poor health. Brother Mei and Brother Wei take care of us. They usually sleep on top... But it is definitely not as convenient as sleeping on a kang at home. Have you ever slept on a kang?"
Cui Fei said no, he had only seen it in a book.
They just chatted for a while, but unexpectedly Cui Fei had not forgotten about this matter after he went back. Now that he was moving in, two bunk beds would definitely not be enough for sleeping, so he took the opportunity to ask Cui's family to come over and make a kang, so that Wei Shu and Mei Ruochu would not have to climb up and down all day.
The craftsmen sent by Cui Wuniang were all experienced. It would take others a whole day to make the kang, and then burn it for a few more days before they could sleep on it after it was completely dry.
They have their own unique method. They start cooking after preparing the food in the morning and can go to bed at night.
After Shen Cui knew the whole story, she felt soft in her heart and thought it was no wonder that Cui Wuniang loved him so much.
Others treated him badly, bullied him in the local school, and made him angry, but he never mentioned it when he got home. Otherwise, given Cui Wuniang's temper, if she knew what he had suffered in the provincial school, she would have found a way to stand up for him long ago.
However, if someone else has any inconvenience, even if he just mentions it to him, he will keep it in mind and think about helping to solve it.
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