The rooster just crowed, the sky was still dark and the morning light was dim.
Although it was a cold winter day and there was not much work to do in the fields, the farmers in Shuiyun Village got up early, got out of bed, washed, and went out to look for work.
At this time, in front of a dilapidated house at the east end of the village, outside the fence, a woman in a green jacket and skirt had arrived early.
She looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She wore an autumn-scented green straight jacket and skirt and had her hair tied in a simple bun. Although she was dressed very simply, she had delicate features and a pretty face. Even her hairpin and cloth skirt could not hide her beauty.
This person was none other than Shen Cui.
The night before, the mechanical sound of the system started to ring in her head. At that time, the sudden sound scared Shen Cui, and the package in her hand was snatched away by Mu Erpang.
Mu Erpang searched around and found nothing to eat, and was very disappointed.
Seeing that his mother suddenly stopped moving, Mu Erpang thought she was going to be angry, and immediately clumsily stuffed the scattered clothes back into the package.
"Did you hear any sound?" Shen Cui asked him, trying to keep a calm tone.
Mu Erpang asked what sound it was?
Just as Chen Cui was about to talk about the imperial examination system for raising cubs, she suddenly had a splitting headache and quickly stopped talking. The strange pain suddenly disappeared without a trace.
However, what surprised Shen Cui even more was that a translucent light curtain soon appeared in front of her eyes.
The screen clearly read: [Newbie Task: Accompany your son to read for half an hour. Task duration is 6 hours.] 】A few big words that cannot be waved away or erased, and other people can’t even see them!
It was already time for farmers to go to bed, and she had been waiting until this morning. Seeing that time was running out, Chen Cui did not dare to delay and had to rush to the old house with a smug look on her face to look for her eldest son who had been driven out of the house by her original identity.
At this time in the dilapidated house, Mu Yunchuan, the eldest son of the Mu family, was already dressed neatly, and sat down at the desk to practice martial arts, just like he had done in the past ten years.
After a while, the thin woman on the wooden bed also stood up.
Zhou, Mu Yunchuan's newlywed wife, looked at Mu Yunchuan in front of the desk and said apologetically, "Why didn't you tell me when your husband got up? I'll make breakfast for you."
Mu Yunchuan's eyes did not leave the book, and he said nonchalantly: "I usually get up early to study at home, and I only eat half a steamed bun with hot water, and that's it. You don't have to do anything special for me."
Hearing this, Zhou felt heartbroken.
Mu Yunchuan is only fifteen years old now. Although no one knows why he has never taken the imperial examination, all the teachers in the academy in the city praise him highly. They all say that if he takes the examination one day, passing the examination will be as easy as taking candy from a purse.
Such a talented young man would be the treasure of the whole family, not to mention in a farming family, even in a wealthy family in the city.
But in the Mu family, Mu Yunchuan's enterprising spirit and love of learning seemed to have become his original sin.
Farmers were not as meticulous as city dwellers and only had two meals a day. But even for these two meals, Mu Yunchuan ate very poorly. He was also required to chop wood, feed pigs, and do all the housework in addition to studying. He even had to copy books and exchange for money for the pens and ink he needed for studying and practicing calligraphy...
It was Mu Yunchuan that Zhou had taken a liking to at the time, and she decided to take good care of him after they got married so that he could study without any worries.
But they didn’t expect that not long after they got married, they were driven into the old house of the Mu family.
Not only were all the furniture broken and old, but the wind was also leaking through the corners and door panels, so the room was not much warmer than outside.
Zhou turned her back and wiped her eyes with a look of heartache, then quickly went to the yard to fetch hot water from the even simpler kitchen, preparing to mix some tea leaves into it to make a pot of refreshing hot tea for Mu Yunchuan.
However, as soon as she arrived in the yard, Zhou saw Chen Cui through the fence.
No matter how good-tempered Zhou was, she couldn't help but frown when she saw the other person.
The reason is simple, it is because of the person in front of her that she and Mu Yunchuan are in this situation.
Chen Cui stood in front of the Mu family's old house, her face flushed unnaturally, and she was obviously embarrassed.
At this moment, she and Zhou made eye contact, and Shen Cui smiled dryly and said, "Is Dalang awake?"
After all, the other party was her mother-in-law. Although Zhou was reluctant, she still replied respectfully: "My husband is studying hard in the room as usual."
As Zhou spoke, she went to open the courtyard gate, and Shen Cui also entered the old house.
In fact, it’s a bit of an exaggeration to call it an old house. This old house of the Mu family was where Mu Cheng and Mu Yunchuan stayed when they first came to Shuiyun Village.
Later, seeing that his son really liked this place, and that Mu Yunchuan and Shuiyun Village both contain the word "yun", which was a coincidence, Mu Cheng decided to stay here with his son.
Mu Cheng's household registration is in this county, but he is not from this village. He came here for his son's studies, and he did not have enough money, so the house he bought was not very good at that time - there were only two old rooms in total. It was spacious, but all the furniture was left by the original owner. If they were put there now, they would probably be much older than Mu Yunchuan.
In addition, after being vacant for several years, the walls are so mottled that they are unsightly. The tiles on the roof are covered with moss and leak when it rains.
However, it can be seen that Mu Yunchuan and Zhou are both efficient workers. Although the house is shabby, it has been cleaned very well.
However, no matter how clean it was, the house was still shabby and ugly. After all, no matter how skillful a person was, he couldn't come up with money to repair this place - when the original owner drove the couple out of the house, he didn't even give them a penny!
When she got into the house, Shen Cui saw Mu Yunchuan.
As expected of the male protagonist of this book, Mu Yunchuan is only fifteen years old, still an immature boy. He wears a scholar's robe that has been washed so hard that its original color cannot be seen. His black hair is pinned up with only a wooden hairpin. However, he has handsome features and exudes the noble bearing of a scholar.
Anyone who sees him will exclaim what a handsome scholar he is.
One of the main reasons why the original body disliked him was that Mu Yunchuan was too outstanding, like the moon in the sky, which made Mu Erlang, her son, look like mud under the ground.
"Hello, mother." A clear voice sounded. Although Mu Yunchuan's expression was very distant, he still stood up and saluted.
"You sit down, you sit down." As she said this, Shen Cui moved a bench and sat next to Mu Yunchuan.
However, just as she closed the distance a few steps, Mu Yunchuan subconsciously shrank to the side.
Look how scared he is!
Chen Cui was so embarrassed that her scalp was numb. She could only explain: "I just remembered it after I went to bed yesterday. I let you go out to live alone, but I didn't buy anything for you. I have nothing else to do today, just to give you some money."
The Mu family is relatively wealthy in Shuiyun Village. Although they have been paying for Mu Yunchuan's studies over the years, built a new house and held a wedding a few years ago, they still have more than ten taels of silver in savings.
It is not a small amount of money in the village. Even if Chen Cui brought two taels of silver and dozens of copper coins this time, it would be a heavy bag.
In fact, if the relationship could really be repaired with money, Shen Cui would be willing to give most of the money to the young couple.
But thinking about Mu Yunchuan's suspicious nature, she couldn't do anything too much, lest the other party think that she had bad intentions and was up to something big.
But even two taels of silver was enough to make Mu Yunchuan and Zhou look surprised at the same time.
They know very well that this stepmother/stepmother-in-law is a very stingy person. Not to mention them, she is also very stingy towards herself and her own son!
But since one should not hit the person who gave the gift, they did not want to ask why Chen Cui suddenly felt guilty.
Zhou was reluctant to accept it, so Chen Cui simply put the purse next to Mu Yunchuan and continued, "You continue to study, no need to greet me, I... I will leave after sitting for a while."
Anyway, people were already here, and they had never heard of anyone dying of embarrassment. Shen Cui sat on the bench, digging the ground with the toes of her soft-soled cloth shoes.
Mu Yunchuan and Zhou looked at each other and exchanged glances for a moment, then they both tacitly agreed not to say anything more.
One of them then sat back at the desk, while the other went to the kitchen outside and fetched a large coarse porcelain bowl with a chip, and filled it with a bowl of broken tea for Chen Cui.
Shen Cui sat there on pins and needles for a long time, but to her disappointment, although Mu Yunchuan in front of the desk looked extremely serious, the task countdown on the translucent screen in front of her continued.
This kind of thing that cannot be explained by scientific common sense probably cannot be wrong, so the one that went wrong is... Chen Cui looked helplessly at Mu Yunchuan who seemed to be completely immersed in the book.
Does it have to be “read” aloud to count, or is it that the original hero, who has more tricks than holes in lotus roots, is not reading at all? !
[System warning: The time limit for novice tasks is less than half an hour! 】
A huge dialog box popped up in front of her eyes, and Shen Cui was so shocked that she almost fell off the bench.
Mu Yunchuan and Zhou both looked over when they heard the noise. It was obvious that Chen Cui's strange behavior so early in the morning had made them suspicious.
Shen Cui steadied herself and lowered her voice unconsciously, "Da Lang, why don't you read it out loud for me?"
Mu Yunchuan put the book down, exhaled lightly, and said, "Mother, why don't you just tell me what you want to do? I will do whatever I can for you. Mother, there's no need to humiliate me like this."
As soon as these words came out, Zhou turned her face away in pity.
Chen Cui thought to herself that she really didn't want to humiliate the original male protagonist. He was afraid that she would find an excuse to provoke him, and she was also afraid that he would settle the score later!
But what the original body did in those years was truly outrageous, so it was understandable that the young couple avoided her like the plague.
Chen Cuiping concentrated her breath and thought for a moment, then she came up with a new idea and said, "It's like this, I came here today to borrow a book from Dalang to help Erlang learn."
Since Mu Yunchuan obviously couldn't complete the system task, Shen Cui turned her attention to her lazy son on the kang at home. This was also the second plan she had originally thought of - there was no other way, the matter of this system could not be disclosed to the outside world, and she didn't dare to do anything suspicious to displease the male protagonist. Instead of being caught in the middle, it is better to find another way!
"So that's how it is." Although Zhou was capable, she was only sixteen or seventeen years old after all. She didn't have the aura of a protagonist and had a simple mind. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.
However, when she saw that Mu Yunchuan did not agree, Zhou immediately stopped smiling and just looked at him quietly, obviously still waiting for his opinion.
After a while, Mu Yunchuan said, "I wonder what book mother wants to borrow?"
Seeing that he was relieved, Shen Cui secretly let out a long breath and said, "Just "Hundred Family Names" or "Three Character Classic" will do."
The lazy guy at home couldn't read a single word, so Shen Cui asked for the most basic book she knew.
Mu Yunchuan didn't ask any more questions and quickly gave the book to Shen Cui.
Shen Cui didn't delay getting the book, after all, the countdown in front of her was still ticking away!
She immediately stood up, said goodbye, and walked quickly home.
As soon as she left, Zhou really let out a long breath and whispered, "I am still a mother-in-law and I have to... Fortunately, I have nothing to do today."
As a junior, it was difficult for her to say anything, so Zhou held back her words.
Moreover, compared with what the stepmother-in-law did in the past, Chen Cui's behavior today was just to come and sit for a while and borrow a book, which was already a very normal behavior.
A cold smile appeared on Mu Yunchuan's lips.
Is everything okay? He doesn't think so.
At that time, children's education started with the Three Hundred and Thousand Classics, namely "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Names" and "Thousand Character Classic".
Although this is common knowledge known to all educated people, how did her stepmother know this since she is illiterate and cannot read a single word?
Moreover, when my father was alive, he said that he would train Erlang just like he had trained him.
What did his stepmother say at that time?
There are so many people in the world who talk about studying, but how many of them can get good grades?
Erlang has his father and brother to take care of him, so he can just be a rich and idle person. Why should he suffer that hardship?
Therefore, when Erlang was four or five years old, she flatly refused to start his education. Now that Erlang is ten years old, why did she suddenly change her mind?
I'm afraid he's just listening to someone's instigation and has some sort of agenda.
His stepmother didn't have much ability, but she was always annoying by jumping around. Like this morning, when she came, he was in a state of moodiness and couldn't read much, so half a day's work was wasted.
The next February is the day for his county examination. He has been holding back for years and has finally decided to take the exam today in order to make a splash. There is no room for carelessness. He is still a commoner now, so it is not the right time to deal with Shen, but it won't stop him from finding something for her to do.
Thinking of this, Mu Yunchuan's smile became a little colder.
He put the book down and stood up. "I'm going into town and will be back later."
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