Nanshan Village.
As the saying goes, "A happy occasion makes one feel refreshed, while a sad occasion makes one sleepy." Ever since Chen Zhancai passed the imperial examination and got married, Old Mrs. Chen felt that her status and position had risen considerably.
He would get up early every day and wander around the streets, chattering away as soon as he saw someone, regardless of whether they were going to the toilet or working in the fields.
He immediately praised his son, saying he was a natural-born genius, a star of literature.
Being literate and literate is incredibly impressive. Becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations) is just the beginning. Once you pass the Juren (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations) in the autumn, you'll be a respected official.
In the future, you'll wear gold and silver, eat and drink the finest food, and be served by maids and servants whenever you go out...
At first, the villagers were too embarrassed to admit it, but they patiently agreed with them for a few moments.
To everyone's surprise, it was fine if she didn't respond; once they started talking, she became even more enthusiastic and wouldn't stop.
The villagers forced smiles, but they were all disgusted by this old woman, Chen.
But she was, after all, the wife of a scholar, and she couldn't go too far in her words and actions. Even if she was unwilling in her heart, she still had to pretend to be polite on the surface.
In order to avoid hurting feelings, I had to avoid her as much as possible. If I really couldn't avoid her, I had to grit my teeth and listen to her nagging.
Before venturing out to work in the fields, they had to repeatedly confirm that Old Lady Chen was not outside, as if they were hiding from a thief.
The villagers were annoyed by this, but Old Lady Chen seemed to enjoy it immensely.
As time went on, she gradually noticed that the villagers seemed to be less inclined to go out these days.
Even so, she didn't stay idle. Apart from eating three meals a day, she spent the rest of her time either in the east or west of the village, or under the big tree at the village entrance.
As soon as he sees someone, he goes up and grabs her, refusing to let go, and insists on chatting with her for a while.
That day, Old Mrs. Chen finished her breakfast early, wiped her mouth, and was about to leave.
Seeing this, Old Man Chen felt a little annoyed. This old woman had been going too far lately; she was never home except to eat.
If it were just a casual visit to chat about family matters, that would be fine, but she went on and on, exaggerating and making things up.
Everyone who heard this felt embarrassed for her, but why couldn't she be more discreet and restrained?
If my son can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, that would be fine. But if he fails, he'll be left naked and embarrassed.
Thinking of this, he coughed lightly, "Old woman, wait a moment, I need to discuss something with you."
Old Mrs. Chen stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing? What do you want?"
"It's nothing serious. Our son is about to take the exam, and the journey is long and arduous. Shouldn't we prepare some food for our third son?"
"I think you're just bored out of your mind. You don't care about what you should be doing, and you're just making trouble for things you shouldn't be doing." Old Mrs. Chen glared at him angrily. "What do you want me to prepare? Make a few big steamed buns for the third son? Those things get hard after a while, how can the third son eat them?"
"Yes, yes, I was just saying it offhand." Old Chen didn't want her to go out and cause trouble anymore, so he quickly added, "Old woman, the weather is getting warmer now, shouldn't we prepare some clothes for our third son?"
"What's gotten into you today? His wife is taking care of all this, why are you worrying about it? If you have nothing better to do, go clean the latrine, I'm going for a walk."
After finishing her sentence, Old Mrs. Chen looked up at the vast sky and went out the door.
They had only walked a few steps when they saw Da Longzi rushing out of the house.
"Big Dragon Prince, where are you going?"
Old Mrs. Chen was as excited as a dog seeing a bone or a cat seeing a mouse. She rushed over and grabbed Da Longzi's arm.
"Auntie, you happen to have nothing to do today, let's have a good chat."
When Da Longzi saw that it was Old Lady Chen, he frowned and almost cried. This was terrible! He hadn't checked the almanac before leaving home and had run into this chatterbox. What bad luck!
She felt incredibly uncomfortable inside, but forced a smile and said, "Auntie, you're joking. You're always free!"
"Yes, you're right. Who can blame us for making Zhancai so successful? He passed the imperial examination and became a top scholar in no time. Nephew, let me tell you, Zhancai is a literary genius. He's not only good at writing, but also very filial. He felt sorry for your uncle and me and didn't want us to toil in the fields, suffering and struggling to make a living, so he sold all the old land we had."
Da Longzi didn't want to hear these old stories, but he couldn't show it, so he could only nod in agreement, "Yes, yes, Zhancai is really filial. You can enjoy a life of leisure from now on!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another wave of pain hit his stomach, and he felt like he was on the verge of collapse. "Auntie, I..."
“Oh, my dear nephew, you’re right again.”
Old Mrs. Chen didn't give Da Longzi a chance to speak at all.
"The autumn imperial examination is just around the corner, and my son Zhancai is absolutely certain that he will pass the exam and become a Juren. Do you know what a Juren is?"
To put it bluntly, he was a high-ranking official, surrounded by followers and respected by everyone.
"If your family ever needs to file a lawsuit or anything like that in the future, just let me know, and I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly."
"Yes, yes, Auntie is right." Da Longzi agreed verbally, but he was unhappy in his heart. Your family only goes to court for no reason. If it weren't for the fact that your family has a scholar, I would curse your ancestors for eight generations to stop you from spouting nonsense.
His face turned bright red, he clutched his stomach with both hands, and his toes shuffled back and forth on the ground incessantly, cold sweat beading on his forehead from his anxiety.
But Old Mrs. Chen held his hands tightly and wouldn't let go, chattering on and on.
"I'm only saying these things to you. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother. Don't think I don't know. Those gossipy people in the village have been talking badly about my family behind our backs, saying that Zhancai is just a poor, mediocre scholar who'll never become an official."
"Don't you think these people are shameless? My family did something to offend them, yet they treat us like this. Don't you think these people have nothing better to do?"
"Oh dear old lady, I don't know if they're in pain, but my stomach really hurts."
"You silly child, I'm asking you if they're just bored out of their minds. What's wrong with your stomach? You're never doing anything productive..."
Old Mrs. Chen was spitting everywhere, completely oblivious to Da Longzi's strange behavior, still clinging tightly to him and talking incessantly...
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