Chapter 87 [VIP]
"Untitled, Meeting is difficult, parting is even more difficult, the east wind is powerless, and the flowers are withered. The silkworm spins its silk until death, the candle burns until its tears are dry. In the morning mirror, I worry about my changing hair, at night I feel the cold moonlight as I recite poems. The journey to this place is still long, may the bluebird diligently go and find out."①
This poem was a game-changer.
Everyone present was too busy analyzing the text to nitpick, scrutinizing every word and phrase.
The bluebird was so eager to investigate that it was written so well that they felt it was not a poem that a young person like Chen Qingyan could have written.
"The silkworm spins silk until its death, the candle burns until it turns to ash..." Liu Changyi murmured this line of poetry, tears welling up in his eyes.
Fang Wenke also admitted that the poem was better than his own, but he did not believe that he wrote it himself.
"May I ask, Brother Chen, who was this poem written for?"
Chen Qingyan said, "It was written for my husband." When he wrote this poem, Wang Ying was all he could think about, and the words flowed out like a spring, and he wrote it down in one go.
Fang Wenke asked in surprise, "You're already married?" It's no wonder he was puzzled; Chen Qingyan looked young, and since he was still a novice, everyone thought he was only seventeen or eighteen years old.
"I have been married for more than three years."
Perhaps sensing Fang Wenke's disbelief, his friend spoke up, "Could it be that you're borrowing Liang Dacai's poem?"
Chen Qinghuai immediately stood up excitedly and said, "Teacher has never written this poem. My elder brother wrote it himself!"
Chen Qingyan grabbed her younger brother's arm and said, "Not everyone will use other people's poems to pass off as their own."
These were exactly the words Fang Wenke had said when others questioned him earlier, and Chen Qingyan returned them verbatim to him.
Fang Dengke's face flushed red, and he snorted coldly before turning away.
After everyone left, Scholar Zhu clapped his hands and said, "The disciple of the great scholar Liang is indeed remarkable. His 'Untitled' poem should be the best!"
Liu Changyi, ranked last, didn't even want to recite his own poems. Compared to the Chen brothers, they were worlds apart. Back in the prefectural school, he hadn't realized how impressive they were, but now it seemed like the difference between heaven and earth.
A group of people surrounded Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai, asking them for advice. The two answered humbly, surprised but more delighted, never expecting that their poems would be liked by so many people.
The poetry gathering ended close to dusk, and Chen Guang drove the two of them back in a carriage.
After that night, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai's reputations spread throughout Jizhou Prefecture, and everyone knew that Elder Liang had taken in two exceptionally talented disciples.
Their two poems also spread among literati and scholars, and were recorded in books just like those of Liang Lao back then, becoming timeless masterpieces decades later.
Invitations poured in like snowflakes, with many wanting to invite the two to their homes.
Some simply wanted to befriend the two men and witness their talent.
Of course, there are also people with ulterior motives who think that both of them are young talents with unlimited potential. If they can find a match for their children, wouldn't they be able to reap the benefits later?
However, these invitations were all rejected because Mr. Liang planned to continue their journey to Laizhou with them.
*
Wang Ying's birthday is on the third day of the sixth lunar month, but coincidentally, Chen Qingyan's birthday is on the sixth day of the third lunar month, so their birthdays are reversed.
In his previous life, Wang Ying's birthday was also on this day. After his grandparents passed away, no one celebrated his birthday anymore. However, after transmigrating, his birthday is remembered every year.
As soon as he got up in the morning, Li brought over a bowl of boiled eggs and rolled them on his body, symbolizing the rolling away of bad luck.
"Roll an egg between your eyebrows, and you'll be happy every day; roll an egg on your back, and all your ailments will disappear." After rolling the egg, Wang Ying would eat it.
Little Yuanbao, perched on Wang Ying's lap, looked on with curiosity. "Grandma, Yuanbao wants to get out of here too!"
"Oh my, hahahahaha..." The two couldn't help but burst into laughter.
There was still an egg left in the bowl, so Li rolled it on Yuanbao, peeled it, and handed it to him, saying, "Alright, you can eat it too."
Yuanbao only likes to eat egg whites and doesn't like egg yolks. Every time he eats, he secretly gives the egg yolks to Mutou and Chunsheng.
Normally, Wang Ying would turn a blind eye as long as nothing was wasted, but today, since his two playmates weren't around, he secretly slipped the egg yolk into his blanket.
Wang Ying didn't notice and let him go out to play after he finished eating. But when she was folding the quilt, she saw that the crushed egg yolk was everywhere. Wang Ying was so angry that she grabbed a feather duster and chased after him.
"Chen Ze!"
When Yuanbao heard his father call him by his full name, he knew something was wrong and grabbed Chunsheng to carry him away as quickly as possible.
However, Chunsheng and Mutou both listened to Wang Ying and stood still.
Before long, Wang Ying came over. "What bad thing did you do? Tell me!"
Yuanbao hid behind the wood and whispered, "I didn't do anything bad..."
"You've even learned to lie!" Wang Ying grabbed a feather duster and was about to spank him.
Chunsheng was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly blocked Yuanbao and said, "My lord, please don't be angry. Hit me instead."
The wooden figure also knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
Feeling protected and emboldened, Yuanbao stuck out his little tongue and said, "Lulu lulu, Yuanbao didn't do anything bad!"
Wang Ying walked past the two people, picked up Yuanbao, went into the house, and locked the door behind her. Soon after, the sound of a child crying could be heard from inside.
Mu Tou and Chun Sheng were pacing anxiously outside, but they dared not go in to plead for mercy, fearing that the more they pleaded, the more their husband would beat them.
Actually, Wang Ying didn't hit him too hard. He just pulled down his pants and patted his buttocks a couple of times. He was holding back his strength because he would be more heartbroken than anyone else if he really hurt such a young child.
Yuanbao cried partly because he was scared, and partly because he felt he had lost face in front of Chunsheng and Mutou. I don't know who this little kid took after, he has such a strong sense of self-esteem.
He cried as he said, "Yuanbao doesn't... doesn't like egg yolks, but Father... insists on making Yuanbao eat them... Father is bad!"
“If you don’t like it, you can give it to someone else, instead of hiding it in your bed and wasting it! You know that some ordinary families can’t even afford to eat proper meals, but you can eat egg custard and minced meat every day, yet you don’t appreciate it. Since you think your father is bad, then go and be a son in another family!” With that, he pushed him toward the door.
"No! Yuanbao was wrong!" The little boy thought his father really didn't want him anymore, and he was so scared that he grabbed Wang Ying's arm and cried so hard that he almost passed out.
Wang Ying was both angry and heartbroken, so she hugged him and patted his back to comfort him.
He waited until his crying gradually subsided before speaking, "Father isn't forcing you to eat what you don't want to eat. Next time, if there's food you don't want to eat, you can give it to Father, Grandma, Chunsheng, and Brother Mutou. It's better than wasting it, okay?"
Yuanbao nodded, sobbing, "I understand."
Wang Ying knew that the child was too young and had been used to a life of luxury since childhood, so he wouldn't understand why she was angry with him over a small egg yolk.
Since it's his birthday today, let's take him to experience a day in the life of an ordinary family and have a different kind of birthday.
It wasn't that he was making a mountain out of a molehill; it was just that Yuanbao had wasted food more than once, always leaving a little bit left over from his meals.
Last time, the family stewed chicken, and Li gave him the best chicken leg. The boy took two bites and then didn't want to eat anymore. He turned around and fed it to the family dog. You know, ordinary families wouldn't even eat chicken once a year.
Chen Rong happened to be passing by outside and saw two children kneeling at the door. She went up to ask what was going on and learned that Wang Ying was disciplining the children and didn't dare to knock.
Wasting food is no small matter. If it's not properly managed from a young age, it can lead to financial ruin for the family when they grow up.
The eldest son of the Chen family is a case in point. When Chen Qingfeng was young, he was particularly good at wasting things. If he didn't like something, he would take a bite and then throw it on the ground.
If he didn't like his clothes, he would deliberately climb a tree and tear them. At that time, his mother not only didn't care, but also laughed and praised her son for being resourceful.
Later, when he grew up, he squandered the family fortune, but didn't he have a plan?
A short while later, the door opened and the two came out of the house. Yuanbao's eyes and nose were red from crying, and he buried his face in Wang Ying's neck, feeling a little embarrassed.
Chen Rong took out a handkerchief and wiped his face. "Why are you crying?"
"Grandma..."
"Oh, Grandma, give me a hug."
Chen Rong took the child and kissed his cheek. "Wasting food is not something a good child does. Listen to your father, and don't waste food in the future, okay?"
"Yuanbao understands."
Wang Ying said, "Third Aunt will tell Mother later that we won't be eating at home for lunch. I'll take Yuanbao out to eat."
"Eat out? Where should we eat?"
"Let's go to Uncle Chen's house."
As the owner of the estate, he was always treated to lavish meals wherever he went, so Wang Ying did not go early and waited until almost noon before leading Yuanbao to the door.
Upon seeing the young master of the house arrive, Chen Xi immediately sent his son out to buy wine and meat.
Wang Ying quickly stopped Chen Dashun, saying, "You don't need to buy anything. Just eat whatever the family makes."
"No, that won't do! We only cooked millet and bean rice for lunch, which the young master can't possibly eat..."
Wang Ying whispered a few words in his ear, and Chen Xi immediately nodded in agreement.
"You all sit down and eat with us. Just pretend we're not here, and act like you normally do."
At this moment, Yuanbao was still very happy. This was his first time going out to eat at someone else's house. He was held in Wang Ying's arms, holding a wooden spoon in his hand, and waiting obediently for the food to be served.
Soon after, Da Shun's wife brought over a bowl of millet and bean rice. The so-called bean rice is rice made with beans and millet. Because beans are cheap, eating them together is filling.
A pot of bland radish and cabbage stew, with not a trace of oil in it, and a bowl of pickled vegetable shreds.
This is the kind of food that ordinary families in the village eat every day.
Wang Ying picked up her chopsticks and started eating, while Yuanbao scooped up a spoonful of rice and put it in his mouth.
The millet was soft but the beans were hard; even after chewing for a long time, the baby teeth couldn't swallow them.
"Father..."
"Eat up, look, everyone's eating like this."
Chen Xi's wife, who was narrating the scene, said with some concern, "Young Master, how about I steam a bowl of egg custard for the young master? He's too young to eat bean rice."
Wang Ying put down her chopsticks and asked, "What did Hu Zi and Er Ya eat when they were little?"
“Like us…” Raising children in the village wasn’t that meticulous. They ate whatever the family had. Once the two children were weaned, they started eating with the adults.
"That gold ingot is edible too, don't worry about it."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanbao pouted and reluctantly swallowed the rice and beans in her mouth.
He looked up and saw that the others were eating with great relish, so he couldn't resist taking another bite, but he still couldn't swallow it.
He had no appetite at all during the meal, and didn't want to eat anymore after only half of it.
Wang Ying didn't stop him. She finished the rice and beans in her bowl, then got up with Yuanbao to say goodbye.
On the way back, Wang Ying asked him, "Was the bean rice delicious?"
Yuanbao shook his head. "It tastes terrible. The cabbage isn't good either. Why doesn't Grandpa Chen's family make meat soup?"
Wang Ying paused, surprised that the child could ask such a question as "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
"Because Grandpa Chen's family simply doesn't have the money to buy meat. The food you find unpalatable is what ordinary people eat every day. The food you waste is a rare delicacy for them. Aren't you ashamed of your wasteful behavior?"
Little Yuanbao pondered for a moment and said, "Father, Yuanbao understands. I will never waste food again!"
These words planted a seed in his heart, and many years later, when he held a high position, he still remembered his father's teachings.
A note from the author:
Note ①: A modified version of Li Shangyin's "Untitled"
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