Just when Cui Xian was thinking about how to stand out.
“It’s time to eat!”
Aunt Lin shouted in the kitchen.
So the family put down their work, sat down at the old dining table in the main room, and waited anxiously.
The meals are simple.
Coarse grain and vegetable steamed bread, and watery noodle soup.
A large bowl of stir-fried shepherd's purse without much oil or water, and a large bowl of cold-mixed amaranth.
And in the middle of these dishes, there was a large piece of smoked bacon.
The meat is plump and rich in color, and it looks out of place with the shabby dishes around it.
Cui Xian knew that this piece of meat was the "old actor" in the family.
really.
Grandmother Cui glanced at the bacon, and memories flashed in her eyes: "When your grandfather and great-grandfather were still alive, our family had chicken, duck, fish and meat for every meal, it was so glorious and luxurious."
Uncle Cui Boshan immediately responded: "Mother is right. My son and I will work hard to get a good score in the imperial examination, so that mother can eat and drink well and wear gold and silver every day in the future."
Aunt Lin said, "With mom taking care of the family, we have a long and comfortable life. Even if we don't eat this piece of bacon, everyone in the village will envy us."
Cui Xian's father said: "When my son was young, he ate too much meat with my grandfather and my father. Now he just wants to eat something light."
Cui Xianniang said: "My daughter-in-law is suffering from morning sickness now. She feels uncomfortable just looking at this meat."
Cui Xuan swallowed and said, "I... I'm not greedy at all!"
at last.
The third-generation eldest grandson of the Cui family, Little Cui Yu, made a stern conclusion: "This piece of bacon is grandma's expectation and encouragement for us. Grandma, please put the bacon away and keep it to encourage your grandson to make progress every day in the future, so as to restore the glory of the family."
Cui Xian had no expression on his face: “…”
If you just wipe the drool from the corners of your mouth, I will believe your lies.
Haha, a whole family is loading goods!
"Well, you are worthy of being the children of the Cui family! You have ambition!"
After hearing what the family said, Mrs. Cui was very pleased and told Mrs. Lin, "Eldest daughter-in-law, put the bacon away."
"Why!"
Lin responded and skillfully brought the bacon back to the kitchen.
The whole family couldn't wait to start eating breakfast.
Cui Xian had a very painful time eating.
The vegetable steamed bread is hard to swallow and it gets stuck in the throat.
The noodle soup is like water.
The fried shepherd's purse was reheated several times and tasted weird.
However, the cold-mixed amaranth was quite crispy and refreshing.
But living in the feudal ancient times, a peasant family was lucky to have enough food to eat, so how could they have the right to be picky?
Now that you are here, make the best of it.
After dinner.
Mrs. Cui wiped her mouth and said, "Starting from tomorrow and for the next half month, add three eggs to the evening meal at home. The eldest and second child will each have one, and the remaining egg will be shared by the whole family."
晡食 means dinner.
The Cui family lived in poverty. They usually did not eat meat and even seldom ate eggs.
All the eggs laid by the chickens at home were exchanged for money.
But when the family heard Mrs. Cui's words about "improving the food", instead of being happy, the atmosphere became tense.
Cui Xian understood.
In half a month, it will be the Daliang Dynasty's college entrance examination, which is held twice every three years.
My uncle and father were both tongsheng students and had already passed the county and prefectural examinations. The next step was to take the academy examination to become a scholar.
The extra eggs were given by Old Lady Cui to nourish her two sons who were about to take the imperial examinations.
but--
Counting on their fingers, they realized that this was the seventh college entrance examination that the brothers Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan were about to take part in.
He failed the first six college entrance examinations, and nine years passed by like a stream.
The Cui family was once wealthy, so why did they fall into poverty in just twenty years?
It’s because I have to support two scholars at the same time!
It is said that all things are inferior except reading.
But after taking the exam for so many years and wasting so much money, I still failed.
Now that life at home is getting worse and worse, do I really have to continue taking the exam?
The two daughters-in-law looked worried.
Cui Zhongyuan's eyes were dim.
However, facing Mrs. Cui who always mentioned "getting into high school and restoring our family", no one dared to mention "not taking the exam anymore".
Uncle Cui Boshan took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice: "Thank you for your consideration, mother. This time, your son will definitely pass the college entrance examination and make you proud!"
He had forgotten how many times he had said something like this.
From being full of confidence ten years ago to being discouraged and lazy now, it is really sad.
Old Mrs. Cui seemed not to notice the expressions of her family members at all.
She smiled earnestly, "Don't be stressed, study hard and do well in the exam. Your father came to me in a dream a few days ago and said that you two brothers will definitely pass the exam this year. Mother has confidence in you two."
She kept saying 'Don't be stressed'.
But being stared at with such earnest and almost paranoid eyes, the eldest and second sons of the Cui family felt as if they could not breathe and were suffocating.
Finally, it was the aunt who spoke up and said, "Husband and uncle, it's time to review your studies."
The brothers Cui Boshan and Cui Zhongyuan then breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their rooms to study.
The three women, Mrs. Cui, Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Chen, went to the yard to weave hemp.
The three younger ones, Cui Xian, Cui Yu and Cui Xuan, were responsible for helping with the light work of gathering the hemp rope.
During the slack season, villagers would stock up some ramie and weave it into cloth, either to make their own clothes or to exchange for money at cloth shops.
But ramie is very rough and is the cheapest fabric on the market.
It won’t sell for much money.
For the now impoverished Cui family, this is just a drop in the bucket.
Cui Xian was unwilling to be confined to poverty.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
