bookrandom Chapter 94 County Examination: The Shen Family Fails in Succession!
Chapter 94 County Examination: The Shen Family Fails in Succession!
Osmanthus Village.
The Shen family was shrouded in gloom and despair; the courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Even the pigs that usually squeal loudly dare not utter a single sound.
Sun, who used to lie down all day, looked at her husband's dark face and not only dared not lie down anymore, but also dared not even breathe loudly, and became much more diligent.
As noon approached, she quietly went to the vegetable garden behind the house, picked a handful of greens, and went into the kitchen to cook lunch.
Mr. Shen took out his tobacco, which had been gathering dust for three years, lit it again, and took a deep drag, but it choked him so much that tears streamed down his face.
He went to school from dawn till dusk every day, devoting the entire family's resources to educating his son and grandson, not letting them do any work, just so they could concentrate on their studies.
The second and third sons are already married, and the fourth and youngest sons are not young either. Over the years, not a single one of them has even passed the imperial examination.
He was not only a scholar but also a teacher, yet none of his sons or grandsons passed the imperial examinations.
Even the village head's son passed the imperial examination, so how could he still have the face to be a teacher at the Guihua Village School?
Five members of a family who were studying took the county-level examination, but they all failed. This time, they really lost all face and dignity!
He recalled how, three years ago, when his family failed their college entrance exams, the neighbors all mocked them behind their backs, and he felt as if his old face had been slapped hard.
"Cough cough cough..."
The tobacco made him cough, his eyes watered, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.
When Mrs. Sun heard her husband coughing so hard he could barely breathe, she was so frightened that she immediately ran out of the kitchen and rushed over to help him catch his breath.
"Dad, you don't like smoking to begin with, why did you take it out again? It's so smoky and makes you cough and your eyes water. If you don't like it, then don't smoke. Dinner will be ready soon. Come on, come with me and wait for dinner."
Mr. Shen's face darkened, and he slammed the pipe in his hand against the door frame.
With a loud bang, the sons, daughters-in-law, and grandsons of the family were so frightened that they trembled even through the door.
"Eat, eat, eat! What are you going to eat? We failed the exam! We all failed! The whole village is waiting to laugh at us! How can we eat? I'm asking you, how can we eat?"
Sun muttered under her breath, "It's not the first time you've failed the exam. You were fine before. Why do you get more and more irritable as you get older? There are so many people from all around who take the county exam, ranging from fifty or sixty years old to just a few years old. Many of them fail. Are you suggesting they all drown themselves?"
"Besides, they are all still young. As long as they work hard, they will definitely pass the exam in the future. In three more years, Changfeng and Changsheng will also be able to participate. When that time comes, all seven of our family members will participate in the county exam. We can't let none of them pass, can we?"
The village head's family has only two students, and this time one of them passed the imperial examination for the first time.
There are seven children in her family who are in school. They will all participate in three years. Each child will be assigned a spot. Since they occupy many spots, at least one of them will be selected.
After hearing his wife's words, Mr. Shen's already dark face darkened even further.
"Small?"
"Are they still young?"
"The second and third sons have been married for several years, and their children are all several years old, but we haven't even seen a baby yet."
“Lin and I…” He paused and said, “When I first had my eldest son, we had already passed the imperial examinations and become scholars. What about them? They were all useless, not one of them was easy to deal with!”
Back then, the old couple in the Lin family passed away one after the other. Lin Qiuju was in poor health after giving birth to her eldest child, and the whole family depended on him. He worked in the fields and took care of his wife and children. He could only study in his spare time, at night.
Didn't he also pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?
Over the years, my sons have been provided with the best food and clothing, and they only focus on their studies without having to do anything else. What exactly is the problem?
Why is it that none of the sons and grandsons he taught with all his heart and soul passed the imperial examination?
He teaches his son and grandson with even more dedication than the students in the classroom!
Let alone a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), even if a Tongsheng (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations) were to emerge, this schoolteacher, who was originally a Xiucai, wouldn't have his face slapped so hard.
Madam Sun softened her tone and sighed, "Alas, none of our children are stupid. Just because they didn't pass once or twice doesn't mean they're incapable. Maybe they just weren't as lucky as you. Not all of them can be like you, passing the county-level exam so early. Maybe if the second and third sons work a little harder, they'll pass the county-level exam and become students, and then they can become scholars or even provincial graduates."
A successful candidate in the imperial examinations?
Dream on!
He would be content if his family could produce a scholar who passes the imperial examination next time, allowing him to regain his dignity.
As for becoming a scholar or a provincial graduate, we need to plan carefully and proceed step by step!
After comforting her husband, Mrs. Sun finished cooking and called out to her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to come out and eat.
"Second brother, third brother... come out for dinner."
Apart from the two daughters-in-law, the second son's granddaughter, and the third son's two grandsons who did not participate in the county examination, the rest of the family members all kept their heads down, cautiously observing, and dared not utter a single word.
Once everyone sat down to eat, Mr. Shen could no longer contain his anger and immediately began to berate them.
"You bastard, we've worked so hard preparing for three years and then another three, and yet one of you has finally lived up to expectations and passed the imperial examination. Now our Shen family's ancestral graves are emitting smoke again. All these years of training you haven't been in vain."
Compared to the second and third brothers, the youngest was slightly bolder.
He muttered to himself, "Even if we're not very good, we're still better than our older brother. That big, dumb guy can't even read a single word, yet you've never scolded him once?"
Mr. Shen immediately flew into a rage and roared again!
"You wretched child, I didn't scold him? How dare you say I didn't scold him?"
“Over the years, in order to let you brothers and your children go to school and make something of yourselves in the future, the whole family has supported you. Who did the work on those twenty acres of land? What did you do? You guys are all too weak to lift a finger, how many times have you ever been to the fields? You carried eggs and tofu on a shoulder pole, not only did you get blisters on your feet, but you also lost your livelihood. If it weren't for the eldest son and his wife supporting you, would you have been able to enjoy such a good life for so many years?”
Shen Xiaochuan curled his lips, "If he's bad at studying and doesn't do any work, are we just going to keep him around to freeload?"
The second brother immediately pulled his youngest brother aside, signaling him to stop talking.
Because he knew that his older brother didn't study, not because he couldn't, but because their father wouldn't let him.
There were plenty of books in the house, but Dad never let my older brother touch them.
"Xiao Chuan, say less. We've both failed the exam, and Dad's upset. Just let him say what he wants and let him vent."
Shen Xiaochuan was the youngest of the brothers, and he had only taken the county examination twice. He felt that failing twice was not normal.
Which young genius can pass the test on their first try?
"No, I want to say that I only took the county exam twice. Why should I have to listen to my father's scolding every time I fail? Why doesn't anyone say anything about my older brother's poor academic performance? So what if he does farm work? That unfilial son of his still caused trouble by dividing the family property."
Shen Jiangchuan covered his younger brother's mouth and shook his head vigorously at him.
"Xiao Chuan, you were young then, you don't know..."
Mr. Shen scolded, "Say it loudly, let them all know!"
His eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said coldly, "Why do you think your older brother is illiterate? Is he really so stupid that he can't remember a single word?"