My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 19

Chapter 19: Helping Out

Song Changxu handed the tofu to Liang Su. Tonight, they were having Mapo Tofu. Song Changxu had never collected eggs from the chicken coop before. He followed Song Ye and took out three still-warm eggs from the nests.

They were warm to the touch. Song Changxu held one up to the setting sun and could see the egg white through the shell.

Life and eggs were both magical.

Song Ye used a long bamboo pole to herd the chickens and ducks into their coop. After they were all in, he closed the gate and went out with Song Changxu.

The evening was a rare time of leisure. Song Changxu and Song Mingyan came out together to find a place to sit. Song Mingyan went to check on the mint in the broken pot, scooped some water for it, and then took some bamboo strips to weave a basket.

Liang Su called out to her second son, “Come and try on your wedding clothes.”

Hearing this, Song Changxu went into the room awkwardly.

Liang Su and Song Mingyan had made the clothes according to his measurements, but he still had to try them on to see if they fit.

The wedding clothes fit perfectly, outlining Song Changxu’s waist and long legs, making him look tall and handsome. Seeing this, Liang Su took out a pair of brand-new black boots.

“Try these on too.”

Song Changxu put on the boots. Liang Su looked at him with satisfaction. “Good. Do the clothes and boots fit well? If there’s anything that doesn’t fit, say so now so we can alter it.”

“They fit very well,” Song Changxu nodded.

Liang Su told him to put the clothes and boots away to wear on his wedding day. After Song Changxu put them away, Liang Su patted his shoulder.

“When Zhizhou marries in, you have to treat him well.”

Song Changxu agreed, not wanting to worry Liang Su.

He had copied three more books. The storybooks he had taken on were priced high. After selling them in town, he would have seven taels of silver.

He could probably earn a little more by writing letters for people.

When Song Changxu went to Lingshui Village to study, he returned the books Scholar Li had lent him.

Scholar Li was surprised. “You’ve finished them so quickly?”

Song Changxu nodded shyly.

Scholar Li asked a few questions, and Song Changxu answered them one by one.

“Among the few of you, you and Xin’ou have a better foundation. Although it’s a bit rushed for you to take the exam next year, you can still give it a try.”

Song Changxu: “Thank you for your guidance, teacher. If I were to go to the county town for the exam, how much silver would the round trip cost?”

Scholar Li stroked his beard. “Actually, Shuibo Town is very close to Jinhe County, so the travel expenses are not much. The main cost is the lodging. The county, prefectural, and college examinations take about ten days in total. After five sessions of the county exam, you’ll be given a two-day break before taking the prefectural and college exams.”

In the imperial examination system, the examination to become a xiucai had the most sessions. By the time one reached the palace examination, one only needed to be tested on policy essays.

“Are you thinking of taking the exam next year?” Scholar Li asked.

Song Changxu admitted, “I want to give it a try next year.”

Scholar Li nodded. “Good. Since you’ve made up your mind, you’ll have to be more diligent in your studies.”

Song Changxu asked a few more questions about his studies, then packed his book box and disappeared from Scholar Li’s sight.

“I see that your closest students are Xin’ou and Changxu. Stop looking, the young man is already far away,” Scholar Li’s wife said with a smile.

Scholar Li said thoughtfully, “I just didn’t expect both of them to want to try the exam next year. But that’s good too. After I finish teaching the remaining few books this year, I’ll be going back to town.”

His mother’s illness was probably not going to get better. Scholar Li planned to take her back to town this year. With a medical hall there, it would at least be convenient for her to see a doctor. Although his mother didn’t like the town very much, this time he couldn’t be accommodating.

“That’s good too,” Scholar Li’s wife nodded.

She was thinking about her son in town and her daughter’s marriage. When they returned to town, she could look for a talented young man for her daughter.

Among Scholar Li’s disciples, Song Changxu was the most handsome, but his family background was a bit lacking. Now that she heard he was already engaged, that was also good.

She thought about it and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

On his way home, Song Changxu picked some wild fruits. He was lucky when he passed by the river and saw two crabs walking on a rock. He tiptoed closer and carefully caught them, almost getting his hand pinched.

He threw the two crabs into his book box and happily took them away.

Steamed crabs are the most delicious. What good luck.

.

Today, Xu Zhizhou was weeding in the fields with his parents. With the mint leaves, their family was also drinking mint tea. Xu Sunzheng’s arms were full of strength, and he did most of the work in the fields. Xu Zhizhou followed behind his parents, weeding. A small insect flew onto his arm, and he slapped it.

Xu Zhizhou put down his hand and found a shady spot to rest for a while. He looked at the other terraced fields and saw people also weeding and planting beans.

He wiped the sweat from his face and said, “I’ll go exchange for some mung beans later, and have Elder Brother make mung bean soup.”

Their family grew soybeans but not mung beans. They could exchange soybeans for mung beans with someone in the village who had them.

Cao Qin said, “Alright.”

In the afternoon, Xu Zhizhou brought back the exchanged mung beans. Xu Zhici had stayed at home to do laundry today and then had gone up the mountain to cut pig feed.

Seeing that his elder brother was not there, he went to the kitchen to soak the beans first. He took a basket and went out, intending to go to the back mountain to pick wild vegetables.

There weren’t many people picking wild vegetables on the back mountain. After he finished, he ran into Xu Zhici. Xu Zhizhou was about to go over to him when he saw that his eyes were red.

Xu Zhizhou: “Elder Brother, what’s wrong?”

Seeing that there were other people around, Xu Zhici only said it was nothing. He pulled his younger brother home before revealing his grievance.

“I ran into a ge’er who married over from Pingda Village. He said some things to me that were quite upsetting.”

Xu Zhizhou immediately understood. “It’s that Xie family again, talking nonsense. They really don’t act like elders at all.”

Back then, Xie Huaichuan had wanted to marry Xu Zhici, but his uncles had signed him up for the army, causing the two to be separated. Xie Huaichuan had cut off contact with the Xie family and sent all the money he earned in the army to Xu Zhici, which had caused dissatisfaction from the Xie family.

If you asked Xu Zhizhou, his elder brother hadn’t spent any of the money Xie Huaichuan had sent over all these years. Instead, he had used his own money to buy clothes and food for Xie Huaichuan. These people had nothing better to do than to gossip all day long.

Xu Zhizhou grabbed a rake. “Elder Brother, tell me which family that ge’er is from. I’ll go to his house and demand an explanation!”

Xu Zhici was startled by Xu Zhizhou. He quickly said, “Zhizhou, stop. The next time that person says something like that, I’ll refute him. Don’t be impulsive.”

Xu Zhizhou: “If you endure it once, you’ll have to endure it every time. I’ll go to his house and put an end to his thoughts. Let’s see if he dares to be arrogant in front of you again. Next time, I’ll make him run away with his tail between his legs when he sees you.”

If you were in the right, you should be confident.

“If you don’t tell me, Elder Brother, I’ll go ask the other ge’ers on the back mountain,” Xu Zhizhou had his ways.

Afraid of making a big scene, Xu Zhici pulled on Xu Zhizhou. “It’s the Ge family’s ge’er.”

Xu Zhizhou took the rake and stormed over to the Ge family’s house.

The Ge family, young and old, had just returned from the fields and were resting in the courtyard. When they saw Xu Zhizhou coming over with a rake, the eldest son of the Ge family was stunned.

“Xu Zhizhou, what are you doing at my house?”

Xu Zhizhou: “Tell your second husband to come out. I have something to say.”

Ge Da was a bit confused, but seeing his posture, it seemed that this couldn’t be settled peacefully. He called his second brother’s wife out.

When Ping Ge’er saw him, a flash of guilt crossed his face. He asked in a low voice, “What do you want with me? I still have to cook.”

Xu Zhizhou sneered. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than to come and chat with you? Who isn’t busy at this time? How did you speak to my elder brother? You brought up the Xie family’s business again. You, you just had to say it in front of him. Are you very proud? What’s your relationship with the Xie family’s uncles?”

Ping Ge’er said anxiously, “What are you talking about? I was just speaking up for the Xie family.”

Xu Zhizhou: “I’m just talking nonsense, and look how anxious you are. How dare you speak to my elder brother like that? The Xie family was in the wrong in the first place. You don’t distinguish right from wrong, and instead, you criticize my elder brother. Do you think our Xu family has no one?”

By now, the Ge family had more or less understood what was going on. It was the second brother’s wife who had said something about the Xie family in front of Xu Zhici, and Xu Zhizhou had come to demand an explanation.

Ping Ge’er said guiltily, “I, I didn’t think that much.”

Xu Zhizhou: “You also know how important a reputation is. I said one thing to you, and you already know it’s inappropriate. How could you be so cruel as to say such things to my elder brother? If Elder Brother Xie had left him for no reason, and they hadn’t even gotten married, he would be the one suffering the most. You’re just rubbing salt in his wound.”

The second son of the Ge family came out and understood the reason. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Ge family came to mediate. “Alright, it was the Xie family’s uncles who were talking in the village, which caused a misunderstanding. It’s all a misunderstanding.”

Xu Zhici took the rake from Xu Zhizhou’s hand.

Xu Zhizhou: “Apologize!”

Ping Ge’er trembled with anger. He had come to his house and caused such a scene, making him lose face in front of his family, and now he had to apologize.

Ping Ge’er: “I’m sorry. I won’t say such things in the future.”

Xu Zhici found that he couldn’t say it was alright. Hearing this, Xu Zhizhou huffed and pulled Xu Zhici away.

“He knew how important a reputation is, and he still said that. Then he can’t blame…”

The sunset glow appeared, a reddish hue in the sky, casting a glow on the village as if it were immersed in a painting. The half of Xu Zhizhou’s and Xu Zhici’s faces facing the sunset also turned reddish, stained with ink.

Xu Zhici held Xu Zhizhou’s hand in return.

“Thank you, Zhizhou.”

Xu Zhizhou was quite embarrassed. His face was red from the sunset glow, so his own blush was not visible.

“You’re my elder brother. Of course, I have to stand up for you and speak for you,” Xu Zhizhou hummed. “They’re just taking advantage of your good temper. I have a bad temper. If anyone says that again, I’ll go to their house again. Anyway, anyway, I can’t let anyone bully you.”

That was his elder brother, the kind and hardworking brother who had doted on him since he was a child. His elder brother had been living a serious and diligent life despite the matter with the Xie family. What did those people know? What right did they have to say such things?

His brother was the best person.

Xu Zhici held the rake and thought to himself, I don’t want to see Xu Zhizhou standing in front of me again. I’m the older one, I’m the brother.

The hesitation in his heart became more resolute.

The Song family was already eating. Xu Cheng held his bowl and chopsticks and ate in the courtyard. Song Changxu also brought his bowl and chopsticks to the courtyard to eat.

The two crabs had been steamed. He ate the crab meat, picked at his rice, and saw the Xu brothers walk past the courtyard gate.

As Xu Zhizhou passed by the Song family’s gate, he subconsciously looked into the courtyard and happened to meet Song Changxu’s dark eyes.

Through the gate, the two of them looked away as if they had been electrocuted.

Why did Song Changxu look away from him? Was he stunned by his appearance?

Author’s Note:

Little Song: My heart is pounding. This is fear. [Shuts up]

Little Xu: What’s there to be afraid of? We’ll be family in the future. [Laughs]