My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 11

Chapter 11: Can’t Stay Idle

Xu Zhizhou snorted softly. “As if no one else would buy me buns besides him.”

Xu Sunzheng continued to eat his bun. He said, “Why would anyone else buy you buns for no reason?”

During lunch, Cao Qin saw that there was one bun left on the plate, which Xu Sunzheng had saved for her. She asked about it and, after hearing the story, looked at Xu Zhizhou with a sharp gaze.

“Did the Song boy buy these for you on his own initiative, or did you ask him for them?”

Hearing this, Xu Zhizhou almost choked on his rice. Xu Zhici patted him on the back.

“Mother, what are you talking about? Am I that kind of person? The pastries and meat buns were all Song Changxu’s idea.”

Cao Qin’s expression softened. She said, “You can’t just ask people for things. You’re not married yet. People will laugh at you.”

Xu Zhizhou nodded vaguely and mumbled, “I know, Mother. I know the rules.”

After lunch, the two brothers went to wash the dishes together.

After feeding the chickens and ducks, Xu Sunzheng found a lounge chair in the courtyard under the elm tree to take a nap.

The chickens and ducks, having just been fed, were chirping and squawking noisily, but Xu Sunzheng still managed to fall asleep amidst the clamor.

After washing the dishes, Xu Zhizhou saw that his father was asleep. He went to get a blanket and casually threw it over his father.

He didn’t go back to his room to sleep. Instead, he snuck to the cabinet to get some pastries. Seeing his elder brother come over, he bribed him with two pieces. “Eat these before you sleep.”

Xu Zhici was surprised. “We just had lunch. Are you hungry again?”

“I just have a craving. A little taste. Now that I’ve eaten, I’ll be able to sleep better,” Xu Zhizhou said, popping a pastry into his mouth and squinting his eyes.

After speaking, he pushed open the door and strode into his room.

Xu Zhici returned to his room and, after a moment’s hesitation, ate a piece. The pastry was soft and glutinous. It was clear that it wasn’t bought from a grocery store or a street vendor, but from that shop on East Street.

The pastries from that shop were delicious, but they weren’t cheap.

Song Changxu wasn’t familiar with pastry shops. He had only gone to the shop on East Street to buy mung bean cakes for Xu Zhizhou. This time, when he needed to buy pastries for his family, he had subconsciously gone to the same shop.

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The crevices of the rocks showed a hint of green, and the moss was a vibrant emerald. Apricot blossoms danced on the branches, and the river gurgled. The people of Qishan Village planted beans and applied fertilizer. In their spare time, they would dig for wild vegetables and catch fish in the river. The children played with spinning tops in the village, climbed trees to catch birds, and picked wild fruits on the back mountain.

Song Changxu crossed the stream with his book box, walked along the muddy path, and looked up at the green mountains, his steps light.

The farmers were already in the fields, digging the earth with their hoes.

When Song Changxu arrived at the school, he took out a book and began to recite.

After Feng Xin’ou arrived, he returned the essay to Song Changxu and thanked him. The classes were the same as usual. At noon, after heating up their meals, Song Changxu opened his lunchbox, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.

Lin Pu smelled it and came over.

“Brother Song, you’re having dumplings today,” Lin Pu said, looking eagerly at Song Changxu.

Dumplings with meat were a rare treat. His family only ate them during the New Year and festivals. This time, Lin Pu didn’t dare to take any.

Song Changxu picked up a dumpling and put it in Lin Pu’s lunchbox.

Lin Pu quickly said, “That’s enough, Brother Song, that’s enough.”

Lin Pu also shared the dishes in his lunchbox with Song Changxu. After a full meal, Scholar Li didn’t start with the main lesson in the afternoon. Instead, he talked about the examination to become a xiucai.

Scholar Li: “To become a xiucai, you must pass the county, prefectural, and college examinations. You must pass all three to obtain the title. The examinations are held once a year or every three years, organized by the county magistrates, usually in the second month. Those with outstanding results on the list can enter the county or prefectural schools to continue their studies and aim for the provincial examination.”

In this rural courtyard, the students listened attentively.

After speaking, Scholar Li continued his lecture.

Feng Xin’ou clenched his fists. He had read Song Changxu’s essay and had to admit that the perspective was very fresh, and the arguments were sound. Although the writing was a bit redundant, the content was excellent.

He was puzzled after reading Song Changxu’s essay. With such good ideas, why was his writing so convoluted and redundant? The format was barely correct and seemed stiff.

Song Changxu lamented how difficult it was to write in classical Chinese.

Having grown accustomed to vernacular Chinese, he inevitably hesitated when writing in classical Chinese, and his wording would be repetitive and redundant.

He privately wrote essays, compared them from various angles, revised them several times, and then asked Scholar Li to look them over for him.

The imperial examinations generally tested on classical exegesis, poetry and prose, policy essays, dictation, and definition questions.

The dictation questions were similar to modern poetry recitation, where one was given the preceding or succeeding line and had to fill in the blank.

The definition questions took sentences from the Confucian classics and asked for their meaning or for a commentary on them, similar to term explanations or short answer questions.

After class, Song Changxu stayed behind to ask Scholar Li questions. His wife and daughter saw them and went to the other side to pick vegetables, not disturbing them.

After answering Song Changxu’s questions, Scholar Li asked him to sit and wait.

Soon, he came out of the room with two books. “These are the commentaries I wrote when I was a student. If you’re interested, you can take them back to read. Remember to return them after a while.”

Song Changxu took the books with pleasant surprise, performed the disciple’s ritual of respect, and cupped his hands. “Thank you, teacher.”

Scholar Li nodded. “Hurry back now. It’s getting late.”

Song Changxu nodded and left with his book box.

Seeing that Scholar Li had lent his most treasured books to Song Changxu, his daughter asked doubtfully, “Father, aren’t your books your most treasured possessions? Why did you lend them out again?”

She knew that her father had lent his books to Elder Brother Feng to read. Why was he now lending them to this Elder Brother Song as well?

Scholar Li had his daughter sit on the stone stool. He smiled and asked, “Do you think our courtyard is big?”

His daughter said, “Of course it’s big. I’ve seen it. In Lingshui Village, our courtyard is the biggest.”

Scholar Li said, “This courtyard is too big, and yet too small.”

“Father, you’re confusing me.”

Scholar Li rephrased, “If you can help, then help.”

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The busy spring season was over, and the people of Qishan Village breathed a sigh of relief. The women and ge’ers of the families went to the back mountain together to dig for wild vegetables and pick wild fruits. If they were lucky, they could even find wild eggs in the grass.

Wang Yan and her friends chatted and laughed as they dug for wild vegetables. There was a deep well on the back mountain, a perfect place to wash the wild fruits.

With the women and ge’ers having free time, the young men also had free time. The women and ge’ers occupied the back mountain, while the men bathed and caught fish by the river.

Song Changxu had some free time today and was asked by Liang Su to deliver something to the Liang family. After delivering the item, Liang Feng pulled him along to have some fun.

When they got to the river, Liang Feng pulled over a few young men and introduced them one by one.

Song Changxu responded politely.

“You’re Feng-zi’s cousin, so you’re our cousin. Let’s hang out together in the future.”

Song Changxu went with them to catch fish by hand among the stones. They had a great time, and the young men of the village’s sense of unfamiliarity with Song Changxu diminished a little.

Sun Luzhen’s elder brother handed him a fishing net. “You try.”

Song Changxu nodded and cast the fishing net for the first time.

The net caught a lot of fish. The few of them each took a fish back to make a dish.

The women and ge’ers on the back mountain had dug up wild vegetables, picked wild fruits, and were pleasantly surprised to find wild eggs in the grass.

“There’s a clutch of wild duck eggs here,” someone shouted.

“We’re so lucky today.”

Those by the river and those on the back mountain all returned with a full load.

Xu Zhizhou carried his basket, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. The breeze was gentle.

He saw Song Changxu.

Song Changxu had his arm around Liang Feng’s shoulders, and the two of them were talking and laughing. Xu Zhizhou had never seen Song Changxu in a crowd before. Now he had.

It was a bit novel, a bit rare.

Even in a crowd, Song Changxu was easy to spot. Xu Zhizhou sometimes felt that Song Changxu had a sense of detachment from the crowd, but now it seemed much better.

Such a person, whether walking alone with a book box or in a crowd, was so eye-catching.

Look how brightly Song Changxu is smiling.

Xu Zhizhou was suddenly angry. He was standing right in front of him. Hadn’t he seen him?

“Zhizhou, are you alright?”

Sun Luzhen saw Xu Zhizhou stumble and quickly supported him.

Everyone was drawn by this sudden event, including, of course, Song Changxu.

Song Changxu’s gaze turned to Xu Zhizhou, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Sensing Song Changxu’s gaze, Xu Zhizhou felt much better.

“I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention for a moment.”

When Xu Zhizhou got back to his room, he thought of Song Changxu’s appearance and smiled as he sorted through the wild vegetables.

It was a pity there were too many people. He couldn’t just grab him and make him work.

After they got married, he could openly ask Song Changxu to do chores. A young man should do more work. When he got old, he wouldn’t be able to.

He set aside one wild egg and one wild duck egg to steam and eat fresh. He put away the wild vegetables and opened the chicken coop to get five eggs from the nests.

The family’s eggs were all saved to be sold in town. When the market was good, one egg sold for two copper coins; when it was average, it sold for one. Xu Zhizhou often complained that it would be better to just eat them all at home.

His parents allowed them to eat an egg every few days, but eating all the eggs was out of the question. He and his elder brother could eat eggs to grow, but his parents were frugal and refused to eat them.

Xu Zhizhou knew that their life in the village was already considered good. They had food and drink, and could have a taste of meat every few days.

He sat on the stone stool, propping his head in his hands. But he just wanted to live a good life, without worrying about food and clothing, with a young, handsome, powerful, and influential husband.

He probably shouldn’t think about it anymore, or he could think about it all day.

As the sun set, Song Mingyan was at home scaling a fish. Song Changxu had written an essay when he got home. When he stood up, he realized it was already late. When one was immersed in something, time passed especially quickly.

Song Changxu went to the stove to add fire. Song Mingyan didn’t say anything when he saw his younger brother there. Song Changxu used the excuse that he needed to do something else after reading. The family was already used to him doing chores from time to time.

“We’re having steamed fish soup today,” Song Mingyan said.

Song Changxu added a handful of firewood. “I like fish soup.”

Song Mingyan smiled. The people of the Song family were all good-looking. Song Mingyan’s features were soft and beautiful, while Song Changxu’s were sharp and defined. There was a resemblance in their eyes.

“I see the water vat is empty. I’ll go fetch some water,” Song Changxu said, unable to stay idle.

He picked up the carrying pole and ran off.

When he reached the well, he saw a familiar figure and suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He lightened his steps, wanting to retreat.

In a moment of carelessness, he stepped on a dry branch, making a cracking sound.

“Song Changxu!” Xu Zhizhou called out, his voice filled with pleasant surprise and satisfaction.

Author’s Note:

Little Song: Please, I’m begging you. [Please]

Little Xu: [Kisses]