Chapter 9

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was already very difficult for a family to provide for one scholar with a farm, but the Dong family provided for two.

One was Fifth Uncle, and the other was First Uncle’s eldest son, Dong Xu.

Dong Xu was at least a little more promising than Fifth Uncle. He had passed the student examination and was now studying in the county school. He was a classmate of Liao Mingkun.

Dong Xu was only eighteen years old this year, but he had just passed the children’s exam. Although he had come in last in the rankings, he had at least passed.

He was not like Fifth Uncle, who from the age of fifteen to the age of twenty-two, studied for seven years but had yet to pass an exam even once. Now, his twin sons were already three years old, and he was still an old scholar in the classroom.

Every year, he would receive money for tuition and food expenses. However, in the end, he had only paid to continue being an idiot. He blamed the Dong family for being illiterate and kept saying that his luck was bad, so he didn’t get into a good class.

If it was not for Old Master Dong, the whole family would be openly warring with Fifth Uncle.

Especially after the children of the various branches grew up. Some of them were quite smart. Which parent wouldn’t want to try sending them to school so they could become a high-ranking official in the future? Wouldn’t it be good to be an accountant and not have to work in the fields?

Fifth Uncle clearly did not expect Liao Mingkun’s morning reading next door to reveal how stupid he was.

His mouth was full. He wanted to say something, but he had to swallow the rice.

Fifth Uncle was already used to living a life where he did not need to work in the fields and had money to spend. How could he return to the fields now?

Therefore, he quickly swallowed the rice in his mouth and was about to speak when he heard Old Master Dong take a deep breath and ask Dong Nuan with a dark expression, “Lil Nuan, how do you know that?”

Upon hearing Old Master Dong’s question, Fifth Uncle was stunned for a moment. He came back to his senses and felt that this was a good opportunity. If Old Master Dong made things difficult for Dong Nuan, he might ignore Fifth Uncle’s matter later. Perhaps his father would help him out!

Thinking of this possibility, Fifth Uncle smiled calmly and lowered his head to continue eating.

Meeting Old Master Dong’s scrutinizing gaze, the expression on Dong Nuan’s face became even more innocent. Her eyes widened, and her voice carried a hint of disbelief. “Ah? When I went out yesterday afternoon and bumped into Young Master Liao, he happened to be studying. I learned it after hearing it. Young Master Liao said that anyone with a brain should know such a thing, and that seems correct, right?”

The whole family was stunned into silence.

F*ck! How insulting.

Dong Nuan had leveraged Liao Mingkun to breed hatred within the family. Even Old Master Dong had nothing to say. His scrutinizing gaze quickly landed on Fifth Uncle.

Fifth Uncle, who had just swallowed a mouthful of rice, hurriedly pretended to be honest and said, “I was just eating. I wasn’t paying attention to what you were saying!”

His explanation did not make sense. Any scholar should remember such a fundamental thing, even if they were asked while asleep!

It was just a casual question. Even if he had not remembered it perfectly, he should have at least understood what Dong Nuan was referencing, right?

Moreover, it was just the first four sentences!

The expressions of the Dong family members were extremely complicated, but they were all smart people. No one was willing to jump out first and become the villain who offended Fifth Uncle.

Eldest Aunt frowned. She had her own plan, but she did not say anything.

Second Aunt was glad that she had been slow to speak just now. Otherwise, she would definitely have been slapped in the face. She did not want to be in pain. She could not care less about anything else.

Fourth Aunt did not care about anything else besides her family.

Moreover, she had given birth to three girls. She did not need to consider sending her children to school at all. Finally, Fifth Aunt was Fifth Uncle’s wife. She reaped the benefits of Fifth Uncle studying, so it was even more impossible for her to say anything.

At this moment, Madam Dong Wu stepped forward. “Honestly, Fifth Brother has indeed been studying for many years with nothing to show for it. He’s never gotten any good results. In the past, he said that his luck was bad, but now, it just seems like he’s not cut out to be a scholar.”

Dong Wu had spoken the words in the hearts of every member of the Dong family.

Fifth Uncle glared at Madam Dong Wu angrily. However, she could not see it at all and was still talking to herself. “If Fifth Brother has no talent and his luck is not good, don’t waste more time. There are so many children in the family. Our Lil Yao seems smart. He should definitely get the chance to go to school.”

“Third Sister-in-law, you make it sound so easy. It’s not easy to study.” Fifth Uncle was furious at Madam Dong Wu’s words, so when he spoke, he subconsciously started to use a sarcastic tone.

Madam Dong Wu did not catch his sarcasm at all. She nodded in agreement with his words. “It’s indeed not easy. Fifth Uncle has been studying for so many years, but he hasn’t taken the student exam.”

Fifth Uncle was shocked into silence.

Fifth Uncle wanted to use what he had learned in school to give her a ‘beautiful’ scolding. However, in the end, after thinking about it, he only knew how to use the words ‘dog, ‘old hag’, and ‘shameless’ to scold Madam Dong Wu.

Fifth Uncle’s face turned red. Second Aunt felt that it was not a bad time to step up and add fuel to the fire, so she smiled and said, “Speaking of which, let’s just ask the student himself. Why do you keep failing the exam? What’s the problem? Can it be improved?”

All of them knew that Fifth Uncle was an idiot.

Upon hearing this, Fifth Uncle instantly broke out in a cold sweat. As it was a hot day, his heat sweat and cold sweat mixed together, making him look disheveled and guilty.

Old Master Dong glanced at him with a complicated expression and immediately understood.

It was impossible for Old Master Dong not to know that Fifth Uncle was not talented. He just kept holding on to a little hope. After all, this was his biological son. If he could really learn to read, would that not be amazing?

At the very least, after passing the Children’s Examination, even if he did not pass the Elementary Scholar’s Examination, he would still kind of be a proper scholar. In the future, he could still find a job like an accountant in town. At the very least, the shop assistants of various shops probably also did not know how to read and write, right?

However, if Fifth Uncle was indeed a talentless person, it would be a waste of the entire family’s efforts. It was better to do as Madam Dong Wu said and find someone who could become a scholar. Now that his grandchildren were gradually growing up, Old Master Dong felt that if his son was not a popular choice to send out, he should nurture his grandsons instead.

Old Master Dong’s casual glance made Fifth Uncle break out in a cold sweat again. He tried his best to stop his trembling teeth and laughed dryly. “It’s not that easy to meet the headmaster of the academy. And if I offend the headmaster of the academy, my life in the future will not be easy.”

Hearing this, Fifth Uncle felt that he still had a chance. His family was illiterate, so they probably would not dare to look for the Headmaster.

Dong Nuan watched from the side and smiled. Right now, she would not jump out again and be the bad guy.

After all, every family branch had their own plans. The town was not far from the village, so they could always find out if Fifth Uncle was actually an idiot.

After eating, Fifth Uncle packed his things and left to town. As he left, his footsteps were slightly dampened.

Seeing Fifth Uncle like this, the expressions of the entire family were somewhat complicated.

It was not always good to put one’s thoughts out there. After all that happened, Old Master Dong did not say anything, so everyone pretended that nothing had happened and went to work on the farm with their tools.

As soon as Old Master Dong stepped out of the door, he bumped into Er Zhuzi of Third Old Master Dong’s family.