The moment the woman finished speaking, her stomach growled.
She hurried over to the dining table.
Just as she was about to sit down, she noticed something was amiss.
"Huh?"
"Where's your wife?"
"Why are you the only one here?"
"Is she still cooking?"
"Oh, dear."
"You don't have to go to so much trouble for us."
"Just a few dishes will do."
The woman said with a beaming smile.
The woodcutter's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"She took food to my younger brother."
The woodcutter tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Go ahead and eat first."
"She'll be here soon."
"Oh."
The woman suddenly understood. "Young Lady took food to Erlang."
Then she realized something. "Erlang isn't eating with us?"
"Mm."
The woodcutter nodded.
"My younger brother has to study."
"He never eats with us."
"So diligent..."
The woman was a little surprised.
But she understood his hard work.
After all...
There were countless scholars in the world, and trying to achieve something...
was incredibly difficult.
Especially for people from backgrounds like theirs, getting their names on the examination list in one fell swoop...
was practically a dream.
The woodcutter smiled.
He said nothing.
That was right.
His younger brother had always worked that hard.
Heaven rewarded diligence.
Those were his younger brother's words, too.
"Oh, dear."
The woman sighed.
"If only my boys were as hardworking as Erlang..."
They'd surely get excellent results, too.
In the woman's eyes, her boys had been clever and quick-witted since childhood. If they really applied themselves to their studies, they would surely achieve far more than Erlang, who seemed a little dull.
The young woman, who had just walked over, couldn't help rolling her eyes slightly.
Although the woman hadn't finished what she was saying...
she