Lu Chi's face scrunched up as he watched the good stuff being wasted.
Even if a country woman has some skills, her vision is ultimately narrow; she would feed such good things to cats and dogs.
Well, what can I do? He's kind-hearted. Since he's already accepted that woman's kindness, I'll tell her a thing or two.
Otherwise, you might be holding a gold nugget in your arms while living in this shabby, dilapidated house.
Lu Chi glanced around with disdain and walked towards the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he saw Jin Shanyao holding an old ginseng root in both hands. He didn't have time to stop her.
With a snap, the old ginseng was broken in two and stuffed into the copper pot.
"You... you..." Lu Chi pointed a trembling finger at the copper kettle.
Jin Shanyao happily picked up the bronze kettle and boasted, "You like it too, don't you? I fell in love with this bronze kettle the moment I saw it, isn't it beautiful?"
Lu Chi felt a tightness in his chest, watching helplessly as Jin Shanyao placed the bronze kettle on the stove. "The old ginseng I was talking about."
"Oh, a ginseng that's been aged for ten or twenty years isn't old."
"Is this a matter of age? This is indiscriminate and a waste of good things."
If ginseng were presented to nobles in the capital or sold to wealthy merchants, though not worth a thousand gold pieces, it could still be exchanged for hundreds of acres of fertile land and a large retinue of servants. Now...
He pointed to the bronze pot, his eyes filled with regret at wasting such a fine thing, "It's such a waste to eat it like this."
Upon hearing Jin Shanyao quickly covered Meng Anci's ears, exclaiming, "What kind of vulgar language is this?"
"What do you mean by that? That the wealthy can eat what we can't?"
Lu Chi was stunned, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Jin Shanyao her grip and squatted down beside Meng Anci to comfort him, "My aunt said that everyone else in this world is just a passerby, and only oneself is the foundation."
Giving up nutrients to other trees in exchange for a short period of sunlight is the worst possible approach.
Good things must first be absorbed into oneself to make oneself stronger and more robust, so that one can enjoy lasting benefits.
When you lack the ability to do so, exchanging good things for money or land is simply doing someone else's work for their benefit.
Meng Anci obediently and echoed loudly, "Only what you eat is truly yours."
A child carrying gold walks through a bustling market; all the passersby are suspected of being thieves.
Jin Shanyao patted his little head and praised, "Good boy."
Lu Chi was taken aback. "Is this how you teach children?"
"Isn't that right?"
"Of course not. The social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants is determined at birth. If you don't help him recognize reality now and always put his own interests first, what will become of him later if he becomes disrespectful and disregards his place in society?"
Just as Jin Shanyao was about to get angry, Meng Anci grabbed her hand. "Auntie, I haven't mastered the Six Arts of a Gentleman. Could you teach me?"
Lu Chi rolled his eyes inwardly. What did a woman know about the Six Arts of a Gentleman? Just as he was about to volunteer, he heard Jin Shanyao slowly say.
"I think you're the one who has no respect for others. Go clean up the outhouse."
Lu Chi pointed incredulously at his own nose, "Me?"
"Could it be me?" Jin Shanyao said, then left the kitchen.
Lu Chi covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and after a long mental preparation, he picked up a shovel and went into the outhouse. The stench made it hard for him to open his eyes. If it weren't for the Jin Shanyao could relieve the poison in his body...
He was determined to kill this woman. With a shovel strike, splat... vomit...
Pfft... Ugh...
The pampered young master had never suffered such humiliation. He dropped the shovel, ran out of the outhouse, and leaned against the mud wall, vomiting uncontrollably.
To think that he, a dignified young master, would be sold to this poor, remote place, where even the county magistrate didn't recognize him.
Lu Chi looked up at the sky helplessly, feeling a sense of destiny, as if he had been abducted into the mountains and could not escape.
Two women's voices drifted from outside the wall, growing louder as they approached.
"Have you heard? Yesterday, the eldest and second eldest sons of the Meng Household were loitering around that 'witch's' house again."
"How could I not know? They said they wanted to get close to those two kids, but they got a cold shoulder, hahaha."
"If you ask me, they deserve it. They pushed them to the brink back then, and now that they've made it big, they're clinging to them."
"Hey, you know... with them making such a fuss, what if that child actually goes to take the imperial examination and becomes a scholar? Will his reputation suffer...?"
"Shh... that's hard to say. Scholars value filial piety and brotherly love above all else. If the elders in the clan all speak ill of him, how can the examiner be pleased?"
As the two walked away, their voices gradually faded from view.
Lu Chi's eyes were deep and unfathomable. It turned out that the two men from yesterday were Meng Anci's eldest and second uncles.
Thinking back to how well Jin Shanyao had treated him during this time, providing him with good food and drink and even helping him detoxify.
He decided to kindly remind him, lest he be treated like a servant.
Lu Chi arrived at the door of the Jin Shanyao House, knocked, and said in a deep voice, "Come out, I have something to say to you."
Hey... you shameless bastard, you act like a master even more than she does when you put on airs.
Jin Shanyao put down the chess piece and said to Meng Anzhi, "You Anci until you're done, I'll be right back."
As Jin Shanyao the kang (a heated brick bed) and bent down to pick up her shoes, she heard Meng Anci say, "Auntie, teach him a lesson and show him where he's supposed to be."
Jin Shanyao casually replied, "Okay, I'll hang him from the tree in a bit."
Meng Anci frowned slightly. "No, there's no need to be so harsh. He's a good person; a few words are enough."
Jin Shanyao was surprised, not expecting Meng Anci to plead for Lu Chi. It seemed that boys still preferred to play with men.
As she stepped outside, she saw Lu Chi leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a roguish smile playing on his lips.
"Master, there's something extremely important concerning the young master's future. Would you like to hear it?"
Seeing his affected manner, Jin Shanyao and asked with disdain, "What is it?"
Lu Chi sighed heavily, "It seems to be the imperial examination... Ugh, my brain... What was that again?"
He shook his head. "That damn latrine made me dizzy; I completely forgot about something so important."
Jin Shanyao Ting said, "This is a child's matter, so I can't be careless. 'Wait a minute before going to the outhouse. Tell me, what happened to Meng Anci's performance in the imperial examination?'"
Lu Chi slightly raised his eyelids to look at Jin Shanyao. Born into a noble family, he had been immersed in the powerful and wealthy in the capital for many years. He not only had an excellent understanding of human nature, but he could also see through most of it.
This girl wanted to bypass his conditions and hear the result... absolutely impossible.
"Oh dear... I'm feeling dizzy, nauseous, and want to vomit."
Jin Shanyao thought she had misheard and asked uncertainly, "Pregnant?"
"Have you... have you ever seen a man pregnant?" Lu Chi blushed crimson from the Jin Shanyao and immediately resigned himself, "I don't want to clean a latrine."
Jin Shanyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that she wasn't pregnant. She had thought she was just ignorant and had missed some point. Fortunately, her understanding was correct.
"Alright, you don't need to clean the outhouse anymore. Now let's talk about Meng Anci's imperial examination."
Lu Chi was surprised that she agreed so readily, and happily moved closer to Jin Shanyao.
He whispered, "Before the imperial examination, candidates had to submit a family register, which required them to clearly write down their hometown, name, birth year, and three generations of their family."
Five people must act as guarantors to ensure there is no filial impiety or lack of brotherly love. If the guarantees are found to be false, both the guarantors and the examinee will be punished.
If the conflict between the uncle and aunt escalates and they report the matter to the local county government, their examination eligibility will be indirectly revoked.
He paused, then added, "The young master will be taking the imperial examination next year; we can't let anyone find fault with him."
Jin Shanyao had never thought of it this way before. She cursed inwardly, "Humans have so many broken rules. Taking an exam is like being shackled, with this being forbidden and that being forbidden."
How to resolve the issue of filial impiety and lack of brotherly love?
Lu Chi stared at her for a long time, then said, "I want to eat braised pork tonight."
Jin Shanyao nodded, Lu Chi, taking advantage of the situation, said, "I'd also like to drink Guihua wine."
Jin Shanyao nodded again, Lu Chi's eyes flashed; he seemed to have found Jin Shanyao's weakness.