Chapter 21 Wang Luosheng’s Pride
Because Wang Luosheng had to go to the mill to help every day after returning home, not only did he have less time to read, but after working at the mill, Wang Luosheng was always exhausted and had no energy to read at all. Therefore, he could only read quietly for a while every day when he was reading at Duan Jingtian’s house.
For this reason, Wang Luosheng felt that his studies were not only not as solid as before, but also had many gaps.
However, Wang’s father and Mrs. Wang both believed that gold would shine wherever it was placed, and how could Wang Luosheng’s helping with housework delay his studies? The sons of the neighbors who were the same age as Wang Luosheng were already able to be strong laborers.
Wang Luosheng’s studies cost a large sum of money from his family every year, and he only had to work for more than an hour a day, which was already a very comfortable life for him.
Wang Luosheng tried to mention that making him work every day would affect his studies. His father’s face suddenly fell and he scolded Wang Luosheng for being unfilial and not understanding his parents’ hard work.
Wang Luosheng had to give up the idea.
Wang Luosheng’s family has a mill, where they grind rice and flour for people around them to earn some processing fees. All the food and clothing for the family comes from this mill, which is just enough to make ends meet every year. If he wants to earn more money, he has to spend more time grinding at the mill. So in the eyes of Wang’s father, the hour that Wang Luosheng goes to help every day can produce a lot of money.
Wang Luosheng, who had always found Su Wan annoying, now wished she could still stay at home and work at the mill for him for an hour every day.
However, Wang Luosheng has not despaired, because the reborn Wang Luosheng knows that in one or two years, the business of his family’s mill will be good and earn a lot of money. At that time, not only will he not have to work in the mill, but his father will not have to work either, because the work of the family mill is done by hired workers, and his father will only need to be the manager.
Wang Luosheng couldn’t remember whether it was this year or next that the family business started to pick up. What was distressing was that before the business picked up, Wang Luosheng could only come to the mill to help every day.
Wang Luosheng hopes that the day when business will pick up will come soon.
Wang Luosheng’s life was in a panic, but Duan Jingtian’s life was completely the opposite.
Duan Jingtian went to school on time these days, and reviewed his lessons when he came back. He was very hardworking. Duan Jingtian clearly felt that his academic performance had improved, and several teachers praised Duan Jingtian for this.
Duan Jingtian felt that this was all thanks to Su Wan.
One day, when Su Wan went to bring midnight snack to Duan Jingtian, she said, “Brother Duan, Can I ask you a question ?”
Duan Jingtian put down the book in his hand: “You can ask anything”
Su Wan put down the red date, lily and milk porridge in her hand and asked, “I wonder if Brother Duan plans to study and pursue a career in politics or go into business in the future.”
Su Wan’s question stumped Duan Jingtian. He had never thought about what he would do in the future.
Duan Jingtian told the truth: “I haven’t thought about what I want to do in the future, but since I’ve been sent to school, I should study hard first. But I’m probably not good at studying, so I’m not doing well.”
Su Wan said: “It’s not that Brother Duan is not good at studying, but because Brother Duan has no goal.”
Su Wan is not a talkative person, but Su Wan thinks Duan Jingtian is a good person, so she is willing to say a few more words about Duan Jingtian’s affairs and encourage him.
Su Wan said: “If you want to pursue a career in politics, you should study hard, needless to say.”
”If you want to do business like Master Duan, you can study hard first. First, if you can pass the exam, your family won’t have to pay taxes. Second, in Qingzhou Prefecture and the capital, many businessmen have some achievements even though they haven’t entered the government.”
After hearing Su Wan’s words, Duan Jingtian sat up straight and his eyes became serious.
Duan Jingtian’s family is the richest in Qingyun County, but in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture where wealthy businessmen gather, they can only barely rank in the 20th or 30th place. The wealthy businessmen in Qingzhou Prefecture have larger businesses, even dozens of times that of the Duan family.
Even though he was the richest man in Qingyun County, Duan Jingtian’s father had to flatter and curry favor with the wealthy businessmen in Qingzhou Prefecture every time he dealt with them.
However, these wealthy businessmen are very polite to those who have passed the imperial examinations, even if they are less wealthy than them. Duan Jingtian’s father also lamented that if he could also have a scholar title or something, it would be easier for him to talk to those wealthy businessmen and expand his own business.
Duan Jingtian had also heard his father say these things, but he never took them to heart.
Duan Jingtian looked up at Su Wan: “Su Wan, you are absolutely right. I have never thought about these things before.”
Generally speaking, it is best not to give suggestions to others without their request, because the person being advised will feel that the person giving the suggestions thinks that he or she is better than him or her. Su Wan also agrees with this.
But Su Wan was sincere to Duan Jingtian. If Duan Jingtian would not misunderstand, Su Wan would still be very happy. Su Wan saw that Duan Jingtian did not resist what she said, but listened very seriously, so she wanted to encourage him again. Su Wan said, “If Brother Duan has a goal, he will definitely study better than others. Brother Duan did not pay much attention to studying before, and his grades were already above average. If Brother Duan can be as hardworking as Li Sheng and Wang Luosheng, he will definitely be no worse than them.”
Duan Jingtian suddenly became excited. Indeed, Su Wan was right. On weekdays, he did not put in one-fifth of the effort in studying as Li Sheng and Wang Luosheng. To be precise, he put in about the same amount of effort as the students who ranked last in the class. However, although they were all lazy, his academic performance was above average. It was obvious that he was smarter than others.
If he could be as determined and hardworking as Wang Luosheng and Li Sheng, he wouldn’t necessarily be worse than them.
Duan Jingtian looked at Su Wan and said slowly: “Su Wan, you are really a little lucky koi.”
Duan Jingtian did not take these words to heart just because they came from the mouth of an uneducated cooking girl, it was because Duan Jingtian agreed with what Su Wan said.
He wanted to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar. Wang Luosheng and Li Sheng were able to pass, so why couldn’t he? He was no worse than them.
What’s more, there are so many benefits after passing the examination to become a scholar.
For the first time in his life, Duan Jingtian finally had a real goal in his heart.
There is another mysterious reason why Duan Jingtian praised Su Wan as a little lucky koi.
That is, Duan Jingtian discovered that since Su Wan came to his house to cook, he seemed to have a smoother life at school and at home. He was even praised by the teacher in the private school several times, but Wang Luosheng had regressed a lot.
Duan Jingtian suddenly remembered that when he was having dinner at Wang Luosheng’s house, he heard that Su Wan seemed to have visited Wang Luosheng’s house two years ago. It just so happened that Wang Luosheng had only gradually begun to emerge in the academy two years ago. As for the years before that, Wang Luosheng’s academic performance was only slightly better than his own, and he did not dress smartly. Since two years ago, that is, after Su Wan went there, his academic performance has improved by leaps and bounds, and he has dressed neatly and become a respected top student.
But now he has made progress these days while Wang Luosheng’s dress and study style are much like those in the past few years.
Duan Jingtian looked at Su Wan and said, “I can definitely pass the exam and become a scholar.”
Su Wan achieved her goal and left Duan Jingtian’s room. There were other maids serving in Duan Jingtian’s room, and they would clean up the dishes.
On the way back, Su Wan recalled the novel. In fact, when the original owner was at Wang’s house, she always discussed with Wang Luosheng how to read.
The original owner did a lot of housework every day. While doing things, the original owner knew how to arrange her time and energy so that she could finish all the tasks quickly, well and economically. When she saw that Wang Luosheng was indecisive and arranged his time in a disorganized manner, the original owner would use examples of things she had done so that Wang Luosheng could arrange his time properly and concentrate on studying.
Wang Luosheng often waved his hand in disdain, disliking Su Wan’s nagging, but he unconsciously took Su Wan’s words to heart.
In order to allow Wang Luosheng to concentrate on his studies, the original owner specially prepared a study environment for him. She did not let Wang Luosheng get involved in any household chores and cooked meals suitable for a scholar every day. The original owner did all the logistical work for Wang Luosheng so that he could study without distraction.
Su Wan wondered if Wang Luosheng could still pass the imperial examinations as before without the original owner’s careful care.
