Chapter 102: The Ultimate Counterattack!
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In the young aunt’s room, the godmother and her daughter had already washed up and gone to bed.
Though the eldest aunt’s words were blunt, her work was impeccable—the sheets were washed spotless, the bedding sun-dried until fluffy and soft, still carrying the scent of sunlight.
The mother and daughter lay comfortably on the bed, yet neither could fall asleep…
“Mom,” Tian Tian whispered, looking up at the beams.
“What’s the matter?” the landlady turned to her daughter.
“Can we really treat this place as our own home?” Tian Tian asked timidly.
The landlady was momentarily at a loss for words, but after a long pause, she gently stroked her daughter’s hair and said, “Yes, we can. Here, you have two older brothers, and the whole family is very kind…”
“And what about our old home?” Tian Tian pressed with a piercing question.
This time her mother answered quickly: “Wherever there are people, there is a home. As long as we two are together, that is our home.”
“Hmm.” Tian Tian nodded and sighed softly, “Our family is too small.”
“It will grow,” the landlady said quietly.
“Really?” Tian Tian’s eyes brightened as she counted, “Right now we have Second Brother, Third Brother, and Uncle Su.”
“Go to sleep now.” The landlady blushed, wrapped her arms around her daughter, and gently coaxed her into slumber.
She herself stared steadily at the oil lamp on the table, where a tiny moth fluttered toward the flame…
~~
In the eldest uncle’s room, the atmosphere was quite different.
The eldest aunt sat cross-legged on the bed, noisily counting twenty pieces of silver weighing one tael each.
“Stop counting already. No matter how many times you count, you won’t find an extra tael,” the eldest uncle said as he pulled his feet out of the basin, drying them while chiding, “You look like you’ve never seen money before.”
“I really haven’t. So what? Has my money ever exceeded ten taels?” The eldest aunt held her chin high. “The most I ever saved was last year—eight taels and five qian, but a single tremor and it was all gone.”
“Things are better now, right?” the eldest uncle chuckled.
“Of course.” The eldest aunt pulled out a money box from the bedside cabinet, unlocked it, and poured out the copper coins, silver fragments, and banknotes, counting them carefully. “In the first half of the year, we saved four taels, three qian, and two fen by living frugally. Two taels of that is for Autumn Brother’s tuition.”
“So I can only spend about two taels, three qian, and two fen,” the eldest aunt said, almost bursting with joy, “But this time, we’ve suddenly got twenty more taels!”
“You haven’t counted my increased income yet,” the eldest uncle said proudly. “Although my monthly salary as a banner officer only increased by one dan, which must be halved, this job isn’t just about the salary.”
“I know, it’s about squeezing out every penny,” the eldest aunt said knowingly. “How much can you make in a month?”
“I checked. When Chief Liu was here, after giving his share to the higher-ups, he could still take home at least five taels a month,” the eldest uncle said. “And during festivals, it’s even more.”
“That much? How much do you plan to take?” the eldest aunt asked.
“I was going to follow the rules. Those merchants thought that was generous enough as long as I didn’t raise taxes,” the eldest uncle pondered. “But since there’s this extra income, I figure I should go easy on people. We’re a scholarly family now—I can’t let the children’s reputations suffer.”
“How easy?” the eldest aunt asked. She wasn’t familiar with or inclined to meddle in affairs outside the household.
“As much as the higher-ups and lower ranks require, we must follow the rules,” the eldest uncle said with his usual decisiveness. “For myself, taking two or three taels a month isn’t excessive, right?”
“If you think it’s okay, then it’s okay.” The eldest aunt nodded and continued counting. “Uncle now pays two taels to the family each month, Spring Brother one tael and five qian, and Summer Brother—how much can he earn now?”
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“The distillery isn’t running yet, so everyone’s working for nothing. How can the Second Manager get wages? We’ll see at the end of the year,” the eldest uncle said confidently. “I see the landlady and Autumn Brother working well together, so we should get a bonus then.”
“Alright, let’s not count on his income for now.” The eldest aunt calculated again, stunned: “We have twenty-four taels on hand now, and monthly income is eight or nine taels, not including year-end dividends.”
She looked at the eldest uncle with tears in her eyes: “Husband, our life is really getting better!”
“You only just realized that?” the eldest uncle laughed lightly. “Now you understand the saying that harmony in the home leads to prosperity? The good days are still ahead!”
“Mm, mm. This time, we absolutely can’t fall back,” the eldest aunt said seriously, planning expenses. “First, I’ll set aside the remaining two years of tuition for Autumn Brother. Now that we have money and the weather’s cooling, he won’t have to travel back and forth. Starting next month, he’ll live at school.”
“Mm.” The eldest uncle lay back contentedly. Seeing his wife so focused on money tonight, he knew she wouldn’t give him trouble. He felt completely relaxed.
“Also, the two rooms leaked badly this summer; we’ll need to replace the tiles after Autumn.”
“Spring Brother and Summer Brother are grown now; we must save for their weddings…”
“Oh dear, if they marry, the house won’t have enough rooms. We’ll need to prepare to build a new one…” The eldest aunt realized there were many expenses ahead.
“Luckily, it’s not urgent this year. We can take it slow.” She was happily troubled. “But if we get another big dividend at year-end, I’ll take care of everything next year!”
The eldest aunt was so delighted by the bright future she could hardly stop smiling. She cheerfully asked the eldest uncle, “Hey, husband, am I being too optimistic?”
The eldest uncle: *snore*
Jin Bao’er: *snore*
“Well, I’m the only one happy here.” The eldest aunt sighed helplessly, then clutched her money and laughed foolishly again.
~~
The next day, the midyear exam results were posted.
As usual, the students gathered early in front of the bulletin board.
When the rankings were posted, a wave of astonishment swept through the crowd.
The student who had held first place since the start of the term was finally replaced!
No longer was it Zhu Zihe, nor Lin Zhihong, nor Qiao Feng—it was Su Lu!
Although everyone expected this day to come, no one thought it would arrive so quickly.
In just half a year, Su had achieved a spectacular turnaround from last place to first—surpassing even the previously unbeatable Zhu Zihe, who had led by a wide margin!
“Congratulations to Su for taking the top spot!” Not only classmates from Shengshen Hall but also peers from Duxing Hall came forward to congratulate Su Lu.
Stories of grassroots comebacks were always popular, and since he had beaten the city-born elite, the story felt even more relatable!
Only the students from Mingzhi Hall made some grudging remarks like, “What’s the big deal about getting lucky once…”
In truth, they also thought Su Lu was remarkable but had to defend Zhu Zihe’s face with contrary words.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Zihe was unappreciative and merely muttered, “Don’t deceive yourselves; it’s only a joke.”
He then fixed his gaze on the top essay: “Look at his writing. Is there any hint of luck here?”
The crowd looked over and some began to recite aloud:
“The Way fills the universe; principle hides in subtlety! Fei serves the Way, concealing meaning and reason; the gentleman moves from the obvious to the profound—the Way thus shines forth…”
After hearing the prose section, the classmates were full of praise: “Su’s introduction remains lofty and commanding, unmatched by any!”
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The same classmate continued reading the eight-legged essay:
“...Fei hides and reveals mutually; the hawk soars to the heavens, presenting the Way; the subtle and the manifest never part, like fish leaping in hidden depths. Broad learning, careful questioning, thorough inquiry, cautious thought, clear discrimination, profound exploration. Fei and hidden talk are like climbing a tree; abandoning hidden words for Fei is like chasing ashes!”
“Well done!” the classmates cheered repeatedly. “Su’s eight-legged essay is perfected—not only is the argument brilliant, but the parallel prose is also exquisite!”
The classmate then read the final and concluding sections in one breath:
“Fei traces the footprints of the Way, weaving through the six directions; hidden reveals the true principle, encompassing a single mind. Journeying far begins near; following Fei leads to hidden. Ascending high starts low; through hidden connects the essay. The sage follows the footprints; the gentleman embodies constancy.”
“Fei encompasses all things; hidden penetrates faint rays; the manifest and hidden harmonize, the Way shines. Fei and hidden support each other; knowledge and action unite; the gentleman practices virtue and flourishes!”
The passages were equally profound and splendid… at least at their level, no one could find fault.
“The final section is especially brilliant!” the classmates said with heartfelt admiration. “What a perfect ‘Fei and hidden support each other, knowledge and action unite, the gentleman practices virtue and flourishes!’ Those lines might even stump the teacher!”
“I personally think ‘The sage follows the footprints; the gentleman embodies constancy’ is even more striking!” Some students voiced different opinions, but all agreed—Su had completed an evolution in eight-legged essay writing, delivering a brilliant beginning and a magnificent ending!
In fact, this time Su’s parallel prose, especially the conclusion, was even more impressive than the introduction!
If he doesn’t take first, who else will?!
~~
They then looked again at Zhu Zihe’s essay. While consistently logical and well-written, even improved from last time, it still fell short compared to Su Lu’s work.
At that moment, Zhu Zihe approached Su Lu, bowed deeply, and said, “Brother Qi, I admit you’ve edged me out this time, but I won’t concede defeat! You must beat me once more to prove it’s not a fluke—only then will I acknowledge you as my superior!”
Having said this, he swept off as before.
Su Lu remained silent, helplessly rubbing his nose.
Qiao Feng sneered beside him: “Why’s he so dramatic?”
Lin Zhihong smiled: “He’s still a gentleman, just extremely self-centered.”
“So basically, a giant baby gentleman?” Li Qiyu teased wickedly. From that moment on, everyone knew Zhu would never shake off that nickname in the academy.
“Did you do so well? Just criticize others?” Su Dan flicked Li Qiyu’s forehead. This time, he had improved from twentieth to sixteenth, feeling quite pleased.
“Of course!” Li Qiyu boasted. “My big brother has been tutoring me for six months; now it’s time to show results!”
He had jumped from twenty-seventh to twenty-third, proudly speaking up at home before his elder brother.
Others also made progress: Cheng Wanzhou rose from twenty-fourth to nineteenth, Ma Qianli from twenty-sixth to twenty-fifth.
The biggest leap was Cheng Wanfan, who jumped from thirty-fifth to twenty-seventh, barely squeaking past the passing mark again.
“As expected, the lower you start, the more room you have to improve…” Li Qiyu teased his struggling friend.
“Go to hell.” Cheng Wanfan didn’t kiss him this time but kicked him in the rear.
P.S. This chapter was an extra update from the Alliance Leader. Thanks to the new leader ‘Liu Er 1979’ for the support. Minor characters will be arranged soon!