Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 498: Mr. Lu came to visit cautiously

Everyone ordered their own dishes, sat there drinking sour plum soup, enjoying the cool breeze, and patiently waited for the food to be served, occasionally chatting about the recent weather and business.

The old man was willing to strike up a conversation, and after a few words he got the diners talking.

Most of the customers who came in at this time were nearby shop owners and some familiar old customers.

Seeing that the old man was a stranger from another place whom they had never seen before, and was curious about the owner of Fengnian Restaurant, they started chatting with him.

Soon, the old man knew about the many good things Shen Yu had done, such as selling firewood to the laborers every day last winter and agreeing to provide porridge at the city gate this year.

When talking about the way she dealt with people and things, those worldly-wise shopkeepers were generous with their praises.

They all praised her for her sincerity, her good cooking skills, and her shrewdness and ingenuity in business, which was no less than that of men.

The old man listened carefully and took it all in mind.

The old lady next to her became happier and happier as she listened, and she had a smiling face the whole time.

If someone didn't know her, they would think that the person being praised was her most proud granddaughter.

After the two of them finished eating slowly, there was really no reason to stay any longer, and without waiting for Shen Yu to come back, they had to get up, pay the bill and leave the store.

The two men were standing at the door of the store, and were about to ask the driver to drive the cart over when they saw a sleek little donkey pulling a small flatbed cart parked at the door of the store.

There were many fresh green lotus leaves piled on the car, and next to it was a wooden basin filled with large and plump lotus pods.

After the car stopped, two young girls jumped out.

One of them was younger, about ten years old, wearing a light willow yellow short shirt, with curved eyebrows and eyes, quiet and gentle.

The other one was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a light green short-sleeved shirt and holding a long bunch of pink lotus buds in her arms.

Although it was only a glimpse, I saw that she had a pretty face. Her looks were not particularly outstanding, but her eyes were bright and she looked full of vigor, like a flower in full bloom in summer, dazzling one's eyes in just a moment.

Both of them were wearing bamboo hats, their faces were flushed with heat. After getting off the car, the older girl opened the curtain and ran into the restaurant like a little deer.

Soon, two guys came over to carry the lotus leaves and lotus pods off the car.

The young girl who had just entered had put down the lotus buds she was holding and came out to help move the things.

She smiled and reminded him: "Be careful, we spent a lot of effort to get these fresh lotus leaves. We will have lotus leaf porridge to drink in the evening."

The old woman's eyes fell on the girl of about sixteen or seventeen, and she was wondering who this girl was.

Then the waiter replied cheerfully, "I see, young lady. You and Miss Yutao should go in quickly."

"The weather is too hot, let's move these."

"Once we're done moving, send Xiaobai back to the stable to give him some water, and make sure he doesn't get thirsty."

The young girl agreed with a smile and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Then he went into the restaurant with the little girl called Yutao.

The old woman thought for a moment, then approached a customer who had just come out to pay the bill and asked, "Young man, I want to ask you, is the girl in the light green shirt just now Miss Shen, the owner of this Fengnian Restaurant?"

The guest smiled and said, "It's Miss Shen. Mother-in-law, you were asking about her just now. She's back now. You should go in and find her quickly."

The old woman thanked the diner, who just waved his hand and went on with his business.

The old woman smiled and said to the old man, "Master, what do you think?"

The old man nodded: "That's true. Let's go back and hear what the second brother has to say."

As they spoke, the two of them got on the carriage. The coachman put away the sedan chair and drove the carriage away slowly.

Anping County Yamen.

The old man and the old woman were now sitting in the study of the county magistrate in the back court, leisurely sipping the freshly brewed tea.

The county magistrate was busy tidying up a half-finished ink bamboo painting on the desk, as well as a row of various tea pets.

The old man sat nearby and watched in silence, with a look of disappointment on his face.

When Lu Zheng finally tidied up the desk, the old man said coldly: "Second Brother, I came from the front, and the two masters are still busy with the matters at hand."

"How come you, the county magistrate, are so idle here, painting and enjoying tea pets!"

"Is this how you normally work as a county magistrate?"

This time, Lu Zheng did not just accept the scolding like he did in the capital city in the past. Instead, he mustered up the courage to defend himself and said, "Father has wronged me."

"I've been busy these days, but today I've finished my work and have some free time."

"I haven't painted for a long time. I was caught by my father after I finished half of the painting. I am usually very diligent."

The old woman advised, "Master, why are you so angry? You and your son haven't seen each other for so long, and you're scolding each other as soon as you meet."

"I think the second one is much better now. On our way here, the people have been praising the county magistrate."

"Everyone in the county government has their own duties. As a county magistrate, does he have to do everything himself?"

"Don't you usually take care of everything and read in the study?"

The old man thought about himself hiding in the study reading a new storybook and drinking tea, pursed his lips and said nothing more.

It turned out that the old man was the county magistrate's father, Mr. Lu, the prince's tutor, and the old woman was naturally the lady.

In previous years, Mr. Lu always participated in the palace selection.

However, this time his own grandson also had to take the exam. In order to avoid suspicion, he simply claimed to be unwell, asked for leave from the emperor, and recuperated at home.

He closed the door and refused visitors, waiting for Lu Lang's test results.

Lu Lang ranked second in this exam.

Normally speaking, he was only 20 years old, but he had already won the second place in the imperial examination, which was already a great success at a young age.

When the result was known, the whole court was in an uproar and everyone congratulated Lord Lu.

Old Lady Lu was also very proud of herself. She felt that although her two sons were also officials in the court, they had never had such a high profile. This time, they could finally hold their heads high.

But the only drawback was that there was a flood in Ji'an Prefecture, and there had been no news from Anping County in recent days. He was always worried about his good-for-nothing little son.

Because Old Master Lu had promised to marry Lu Lang only if he won the first place in the imperial examination, even though Lu Lang won the second place and was waiting to be appointed as an official in Beijing, he was not happy at all.

I heard that the top three on the list were appointed as sixth-rank officials, which is higher than his father's rank, and they have a bright future.

Even after hearing such good news, there was no trace of a smile on Lu Lang's face.

He looked three times colder than his usual aloof appearance, causing everyone in the mansion to automatically avoid him when they saw him.