Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 20 An inch of Yin is competition
  The college stipulates that dormitory students must go back before closing the gate every day, and someone will come to count the number of people before going to bed.

Therefore, before returning to Zhuangzi, Li An went to the academy to ask for leave from his master, and then returned to the dormitory to pack up his bedding.

"Li An, do you stop reading?" Zeng Chuan said in surprise.

"No, my mother is here and rented a room in Zhuangzi. She has no bedding, and I don't feel safe being alone. I will stay out for one night tonight and come back tomorrow," Li An said.

Although the weather is not cold now, it is still a bit cold at night, and coming to a strange place, Li An is not worried about letting his mother live alone.

"That's it, then let me help you." Zeng Chuan said.

With Zeng Chuan's help, he packed his bedding. Zeng Chuan insisted on sending him to the entrance of the academy, but Li An couldn't resist and could only say thank you.

When the two of them were approaching the door with their bedding, Li An heard the voices of his father Li Nan and the boy guarding the door.

Li An was stunned for a moment before he realized that when his mother came to see him, she had already told her father to stay at his place for the night. But since she didn't go back for so long, her father must have been anxious and came here.

Thinking of this, Li An quickly quickened his pace.

"father!"

Li Nan was asking the boy about Liu's whereabouts. Hearing the sound, he turned around and saw Li An walking over, and said anxiously: "Aniu, your mother came to see you. She hasn't gone back yet. I haven't seen her all the way." Man, do you know where your mother has gone?"

"Dad, Mom is fine. Please help me get my things and I will take you there."

After Li An finished speaking, he turned to Zeng An behind him and said, "Just give the things to my father, please."

"It's all trivial, no need to be polite." Zeng Chuan said with a smile.

"A Niu, what are you doing?" Li Nan looked at Li An with some confusion.

"Dad, we'll talk to you later. It's almost time for the academy to close. Please take your things first," Li An said.

Li Nan didn't ask any more questions after hearing this. He thanked Zeng Chuan and took the things.

Li An told the boy guarding the door that he was asking for leave, and the boy let him out.

After leaving the academy, Li An took his father to Zhuangzi, not far away. On the way, he told his story about how he persuaded his mother to do business.

Worried that his father would disapprove, he even said what he said to persuade his mother.

By the time he finished explaining, they were already outside the rented yard.

"Aniu, why have you been gone for so long?"

It was getting dark at this time. Mrs. Liu heard the sound of the courtyard door and walked out, but did not see Li Nan.

"Mom, dad is here." Li An smiled.

Mrs. Liu was stunned for a moment, looked at Li Nan who walked in and asked in surprise: "Why are you here?"

"You have the nerve to ask. You won't go without saying a word. Do you know how worried I am?" Li Nan said angrily.

He was anxious on the way, fearing that something would happen to his wife.

"Uh~"

Only then did Mrs. Liu remember this incident and said, "Didn't I forget something?"

"Mom and dad, let's not talk about this for now. The house hasn't been tidied up yet. Let's tidy up the house quickly, otherwise we won't be able to sleep at night." Li An said.

Li Nan and Mrs. Liu also knew that this was not the time to talk about this, so they did not dwell on it. The family of three began to tidy up the house with the help of the weak light of the oil lamp.

Jiangnan is rich in water resources. The rented yard is not big, but there is a well.

The three of them fetched water and cleaned up the house. They worked for more than half an hour before they finally cleared out a room.

The rest will be sorted out tomorrow. The family of three simply washed up and went to bed.

Because they only had Li An's bed, they could only squeeze in together for one night.

Lying on the bed, Li An explained to his mother the different ways to treat different parts of pig internal organs. Let the father and mother do it together according to his wishes.

But neither Li Nan nor Liu agreed.

Li An still doesn’t know whether the business will succeed as he said. If Li Nan works now, he will make a day’s profit. If he just stops doing it, the business will fail and he will lose even more.

Seeing that Li An couldn't persuade them, he stopped trying. Anyway, when they saw the benefits, their mother wouldn't be able to do it alone. Then they would naturally know what choice to make.

Early the next morning, the family of three got up early.

Li Nan went back to the dock to work, while Mrs. Liu went to the city to buy pigs and launch them into the water.

Li An completed his daily morning training in the yard and went back to the academy to have breakfast.

During class in the morning, Li An kept thinking about business matters and became a little distracted.

While practicing calligraphy, Master Zhou didn't even notice when he walked next to him.

"What is this word?"

Li An was shocked and came to his senses, only to find that Master Zhou was actually next to him.

He quickly calmed down, looked at one of the characters he had written in the sand tray pointed by Master Zhou's finger, and said, "It's the character of the Emperor of Birds and the Human Emperor."

In the past few days, Master Zhou led them to read "The Thousand-Character Classic" every day, and also explained the meaning, and then let them practice writing.

Master Zhou was not surprised that Li An knew the word "emperor".

The eight characters written by everyone in this class are Dragon Master Fire Emperor, Bird Official and Human Emperor.

At that time, he also deliberately read it, even if he counted it in order, Li An knew what the words were.

However, Li An was able to tell what the word was, which also proved that Li An was listening when he just said it, so he did not punish Li An, but said: "Cun Yin means Jing, what does it mean?"

"It means we should cherish even a moment of time." Li An thought for a while and said.

"You can remember it, which proves that you are paying attention. But this is not enough. You must apply what you learn when you study. As the saying goes, every inch of time is worth an inch of gold. I hope you study hard during class and don't get distracted, you know?" Master Zhou said.

"Thank you, Master, for your teaching. My student understands." Li An cupped his hands and said.

"Well, let's continue practicing calligraphy." After Master Zhou finished speaking, he left with his hands behind his back.

Li An breathed a sigh of relief, he almost got beaten just now.

After learning this lesson, he no longer dared to think wildly and started practicing calligraphy honestly.

After finally getting through the two classes, Li An packed up his things and left the academy.

When he returned to the rented house, he saw several wooden basins in the yard filled with soaked pig hearts, livers, and lungs.

These were soaked until they turned white, and the water in the basin looked very clear, without any trace of blood.

There is also a basin filled with pig intestines and small intestines.

"Aniu, you are back. These were washed several times with running water according to the method you said. Now there is no blood. Those areas have also been washed several times with flour as you said."

Mrs. Liu heard the noise and came out of the house.

"Mom, after this treatment, has the fishy smell become lighter?" Li An said with a smile.

"It has indeed become bland, but once it's cooked, you don't know if it still tastes good when you eat it," Liu said.

"Hey, you'll know when it's done. Mom, go ahead and clean the pot and fill it half full with water." Li An said.

While waiting for his mother to go to work, Li An estimated the size of the pot and mixed the seasonings he bought yesterday into a marinade bag according to the portion.

　Thanks to ApoIogies for the 500 coin reward. Thank you very much.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)