The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household

Chapter 25: Qian Sishui Offers Incense to the Shi Family’s Ancestors

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the end, Qian Sishui gave Auntie Wan’s some money, asking him for help in finding people from the village who were not busy and wanted to earn money by farming.

Auntie Wan’s eldest son, Li Kui, lived up to his name.

He was big and burly with a big beard, and his eyes were as big as copper coins! He looked especially intimidating when he was angry.

Because of Li Kui, Auntie Wan’s family was very harmonious. They had no other choice but to be harmonious because if they angered Li Kui, he wouldn’t care about anyone but his parents.

He was strong, simple, and righteous. He was not a force to be reckoned with both within and outside of the village.

In the past, the old village chief wanted Li Kui to take over his position, but this guy had rejected him without second thought! It made the old village chief look at him in disdain every time he saw him.

Li Kui’s voice was loud and clear. He roared as soon as he left his house, “Sister Qian! I’ve found everyone for you. When should they start work?”

Li Kui followed behind Auntie An. Hearing the man shout, she quickly said, “Lower your voice. Don’t scare the girl.”

“Heh, I don’t want to stay with you women.” He had to hold back his words.

Li Kui had interacted with Qian Sishui twice, so his impression of her was as mysterious as meeting an faceless guru.

He was already old. Otherwise, he would have definitely asked the young lady to take him in as a disciple.

“What’s wrong with us women? I’ll tell Mother when I get back later that you look down on us women.” Auntie An had been with Li Kui for so long that she knew her husband very well.

“Aiyo, what did I say just now? I don’t think I said anything.” It was not embarrassing for a man to admit defeat! “Did you hear me say something? Hahaha…”

His laughter sent the birds on the trees in the watershed flying.

Qian Sishui had long heard the noise and was already waiting for Li Kui and Auntie An with her money bag.

“Sister, don’t mind me. My husband was born with such a loud voice.”

Qian Sishui wanted to laugh, but in the end, she realized that the corners of her mouth were like steel bars. She couldn’t smile at all. She gave up again.

“It’s okay, Sister-in-law.”

The three of them sat down in the courtyard. Auntie An knew that Qian Sishui was a woman of few words.

“Have you prepared the seeds? When do you plan to plant them?” Auntie An asked.

Qian Sishui pushed the wallet to Auntie An. “You decide. I don’t know how to do it.”

There was nothing wrong with what she had said, and she had said it with no change in her expression.

“Has Jinhu been preparing for the exam these days? The last time I came back from town, I heard that this year’s scholar exam will start on the 26th of September,” Li Kui said.

Qian Sishui didn’t know how to respond. She had completely forgotten about this…

Auntie An looked at Qian Sishui and sighed. “You’re really forgetful!” How could she even forget about this?

If this was any other family, the family members would not be able to sleep or eat well from worry. They would even offer incense every morning and night to pray for the blessings of their ancestors and the gods. On the contrary, she had forgotten about the exam!

“The old people say that a woman with a big heart is blessed. Hua will definitely make you a scholar’s wife!” Li Kui laughed.

“We’ll take the money. Don’t worry about the matters in the fields. I guarantee that I’ll do a good job.”

Li Kui thought to himself, ‘The main problem is that you won’to even understand anything even if you wanted to care.’

After Li Kui and his wife left, Qian Sishui thought for a while. What should she do?

She remembered that Auntie Wan said that Shi Jinhua wanted her to offer incense to her parents-in-law when he went for the exam. She was supposed to tell Shi Jinhua’s parents about the exam and ask them to bless him.

Qian Sishui couldn’t help but wonder, ‘You mean you have to worry about your children even after you die?’

Qian Sishui held three incense sticks in her hand and looked at the altar. She did not say a word for a long time.

The incense was almost half-burnt, and her mouth was already a little sore. Even so, she couldn’t say anything decent.

“Do as you deem fit!” She finally managed to say as her hands grew numb.

To that, even the ancestors would have nothing to say. Were descendants so difficult to serve now? Had the altar been placed in the wrong direction?

At that very moment, Shi Jinhua was carefully checking the brushes, ink, and food used for the next day’s exam. He would take three consecutive days of exams, so he had prepared three days’ worth of food.

He took out the clothes he was going to wear the next day and placed them on the table. He looked at them again before lying on the bed to rest.

All he could think of was, ‘I haven’t been back to the village for more than two months. I wonder if she’s busy at home alone? Is she tired? Is there enough money to spend?’

If Qian Sishui knew what Shi Jinhua was thinking at this moment, she would definitely say, “How naive!”

When the rooster crowed, Master Zhao, who was in charge of leading the team, began to urge the students to get out of bed.

“Shi Jinhua, get up quickly and tidy up. It’s time to eat and set off.” It was better to get to the venue early than late.

“Yes, Mr. Zhao.”

As Shi Jinhua had woken up early, he checked his luggage again and washed up after confirming that there were no problems.

The helper brought the food over. Shi Jinhua looked at his breakfast and suddenly lost his appetite. At this moment, a cat jumped in from the window.

The cat was so skinny that Shi Jinhua could not bear to look at it.

“Here you go.”

As he spoke, he poured the food on the floor for the cat. He watched the cat eat happily. Just as the cat was about to finish eating, Mr. Zhao called for everyone to gather in the corridor.

Shi Jinhua took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. His body and mind felt much better.

“Coming.”

Carrying the scholar’s basket on his back, he tidied his clothes before opening the door and walking out.

When the helper came to clean up the dishes, he found it strange that the bowl was exceptionally clean—as though it had been licked.

‘What a country bumpkin,’ the helper thought.

When they arrived at the examination venue, they lined up for the checks in a small room. It was Shi Jinhua’s turn.

“Put down all your belongings and enter the room in front. Remember! Don’t say a word!” the examiner instructed sternly. “If you say anything, you’ll be disqualified immediately! Go!”

Shi Jinhua bowed before turning around and entering the room in front.

Inside were three staff members holding rulers. All of them had serious expressions on their faces.

One of them said, “Take everything off.”

Then, just like that, Shi Jinhua stripped himself naked. Like a newborn baby, every part of his body was thoroughly checked.

If the skin of a certain place was slightly looser, one had to show the inspector if he asked for it! Otherwise, what if one hid answers there?

The staff had long gotten numb to it, but many examinees would still blush.

If Qian Sishui knew about this rule, she would definitely say, “Impressive…”

However, Shi Jinhua put on his clothes without any change in his expression and walked out naturally.

Embarrassed? Impossible! Other than facing that valiant woman, Qian Sishui, everything else was trivial!

Behind Shi Jinhua was Zhao Qimin. When the latter brushed past Shi Jinhua, he looked at the scholar with a faint smile.

Unfortunately, the examinees were not allowed to look at each other during the examination or within the examination hall.

Shi Jinhua had not seen Zhao Qimin’s expression at all. He simply carried his luggage and entered the examination hall with his queue number.

Each person had a room. When Shi Jinhua saw his seat, he heaved a sigh of relief!

It was a good thing he wasn’t in front of the washroom. Otherwise, he might have fainted.

At this moment, Zhao Qimin looked at his seat as if he had been struck by lightning.

The washroom! And his door opened right to the door of the washroom!

At this moment, an examinee walked past him and watched him as they entered the toilet.

Judging from the sound coming from inside, it was obvious that this man was constipated!

Zhao Qimin had no words to describe his feelings, but he could feel his stomach churning uncomfortably.

The warning bell rang. All the examinees stood up and listened to the main examiner read out the exam rules.