251 Stupidity was okay, a lack of Discipline was not
Lu Jiao patted the Fourth Born’s head, “Your dad is teaching students to earn money. The students are paying for his help. We have a big family and it costs a lot to feed all of us. Of course, your dad needs to make money.”
Lu Jiao was trying to teach the four little ones that as men, they should work.
The four little ones listened to her and thought it over, “Mommy, you’re right.”
Men should work and make money for their families. Their mommy shouldn’t have to do everything.
The next day, bright and early, Lu Jiao asked Lu Gui to get up and help with today’s lunch. From tea to vegetables, to alcohol, as well as dessert and fruit, Lu Jiao made a list and asked Lu Gui to go out and purchase from the list.
Lu Jiao asked Feng Zhi and aunt Qiu to help her make stuffed pastries. She planned on giving those out to her neighbors. Since she’ll be seeing these people around, she preferred to establish good relationships with them.
Since there was so much to do and she didn’t have much time, she could only make yolk pastries and sesame pastries.
By the time the four little ones got up, Lu Jiao had already made three pans full of pastries.
The four little ones stared at the pastries and exclaimed in surprise, “Mommy, you made so many buns.”
Feng Zhi laughed, “The madam wants to give these out. That’s why she made so many.”
The four little ones rushed up to Lu Jiao, “Mommy, who are you going to give those to?”
“Our neighbors. In a bit, do you want to come with me to give these out?”
She wanted to take the children and have them meet more people. That way, the children can become less afraid socially.
The four little ones naturally agreed, “Okay, mommy.”
Lu Jiao then said to Feng Zhi and aunt Qiu, “Get ready to have breakfast.”
The two responded, “Sure, ma’am.”
For breakfast, there was sheep milk, eggs, porridge, steamed buns, and pastries. There was also a side of cold cucumber and pickled radish.
Aunt Hua said she knew how to pickle different vegetables and Lu Jiao asked her to prepare some when she got the time.
Once all the food was laid out on the table, Xie Yunjin and Lu Gui arrived. The two of them were surprised at how early Lu Jiao and the four little ones got up.
The four little ones ran to Xie Yunjin, “Daddy, mommy made lots of pastries to give to the neighbors. We are going to go with mommy later to give them out.”
Xie Yunjin glanced at Lu Jiao. more and more now, he realized how good Lu Jiao was at raising children. There was no way he could’ve done a better job.
Xie Yunjin patted the four little ones’ heads, “Be kind to others. Listen to your mother.”
“We know.”
The family sat down around the table. Lu Jiao gave Lu Gui the shopping list she made, “Buy everything that’s on the list. Ask uncle Lin to give you a ride and help you carry everything. Anything you don’t know, ask uncle Lin.”
Uncle Lin was a coachman once – one for a wealthy family at that. Therefore, he must know fancy things better than Lu Gui did.
Lu Jiao wanted Lu Gui to do the shopping to train him. Since he was determined to follow her around, she had to help develop him.
“Okay, sister.”
Luckily, Lu Gui was a good listener and was obedient. Stupidity was okay, but a lack of discipline was not.
After breakfast, Lu Jiao got ready to start visiting the neighbors with the four little ones.
However, Xie Yunjin suddenly offered to come as well.
“If we go as a family, we’ll seem more genuine.”
Lu Jiao asked caringly, “Don’t you need to study?”
“It’s okay to spare a little time.”
Xie Yunjin grabbed two of the children’s hands and walked out. Lu Jiao followed with the other two.
The four little ones were very happy to be accompanied by both their parents.
Behind them was Feng Zhi. She had a basket with several packs of pastries and a few bags of candy.
Lu Jiao ended up deciding to give one box of pastry and one bag of candy to each family.
Since she had no idea what her neighbor’s personalities were, she wanted to test the waters first.
To the east of Lu Jiao’s home lived a county law enforcement officer. His surname was Zhao and people often referred to him as officer Zhao. His wife was Lady Lu. They have four children with their eldest son being a child student who studied in the city. The family moved here just so their eldest son could be close to school.
Lady Lu was mild-mannered and smiled before speaking. It was obvious to Lu Jiao that she would be easy to get along with. The family’s eldest daughter, however, seemed to be difficult. The moment she saw Xie Yunjin, her eyes were glued on him.
Lu Jiao speechlessly studied the girl, then glanced at Xie Yunjin. Silently, she complained about how this man attracted trouble.
Though Xie Yunjin couldn’t hear Lu Jiao thoughts, the look in her eyes was enough for him to understand. His face instantly dropped to below 0.
Lu Jiao quickly took him away and went to the next family. She didn’t want their first meeting with their neighbor to be unpleasant.
After they left the Zhao manor, Xie Yunjin mumbled to Lu Jiao, “I didn’t acknowledge her.”
Lu Jiao mindlessly complimented, “Yes, good.”
Though Lu Jiao was mindless with her praise, Xie Yunjin was exceptionally happy. As that seemed to make Lu Jiao happy, he silently reminded himself to keep his distance from other women.
Lu Jiao didn’t know how much Xie Yunjin was thinking and headed more east.
The Zhao family’s next-door neighbor was the Liu family. The Liu family was simple, with only a senior couple and a very severely sick grandson. Their grandson was handsome but pale and weak. It was August yet he was wearing very thick clothing.
The Liu seniors were nice and so was their grandson. He was sick but still came out to greet the guests.
When he came out, he recognized Xie Yunjin immediately and was thrilled.
“Yunjin, you moved to osmanthus alley! I…”
He then started to cough for a while before continuing, “I’ve always respected you. I wonder if I can ask you questions when I encounter them while studying.”
Xie Yunjin recognized him as well. He was a pupil from the same school, Liu Ziyan.
Liu Ziyan was also a scholar. However, he had very poor health and often had to take a break from school to rest at home. Despite this, he still passed his exams and became a scholar of the Qinghe County.
With his current health like this, could he still participate in next year’s exam? Xie Yunjin knew how sick he could get.
XIe Yunjin didn’t say anything about that and merely smiled, “Now we can discuss our studies easily. Let’s hope we will pass next year’s provincial exam.”
Liu Ziyan looked at Xie Yunjin, “I’m sure you will pass and will place first. I’m not so sure about myself. I’m not even sure I can pass.”
His face then fell like he had been struck.
Inside the living room, the two elders comforted him, “You will pass. Don’t worry.”
Lu Jiao glanced at Liu Ziyan and doubted that he could do much given his health. He might never even make it to the exam.
Since it was only her first visit, she didn’t say anything.
After visiting the Liu family. She stopped heading east and went to the west.
251 Stupidity was okay, a lack of Discipline was not
Lu Jiao patted the Fourth Born’s head, “Your dad is teaching students to earn money. The students are paying for his help. We have a big family and it costs a lot to feed all of us. Of course, your dad needs to make money.”
Lu Jiao was trying to teach the four little ones that as men, they should work.
The four little ones listened to her and thought it over, “Mommy, you’re right.”
Men should work and make money for their families. Their mommy shouldn’t have to do everything.
The next day, bright and early, Lu Jiao asked Lu Gui to get up and help with today’s lunch. From tea to vegetables, to alcohol, as well as dessert and fruit, Lu Jiao made a list and asked Lu Gui to go out and purchase from the list.
Lu Jiao asked Feng Zhi and aunt Qiu to help her make stuffed pastries. She planned on giving those out to her neighbors. Since she’ll be seeing these people around, she preferred to establish good relationships with them.
Since there was so much to do and she didn’t have much time, she could only make yolk pastries and sesame pastries.
By the time the four little ones got up, Lu Jiao had already made three pans full of pastries.
The four little ones stared at the pastries and exclaimed in surprise, “Mommy, you made so many buns.”
Feng Zhi laughed, “The madam wants to give these out. That’s why she made so many.”
The four little ones rushed up to Lu Jiao, “Mommy, who are you going to give those to?”
“Our neighbors. In a bit, do you want to come with me to give these out?”
She wanted to take the children and have them meet more people. That way, the children can become less afraid socially.
The four little ones naturally agreed, “Okay, mommy.”
Lu Jiao then said to Feng Zhi and aunt Qiu, “Get ready to have breakfast.”
The two responded, “Sure, ma’am.”
For breakfast, there was sheep milk, eggs, porridge, steamed buns, and pastries. There was also a side of cold cucumber and pickled radish.
Aunt Hua said she knew how to pickle different vegetables and Lu Jiao asked her to prepare some when she got the time.
Once all the food was laid out on the table, Xie Yunjin and Lu Gui arrived. The two of them were surprised at how early Lu Jiao and the four little ones got up.
The four little ones ran to Xie Yunjin, “Daddy, mommy made lots of pastries to give to the neighbors. We are going to go with mommy later to give them out.”
Xie Yunjin glanced at Lu Jiao. more and more now, he realized how good Lu Jiao was at raising children. There was no way he could’ve done a better job.
Xie Yunjin patted the four little ones’ heads, “Be kind to others. Listen to your mother.”
“We know.”
The family sat down around the table. Lu Jiao gave Lu Gui the shopping list she made, “Buy everything that’s on the list. Ask uncle Lin to give you a ride and help you carry everything. Anything you don’t know, ask uncle Lin.”
Uncle Lin was a coachman once – one for a wealthy family at that. Therefore, he must know fancy things better than Lu Gui did.
Lu Jiao wanted Lu Gui to do the shopping to train him. Since he was determined to follow her around, she had to help develop him.
“Okay, sister.”
Luckily, Lu Gui was a good listener and was obedient. Stupidity was okay, but a lack of discipline was not.
After breakfast, Lu Jiao got ready to start visiting the neighbors with the four little ones.
However, Xie Yunjin suddenly offered to come as well.
“If we go as a family, we’ll seem more genuine.”
Lu Jiao asked caringly, “Don’t you need to study?”
“It’s okay to spare a little time.”
Xie Yunjin grabbed two of the children’s hands and walked out. Lu Jiao followed with the other two.
The four little ones were very happy to be accompanied by both their parents.
Behind them was Feng Zhi. She had a basket with several packs of pastries and a few bags of candy.
Lu Jiao ended up deciding to give one box of pastry and one bag of candy to each family.
Since she had no idea what her neighbor’s personalities were, she wanted to test the waters first.
To the east of Lu Jiao’s home lived a county law enforcement officer. His surname was Zhao and people often referred to him as officer Zhao. His wife was Lady Lu. They have four children with their eldest son being a child student who studied in the city. The family moved here just so their eldest son could be close to school.
Lady Lu was mild-mannered and smiled before speaking. It was obvious to Lu Jiao that she would be easy to get along with. The family’s eldest daughter, however, seemed to be difficult. The moment she saw Xie Yunjin, her eyes were glued on him.
Lu Jiao speechlessly studied the girl, then glanced at Xie Yunjin. Silently, she complained about how this man attracted trouble.
Though Xie Yunjin couldn’t hear Lu Jiao thoughts, the look in her eyes was enough for him to understand. His face instantly dropped to below 0.
Lu Jiao quickly took him away and went to the next family. She didn’t want their first meeting with their neighbor to be unpleasant.
After they left the Zhao manor, Xie Yunjin mumbled to Lu Jiao, “I didn’t acknowledge her.”
Lu Jiao mindlessly complimented, “Yes, good.”
Though Lu Jiao was mindless with her praise, Xie Yunjin was exceptionally happy. As that seemed to make Lu Jiao happy, he silently reminded himself to keep his distance from other women.
Lu Jiao didn’t know how much Xie Yunjin was thinking and headed more east.
The Zhao family’s next-door neighbor was the Liu family. The Liu family was simple, with only a senior couple and a very severely sick grandson. Their grandson was handsome but pale and weak. It was August yet he was wearing very thick clothing.
The Liu seniors were nice and so was their grandson. He was sick but still came out to greet the guests.
When he came out, he recognized Xie Yunjin immediately and was thrilled.
“Yunjin, you moved to osmanthus alley! I…”
He then started to cough for a while before continuing, “I’ve always respected you. I wonder if I can ask you questions when I encounter them while studying.”
Xie Yunjin recognized him as well. He was a pupil from the same school, Liu Ziyan.
Liu Ziyan was also a scholar. However, he had very poor health and often had to take a break from school to rest at home. Despite this, he still passed his exams and became a scholar of the Qinghe County.
With his current health like this, could he still participate in next year’s exam? Xie Yunjin knew how sick he could get.
XIe Yunjin didn’t say anything about that and merely smiled, “Now we can discuss our studies easily. Let’s hope we will pass next year’s provincial exam.”
Liu Ziyan looked at Xie Yunjin, “I’m sure you will pass and will place first. I’m not so sure about myself. I’m not even sure I can pass.”
His face then fell like he had been struck.
Inside the living room, the two elders comforted him, “You will pass. Don’t worry.”
Lu Jiao glanced at Liu Ziyan and doubted that he could do much given his health. He might never even make it to the exam.
Since it was only her first visit, she didn’t say anything.
After visiting the Liu family. She stopped heading east and went to the west.
