Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 196 Mushrooms Will Grow Under the Blanket

Zhang Xuyang gave him a look that said, "We shouldn't have trusted you, kid." Then he added, "You haven't even gone yet, have to come out and show off. Look at how capable you think you are. You're just fooling us."

Shen Siheng couldn't hide his embarrassment. He lowered his head in shame, realizing that he had indeed done wrong and shouldn't have lied to them first.

He looked at Meng Jiuhe, who seemed hesitant to speak, and wondered how he should begin to explain himself. He hadn't even started studying at the academy yet, so it was too early for him to make such pronouncements.

Furthermore, Mingyue Academy is quite strict. To study here, one not only needs to be good at academics, but also needs to be recognized by the teacher and come from a wealthy family, otherwise one cannot even afford the tuition for a year.

I heard that the teachers there are all successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and there is also a retired official who occasionally comes to give lectures. So his father is trying his best to send him to Mingyue Academy, because the academy has produced several successful candidates in the imperial examinations and is famous far and wide. Several neighboring counties send students there. In his father's words, even if he doesn't pass the exams, it would be a blessing to meet future successful candidates in the imperial examinations and the imperial examinations.

Seeing that his face was flushed and he looked guilty, Xu Chaoyan quickly changed the subject to help him out. After all, this kid was a teenager, and he still had his pride after being told off like that.

Meng Jiu merely frowned slightly and did not reprimand him.

“Young Master Shen, didn’t you say there was another academy? Why don’t we go take a look? We’re new here, and I’d like to start a small business here. If we have any questions, we’ll need your help.”

Shen Siheng looked at her with gratitude, his eyes clear and bright. Judging from his anxious expression, he was probably about to cry if Zhang Xuyang and the others kept talking.

Xu Chaoyan patted his shoulder and comforted him, "You're just telling the truth, we won't make fun of you."

Shen Siheng looked aggrieved before explaining, "Sister-in-law, you don't know this, but it's very difficult to get into Mingyue Academy. Not only is the tuition twice as much as other academies, but those who can study at Mingyue Academy are all academically excellent and recognized by the teachers. I only got this spot by sheer luck."

Zhang Xuyang then quickly added insult to injury: "Hearing you say that, the academy must be very strict. Your writing must be excellent. Why don't we discuss it together?"

They had been studying in the town and had never interacted with the students in the county. In fact, he was unsure of himself and also wanted to know where the difference between the two of them lay.

Previously, the town's teacher had been telling them to find a better teacher, but he had already taught them everything he knew and was now powerless to do so. So, he moved his whole family to the county town, hoping to get good value for their money and learn a lot, rather than wasting money here.

He saw how hard his parents worked, and he didn't want them to suffer their whole lives and devote all their energy to him. If he could, he would prefer to go out and find a job and live a simple and peaceful life.

But his parents always said they hoped he would study hard, understand right from wrong, and bring honor to the Zhang family; they didn't want him to spend his whole life toiling in the fields.

Seeing the guilty looks in his parents' eyes, Zhang Xuyang couldn't bring himself to say it and could only reluctantly agree.

He also knew that the tuition at the academy was quite high for a year. He had just asked Meng Jiuhe at the bookstore and found that he could earn 20 coins for copying a book. If the owner was satisfied and they persisted for a long time, they could earn an extra 5 coins per book. This way, he could also ease some of his mother's burden.

Upon hearing this, Shen Siheng was overjoyed. He wanted to befriend Meng Jiu and the others because he had seen the annotations in Meng Jiu's book and Meng Jiu's neat handwriting, which made him want to befriend them.

"Brother Meng, I would also like to learn from you. How about we go to a teahouse to rest for a while since it's still early?"

This time, Meng Jiu did not refuse and cooperated by walking with them.

The group headed towards the teahouse, and along the way, Shen Siheng introduced them to various shops and streets, forgetting their previous unpleasantness.

When the group arrived at the teahouse, a man suddenly bumped into Meng Jiuhe. The man seemed to be in a hurry. After bumping into Meng Jiuhe, he quickly cupped his hands in apology and then left.

When Shen Siheng saw that Meng Jiuhe had been bumped, he became annoyed and planned to chase after the person to demand an explanation, but Meng Jiuhe stopped him.

"Forget it. He seemed to be in a hurry, so he must have something urgent to attend to. Let's be lenient when we can. Besides, that person has already apologized, and I haven't lost anything."

They were newcomers and didn't want to cause trouble. Besides, the man had apologized in a hurry and left in a rush, so he must have encountered some difficulties.

Zhang Xuyang then spoke up: "That man looks like a scholar, so he must be a student from the neighborhood. At this hour, instead of studying in the academy, he's out drinking tea and listening to music. He's probably not a good person."

Shen Siheng nodded in agreement: "Yes, Zhang Xuyang, what you said makes sense. Just by looking at him, he's no good. Instead of studying, he's out drinking tea and listening to music. He's probably not a good person either."

Zhang Xuyang glanced at him discreetly and muttered under his breath, "You're not exactly a saint either. You lied and said you were in before you even entered the academy, which fooled us all."

He spoke very softly at the beginning, so Shen Siheng didn't hear him. But he heard the last few sentences clearly, and feeling a little guilty, he quickly told everyone to leave.

"I'll treat you to tea and snacks. The owner of this teahouse is a good friend of my father. His snacks are famous in the county. They are only available in limited quantities every day. Even when the county magistrate's wife comes, no exceptions are made."

Upon hearing this, Xu Chaoyan became interested: "Just how delicious are their pastries? Even the county magistrate's family can't make an exception."

She glanced inside with anticipation.

After the group parted ways and returned to the courtyard, the aunt and her daughter were washing clothes in the yard. They didn't see Meng Jiuxia, which puzzled Xu Chaoyan. She had just brought back two bags of candy from outside. She saw that the door to her sister-in-law's room was tightly closed, and several chickens were clucking incessantly. Usually at this time, Meng Jiuxia and Xia would be feeding the chickens vegetables or cleaning the chicken coop. They were quite surprised to see her not here.

She then asked, "Have you seen my sister-in-law, Auntie? It's such a nice day; she should come out and soak up the sun."

The old woman was hanging clothes to dry on a bamboo pole. She stopped what she was doing and thought for a moment before replying, "I saw her sweeping the yard earlier, but I haven't seen her now. I didn't hear any noise at the gate either. She's probably dozing off inside. Why don't you go in and take a look? It's so cold in the dead of winter, you should go and check on her."

Zhang Xuyang and Meng Jiuhe still had some academic matters to discuss, so Xu Chaoyan didn't keep them any longer.

She walked straight over and gently knocked on the door twice: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, are you inside?"

She called out twice but received no response from inside. Puzzled, she gently pushed the door open and saw a small bulge on the bed, from which she could hear soft sobbing.

She went over and called out again, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Or did someone bully you?"

Meng Jiuxia then stopped sobbing and remained covered by the blanket.

Xu Chaoyan became increasingly anxious. Seeing her covered by the blanket, she sat directly on the bed to comfort her: "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Or what? Tell your sister-in-law. Aren't you afraid of getting sick from covering yourself like this?"

Meng Jiuxia kept shrinking further inside, without uttering a sound.

Xu Chaoyan thought to herself for a moment. Her sister-in-law was fine when they went out today. How could she be so sad and upset in such a short time? She was completely confused. Could something have happened to her that she didn't know about while they were out?

She spoke softly again, "Little sister-in-law, if you don't come out and stay hidden under the covers, you'll grow mushrooms. I brought you some pine nut candy, do you want to try some?"

Meng Jiuxia said in a muffled voice, "Sister-in-law, who are you trying to fool? I'm not a child. You can't believe you'd make up something like 'mushrooms will grow if I stay under the covers.' Do you think I'm some kind of little brat?"