Chapter 4: Peacefully Giving Up the Egg

Back to the matter at hand: as the meal was nearing its end, there was one piece of scrambled egg left. Grandmother habitually reached out to place the egg into Zhu Pingjun’s bowl, but because the egg was loose, half of it fell off her chopsticks onto the table. Grandmother placed the half remaining on her chopsticks into Zhu Pingjun’s bowl. As she prepared to pick up the other half from the table for him, she noticed Zhu Pingjun looking at it with a hint of disdain—perhaps he was thinking of the scene before the meal, or perhaps it was just a sense of balance—so Grandmother instead placed that small piece of egg from the table into Zhu Ping’an’s bowl.

I was truly flattered!

This was the first time Grandmother had ever picked out food for me, even if it had fallen on the table.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Zhu Ping’an said, smiling foolishly at Old Mrs. Zhu.

Seeing her grandson being so sensible touched the heart of the biased Grandmother, though it was only a fleeting feeling. In her heart, only the families of her eldest and youngest sons were truly precious. The eldest son was studying for the imperial examinations and had a bright future, and the youngest son was thoughtful. As for the other two sons, they were both "married men who forgot their mothers," especially the second daughter-in-law, who was the most troublesome; she had instigated her husband, that block of wood, to the point where he almost forgot his own parents.

Zhu Ping’an did not intend to eat this piece of egg himself. It wasn't because it had fallen on the table; ever since arriving in this peasant household, he knew that if he wanted to be as particular about hygiene as he was in his past life, he would just end up starving to death. The conditions were what they were. Besides, in the countryside, everything was natural and organic; if it fell on the ground, you just rinsed it with water and it was fine.

The main reason was the little girl beside him, Zhu Pingyu, who was busy sucking on her fingers. This was an era that valued men over women. Although he wasn't favored by his grandparents, as a boy, he still received more attention from Grandmother than little Yu’er did.

Furthermore, just before the meal, his mother had secretly given him an egg.

"Give it to little sister to eat," Zhu Ping’an said in a gentle voice, using his chopsticks to place the egg into little Yu’er’s small bowl.

Zhu Ping’an’s action drew the attention of everyone at the table. Everyone was curious; in a peasant family, scrambled eggs were no small thing. Usually, they were saved to be sold for money. Especially in the Zhu family, scrambled eggs were a rare dish, and even when they did have them, Old Mrs. Zhu almost always favored the eldest uncle and the youngest uncle. Zhu Ping’an and the others basically never got to eat them. So, for Zhu Ping’an to give up a rare piece of egg to little Yu’er was a much greater feat than Kong Rong offering the pears. In Kong Rong’s time, his family was wealthy and pears were common, unlike the Zhu family now, where a plate of scrambled eggs wasn't seen for months, and even when it was, you couldn't get a bite.

Zhu Ping’an giving the egg from his own mouth to little Yu’er completely refreshed everyone’s worldview! This child, Zhu Ping’an, had truly become sensible!

Little Yu’er stared at the scrambled egg with wide eyes, not blinking once, her mouth already watering.

However, at this moment, the third aunt, Zhang, picked up the egg and put it back into Zhu Ping’an’s bowl. "Come, Yu’er, thank Brother Zhi’er. Zhi’er is such a good boy, but you should keep it and eat it yourself. This egg was given to Zhi’er by Grandmother; Zhi’er should eat it quickly so you can grow tall and strong and be filial to Grandmother."

Although little Yu’er was drooling over the scrambled egg, she was still well-behaved and sensible. She thanked Zhu Ping’an while still drooling, "Thank you, Brother Zhi’er. Yu’er, Yu’er won't eat the scrambled egg."

She said she wouldn't eat it, but her eyes were glued to the egg, and saliva was dripping from her little mouth.

*The little loli is truly adorable,* the little brat thought to himself, forgetting that he was also a short-legged kid.

Zhu Ping’an picked up the egg again, held his little arm out, and placed it into little Yu’er’s mouth with the air of a big brother, saying nicely, "I love watching my little sister eat scrambled eggs."

Once the egg was in her mouth, it was soft and savory. How could a child have the willpower to resist? Besides, it was already in her mouth; she couldn't very well take it out and give it to someone else.

After eating just a fingernail-sized piece of scrambled egg, little Yu’er showed an expression of pure enjoyment and happiness, even cutely sticking out her tongue to lick her lips like a kitten drinking water.

"Is it good, little sister Yu’er?" Zhu Ping’an asked, his cheeks bulging as he ate his own coarse grain pancake.

"It’s good, thank you Brother Zhi’er," little Yu’er replied in a milky voice, her eyebrows curving into crescents.

Since the egg had already been eaten, the third aunt had no choice but to accept it. She felt more and more that the sturdy-looking Zhu Ping’an was sensible and cute, especially when compared to the eldest brother’s son, Zhu Pingjun, who only knew how to eat alone and throw tantrums.

The third aunt touched Zhu Ping’an’s head with an envious look, then turned to tease Chen, "Second sister-in-law, I really envy you for having two good sons. Zhi’er is so loving toward his younger sister; you’ve taught him well. He’ll surely be a filial and good child when he grows up."

No mother dislikes hearing others praise her son, especially since Chen had a bit of a tendency to show off. Naturally, she was overjoyed, waving her hands repeatedly to say "not at all, not at all," but the pride on her face was unmistakable as she chatted and laughed with Zhang.

*Ahem.*

The eldest aunt on the side was not pleased. In her heart, her son was the best. He was the one who was going to study, enter school, and become a scholar. The fortune teller in town had even looked at him and said her son was the reincarnation of the Wenqu Star.

Thinking of this, the eldest aunt, Wu, nudged her husband with her leg, signaling him to speak up and ask Old Master Zhu about letting Zhu Pingjun start his schooling.

The eldest uncle kept his head down and continued eating, ignoring his wife’s signal. He thought his wife was short-sighted. After the commotion caused by his younger brothers and sisters today, it was clearly not a good time to bring this up. Moreover, his own studies for the imperial exams already cost quite a bit, and his younger brothers were already voicing their opinions. If his son were to start school as well, it would be difficult to justify. He should wait until his brothers were away to discuss it with his parents; once it was a done deal, there would be nothing his brothers' families could do about it.

The eldest aunt, a peasant woman, lacked her husband’s cunning. Seeing that he wouldn't speak up—and still dreaming of her son becoming a top scholar—she couldn't hold back. "Father, Mother, look, Jun’er is already seven. He’s getting older, and just idling around like this isn't right. I was thinking, the private school run by Old Scholar Sun in the neighboring Shanghe Village is starting its introductory classes. Wouldn't it be good to let our Jun’er go and learn? In the future, he can bring glory to our Zhu family."

These words made Zhu Ping’an prick up his ears. Schooling—this was something he desperately needed too. On one hand, he could study the Four Books and Five Classics for the imperial exams; on the other, it served as a cover for his knowledge and ideas, which were hundreds of years ahead of his time. After all, "within books, one finds jade-like beauty." In this era, people held scholars in the highest regard. Once he was in school, any understanding or insight he had that surpassed others could be attributed to his studies.

"Of all pursuits, studying is the highest"—this was an unshakeable truth in this era. Even a wealthy tycoon in this day and age wouldn't dare talk back if a penniless scholar pointed a finger at his nose and cursed him. Furthermore, in this era, education was the primary and most effective path for a child from a humble background to advance in society.

Thus, Zhu Ping’an also raised his chubby little hand. "I want to go to school too."

"You’re so young, what kind of schooling do you need? Besides, not just anyone can go to school. You have to be a Wenqu Star from heaven. Our Jun’er has had his fortune told by a master; he is the reincarnation of the Wenqu Star." The eldest aunt was the first to oppose Zhu Ping’an’s schooling. She knew that the family’s money was nowhere near enough to support two people in school. They were already eating coarse grain porridge and vegetable leaves; if both of them went to school, the family would definitely be unable to put food on the table.

The eldest aunt’s words were filled with belittling Zhu Ping’an and elevating Zhu Pingjun, which made Chen very unhappy. However, Chen was wary of the eldest aunt’s family. The eldest uncle was a scholar; if he were to pass the imperial exams and become a scholar or a provincial graduate, the family would have to rely on him. Therefore, Chen only frowned, thinking that even if she didn't speak up, someone else would. There was no need to offend the eldest aunt’s family.

Sure enough, Chen didn't speak, but someone else couldn't hold back. The fourth aunt immediately expressed her opposition.

"Eldest sister-in-law, our family is barely able to keep the pot boiling; we don't have any extra money to support another student, right Mother? I think it’s better to wait until our family saves up some money before letting Jun’er start school." The fourth aunt’s words were quite sophisticated. She knew to pull Old Mrs. Zhu in as an ally, opposing the schooling without being overly confrontational, leaving room for maneuver. On one hand, she mentioned that the family was already supporting the eldest uncle’s studies; on the other, she claimed they couldn't afford to send Jun’er to school because the family was struggling, promising to let him go once they had extra money. As for when the family would have extra money, that was hard to say—ever since the fourth aunt had married into the Zhu family, they had never been wealthy enough to be extravagant.