Chapter 5: Warmth Within the Hibiscus Curtains

Old Mrs. Zhu was silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "Eldest daughter-in-law, the family truly has no surplus funds to send Jun'er to school now."

The eldest aunt, Mrs. Wu, wanted to argue further, but was tugged by the sleeve under the table by the eldest uncle, who signaled with his eyes. Only then did the eldest aunt nod in resignation.

Because Zhu Ping'an was young and short, he happened to see the eldest uncle's small gesture under the table, gaining a bit more insight into him; his eldest uncle was quite calculating.

That’s right, the eldest uncle! Since the path of attending the private school in the neighboring village was blocked, wasn't the eldest uncle still at home? Although the eldest uncle hadn't passed the *xiucai* exam, he was well-versed in poetry and books. Couldn't he just follow him to learn traditional characters and achieve his goal through a roundabout way?

"Then, can I study with Eldest Uncle?" Zhu Ping'an raised his little face and reached out his small paw to ask.

Before the eldest uncle could speak, the eldest aunt wouldn't have it. She lectured and criticized Zhu Ping'an, "Little Zhi, your uncle still needs to study and prepare for his exams. He wishes he could turn one day into two just to read; where would he find the time to teach you how to read and write? If you delay your uncle from passing the *xiucai* exam and becoming a top scholar, you couldn't afford the consequences!"

In short, the eldest aunt looked utterly disgusted! Her expression was exactly like Wang Dachui’s mother-in-law.

"Wait until your uncle passes the *xiucai* exam, then I will tutor you." The eldest uncle spoke much more pleasantly than the eldest aunt, but the meaning was the same: a rejection. One was blunt, the other was more tactful, but there was no difference.

Although he was young now, he wasn't relying on the uncle for his education; he was just looking for an excuse to gradually reveal his knowledge.

If he had to wait until the uncle passed the *xiucai* exam, the opportunity would have long since passed. If what he saw when he entered the door earlier was indeed "fortune," then the eldest uncle likely had no chance of passing the *xiucai* exam anytime soon. Although the white pillar of fortune above the eldest uncle's head was denser than that of the others in the family, it was ultimately white. White represented a commoner; white was the aura of ordinary folk. To rise in the world, one needed the green aura of officialdom.

Zhu Ping'an silently complained.

Although the food wasn't delicious, adhering to the spirit that thrift is glorious and waste is shameful, Zhu Ping'an ate the pancake in his hand and the porridge in his bowl clean, even licking the bowl a few times. Who told him to be a little fatty, after all?

Zhu Ping'an's hearty appetite formed a sharp contrast with the picky eating of his cousin, Zhu Pingjun, across the table.

"Second daughter-in-law, go get Little Zhi another half bowl of porridge." Although the old man favored the eldest and youngest sons' families, he was still very protective of his own children. Seeing Zhu Ping'an eating with such gusto, he looked satisfied, fearing the child would go hungry.

Whenever this happened, his mother, Mrs. Chen, always looked as if she felt honored.

As dinner was coming to an end, someone called from outside the main gate. A message had been brought from town saying that the Great Uncle’s family was going to join their son who was doing business in the south, and they wouldn't be able to come back for the ancestral rites during the New Year. Therefore, they would come in three days to pay their respects at the ancestral graves and bid farewell to the ancestors before leaving.

Old Master Zhu had two siblings; he was the youngest. There was an older sister in the middle who had married into town, and the Great Uncle had gone to town as an apprentice from a young age, moving there permanently after starting a family.

Although they lived in different places, they always met and kept in touch during holidays or market days.

Now that Old Master Zhu suddenly heard his eldest brother was moving to the south and they would rarely see each other again, he couldn't help but sigh. He left the table and returned to his room without finishing his meal.

After the old man left, Old Mrs. Zhu, worried, followed him to comfort him. Everyone else gradually dispersed, returning to their own homes.

The news of the Great Uncle’s family moving south didn't have much impact on the rest of the family, aside from Old Master Zhu. After all, since the Great Uncle’s family moved to town, although they were on good terms, they weren't very close. At most, it just meant one less place to stay when visiting town.

The Zhu family compound was somewhat similar to the *siheyuan* of old Beijing, though slightly larger and more complex. It consisted of a main house and two side wings. There was a well in the courtyard. The main house had three large rooms: one served as a living room, one was the bedroom for Old Mrs. and Old Master Zhu, and the third was the residence of the eldest uncle's family. There was a wing on each side; the east wing on the left was where Zhu Ping'an's family lived, and the west wing on the right was half again as large as the east wing, partitioned to house the third and fourth aunts' families separately. Additionally, near the gate wall, there was a kitchen and a woodshed.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The oil lamp in the left wing was lit, its flame the size of a broad bean. The light was dim, not even as bright as the moonlight shining through the window. Although the room wasn't completely bare, there were no valuables, yet Mrs. Chen kept it clean and tidy, with every item in its place.

His mother, Mrs. Chen, was sitting at the table mending trousers for Zhu Ping'an by the dim light, while his father sat to the side doing some simple woodwork.

Biting off the thread, Mrs. Chen placed the clothes in her hand next to Zhu Ping'an, "Try them on and see if they fit!"

"They fit, they definitely fit. Anything Mom makes fits perfectly. Mom, you're the best." Zhu Ping'an grinned, his mouth as sweet as if it had been smeared with honey. His protest had finally worked; he wouldn't have to wear crotchless pants anymore.

"You little brat, you only know how to sweet-talk. I must have owed you three in my past life!" His mother complained, but her affection was unmistakable.

"There's light during the day, yet you waste oil and busy yourselves at night."

Grandmother passed by the window, saw the lights in the side wings, and couldn't help but shout a few times. These daughters-in-law were truly wasteful; it cost so much oil. If they had saved the oil at night in the past, the money would have been enough for her eldest grandson to attend school.

"Oh, I know, Mother, I'll put out the lamp right away." Father Zhu Shouyi immediately replied.

"I still have other clothes to mend!" Mrs. Chen glared fiercely at Father. Father just gave a silly, honest laugh, leaving Mother with nowhere to vent her frustration.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh, you only know how to laugh like a fool. Your wife and child are being bullied to death by your mother, and all you can do is laugh!" Mrs. Chen, unable to stand Father's spinelessness, went up and pinched his arm hard.

Zhu Shouyi was a sturdy farmhand; the pinch had no effect on him, and he kept his silly smile, like a punch landing on cotton, which only infuriated Mrs. Chen more.

"I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry you!" Mrs. Chen angrily poked her finger hard into Zhu Shouyi's forehead.

"I must have accumulated eight lifetimes of virtue to marry such a good wife as you."

Zhu Shouyi usually looked like a dull farmhand, but what he said just now was of a very high standard. It instantly refreshed Zhu Ping'an's view of this cheap father. So, his father, who was three parts duller than Guo Jing, also had a side for sweet talk. It made sense; otherwise, how could he have married such a good woman as his mother?

Mrs. Chen blushed instantly. *Shameless old man, not afraid of corrupting the child!*

Seeing a beauty under the lamp, especially the rare shy side of the usually sharp-tongued Mrs. Chen, Zhu Shouyi was stunned.

"Brother, I'm so sleepy." Zhu Ping'an yawned, pulling his older brother, who was meticulously weaving a bamboo basket nearby, to rest in the small bedroom partitioned off by wooden boards in the wing.

Uh, things were about to become unsuitable for children.

(End of chapter)