Chapter 5

Let's get back to the story. As the meal was almost finished, there was still one piece of scrambled egg left. Out of habit, the grandmother tried to put the egg on Zhu Pingjun's plate, but the egg was rather loose and only half of it stayed on the chopsticks while the other half fell onto the table. The grandmother put the half on the chopsticks into Zhu Pingjun's bowl, and was about to pick up the half that fell on the table when she noticed that Zhu Pingjun seemed to be somewhat repulsed by the egg on the table. Perhaps he was thinking of something that happened before the meal, or perhaps it was a matter of balance. The grandmother then picked up the piece of egg from the table and put it into Zhu Ping'an's bowl.

Zhu Ping'an was truly taken aback!

This was the first time the grandmother had put food on his plate, even though it was from the table.

"Thank you, Grandmother." Zhu Ping'an smiled at the old lady.

Seeing her grandson so well-mannered, the grandmother, who was partial, felt a bit touched, but it was just a fleeting moment. In her heart, her eldest and youngest sons' families were her favorites. The eldest son had a bright future in his studies, and the youngest son was very considerate. The other two sons had forgotten their mother after marrying their wives, especially the second daughter-in-law, who was the most troublesome.

Zhu Ping'an did not intend to eat the piece of egg himself, not because it had fallen on the table. Since he had come to this world as a farmer, if he wanted to maintain the hygiene standards of his previous life, he would have to be prepared to starve. The conditions here were different, and besides, the countryside was pure and free from pollution. If something fell on the ground, it could be washed off with water.

The main reason was the little girl, Zhu Pingyu, who was sucking her fingers beside him. In this era, boys were favored over girls. Although he was not favored by his grandparents, as a boy, he received more attention than Pingyu.

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

"Give it to my sister." Zhu Ping'an used his chopsticks to put the egg into Pingyu's bowl and said gently.

This action caught everyone's attention at the table. Everyone was curious. In a farming family, scrambled eggs were not a common dish. They were usually saved to be sold for money, especially in the Zhu family, where scrambled eggs were a rare delicacy. Even when they had it, it was mostly for the grandmother, the eldest uncle, and the youngest uncle. Zhu Ping'an and the others rarely got to eat it. So, for Zhu Ping'an to give the egg to Pingyu was more difficult than Kong Rong giving up a pear. Kong Rong came from a wealthy family where pears were common, unlike the Zhu family, where a plate of scrambled eggs might not be seen for a month, and even when it was, they couldn't eat it.

Zhu Ping'an giving the egg to Pingyu refreshed everyone's views! Zhu Ping'an was really a well-mannered child!

Pingyu stared at the scrambled egg with wide eyes, her mouth watering.

At this moment, Third Aunt Zhang picked up the egg and put it back into Zhu Ping'an's bowl. "Come, Pingyu, thank your brother Zhu. Zhu is so well-behaved, but you should keep it for yourself. This egg is from Grandmother, and you should eat it to grow tall and strong and be filial to her."

Pingyu, though she was eyeing the scrambled egg, was still well-mannered and thanked Zhu Ping'an with a mouth full of saliva. "Thank you, Brother Zhu. Pingyu, Pingyu won't eat the scrambled egg."

Though she said she wouldn't eat it, her eyes were still fixed on the egg.

The little girl was so cute, a certain little brat thought, but he forgot that he was also a short-legged kid.

Zhu Ping'an picked up the egg again, raised his little arm, and put it into Pingyu's mouth, acting like a big brother. He said, "I like to see my sister eat scrambled eggs."

Once the egg was in her mouth, a child couldn't resist eating it. Besides, once it was in her mouth, it couldn't be taken out to give to someone else.

After eating the scrambled egg, Pingyu showed a very satisfied expression and even stuck out her tongue to lick her lips, like a kitten drinking water.

"Is it good, Sister Pingyu?" Zhu Ping'an asked while eating a millet pancake, his mouth puffed out.

"It's good, thank you, Brother Zhu." Pingyu answered with a sweet, childish voice.

Since Pingyu had already eaten the scrambled egg, Third Aunt had no choice but to accept it. She found Zhu Ping'an, with his tiger-like head and tiger-like body, to be a well-mannered and adorable child, especially compared to her eldest son, Zhu Pingjun, who only cared about himself and threw tantrums.

Third Aunt touched Zhu Ping'an's head with envy and said to Chen, "Second Sister-in-law, I really envy you for having two good sons. Zhu is so loving to his younger sister, and you have raised him well. He will definitely be a filial and good child when he grows up."

No mother dislikes hearing praise for her son, especially Chen, who had a bit of a show-off tendency. She was very pleased, waving her hands and saying, "Where, where," but the pride on her face was unmistakable. She chatted with Zhang happily.

Cough, cough.

The eldest sister-in-law, however, was not pleased. In her heart, her son was the best, and he was going to study and take the imperial exams. The town's fortune-teller had said that her son was a celestial scholar.

Thinking of this, the eldest sister-in-law nudged her husband with her leg, signaling him to speak to the old man about Zhu Pingjun's studies.

The eldest uncle lowered his head and ignored his wife's signal, thinking that his wife was short-sighted. After the commotion caused by his younger brothers and sisters, it was clearly not a good time to bring up the matter. Moreover, studying and taking the imperial exams were expensive, and his younger brothers already had objections. If his son also wanted to study, it would be difficult to justify. He should discuss it with his parents when his younger brothers were not around, creating a fait accompli, so that even if they had objections, it would be too late.

The eldest sister-in-law, being a farmer's wife, lacked the sophistication of her husband. Seeing that her husband did not speak, and thinking of her son becoming a top scholar, she could not hold back and said, "Father, Mother, you see, Jun is already seven years old. It's not good for him to just wander around. I think we should send him to the private school of Mr. Sun, the old scholar in the neighboring village, for his early education."

This made Zhu Ping'an perk up his ears. Studying, this was something he needed as well. On one hand, he could learn the Four Books and Five Classics for the imperial exams, and on the other hand, it would serve as a cover for his advanced knowledge and ideas, which were hundreds of years ahead of his time. In this era, scholars were highly esteemed, and after entering school, any extraordinary understanding or insight he had could be attributed to his studies.

In this era, only scholars were esteemed, and even the wealthiest merchants would not dare to argue with a poor scholar.

Thus, Zhu Ping'an raised his hand. "I want to go to school too."

"You are so young, what school? Besides, not everyone can study. Only those who are celestial scholars can. Our Jun has been divined by a master and is a celestial scholar." The eldest sister-in-law was the first to oppose Zhu Ping'an's schooling, knowing that the family's finances were not enough for two children to study. They were already eating millet porridge and vegetable leaves, and if both children studied, the family would surely go hungry.

The eldest sister-in-law's words were meant to belittle Zhu Ping'an and praise Zhu Pingjun, which made Chen very unhappy. However, she was cautious about the eldest uncle's family. The eldest uncle was a scholar, and if he passed the imperial exams, the family would rely on him. So, Chen just frowned, thinking that even if she did not speak, someone else would.

Sure enough, Chen did not speak, and someone else could not hold back. Fourth Aunt immediately expressed her opposition.

"Big Sister, our family is already struggling to make ends meet, and we don't have extra money to support another scholar. Right, Mother? I think we should save some money and then let Jun study." Fourth Aunt's words were quite level-headed. She even tried to get the grandmother on her side, opposing the schooling but leaving room for the future. On one hand, she pointed out that the family was already supporting the eldest uncle's studies, and on the other hand, she said that they couldn't afford Jun's schooling now, but would consider it when they had extra money. However, since Fourth Aunt joined the Zhu family, the family had never had extra money.