Top Scholar

Chapter 74 Results
Sweet Water Diary in Taiping Town.

As was his word, Ma Zhaizhang invited Su Lu's classmates from Sheng Shen Zhai to have some sweet drinks after the monthly classes. Everyone in the class except for the three Cheng brothers came…

In fact, Ma Zhaizhang also wanted to invite the three of them, and take the opportunity to resolve the conflict between them and Su Lu and the other two.

Cheng Sanwan initially agreed to come, but upon hearing that it was for Sweet Water Restaurant, he backed out...

This time, the classmates drank "Qingli Yujin" which cost three coins a tube. It wasn't that Master Ma couldn't afford "Dan Ying Tian Lu" or that Qingli Yujin was more cost-effective, but rather that Dan Ying Tian Lu had already been discontinued.

If you want to drink it again, you'll have to wait until next year's cherry red cherry season.

But in the end, Ma Zhaizhang didn't have to pay anything because the proprietress gave him a free meal...

"It's an honor to have so many scholars visiting our humble shop," the proprietress said warmly to the students. "This is our treat for you all. Please come back often for a drink."

"The landlady is so generous, we'll definitely do it next time!" The classmates were naturally overjoyed, but they didn't know if she would keep her word.

Ma Zhaizhang was also happy, but still wanted to pay, while the proprietress insisted on refusing. Although Ma Zhaizhang didn't know that Sweet Water Restaurant was under his family's protection, the proprietress couldn't be so unreasonable...

Su Lu knew this would happen. But he was also happy to have his godmother do Ma Zhaizhang a favor. One should have a long-term perspective; barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ma Zhaizhang would eventually become the next Commander Ma…

In the end, Ma Zhaizhang couldn't refuse the proprietress, so he thanked her again and invited everyone to eat at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant next door.

In short, this money has to be spent!
~~
After eating at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the rain got heavier and heavier, so the students had no choice but to return to the academy.

Unable to go home, Su Lu returned to Sweet Water Restaurant...

There was no one in the shop at the moment. The proprietress was sitting behind the counter, gazing blankly at the rain.

Suddenly seeing Su Lu burst through the rain curtain and run in, a genuine smile immediately bloomed on her face.

"My son is back?"

"Yes, godmother. I'm sorry to be troubling you." Su Lu wiped the rain off her face and smiled.

“If you keep being so formal, your mother will get angry.” The landlady feigned anger, quickly lifted the counter, and helped him take off his raincoat and remove his book box.

The book box remained dry, but Su Lu was soaked, clearly indicating that the book box was his primary focus of protection.

"Silly child, you are the most important person." The landlady sighed and called out loudly to the upstairs, "Tiantian, quickly get your brother a towel, the biggest one."

He then called out to the backyard, "Mom, quickly boil some ginger soup, and add plenty of brown sugar."

She had long wanted to get closer to Su Lu, but the boy was exceptionally proud and strong-willed, never giving her a chance to express her maternal love. This time, she finally got her chance…

Little Tiantian, carrying a thick cotton towel, ran down the stairs and sweetly called out, "Brother..."

"Thank you, Tiantian." Su Lu smiled and was about to take it when her godmother pressed her down on the stool. "Don't move, let me wipe it for you."

Although Su Lu was not used to it, he had no choice but to obey. The proprietress took off his scholar's cap and untied his hair, so Su Lu's hair was loose.

"Hey, why is your hair so short?" The proprietress was surprised to find that Su Lu's hair didn't even reach his shoulders.

“It’s so hot in the middle of summer, it’s so hot to keep it that long,” Su Lu laughed. “I had my brother cut it short for me, just enough to tie up in a bun.”

"Don't you scholars say that 'our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents'?" his godmother teased him.

“Scholars even talk about sacrificing oneself for righteousness. My father doesn’t care, so who cares?” Su Lu said, then casually asked, “Where’s my father? Did he skip work?”

"No, it's because you were too tired from your trip. I told him to rest at home before coming back." His godmother helped him dry his hair strand by strand.

“I’ve been to school for five days already…” Su Lu felt it was unfair that she hadn’t gotten a single day off.

"It's a pity that I'm not your teacher, otherwise I would have let you rest for a few days too," the godmother said with a smile.

It has to be admitted that her godmother was incredibly kind and approachable. Su Lu quickly relaxed and felt right at home.

~~
He took the ginger soup Tian Tian brought him, took a small sip, felt it was a bit too hot, and put it on the counter. He asked softly, "Godmother, has my father told you about the wine?"

"I told you, this is a good thing." The proprietress nodded.

Su Lu quickly emphasized, "If Godmother doesn't want to brew wine anymore, then let's just forget about it."

"Don't worry, I still have a mountain of debt to pay off, how can I have the time to be sentimental?" His godmother said with a smile as she combed his hair again.

"Hmm." Su Lu breathed a sigh of relief. His godmother was truly a woman of great strength and never had any of those fussy, sentimental things.

"Sweet Water Shop already has a stable customer base; it would be a waste to only sell sweet water." The proprietress had clearly given this matter considerable thought.
"There are too many restrictions on sweet water, and the market is too small. Selling alcohol is the only way to grow bigger and stronger."

She paused for a moment, then said quietly, "Besides, Mother is paying off the debts of those two brothers, so it's only natural for her to use their secret recipe!"

“That’s true.” Su Lu nodded.

"I've been thinking about it these past few days, and you're right, their secret lies in the broken sorghum," the godmother said softly.

"The two brothers didn't avoid me at the time, and I had to help them out from time to time. I still remember the general process."

"That's great! I'll have my second brother come over tomorrow, and I'll give him a good talk. He'll definitely avoid a lot of detours," Su Lu said happily. "Okay, when he comes, I'll give him some money and the house keys," the godmother said readily. "Let him do whatever he wants."

"Godmother, you don't need to worry about the money. It's just an experiment, it won't cost much," Su Lu said with a smile. "Once it's successful, we can talk about the next step."

"Alright, Mother will listen to you." His godmother retied his hair, securing it with a wooden hairpin, and after examining it for a while, offered her heartfelt praise:

"There's a bit of your father in him..."

"..." Su Lu was both amused and exasperated. What kind of praise was this?

The godmother hadn't expected to speak her mind like that, and hurriedly urged, "The ginger soup is getting cold, hurry up and finish it to sweat it out."

"Okay." Su Lu picked up the large bowl and gulped down the spicy and sweet ginger soup.

~~
The next morning, before class, the results and rankings of yesterday's monthly classes were posted on the notice board inside the academy's ceremonial gate, as usual.

The students had been eagerly waiting, and the top two positions remained unchanged: Zhu Zihe in first place and Lin Zhihong in second.

Qiao Feng came in third place, pushing the brothers Hu Qiyang and Hu Kaiyang down one place.

Su Dan's ranking improved from 32nd last time to 28th this time, naturally securing a point.

Whether the questions were easier to answer this time or the students had improved, the number of students who scored one point consistently ranked thirty-fifth. This is three more than last time.

The next few places, up to 52nd, are all in the half-point range. Li Qiyu is among them, but his ranking has improved from 48th to 41st. That's a bigger improvement than Su Dan's.

He secretly resolved to improve by seven places next time! Reaching thirty-fourth place would earn him a point!

Su Lu followed closely behind, ranking forty-second, improving by nine places and earning a valuable half point!

Seeing that he hadn't shaved his head again, Su Lu breathed a long sigh of relief. If he hadn't scored any points this time, the pressure would have been immense…

That means he can't afford to lose even a single point in the next eight monthly lessons. Even a seasoned veteran like him would find it unbearable.

"Congratulations, Brother Su!" His classmates from Sheng Shen Zhai congratulated him one after another. 'Teacher Su' did not only explain problems to the two top students, but he also carefully answered the questions of all the classmates who asked him for help.

Thanks to him, everyone's overall ranking improved. Ma Zhaizhang also improved from 35th place last time to 30th this time. More importantly, he improved from half a point to one point!
Now he can openly tell his family that he spent one or two taels of silver to buy a book box!
As everyone's ranking improved, naturally some people's rankings dropped, like the Fang brothers, who were now filled with gloom...

The effeminate Cheng Wanzhou was alright; he still managed to get one point, but his ranking dropped to thirty-third, failing even Ma Zhaizhang's test. The alarm bells had already been sounded.

Cheng Wanfan, with his buck teeth, still only got half a point, but his ranking dropped to fiftieth. Luckily, the score was high this time, otherwise he might have received zero.

The worst off was Cheng Wantang, the pockmarked-faced boy. He was the only one of the three brothers who hadn't regressed, still ranking fifty-third. But the problem was, fifty-second place only earned half a point…

So he missed the mark by one place and still failed to score, a true failure to qualify.

Cheng Wantang broke down on the spot, his knees buckled and he knelt on the waterlogged ground, looking up to the sky and sighing, "Heavens, why are you playing tricks on me?"

Seeing his miserable state, Li Qiyu and Su Dan swallowed back the sarcasm that was on the tip of their tongues.

We don't have any deep-seated hatred for each other, so it's fine to make fun of each other occasionally, but there's no need to dance on someone's grave.

In addition, Su Lu's article was once again posted on the bulletin board as a model essay for excellent students!
But this time no one questioned him; his classmates read his essay aloud with great interest.

"...If desires are not indulged, then the principles of Heaven will be revealed; if aspirations are not transgressed, then humanity will be upheld; if honor is not diminished, then gentleness and respect will not be lost!"

Everyone read it aloud in one go, and it was surprisingly catchy and melodious. They couldn't help but praise, "Su's writing has improved so much, she's like a completely different person from last time!"

"Yes, if you keep improving like this, you'll get a point next time!"

While admiring the work, it's inevitable to compare it with Zhu's article.

Zhu Zihe's writings are, of course, incomparable to Su Lu's.

And this time, he actually wrote it even better than last month!
Seeing Zhu's rapid progress fills his classmates with awe.

However, Zhu's opening statement... "To act with moderation and cultivate virtue with balance and harmony—this is the highest form of self-cultivation for a gentleman!"

Why does it look so familiar?

While admiring him, the students couldn't help but whisper among themselves, wondering if Zhu was imitating Su.

When the whispers reached Zhu Zihe's ears, his face, which had just brightened, was once again clouded over.

His close classmates, upon hearing this, naturally defended him, angrily retorting, "The Book of Changes has four-character rhymed verses, and the Book of Poetry has four-character ancient poems. There are thousands upon thousands of four-character articles; can't others write them?"

"That's right, saying I'm imitating him?!" Zhu Zihe was also proud and unwilling to back down. He had held back last time, but this time he couldn't hold back any longer and snorted:

"Tch, let him get one point first!"

After saying that, she didn't even glance at Su Lu before storming off.

Su Lu was still confused, and I still hadn't said a word...

(End of this chapter)