Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 4 Uncle

As soon as she said that, Lu's mother turned around and glared at her.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You haven't even seen his birth chart yet, and you dare to talk about it like that."

Despite saying that, she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Lu Xiaoman wasn't afraid of being glared at, and just muttered softly, "I was just asking..."

Lu's mother ignored her and lowered her voice to say to Lu Chuan, "You need to go to your seventh uncle's place."

Lu's mother seemed to have thought of something.

"You can't go alone." She immediately shook her head. "You're still young. There's no way you can go to their door to discuss these things on your own. Besides, although Uncle Qi is an elder in our family, this isn't an ordinary visit. It would be impolite to go without an adult accompanying you."

As he said this, he subconsciously glanced into the room.

A coughing sound came from inside the room.

Her face darkened.

"Your father is in a condition where he can't go."

Lu's mother stood there for a while, as if she had made up her mind.

"Your mother requests that your second uncle come over."

"Second Uncle?"

"Yes." Madam Lu nodded. "Although your second uncle doesn't have much influence in the clan, he is still an elder of this branch of the family and a man. It would be proper for him to accompany you to see your seventh uncle."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked out.

Lu Chuan reached out to stop him.

"Mom, I want to go too."

"No need," Mother Lu waved her hand. "You stood out in the yard today, so it's not good for you to run around now. The village is full of gossips, and who knows what rumors will spread. You stay at home, I'll go there, it'll be quick."

She walked hurriedly, but just as she reached the courtyard gate, she seemed to remember something, turned back, and rummaged through the cabinet to find an old cloth bag.

Inside were two handfuls of dried dates that had been sun-dried last year, and a handful of coarse tea wrapped in oil paper.

"I don't have much to offer at home." She stuffed the cloth bag into Lu Chuan's hand, her tone a little embarrassed. "Don't go empty-handed. It may be small, but it's the thought that counts."

Lu's mother looked at him, opened her mouth as if she had a lot to say, but in the end she only said one sentence: "When you see your seventh uncle later, listen first and say less."

"understood."

Lu's mother then hurriedly left the house.

"Brother, will Second Uncle really go with you?"

"Yes."

He said that, but he wasn't really that sure.

In this world, it's never easy for a poor family to ask for help.

Lu's mother did not stay away for long.

When he returned, he was accompanied by a tall, thin man.

The man was in his early thirties, wearing an old brown shirt with mud stuck to his trousers, clearly having just been called back from the fields. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he leaned the carrying pole on his shoulder against the wall and glanced into the house.

"Is the third child still coughing?"

Mother Lu nodded hurriedly: "It was a bit worse this morning. Chuan'er just went to the county to get some medicine and came back."

The person who came was none other than Lu Shoutian, the second uncle Lu Chuan had mentioned.

In terms of kinship, this branch of the family had long since separated. But going back three generations, they had still shared meals from the same pot. The village wasn't big, and they saw each other all the time. If something really happened, they would still have to ask their own family for help.

Lu Shoutian looked at Lu Chuan.

"I heard you were at home today, arguing with your uncle."

Lu Chuan knew there were no secrets in the village. It was no surprise that the news spread throughout half the village the moment Uncle Six and Uncle Nine left.

He just kept his head down and said, "It wasn't exactly a top-down; I just glanced at the accounts."

Lu Shoutian reached out and patted him.

"You little rascal, you're usually so quiet, but you've surprised everyone today."

Lu's mother said from the side, "Second brother, I invited you here not for any other reason. Before Sixth Uncle left, he said to let Chuan'er go to Seventh Uncle's place for a visit. I was thinking that the child wouldn't be very talkative if he went alone, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go. So I can only ask Second Brother to help take care of him."

Upon hearing "Seventh Uncle," Lu Shoutian's smile faded slightly. He patted the dust off his trousers and, after a moment, said, "Seventh Uncle doesn't usually manage things."

"I know," said Madam Lu hurriedly. "That's why I dared not let Chuan'er go by himself. Second brother, you are a man and an uncle of this household. It's better than the child banging on the door alone."

At this point, fearing the other party might delay, she added:

"I'm not going to ask my second brother to beg for anything on Chuan'er's behalf, I'm just going to help bring him here and say a few words to him."

After listening, Lu Youtian sighed.

"It's no big deal for me to go," he said, glancing at Lu Chuan. "It's just that Uncle Qi is a man of few words, but with a sharp eye. Whether it works out or not, I can't take responsibility for you."

Hearing this, Lu's mother seemed relieved and quickly said, "That's what I meant too. I won't force it, I just ask that Second Brother take the person over."

Lu Shoutian waved his hand.

"Alright, we're all from the same sect, let's stop with these formalities."

"But it's not appropriate now, my clothes are too dirty. I'll go tomorrow."

Lu's mother nodded and saw Lu Shoutian out the door.

Lu Xiaoman peeked out from the kitchen, glanced at the courtyard gate, and after confirming that everyone had left, whispered to Lu Chuan, "Did Second Uncle agree?"

"I agreed."

Lu Chuan stood in the courtyard and glanced into the inner room.

There was no movement; Dad was probably asleep.

He went over the events of the day in his mind.

When he spoke of those few entries in the account book, he wasn't entirely confident. He knew the difference between flat and pointed dou (a type of ancient Chinese measuring vessel), but he had only heard about the clan's rules and had never actually seen how the account book was kept. Getting the account book today was a gamble.

The words Sixth Uncle said, "Go see your Seventh Uncle when you have time," sounded like a casual remark. But Lu Chuan knew that wasn't it.

He only knew from his father that there was an old man living at the east end of the village who was not very active and the villagers spoke of him with a sense of awe.

When Lu Shouye mentioned his seventh uncle, it was one winter. There was a fire burning in the kitchen, and the father and son were sitting together. Lu Shouye took a sip of hot water and casually mentioned him.

It is said that Uncle Qi was educated when he was young. He studied in the county for a few years and later passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination, but failed the higher examinations. At that time, some things happened in his family, so he returned to the village and never went out again.

The villagers said that after Uncle Qi returned, he locked all the books in a box, and no one had ever seen it opened. When asked why he didn't teach the village children, he simply said, "What good would it do? This village will never produce any scholars."

When these words got out, some people thought he was heartless, while others thought he had forgotten his roots.

But no matter what, villagers still go to him when they encounter something they're unsure about.

One year, when the clan divided the land, the two branches of the family got into a huge fight. The sixth uncle couldn't control the situation, so he asked the seventh uncle to come out. The seventh uncle sat at the gate of the courtyard for half a day and said less than ten words. Then the two branches of the family dispersed and no one argued anymore.

Another year, a tax collector came to the county. He did a muddled job of calculating the accounts and overcharged several households in the village. Uncle Qi called the tax collector into the house, closed the door, and talked to him for the duration of an incense stick burning. When the tax collector came out, he was ashen-faced. The accounts were recalculated, and the overcharged money was returned without missing a single penny.

From then on, everyone in the village would give Uncle Qi a wide berth.

When Lu Shouye said these things, his tone was full of admiration.

"Your seventh uncle is a man who can't tolerate any imperfections," he said. "If he takes a liking to you, he truly does. If he thinks you're not good enough, he won't hold back his words."

Lu Chuan didn't think much of it at the time; he simply wrote those words down.

Looking back now, I realize that when my father said those words, he was probably already thinking about whether he could one day allow him to meet his seventh great-uncle.

However, my family has never had this opportunity.