Chapter 68 The Lu Family's Return
Gu Dahan followed Tong Huaqiong's advice and planned to send the Lu brothers and sisters to the provincial capital and then quit his job and go home.
Just think about living at home with your wife and daughter, the temptation is indeed greater than three taels of silver a month.
"Okay, I'll listen to my mother. I'll resign to Mr. Lu now." Gu Dahan stood up quickly. Since he had decided to quit, the sooner he resigned to Mr. Lu, the better.
Lu Zhaoyang had already gotten up and picked up a book by Gu Jingzhe to read.
When he learned that Gu Dahan was going to quit his job, he felt quite sorry and was willing to increase his monthly salary to four taels of silver in order to keep Gu Dahan.
Gu Dahan gritted his teeth and refused, saying that he had to stay at home to serve his widowed mother.
Lu Zhaoyang found it difficult to refuse this reason. After thinking about it, he invited Tong Huaqiong into the house.
"......Aunt Tong, thank you for pointing out the root of my illness. I didn't eat any wheat products last night, and I feel much better this morning. My body is refreshed than ever before. I have nothing to repay you. I heard that the little brother of the Gu family is studying in a private school in town. He passed the examination last year and even the academician praised his knowledge. The private school in town will bury the little brother Gu. It is better to let him follow me to Wanliu Academy to study."
When Lu Zhaoyang saw Tong Huaqiong come in, he didn't say much greetings and directly suggested that Gu Jingzhe go to Wanliu Academy to study.
Tong Huaqiong frowned.
Well, she underestimated Gu Jingzhe.
From last night to this morning, she was careless and Gu Jingzhe got in touch with Lu Zhaoyang, and even wanted to send him to Wanliu Academy.
However, Tong Huaqiong obviously wrongly blamed Gu Jingzhe this time.
Ever since Lu Zhaoyang came to the Gu family, Gu Jingzhe had never spoken to him, and he had never thought of using Lu Zhaoyang as a stepping stone to study at Wanliu Academy.
The reason why Lu Zhaoyang suggested that Gu Jingzhe go to Wanliu Academy to study was because he had previously learned from Gu Dahan that his youngest brother was studying and had achieved very good results last year. The reason why Gu Dahan came to work at the Lu family was also to support his brother's studies.
He felt that there was no better way to repay Aunt Tong who saved him than to let her son study at Wanliu Academy.
Besides, he just casually flipped through the article written by Gu Jingzhe, and he felt that it deserved a praise from the academician.
"Thank you, Mr. Lu. But no need for that. For a farming family like us, Wanliu Academy is not a place we want." Tong Huaqiong refused.
Lu Zhaoyang was a little surprised by Tong Huaqiong's refusal.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Are you worried about Shu Xiu, Aunt Tong? You don't have to worry about that. My grandfather has always supported poor children to study, and he should do the same for the son of his benefactor."
The annual cost of the service fee was fifty taels, plus the food, drink, pens, ink, paper and inkstone in the city, all in all it would cost nearly one hundred taels a year.
It was indeed a huge burden for poor children, especially for the Gu family.
Lu Zhaoyang was worried that Tong Huaqiong was concerned about the cost of studying, so he proposed that the Lu family pay for Gu Jingzhe's studies at Wanliu Academy.
Anyway, this expense is just a drop in the bucket for the Lu family.
"It's not Shu Xiu's problem. The third child is not suitable for studying. I have already asked him to drop out of school." Tong Huaqiong said.
Lu Zhaoyang looked surprised and asked, "Aunt Tong, did the younger brother of the Gu family drop out of school because of money?"
Tong Huaqiong said: "No, I just don't want him to study."
Tong Huaqiong didn't want to tell Lu Zhaoyang the real reason why Gu Jingzhe dropped out of school. As Gu Jingzhe's mother, she couldn't afford to lose face.
Lu Zhaoyang became more and more confused. Logically speaking, for a poor farming family like the Gu family, the greatest hope to escape from farming and rise above poverty is to rely on their children and grandchildren to study.
Now their youngest son is talented in studying, why don’t they let him continue studying?
This Aunt Tong is so weird!
"Aunt Tong, you are a person with insight. Among the five classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, studying is the right way. Just like our Lu family, we have no worries about food and drink, but we also hope to change our family status from business to scholars, so I work hard to study. It is a blessing for a family to have a scholar. Since the younger brother of the Gu family is so talented in studying, you should not bury him." Lu Zhaoyang worked for Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong smiled and asked, "What did Gu Jingzhe tell you?"
Lu Zhaoyang looked puzzled and asked, "Why does Aunt Tong ask this? He hasn't said a word to me since last night."
After thinking for a while, he said, "Aunt Tong thinks that the young man from the Gu family asked me to be a lobbyist, but that's not true. I just found out that the young man from the Gu family dropped out of school, and I felt it was a pity..."
Lu Zhaoyang held Gu Jingzhe's article in his hand and wanted to analyze to Tong Huaqiong what was good about the article. However, when he thought that Tong Huaqiong was a country woman, he felt quite regretful.
Tong Huaqiong felt slightly comforted upon learning that Gu Jingzhe had not played any tricks on this matter.
She didn't intend to give Lu Zhaoyang a reason to prevent Gu Jingzhe from studying, nor did she intend to reveal to Lu Zhaoyang her plan to temporarily prevent Gu Jingzhe from studying.
She didn't want Gu Jingzhe to have any involvement with the Lu brothers and sisters at all. Even if there was any involvement, it would be Tong Huaqiong, such as using the Lu family to do a business in the capital city or something.
Of course, even with the help of the Lu family, it is based on a win-win situation for both parties.
Instead of being like in the previous life, where the entire Gu family depended on the Lu family for food and wealth.
So Tong Huaqiong began to act like a country bumpkin, saying, "Mr. Lu, I appreciate your kindness. But I have my own reasons for not letting my son study. I know that the tuition fee of Wanliu Academy is nothing to the Lu family, but it is a huge sum of money for a farming family like us. If I accept your proposal, it would be like repaying a favor, which is not in line with the family tradition of my Gu family."
"Mr. Lu, please don't embarrass me. I have always believed that children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. If my third son is really a unicorn, we can't keep him in our house. If he doesn't have that fate, it would be in vain for him to go to Wanliu Academy. Mr. Lu, don't worry about it."
Lu Zhaoyang wanted to say something, but Tong Huaqiong made it clear that she didn't want to talk.
Lu Zhaoyang saw that Tong Huaqiong had her own principles as a widow, but she was too proud and was unwilling to accept the Lu family's payment for Gu Jingzhe's tuition.
Lu Zhaoyang couldn't help but express his thoughts. He felt that Tong Huaqiong was worried that if she used the Lu family's money to support Gu Jingzhe's studies, Gu Jingzhe would become a member of the Lu family in the future.
Originally, Gu Dahan was a servant driving the cart in the Lu family, which made Aunt Tong think too much.
Thinking of her selling cakes at the market, he couldn't sleep last night because of the delicious cakes. It was a pity that he couldn't eat them because he was gluten intolerant. According to Lu Zhaozhao, the cakes were better than those in any other shop in the city. Since Tong Huaqiong didn't accept his direct financial support for Gu Jingzhe's studies, the Lu family could start by taking care of the Gu family's cake business.
For example, ordering Gu's pastries like Lu Zhaozhao did is a kind of help, and helping the Gu family open a shop in the capital city in the future is also a kind of help.
In this way, Tong Huaqiong can make money, so Gu Jingzhe can continue his studies, right?
When he thought of Tong Huaqiong's high self-esteem, he was a little afraid to speak.
Tong Huaqiong saw through it and took the initiative to say, "Miss Lu ordered cakes from my shop. I'm not exaggerating, my cakes are definitely better than those in the shops in the city. If I want to open a cake shop in the city in the future, I will definitely ask Master Lu for help."
When Lu Zhaoyang heard Tong Huaqiong say this, he was really happy and said, "Aunt Tong, just come to the Lu family to look for me."
After Tong Huaqiong pointed out the root cause of his illness, he regarded Tong Huaqiong as his benefactor. He would always feel uneasy if he did not repay her.
Tong Huaqiong felt relieved after hearing Lu Zhaoyang's words. She felt that it would be better to use the Lu family's connection on her own business instead of using it to help Gu Jingzhe study.
Anyway, according to Gu Jingzhe's personality, he might still be able to win the third place even without the help of the Lu family, and he won't have to cheat Lu Zhaozhao in his life.