The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1454 Autumn Ranking White Flower

Sun Shan was in a bad mood and found fault with everyone. He had no motivation at work and was slacking off.

The main problem is that the effort put in is disproportionate to the reward.

There's a saying that goes, "Happiness is determined by comparison." Without comparison, Sun Shan wouldn't be so disappointed.

The thought of Magistrate Shen of Mayang County, a colleague who was worse than him in every way, yet achieved better results than him, made him realize how difficult it was for him.

Sun Shan was unwilling to accept this.

As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of his shift, Sun Shan didn't want to sit in the "office" for even a quarter of an hour.

I feel like all these years have been for nothing, and all my efforts have been in vain.

He clasped his hands behind his back, his steps heavy, as he walked back to the backyard, one step at a time.

The moment I stepped through the gate, I saw the chubby girl acting like a flower thief, plucking all the flowers from his carefully cultivated Autumn White Flower.

The flower lives up to its name.

The autumn list refers to the Cymbidium goeringii that blooms when the results of the provincial examinations are announced; it is also known as the list ink or the good news ink.

Its name originates from the Lingnan region's custom of placing orchids before the autumn examination results are announced. It was specially brought by Sun Bomin from the Sun family's flower garden, hoping to bring good luck to Sun Shan.

Under careful cultivation, the Cymbidium goeringii bloomed ahead of schedule, much to Sun Shan's delight. He thought that this year's provincial examination results would come early and he would get a good score.

Mo Lan Autumn List

Autumn List White Flower

The flowers are beautiful, but the students' grades are terrible.

Seeing the chubby girl picking with great enthusiasm, I wouldn't have thought much of it on a normal day.

A flower is nothing compared to my precious darling.

But the plan to "beat up the little fat girl" has never been implemented, and has been shelved for various reasons. Today, I just happened to get a zero.

Sun Shan's face darkened, and the atmosphere in the backyard instantly became tense.

A few courtyards away, Su, who was planting vegetables, looked at the sky with a puzzled expression.

He asked, puzzled, "Honey, are you feeling cold? Is it going to rain?"

Sun Bomin rolled his eyes at Su Shi: "How could it be cold on such a hot day?"

I looked at the sky again; it was cloudless, a truly beautiful day.

He scoffed, "The sky is blue, there's no way it'll rain. Hurry up and hoe the ground to plant these seedlings. There are a lot of people in the family, if we don't plant more, we'll have to sell them outside, which will cost a lot of money."

Su wanted to refute Sun Bomin, but the sky was indeed cloudless, a perfect day, and it was so hot, how could it be cold?

Su snorted coldly and buried herself in hoeing the ground.

As soon as he lowered his head, a loud "Wow!" rang out.

Then, with a series of loud "boo~boo~~" sounds, the earth shook violently.

Madam Su was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening: "Master, it's Fatty crying! Why is she crying again? Did someone hit her?"

Without Su saying anything, Sun Bomin knew that the familiar crying sound belonged to Little Fatty.

He hurriedly shouted, "Let's go and see! Who in the yamen would dare to mess with Xiaoxiao? He must have fallen. Oh dear, why does my grandson keep falling? We need to ask Master Zhang."

Sun Bomin and Su threw down their hoes and followed the sound of crying. They turned left and right, jumped up and down, and wandered around in circles, making the couple so anxious that their mouths trembled.

Su asked anxiously, "Oh dear, why is this government office so big? I can't find anyone here."

Sun Bomin agreed, and sighed helplessly, "Exactly. If something happens, the mosquitoes will already be asleep by the time they find the person. Why is my dear grandson still crying?"

Then, unable to contain himself, he cried out, "Grandpa's Xiaoxiao, where are you? Don't cry, Grandpa is coming to find you."

Su Shi followed behind, calling out, "Fatty, don't be afraid, Grandma is here too."

When Sun Bomin and Su arrived at the crime scene, they were dumbfounded.

Sun Shan and Sister Yun were sitting upright in their chairs, with two little girls kneeling in front of them, one chubby and the other dark-skinned.

The onlookers included Hu Ming, Uncle Sun, Gui Ge'er, Li Jinhua, Granny He, and other members of the Sun family.

Sun Bomin exclaimed inwardly: Oh no! Little Fatty must have done something wrong again, that's why Shanzi made her kneel down.

When Su saw the fat girl kneeling pitifully on the ground, she felt heartbroken.

Just as he was about to speak, a glance revealed Sun Shan's face darkening, and he instantly fell silent.

No wonder I felt cold earlier; it looked like it was going to rain. It turned out to be Shanzi's anger and the resulting low pressure.

The chubby girl felt so wronged and pitiful. She had only picked a flower, so why was she arrested by her father?

There are usually plenty of flowers in the backyard, and Father never says anything. Why is he angry today?

Upon seeing Sun Bomin and Su Shi, Little Fatty felt as if she had seen her saviors.

She stretched out her chubby little hand and called out pitifully, "Grandpa, Grandma, Xiaoxiao... Xiaoxiao misses you so much."

Compared to the chubby girl, the wicked little black girl was much more obedient. She knelt there, thin and weak, without moving, not daring to ask Gui Ge'er and Li Jinhua for help.

Sun Bomin still couldn't bear it, so he steeled himself and stepped forward to ask, "Shanzi, what's wrong with Xiaoxiao? Even if she made a mistake, you can't just make her kneel down like that. She's just a child; you have to teach her slowly. You can't be so violent."

Mrs. Su echoed, "Yes, Shanzi. Let's talk things out. Little Mosquito is still young and doesn't understand. We'll teach him patiently, and we're sure we can get him right."

Among the behavioral guidelines for educating their children, Sun Bomin and the Su family were not as strict as Sun Shan's.

It's not that they didn't want to be strict, but Sun Shan and Gu Yu, along with their siblings, had been obedient since childhood and didn't require much attention.

Sun Shan, in particular, has been well-behaved and sensible since childhood. Even when he is sick, he obediently takes his medicine. He is so easy to take care of.

Uncle Sun knew that it was the father's fault if his son was not taught properly, but the fact that Little Fatty was not taught properly was not Sun Shan's fault, but Sun Bomin and Su's fault.

Pointing to the bare orchids on the ground, she said, "Brother, sister-in-law, look at your good grandson! He ruined Shanzi's favorite orchid. Oh dear, he's so naughty and mischievous, he doesn't act like a proper young lady at all."

Sun Bomin and Su Shi glanced at it and saw that it was just a pot of flowers, so they thought it was something else.

Sun Bomin said nonchalantly, "Shanzi, it's just a pot of orchids. If you like it, I'll plant a few more for you. You know, our Sun family lacks everything, but we have plenty of orchids. We have plenty at home. Even if we didn't have any here, your father could still plant ten or eight pots for you."

Although Su knew that Sun Shan loved flowers, compared to her daughter, her daughter was definitely more important, and it was really not appropriate to make a fuss over a pot of flowers.

She quickly comforted him, saying, "Shanzi, although this flower is blooming beautifully, what child hasn't picked flowers before? If you really like it, Mom will plant it for you. Mom can grow flowers too."

Seeing that Su Shi and Sun Bomin were completely unaware, Uncle Sun continued to drop bombshells: "Brother, sister-in-law, this is no ordinary orchid. This is the Autumn List, a top-notch flower. Originally, we thought the early blooming was a good omen, but who knew that Xiaoxiao would pick it like that, ruining all the good fortune."

He paused, then cried out in anguish, “Brother, sister-in-law, this pot of autumn results was a sign of good news in the provincial examination. Now look what’s happened, all the flowers have withered away. Good news? Humph, what good news is there? Shanzi’s achievements for this year are all gone. Alas, there’s no hope for promotion.”