Chapter 29: Just Arriving at the Poetry Gathering, I Was Met with Mockery

After counting the family’s earnings, someone gasped, “Heavens, thirteen hundred and seventy coins!”
“We spent another hundred coins on meat, so that’s one thousand four hundred and seventy coins!”
“We made more than one tael in a single day? My goodness!” Feng Cuicui swallowed hard; she’d lived most of her life and had never heard of a family earning more than a tael of silver in a day.
Because some customers combined their purchases for a bonus skewer, they’d given away over a hundred extra.
Li Su quickly calculated in his mind: the vegetable skewers cost nothing—they were just picked from the family’s fields. The three hundred meat skewers used only about ten jin of meat, costing two hundred coins or so. The ingredients for the hotpot base were another two hundred coins. That left a profit of roughly one tael.
It wouldn’t make them rich, but it would certainly make life much easier.
“Second Brother, record this money in the account book I gave you. How about the family divides the profit once a month?” Li Su thought daily distributions were too much trouble.
Li Zhengqiang nodded vigorously. “Alright, then let’s leave all the money with Mother for now.”
Feng Cuicui held the coins, her smile growing wider and wider.
“Oh, Second Brother, my classmate who came with me today asked me to prepare more tomorrow. His family is quite wealthy—they’re landlords. He wants a hundred vegetable skewers and a hundred meat skewers. Money isn’t an issue for them.”
Feng Cuicui was stunned. “Heavens, what kind of family eats so much?” That would be four hundred coins!
“That’s nothing. When they dine at a restaurant, a single meal can cost several taels,” thought Li Su. Qin Ming even said these skewers were delicious and a bargain.
Feng Cuicui’s heart trembled as she listened. Was every friend of her youngest son so wealthy?
If they were willing to be friends with her youngest, it must mean they saw potential in him. Her youngest was truly remarkable.
“Then should we prepare three thousand skewers tomorrow?” Li Zhengping asked.
The Li family all turned to Li Su, waiting for his decision.
“Sure, in the future you can make these decisions yourselves. Even if we don’t sell them all, we can eat them ourselves.” Li Su felt that once things were on track, his family could handle it without him.
So the plan was set: three thousand skewers for tomorrow, and everyone began to busy themselves.
Even the children helped thread skewers, but they wouldn’t let Li Su join in—they sent him inside to study.
They believed Li Su shouldn’t be involved in these tasks; he should focus on his studies.
...
A few days passed like this, and the day of the poetry gathering arrived, scheduled for a day when the private school was closed.

Li Su was as usual, but Lin Ze was dressed impeccably, full of energy—a far cry from his everyday appearance at the school.
When Ren Shuhua and Qin Ming arrived, they were shocked. “Ze, are you trying to outshine Lin Xi in appearance today?”
Lin Ze produced a fan from somewhere and gave it a flourish. “What do you think?”
Li Su, Ren Shuhua, and Qin Ming all nodded. “Excellent.”
“Besides, after all this study, I feel my scholarly abilities have improved greatly.” Lin Ze was full of confidence, especially since he could now answer questions when the teacher called on him.
The three friends nodded in agreement.
The four set off together in Lin Ze’s family carriage toward the poetry gathering.
The venue was a restaurant owned by the Lin family, closed for the day and reserved especially for Lin Xi’s poetry event. The ground floor was already crowded with scholars.
Lin Ze lifted the curtain and saw Lin Xi surrounded by admirers. He snorted coldly—hypocrite, villain!
Li Su followed Lin Ze’s gaze. The man looked somewhat like Lin Ze, but Lin Ze’s features were much softer, while Lin Xi’s face appeared sharp and harsh—though perhaps Li Su was influenced by his own opinions.
Lin Xi seemed to notice their attention. He first curled his lips at Lin Ze, then turned to Li Su with a look of disdain.
Li Su raised an eyebrow. Clearly, Lin Xi cared a lot—even knowing exactly who Lin Ze’s friends were.
“Brother, I didn’t expect you’d come. Father said you’re not interested in studying, always out playing with friends. I thought you all wouldn’t bother with the poetry gathering,” Lin Xi announced, making sure everyone knew his brother and his friends were wastrels, poor scholars.
“Lin Xi is already a certified scholar. Have his brother and friends passed the exams yet?” someone who liked to flatter Lin Xi immediately chimed in.
He knew Lin Xi and his brother didn’t get along, so he had no qualms about offending Lin Ze. Although both were young masters of the Lin family, it was clear Lin Xi had a brighter future.
What could Lin Ze and his idle friends possibly achieve?
“No, but perhaps their ambitions lie elsewhere,” Lin Xi feigned a gentlemanly manner.
“If their ambitions lie elsewhere, why bother studying?”
“With their attitudes, can they compose poetry? Do they even appreciate it?”
Many scholars became unfriendly toward the four friends.
Upstairs, Uncle Lin turned to Xi Sheng and said, “Master, the one standing in the middle is Li Su. It seems he’s not much of a scholar, just clever with farming.”
Xi Sheng replied coolly, “Uncle Lin, since when did you start believing rumors? From my experience, that’s hardly the case.”

Uncle Lin fell silent. Ever since he’d advised the master to return home, Xi Sheng had been displeased with him. Better to say less and make fewer mistakes.
Xi Sheng narrowed his eyes and glanced below, then turned to sit and leafed through the poetry collection on the table.
Uncle Lin stood behind Xi Sheng, no longer daring to speak, lest the master send him back to the capital and refuse to let him follow.

Li Su asked in confusion, “Is your so-called poetry gathering just Lin Xi taking the lead and criticizing us? The aunties at the village entrance are better at that. If this is what a poetry gathering is, there’s really no point in coming.”
“Is everyone here just to judge others, or is it only Lin Xi and a few of you?”
Lin Ze quickly followed, “May I ask, are you here to judge others or to exchange poetry?”
Lin Ze, Ren Shuhua, and Qin Ming struggled to keep their smiles from breaking out.
“Of course, we’re here to exchange poetry!” The other scholars hurried to defend themselves.
Li Su smiled, “Then it must have been my misunderstanding.”
“Brother Lin, when does the poetry gathering begin?”
“Yes, we’re indeed here for the poetry gathering. As this gentleman said, we have no interest in judging others.”
In truth, most scholars attended poetry gatherings to make friends through literature, showcase their talents, appreciate and learn from others, discuss national affairs, or talk about the imperial exams.
Certainly not to nitpick a fellow scholar—such things were pointless and did nothing to improve oneself.
Lin Xi’s expression darkened. Lin Ze’s new country bumpkin friends were quick-witted.
But these ignorant fellows would only embarrass themselves at the poetry gathering.
“Brother, your friend exaggerates. We have no intention of judging you. I’m simply surprised you came,” Lin Xi hurried to explain. As a certified scholar, being compared to village aunties by a country bumpkin would surely be a source of ridicule.
Lin Ze resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Then just announce the start. No need to explain. As long as you know you have no such intentions.”
Qin Ming whispered in Lin Ze’s ear, “Ze, do you want to expose him? He’s just a concubine’s child, always pretending to be the legitimate son.”