And in that long afternoon, my third brother's wife, Li Guifen, walked into the door with a bag of sorghum soup in her hand.

Her arrival gently touches everyone's heart.

"You have to guess what kind of amazing and exciting thing I just encountered on the road?" Before Li Guifen finished speaking, her smart eyes flashed with teasing and a bit of undisguised curiosity.

She deliberately kept the secret a secret, winked at Xu Liyun who was embroidering, and continued, "You would never have thought that our Boss Zhang actually took the money that the old lady had worked so hard to save to buy books for the eldest child, and quietly brought it to the city and plunged it into that bottomless casino!"

At this time, Zhang Laoer on the side had a faint smile on his face. He didn't say much, but stayed with Xiao Youniang more attentively, sketching on the paper stroke by stroke.

Inside the thatched cottage, the two sisters-in-law sat around, their voices as soft as mosquitoes as they shared all sorts of interesting stories about the old house. The warmth and tacit understanding made people feel warm in their hearts.

At the same time, in that ancient mansion, anger and despair intertwined into an invisible web, tightly entangling the Zhang family.

Hu Cuimei sat on the cold ground with tears in her eyes, holding her young baby in her arms. Her cries were mixed with helplessness and anger, which made people feel pity.

Although Zhang Dawa was still young, he was clearly aware that it was his father's impulsiveness that ruined his future.

Being sensible, he chose to stand firmly beside his mother, patting her back gently with his tender little hands to comfort her.

Seeing this, Zhang Fu felt mixed emotions. He knew very well that if he allowed the situation to develop, it would only lead to more criticism.

So he hurriedly signaled to his wife to help Hu Cuimei up, trying to prevent this family dispute from becoming a topic of conversation among others.

But Hu Cuimei was not willing to compromise easily. She ignored the strange looks from those around her and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Boss Zhang, you are trying to kill us mother and son! How can you be so cruel and ruin our eldest son's future!"

Old Mrs. Zhang's originally gloomy face suddenly became furious after hearing Hu Cuimei's harsh accusation.

She stood up suddenly, intending to wake Hu Cuimei up with a loud slap, and scolded, "You woman, you have a vicious heart! Stop talking nonsense and don't let it affect Da Wa's career!"

After saying this, she hurriedly stretched out her hand, wanting to hold her grandson in her arms, fearing that those unlucky words would really come true and affect Zhang Dawa's bright future.

Although Zhang Dawa was dissatisfied with his mother's pessimistic prediction, he had a rationality and confidence beyond his age.

He remembered that the wandering Taoist priest had once told him about his destiny and predicted that he was destined to be a noble man and would have extraordinary achievements in the future.

Therefore, he did not believe that his father's momentary confusion could change the trajectory of his fate.

However, he was still angry about his father's behavior, so he looked at his grandparents and said, "Grandpa, grandma, I have always been looking forward to going to school and starting my study career. Now that daddy has squandered all the tuition fees, how can I continue my studies? You promised to give me a chance to study. If you can't keep your promise, what is the meaning of my life?"

When Old Mrs. Zhang heard this, her heart tightened and she stroked Da Wa's head with tenderness. She then gave a wink to Zhang Fu, who understood and quickly closed the heavy gate to cut off the view and discussion of outsiders.

Outside the door, a few nosy neighbors saw this, looked embarrassed, exchanged glances with each other, shook their heads and went away.

The door closed, and Mrs. Zhang hugged Da Wa tightly, and promised firmly: "My darling, don't be afraid, grandma will definitely find a way to let you study!"

In that quiet and slightly secluded village, there was a man named Zhou Xiucai, who was talked about by the villagers because he had read thousands of books. The mountains of books in his home were almost enough to cover a person's knees, making him a legend in the countryside.

The third child of the Zhang family became Zhou Xiucai's inseparable little shadow.

Old Lady Zhang gently patted the carefully prepared package in her hands, which contained several new clothes made of dark blue cloth woven by herself, and said to her eldest grandson Zhang Dawa with a smile: "My child, grandma has prepared some fine clothes for you. You should also learn some skills from Mr. Zhou. You are smart and well-educated, which is a hundred times better than that Zhang Sanwa. I dare to guarantee that when Mr. Zhou sees you, he will definitely like you very much. By then, Zhang Sanwa will probably be left aside, and our Dawa will become his only favorite apprentice!"

However, the young and energetic Zhang Dawa did not show much interest on his face. He frowned slightly and snorted in dissatisfaction: "I think Mr. Zhou is just so-so. I heard from others that the private school teachers in the county are all big shots who have passed the imperial examination. If I want to learn, I have to learn from the best. How can those who have only passed the imperial examination teach me any profound knowledge!"

Seeing this, Old Lady Zhang was not angry, but patiently counseled: "Alas, your idea is too simple. The private school in the county is good, but how many students does a Juren teacher have to deal with? If Mr. Zhou accepted you as his apprentice and let Zhang Sanwa retreat to the second line, wouldn't he be able to teach you wholeheartedly?"

After some earnest persuasion, although Zhang Dawa was still somewhat reluctant, he finally nodded and agreed to his grandmother's arrangement.

For the sake of her grandson's future, Grandma Zhang was busy all day. She not only rummaged through boxes and drawers to find precious cloth, but also collected eggs everywhere, hoping to prepare as many supplies as possible for the eldest child who was about to embark on the road to school.

She hesitated for a long time, took out an egg from the basket, a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes, and she thought about stewing it for the child tomorrow to nourish him well.

In this family, since the second and third rooms set up their own households, the eldest child is the one who often stays by their side.

Old Mrs. Zhang had a strong desire in her heart, and she had to make her two not-so-filial sons understand that the grandson she raised with her own hands would definitely be more successful than their children in the future!

At this moment, outside the yard, the neglected Hu Cuimei was looking at the empty surroundings alone. The injured Zhang Lao Da was groaning in pain on the bed, while Old Lady Zhang was holding Zhang Dawa's hand and embarked on the journey of becoming an apprentice.

As for Zhang Fu, he had long disappeared and did not care about his wife's situation.

Hu Cuimei felt so aggrieved that she had nowhere to vent, so she could only helplessly brush off the dust on her body and turn around to continue taking care of the breadwinner of her family.

On the other side, as Old Lady Zhang led Zhang Da Wa into the Zhou family's doorstep, they saw Zhang San Wa concentrating on answering last year's academy exam questions under the supervision of Mr. Zhou.

These questions are said to be real questions from Anzhou, and Mr. Zhou does not know through what channel they were obtained.

Zhang Sanwa had already experienced the challenges of county and prefectural examinations, and originally thought that Zhou Xiucai's move was just to test his basic knowledge. Unexpectedly, it stimulated his potential step by step, and even allowed him to practice more difficult college examination questions in the end.

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