Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 495: Failure is not allowed

Sun Ming was also afraid that this child would be loose-lipped and if he told others, in the case that he did fail, he would be opening himself up to ridicule.
Secondly, if Lian Hai found out about this, Sun Ming didn’t have to guess to know what his reaction would be.

He would definitely start thinking of ways to use Lian Che to get in contact with Master Ding.
If he grabbed onto Lian Che and stayed by his side, he might start to feel that the reason Master Ding was interested in instruction Lian Che was for him!

Sun Ming did not take Lian Hai’s thoughts and actions very seriously.
But everyone had their own aspirations, so Sun Ming didn’t think there was anything wrong with his approach.

Still, Sun Ming told Lian Che again, not to tell anyone else.
It would cause trouble if people were jealous and there would be no peace.

Lian Che agreed approvingly, he respected him more and more!

“Che’er.”

Just when Lian Fang Zhou was about to surrender, Ah Jian put his hand on Lian Che’s shoulder and said with a warm smile: “Your sisters and brother miss you very much, so bring your books with you.
Can’t you study there? The scenery of Xiuyuan is very good and clean, no one will disturb you.
Not only do you need to work hard, but you have to learn how to balance.
You can’t take every exam so seriously or be too nervous.
Otherwise, when it comes time to act, you will be too nervous to perform well and you will be even more regretful.”

Sun Ming nodded, smiling: “Your brother Ah Jian is right, you can take your books with you.
It’s good to go and relax for the holidays! Your family is looking forward to you going with them.
And there are indeed many people who are very skilled in their studies and memorization, but are too nervous when they take the exams.
Your mind goes blank and you can’t even remember a tenth of what you normally know.
You don’t have to study all the time, you should take some time to digest it.
You’re fully prepared now.
When the time comes, it will be like any other day.”

Lian Che thought about it for a while and finally nodded.
“Alright! Since Brother Ah Jian and Brother Sun think so, then I will go! I can’t let my sisters and brother have fun without me!”

Lian Fang Zhou laughed.
“You little guy! If you pass the test, it will be good.
If you fail the test, you just try again next year.
Eldest Sister doesn’t want you to become a shut-in!”

“Okay, Eldest Sister!” Lian Che laughed: “I’ll pack my things and my books.
Eldest Sister and Brother Ah Jian, wait for me!”

As he spoke, he turned around and went back into his room.

Lian Fang Zhou glanced at Sun Ming and smiled.
She wanted to say a few thankful words but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other man eyeing her and wisely closed her mouth.
Instead, she politely thanked him with a smile for taking care of Lian Che.

Behind her, Ah Jian felt relieved.
This was the difference between outsiders and her own, she never thanked him for taking care of her brother!

Lian Fang Zhou and Ah Jian took Lian Che home, where Lian Ze, Lian Fang Qing, and Third Aunt wer excitedly waiting for him.
They greeted him warmly when they saw him.

Third Aunt pulled his arm and pinched it, saying ‘Oh! You’ve lost weight, haven’t you been eating? I’ll stew a chicken for you tonight to make up for it!”

Dumbfounded, Lian Fang Zhou gave her a funny look.
“It’s the New Year, how could you not eat well? Sun Ming is also preparing for the exam, how could Aunt sun treat her own son badly? She would never leave Che’er alone to only cook for Sun Ming, right? I specifically told Aunt Li in the kitchen that she shouldn’t refuse them any ingredients!”

Third Aunt scrutinized Lian Che again and smiled: “It seems that I’ll have to believe you but tonight I’ll still make a few more delicious supplements!”

Everyone couldn’t help laughing.

After breakfast the next day, they locked the door and went out.
Now there were only a few chickens left in the yard to eat leftovers and all the cowsheds had been moved over to the compound.

Lian Fang Zhou gave Madam Li a key and asked her to come feed the chickens once a day.

As for Xiao Hui, Lian Fang Qing was reluctant to leave him behind and pushed him into the carriage.

Xiao Hui was strong and well-muscled, with a slender body.
Although the carriage was not small, when he was inside, it was so cramped that he couldn’t even turn around.

He hunkered down aggrieved and whined at Lian Fang Qing.

Distressed, Lian Fang Qing turned to look at Lian Fang Zhou and asked: “Eldest Sister, why don’t we left Xiao Hui follow behind? He will walk with the carriage obediently and won’t run off, he won’t fall behind!”

“Oh!” Lian Ze laughed loudly: “Tell me clearly, who was worried that Xiao Hui would not be able to keep up? But he’s a wolf, not a dog! Do you want to scare people to death? Causing that much chaos, just see how you end up!”

Lian Fang Zhou laughed: “Your second brother is right but you insisted on bringing him along.
Since he’s here, you can only suffer, we’ll be there in another half of a day.”

Unhappy, Lian Fang Qing pouted and rubbed Xiao Hui’s head, which only made him more aggrieved.

After a day of travel, the group arrived at Xiuyuan.
Lian Fang Zhou asked one of the servants to go to the Su family and let Fang Qing and Su Jing He know they had arrived and that in two days, they would go and greet Master Su and Madam Su in person.
Then the group settled in Xiuyuan with peace of mind.

Although it as only the first of the month, Xiuyuan was not deserted and was still very lively.

On both sides of the road around the mansion, there were tall jujube-red wooden fences and on the banyan trees were small red lanterns the size of a baby’s fist.
The ground was covered in a variety of flowers, such as azaleas, roses, camellias, cyclamen, osmanthus, plum blossoms, and other flowers in full bloom.
A few bright colors had been added to the decorations, making it even more festive and eye-catching.

Traffic not smooth at this time of year and there was no requirement to go home for the spring festival.
Many of these people had been doing business outside for a long time and only went home every few years and some hadn’t even gone home once in ten years.

Therefore, although it was the New Year, there was still quite a few people staying at Xiuyuan.

Lian Fang Zhou originally planned to stay at the mansion but thinking of Xiao Hui, she gave up the idea and choose to stay in the private manors.

Otherwise, it would be bad it they accidently scared people or aroused someone’s curiosity.
There might even be an incident.

Steward Su knew that Lian Fang Zhou was one of the owners of Xiuyuan and he diligently sent his workers to quickly clean up the Yaotai manor and start the charcoal burning vigorously.

This was the first time Lian Che had come to Xiuyuan and seeing that it really was quiet and relaxing, he felt it was good to spend a few days studying in such an environment.

As soon as Lian Ze settled down, he immediately wanted to run over to the racecourse to watch the horses.

Winter was a difficult time for horse riding and Ah Jian was a little worried, so he followed Lian Ze over.
Relieved, Lian Fang Zhou sat with Third Aunt and Lian Fang Qing on what to eat that night and when to go see the plum blossoms.

They had heard from Director Wei that the plum blossoms in the garden were just right.
There were rouge-red blossoms, white blossoms, pink blossoms, and some dark green blossoms, each as gorgeous as a ray of sunshine.

Even Lian Fang Zhou was looking forward to it…