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“Good things are not learned, bad things are.” Su Xi glared at his grandson, speaking with disdain.
Pointing at himself, Su Yu felt like Su Xi had always been finding fault with him.
“Grandpa, what do you mean by ‘good things are not learned, bad things are’? Are you saying I didn’t study well?” Su Yu said, discontentedly.
Su Xi gave Su Yu an exasperated look and said, “Can you honestly say you’ve studied well?”
“After becoming a child prodigy, you just started messing around with your lousy business. How many days did you spend at the academy after that? Four years have passed, and you barely set foot in the academy. When I think about it, I want to give you a good beating every time.” Whenever this matter came up, Su Xi’s anger flared up.
He could have become a scholar at the age of twelve, but this little brat missed the imperial examination because he was involved in business. Every time he thought about it, Su Xi wanted to give Su Yu a good beating, and not just a simple one.
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu and asked softly, “How old were you when you became a child prodigy?”
“Ten years old.”
“…” Wang Jinhe silently raised her thumb and said, “I’m indeed too naive.”
“At the age of ten, you became a child prodigy, which means you should have been able to take the imperial examination at twelve, right? Why did you take it at fourteen?” The imperial examination was held annually, so why the two-year gap?
Su Yu awkwardly touched his nose and explained, “You’re right, but I missed the opportunity to participate in the imperial examination because of my business. That’s why there was a two-year delay, but it’s still not too bad.”
“Not too bad? Grandpa must have been infuriated.” Wang Jinhe chuckled and added, “Su Yu, your grandfather probably had a heart attack from frustration.”
Su Xi wholeheartedly agreed and nodded, “Xiao He, you’re right. I was really infuriated back then. This kid had won three consecutive titles—child prodigy, scholar, and advanced scholar, all first place. You don’t know how he drove me crazy when he chose to give up his studies for business.” Wang Jinhe was aware of Su Yu’s excellence in academics but didn’t expect it to be this impressive.
Wang Jinhe glanced at Su Xi and genuinely felt sympathy for him. Having such a brilliant grandson who chose to go into business would have been frustrating for anyone.
In traditional Chinese society, businesspeople had the lowest social status among the four occupations: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.
“The problem is that I’m also excellent in business,” Su Yu retorted defensively before Su Xi had a chance to speak.
Without waiting for Su Xi’s response, Xiao Bao began applauding enthusiastically, clapping his tiny hands. “Daddy is amazing! Daddy is so talented!”
It turned out that his daddy was incredibly talented. No one else’s daddy could compare.
Xiao Bao clenched his small fists and declared, “I want to surpass Daddy’s three consecutive titles. I want to be even more talented and make more money!”
Wang Jinhe couldn’t help but smile as she watched Xiao Bao. She wondered what Su Xi was thinking about hearing his Great Grandson’s words.
“Xiao Bao, it’s enough for you to achieve the three consecutive championships like your father. Let your father handle the money matters, okay? Can’t we focus on studying?” Su Xi advised earnestly.
Without hesitation, Xiao Bao shook his head, saying, “I don’t want to. I want to be as great as my father, even better.”
Su Xi glared at Su Yu fiercely, remarking, “Look at what you’ve done, influencing Xiao Bao like this.”
“It’s natural for a child to follow their father’s path, isn’t it? Grandpa, don’t be angry. In the future, besides Xiao Bao, I’m sure there will be more sons from Xiao He and me. If there’s another one who doesn’t want to do business, you can make him focus on his education, right?”
“What if your second child doesn’t want to study?”
“It’s a simple solution. You can hurry my brother into marriage. After all, he’s in his twenties and still doesn’t have a wife. Isn’t it embarrassing? Look, my son is almost four years old.” Su Yu immediately started teasing his brother.
Wang Jinhe initially thought that Su Xi wouldn’t take Su Yu’s teasing seriously. But what did she witness?
Su Xi not only took it seriously but also began to seriously consider the matter.
“You’re right. After staying here for a while, I’ll go back. He’s already twenty-six or twenty-seven, and he doesn’t even have a wife. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
Su Yu nodded continuously. “Grandpa is right; it’s absolutely ridiculous. I should talk to my brother about this.”
Wang Jinhe turned to look at Su Yi. With one sentence, she shifted the focus to his brother, marveling at Su Yu’s skills in teasing his brother.
“If your brother finds out that you’re selling him like this, will he come after you?” Wang Jinhe leaned in close to Su Yu and asked in a hushed voice.
The breath hit Su Yu’s ears, making him feel ticklish.
“When I put Xiao Bao in front of him, he won’t be angry anymore,” Su Yu whispered back.
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu in disbelief. Could there be such a strategy?
“You’re impressive. But I can tell from your words that your brother treats you well. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do this for you,” she remarked, recognizing the bond they shared.
Su Yu nodded with a smile. “Exactly. My brother is six or seven years older than me. I and my sisters were raised by him. They are twins. Do you think we might have twins in the future?”
Giving Su Yu a sidelong glance, Wang Jinhe rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, “Just think about it.”
“At least I can think about it.”
With Su Xi’s attention diverted, Wang Jinhe observed that Su Xi didn’t continue to scold Su Yu. This maneuver left Wang Jinhe feeling somewhat defeated.
Early the next morning, Su Yu and Wang Jinhe got up, while Xiao Bao was still sleeping.
“Xiao Bao, it’s time to wake up,” Su Yu whispered as he looked at the peacefully sleeping child snuggled against him.
Xiao Bao burrowed deeper under the blanket. “Daddy, I want to sleep more.”
“Are you not going to pick fruits later?” Su Yu asked.
“I want to go,” Xiao Bao nodded vigorously. Picking fruits was something he was determined to do.
“Then get up now. You can sleep in the carriage later,” Su Yu said. If they were taking Xiao Bao along, they would travel by carriage.
Finally, Xiao Bao sat up on Su Yu’s lap, still a bit groggy. Su Yu waited until he was more awake before gently lifting him to go change into his clothes.
When they went out, Wang Jinhe had already prepared breakfast.
Seeing Wang Jinhe up early to cook, Su Yu considered that they needed to hire more servants and a chef. They couldn’t always rely on Xia He to wake up early and cook.
“Xiao He, after we finish gathering these fruits, lets go to the market and hire some people, especially someone skilled in cooking. That way, you won’t have to wake up early to cook,” Su Yu said seriously to Wang Jinhe.
“We can also buy two servants for Xiao Bao,” the people around Xiao Bao needed to be trained too.
“Xiao Bao too?” Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu in surprise, her brows furrowing. Xiao Bao was still so young; they probably didn’t need additional staff, right?
“Servants and guards are necessary. The servants can serve as his attendants and later on, as his personal assistants. As for the bonds formed in their upbringing, starting from a young age will deepen their loyalty to Xiao Bao as they grow older,” Su Yu explained his thoughts to Wang Jinhe.
For Wang Jinhe, buying servants for Xiao Bao seemed a bit premature at the moment.