Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

The family walked slowly to the foot of Yunshan Mountain. The adults chatted while admiring the flowers, while the children played and walked under the flower trees.

When they were almost at the foot of the mountain, Qin Li suddenly looked at a vendor and said, "Xiu-Cai-Won-Tun-"

Everyone looked in the direction he was looking, and saw a small stall selling wontons not far away. A man dressed as a scholar, with his sleeves rolled up, was wrapping wontons skillfully. A young woman was serving wontons into a bowl at a pot nearby with familiar movements.

There was a sign clearly hanging on one side of the stall: Xiucai Wontons.

Qin Yunhe was also a little surprised when he looked over. It turned out to be He Wenshuang, the scholar.

In his previous life, Mr. He’s wonton stall was quite famous in the county. Many people even went there specifically to eat at the wonton stall just because it was set up by Mr. He.

He Xiucai also intentionally put up the sign of Xiucai Wontons to attract more people to eat. He didn't care whether people really wanted to eat or just came to watch the fun. He was very open and generous.

When he later passed the imperial examination and became an official in the court, this story was widely circulated and people talked about it with relish.

However, Qin Yunhe only knew that he set up a stall to sell wontons, but it was the first time he actually saw the stall.

This is a popular place for spring outings, with a constant flow of people. The vendors along the way are doing good business, and He Xiucai's wonton stall is doing particularly well.

There were only two small tables behind the stall. Several people were eating wontons at the tables, and there were four or five people standing or squatting next to them, also eating.

Qin Li added: "From the way he is dressed, he looks like a real scholar. Why is he selling wontons here? Aren't you afraid that your classmates and teachers will say that he is disrespectful?"

I don't know if he heard what Qin Li said, but Mr. He, who was making wontons over there, looked over here and saw four or five people dressed as scholars standing here. So he stopped, adjusted his sleeves slightly, raised his hand and saluted.

Qin Yunhe and others also hurriedly bowed to return the greeting, and then hurried forward.

As they walked, Qin Chong lowered his voice and scolded Qin Li: "It's just for a living, what's there to be ashamed of? Others are much more generous than you."

"I'm not making fun of him. I'm not afraid of what other people say." Qin Li muttered softly.

Qin Li couldn't help but be curious and asked, "Who is this scholar? Do you know him?"

"He is the scholar He Wenshuang, who also scored first place in the annual examination last year." Qin Yunhe said.

The Qin brothers suddenly remembered: "Oh - so this is Mr. He. Yes, I have heard of him before, the scholar who sells wontons for a living. At that time, Aunt Xu even came to ask for his relatives on his behalf."

It happened a year ago and everyone had almost forgotten about it, but when it was mentioned now, everyone in the Qin family turned around and secretly looked. The woman cooking wontons next to the stall had the same generous expression and worked as efficiently as He Xiucai, and they looked like a couple.

The eldest sister-in-law of the Qin family could not help but express her thoughts with great relief: "Fortunately, it didn't work out at that time. Mr. He is indeed well-educated and capable, but Ji Rui is not capable of doing this job."

Although the other members of the Qin family admired He Xiucai very much, they also agreed with him.

Qin Jirui was the only daughter of this generation. Her family doted on her and she did little needlework. How could she cook wontons in public? She couldn't even think about it.

Qin Jirui didn't care about her brother and sister-in-law's sighs. He was not her lover anyway, so what did he do had to do with her?

If he is her beloved, she would accept it even if he cooks wontons for her.

The family continued to climb the mountain and finally arrived at Ciguang Temple before noon.

Ciguang Temple is very popular and it is said that any prayers you ask for are very effective. Naturally, when this big family comes here, they burn incense and pray devoutly, each asking for a talisman or amulet for safety. After the prayers, it is time for the vegetarian meal at noon.

The family had a vegetarian meal in the temple and then prepared to go down the mountain with their wives and daughters.

As they walked out of the temple and down the mountain, they heard a woman's voice coming from not far away.

A woman holding a child walked in front and complained: "We agreed to come to burn incense today and not delay, but you insisted on helping someone write a petition. Now it's almost past noon..."

A scholar followed behind. He did not argue. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to take the child from the woman: "Let me hold the child for a while."

The woman ignored him and walked quickly, holding the child in her arms.

The scholar was still trying to take the child, and said gently, "Yes, I also want to go out early. But they are in a hurry to use the petition, and since I caught up with them, how can I not help them with such a small effort?"

"How can you burn incense and worship Buddha after noon? You don't have any sincerity at all. How can the Bodhisattva bless you..."

"Helping others write petitions is a good thing, and the Buddha will understand. Let me hold the child for a while..."

Qin Yunhe felt a little embarrassed as he watched Lin Zhaotang explain while trying to take the child. He didn't know whether to say hello or not, and he didn't know how to do it either. Every time he saw the couple, there was always something awkward.

Finally, when the two sides were very close and about to pass each other, Lin Zhaotang saw Qin Yunhe.

Lin Zhaotang quickly raised his hand and saluted: "Brother Yunhe, long time no see, are you here to burn incense as well?"

Qin Yunhe also hurriedly returned the greeting: "Brother Lin Xian, long time no see. My family and I came here to burn incense and are about to go back."

The Qin Chong brothers had all met Lin Zhaotang during the annual examination and had spent a few days with him, so they all greeted Lin Zhaotang.

Lin's wife was walking briskly in front, and it seemed that she didn't want to wait for Lin Zhaotang at all. However, when Lin Zhaotang stopped to greet a few people, she still stopped three or four steps away and waited.

Qin Yunhe bowed to Lin's wife and said, "Sister-in-law Lin."

Lin's wife didn't say anything. She just held the child, bowed slightly, and turned to look aside.

"I arrived late for the previous annual exam and missed the announcement of the results, so I haven't yet congratulated my dear brother Yunhe on winning the first place." Lin Zhaotang seemed really happy for Qin Yunhe.

Qin Yunhe quickly said: "It's just a moment of luck, not worth praising."

The two chatted for a few more sentences. Qin Yunhe knew that he was in a hurry to go up the mountain, so he said goodbye quickly and told him to hurry up the mountain before noon.

After they had gone far away, Qin Li smiled and said, "Mrs. Lin is so fierce. She was just a little late in burning incense, but it was worth it."

Among the Qin family's wives, the most aggressive one is Qin Li's wife. When she heard him say this, they all looked at him sideways and were very worried about him.

Sure enough, when Qin Li's wife heard him say that, she said, "Why are you so fierce? It's because the husband is useless that the wife becomes fierce. You can't even delay burning incense. Shouldn't you be scolded?"

"Yes, yes, I should criticize you as you deserve." Qin Li quickly apologized with a smile.

Qin Chong and others also talked about Lin's wife. Qin Yunhe talked about how Lin's wife returned the money when he asked Lin Zhaotang to write the guarantee for the college entrance examination. Everyone praised Lin's wife for being insightful and straightforward, which was very impressive.