Chapter 6 "Apology Letter"

  After returning, Xiaomantou quickly fetched water and helped Da Shaoye wash his face and re-comb his hair.

  Dong's wife came in, waved her hand, and let Xiaomantou and Xiaobao go down. She personally combed the hair of Zhangsun.

  "Chong, are you still angry?" asked Dou Shi in a soft voice. Lately, things have been tough at home and the food has indeed been much worse, but compared to those starving outside, there's at least something to eat.

  Chang Sun Chong was still very angry just now, but thinking of the frugal life at home, he had wasted more than half a bowl of rice and a bowl of fish soup with fish meat, which was indeed a bit extravagant.

  Thinking of what I ate in my past life, now I'm actually being beaten for wasting a bit of food, what a miserable transmigration! Heaven, even if you don't let me be a wealthy and handsome noble, can't you at least not be so cruel as to make me come to another world and become short, poor, and ugly?!

  "Mother, I'm not angry!" Zhangsun Chong couldn't get mad at Duan Shi, who looked just like his mother from his past life!

  Dugu gave a long lecture to her grandson, saying: "Chong, you actually know all this, but you just don't care. Today, I'll tell you again as your mother. Last year, soon after your uncle ascended the throne, the Turks attacked Jinyang (now Shaanxi Xianyang Jinyang County), only 40 miles from the capital Chang'an, taking advantage of the situation and causing a stir in the capital. Although our general Wei Zhengde won a small victory, the national strength was weak and the political situation was unstable, so we had to make concessions to the Turks with gold and silk, exchanging for temporary stability, which is the shameful Treaty of Wei River. But disaster struck again, as a severe drought hit and locusts appeared, leaving no harvest for the people of Guanzhong, refugees fleeing everywhere, and the national treasury having given out all its grain for disaster relief."

  Although Zhangsun Chong is very mischievous now, he is absolutely not a heartless person. Hearing Du Shi say this, he felt extremely ashamed. The leftover rice from his meal earlier might have saved the life of a starving refugee.

  My father, Lao Da, was a self-made man who made a fortune, but his childhood was tough. He grew up as an orphan, eating at many different households. After he became wealthy, when the Wenchuan earthquake hit his hometown, he donated 100 million yuan and sent truckloads of relief supplies to the disaster zone.

  Chang Sun's father took him to the disaster area, where he saw the survivors' yearning for life. Chang Sun gradually learned about another layer of meaning in life and eventually made achievements!

  "Mom, I was wrong!" Chang Sun said with his head down. A man should admit when he's wrong, it's not a big deal.

  Dong's mother smiled with relief, her son had grown up, this was his first time admitting his mistake.

  "Now the Emperor and your father, as well as all the civil and military officials in the court, are worried and don't know what to do. The national treasury has no more grain, and they don't know how to proceed with disaster relief next. Your father was just in a bad mood when he scolded you, so don't be angry, haven't you seen that your father is thin?" Madam Duan tried to persuade her husband and son to get along harmoniously.

  The solemn anger was ruined by Duan's sentence "Your dad has lost weight".

  This Zhang Sun Wuji doesn't weigh two hundred jin, but must be at least one hundred and eighty jin. If this is called thin, then there's no such thing as fat people anymore.

  "Grandpa's getting thinner!" The eldest grandson swallowed his saliva and whispered.

  Dong's wife heard this, patted Zhangsun Long's back of the head and said: "You child, still taking advantage of your father! Your father can't eat well, sleep well! You are all young, if something happens to your father, our big and small family, dozens of mouths, will have no hope."

  Changsun Wuji also heard that he had come to the Tang Dynasty, but didn't know when he could return. Now with Changsun Wuji as his backer, he naturally wanted to cling to his thick thigh.

  "Mother, I was wrong. I'll go apologize to Father!" After Dou Shi dried and tied up Zhangsun Chong's hair, he finally made a decision.

  Dong's wife held her son in her arms, patted his back and said: "Alright, alright, my son is sensible! Your father must be in the study now, tidy up quickly and hurry over!"

  After finishing speaking, Duan's wife left and her spirit was much better when she walked away.

  Chang Sun-chung felt that simply admitting his mistake in a dry manner would not move Chang Sun-wu, this old fox, so he had to resort to some tactics. Ah, today he was beaten because of wasting food, so he plagiarized a poem "Pity the Farmer": The sun beats down upon my back as I till the soil at noon, sweat dripping onto the earth below. Who knows that in the bowl of rice on your table, every grain is hard-earned?

  He picked up the brush on his desk, spread out the paper, and wrote a heartfelt thank-you letter to his grandfather, hoping he wouldn't catch his father's "bandit spirit". He was forced to write in Song Dynasty calligraphy with a brush pen; if it wasn't done well, he wouldn't be given dinner. If he couldn't recite poems from memory, his toys would be confiscated. When he was young, he had rebelled against this many times, but on this matter, his loving father stood on the side of his grandfather and mother, causing him to resent his father multiple times.

  It's not that his father doesn't care, it's just that when his father asked for the hand of his mother from her father, he was forced to agree that their future child would be educated by his maternal grandfather, and this "rascal" of a father couldn't intervene.

  Chang Sun-chung wrote down the poem "Sympathy for the Peasants" very neatly, and when the ink was dry, he held up the "Confession Book", to confess his mistake.

  "Knock, knock, knock", the door was knocked on. Zhangsun Wuji had already known that the visitor was his unfilial son. His wife had just told him that their son would come over to apologize soon and asked him not to make a fuss again. Actually, in the past, leaving some food uneaten wouldn't be a big deal, but with the severe drought and disaster in Guanzhong, being wasteful with food wasn't only unkind to oneself's conscience, it also gave those imperial historians something to gossip about.

  "Come in!" Zhangsun Wuji didn't raise his head, pretending to continue reading official documents.

  Chang Sun rushed to see Chang Sun Wuji without lifting his head, knowing that Fat Old Dad was still angry. He went forward and knelt down, holding a piece of paper, saying: "Dad, I was wrong! This is my apology letter!"

  Zhang Sun Wuji finally raised his head. Even if he was beaten to death in the past, this young master would never admit his mistake. Today is really strange!

  Have Longsun Lian, the personal attendant by his side, take over that so-called "letter of apology" from Longsun Chong and put it in front of him.

  At first glance, this font is astonishingly regular, with horizontal and vertical strokes that are thick at the top and thin at the bottom, clear-cut corners, a rigorous structure, and an even overall effect. The strong rules governing its strokes give people a comfortable and refreshing feeling when reading it.

  Look at the poem again, Changsun Wuji solemnly stood up and recited: "Weeding in the day when the sun is high, sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows that the meal on the plate, every grain is hard-earned!"

  Changsun Wuji looked at Changsun Chong who was kneeling and asked: "Where did you copy it from?"

  Chang Sun Chong really wants to scold his original body for being a good-for-nothing. It seems that in the past, he didn't hesitate to do other people's homework.

  "Dad, that's what I wrote. If you don't believe me, take it and ask others if they've seen it." Zhangsun puffed out his chest, this time he must be more resolute to change the impression of him in Zhangsun Wuji's mind, "I know I was a mess before, but after being unconscious on the bed for three days, I vaguely realized many things! Today, my son wasted food and should be beaten!"

  Chang Sun Wuji saw that his son had changed a lot, this was the son he had poured his heart and soul into nurturing, he hoped more than anyone else that his son could learn well, so he chose to believe in Chang Sun Chong for once.

  "Get up!"

  Chang Sun stood up, and below was a hard and smooth stone slab paved, kneeling for a while, his knees really hurt.

  "You're sensible now, so you must study hard from now on and not cause trouble. Be a good role model for your younger brother and sister, that's all I ask as your father. If you children don't study well, what's the point of me working myself to the bone?!" Chang Sun Wuji said with a sigh, having lost his father at a young age, he had brought his widowed mother and sister to live with his uncle, following the current emperor, living in constant fear and anxiety, risking his life for every bit of power, just to have today's status, but there was no one to inherit it!

  Chang Sun Chong heard this, it's a fatherly voice!

  "Yes, Father, I know!" Chang Sunzhuan turned to leave, but suddenly remembered that his mother had said that the current locust plague was a good opportunity. Instead of eating tree bark and wild vegetables, or Guanyin clay, it would be better to eat locusts, which were high in protein after all!

  However, locusts have been considered a punishment from heaven for emperors and common people since ancient times. The thing looks disgusting, I don't know if those victims would eat it or not?

  He ate locusts, thanks to his father being a foodie in his previous life, eating whatever was delicious, fried ants, fried locusts, and even a type of bean bug that grew on soybean leaves. Every time he ate these things, his dad wouldn't say anything until after he swallowed, then he'd say it made him want to vomit but couldn't, and instead thought the taste was pretty good.

  Better not say it yet, let's make a few dishes first and have everyone try them. If I said it first, I'm afraid no one would be able to eat it!

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