Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 483 Koi Little Lucky Star 12

The Lin family was like duckweed in a sudden rain, and they were thrown into disarray.

Mrs. Song squeezed to the front, scanning the list anxiously, muttering "Fubao bless you".

Lin Mingxuan's name was right at the bottom of the list, barely nipping it by - although he passed at the tail end, he showed no joy at all, just staring blankly at the ground. The once dazzling new clothes set off his pale cheeks, revealing a hint of absurd irony.

The names of the other four people: Lin Mingcheng, Lin Minglu, Lin Minghong and Lin Mingjin are not on the list.

Lin Mingcheng burst into tears and yelled, "How could this happen? The koi sachet is useless?"

Mrs. Song was struck by lightning. She first murmured, "My good fortune has failed," and then let out a desperate wail.

Lin Mingxuan's parents stepped forward to support him, but they only felt deeper regret in return - all the fame and luxurious clothes they had in the past were now gone.

The dust settled and silence gradually grew outside the government office.

The Yun brothers and their family left silently, their backs as calm as when they came, as if this was just a necessary trial in life.

The Lin family members stumbled and huddled in a corner. Mrs. Song's cries were torn apart by the wind: "Fake... All fake..."

This scene perfectly embodies the simple truth: the fragrance of ink comes from the work of pen, and good fortune cannot rival the knowledge in the belly. The Yun family's mediocre status surpasses the Lin family's illusion.

The sun was just setting when the postman's fast horse rushed into Shili Village, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, villagers had already gathered in groups of three or four, craning their necks to look in the direction of the official road.

When the officer on horseback pulled the reins and announced the results of the list loudly, the quiet village instantly became like a lake into which a stone had been thrown, with ripples forming and quickly spreading into huge waves.

The news first reached the Yun family's simple courtyard gate.

Old Master Yun was tidying the wheat in the drying yard with a wooden rake when he heard the servant loudly announce, "All three gentlemen have submitted their names." He paused for a moment, and the wrinkles on his weather-beaten face stretched out like ravines. He sighed deeply, "Got it... Great... All of them got it."

There was no ecstasy, only the comfort of long-term hard work finally bearing solid fruits. Neighbors and villagers rushed to the scene after hearing the news, and the courtyard was soon filled with people.

Blacksmith Wang, carrying a basket of freshly laid eggs, stammered, "What did I say? I said these three Yun family boys have great potential! Look, look! Not one is missing! This is real talent!"

Carpenter Zhang stroked his beard and bowed repeatedly to Old Man Yun. "Old Man, you taught me well! You worked hard day and night, and took one step at a time. You've earned your fame and success with integrity! I'm convinced! I'm truly convinced!"

Several old farmers who often saw the Yun brothers working in the fields were filled with emotion: "Look at them, they study so hard, but they also work in the fields. If they don't get the honor, who else will?"

Several children squeezed in the crowd, looking at the curled-up books and worn-out cloth shoes piled in the yard, and then looking at the simple bags that the three Yun brothers used when they left the village. Their eyes were filled with new yearning and pure admiration.

A mother whispered to her son, "See? Don't expect to achieve success overnight. Learn from Brother Yun. Study hard and work hard. What's yours won't go away."

The courtyard is filled with a quiet and warm joy, which is a recognition that hard work will eventually pay off, and the most vivid interpretation of the Yun family's ancestral motto "Just seek to have no regrets."

In stark contrast to this is the once enviable and bustling place in front of the Lin family's door.

When the news came that "Lin Mingxuan was at the bottom of the list" and "the other four members of the Lin family were all eliminated", the Lin family members who were waiting there anxiously and those who were trying to curry favor with the Lin family were as if they were cast under a spell. There was a moment of deathly silence, and then an uproar broke out.

The flattering smiles on the faces of the busybodies froze, their eyes flickered, and whispers surged like a tide:

"...What? Only one? And the last one?"

"That Fubao... doesn't it say that sincerity is the key to success? Did I ask for the koi sachet in vain?"

"Ouch! The Lin family's extravagant display a few days ago... Tsk tsk, such a slap in the face..."

Someone shook his head and sighed, "Bringing honor to the family? Now you've become a laughing stock!"

Others, with a tone of three parts sympathy and seven parts sarcasm, said: "If you don't have the diamond, how can you take on porcelain work? Do you think you can be knowledgeable just by wearing silk and gold?"

The discussion was loud and clear, reaching the vermilion lacquer gate. In the Lin family mansion, there was first a suppressed silence, and then erupted into Mrs. Song's heartbreaking wails:

"What a sin! It's fake! It's all fake! I offered so many incense sticks... and ate so much vegetarian food! Liars! They are all liars!" Then there was the sharp sound of porcelain breaking.

Lin Mingcheng's parents looked ashen, looking at the red silk that they had prepared with red decorations, they felt it was hot and ironic.

A straightforward neighbor passed by the Lin family's gate and shouted to the inside: "Hey! I told you guys to focus on the right path! Can you really eat 'Fu Bao Fu Bao' every day?"

"Is the ink fragrance made by burning incense? Look at the three people from the Yun family, they are the real deal!" These words were like a blunt knife, stabbing the hearts of everyone in the Lin family.

The Lin family, which was once bustling with people, became deserted at an alarming speed.

The faces that had gathered around to fawn on him all dispersed, fearing that they would be contaminated by the bad luck of the Lin family.

All that was left was the desperate cries and regrets from inside the door, the cold wind outside, and the awe that disappeared from the villagers' eyes, replaced by understanding and even contempt.

After the clamor, Shili Village fell into a strange silence. But this silence was not tranquility, but the settling down of turbulent waves.

In the fields and by the rivers and streams, the topic of discussion is no longer the magic of "Fubao", but the weight of "hard work".

When the villagers were working, they would occasionally stop and look at the path leading out of the village, as if they could see the backs of the Yun brothers working in the fields in the morning dew and studying hard under the stars.

The young wives who were once attracted by the Lin family's extravagance have changed their topic of conversation when they get together: "Realism is still better. Look at the three young men of the Yun family. They passed the Tongsheng exam without getting cocky. They are very steady."

Some farmers who had been ridiculed by Lin Mingcheng and others and thought their children were "clumsy" in their studies suddenly realized: "It turns out that our children are not stupid, but we lack the Yun family's willingness to endure hardship and loneliness! From now on, we will tell our children to study hard and not compare with others!"

Even the games played by children in the village have quietly changed.

More and more people were imitating writing on the ground with bamboo sticks, and comparing a few simple poems with each other became a new hobby.

Occasionally, a child would cry out, "Koi fish are useless, only the fragrance of ink is useful!" Their childish voices betrayed a simple consensus quietly forming: the fragrance of ink flowing from the tip of a pen is more reliable than any promise of divine blessing;

The sweat shed between the ridges of the fields and the desk day after day is the backbone that truly supports a person.

After this battle, the superficial illusion of Shili Village, which seemed to be shrouded in Fubao, quietly peeled off, revealing its simple roots.

The villagers are reconsidering what true glory is and what is respectable effort.

The Yun family's "average" status appears particularly solid and substantial in contrast to this reality; while the Lin family's ups and downs are like a broken bronze mirror, reflecting the inevitable outcome of vanity and impetuousness.