CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 252: FOOD COUPONS (PART 2)

Yu Xiaolian chuckled, "If they really valued me, why don’t they give me a salary?"

Today, Yu Xiaolian came not only to give gifts but also to request leave from Dean Ying. The issues at home would take some more time to resolve, so returning to teaching would have to wait.

After getting Dean Ying’s approval and exchanging a few pleasantries, Yu Xiaolian stood up to say goodbye.

As she was about to leave, Dean Ying specifically reminded Yu Xiaolian multiple times not to reveal any test questions, no matter who came visiting.

Currently, everyone still thought Yu Xiaolian hadn’t returned. If they knew she was back in Luocheng, the threshold of the Yu Family would be worn down by all those scholarly families.

Yu Xiaolian thought the worn threshold statement was just an exaggeration from Dean Ying.

But when she returned to Xiangyang Lane and saw a long line of carriages outside her house, she realized Dean Ying wasn’t exaggerating at all.

Though the Autumn Examination was over, the palace exam had yet to occur. Rumors in town said the math questions were written by Yu Xueguan. Some people, to ensure their children succeeded, naturally wanted to come and probe Yu Xiaolian for information.

Even if they couldn’t know the specific questions, knowing the general topic would be better than searching blindly.

Yu Xiaolian was unprepared and was immediately surrounded by a crowd.

She had only returned yesterday; how did these people know she was back?

Was it because she went to the Government Office for household registration in the morning? It seems that the ancient people weren’t so isolated from information!

Yu Xiaolian hadn’t had a chance to calm the situation when various gifts were thrust into her arms.

"Yu Xueguan, I’m from the Zhao Family of West City, my son is..."

"Yu Xueguan, I’m Sheng Yintai from West City. I own the Yintai Building; my son this time..."

All the different voices gave Yu Xiaolian a headache; she felt she needed security more than modern female celebrities.

"Everyone..." Yu Xiaolian took several steps back and loudly said, "The matter of the palace exam using my test questions is completely untrue..."

Someone loudly interrupted Yu Xiaolian, "Oh, Yu Xueguan, your information is off. I have inside information. It’s confirmed to be your question..."

"Yes, I also have inside info. It’s almost a certainty. I also heard students from Fengyuan City are coming specifically to visit you!"

"Whether you have inside information or not, I will not reveal any questions. Please take your gifts back and return to your homes. Waiting here is futile; I won’t meet with any of you privately."

Yu Xiaolian frowned, feeling that any more words would be unnecessary as she had said enough.

Fortunately, Yu Changhe and the others came out to rescue Yu Xiaolian. With the cover of her father and uncle, she quickly dashed back into the courtyard.

Soon after, Yu Changhe and Sun Fengshou came inside, and with a bang, the door was shut again.

Even though Yu Xiaolian went inside, the people outside didn’t leave.

Until the afternoon, when Sun Fengshou came back with Sun Manyu, there were still a few persistent families staying outside.

People say that scholarly families of ancient times highly valued manners, but that appears to be only under specific circumstances. Seeing Yu Xiaolian shutting them out, some even started cursing her, calling her ungrateful, and not knowing what’s good for her.

Yu Xiaolian had only one thought now: if she couldn’t offend them, she could at least avoid them.

She decided to hide. The emperor would surely hold the palace exam in the upcoming year, and once it was over, these people would finally quiet down.

Sun Manyu bought the neighboring thatched house next to Sun Fengshou’s place, bargaining it down to twenty-three taels, mainly because out of the eight rooms, only four were in good condition, while the rest either had exposed roofs or collapsed corners.

Fortunately, it was just the beginning of winter and not yet freezing cold. Quickly repairing the house should prevent winter from being too harsh.

Since Yu Xiaolian couldn’t go out, she couldn’t handle the household registration.

Luckily, Yu Changhe was also on the yellow register, so he could handle it.

Yu Changhe took two days to complete the household registration for Sun Manyu and Sun Wu’s families. In the following days, the men of the Sun Family busied themselves helping Sun Manyu repair his house.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaolian organized the women and girls, instructing them to clean themselves thoroughly from head to toe.

Sun Manyu, listening to her mother’s advice, changed her previous attitude towards Yu Xiaolian and started trying to ingratiate herself. But after several attempts, with Yu Xiaolian still giving her a cold shoulder, Sun Manyu decided not to bother trying to please Yu Xiaolian any longer.