Encountering Samuel Evans on the Road

"Ha! Your son is a top scholar? Then my father must be the emperor! What a shrew—get out!" Mr. Baker saw that Helen Parker was shameless and belligerent, and couldn't wait to get rid of her.

But Helen Parker's dream of getting rich was shattered. Furious, she immediately started making a scene.

She raised her voice, yelling that the restaurant had bought her mushrooms but refused to pay, rolling and cursing in the main hall.

All the diners in the restaurant were frightened off by Helen Parker. As she rolled on the ground and howled, she shouted, "You're bullying a village woman, stealing my mushrooms without paying! If you don't give me my money today, I'm not leaving!"

The innkeeper was so angry he cursed, "You shrew! You brought poisonous mushrooms here—why should I pay you? Get out!"

Helen Parker was determined to make trouble today. No matter what, she refused to get up. If any staff tried to pull her away, she'd scream that they were harassing her, leaving everyone helpless.

"Mr. Baker, maybe we should just pay her to make her go away?" The waiter was at his wit's end. He'd never seen such a shrew, and with this commotion, business was impossible.

The innkeeper gritted his teeth, fuming with anger. He was just trying to run his business—who had he offended?

"One tael of silver!" Helen Parker sat on the ground, reaching out for money.

With no other choice, the innkeeper grabbed a tael of silver and threw it at Helen Parker, cursing, "Take the money and get out! If you cause trouble again, I'll have you sent to the magistrate!"

As soon as she saw the money, Helen Parker broke into a broad grin. A whole tael of silver! That was enough to buy several pounds of meat to help Samuel Evans recover his strength!

Helen Parker grabbed the silver and immediately got up, thinking to herself that today hadn't been a total loss after all.

But just as Helen Parker swaggered out of Savory House, she saw Samuel Evans standing on the street, his face dark and fists clenched. A few classmates from Greenfield Academy stood beside him.

Helen Parker froze, instinctively wanting to greet her son. But Samuel Evans's icy glare was enough to kill—she stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to go forward or retreat.

"The sages were right—women and petty people are truly hard to deal with. Seeing it firsthand today is eye-opening!" A well-dressed young scholar looked at Helen Parker with utter disdain.

"Indeed, indeed. Village women are so different from city women—this kind of shrewish behavior is just too much to handle," another scholar chimed in.

"A gentleman seeks wealth through proper means. Who ever saw someone rolling on the ground demanding silver? Society really is going downhill..."

Samuel Evans's classmates took turns mocking Helen Parker, pointing at her dirty, disheveled appearance, their words dripping with contempt.

Samuel Evans trembled all over, his face looking worse than ever. The well-dressed young man turned to him and said, "Samuel Evans, you're from the village too, right? Are the women in your family as shrewish as that one just now?"

Helen Parker's gaze fell on Samuel Evans's face. Her lips trembled slightly as she whispered, "Samuel..."

Samuel Evans's eyes were full of disgust as he glared fiercely at Helen Parker, giving her a look that clearly said 'Shut up.' Then he turned to the well-dressed young man and said, "My family may live in the village, but everyone in it is courteous and generous. There's certainly no such shrew among us."

Samuel Evans's words dripped with contempt for Helen Parker. Her lips trembled as she looked at him, but she didn't dare call out to him again.

The well-dressed young man smiled, "Samuel is right. I hear your family is known for its scholarly traditions and strict morals—certainly not the sort to produce a vulgar village woman."

Samuel Evans replied, "Of course. Come on, let's hurry—the opera will start soon, and we'll miss out on good seats if we're late."

"Let's go, time for the opera!"

Helen Parker stood frozen, watching the group of scholars walk away. Samuel Evans hurried off, clearly wishing he could sprout wings and fly as far from Helen Parker as possible.

Helen Parker watched Samuel Evans leave, and he never once looked back at her.

Suddenly, Helen Parker felt her nose sting. She sniffled, glanced at the bits of silver she'd fought so hard to get, wiped her eyes, and murmured, "Come on, let's buy some meat for Samuel Evans..."