153. Chapter 153

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Seeing that it was really bad, Mrs. Zhao came out of the room and said a few words. Mrs. Sun became even more anxious, knowing that she was really embarrassed in front of the clan leader, but the chicken had wings, and she didn't. Waiting until the chicken lost its strength, Mrs. Sun grabbed it and cursed: "Run, run, run, it's destined to be the food in the pot, where are you going?"

Xue Tingyan stopped looking and looked back.

He knew why his uncle was so generous and proposed to let him compete with Xue Juncai, because if there were no accidents, Xue Juncai would definitely win this match.

In that dream, he had suffered such a loss, but it was not with Xue Juncai, but with Zhao'er who had worked hard to get the money and sent him to Qinghe Academy. At that time, he was so stupid that he always blamed his unsatisfactory fate on the harsh punishment of fate. He felt that it was not that he was not good, but that everyone did not give him a chance.

When he first entered Qinghe Academy, he was very ambitious. He thought that he would definitely surpass Xue Juncai and prove that he was the most outstanding person in the Xue family, but reality slapped him hard in the face. It was only then that he, who had never seen the world, understood his uncle's sinister intentions. He did teach him to read, and he did 'read' a lot of books, but he only read and did not understand the meaning of the scriptures.

Later I learned that after school children learn to read, reading the Bible is the basis.

First study "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Surnames", "Thousand Character Classic", then "Thousand Family Poems", "Young Learning Qionglin", "Long Wen Whip Shadow", etc. After reading these, you can enter university and start Learn to read the Four Books and Five Classics.

At this stage, the teacher does not explain the meaning of the scriptures, that is to say, he just memorizes them by rote and clearly understands the meaning of the words but not the meaning of the scriptures. Because nowadays people tend to think that children are just learning, it doesn’t matter whether they understand it or not, as long as they remember it, after they read it more and for a long time, they will understand its meaning.

This is what is called reading a thousand times and its meaning will appear by itself.

Once you can memorize all these books fluently and learn to interpret scriptures and write articles, you will get twice the result with half the effort.

This time-saving, labor-saving and effective teaching model is popular throughout Dachang, from high-ranking schools to low-level social studies and village studies. This is especially popular in rural private schools, because there is only one teacher, but it has to teach several or even dozens of people, and it is unrealistic for them all to explain the meaning of the scriptures.

But in fact, a wealthy family with some background would never teach their children this way. Because this teaching model blindly emphasizes rote memorization, but ignores the truth of natural principles.

This was the pros and cons that he analyzed later, taking the position of chief assistant and looking at the overall situation.

But at that time, he had just entered the library, because his uncle delayed explaining the meaning of the scriptures to him and did not understand that there was any explanation for the scriptures. Therefore, when he first entered school, his teacher asked him if he had read it. He replied that he had read it, but his interpretation of the Bible was nonsense. He was scolded by his teacher for being as stupid as a pig, and was ostracized and ridiculed by his classmates.

But now, it seems that the uncle is also aware of his own shortcomings, so he deliberately proposed this competition. In fact, he already has a plan in mind, and he is sure to lose.

Unfortunately, there was an accident.

*

Because there were guests at home, everyone was busy except Mr. Xue and Xue Qingshan, father and son.

After the main room had eaten, the kitchen started to prepare lunch for others.

During this period, Xue Taoer was also ordered to drink. There was wine and meat on the banquet in the main room, and the men exchanged glasses with each other, showing no sign of their usual agility. Especially Patriarch Xue and Zheng Lizheng, they drank very affectionately, and in the end they were both drunk.

"Okay, don't send it off, just walk up and be there." Patriarch Xue waved his hand.

After everyone was sent out of the courtyard, the table began to be cleared and food was served. Mrs. Zhao originally wanted to take away the leftover meat and vegetables, but was stopped by Mr. Xue, who said he was adding vegetables for everyone. The people in the country are not rich, so it is commonplace to eat leftovers after the distinguished guests leave.

The adults were all fine, and Shuanzi and Maodan ate deliciously.

Zhao'er originally wanted to take the meal back to the house to eat, but was stopped by Xue Tingyan. The two of them just lowered their heads and ate as before, without saying anything.

Xue Juncai glanced at Xue Tingyan with disdain.

He had just dined with Xue Qingshan and naturally ate a lot of the good food on the table. Now seeing that Xue Tingyan could only eat some leftovers, he was naturally full of ridicule.

He kept in mind what his father told him before. There was no way Xue Gouzi could beat him.

Thinking in his heart, he looked away and said to Mr. Xue on the bed: "Master, I went back to the room to read."

Mr. Xue nodded. He had drunk too much before, and now he was leaning on the kang to smoke and relieve his hangover.

"Dog, eat more. Big brother will be waiting for you to beat me in five days." Xue Juncai suddenly said this when passing by Xue Tingyan.

Zhao'er stood up immediately and stared at him: "Can you speak? After so many years of reading, you have read into a dog's belly."

Xue Juncai didn't expect that Zhao'er would be so disrespectful to him. Sven's face turned red, but for some reason he glanced at Zhao'er and held back.

Mr. Xue shouted: "Juncai, go back to the house!"

Mrs. Zhou also quickly stood up and advised Zhao'er to leave it at that.

After dinner, the two went back to the second room. Zhao'er was still angry: "Don't be angry, Gouer. When I make money, I will take you to separate the family and go there, so you won't be with them anymore."

Xue Tingyan felt a little moved, but at the same time a little helpless: "You called me a dog again."

Zhao'er groaned, then said with a smile: "I forgot, I won't do this again."

Naturally, he couldn't be angry with her. After that, Zhao'er took the two clothes he had changed into yesterday and went out to wash them, while Xue Tingyan turned out the book "Young Learning Qionglin" again.

Xue Tingyan felt a little worried when looking at the book in his hand, which was copied on the poorest bamboo paper and the footers were rubbed. He actually didn't want to read, but Zhao'er couldn't help it and thought he should read more now. Only by reading more could he be more confident in defeating Xue Juncai.

Little did he know that this book was different from other books, and just reading this one would be of no use, but he would not tell her about this.

He dug out the bamboo paper that Zhao'er bought for him from the kang cabinet. This poorest quality bamboo paper costs forty cents per knife. Such 'expensive' paper can barely even be used for calligraphy practice. Even so, he treasured it very much and was reluctant to use it at all. If he could write on the sand, he would write on the sand. If he couldn't use the sand, he would dip it in water and write on the desk.

Xue Tingyan touched the stack of yellowed bamboo paper and sighed in her heart.

The paper that 'Xue Tingyan' usually uses is the finest pure paper, so he feels a little disgusted with the things that are usually precious.

He spread the paper out on the kang table, stacking several sheets in a pile, and then cut them into book-sized pieces with a bamboo knife. In order to leave a seam, he left some extra space and cut out a thick stack. Then he took out the inkstone with a corner missing and the ink ingot that had only been used up to a small length.

These were treasures that he was usually reluctant to use, but today Xue Tingyan didn't feel this way at all. He added water to the inkstone and then took the ink stick to grind the ink. While grinding, he didn't know what he was thinking about.

After polishing the ink, he put the already bald pen in a bowl of water to wet it and clean it. Then I dipped enough ink before picking up the pen and writing something on the paper.

After writing a few words, he suddenly put down the pen, picked up the paper and looked at it, and suddenly it was crumpled.

The calligraphy is clearly pretty neat. Although he usually saves paper and ink, he has practiced hard for many years, so his handwriting is pretty good, but for some reason he just doesn't like it.

He slowly closed his eyes, concentrated for a while, and then opened them again after a while. There was no one in the room at this time. If anyone had been, they would have seen a glimmer of light flashing in Xue Tingyan's eyes. At the same time, he grasped the pen quickly and steadily, and as if with divine help, he wrote rows and rows of small characters on the paper in a short time.

These small characters were suddenly in Yan style, now in Guange style, and now in Thin Gold style. At first they were all tangible and boneless, but as they were written they changed in flavor.

The face is square and lush, the writing is strong, straight, open and powerful. The pavilion's physical strength and grace are as if they were carved out of wood. And the thin gold body, gold hooks and iron paintings are full of pride, and the strokes are as sharp as cutting gold and jade.

These three characters represent the life of "Xue Tingyan", from the Yan style that he learned when he first entered school, to the Guange style that he painstakingly studied for the imperial examination, to the thin gold style that he later became a first-rank official.

He just wrote like this, completely forgetting himself. During this period, Zhao'er came in, but he didn't dare to disturb him and quietly sat down on the edge of the Kang.

I don't know how long he had been writing, but he suddenly took a long breath and put down the pen.

He wrote on two whole pages.

At this time, Xue Tingyan had to admit that the magic of heaven was just a dream, and he actually possessed some of the things he had in the dream.

From the moment this dream appeared, Xue Tingyan was thinking about why he had such a dream. Now he understands, maybe he just wants him to make up for all the imperfections in the dream.

But having everything he had in his dream, he suddenly became ambitious, and a surge of heroic spirit lingered in his heart.

"You are tired from writing, drink some water."

Zhao'er brought the water, and Xue Tingyan took it and drank it in one gulp. It was extremely sweet.

Then he lowered his head to look at what he had written. He actually spent two large pieces of bamboo paper. Probably because Zhao'er was by his side, he suddenly remembered that she usually scrimped on food and clothing to buy him paper. He felt a little distressed and felt guilty. He glanced at her and whispered: "She actually wrote so much."

How could Zhao'er not understand what he was thinking? He smiled and said: "No more, no more, just two sheets. Paper is for use. Didn't I tell you not to save paper before it's used up? Let’s just buy it again.”

"I want to copy a book, so I'll try my handwriting first to avoid using up the paper."

"What book do you want to copy? Can you copy books? Don't you have to buy them?" Zhao'er was puzzled.

Xue Tingyan sighed in his heart. He really felt that he was really stupid in the past. He would rather borrow his uncle's book every time or memorize it by rote, and never thought of copying the book.

Nowadays, the books sold in bookstores have very few printed editions and are expensive, so a book copying industry has arisen. In this way, not only some poor scholars can get some money, but also those who want to buy books but are short of money can get some benefits.

Of course, this kind of copying is not something that can be done casually. It requires excellent handwriting.

Xue Tingyan boasted that his calligraphy was not bad, and many people asked for his calligraphy back then. Now that he needs books, why can't he copy them himself.

the most important is--

He glanced at Zhao'er.

==Chapter 9==

Zhao'er took the towel, returned to the edge of the kang, took off the towel on his head and wiped his hair.

Her hair was dark and thick, reaching her waist. She pushed her long hair to the side of her neck, then sat on the edge of the kang with her head tilted slightly, letting her long hair hang down, and combed it with a comb.

The girl was wearing a lilac-colored floral jacket and purple wide-leg pants. She had to straighten her back and tilt her neck to prevent the water from her wet hair from getting her clothes wet. These were all subconscious actions, but in Xue Tingyan's eyes, they made his heart beat faster for no reason, and he felt a sense of tension in his blood.

Apart from anything else, it was because of this posture that the girl's figure was revealed to the fullest. With high breasts and perky hips, and a slender waist, Xue Tingyan had never seen such a scene before. An extremely unfamiliar feeling of heat rose up in her body.

But at the same time, it was not unfamiliar. A picture appeared in his mind. It was the wedding night between the two of them.

In the dream, he didn't like her at that time, but he felt that marrying her was natural.

It was a deep-rooted thought that she should be his wife.

However, his deepest hidden emotions were concealed by his awkwardness and ignorance. Especially when he later went to school to study and let his classmates know that he had a child bride in the countryside, he attracted a lot of ridicule.

But in fact, he liked her deep down, so she was tortured by him on the wedding night.

Originally, he was ignorant, and she was new to the world, so he hurt her too. But he still thought about it when it hurt, and she cried until tears and runny nose ran down her face. That was the first time she showed weakness in front of him, and he fell in love with this way of bullying her from then on.

At that time, he was studying in the school dormitory and could only come back every ten days. Every time he came back, she was so scared that she hid. But she had to rely on him and let him do whatever he wanted. He obviously liked it, but pretended not to like it.

Now that I think about it, he was really a jerk at that time.

Thinking about the mess in his mind, he suddenly said: "I'll wipe it for you."

Zhao'er glanced sideways at him in surprise, and subconsciously refused: "It still doesn't work, I will do it myself." After these days of correction, she has slowly learned not to call herself sister.

Before she could finish her words, Xue Tingyan had already snatched the cloth and pulled her to turn her back. Zhao'er could only freeze there and let him wipe it.

Seriously speaking, Xue Tingyan was still half a head taller, so he could only sit up and wipe her hair while half-kneeling. The two of them were so close that Zhao'er didn't notice it at all, but Xue Tingyan felt that his blood was surging fiercely.

Zhao'er's hair is very dark, thick, and smooth, like a piece of fine satin. He was clumsy, and he pulled her painfully several times at first. It wasn't until he heard her inhaling unconsciously that he slowed down and became gentler.

It felt a little difficult for him to reach, and Zhao'er felt a little distressed. He kept stretching his arms: "What if I don't lie down here?"

As she said that, she went to give it a try. Sure enough, it was more convenient for him to lie on the kang, and neither of them was tired this way. What she didn't know was that her posture was even more sultry when viewed from behind, especially for a young man who was full of energy.

Xue Tingyan immediately regretted agreeing to this matter. It felt like a kind of torture. He needed to work hard to steady himself so as not to look randomly.

"If not, why don't you sit up?" he asked.

But she didn't get an answer.

I went to look and found that she was asleep.

The girl seemed very tired and slept soundly. She was lying on the long quilt, her thick long hair spread behind her and reaching her waist. Because the quilt was covering her face, her face was slightly deformed, but her pink lips were pouty.

Zhao'er, who had just taken a shower, still had moisture on his face. His plump and delicate cheeks looked young and tender at first glance, and his pink lips had a watery shine that was attractive.

There was something clamoring in his heart, and he leaned in unconsciously. Their cheeks were getting closer and closer, so close that he could see and smell the sweet fragrance.

Suddenly, she moved, and he quickly stepped away, pretending to be nonchalant, muttering why he fell asleep, but in fact, he was nervously watching her reaction.

Fortunately, she moved a little and showed no sign of waking up, so he felt relieved.

But the impulse in his heart was gone. He looked at her several times, reached for the thin quilt and covered her with it, and continued to wipe her wet hair with a cloth.

*

Yuqing Village was originally a village built by a group of victims who fled the war in the previous dynasty and took root here.

At first it was not called Yuqing Village, but Zhengjiazhuang. Everyone in the village had the surname Zheng, but there were not many people there, only about ten households. Many years later, there was a famine one year, and the government arranged for a group of people who had fled the disaster to stay here. These people were the ancestors of the Xue family.

There are not many people with the surname Zheng, and there are also many people with the surname Xue. At first, the people surnamed Zheng took the lead. As time went by, the two surnames began to fight against each other.

The Dachang Dynasty implemented the Lilao system, with one hundred households divided into one li, and a chief Jia, commonly known as Lizheng. He also appointed several elderly people, who are commonly known as village elders.

Within the jurisdiction of Yuqing Village, everything in the village, such as settling civil lawsuits, arbitrating rights and wrongs, guiding folk customs, advising on farming and mulberry farming, communicating with superiors, etc., and even collecting taxes and military service are all done by the local people. Li Zheng and the village elders co-hosted the completion.

Li Lao's power can be said to be quite great, and those who can become Li Lao are all highly respected local people.

In fact, this system is equivalent to people in one place managing the people in one place.

There is a saying nowadays that the imperial power does not extend to counties, but only to clans, and clans are autonomous. Self-governance depends on ethics, and ethics creates country gentry. This is how it is.

Over the years, the Xue and Zheng families have been seemingly harmonious on the surface, but they have been fighting for the right to speak in the village. Although a scholar appeared in the Xue family before, which changed the Xue family's previous decline and produced several village elders in the family, the position of the village head has always been in the hands of the Zheng family.

Now Yuqing Village has one village head and four village elders, three of whom are surnamed Xue, which means two to three. However, because of the presence of Zheng, the village head, it is still not considered to be dominant.

Clan leader Xue is confident that if another scholar appears in the family, he will be able to completely overwhelm the Zheng family, so when he heard the rumors that have been circulating in the village for the past two days, he exploded immediately.

Grandpa Xue was still in the field when he was called to clan leader Xue's house.

Looking at clan leader Xue's face as black as the bottom of a pot, Grandpa Xue was still confused: "Brother Haizi, what's wrong?" In terms of seniority, clan leader Xue is considered Grandpa Xue's cousin.

"You're still asking me what's wrong? Don't you know what's going on outside recently?"

Old Master Xue really didn't know.

Seeing this, Clan Leader Xue said the story with a dark face.

It turned out that things about the Xue family had been spreading outside since some time.

The source was that someone saw Xue Gouzi, the only son of the second branch of the Xue family, crying in front of the grave of the second son of Xue.

The specific content of the crying is unknown. It may be that letting a half-grown boy tell his grievances in this way is enough to prove that the child must have been wronged at home. Later, someone who knew the inside story revealed it, and everyone knew that the eldest son of the Xue family planned to send his son to the town to study, but only left his nephew behind.

Few people in the village didn't know how the second son of the Xue family died. When Xue Qingsong was dying, many people in the village were there, so they naturally saw the scene of him holding Xue Qingshan's hand and asking him to promise to treat his son well.

When I came back from the Xue family, many people talked about it privately, saying that the second son of the Xue family was really miserable, leaving behind a sickly wife and a young son. No wonder the eldest son of the Xue family didn't agree with him, and he couldn't sleep.

Now such rumors have spread, and the scene before the second son of the Xue family died has been repeated in various ways. Some elderly people shook their heads and sighed, saying that people's hearts are unpredictable, and it's better to entrust your wife and children to anyone, so you'd better keep them yourself. You treat him as your own elder brother and risk your life, but he doesn't treat your son as his own son.

As a result, some women also talked about Xue Tinglan's situation in the Xue family in recent years.

For example, although Gou Zi from the second room rarely shows up in front of people, he is always wearing old clothes every time he is seen, while Juncai from the first room has never been seen wearing old clothes. Even some things in the private school were told to adults by ignorant children. Xue Juncai had no shortage of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and he had the most books in the school. As for Xue Gouzi, he was seen writing on the desk with water several times.

Partiality, everyone is partial, and no one can say anything if he is partial to his own son, but the elder Xue also took the life of his own brother, this kind of partiality is a bit chilling.

"You are already a very old man, and you can't teach the younger generation of the family well? It's right that you are partial to the elder family, but why did you make a fuss about it? What do you think we should do about this matter now!"

Old Master Xue was very old, and his face was flushed with embarrassment, but he also knew that this matter was not a small matter. If he was not careful, his family's reputation would be ruined.

It doesn't matter if his own reputation is ruined, but the elder's reputation cannot be ruined. If he is labeled as the only son of a mean deceased brother, the elder's life will be ruined. Not to mention taking the exam for a scholar, maybe the private school can't be opened.

"Brother Haizi..." He looked at the Xue clan leader for help, and he had no rules in his mind for a while.

"Now only by sending both children there can people have nothing to complain about."

Grandpa Xue's face turned redder, and he rubbed his rough hands: "Brother Haizi, you know our family. In order to support the eldest son, the family's assets have been drained out over the years. It's not that we don't want to send two children, but we really can't afford it."

Hearing this, the Xue clan leader also frowned.

When Xue Qingshan went to Qinghe Academy to study, he knew the inside story very well. That place is a money-grubber, and the key is that there can be no objection, because many people are willing to pay money to go in. The annual expenditure is at least twenty taels, and Xue Qingshan has been there for five years.

Originally, the Xue clan leader planned to make up one or two if it was not enough, but now he didn't say anything. Xue Qingshan is fine, Xue Juncai is still young, and he doesn't know what the future will be like. The key is that his two grandsons are also studying, and no one's family is well-off.

"If you don't see it, can it be okay?" Grandpa Xue stammered.

Clan leader Xue sneered: "That's just what outsiders say, your family is mean and fatherless. If you don't want the reputation of the boss to be ruined and Juncai to be implicated in the future, you can either send two, or send one can only be the kid from the second house."

Old Master Xue came out of Clan Leader Xue's house, and he was completely confused.

He touched his waist with shaking hands for a few times before taking off his pipe. He didn't walk anymore, but squatted under a tree by the road and lit up the dry tobacco. He smoked a whole pot of dry tobacco without stopping, and then he stood up.

He walked slowly towards home, and people greeted him from time to time along the way.

In normal times, Old Master Xue would only feel proud. If it wasn't that person, who would be willing to greet you, but now he always has the illusion that others are smiling at him on the surface, but actually laughing at him in their hearts.

He forced himself to walk back, and then another person came over, an acquaintance. The other person smiled and asked him why he came back from the field so early today. He couldn't bear it anymore and pulled the person to talk under a tree.

"Old Zhou, tell me honestly, what are people in the village talking about our family behind our backs?"

This old man Zhou is also an old man with dark red skin, but he is a head shorter than Mr. Xue, and his back is a little hunched. Hearing this, he subconsciously glanced at Mr. Xue, and sighed for a long time: "I thought you knew, but you didn't know."

"What do I know? How could I know!" The first sentence almost came out from the gap between his teeth, but the second sentence was full of bitter smiles.

Having lived for most of his life, Old Man Zhou naturally understood the old man's mood at this time. But he didn't know what to say, so he could only say earnestly: "Don't be too upset. These people in the village are just bored and like to gossip. But don't blame me for being nosy. Your family did this..." He sucked his teeth, as if smacking his lips but not really: "It's indeed a bit inappropriate."