271. Chapter 271

This article can be read normally if the subscription ratio is ≥50%, otherwise it will be delayed for three days, and the supplement can be read immediately. "Tingyan? Is this the name you gave yourself? Gou'er, why did you give yourself such a name?" She understood immediately, and remembered that the talented boy in the eldest room always ridiculed Gou'er and Heizi for having the same name behind their backs, relying on his young age.

A trace of heartache flashed in her eyes, and she nodded repeatedly and said: "Gou'er, no, Ting'er is different from a scholar, and he can give you such a nice name. From now on, I won't call you Gou'er, and I won't let outsiders call you that. Let's call you Tingyan." Anyway, in her heart, whatever Gou'er said was good,

Xue Gouzi, no, now it should be Xue Tingyan, she felt a little depressed, he was only less than two years younger than Zhao'er, but he was a deep ravine that he could never cross in his life. Since the words had already been said, he added: "Also, can you please not call yourself sister to me in the future?"

This time, Zhao'er was even more surprised, and even reached out to touch his forehead: "Ting'er, what's wrong with you? Are you possessed by some evil spirit? Haven't you called me sister since you were a child?"

Xue Ting'an took a deep breath and smiled: "But you are not my sister, you will be my wife in the future, how can a man call his wife sister."

He was originally pale, half leaning on the quilt at the head of the kang, and suddenly smiled like this, with clear eyebrows and handsome eyes, which made people feel that they dare not look directly at him.

Zhao'er's face suddenly turned red, and he couldn't speak coherently: "Gou'er, you, what did you say, I, I..."

"Don't you want to be my wife and give birth to a baby for me?" He moved closer.

She stood up suddenly and scolded: "Why are you talking about this, you little kid? You haven't even grown all your hair yet!" She said a swear word that Xue Tingxuan didn't like to hear the most, and she didn't realize it: "What you need to do now is to take care of your body. As for these things, we'll talk about them later!"

Her eyes were fierce and her tone was fierce. After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and scooped rice from the bowl into Xue Tingxuan's mouth. He glanced at her and ate honestly. Suddenly, his mood became very good.

Maybe the two of them can change their way of getting along in the future. If they don't like it, they can change it. There's no need to wait for her to understand it herself.

*

Zhao'er threw away the mess and turned back to the house, leaving the whole family to finish a lunch in a depressing atmosphere.

During this time, Sun said a few words to make up something to say, but no one paid attention to her.

Yang couldn't eat. If her parents-in-law were not there, if she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her two younger brothers and sisters, she would have thrown down her chopsticks and left. Now she could only suppress her frustration and eat the food in front of her like chewing wax.

After the meal, Sun took Maodan away, knowing that her son had caused trouble today and was afraid that she would be angry. Zhou took Xue Taoer to clean the table and took all the dishes to the kitchen to wash. Xue Qingbai helped her. Zhou couldn't carry such a basin of dishes by herself. Usually when Xue Qingbai was not at home, she and her daughter had to carry it.

Only the mother and son of the eldest room, Mr. Xue and Zhao were left in the room.

Yang stood up and wanted to go back to the east wing, but was stopped by Mr. Xue.

Mr. Xue took out his dry pipe, took out some tobacco he grew from the dark blue tobacco pouch, rolled it into a ball and pressed it into the tobacco pot, and then lit it with a fire stick.

His movements were very slow and unhurried. People who knew Mr. Xue's character knew that he was worried.

If he was really worried, he would not stop his daughter-in-law.

"Handsome boy and talented boy, go back to the house first. Grandpa has something to say to your mother."

Xue Youcai glanced at his mother and wanted to say something, but was pulled away by his eldest brother Xue Juncai.

"Dad, just say whatever you want to say."

Yang is 34 years old this year. In this rural area, women in their thirties are no longer considered young. Here, women look old because of the wind and sun, and they have to eat according to the weather.

But Yang is very well maintained. Her face is like a round plate, her skin is white, and there are only a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She wears a half-new stone blue embroidered satin jacket, her black and shiny hair is tied into a bun behind her head, and a gilded hairpin is inserted on it. She wears a pair of old silver earrings on her ears. She can't be called a scallion tip, but her hands are white and soft, and she wears a gold ring.

This dress and demeanor are not an exaggeration to say that she is the grandmother of a landlord's family. Even Zhao is not as good as her.

Old Master Xue's old eyes looked back and forth at Yang, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

Just as she was about to say something, she heard her father-in-law suddenly say, "Oldest daughter-in-law, how many years have you been married into our family?"

Yang was startled and replied, "Seventeen years. I married into the Xue family when I was seventeen."

"Then how will your mother and I treat you?"

Yang's heart skipped a beat: "Father and mother treat their daughter-in-law like their own daughter."

Old Master Xue nodded and took a puff of dry tobacco. The light blue smoke began to linger on his old face again, making it difficult to see the expression on his face.

"You are our eldest daughter-in-law, and your mother has always loved you. You and the eldest daughter have the same heart as your mother and me. We hope that Juncai can become a talent."

Yang felt relieved and couldn't help laughing, "Juncai is studying very hard. Even my father said that he is a rare good seedling. It's no problem for him to pass the examination for a scholar."

When talking about Xue Juncai, who was the most proud of him, even Old Master Xue couldn't help but smile.

Seeing that her father-in-law's face softened, Yang took advantage of the situation and said, "But dad, you also know that when it comes to the end, you can't just hold yourself to death at home and study. I wonder if Juncai's father also listened to my father's words. I went to Qinghe Academy for two years, got to know some classmates, and registered with my husband. I then took the opportunity to make some impression on the county magistrate, and I passed the county examination. As long as it's not bad, I'm half sure of winning the government examination. It's just that you have to rely on luck when it comes to the college examination. Juncai's father is just unlucky, so he fails every time."

This is the real reason why Yang is so valued by the old couple in the Xue family, not only because her father is a child, but also because her father gave Xue Qingshan guidance back then.

Yang's statement seems absurd, but it is actually true. The two county examinations are not as strictly controlled as the hospital examination, especially the county examination, which is presided over by the county magistrate.

There are five county exams in total, and the results of the first exam are mainly determined. In this test, there are two eight-part essays and one poem. As long as there are no typos and the arts and sciences are smooth, you can pass them all. Whether you take them or not depends on your luck.

Compared with people who are not familiar to him at all, the county magistrate is still willing to choose someone who is somewhat familiar.

Going to a good school provides an opportunity to stand out in front of the county magistrate. Dachang has always attached great importance to the selection of talents. How many talented people the county can produce, and even how many sons can be promoted to Jinshi, can be regarded as political achievements. No matter how incompetent the county magistrate is, he will have to go through this kind of formality.

And being able to enter a good school will not only increase your connections, but also your horizons.

For example, the county examination only tests the Four Books, Five Classics and the Holy Edicts. How to write the text and what taboos should not be violated. These all need guidance. No matter how wonderful your article is, if it violates taboos such as temple taboos, royal names, sacred taboos, etc., it will not be accepted.

In places like the countryside, many private schools were opened by old students just to earn a living. I was also obsessed with becoming a scholar and changing my fortune, so how could I go to a private school to educate children in every detail.

Xue Qingshan himself was like this, so he tried his best to send Xue Juncai to Qinghe Academy.

Yang thought that her father-in-law wanted to tell her about sending Xue Juncai to the academy, so she said this. Little did he know that her words really touched Mr. Xue's heart, but Mr. Xue didn't mean to tell her this.

Mr. Xue took a deep breath of dry cigarette and then said: "The bosses you mentioned have all told me, we can talk about this later. You are Juncai's mother, and there is nothing wrong with planning for your son, but you have to know that our family It’s not just Dafang’s family.”

The father-in-law's tone was somewhat meaningful. Yang was startled for a moment, then forced a smile and said: "Dad, of course my daughter-in-law knows that we are not the only ones living in the Xue family, but don't worry, if Juncai's father and Juncai become successful, they will definitely not forget to be filial to you. "Mother-in-law." Seeing her father-in-law's gloomy expression, she quickly added: "As well as the rest of the family, Juncai has always remembered that he can study, thanks to his uncles and aunts."

Mr. Xue nodded: "As you understand, you should know that the other three houses have been sacrificing for the big house. I won't mention the distant ones, just talk about the third and fourth sons. The land in the house refers to the third and fourth sons. Seung, your father is getting older and his hands and feet are no longer as nimble as before. After the fourth child is busy at home, he also has to pick out goods to sell. I don’t know how many pairs of shoes he wears out in a year, but all the money he earns is given to the father-in-law. ”

Yang's expression forced her face: "Dad, why are you doing this just for our big house? Isn't it because Juncai's father is so successful that the Xue family is proud of him? Because Juncai's father was born in a childbirth, no one in the village doesn't look down upon us, even that person The Zheng family should not be too polite to us Xue people. This is for the sake of the overall situation and for the future generations of our Xue family..."

Mr. Xue sighed and interrupted: "Dad understands what you said, and so does your mother. But as the saying goes, if the board doesn't hit you, of course you won't feel pain. Put yourself in the shoes of the third and fourth sons. , what do you think? You have to do the most work, and you can’t even put it into your mouth, it’s all in other people’s mouths.”

These words were in agreement with what Zhao'er had just said. Yang immediately blushed and her round face turned red.

"Dad, why did you call me into my mouth? I..."

Mr. Xue ignored her and scolded Mrs. Zhao again: "And you, you are biased in front of others. Just keep doing it, and make the third and fourth children feel cold and make trouble to separate from the family. You go there Plant it for the boss and the talented people to take the imperial examination!"

At the end of his speech, his tone was filled with the lamentation that iron cannot become steel.

Mrs. Zhao was unwilling to listen to this and muttered: "What do you mean I am biased? What am I biased about? I don't think that the boss and the talented people should study. Studying consumes their brains, so I can make up for them more. Are those good ones all It fell into my mouth."

The more she talked, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but curse: "They are still trying to break up the family. If my parents don't separate the family, even if I can spare them, the ancestral family law cannot spare them."

Mr. Xue smiled bitterly. If it weren't for these two old guys and the ancestral family methods, the family might not be like this a long time ago. Who would be willing to work hard for others and be manipulated by others.

He shifted his gaze to Mrs. Yang: "You also understand the situation at home. Can your mother and I manage it for a while, or for a lifetime? Since you want to send Juncai to study in the town school, you should win over the third and fourth bedrooms. "

"Dad, I..."

"Your mother spoiled you before, and I never said anything. You can decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. But starting from tomorrow, you will share the work of the public house with the third and fourth families."

After saying this, Mr. Xue stopped talking and just smoked his cigarette. Yang couldn't stand here, so she lowered her head and hurried out of the main room.

*

Just after Zhou cleaned up the kitchen and came out, she saw her sister-in-law lowered her head and returned to the east wing. It was faintly obvious that her face was not very good.

Her eyes flashed and she glanced at the south end of the west wing, which was the fourth room.

There was someone behind the window of the fourth room facing the yard, and Zhou knew that Sun had been watching. She pretended not to see it, wiped her hands on her apron, and went back to the house.

When it was time to cook in the evening, Yang was wearing a coarse cloth dress, which was rare, and came to the kitchen to compete with Zhou for work.

Zhou couldn't refuse, Yang smiled and said that Zhou had worked hard, and she would come if she could take a break.

Zhou was pushed out of the kitchen by her, and she happened to meet Sun's eyes standing at the door of the west wing. Both of them were surprised.

But what surprised them was still to come, because from that day on, Yang changed her earlier attitude and did all the work. Although she was clumsy now because she had not been involved in many years of work, she did it.

Not only did she do it, but she was also very generous. She often took the initiative to persuade Zhao to take some money, or buy some meat or eggs, and cook dishes for the family.

The spark that was originally provoked by Zhao'er's words in the Xue family was suppressed. During this period, Xue Tingyan's body finally got better and he had the strength to walk on the ground.

That day, Zhao'er got up early and had breakfast, so he planned to go to the town.

The scraps of cloth she brought back from the embroidery workshop had been made into items such as purses and embroidered shoes. After saving them for many days, it was time to sell them in the embroidery workshop.

She put all the things in the backpack, and before leaving, she told Xue Tingxuan that it was a good day today, so she asked him to go out and bask in the sun more.

Xue Tingxuan nodded and agreed, and she went out with peace of mind.

Not long after she left, Xue Tingxuan walked out of the house.

The yard was very quiet, and the door curtains of each room were all hanging low, and it was unclear whether there was anyone.

He stood in front of the door for a while, then walked out of the gate. Heizi, who was lazily basking in the sun, stood up immediately and followed him out.

==Chapter 11==

Xue Qingshan's face was a little ugly, and he was also a little surprised.

His nephew has always been taciturn, and he can't say a word even if he is beaten with three sticks. He just calculated the temperament of the two children in the second room, so he acted like this.

But he was older than Xue Tingxuan, so he would not forget to put on a show.

He sighed: "The boy was spoiled by his mother, and I, as his uncle, failed to discipline him. I apologize to you here."

Xue Tingxuan hurriedly avoided him and said: "Uncle, don't say that. Ting'er is a junior and can't bear it."

"Ting'er? I didn't expect you to give yourself a name." Xue Qingshan laughed, and also wanted to point out that Xue Tingxuan's name was not right, and he was not as sensible and polite as he seemed.

Generally, names are given by elders, and should not be chosen by the younger generation at will. If it was an ordinary villager, it would be fine, but Xue Tingxuan was a scholar. Scholars should know and observe etiquette. If they don't observe etiquette, it's useless to read books.

Xue Tingxuan was very clear-headed and understood what his uncle meant. He sneered and said, "When my father was still alive, I asked my grandfather and uncle to help me choose a name, but my uncle refused because it was easier to raise him with a cheap name. Now Ting'er is fourteen years old, how can he keep using his childhood nickname? So I just randomly chose one."

After saying this, Xue Qingshan's face became even uglier. Xue Tingxuan was obviously saying that he, as an uncle, was unwilling to choose a name for him, which was a deliberate derogatory meaning. After all, since you have already started school, you should not be without a name.

He smiled reluctantly and explained: "Uncle, you have always been in poor health, so I want to give you a name when you are an adult. Since you cannot understand my painstaking efforts, why don't you give you one now?"

As he said this, he sighed and said with a melancholy look without waiting for Xue Tingxian's consent: "You have been weak since you were born. When your father was alive, he hoped that you would have more blessings and a longer life. Uncle will name you Fu Shou. What do you think?"

This name was chosen casually, and it was not at all worthy of Xue Qingshan, the only student in Yuqing Village.

Xue Tingxian hesitated for a while before refusing: "No, uncle, Ting'er's name has been decided. I also went to the grave to inform my parents before. There is no etiquette to change it."

This also pointed out why he went to the grave at an unusual time. Ever since Xue Tingxian saw that Xue Qingshan invited so many people and made such a fuss, he knew that the other party must have some intentions.

Regardless of what he was after, he just blocked all the ways that the other party might use to make trouble, and then wait and see what would happen.

Sure enough, the expression of the Xue clan leader beside him eased a little.

Before, he had always thought that the second-house kid did this on purpose, just to compete with Juncai for the opportunity to study at Qinghe Academy. This time, he came to see that the young man was gentle and polite, neither humble nor arrogant. Although the Xue clan leader had no fame, he knew a few words, and he had been the clan leader for many years, so his vision of people was naturally not bad.

He was very surprised, because he had seen the Gouzi kid before, but he was not impressed by him. The only impression he had was that he was an inconspicuous boy. Now it seems that this kid has grown up to be a bit unexpected.

But no matter how unexpected it was, Clan Leader Xue did not forget what he came here for.

A good impression alone was not enough to shake his decision. He had asked someone to test Juncai, and he was much more knowledgeable than his two grandsons. If the next Tongsheng in Yuqing Village would be, Clan Leader Xue felt that Xue Juncai was the most likely candidate.

Maybe he would not only be a Tongsheng, but a Xiucai.

Two future Xiucai seedlings and a young man who was still ignorant of his own abilities, Clan Leader Xue naturally knew how to answer this multiple-choice question.

However, the idea of ​​helping out was dispelled. If Xue Qingshan could not even handle a child, he was not worthy of his attention.

How could Xue Qingshan not see Clan Leader Xue's thoughts? In his eyes, this old man was a man who would not show his eagle until he saw the rabbit. He received the benefits he brought to the clan, but never knew how to give him some good things.

If there was a clan school, the clan would not subsidize it. On the contrary, he worked for nothing all day long. Every time someone in the clan brought some food, the clan leader would call him over and ask him to accept the person.

Spending other people's money and money is unkind to others, but it is meaningless to oneself!

Xue Qingshan sneered in his heart, but pretended to invite the clan leader, Zheng Lizheng and others into the house.

Clan leader Xue and Zheng Lizheng sat cross-legged on the kang, one on the left and one on the right, while others sat on the stools below. Yang and Zhou were busy pouring tea, and even Xue Taoer was sent to ask Mr. Xue to come home quickly.

Clan leader Xue and Zheng Lizheng both had the habit of smoking dry tobacco, so they took out their dry tobacco pipes when they sat down.

Xue Qingshan took a bag of tobacco from his mother Zhao and offered them to the two of them, saying, "This is what my father grew himself. It's very precious. Let's have a taste, uncle and uncle Lizheng."

"The tobacco your father grows is good, but there's too little of it." After lighting it, Zheng Lizheng took a deep breath and said with a smile.

Xue Qingshan replied, "If Uncle Lizheng likes it, I'll give you some when we leave later. Just don't be disgusted."

These were all polite words. Everyone knew what was going on. Zheng Lizheng nodded with a smile and went straight to the point: "What is Shanzi planning to do by inviting us old guys here this time?"

Looking at Zheng Lizheng's smiling face, Xue Qingshan cursed him in his heart.

He would never believe that Zheng had done nothing in the matter if things had turned out like this. But it was precisely because of this that he invited Zheng Lizheng today. After all, he was the head of Yuqing Village and his surname was Zheng, so he wouldn't be accused of covering up.

Xue Qingshan had been thinking about inviting several villagers present today. There were people with the surname Zheng, Xue, and two people with other surnames in the village, but they were all popular in the village.

"There is something that needs the elders to decide. Let's wait for my father. He is in the field and will be back soon."

As he was talking about Mr. Xue, he came back. After he came in, he exchanged some pleasantries before sitting down and getting down to business.

"It's embarrassing to talk about this. Recently, some things in my family have made everyone laugh."

When they heard this, except for the head of the Xue clan and the head of the Zheng village, everyone present was a little embarrassed. After all, this was someone else's family affair. Although this family affair had been exposed, discussing it in private and bringing it to the table were two different things.

"To put it bluntly, it's all because of poverty. If it were our previous situation, it would not have been like this. We gave one child away and didn't give the other one."

An old man named Xue Lianhe, who was also surnamed Xue and of the same generation as Mr. Xue, sighed: "Lianxing, don't say that, your family is also in trouble."

Mr. Xue smiled bitterly and sighed: "It's difficult, everyone has it difficult, this Guangtang is just on the surface. But no matter how difficult it is, if you want your child to have a promising future, you have to support him. Who to support and who not to support is not a problem."

With trembling hands, he took out the pipe from his waist, lit it and took a puff, and then he "The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh, and it hurts to give up either one. In fact, this matter was mentioned last year, but I kept dragging it out because I was afraid that the child would feel bad. It is not easy for a farmer like us to support a scholar. The family finally supported Shanzi. Although he failed the exam several times, he still did something for the village and all of us.

"Over the years, everyone has seen how our family behaves in the village. Let's not talk about the distant ones. Just talk about Shanzi's private school. As long as the village people are not well-off, they will pay the tuition later or even less. We never mention it. Why? It's because it's not easy for us country people to make a living. We face the loess and back to the sky. If God doesn't give us face, the whole family will suffer from famine. After working hard all year round, some people can't even pay taxes.

"Actually, I'm not afraid of you guys laughing at me. I worked hard to support Shanzi's studies, thinking that if he could pass the exam, I could exempt my family from some taxes."

This was just a brief remark, seemingly just a few words without going into details, but it made everyone feel mixed emotions.

Grandpa Xue said the truth, and it was the truth that was in line with people's reality, which was why it was so complicated.

Finally, someone stood up to speak for the previous incident, "Brother Lianxing, stop talking, don't we trust your character? When someone in the village spread rumors, I told the children at home that Brother Lianxing was not that kind of person. There are grandfathers who don't love their grandchildren."

"Yes, yes, we can all understand, who doesn't have difficulties."