Chapter 63

"Are you rich now?"

Of course she is rich, Zhao'er now has more than two taels of silver in total, and just now Su Lan gave her another five taels, which is naturally enough.

At the same time, Shen Ping laughed a little, "Well, I forgot that you have visited her before, so I came here, and she won't take advantage of me." The voice was very small, almost like a murmur, and Zhao'er only paid attention to it. I had to look at the clothes, but I didn't hear clearly.

"I'll find a guy to call a car for you, and you, a little girl, can't transport these things."

"Thank you, Shopkeeper Shen."

After seeing off Zhao'er, Shen Ping turned around and went into the pawn shop.

Although he is called the third shopkeeper, he is not the third shopkeeper of this store, but the third shopkeeper of the entire 'Herongsheng', and he will only stay in Xia County permanently under his deliberate request.

Shen Ping is the son of the Shen family, his father is the chief manager of the Shen family, and he has been a servant with the third young master Shen Fu since he was a child. It was not until he became an adult that he was released to become a shopkeeper.

"If she comes again next time, just do as I told you before."

"Yes, shopkeeper."

*

Just after noon, the clerk Ah Cai came to deliver meals to Xue Tingxiang.

Boss Chen said it was simple food, but in fact the food was not bad, with one meat and one vegetable, and one soup. Xue Tingxiang knew very well that Boss Chen was taking care of him deliberately. How could anyone hire someone to copy books, take care of tea and food, and the wages they paid were not low.

It was because he knew it in his heart that he didn't say no. In this case, the refusal retained his character, but it seemed too petty and hypocritical.

It can only be repaid in the future, Xue Tingxiang thought lightly in his heart.

After eating, when the man came to clean up the dishes, he said that he could rest for an hour. There is a chaise longue available in this room, and of course you can go to the front to read a book to pass the time.

In fact, the latter sentence is the key point, Xue Tingxiang was not pretentious, after cleaning his hands, he went forward.

This store may not seem big, but it has a lot of books of all kinds, ranging from rural tales to books about the imperial examination, and there are many books about the imperial examination.

Since the former dynasty, the imperial examination has used eight-legged essays as the standard style, with strict regulations, and even restrictions on the length of sentences, the number of words, the level of rhymes, and even the scope of questions.

Stereotype essays take questions from the Four Books and Five Classics, and are composed of eight parts: breaking the title, inheriting the title, starting the lecture, starting, starting the essay, middle section, back section, and binding the section. It seems rigid and rigid, but in fact it is not easy to do a good stereotyped essay. If you really think that only reading the Four Books and Five Classics is enough, you are wrong. Not to mention astronomy and geography, at least you have to be involved in all aspects, so that you can write a good article full of flowers and content.

In that dream, Xue Tingxiang won the Jinshi with the 21st place in the second class, and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy after passing through the hall. He should have been on a steady rise since then, but because he offended someone, a majestic Hanlin was sent down. The kind of place where the birds don't shit is an official.

Xue Tingxiang pursed his lips slightly, feeling that he was thinking too much, after all, he is not even a child now, let's think about the present.

So, without thinking too much, he took out a book from the bookcase and read it quietly.

During this period, customers from the bookstore came to sell some pens, ink, paper and inkstones, or came to buy books, always interrupting Xue Tingxiang's reading.

Seeing this, Boss Chen said: "Brother Xue, you can take the book to the back and read."

Xue Tingxiang looked at him in surprise: "This..."

"It's okay, it's not bad for your book."

Xue Tingxiang was silent, bowed deeply in salute, and then went back.

When Xue Tingxiang woke up, he heard Boss Chen talking outside and Zhao'er's voice at the same time.

"Where did you get this big bag?" Boss Chen looked at Zhao'er in surprise, and asked for the bag at her feet that was much bigger than her.

Zhao'er was sweating profusely and said: "Uncle Chen, I got it from the county, and so did the man from the car dealership. They only helped me to the intersection and left me behind. I wanted to be dragged to the car dealership. But thinking that my brother is still here..."

Boss Chen laughed, and called his assistant: "Ah Cai, come and help little brother Zhao'er carry the things in." Then he said to Zhao'er: "Come in and have a drink and rest before leaving."

"Uncle Chen, what a shame."

"When you were bargaining with me, you were never polite, but now you are more polite." Boss Chen pretended to stare.

Generally speaking, Boss Chen is an elegant and humorous person.

Xue Tingxiang also came out to help, and asked, "What's in it? Why is it so heavy? Where did you get it?"

Not to mention it was really heavy, Ah Cai tried a few times but couldn't lift it, only three people could lift it.

"I got it from a pawn shop. If I can sell this package, my sister will have enough money to send you to the Qinghe Academy."

Zhao'er hadn't realized that he had slipped up, but Xue Tingxiang had. He glanced at Boss Chen, and Zhao'er understood what he said at this moment, and looked at Boss Chen with some guilt: "Uncle Chen, I will explain to you later."

She was a little anxious, and without asking the two of them to help, she lifted the big bag and carried it on her shoulders. The big bag pushed her to one side, but she still stopped, and she quickly carried the things inside.

Ah Cai praised: "It doesn't look like she is strong, she is so strong."

Here, Xue Tingxiang looked at the back and pursed the corners of his mouth, while Boss Chen's eyes darkened.

Xue Tingxiang looked up at Boss Chen, and walked towards him.

...

Zhao'er found a place to put down the big bag, then went to wash his hands and face to clean up his body, and then A Cai led him to see Boss Chen.

Seeing Boss Chen, Zhao'er felt a little guilty. But she didn't intend to continue to lie to Boss Chen, because Boss Chen is a good person. Not to mention the benefits he gave her before, just because he asked the little man to copy books for such a high price, let him read books here, and take care of the lunch at noon, Zhao'er can no longer continue to deceive.

In fact, Zhao'er is not a liar, it's just that she concealed her gender, and then the so-called workmanship is just collecting some vegetables and selling them to make some purses or something.

"Uncle Chen..."

Boss Chen sighed and waved his hands: "Okay, you don't need to say anymore, you are a girl, and you are really embarrassing."

Zhao'er looked surprised, her round eyes widened.

Boss Chen laughed a little and said, "Your little husband has already told me everything."

"He, what did he say..." Zhao'er stammered, still in disbelief. Because she knows that the little man always pays attention to face and has a lot of thoughts, and she doesn't like to mention her as his child bride-in-law in front of outsiders, and the Xue family's bad things.

"I've said everything that needs to be said." After a pause, Boss Chen asked, "Look at how surprised you are, isn't it still a secret?"

Zhao'er laughed awkwardly, and faltered: "That's not true, it's just that he's young, and people in our village hate him. People always think that I'm older than him, and my daughter-in-law teases men and laughs at him."

The same sentence sounds different to different people.

Boss Chen couldn't help but want to laugh, but Xue Tingxiang outside had mixed feelings in his heart.

That's why she always called herself sister, so in the dream he was old, but she didn't want to marry him. Or he ignored her wishes and insisted on marrying him with his parents' orders.

She actually understood her awkward state of mind. He told himself not to be surprised by what other people said, but he cared about it in his heart, so even if the two got married, they couldn't do it together.

She actually knew everything, yet she relied on him for everything! Follow him!

While the mood was churning, the topic was changed inside.

"I just heard from you that you plan to save money to send him to Qinghe Academy?"

Zhao'er nodded, seeing the strange expression on Boss Chen's face, she couldn't help but ask, "Is that school bad?"

"Take the road of opportunism, and it won't last long."

Zhao'er didn't quite understand what he heard, but he also knew that it was not a good word.

"If you want to help him find a good book academy, I have something to recommend. It's just..." Boss Chen sighed suddenly: "Well, let me tell you that you don't understand either. Let's talk about it later."

Zhao'er nodded in a daze.

It was not too early to meet later, and the two planned to return to Yuqing Village.

Because the big bag of clothes was too much, and it would be eye-catching to bring back, Boss Chen asked Zhao'er to put the things in his shop temporarily. Anyway, there are still a few vacant rooms behind the shop, so just find a place to put them.

The two went back to the village by car, because after time, only the ox cart could be used, so the two sat on the ox cart and walked back bumping back and forth.

Halfway along the road, a mule cart came head-on.

The driver was a man, dark and tall. When he got closer, he could see his appearance clearly. He had thick eyebrows and tiger eyes, a high nose bridge, and he was very heroic. His sleeves were half rolled up above his elbows, and his arms seemed to be full of muscles. He looked like a powerful man.

Xue Tingxiang saw the person coming at a glance, and his pupils shrank immediately.

He glanced at Zhao'er next to him, saw her with her head half down, and he was relieved.

But the visitor still saw them, his eyes lit up, and he raised his voice and shouted: "Zhaoer."

Zhao'er looked over and immediately smiled: "Brother Jiang Wu, where are you going?"

Jiang Wu tightened the reins and stopped the mule cart.

"I'm going to town, are you going back? Get out of the car, and I'll see you off."

Zhao'er hesitated and said, "Don't you still want to go to town? Anyway, we've already got in the car, so you should do your own work."

"I don't have anything to do. I just went to Lao Li's place to have a look. Originally, my father said that I would go tomorrow and buy some things on the way back. It doesn't matter whether I go or not. Come on, this car is slow and bumpy. My car is still faster." Jiang Wu said to Zhao'er with a smile, completely unaware that the face of the owner of the bullock cart turned black.

Seeing this, Zhao'er didn't let the owner of the ox cart stop, and jumped off from above. After taking two steps over there, I realized that I had forgotten the person.

While letting the owner of the bullock cart stop, she said to Xue Tingxiang: "Come on down, let's go back in Brother Jiang Wu's car." With her beaming face, she was in a good mood.

Xue Tingxiang's face was a bit ugly, he glanced at Zhao'er, and then slowly got out of the car.

The two got into the mule cart, and Jiang Wu drove the cart to Yuqing Village.

"If I knew you were coming to the county today, I would have asked you to help me get my things back. Brother Jiang Wu, let me tell you, I found a business to do, and this business can make a lot of money. I definitely can't do it alone. Why don't we partner up and pay half a penny?"

It wasn't Jiang Wu's first time doing business with Zhao'er. To be honest, before Zhao'er came to collect vegetables and sell them in the town, Jiang Wu helped her a lot.

How much food can Zhao'er collect in other villages by herself, and besides, she doesn't have a car, so it's not convenient to go back and forth. But the Jiang family has a car, and the ancestors of the Jiang family were hunters. With this unique skill, the life of the Jiang family is very comfortable.

The men of Jiang's family don't usually farm land, and the family's more than 20 acres of land are rented out, and they only earn money by collecting rent and hunting with the men in the family. But hunting is not every day, so Jiang Wu is very free when he is not in the mountains, so he helps recruits to collect vegetables and so on, saying that the two share half and half, but Jiang Wu does not want the money every time .

"But let me tell you first, if you don't want to split the money, I won't do this business with you."

Zhao'er has always thought that the little man's eyes are the most beautiful eyes in the world, although these eyes are always disgusted and resistant when facing her.

In fact, Xue Gouzi's eyes are the only ones that look good. He has been weak since he was born, and the second wife and his wife managed to support him, and they are usually spoiled. The boys of his age in the village were all dark-skinned and as strong as a calf, but he was pale, emaciated, silent and taciturn.

But Zhao'er has always been domineering, and never allowed anyone to talk about a little man, and whoever said she was in a hurry. Because of this incident, she had fought with many girls and boys in the village, although some people still said it behind their backs, no one dared to point fingers in front of others.

Zhao'er always felt that the little man's eyes were weird today, and he avoided them uncomfortably.

She knew that the little man must be angry again, and he didn't like her saying things like 'the dog is my man' the most. Every time he heard her say such things, he would ignore her for a few days. In fact, Zhao'er has to face, but she is the child bride-in-law of the Xue family's second room. If she didn't claim to be so, how could she have the right to challenge the fourth aunt, Sun's.

"Are you hungry? Look what I brought back for you?"

Zhao'er turned her head and put all these troubles behind her, and took out a paper bag from her pocket. Opening the paper bag, there are two steamed buns inside. They are white and plump, and people like it when they look at them.

"Eat quickly, while it's still warm." She smiled and stuffed the paper bag into the little man's hand, while putting the pannier on her shoulders in the corner.

Xue Gouzi glanced at her.

The girl in front of her was in her twenties and eighth year, and her skin was the wheat color that is common among girls in the country, but Zhao'er's complexion was very different from others, it was smooth and radiant, as if she had been smeared with honey. He has a tall nose bridge, a pair of medium-sized eyes, and swarthy pupils. When he smiles, there is a flash of inspiration in him, and he looks lively.

Zhao'er's stature is taller than ordinary girls, and she is well-developed, front/convex/backward, full of youthful vigor.

It was so vivid, as vivid as in his dream.

He unconsciously took the steamed stuffed bun and gnawed on it. Seeing this trick, he smiled even more happily. He went to the kitchen and poured him a bowl of water, which he placed next to his hand. On the other hand, he bent down to tidy up the scattered quilts on the kang, thinking about what to cook for him at night to nourish his body.

Finally, the little man got better, so he had to continue to drink the medicine, and he had to drink a few more to strengthen it. From this, he naturally began to calculate the little money left in his hand, and think of a way to get some money, so as to solve the urgent need.

"Have you eaten yet?" Xue Gouzi asked.

This kind of behavior rarely happens to him, so Zhao'er can't help but look up at the little man sitting on the kang.

In fact, the little man has a handsome appearance, which is different from the fair skin of the countrymen. The corners of his eyes are slightly raised, and the curvature makes his face a little more delicate and handsome. It's just that the little man always hangs his head halfway on weekdays, with a gloomy and silent temperament, and is too thin, so he is not conspicuous in front of others.

Zhao'er's eyes warmed up, her smile widened, and she said cracklingly, "Eat, I ate it outside, this is for you."

After she finished speaking, she realized that she had slipped her mouth. She waited for the little man to show a disgusted expression, or to condemn her daughter's family for running around, but he didn't say anything, as if he had something on his mind. Head eating buns.

Zhao'er couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt a pain in his heart, and couldn't help but said: "Dog, don't worry too much. After all, you heard the words. Since you didn't say it face-to-face, you can't take it seriously. Even if it is true Don't be afraid, sister earns money for your education."

Xue Gouzi's head still hurts a little, and he was dizzy. Zhao'er thought he had something on his mind, but in fact he was just thinking about that dream. Hearing Zhao'er's words at this time, he suddenly remembered why he had this serious illness.

Seriously speaking, Xue Gouzi's serious illness came in a hurry due to stagnation of liver qi.

Speaking of this, I have to talk about the general situation of the Xue family.

Yuqing Village is a village located under Huyang Town, Xia County, Pingyang Prefecture. There are only more than 200 households in the village.

The Xue family is one of them.

However, the Xue family is different from other ordinary farmers, and it can be regarded as having some origins.

The ancestor of the Xue family, that is, the grandfather of Mr. Xue, was a scholar. In a poor mountain depression like Yuqing Village, it is a great event for the ancestors to have a scholar.

Because of this talented gentleman, the generation of the Xue family produced the head of the Xue clan, and there were several village elders in the clan, and finally had some say in Yuqing Village. At the same time, it is also a blessing for the younger generation. Mr. Xue's father is hardworking and willing to work. With the help of the elders, he also slowly built up a family business.

By the time of Mr. Xue's generation, the Xue family already had more than 30 acres of fertile land, and several sons also had their own livelihoods. Their lives were enviably prosperous, and they could be regarded as a well-to-do family in the village.

Mr. Xue and his mother-in-law Zhao have four sons and two daughters. The eldest son Xue Qingshan married his wife Yang, and they have two sons and a daughter. The eldest son Xue Juncai is fifteen years old, the second son Xue Youcai is ten years old, and the eldest daughter Xue Maner is married.

The second child, Xue Qingsong, is a carpenter. He married his wife Qiu Shi and gave birth to a son, Xue Gouzi, who is fourteen years old. The third child, Xue Qingbai, is a farmer, married his wife Zhou, and gave birth to a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter, Xue Taoer, is thirteen years old this year, and the youngest son, Xue Shuanzi, is eight years old now. The fourth son, Xue Qinghuai, is a shopkeeper. He married his wife, Sun, and gave birth to a son named Xue Maodan, who is only four years old this year.

As for the two daughters, the eldest daughter, Xue Cuiping, is already married, and the youngest daughter, Xue Cuie, is fourteen this year and is still in her boudoir.

It is worth mentioning that nowadays there are parents who say that they do not separate their families. In addition, families in the countryside are ruled by clans, so Xue's family has no separation.