Chapter 76

Since Xue Tingxiang made up his mind to copy the book, Zhao'er had no reason to object.

But she even made a big wish, to earn a lot of money in the future, and not to let him worry about a book, not to mention here.

After Zhao'er laid out the paper for him, she went to find a suitable needle and thread, planning to bind it for him after he finished writing.

Xue Tingxiang laughed a little, but didn't say anything, picked up a pen and began to write seriously on the paper.

He planned to copy all the books he had memorized, because he found a problem. Since he had that dream, 'Xue Tingxiang' had more and more influence on him, including the impact on his own memory.

Especially all the books he has learned since he was a child. He had flipped through the memory of that dream before, and he had memories of some bibliographies in elementary school and even college, but his memory was extremely vague, and many of the more detailed things had been forgotten.

He thought about the reason, and felt that "he" seemed to be very disgusted with the memory of studying hard in the cold window, so he always adopted an evasive attitude. In addition, the Xue Tingxiang in the dream has lived for more than seventy years. Since he passed the Jinshi examination, he has been obsessed with officialdom battles, but he doesn't care about his own knowledge.

After many years, his memory is more about the ups and downs of the officialdom, the various forces in the party struggle, and the speculation of the people, rather than the original essence of a scholar.

Seriously speaking, 'Xue Tingxiang' is not a real scholar, he is just a politician.

But obviously he doesn't need these things now, as if a young child has a sword, he knows the significance of these things to his future. But today a young child needs nothing more than a piece of clothing, or just food and clothing.

But these memories have already begun to affect his own memory. He doesn't want to forget what he has learned. What he needs to do now is to consolidate his memory and combine with 'Xue Tingxiang''s advanced understanding of many things. This is the right way.

And the best way to master it is nothing more than copying books.

Obviously this yellow bamboo paper is of very low quality, the brush strokes should not be light or heavy, the ink will be uneven if it is light, and it will smudge if it is heavy, but Xue Tingxiang writes on it like flowing clouds and flowing water as if there is nothing. The handwriting on it is full and round, and it is extraordinarily majestic.

Zhao'er held his breath and didn't even dare to make a sound. His eyes fell on Xue Tingxiang, who was writing vigorously. Suddenly, he had the illusion that a little man had grown up.

Xue Tingxiang quickly wrote a sheet, and he was about to take it away to dry, Zhao'er quickly took it, and spread it carefully on the kang. Her eyes were attracted by those words. She couldn't tell how beautiful they were, but felt like a painting.

And during this period, Xue Tingxiang wrote another one.

In this way, Xue Tingxiang wrote and asked children to dry it. After a while, the kang was covered with paper.

A book of the Three Character Classic does not contain more than a thousand characters, and Xue Tingxiang finished it very quickly.

He put down the pen, took a deep breath, and moved his wrist a few times. He hadn't written at such a high density for a long time, and it was a challenge to his wrist strength.

"Actually, I can copy books to subsidize my family." He said suddenly.

He had been thinking about this for a long time. In his dream, he only read books blindly. He really managed to "keep his ears off the outside world and read only the books of sages and sages".

The former "he" was helpless and emotional about this situation, but he had more than enough energy, and Zhao'er was really capable, and he had a talent that no one else had in business, and he answered everything in every detail, and never let him go. He worries about money, so he doesn't think about it anymore.

Looking back, he realized that 'he' cared more about this matter than he imagined. Now that he can earn one or two silver coins to support his family, why not give it a try.

How can a man be raised by a woman, he should be the one who shelters her from the wind and rain. He didn't understand at this time in the dream, but fortunately he understands now.

"Copy books to make money?" Zhao'er shook her head again and again: "How can I do that? It's hard work and hurts my eyes."

"How can you say so exaggeratedly? Look, I just copied a book in a short while." He organized all the pages of the book into a pile, and gave it to Zhao'er for her to bind.

"Copying books can not only earn money, but also read books. Why not do it. I remember that there are bookstores in the town that will find some poor scholars to help copy books and sell them. You go to the town tomorrow and bring this book to the bookstore. Look at the shop owner, if it’s feasible, you can help me pick up a book and try it when you come back.”

Having said that, he paused for a moment: "Well, I'll go with you, and we'll go to town together tomorrow."

"Is this really possible?" Zhao'er always hesitates when it comes to matters involving little men.

"There's nothing wrong with it."

*

Now that the matter was settled, the two of them woke up early the next day and went out without even having breakfast at home.

Yuqing Village is a small village located under Huyang Town. In fact, Huyang Town is also Huyang Township, just named after the town. There are dozens of villages like this in Huyang Township, and Yuqing Village is one of the larger villages.

From Yuqing Village to the town, if walking, it takes nearly an hour. If you take an ox cart or a mule cart, it will be faster, and there are carts from the village below to the town every day. Bullock carts are slow and cheap, and you can take one ride for two pennies. Mule carts are expensive, and one person gets four renminbi, but the speed is not comparable to that of ox carts.

Going out of Yuqing Village, walked to a fork in the road, and walked west for a while, Zhao'er and Xue Tingxiang stopped and stood under the big tree by the roadside to wait for the bus.

Although their clothes were simple, they were both neat and tidy, especially Zhao'er, who was wearing a man's clothes.

"It turns out that every time you go out, you have to walk through the vegetable field behind, just to change into this clothes?"

Zhao'er nodded, feeling a little guilty. But now that she has made a decision, she has prepared for the worst. Fortunately, Xue Tingxiang only showed a trace of surprise when he saw it, but he didn't show much disgust.

"It's more convenient to go out in this way. You can't recognize me as a girl."

Xue Tingxiang pursed his lips and glanced at her.

The young man in front of him looks handsome. From a man's point of view, he looks a little thinner, but there is really no sign of a daughter's family. He observed carefully, only to find that Zhao'er had thickened his eyebrows, and he did not know how to do it on his chest, but it became flat.

She also seemed to find that the little man's eyes stayed on her chest for too long, Zhao'er explained: "This is too inconvenient, so I wrapped it with a cloth."

She spoke very disapprovingly, as if she was talking about what we have for lunch, but Xue Tingxiang felt like he was reckless.

He recalled the dream in which Zhao'er's breasts were very plump, and he suddenly felt afraid that she would be crushed, so he couldn't help but ask, "Won't she be crushed?"

Zhao'er was a little surprised when she heard that, but she didn't think too much about it, so she said, "It's useless anyway."

Just as she was talking, she saw a mule cart approaching not far away, so she waved there. Naturally, she didn't notice that Xue Tingxiang's expression was very strange.

Seeing that he was riding in a mule cart instead of an ox cart, Xue Tingxiang couldn't help being a little surprised. He only knew that the mule cart was much more valuable than the ox cart. Zhao'er gave the money for the car, and pulled him into the car: "This car is faster, and it will be here in a while." In fact, Zhao'er was afraid that he would not be able to stand the bumps of the bullock cart after recovering from a serious illness, so he took the mule cart if he had one.

The middle-aged man driving the car smiled and said, "My little brother is insightful. This car is not only fast, but also stable. It is not comparable to a bullock cart. By the way, this is your brother?"

Xue Tingxiang, who was called his younger brother, turned dark.

It's not surprising that people say that he is Zhao'er's younger brother, and he is also dressed as a man. He is obviously thinner than Zhao'er, and he is half a head shorter.

Zhao'er was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile: "Yes, it's my younger brother."

While speaking, the middle-aged man had already driven the mule cart forward.

This car is indeed much faster than the bullock cart, and it runs without bumps. The car will stop at intervals to pick up one or two people. This special extended car can seat twelve people. The roof of the car is specially customized, and some not-too-heavy things can be placed on it.

By the way, the biggest advantage of taking this mule cart is that there is a carriage to keep out the dust, so you don't have to find a place to pack yourself when you arrive in the town.

"When I have money in the future, I will also buy this car." Zhao'er couldn't help but said to Xue Tingxiang, finally showing a little childishness.

"Will you rush?"

She froze for a moment, then said: "I can't rush, I can learn."

The problem is that you have done everything, even drive the car by yourself, so why do you need a man? Xue Tingxiang thought silently in his heart, and then realized that in his dream, it seemed that he was really useless as a man.

It seems that he will learn to drive in the future. Xue Tingxiang made a secret decision.

*

After the mule cart was full of people, it finally stopped halfway to pick up people.

After about a quarter of an hour, the city wall of Huyang Town could be seen in the distance.

The mule cart stopped not far from the city gate, and everyone in the cart got off, Zhao'er took Xue Tingxiang to the town.

This Huyang Town is neither big nor small. Zhao'er used to go to Dongshi mostly, and Dongshi sells the most groceries, but this time he mainly went to the bookstore, so he was going to Nanshi.

The former dynasty emphasized civility over military affairs. This kind of folk custom did not die out after the war at the end of the previous dynasty. On the contrary, it was because the Tai/Zu Emperor of Dachang came to power at the beginning because he was a supporter of the civil servants in the previous dynasty. It is popular.

Even illiterate ordinary people can say that everything is inferior, only reading is high, which is evident.

Even in a small place like Huyang Town, any family with some spare money would send their children to a private school for two years. It is best to be able to test for fame and fame. If you can't test for merit and fame, you can get a few words, and the workmanship is cheaper.

This kind of folk custom has led to quite a few bookstores and book shops in the town. For example, there is a street in Nanshi that sells pens, ink, paper and inkstones, as well as other supporting facilities, all of which are business for scholars.

Although Zhao'er is not a scholar, she has bought bamboo paper for Xue Tingxiang a few times, so she is familiar with the place. However, she did not lead Xue Tingxiang to go immediately, but went around to a place with a lot of food stalls, found a noodle stall, and planned to go there after breakfast.

"The meal in the morning is the most important. We missed breakfast because we were in a hurry. Sharpening knives is not a mistake for woodcutters. Let's go when we are full."

The owner of the Zhaoerguan noodle stall ordered two bowls of sliced ​​noodles.

This noodle is a unique food in Pingyang Prefecture. It is made of buckwheat noodles and sorghum noodles. It is black and red in color.

"The sliced ​​slices here are very delicious, try it."

Xue Tingxiang tasted it, and it was really delicious.

Not to mention the craftsmanship, at least the portion is large, and the ingredients are sufficient, unlike Xue's food, which is reluctant to put oil and salt, and tastes bland.

But the price is also expensive, Xue Tingxiang finished a large bowl of jerky slices, and gave eight Wen when he asked his son to settle the bill, which means that this bowl of jerky slices is almost enough to buy half a catty of meat. .

"Is it delicious?" Zhao'er was still asking him when he was walking towards Nanshi.

"It's just a bit expensive."

It is indeed a little expensive for Xue Tingxiang. He has no pocket money since he was a child, and the only chance to have some money in his hands is the few pennies given by Mr. Xue every year.

In his dream, these few pennies were really nothing, but it was these two weird thoughts mixed together that made Xue Tingxiang feel weird.

"Why is it expensive? It's not expensive. You don't come to the town often, but you come here once after all. Naturally, I will take you to have a good meal."

It's really a good meal, don't look at Zhao'er's face without changing her face, but in fact, when she came to the town alone before, she would buy a steamed bun at most when she was hungry.

She has never been reluctant to bear with herself, and always wants to save more, but she is very willing to bear with Xue Tingxiang, and she is at her wit's end. So every time Xue Tingxiang thought of everything in his dream, he couldn't believe that he would be the one who killed his wife and children.

"When I earn money by copying books, I will bring you to eat every day." He couldn't help but said.

The sun had already come out, and the pale golden sunlight shone on the boy's still immature face. His fair face was like the finest white jade, with fine fluff on it. The slightly pale lips were pursed lightly at this moment, and it could be seen that the young man was a little uncomfortable. He didn't dare to look directly at her, but looked aside.

Zhao'er's smile got bigger and bigger, and he couldn't help stretching out his hand to rub his head: "Silly dog, you can only make a few money by copying books, how can you come to eat that every day." There was a pampering expression in his expression.

But the voice was silenced in his dark pupils, and Zhao'er finally realized what he said and did.

She was a little guilty, and it was strange, she had never been afraid of a little man before, but since he recovered from his illness this time, she has become a little afraid of him occasionally.

It must be her illusion!

She withdrew her hand, looked left and right, suddenly her eyes lit up, and said: "Look, we're here." As she spoke, she walked into the bookstore first.

The clear voice of the young man caught the eyes of everyone in the hall, including Qiao Xiucai and He Xiucai who were praising each other for humility.

Xue Juncai raised his head in disbelief, he couldn't believe that he didn't even think about it, how could Xue Tingxiang have it.

I saw that gentle and thin young man with his hands behind his back, walking back and forth in the hall for a few steps, Fang said: "If you take the bait, you are an old man, and if you take the bait, you are a test. The old man takes the test for the children, and the children get the test for the old."

In fact, Xue Tingxiang is not good at reciting poems and fighting against each other, but he can't hold back that the person in his dream has lived a long life and has a wide market. There used to be a long-standing joke among scholars——

It is said that there was a gray-haired scholar who took the exam, and the examiner knew from his appearance that he was an old boy who had repeatedly failed the exam, so he intentionally made things difficult for him: "I have a couplet, if you can match it, I will take it." you."