Chapter 261

"Dog, dog..."

Xue Gouzi came back to his senses and looked at the face in front of him that had been entwined in his dreams for many years.

"You're right, I won't think about it anymore." He paused, and then said, "I just want to say one thing, can you stop calling me a dog?"

Zhao'er was puzzled and said, "But I didn't call you that all the time. If you don't call me a dog, what would you call it?"

Xue Gouzi pondered for a moment, "Call me Ting Xiang."

"Tingxiang? This is your own name? Gou'er, why did you give yourself such a name?" Immediately she understood, thinking of Dafang's talented boy, because of his young age, he always carried People laugh at the same name as Gou'er and Heizi.

A look of distress flashed in her eyes, and she nodded repeatedly: "Gou'er, no, Ting'er is a different scholar, and the name is so nice. From now on, my sister won't call you Gou'er, and I won't let outsiders call you that. It's called Tingxiang." Anyway, in her heart, whatever the dog says is good,

Xue Gouzi, no, he should be called Xue Tingxiang now, and he feels a little depressed. He is only less than two years younger than Zhao'er, but he is a deep ravine that he will not be able to cross in his entire life. Having said that, he said again: "Also, can you stop calling 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? Did you have some evil? You didn't call me sister since you were a child."

Xue Tingxiang 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 a sister."

He was originally pale, half leaning on the quilt at the top of the kang, suddenly smiled like this, his brows and eyes were clear and handsome, which gave people a feeling that they dare not look directly at him.

Zhao'er's face turned red all of a sudden, and he couldn't make sense of what he said: "Dog, you, what are you talking about, I, I..."

"Don't you want to be my daughter-in-law and have a baby for me?" He moved closer.

She stood up abruptly, and reprimanded: "You little kid, why are you talking about this? Your hair hasn't grown fully yet!" She said a foul language that Xue Tingxiang didn't like to hear the most, and she didn't realize it: "You want to The thing to do is to take care of your body, as for these things, we will talk about them later!"

Her eyes were fierce, and her tone was also fierce. After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and scooped rice from the bowl to Xue Tingshan's mouth. He glanced at her, ate honestly, and suddenly became in a good mood.

Maybe the two of them can change the way they get along in the future, and change it if they don't like it, there is no need to wait for her to understand.

*

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

During this period, Sun had nothing to say to her, but no one paid any attention to her.

Yang couldn't eat, if it wasn't for her parents-in-law, if she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the two younger siblings, she would have thrown her chopsticks and left. But now he can only suppress the aggrieved stomach, and eat the food in front of him like chewing wax.

After dinner, Mrs. Sun took Mao Dan away, knowing that her son got into trouble today, and she was afraid that she would be angered later. Mrs. Zhou took Xue Taoer to clean up the table, and took the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash. Xue Qingbai helped her, Zhou could not carry such a pot of dishes by himself, usually when Xue Qingbai was not at home, she and her daughter could only carry them.

Only Dafang, mother and son were left in the room, along with Mr. Xue and Mrs. Zhao.

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

Mr. Xue took out his dry pipe, took out some shredded tobacco grown by himself from the dark blue tobacco pouch, rolled it into a ball, pressed it into the tobacco pot, and then lit it with a torch.

His movements are very slow, neither fast nor slow. Anyone who is familiar with Mr. Xue's character knows that he has something on his mind.

It's true that there is something wrong, and if it's not something, he won't call his daughter-in-law to stop.

"The handsome boy and the 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 dragged away by his elder brother Xue Juncai.

"Father, just tell me if you have anything to say."

Mrs. Yang is thirty-four this year. In the countryside, a woman in her thirties is no longer considered young. Here, the wind blows and the sun shines and eats, so the women look old.

But Yang's maintenance is very good, her face is like a disc, her skin is fair, and there are a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She was wearing a worn-out stone blue satin gown with make-up, her shiny black hair was pulled into a bun behind her head, a gilt hairpin was inserted into it, and a pair of old silver earrings were on her ears. It can't be called onion tip, but it is also white and soft, wearing a gold ring.

It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the grandma of the landlord's family in this dress and bearing, even the Zhao family is not as good as her.

With his old eyes, Mr. Xue moved Yang back and forth a few times, making her stand uneasy.

Just as I was about to say something, my father-in-law said suddenly: "Boss daughter-in-law, how long have you been married to our family?"

Yang was startled, and replied: "Seventeen years, my daughter-in-law married into the Xue family in the seventeenth year."

"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 daughters."

Mr. Xue nodded, took a puff of the dry cigarette, and the light blue smoke began to linger on his old face again, making it difficult to see the expression on his face clearly.

"You are the eldest daughter-in-law of our family, and your mother has always loved you. You and the boss have the same heart as your mother and I. I only wish that you can become a talent."

Yang's heart relaxed, and she couldn't help laughing: "Juncai is serious about his studies, even my father said that he is a rare and good seedling, and it is no problem to be a scholar."

Speaking of Xue Juncai who is the most proud, even Mr. Xue couldn't help showing a smile.

Seeing that the father-in-law's face softened, Yang took advantage of the situation and said: "It's just that you know, father, that when it's time to end, you don't have to just sit at home and study. Thinking back then, Juncai's father also listened to my father's words, I went to Qinghe Academy to study for two years, met some classmates, and registered in front of my husband. I took the opportunity to impress the county magistrate, and I passed the county exam. The ranking of the county exam As long as it is not bad, the government examination is not to say that it is sure, but it is half sure. It's just that you have to rely on luck when you get to the hospital examination, and Juncai's father is unlucky, so he will fail repeatedly."

This is the real reason why Yang Shi is valued by the old couple in the Xue family, not only because her father is a child, but also because her father was kind to Xue Qingshan in the past.

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

There are five county exams in total, and the results of the first exam are mainly to be judged. And this time, there are two stereotyped essays and one poem. As long as there are no typos and fluent essays, you can pass them all.

Compared with people he doesn't know well at all, the magistrate is still willing to pick people who are somewhat familiar.

And going to a good school to study is to provide an opportunity to stand out in front of the county magistrate. Dachang has always attached great importance to the selection of talents. How many scholars can be produced in this county, and even a son can be a Jinshi, which is considered a political achievement. No matter how fatuous and incompetent the county magistrate, this kind of cutscene must go.

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

For example, the county examinations are nothing more than the Four Books and Five Classics and the sacred edicts. How to write and what taboos should not be violated all need guidance. No matter how wonderful your article is, if you violate taboos such as temple taboos, royal names, and holy taboos, you will not take it.

And in places like the countryside, many private schools are opened by old children for the sake of making a living, and I still want to be a scholar to change my fortune, so how can I teach middle school children in every detail.

Xue Qingshan himself was like this, that's why he put all his energy into sending Xue Juncai to Qinghe Academy.

Yang thought that her father-in-law wanted to tell her about sending Xue Juncai to the school, so she said this. Little did they know that her words really touched Mr. Xue's mind, but Mr. Xue didn't intend to tell her these things.

Mr. Xue took a deep breath of dry cigarettes, and said: "The boss you said has been told to me, and we will talk about this matter 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 a bit meaningful, Yang was startled for a moment, and forced a smile: "Father, of course my daughter-in-law knows that the Xue family is not just ours, but don't worry, if Juncai's father and Juncai are promising, they will never forget to be filial to you My mother." Seeing her father-in-law's complexion was gloomy, she hurriedly added: "There are other people in the family, Juncai always remembers that he can study, thanks to a few uncles and aunts."

Mr. Xue nodded: "If you understand, you should know that the other three families have been sacrificing for the eldest house. I won't mention the far ones, just talk about the third and fourth children. The land in the house refers to the third and fourth children Kindly, your father is getting old, and his hands and feet are not as sharp as before. The fourth child has to pick up goods and sell them when he is busy with the house. I don’t know how many pairs of shoes he has to wear out in a year, but all the money he earns is handed over to the public. , I haven’t paid a penny. What is everyone working so hard for? It’s not for our family, but for Dafang.”

Yang's complexion became forced: "Father, why is this all for our eldest family? Juncai's father is promising, isn't it because the Xue family has a good face? Because Juncai's father was born in Tongsheng, no one in the village would look at us highly, even that The Zheng family, don’t you also give us three points of courtesy to the Xue family. This is for the overall situation, for the future generations of our Xue family..."

Old Master Xue sighed and interrupted: "Father understands what you said, and so does your mother. But as the saying goes, if the board is not on your body, of course you don't feel pain. You put yourself in the position of the third and fourth child , What do you think? I have done the most work, and I can’t even put my good words into my mouth, and it’s all in other people’s mouths.”

These words were in line with what Zhao'er said just now, Yang's face turned red immediately, her round face flushed red.

"Father, why did you call this into my mouth, I..."

Mr. Xue ignored her, and went to scold Mrs. Zhao again: "There is also you, who is biased in front of people. You just continue to do it, so that the third and fourth are chilled, and they make a fuss about separating from the family. You go there Planted for the boss and talented people to take the imperial examination!"

At the end, his tone was full of sighs of hatred for iron.

Mrs. Zhao didn't want to listen to this anymore, and muttered: "What do you mean I am biased? Why am I biased? Didn't I think that the boss and Juncai want to study, and studying is a waste of brain, so I should give them more supplements. Don't those who are good? It fell into my mouth."

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help cursing: "Separate the family, don't they want to turn the world upside down, if the parents don't separate, even if I can spare them, the ancestors' family law can't forgive them."

Old Master Xue smiled wryly. If it wasn't for these two old things and the family law of the ancestors, the family would not be like this a long time ago.

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 school in the town, you should win over the third and fourth bedroom. "

"Father, I..."

"In the past, your mother doted on you. I never said it. You can tell which is right and which is wrong. But from tomorrow onwards, you and the third and fourth families will share the work at home. "

After Mr. Xue finished speaking, he stopped talking and just smoked his own cigarette with a sullen head. Yang couldn't stand here either, and hurried out of the main room with her head down.

*

As soon as Mrs. Zhou cleaned up the kitchen and came out, she saw her sister-in-law returning to the east chamber with her head down, her expression was not very good.

Her eyes flickered, and she glanced towards the south end of the west wing, which was a four-bedroom house.

There was a faint person behind the window facing the courtyard in the fourth room, and Mrs. Zhou knew that Mrs. Sun had been watching the movement. She pretended not to notice, wiped her hands on the apron, and went back to the house.

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

Mrs. Zhou couldn't even refuse, so Mrs. Yang smiled and said that Mrs. Zhou had worked hard, so she just let her rest.

Mrs. Zhou was pushed out of the kitchen by her, and she happened to meet Mrs. Sun who was standing at the door of the west chamber. There was also surprise in their eyes.

But what surprised them was yet to come, because from this day on, Mrs. Yang changed her previous attitude and started doing all kinds of work. Although it was many years of not touching her hands, she was clumsy in doing things now, but she did it.

Not only cooking, but also being very generous, often actively persuade Mrs. Zhao to take some money, or buy some meat or bring out some eggs, and cook dishes for the family to eat.

The sparks that had been stirred up by Zhao'er's words in the Xue family were suppressed just like that. During this period, Xue Tingxiang's body finally recovered, and he had the strength to walk around.

This day, after getting up early in the morning and having breakfast, Zhao'er planned to go to town.

The rags she brought back from the embroidery workshop have all been made into things like purses and embroidered shoes. After saving for many days, it should be sold in the embroidery workshop.

She put everything into the back basket, and before leaving, she told Xue Tingxiang that the weather was fine today and asked him to go out to bask in the sun more often.

Xue Tingxiang nodded and agreed honestly, and then she went out with peace of mind.

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

The yard is very quiet, the curtains of the doors of each room are all lowered, and it is hard to see if anyone is there.

He stood in front of the door for a while, then walked out of the gate, and Hei Zi, who was lazily basking in the sun, immediately stood up and went out together at his feet.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of many houses, and villagers walking in twos and threes on the village trails, either carrying hoes or pulling cattle, looked like they were going to the fields.

It is the time of spring plowing, and the plan of the year lies in spring. If you are lazy at this time, you will cry when the grain is harvested in autumn.

Zhao'er woke up at this hour on time, and opened his eyes to find that the little man was still asleep.

Not long after she fell asleep yesterday, the little man developed a fever again. After being busy for most of the night, luckily the fever subsided in the middle of the night.

She sat up, raised her hand to touch the little man's forehead, and made sure that her hands were not hot, then put on her clothes lightly and got off the kang.

The first thing to do was to open the door, and Heizi, who had been restless for a long time, got out with a swish. Zhao'er also walked out of the room, seeing Heizi hurriedly running out of the courtyard to pee, she shook her head with a broken smile.

At this time, someone has already got up in the courtyard, it is the Zhou family of the third bedroom and his eldest daughter Xue Tao'er.

Today it's the third room's turn to cook. The Xue family's rule is that apart from the housework of each room, the work in the office is shared equally. One day per room, in rotation.

The room responsible for cooking is not only responsible for the food and drink of the whole family, but also takes care of the livestock in the family. The Xue family raised two big fat pigs, and it was not an easy job to just serve these two ancestors every day. Not to mention feeding chickens, carrying water, and chopping firewood, so the female family members who do housework on this day do not have to go to the fields to work.

It seems to be fair and just, but in fact everyone inside knows how.

The eldest aunt Yang claimed that the man was a child student, and she was exceptionally superior at home. Since Xue Qingshan passed the child student examination, she never touched housework again. The key is that Mrs. Zhao is also looking towards her, so it's not easy for others to question her.

At first, it was Xue Gouzi's mother, Mrs. Qiu, who finally came in, the third-bedroom Mrs. Zhou, and the two sisters-in-law finally shared the burden. Afterwards, Mrs. Qiu followed her deceased husband, and Mrs. Zhou was left alone. It was not until Mrs. Sun of the fourth room entered the door that she would be able to catch her breath again.

It's a pity that Mrs. Sun is lazy and playful. In fact, Mrs. Zhou still does most of the work.

In the past, when Mrs. Qiu was still alive, Zhao'er also helped Mrs. Qiu to do it. After Mrs. Qiu passed away, Zhao'er was busy with the housework of the second room and had to do the work in the office. In addition, Zhao'er was still young at that time, Mr. Xue told her to take good care of Xue Gouzi and not to take care of the work at work.

Zhao'er now has free time to go around and get some money, but she is a person who looks at her conscience and will help out as much as she can in her spare time. As for those who used words to squeeze her like Sun, her sharp tongue was not forgiving.

Seeing Xue Taoer struggling to fetch water from the well, Zhao'er rubbed his face and went up to help her.

Thirteen-year-old Xue Taoer is like a small flower in bud. Although she is not very beautiful, she is very delicate. Seeing Zhao'er coming to help her, she couldn't help showing a smile and talking to her: "Sister Zhao'er, is the second brother better?" Xue Gouzi is the second grandson of the Xue family, so Xue Taoer called him the second brother .

"I had a fever again last night, and it got better in the second half of the night." Zhao'er looked around curiously, and asked, "Why isn't Third Uncle here?"

Although Xue Qingbai is a bit honest and reticent, he always loves his wife and daughter. Whenever he meets the third room to cook, he will get up early to fill the water tank.

The Xue family has its own well, but the well is too deep, and there is no pulley on the well, so it is really exhausting to draw water with the strength of the daughter's family alone. That is to say, Zhao'er was naturally as strong as an ox, and his strength was no worse than that of ordinary middle-aged men, so he could pull the bucket out of the deep well very easily.

"My father went to the field and said he would work for a while and return after breakfast."

Xue Qingbai is an honest farmer. Unlike other brothers in the family who have other skills, he only knows how to farm, so he puts all his heart on the ground. The Xue family has a total of more than 30 mu of land, and now he, Mr. Xue and the fourth son Xue Qinghuai are all planted.

Although the women of the Xue family also went to the fields, it was only during the busy farming season, and besides, the women only had so little strength, so how could they help. Fortunately, the three men from Xue's family are all good hands in the field, and they are really too busy, so they hired part-time workers to help out for a few days, so they don't have to worry about not being able to finish the work in the field.

Just as he was talking, the door of the fourth room opened, and Xue Qinghuai walked out from inside.

The men in the Xue family are all big, so Xue Qinghuai also inherited a tall body.

He was born with thick eyebrows, tiger eyes and a high nose bridge. He was dressed in dark blue coarse cloth and short brown, and looked very heroic. In fact, the men of the Xue family are not bad looking, but the women of the Xue family are a little mediocre, but all the grandchildren are born well, and they are all top-notch in the village.

"Zhaoer Taoer, you wake up so early." Xue Qinghuai walked over in a few strides, took the wooden bucket in Zhaoer's hand, walked to the water tank, and poured water into the tank.

"How can you two little girls do this kind of rough work? You go to do other things, and the fourth uncle is here to fetch water."

Zhao'er and Tao'er didn't refuse either, one went to the kitchen to help her mother cook, and the other took a basin to scoop up water for washing.

As time passed, the rest of the Xue family got up one after another, and there were more and more voices in the yard. On the other side of the kitchen, Mrs. Zhou yelled to eat. Generally, country people don't pay much attention to breakfast, and they have to set a table or something. They always serve a bowl with a bowl, and eat it at any place.

Breakfast is two rice porridge, the so-called two rice porridge is porridge cooked from two kinds of rice. Yuqing Village does not grow rice, but only wheat, sorghum, millet, corn and other crops. Although farmers grow wheat, they seldom use it for their own food. They sell it for other grains.

Even a well-to-do family like Xue's family with surplus food did not eat fine grains all at once, but a mixture of coarse grains and fine grains. For example, today's breakfast is two-rice porridge, which is a porridge cooked with millet, that is, yellow rice, and sorghum rice.

Because it was a busy time of farming, it was cooked quite thickly. Although it didn't hold up with chopsticks inserted, it was much better than the usual thin soup with little water.

There is no way, the Xue family seems to have a decent family background in the village, but there are three scholars in the family. Not to mention Xue Gouzi, Guangda Fang and his son spend a lot of money every month, and it's no wonder that Mrs. Zhao usually can pick up fleas to get a little blood.

Zhao'er filled two bowls of porridge, put a few cornbreads on a thick porcelain plate, and put some pickles on the side, and took them back to the second room's room.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xue Gouzi sitting up from the kang.

She hurriedly put the wooden tray on the square table, and came up to see him: "But he's better? Are you hungry? Sister will bring you some porridge."

Xue Gouzi looked at her with complicated eyes.

After experiencing such a dream, he now doesn't know how to face Zhao'er. As long as he saw her, he couldn't help but think of him in his dream, those words scolded by others before he died. He also tried to find the cause of Zhao'er's death in his memory, but it seemed that that memory was Xue Tingxiang's most unbearable past, and he had no memory at all.

In fact, Xue Gouzi was burned in a daze last night, and Xue Gouzi thought for a long time. He couldn't figure out whether he was Xue Gouzi or Xue Tingxiang, whether that dream was true or not, whether he was thinking about it every day and dreaming at night , to have such an absurd dream.

However, he also had an idea in his heart. If everything in that dream was true, several things should happen in succession. If these things happen, it means that his dreams are real.

Thinking about something in his heart, he reached out to catch the bowl, only to realize that he didn't even have the strength to hold the bowl. Luckily, Zhao'er caught the bowl quickly, so he didn't spill it all over him.

Xue Gouzi was a little embarrassed and anxious. It was very strange, obviously he would not have this kind of reaction in front of Zhao'er before, but I don't know if it was a dream, and his state of mind had a strange change.

Zhao'er laughed at him: "Why are you being polite with my sister? I forgot that when you were a child, you peed on the kang, and it was my sister who washed it for you."

Zhao'er came to Xue's house when he was seven years old, and Gouzi was only five years old at that time. It is very inexplicable for a child to pee on the kang. It is obvious that he has not urinated for a long time. I don't know if he drank too much water before going to bed or what, but he actually peed on the kang.