Chapter 29： Meet an acquaintance

Chapter 29 Meeting an acquaintance

The old Gu family divided more than 70 kilograms of wild boar meat. It is still early for the Chinese New Year. Logically speaking, it is enough to keep a few kilograms for home use, and the rest can be sold to the villagers at a cheaper price.

But Lao Gu's family only sold a small part and kept most of them.

The children of the Gu family cheered for joy. After all, if the meat was not sold, it meant that they could keep it at home and eat it.

After eating for several days in a row, the children did not feel tired at all. On the contrary, they were as happy as if they were celebrating the New Year every day.

Mrs. Gu actually wanted to sell most of the wild boar meat, but Gu Mingda stopped her.

"Now that my family sells tofu, life is better off than before, and there is no need to save as much as before. The children are growing up. The young man will be strong, and it will be easier to find a wife in the future. The young girl will have a strong body, and she will not be afraid of giving birth in the future. It's sad." This is what Gu Mingda advised Mrs. Gu.

Mrs. Gu was also a grandmother who really loved her juniors. Even though she still felt pain, she still accepted the suggestion.

For the boys in the Gu family's big house, what makes them even more happy is that Gu Mingda's private class has finally closed.

Gu Mingda is about to leave for Fucheng to take the college examination. He can no longer teach the children to read and write, but he still assigned a lot of homework to them before leaving.

It's just that brothers Gu Yun and Gu Jin didn't take it seriously. After all, they hadn't finished their homework, and there was no punishment for the second uncle. As long as they avoided their parents, they wouldn't need to be beaten at all. The two brothers immediately became like birds let out of a cage. Looking around for cats and dogs.

The two of them were not happy for long, and they were severely suppressed by Mrs. Gu again.

Mrs. Gu was very strict with her own sons, but she was a little more doting on her grandchildren. This time it was still Gu Mingdajin's slander that allowed the old lady to maintain the high-pressure education in the past.

"They all have to stand up for themselves in the future. My eldest brother and sister-in-law are too doting. If they are not polished, I am afraid they will develop a weak temper in the future. Mom, you don't want Gu Jin to finally become a carpenter as his teacher in the future, but because of You can’t learn without enduring hardship.”

Listening to Gu Mingda's persuasion, Mrs. Gu's heart skipped a beat. After all, Gu Jin had such a lazy attitude when it came to studying and practicing calligraphy. If he becomes a carpenter's apprentice in the future, he might not be able to endure hardships.

Mrs. Gu couldn't help but scolded her eldest son and his wife. Children in the country knew things early, and no matter how old they were, they had to help with the household chores. However, the eldest son and his wife spoiled their two sons in such a way that they were not worthy of their respect. , Gu Yun is already fourteen years old, and he still hangs out with cats and dogs all day long.

Unfortunately, the autumn harvest has passed now, and there is not much farm work at home. After thinking about it all night, Mrs. Gu forced the two boys in the big room to learn how to weave baskets and ropes from Dad Gu.

Dad Gu was a little confused. In order to persuade him to teach, Mrs. Gu had to spend a lot of time and coaxing to get him into the mood.

When Chen Chunhua learned about this, her first reaction was not that her son had finally learned some skills. Instead, she said to Mrs. Gu, "Mom, does the stuff they made up belong to our big house?"

Chen Chunhua's idea is very simple. Although the rope frame they weave is not worth a lot of money, the couple goes out to sell tofu every day.

Anyway, she didn't want her whole family to take advantage of her.

Mrs. Gu is also a good person, so naturally she understood the eldest daughter-in-law's little plan on the spot. She didn't get used to it, and kept spewing: "Why don't you say that the **** they **** belongs to your big house? You take it back to eat." Ah! If you really want to be so clear about it, then you can raise your own children! You have spoiled your two children for being so old. If I were you, I would be so embarrassed to say these things! !”

Chen Chunhua was scolded so much that she couldn't hold her head up at all.

Mrs. Gu was so stimulated by her that she went to extremes. Originally, it was enough to let the two children make up one hour a day. Now she is like an evil overseer, watching the two grandsons doing their work all day long, causing them to complain endlessly. , so tired that I couldn’t even lift my arms.

Gu Yun and Gu Jin even began to miss Gu Mingda, feeling that when their second uncle was at home, learning to write was not as painful as making baskets as soon as he opened his eyes.

The two people's efforts were not in vain. Old Gu's family accumulated a firewood shed frame in a short period of time, and Mrs. Gu took some time to go to the town and sell the frames at a low price. Chen Chunhua also wanted to share part of the money from selling the frames, but she was severely scolded by Mrs. Gu again.

After the family ran out of bamboo sticks for weaving baskets, the Gu Yun brothers thought their hardships were over. However, they did not expect that the old lady urged them to go up the mountain to collect firewood. They had tasks every day to ensure that they would not be idle all day long.

Gu Mingda had no idea that he had harmed his two nephews. He had already taken his wife and daughter and set off with the traveling caravan.

If you take a normal carriage, you can reach Fucheng in about ten days.

However, when the caravan went north, its destination was not Fucheng. Instead, it went to Jiangnan first, and then turned back after reaching the capital.

The caravan stopped and went on the road, and basically stayed for a day or two in every small town it passed. The caravan carried more and more goods, and more and more people paid to travel with the caravan, and there were many of them. Like Gu Mingda, he was a young student who was going to Fucheng to take the exam.

Although the speed is very slow, this is what Gu Mingda is happy to see. After all, he has a family and three children who are not very young. If the schedule is too fast, they may not be able to bear it.

Gu Mingda also met acquaintances in the caravan. He had participated in too many college examinations, and it was inevitable that he knew many scholars from various counties. This time the caravan passed by Huaize County, and there were more guests in the caravan, and he happened to be among them. acquaintance.

"Brother Sun, this is my wife, and my three children, respectively..." Gu Mingda introduced his family to Sun Jiaxing.

Sun Jiaxing and his wife Li looked at the Gu family's children with envy.

The couple has been married for more than ten years, but so far they have nothing.

The friendship between Sun Jiaxing and Gu Mingda was actually quite condescending.

In the scientific examination for scholars, the ranks are Tongsheng, Xiucai, Juren and Jinshi.

Gu Mingda was just a boy, but Sun Jiaxing was a civil servant. Sun Jiaxing followed the caravan in order to go to Beijing to participate in the examination next year.

Although Tong Sheng can make people in the village look up to him, he has not actually entered the threshold of the imperial examination and does not enjoy any of the benefits of the imperial examination. After becoming a scholar, he will be exempted from taxes on several acres of land and will not continue to take exams in the future. Now, you can go to the town to open a shop and recruit disciples.

Becoming a Juren not only exempts you from paying taxes on 300 acres of land, it also means you have one foot in the officialdom and can seek an official position. Although it is difficult to climb higher, it is still different from ordinary scholars.

Sun Jiaxing and Gu Mingda are about the same age, but they are already preparing to go to Beijing to take the exam. They can be said to be young and promising. What's even more rare is that Sun Jiaxing is still willing to associate with Gu Mingda despite such a big difference in their identities.

His wife, Mrs. Li, was also an extremely kind person. After glancing at the two children of the Gu family, her eyes fell on Niu Niu.

Seeing the little girl looking at him with big eyes and a worried look on her face, Li couldn't help laughing and teased: "Little girl, is there something wrong with my face? Are you staring at me like this?"

Zhang Yunniang pulled Niuniu and was about to tell her child that it was impolite to stare at people all the time.

Unexpectedly, Niuniu suddenly cried "Wow".

"Aunt Sun, you can't go to the capital!" Niu Niu said loudly.

(End of chapter)