Chapter 235： Cijia

Chapter 235 Ci Family

The freezing cold forced Qing worship, and there was a banquet in Jiaping.

What is Su Xin saying, so as to comfort my love.

—

Wei received "La Festival"

Today is the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Early in the morning, Zhu's father led Zhu Ping'an and his eldest brother Zhu Ping'an to the old house with wine and meat offerings. After meeting his grandfather, uncle and others, he went to the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors.

The Zhu Family Ancestral Hall is very grand at this time. The flagpole stone at the entrance is floating with the flag raised by Zhu Ping'an, and there is a couplet that has just been hung at the door. When the villagers pass by the Zhu Family Ancestral Hall, they will respectfully pay respects. Grandfather Standing at the door, I was very proud. When I paid homage to my ancestors, my grandfather felt that the Zhu family had made a fortune in my hands.

When Zhu Ping'an and his father and brother returned home, his mother, Mrs. Chen, had cooked a pot of rice, millet, red beans, peanuts, lotus seeds, red dates, fungus picked from the mountains, glutinous rice, mung beans and other materials. Fragrant, sweet and delicious.

There is a custom in Xiahe Village, which is to see whose home cooks the Laba porridge first, and see whose home’s Laba porridge is cooked well, fragrant and delicious, and will give each other Laba porridge, you give it to me, I give it to you , everyone is rushing to give it away, this is a custom, which means grabbing blessings.

Zhu Ping'an and his elder brother Zhu Pingchuan were instigated by their mother Chen to deliver eight-treasure porridge from house to house, almost running around the whole village. After sending relatives and friends off, Zhu Ping'an's family sat down to eat eight-treasure porridge, because his mother, Mrs. Chen, cooked too much, and probably couldn't finish it in the remaining one or two days. good sign.

Different from the festive atmosphere of other families, after eating eight-treasure porridge, the atmosphere of Zhu's family is a little sad for parting.

This day is the Laba Festival, and it is also the day when Zhu Pingan leaves home and goes to the capital to take the exam.

Chen put a lot of things on the back of Shamate's black horse, which was full of stuff, causing the guy to look back frequently.

A large bag of air-dried jerky weighed more than 30 catties. Chen was worried that Zhu Pingan would not be able to find anything to eat in the wild on the road, so he stocked it up to satisfy his hunger. This large bag of dried meat was mainly dried pork There is a small amount of rabbit jerky, about two or three catties of meat can produce one catty of jerky. The Chen family spent almost a hundred catties of meat on the jerky alone.

Because of the cold weather, the food can be preserved for a longer period of time. Chen also specially fried a lot of pancakes for Zhu Pingan, and put a bag of them on the back of Shamat's black horse.

In terms of food, there are also some dried dried fruits, as well as Chen's pickled cucumbers and other vegetables for Zhu Pingan to eat.

Futons and clothes take up space. His mother, Mrs. Chen, made five sets of clothes for Zhu Ping'an, plus a big bag of close-fitting clothes, etc., and Zhu's father tied them to the sides of Shamat's black horse so that it would not affect the saddle for riding, so that he could get off the horse. It's a bit troublesome at times, but just slow down and pay attention when dismounting.

As for the road guides, test certificates, qualification certificates, etc., Zhu Ping'an kept them next to his body, and the bank notes he carried were scattered and sewn to the inside of his clothes by Chen. There are also small bank notes and scattered silver coins that Zhu Ping'an carries with him.

Of course, the black wooden board is indispensable. I have become accustomed to practicing calligraphy without it. Father Zhu made a new brush for calligraphy practice with the tail of a **** cow, and Zhu Pingan also brought it with me.

In addition, there are a lot of other daily necessities, including herbal medicines for preventing various diseases that Father Zhu specially went to the town to ask the pharmacy to dispense, as well as medicines for treating snake venom and beast bites, and Jinchuang medicine, etc.

Big brother Zhu Pingchuan also went to the blacksmith shop in the town to make a slightly longer dagger for Zhu Ping'an's self-defense, and designed a hanger on the saddle and put it in the saddle. Cover with a cushion.

"Hey, bring an extra fifty taels of silver notes." When her mother, Mrs. Chen, was packing Zhu Ping's things, she worried that Zhu Ping'an didn't have enough money to spend. Another fifty taels of silver should be given to Zhu Pingan.

Zhu Pingan shook his head when he heard the words, and comforted his mother Chen with a smile, "Mother, there is no need, I have brought more than one hundred taels of silver, which is enough. Leave the money and give it to my brother for the wedding."

Before Mrs. Chen could speak, the eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan, who was putting something on the back of Shamate’s black horse, spoke:

"Brother, you can take it. My parents gave me two or three times more money to prepare for the wedding than before. It is already enough. The poor family is rich, so you can take it."

"That's right, put it away quickly, our family is not short of money." Mother Chen said and was about to stuff the money into Zhu Pingan's burden.

"Mom, the money I brought is really enough. Besides, it's not safe to bring so much money on the road." Zhu Pingan took a step back and shook his head.

"How come, if you don't take it out, others don't know how much you have brought." Mother Chen insisted on bringing the money to Zhu Ping'an.

Zhu Ping'an knows the situation at home, and the family has spent a lot of money these days. His mother, Mrs. Chen, and Mr. Zhu's father have a standard farmer's thinking, and they bought dozens of acres of land. A lot of money; although the family has also taken in a lot of tenants, it also needs to buy more cattle and farm tools, and it also costs a lot of money to resettle the tenants; in addition, it is the expense of the world. After Zhu Ping'an was elected, everyone in the village knew that the Zhu family was prosperous , there are quite a few relatives, er, uncles, etc., who came to borrow money from Qiufeng, and Daming, who pays attention to the clan, can't just refuse blindly, you have to give some; and then the elder brother Zhu Pingchuan's marriage. The family used the money There are still many places.

In addition, in addition to the money on the surface, Zhu Ping'an also has some private houses, the money left over from the boy's examination and the township examination, the money for people's safety, and the money earned when checking the accounts of the Li family, etc. There are also a lot of scattered Woolen cloth.

"The money I brought is really enough. More than one hundred taels of silver is enough for people in our village to spend for many years. I will go there for half a year. Besides, my son's identity as a person, post office, etc. can eat and live for free. Mother will save the money and buy more good food with father, and when my son comes back, I will earn you a royal order."

Zhu Pingan smiled and got on the horse, explaining to his mother Chen.

"Mother, don't order me, I want you to go safe and sound all the way, just let my mother go home safely." Mother Chen said, tears streaming down, and while wiping her tears, she told Zhu Ping'an what to pay attention to along the way. .

"Okay, don't cry, what are you crying for? It's unlucky for you to cry on the day when my son is rushing to take the exam." Zhu's father said from the side.

"Zhu Shouyi, say it again! It's not the flesh that fell from your body, so of course you don't feel sorry for it!" Mother Chen stopped crying when she heard this, and reached out her hand angrily to pinch Father Zhu's arm.

"Okay, okay, the more you cry, the more auspicious you are."

Father Zhu begged for mercy, and mother Chen laughed through tears, and the atmosphere in the yard improved a lot.

"Father, mother, you must take good care of your body. Don't worry about your son. He has been out many times, so he can take care of himself."

Zhu Pingan rode on the dark horse of Shamate, bid farewell to his parents, and asked his elder brother to take care when going out:

"Brother, I wish you a happy marriage in advance. Hehe, at that time, my sister-in-law will be with you to honor our father and mother. Brother, I will work harder when I come back."

During the Laba season, when the cold wind swept across the land, Zhu Pingan drove his horse and left Xiahe Village, starting the road to Beijing for the exam.

(end of this chapter)