The Little First Grand Secretary in My House Chapter 7: 31 to 34, a manhua/chinese comics/漫画 fanfic

Xue Tingxiang looked at the woman who was talking to him, and said with a smile, "Auntie, I'll just walk around."

It was just a casual remark, but the woman didn't say anything more to him, she turned to get something in the house, and the mother-in-law in the room asked her, "Third daughter-in-law, who were you talking to just now?"

"The dog of the second room of Xue Lianxing's family. Hey, mother, it's strange to say that he just knocked on the door, but I didn't recognize him for a while. I always feel like a different person."

Her mother-in-law didn't take it seriously: "What can I become, but I can't change my body, I remember that kid has been ill recently."

The daughter-in-law said: "I see, maybe I plan to go to the back mountain." There is a mountain behind Yuqing Village, where all the dead villagers in the village are buried, and the Xue family's ancestral grave is also there.

Hearing this, her mother-in-law sighed: "Don't even mention it, it's a pity for the second child of the Xing family. Both of them are gone. It's a pity to leave a baby."

This is just gossip between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and while they were talking, Xue Tingxiang had already brought Heizi into the back mountain.

Houshan is called Houshan, the mountain behind Yuqing Village.

This mountain has no name and is not high, but it is extremely deep. Anyway, so far, no villager has been able to walk back and forth from this deep mountain and old forest, most of them are activities outside the mountain.

The Xue family's ancestral grave was built on a small hill not far from the village. This Xue family is not only Xue Tingxiang's family, but the ancestors of the entire Xue clan are buried here.

On such a big hill, the lineage of the patriarch is in the middle, and the branches of the various families spread out. The lineage of Mr. Xue is at a place near the foot of the southwest mountain.

Because the couple in the second room died young, and Xue Qingsong died in an accident, they were buried at the edge.

When Xue Tingxiang arrived at the place, he began to pull the grass around the grave mound casually.

There were not many weeds, they had just been cleared during the Chinese New Year, so he gathered the grass at random and placed it on the ground, taking advantage of the opportunity and sat down in front of the grave.

A piece of mountainous land, two small graves, in front of each of the graves stood a small bluestone stele, on which the names of the second family and the couple were crudely written.

This monument was originally recruited to find someone to make it and set it up.

Nowadays, there are three kinds of people who cannot erect monuments after they die, those who die suddenly, die young, and have no heirs. Xue Qingsong belongs to violent death.

Although everyone doesn't say it, people who feel that they died suddenly have resentment after death, which is not conducive to the feng shui of the ancestor's grave, so no monument is erected. I also want him to forget who he is, so as not to cause trouble if he is ignorant.

But at the same time, there is another saying that after death without a monument, you will be a lonely ghost, who cannot stand the incense of future generations.

At the beginning, the funeral of the second wife was arranged by the Xue family, and they acquiesced to follow the old customs. At that time, Xue Tingxiang was still young and didn't understand these things at all, but Zhao'er understood.

She talked to Xue's family about erecting a monument, but was blocked, and Xue's family took turns to persuade her. Later, Zhao'er didn't tell anyone about it, and took the money to ask someone to make these two simple monuments and put them in front of the grave.

It was too late when Xue's family found out, and they couldn't tear down the stele in front of the villagers.

The villagers were also surprised when they saw the stele, but after thinking about how the Xue family's second child died, they could understand it.

Therefore, Xue Qingshan also gained a good reputation. He would rather risk his family's feng shui to erect a monument for his brother.

With various thoughts spinning in his mind, Xue Tingxiang took out a piece of cloth from his arms and slowly wiped the tombstone.

The words on it were still written by him, and the strokes are immature, but after all, people can still tell what is written on it.

...

Today is the anniversary of Mr. Zheng's death. Zheng Hu brought his two sons to the grave to worship.

The country people are not so particular, they just prepared some steamed buns, wine and meat, and the father and son burned the paper money in front of the grave, so let's forget about it.

Zheng Hu had always had a deep relationship with his father, so he was inevitably depressed, so he let his two sons go back first, while he sat in front of the grave, smoking a pipe and talking to his father.

After talking for a while, he stood up and planned to go back.

There was still work waiting to be done in the field, and Zheng Hu didn't want to waste time, so he decided to take a shortcut. When he passed near Xue Lianxing's ancestral grave, he suddenly heard someone crying.

There are graves on the two nearby hills, one is of the surname Xue, and the other is of the surname Zheng. This kind of festive day is not like Zheng Hu's on the anniversary of the death of an elder in the family, but no one would come to this kind of place.

In particular, there may be a lot of dead people buried here, the trees are dense, and sometimes the sky and day are gloomy. Hearing this strange sound under such circumstances, Zheng Hu was so frightened that his hair stood on end and his legs went limp.

After all, he had lived for decades. He listened intently and calmly, and it took him a while to understand that it was a boy's voice.

Thinking about who's grave was here, he bravely walked closer, bypassed a big tree, and saw a young man in blue clothes sitting in front of the grave from a distance.

Next to it was a big black dog wagging its tail.

It's the dog of the second room of Xue Lianxing's family.

Only then did Zheng Hu heave a sigh of relief, and the voice came into his ears again: "...Father, what do you think I should do? Uncle wants to send brother Juncai to the school in town, I thought I could do the same." Go... But my aunt came to the house a few days ago, but she told me to let Brother Juncai, before..."

The young man's voice was full of hesitation and bewilderment, Zheng Hu did not expect to hear the secret affairs of the Xue family in such a place. He was so surprised that the pipe in his hand dropped without realizing it. He didn't realize it until his foot was hit by the pipe, picked up the pipe in a hurry and left.

He didn't know that after he left, the lonely and helpless boy in his eyes stopped crying.

In the past few days, Xue Tingxiang has been thinking hard, trying to find a suitable opportunity, and somehow he thought of Zheng Hu.

Zheng Hu's father, Mr. Zheng, died during the spring plowing. It was not a happy funeral, but an accident. He was accidentally squeezed to the foot of the field by his own cattle and fell to his death.

The ridge was not very tall, and countless villagers fell off the ridge every year, and Mr. Zheng died unluckily. At the beginning, this incident was widely circulated in the village, so Xue Tingxiang remembered it very clearly.

Since it was the anniversary of the father's death, the son Zheng Hu would definitely come to visit the grave, and Zheng Hu used to like to take shortcuts, so he would definitely pass by this area, so who else is more suitable than him.

The most important thing is that Yuqing Village doesn't seem big, but Xue and Zheng's surnames have always been different from each other. Zheng Hu's uncle is Li Zheng, and if he knows it, Zheng Lizheng will know it too.

Xue Tingxiang didn't stay any longer, and quickly returned home with Heizi the same way.

The yard was still silent, he found a twig and put it in front of the door, and sat there quietly basking in the sun, thinking about Zhao'er who went to the town.

Zheng Hu hurried all the way, without even returning home, he went to Zheng Lizheng's house.

Zheng Li is the Lizheng of Yuqing Village and the head of the Zheng clan. Naturally, the family's house is the only one in Yuqing Village. If it can be compared with it, it is the house of Patriarch Xue's family.

Yishui's green brick and tile-roofed house, and the courtyard walls are also made of green bricks. The most conspicuous thing is the ancestral hall of the Zheng family on the front, but this ancestral hall will not be opened until a certain time. The two black doors The paulownia gate is closed all year round.

Going around to the side is the courtyard of Zheng Lizheng's family.

The yard is huge, unlike other houses where the barn, barn, kitchen, etc. are all in the front yard, the front yard of Zheng Lizheng's house is just a big empty yard, only two sycamore trees are planted in the yard. Whenever there is any major event in the village, the courtyard will always be densely packed with people.

There are three main rooms facing the face, and east and west wing rooms on the left and right, all of which are blue bricks and black tiles, which are extraordinarily magnificent.

When Zheng Hu arrived, only Zheng Lizheng and his wife Tian Shi were at home.

As soon as Tian saw his nephew coming, he greeted him: "Huzi, why are you here at this time? Do you have something to do with your uncle?"

"Hey, there's something wrong."

With that said, Zheng Hu hurried into the house. Tian shook her head, thinking that there must be something wrong, since Zheng Hu is usually very steady.

After Zheng Hu entered, he turned to the east room.

Sure enough, his uncle Zheng Li was sitting cross-legged on the big kang in the east room, smoking dry cigarettes.

"Why, in a hurry."

Zheng Hu sat down on a pier under the kang, panting heavily, unable to speak for a while.

Zheng Lizheng looked to be in his sixties, with a long face and a pair of medium-sized eyes. From the appearance, he is just an ordinary farmer's old man, even the clothes he wears are ordinary. There is only that unmoving calmness, which can be seen as a person who has been around the world for a long time.

With the cigarette holder in his mouth, he pushed the teapot on the kang table forward, Zheng Hu was not polite, stood up and poured a bowl of tea, and drank it down.

"Uncle, let me tell you, something happened to me today."

"What's the matter?"

"Today is not the anniversary of my father's death. I took it with me early in the morning..."

Halfway through Zheng Hu's speech, Zheng Lizheng sat up from the kang, as if listening seriously.

Seeing his uncle like this, Zheng Hu knew he had come to the right place. After hearing what the only son of Xue Lianxing's family cried, he realized that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to suppress the prestige of Xue in Yuqing Village.

He spoke in more detail, almost repeating every word, while Zheng Li was smoking a pipe, his eyes narrowed.

Zhao'er didn't come back until the second half of the afternoon, and when he came back, he looked a little unhappy.

Xue Tingxiang looked at the basket behind her, every time Zhao'er came back before, the basket was always full, but today he knew that there was nothing in it.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao'er was thinking about it, when the little man asked him, he was taken aback for a moment, and then said: "It's nothing, I brought you meat buns from the town, and I'll heat them up for you to eat later."

How could there be nothing, obviously there is something.

Xue Tingxiang glanced at her face, but since she didn't want to say more, he didn't want to press her.

Zhao'er went back and forth to the town, covered in dust, she went to the kitchen to boil water, and took a bath in the bathroom. The Xue family has a special room for bathing, in the vegetable field in the backyard. The house is not big, three meters square, the floor is paved with bluestone slabs, and there is a drain in the corner, through which the bath water can flow directly into the vegetable field.

Taking off her clothes, Zhao'er rubbed the soap horns on her body, but a burst of melancholy came to her heart.

In fact, something really happened, but she didn't say it because she was afraid that the little man would worry.

The way she finally found to get money was robbed.

The person who robbed was none other than the owner of the embroidery workshop who took her finished product and pocketed the embroidered shoes.

In fact, Zhao'er is quite clever. He bought rags from the owner of this embroidery workshop, but the finished product was not sold to this one, but to another one. It's just that she didn't expect that the two bosses were actually relatives, and she didn't know how the other party knew. When she went again this time, the other party was unwilling to sell her rags.

Not only does this embroidery workshop have no rags, but the owner of this embroidery workshop ordered people to buy all the rags from other embroidery workshops. Zhao'er didn't know about this until after visiting several embroidery workshops.

She has already made plans to pay for the little man to study in the town. She has asked about the Qinghe Academy, and the beam repair will cost five taels of silver every year. Among them, because many students live too far away, they can choose to study in dormitories. If it is a place to study, the monthly meals, accommodation, etc. are added together, and another one or two taels of silver will be needed.

In Zhao'er's heart, she wanted Xue Ting to study overnight. She felt that Xue's house was not a good place to study, and there were too many messes in the family, which meant that she had to prepare six taels of silver before sending the little man to school.

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: "The hook is for the old, the hook is for the test, the old test is for the children, and the children are for the old."

In fact, Xue Tingxiang is not good at reciting poems, but he can't stand 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 failed the exam repeatedly, so he deliberately made things difficult for him: "I have a couplet, if you can match, I will take it." you."

The old boy felt bitter in his heart, but he didn't dare to give up.

The chief examiner asked the question: "If you take the bait, you are old; if you take the bait, you are a tester. If you are an old man, you will be a child. If you are a child, you will be an old man."

The old boy bowed to Rao, and replied: "One person is great, and two are heaven. Heaven is greater than human affection, and human affection is greater than heaven."

This flattery was so exquisite that the examiner was too embarrassed to go back on his word, so he had no choice but to choose him as a scholar.

In fact, upon hearing this story, one knew it was made up. Anyone who has participated in the hospital examination should know what the situation will be. How can the examiner take the initiative to test an old student? The examiner and the examinee will not talk to each other, and it is also for avoidance.

It was obviously made up by a failed scholar, and it was used as a comforting chat, and because it made people laugh, it spread among scholars. It even extended to the fact that any official in the DPRK was released as an academic officer, or presided over a new department examination, and the official who had a good relationship with him could not help telling the last sentence, but don't be 'human beings are too big'.

It is not only a joke, but also an exhortation. There have always been many frauds involved in imperial examinations.

Xue Tingxiang did not expect to hear this pair here.

He didn't feel uneasy because this second line was borrowed, because winning Xue Juncai has always been the biggest obsession in his heart.

It is now, and it was also in the dream.

In the dream, he was troubled by this matter for a long time, and after all kinds of hard work, he finally felt proud. It was because of the experience that he knew that this kind of obsession affects a person's xinxing too much. He has a more ambitious goal, and there are still many things to do, but Xue Juncai is just an obstacle to him now, overcoming him is what he needs to do now.

As for why he discarded the second couplet he came up with and chose to borrow this. Xue Tingxiang took a look at Xue Qingshan and Yang Zhong, and thought it was because of his insignificance that he made fun of them with resentment.

Obviously, only Xue Qingshan and Yang Zhong are Tongsheng, and although this pair is perfect, it is obviously ironic. Old students test children, children students test to old age. This is undoubtedly the greatest ridicule and curse for a person who has failed to pass the entrance examination for many years.

The faces of the two of them immediately turned purple, but they had to hold back. At this time, He Xiucai and Qiao Xiucai had already clapped their hands and praised it.

"Okay, that's right!"

It seemed that everyone had forgotten about Xue Juncai. He Xiucai and Qiao Xiucai whispered a few times, and then He Xiucai announced: "After the unanimous decision of the two of us, the winner is Xue Tingxiang and Xue Xiaoyou."

"Xue Xiaoyou, I hope you can work hard and achieve fame as soon as possible." He said to Xue Tingxiang with a pleasant face.

"Thank you two seniors for your encouragement, I will definitely work harder." Xue Tingxiang bowed to him.

While He Qiao and Xue Tingxiang were talking, the villagers standing in the hall and outside the house had already started discussing. Most of them are admiration, but of course there are also those who can't believe it and question it.

Among them, the Xue family is the most unbelievable, especially Xue Qingshan. He had suppressed it before, but now he couldn't help it anymore, stood up and said: "Just relying on these to judge victory or defeat, are the two seniors Too hasty?"

Seeing that both He Xiucai and Qiao Xiucai looked over, he flinched a bit, and then became confident again: "The kid's pair hasn't been made yet, so the winner is decided like this..."

He Xiucai showed displeasure on his face, and ignored him, but asked patriarch Xue with a cold old face: "Could it be that patriarch Xue also disagrees with the conclusions of the two of us?"

Patriarch Xue dared to offend Mr. Xiucai, he was still two Mr. Xiucai. Besides, from his point of view, Xue Tingxiang's performance this time was indeed somewhat unexpected, and it was much more talented than Xue Jun. He was an outsider, so he could see it clearly, so he quickly scolded Xue Qingshan and asked him to apologize publicly to the two scholars.

Xue Juncai was also full of dissatisfaction: "The boy is not convinced either, he has never been as good as me, I just didn't prepare properly, the two seniors can ask another question, this time the boy will definitely beat him."

At this time, a woman squeezed in from the crowd outside the door.

Her clothes are disheveled and her hair is messy. It is Mrs. Yang.

Yang stumbled in and cried, "My son can't lose, you two must have been bribed to hurt my son on purpose."

This remark made a big fuss, especially on such an occasion, when a woman rushed in and made a loud noise, not only He Qiao and the two scholars showed anger, but even several village elders present repeatedly reprimanded them as inappropriate.

"Ridiculous, really ridiculous! Could it be that Li Zheng and the patriarch thought we were bribed?"

"You two scholars, don't be angry. This woman has long hair but short knowledge. She is talking nonsense."

"Lian Xing, don't get your shrew back!"

The old man Xue beside him was so anxious that he didn't know what to do, but as a father-in-law, he couldn't help his daughter-in-law, so he had to ask his eldest son Xue Qingshan to take his wife away quickly.

It's just that Xue Qingshan still wants an explanation at this time, so how could he care about this.

There was a lot of trouble on the field, He Xiucai wanted to leave, and Qiao Xiucai didn't want to stay longer. Patriarch Xue and Zheng Lizheng repeatedly tried to persuade them to stay, and at the same time angrily reprimanded them to get rid of these people quickly.

Qiao Xiucai sneered, and did not reprimand Xue Juncai, but sneered at Xue Qingshan: "You are a boy, and you have passed the exam several times, but you can't see the meaning of these exams, brother He, no wonder you took the exam. After so many years, he is still a child!"

This Qiao Xiucai's words were too touching, Xue Qingshan's face turned green and pale. In fact, Qiao Xiucai was not usually so bitter, but he uttered bad words because he saw that the father and son refused to admit their losses and wanted to pester them.

"In terms of adapting to the situation and calmness of mind, he is not as good as him." He pointed to Xue Tingxiang, and then pointed to Xue Juncai: "You have time in the examination room to dawdle for you, another chance? Let's talk about the roll , full of stains, I am afraid that if you don't need to read what you wrote, you will end up not taking it!"

At this time, Xue Juncai was already pale with fright, how could he react, but Xue Qingshan was as if struck by lightning, so he didn't speak anymore.

He Xiucai and Qiao Xiucai stayed in the end.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the hall, Xue Qingshan sneaked into the crowd with Xue Juncai and Yang surreptitiously.

Seeing that there is no excitement, the villagers also dispersed, and while walking home, they discussed today's affairs with the people around them.

In fact, they don't know anything, as long as they know that the person who wins in the end is the dog of the second wife of Xue Lianxing's family. It can be predicted that after this incident, many people in the village will change their views on Xue Tingxiang, and they will even talk about it endlessly.

And Xue Juncai's name in the village is destined to be replaced by Xue Tingxiang.

Taking advantage of the crowd, Xue Tingxiang walked out from Zheng Lizheng's house.

Zhao'er had been waiting outside for a long time, and as soon as he saw him, he said happily: "Gou'er, you really won, you beat Xue Juncai! My sister is so happy."

She was so happy that she didn't know how to be happy. Seeing this, Xue Tingxiang couldn't say anything to condemn her, but just looked at her with a smile.

After being happy for a while, Zhao'er showed a little hesitation: "By the way, after you beat him, do you really want to go to Qinghe Academy to study?"

Xue Tingxiang pondered for a while: "I don't plan to go to Qinghe Academy. Uncle Chen said that he can introduce me to Qingyuan Academy."

"Qingyuan Academy? The name seems to be quite similar to Qinghe Academy. Is this academy good?" Immediately, Zhao'er laughed and said, "That's right, Uncle Chen is well-informed, so what he can say is definitely not bad. ."

Xue Tingxiang nodded: "I plan to go to town in these two days and talk to Uncle Chen about it."

"What are you waiting for these two days, let's go now."

Xue Tingxiang did not expect Zhao'er to be so eager, so he hesitated.

Zhao'er said again: "There must be chaos at home right now, let's avoid the limelight first."

He immediately understood the meaning of her words, with the dispositions of the eldest couple, and the always eccentric Zhao family, he didn't know what kind of chaos would happen in the family.

The two left the village avoiding the crowd, and because they didn't meet the mule cart, they took the bullock cart to the town.

When we arrived at Dongliju, Uncle Chen happened to be there. Xue Tingxiang explained the matter, and Uncle Chen agreed that he would go to his classmate tomorrow. After that, the two of them didn't go back, Xue Tingxiang continued to copy his unfinished book, while Zhao'er continued to tidy up the pile of clothes that she hadn't finished.

It was not until the evening that the two returned to Yuqing Village.

The courtyard of Xue's house was quiet, with cooking smoke wafting from the chimney, and it seemed that cooking was going on in the stove.

Standing in the yard, Mrs. Zhao saw two people walking in from the outside. She had a cold old face and scolded without naming names: "People say that we enjoy the blessings of our children and grandchildren, but we have become old slaves. We don't see anyone for a day." , Open your mouth to eat when you get home, I owe you in my previous life!"

Mrs. Yang came out from the east chamber: "Mother, the meal for the third sibling is ready, let's quickly set the table for dinner."

Mrs. Zhao snorted coldly, turned around and entered the door of the main house. Yang Shi didn't even look at the two of them, but followed behind and went in.

Zhao'er looked at Xue Tingxiang.

Xue Tingxiang looked at her: "What are you looking at?"

Zhao'er sneered, and muttered in a low voice: "Don't pay attention to grandma, she just has no side."

"Ok, I know."

When the two were tidying up in the house, there was a sudden commotion in the courtyard, not only the voices of Mr. Xue and Xue Qingshan, but also a familiar voice.

Zhao'er looked out the window, and saw Yang's father, Yang Zhong.

Yang Zhong was from nearby Niujiaoling, and because he was a boy, he was considered a respectable figure in Niujiaoling. Like his son-in-law, he opened a private school to make ends meet. However, this person is exaggerated, good at putting on airs, relying on the old to sell the old, the most important thing is to attract children's dislike.

Yang Zhong seemed to have eaten too much wine somewhere, his steps were a little staggering, and his fat face was flushed.

The couple from Dafang greeted them, as well as Mr. Xue.

Mr. Xue looked a little embarrassed: "Old relative, for my family's affairs, I have troubled you to run several times. This is because you have eaten too much wine. Come in and sit down."

Yang complained: "Father, you too, why do you drink so much wine?"

"It's not that Zheng Lizheng is too hospitable. After drinking for so long, your father is still not drunk?" Yang Zhong looked a little smug, and said to Mr. Xue: "It's nothing, a handsome man is too. My grandson, as a grandfather, how can I not come to make decisions for him. "

This made Mr. Xue even more embarrassed. He also knew what happened in the morning, and it must not be so simple. He accompanied him with a smile and said: "I made my in-laws laugh at me, if it wasn't for the family's financial difficulties, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened..."

The voices of the two gradually lowered, and they entered the room together.

Zhao'er took a look at Xue Tingxiang: "Fortunately, I bought a few buns when I came back. Well, I don't need to eat this dinner."

In fact, no one asked them to eat, because Yang Zhong's sudden arrival made the whole Xue family toss around.

This Yang Zhong used to have a temperament that likes to toss people, and he also likes to put on airs. The key person has the status of a child, and Mr. Xue also respects him. Every time he comes, he must be greeted with good wine and good food.

The Xue family was not wary of Yang Zhonghui coming at this time before, they just cooked some meals casually, this kind of meal is not good for entertaining people, they have to do it all over again.

Zhao'er didn't bother with outside affairs, went to the kitchen to pour some hot water, then went back to the house and Xue Tingxiang ate buns together.

After eating the buns, it was already dark outside.

Zhao'er stood in front of the door, seeing the brightly lit lights in the main room, it was obvious that he had already eaten.

She was about to go to the kitchen to boil water and wash her feet, when Xue Tao'er hurried out from the main room and said, "Miss Zhao'er, grandpa asks the dog to come over."

Thinking of all the disobedient things this girl did in the past, Mr. Xue felt disgusted in his heart. But he also knew that now was not the time to vent his anger, but to settle the matter.

"Since you want to listen, then listen." The tone was the same as before, but anyone could hear the dissatisfaction in his voice.

Zhao'er couldn't hear it, so he stood aside.

Seeing this, Mrs. Sun hurriedly dragged Xue Qinghuai to stay.

"Since Zhao'er has stayed, let's stay and listen too." She laughed along with her.

Mr. Xue was immediately furious: "Since you want to listen, stay and listen."

So everyone stayed, including the four-year-old Mao Dan, and even Mrs. Zhou, who was busy in the kitchen, stayed behind under the guise of cleaning the table.

In the huge main room, only an oil lamp was lit on the square table. The wick was jumping and shadowy, and everyone's eyes were on Mr. Xue. But he suddenly didn't know where to start. He looked around everyone's faces with heavy eyes, and finally fell on Xue Tingxiang's face.

"Actually, it's nothing. I just want to talk about what the boss said a while ago that he wants to send the child to the school in the town."

Zhao'er was inexplicably nervous, and couldn't help but glance at Xue Tingxiang, and then went to see Mr. Xue.

Dafang and his wife were overjoyed, they knew this would happen, and it was not in vain for them to swallow their anger for many days.

Xue Qingshan couldn't hide the joy on his face, he looked at Xue Tingxiang with pity and compassion, then looked at other people, and finally fell on Xue Tingxiang.

"Dog, don't be discouraged. You are still much worse than your talented brother. You will study with uncle for another two years, and then the family will send you to the town to study."

This kind of tone was too stinging at this time, Zhao'er had a sneer on the corner of his mouth, and wanted to say something, but was pulled by Xue Tingxiang.

Xue Tingxiang originally planned to wait for Xiu Mu to take Chen Jian to Dongliju.

After thinking about it, Xiu Mu was only for one day, and he still had other uses for the time, so he took a noon and told Zhai Fu that he would only go out for half an hour to buy some things, and Zhai Fu let them go out.

All the way to Dongliju, only Ah Cai sat in the shop bored.

After asking, I found out that Boss Chen is in the small courtyard behind.

Xue Tingxiang came here often and got to know Ah Cai well, so he took the three of them to the back. Mao Badou, who was always talkative, did not dare to speak nonsense when he came to this kind of place, he was very honest.

Boss Chen was basking in the sun and drinking tea in the yard. There was a recliner under a lush tree, and a small table was placed beside the recliner, which was more nourishing than a fairy.

Seeing Xue Tingxiang coming, he waved with a smile: "Why are you free today?" But his eyes were on Chen Jian and the others in the corridor.

Xue Tingxiang didn't restrain himself either, and sat down on the little chair beside the recliner.

"Uncle Chen, it's like this, I have a classmate..." He briefly explained the matter, and showed Chen Jian's calligraphy to Boss Chen.

Boss Chen took the booklet, flipped through it casually a few times, and as he flipped through it, his movements froze.

After a long time, he let out a breath, and said with a broken smile: "I said your handwriting is good, but I didn't expect this handwriting to be as good as yours, even if it is a little immature and a little too sharp. There is a faint sense of unyielding rushing towards me, not as elegant and harmonious as yours. The so-called writing is like a person, I am afraid that this child has a big universe in his heart."

Xue Tingxiang was listening beside him, but there was darkness in his eyes.

What he thought was nothing else, but that was the case in that dream. He is hypocritical, hides a knife in his smile, and has a sweet mouth. After undergoing that great change, he changed his previous disposition and became sanctimonious, with duplicity.

I remember someone scolded him in the dream: "Zhuzi is treacherous, a hypocrite on the surface, but he is really a villain."

This is not wrong, he is such a person.

His teacher taught him that the heart is reason, the unity of knowledge and action, and the extension of conscience, but he taught him a rebellious person. In his eyes, there is no imperial power, no dignity, no three cardinal principles and five constant principles. It seems that Xue Shoufu is gentle to his subordinates. Whoever says that Shoufu is approachable and approachable, tolerance is great. But in fact, this sanctimonious appearance hides wolfish ambitions, those who follow me prosper and those who oppose me perish.

But Chen Huanzhi is different, he has always been rebellious, but he looks extreme on the outside, but he has a square heart in his heart.

Such a person is destined to live a rough life, because there are too many weaknesses exposed, and it happens to be attacked by a villain like him. Just like his befriending Chen Jian this time, the purpose is so simple.

Even Xue Tingxiang didn't expect that Boss Chen's just a few casual words would cause turbulence deep in his heart. As for Boss Chen, he didn't know. He closed the booklet and asked, "Who is the classmate you are talking about?"

Xue Tingxiang walked over and called Chen Jian over.

Chen Jian didn't know that there were so many secrets happening during this period, so he walked over nervously, bowing and saluting.

"Don't be restrained. Since you are a friend of the court, you can also be regarded as my junior. Your handwriting is very good, and you will surely achieve a lot in time. It's just that you are still studying now. If you want to get a job in the end, you are too sharp Words and people don't have a good impression, so we should pay more attention to it in the future."

"Thank you, Boss Chen, for your guidance."

Boss Chen smiled and said: "If you don't dare to give advice, don't call me Boss Chen, just call me Uncle Chen. I have a lot of books here, and I need someone to copy them. If you are willing, just like Ting Xiang, I will pay you one tael for the pen and ink for one volume. As for the paper and pen and ink, I will pay for it. You can go to Ah Cai later, and he will tell you some things to pay attention to."

Afterwards, Xue Tingxiang spoke a few more words with Boss Chen, and Chen Jian went to get the paper and ink, and the four of them left the gate of Dongliju together.

"One tael of silver is really a lot." Mao Badou sucked his teeth enviously. He had been holding back in it for a long time, but now he was finally able to speak when he came out.

"That's because Ah Jian's handwriting is good. If your handwriting can match Shang Tingxiang and Ah Jian's, you can also get a tael of silver for a roll." Li Datian likes honest people to tell the truth.

"Tsk, we must have been enemies in our previous life, and you like to poke my sore spot."

The two people over there were laughing, while Chen Jian said to Xue Tingshan, "Thank you, I know that if it wasn't for you, Uncle Chen would not be able to offer me such a high price."

"Thank you, Datian didn't say that your handwriting is good."

"Thank you anyway." Chen Jian was a little excited, and he tightly squeezed the hand of the book bag, which contained the rice paper and ink ingots Dong Liju gave him: "The money is very important to me. I will definitely copy it well."

Xue Tingxiang patted him on the shoulder, said nothing, just nodded.

At this time, Mao Badou and Li Datian came over after laughing and quarrelling: "Okay, don't thank me for coming over. It's still early, should we play around?"

where to play? This is what the three of them thought.

Li Datian hurriedly said: "Okay, okay, it's just this little time, what else do you want to play, take a rest tomorrow, and then you can play as you want."

Xue Tingxiang suddenly said: "By the way, I want to go shopping." After hesitating for a while, he asked: "Ba Dou, do you know that there are some things that girls like to sell in the town, that is..."

He was still explaining, afraid that Mao Badou wouldn't understand, but Mao Badou suddenly jumped three feet high, smiled cheaply and came over: "Do you want to buy it for your little fiancee? Let's go." ,I'll take you!"

Following him all the way around, four teenagers in school shirts came to a deep alley.

Mao Badou was leading the way, and said: "Don't look at this place as inconspicuous, but in fact, there are all kinds of things inside. My sister will come here every once in a while to buy some flowers for my daughter's family. .My family is not considered rich, and the peddlers sell not very good, and we can't afford to go to the silver house, this kind of place is just right."

Before the words fell, there was a small gate not far away, as if a certain family had opened the gate through the courtyard wall. The place is not big, it looks like a room.

There is no signboard, no pretense, and no name, but when you get closer, you find that the interior is very elegantly furnished, and it looks like a place to sell your daughter's belongings.

"Boss, here I come again!" Mao Badou greeted as he stepped into the threshold.

"It's you, brother, your sister didn't come today?" The boss is a woman in her forties, she doesn't look young anymore, but she is clean and decent, which makes people feel good.

"Haha, I brought my friend to buy some things."

The female boss glanced at a few young scholars, and nodded understandingly: "Then look for yourself, and I will give you a bargain if you like it."

While Mao Badou was talking to the female boss, Xue Tingxiang had already gone to the front of the counter. The counter design of this store is quite special, the countertop is half a person's height, and there are wooden boxes on it. The wooden boxes are padded with bright satin, and there are little gadgets on the satin.

There are everything from purses, sachets, combs, hand mirrors, and hairpins to small headbands, hair flowers, earrings, and earrings. Xue Tingxiang had never come into contact with such women's things, and his eyes were blurred for a while.

After Mao Badou finished speaking, he came over, looking like an insider: "You see what you want to buy and how much money you plan to spend. Do you plan to buy one, or buy several, I will give you advice."

Since then, Xue Tingxiang, who has always been calm and composed, has completely turned into a green head. And Mao Badou changed suddenly and became the leader.

"What do you think of this pearl flower? My daughter's family likes pink and tender colors, and my sister likes this kind..."

"Or this wooden hairpin, which looks quite special. And this earring..."

"Ba Dou, how do you understand this?" Li Datian asked curiously beside him.

Mao Badou looked helpless: "It's not my sister. Every time I come here, I will accompany you. I can read and watch and understand."

Seeing Xue Tingxiang's eyes resting on an old mahogany hibiscus hairpin, he was distracted and said, "This hairpin is not bad, elegant and generous, and not too childish. It comes with a pair of earrings, but I'm afraid the price is not cheap."

"My little brother has good eyesight. This is a new style that just came back from Fucheng. It's just like this. The wood is old peach wood, and the workmanship is also exquisite. The head of the hairpin is made of silver, and this hibiscus is inlaid with hibiscus stones..."

After a while, the four of them came out of the shop, and there was a wooden box in Xue Tingxiang's book bag.

"Tingxiang, you are really willing to part with it. You spent a tael of silver for two things, and you earned it by copying books for a long time." Even Mao Badou, who has always been generous, can't help but have some toothaches. Asking him to look at the belongings of these women's homes was only a matter of sending a hundred and ten cash. I didn't expect my friend to buy such expensive ones.

"The things are suitable, and the money will be earned in the future." Xue Tingxiang smiled, rubbing the box with his fingers through the book bag.

"That's right. After all, it's a gift for a young fiancee. It's not okay to be too picky."

A few people returned to the academy, entered the door with their front feet, and the bell rang with their back feet.

The four of them didn't dare to delay, they hurried back to the dormitory, put their things away, and took their books to the lecture hall.

Usually there are no lectures in the afternoon, and the students themselves manage the books.

It's normal, but tomorrow is Xiumu, and in the afternoon, everyone seems to be eager to move.

Because many students are from the nearby villages, the hall closed before the application time. They went back to the dormitory to pick up their things, and the school hall was empty after a while.

The four walked out of the gate of the academy together, and heard someone shouting from a distance: "Ting'er, this way."

I saw a mule cart parked diagonally, and two people were sitting on the shaft.

A man, a teenager.

Xue Tingxiang's face turned dark on the spot.

Mao Badou was about to ask something, when he saw the young man coming like a gust of wind: "I remember that you should be dismissed at this time, but Brother Jiang Wu still said no. Let's go, let's go, I bought a lot of vegetables, and I will give them to you in the evening." Make it delicious."

This boy is exactly the trick.

She didn't deliberately lower her voice to speak, and the crispness that a girl should have in her voice was fully revealed. Mao Badou was speechless as if he had swallowed an egg raw.

Only then did Zhao'er come to his senses, and asked, "Is this your classmate?"

Xue Tingxiang hummed in a low voice.

"What's the matter? Why are you unhappy? Whoever bullied you, tell me, I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

"Didn't bully Tingxiang, you, you are..."

"I'm Sister Ting'er, you are his classmates." Zhao'er was very happy. She always felt that the little man was too withdrawn. Although he has changed a lot since he got sick, it's better to have more friends. Be more lively.

"She's not my sister, she's my daughter-in-law!" With that said, Xue Tingxiang pulled her over, hurriedly said "I'll go first", and then dragged her away.

Mao Badou returned to the appearance of eating eggs raw, and said after a while: "So Tingxiang likes sister, so this is the little fiancee..."

"What sister is not sister! How come the words have changed from your mouth. Go, if you don't go, you won't be able to get in the car."

Xue Tingxiang didn't have a good face along the way, and Zhao'er was worried about Jiang Wu's presence, so it was hard to ask him what's wrong. They could only laugh and laugh from the sidelines, as if it was an active atmosphere.

Jiang Wu didn't realize it, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, he was talking to Zhao'er without saying a word.

When he arrived at the village, Jiang Wu didn't go around to the end of the village, but drove the mule cart directly to Xue's house.

Both Zhao'er and Xue Tingxiang got out of the car, and Jiang Wu began to move things out of the car.

Zhao'er said that she bought a lot of things, which is true. One bag of rice and noodles, two pig's trotters, five catties of pork and some other miscellaneous things, and two bolts of cloth.

The Xue family all came out of the house, including Zhao and Yang.

Xue Juncai will come back today, they thought it was Xue Qingshan who went to pick Xue Juncai back.

"Zhaoer, why did you buy so many things?" Sun asked curiously.

Zhao'er opened the door, put the things in the room, and said: "Ting'er finally came back, so I bought some good ones for him."

Mrs. Zhao stood in front of the main room door, her nose was not her nose, her face was not her face: "You also know that when you come back, you run around all day without seeing anyone, which daughter's family is like you."

Zhao'er said innocently: "Grandma, what day did I not come back? I came back before it was dark. I just wanted to find some money everywhere. Ting'er's school expenses are used for the two of them. There is no need for money."

Mrs. Zhao snorted, threw down the curtain and entered the room.

Zhao'er didn't take it seriously, and turned to Brother Jiang Wu and said, "Brother Jiang Wu, I'm sorry to trouble you, rest at home tomorrow."

Jiang Wu nodded: "Then I will leave."

"Okay, I won't see you off."

After some tidying up, Zhao'er turned to look at Xue Tingxiang.

Seeing him is still angry, this kid is really stingy! She touched her nose, took the clothes and went to the corner of the room, closed a cloth curtain hanging there, and began to change clothes.

Not long after it came out, men's clothing became women's clothing.

She lowered her head and tied her hair, suddenly there was someone more in front of her.

She looked up, and saw him handing over a small wooden box.

"What?"

He didn't speak, just looked at her with his black eyes.

Zhao'er took it and opened it.

"Is this for me?"

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 their 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: "The hook is for the old, and the hook is for the test. The old test is for the children, and the children are for the old."

In fact, Xue Tingxiang is not good at reciting poems, but he can't hold back that the person in his dream has lived a long life and is widely seen in the 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 deliberately made things difficult for him: "I have a couplet, if you can match, I will take it." you."

The old boy felt bitter in his heart, but he didn't dare to give up.

The chief examiner asked the question: "If you take the bait, you are old; if you take the bait, you are a tester. If you are old, you will be a child, and if you are a child, you will be an old man."