Liu Juhua took a few deep breaths, exhaled the turbid air in her heart, stood firm, looked at Han Ze and said something cruel: "Han Ze, you are really my good son. Wait, you are so unfilial, God will take you away sooner or later."
Han Ze raised his eyebrows: "Don't worry, with Han Xingwang and Han Chengming here, God won't take me first if he wants to take me away. They are much worse than me."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Juhua's heart skipped a beat and she shouted in a bluffing manner.
"Don't you know it best, mother?" Han Ze sneered, "Don't tell me that you have spent half your life with Han Xingwang and you still don't know what kind of person he is. My mother is not that stupid."
"What do I know? I know nothing."
Liu Juhua's face flushed red. She had been married to Han Xingwang for so many years and had four children and several grandchildren. If she still didn't know what kind of person Han Xingwang was, she would be really a fool.
Even though she knew that he was calculating, she still followed his lead. He calculated Han Ze's money only because it was in her interest and because she gave birth to all four children in the family. Han Xingwang calculated everything for the sake of the family. She just turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.
Han Ze didn't care: "Then just pretend that I know nothing. That's right, no matter what you think or how you plot, I won't respond, and it's useless."
Liu Juhua was stunned again. Knowing that her plan had failed, she was too lazy to talk nonsense with Han Ze anymore. She thought of running to find Chengming's servant. She stamped her feet hard. If the servant dared to say what Han Ze said when he arrived at her house, it would definitely spread throughout the village. How could she stay in the village? Thinking of this, she quickly caught up with the servant and stopped him from going to her house.
Han Ze let her go. What else can Han Xingwang do to him except controlling Liu Juhua to plot against him
...
After passing the county examination, Han Shubo did not go to the academy to study, but spent every day at home reading and practicing calligraphy.
Han Ze was busy planting flowers. I didn't know his daily routine. When Han Ze finished planting the flowers, I saw him get up before dawn to study. After breakfast, he went straight into the study and didn't come out until noon. After lunch, he didn't take a nap, but went back to the study. As for after dinner, he must have stayed in the study.
In short, for the twelve hours of the day, except for eating, sleeping and going to the toilet, he spent the whole time in the study reading and practicing calligraphy.
Han Ze frowned, but didn't scold him. The child was diligent in studying, so he had no reason to scold him. However, when Shubo got up to read before dawn the next day, he also got up and went to the study. He said without hesitation, "Come with me to run."
"What are you running?" Han Shubo was confused. What is running
Han Ze looked at him and said, "Follow me."
Han Shubo looked at the book in his hand hesitantly: "Dad, I'm reading."
"I'm not stopping you from reading, but early morning is a good time to exercise. Don't miss out on exercise because of reading." Han Ze said, "If you don't have a good body for the imperial examination, even if you have real talent and knowledge, you won't be able to hold on in the examination room in the future. It will be useless if you faint in the examination room."
"Okay...right!" Han Shubo stood up reluctantly. It was just some exercise, but his father could find so many excuses.
The father and son ran along the path in the garden. Seeing that his son did not believe him, he slowly said, "The county exam takes place every day. You can leave after the exam and go back the next day. You don't have to stay overnight in the exam room. The time is not long, so no one faints... The college exam takes three days, and you need to stay in the exam room for three days. If you are not strong, it is common to faint in the exam room."
"It's not that serious, right? He just took an exam and fainted?" It was the first time Han Shubo heard about this and he was obviously a little scared.
Han Ze smiled and said, "In the future, you will have to live in the examination room for the provincial and imperial examinations. You will be nervous and have poor diet and sleep. The examination room environment is bad and you will get sick if you are not careful. There will be more scholars and candidates who fainted at that time. Do you think it is serious?"
Han Shubo frowned, thought for a moment and said, "In this case, the school should not only teach students knowledge for the imperial examination, but also teach them how to survive the imperial examination. Then the school should add some martial arts courses to enhance students' physical fitness."
Han Ze couldn't help but look at his son with new eyes. This child was really smart and could draw inferences from one example. He was not only somewhat relieved, but very relieved. He smiled and said, "You can talk to the teacher in your school about this matter. However, it is not easy to hire a martial arts teacher. I think your tuition will also increase a little."
Han Shubo said, "Since a strong body is so important for the imperial examination, I believe the parents will have no objection to increasing the tuition."
Han Ze said, "Let's not worry about that for now. Since we are studying at home these days, let's run with dad every day."
Han Shubo: “…”
...
In early May, Han Chengming and his son returned from the prefecture. Seeing Han Chengming's happy face, the villagers wondered if Han Jixue and Han Jiwen had both passed the exam, which meant they were both Tongsheng. Of course not, only Han Jiwen passed.
Han Chengming was happy because his two sons took the imperial examination together, one passed and the other failed. He finally stopped worrying about it. Since the one who passed the civil service examination would be a student in the future, he could continue his studies.
As for Jixue, he seemed to be quite capable in studying, but he did not do well in the two examinations. He even failed the provincial examination and did not even pass the examination for a tongsheng.
The family was already poor, so they had no choice but to let him go home. At least he could learn to read and become an accountant in the future. At least he wouldn't have to work as a farmer in the fields all day long. As a father, he had done his best for him.
But how could Han Jixue be willing to be just an accountant? It was just a failure this time. If he took the exam again next time, he would definitely pass. How could his father really be so cruel as to let him give up the imperial examination
The happiest person was Han Jiwen. Although he only ranked last in the provincial examination, at least he passed. He really wanted to laugh out loud. He was now a student. But looking at his brother's gloomy face, he tried hard to suppress the joy on his face. He didn't expect that his brother would fail. In fact, he was not much worse than his brother.
Han Jixue glanced at Han Jiwen's mouth that couldn't be closed, and found it extremely annoying. He always thought himself to be very intelligent and looked down on his younger brother. He could not believe that he failed two exams against his younger brother, whom he considered a fool.
Han Chengming also noticed the gloom in his eldest son. He patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be sad. You seemed to be better than Jiwen in studying, but you didn't pass the exam. It can only be said that this is your fate."
Is this my fate
Han Jixue sneered in his heart, it’s just that you don’t want to work hard for me, but I don’t believe in fate. Even if this is my fate, I shouldn’t be an accountant or a farmer.
He looked at Han Chengming and said, "Dad, let me try again. If I fail, I won't take the exam again. Is that okay?"
Han Chengming was in a dilemma. After these two imperial examinations, his family didn't have much money left. Given his family's popularity, it would be difficult to borrow money even if he went out to borrow money. He frowned and said, "It's not that Dad doesn't want you to take the exam, but that the family has no money left."
How could Han Jixue believe that his family had no money? Even if his parents had no money, his grandparents would have money. He begged, "Dad, please let me take the exam again, just once. Isn't that possible?"
Han Chengming looked at his son's sad and lost face, feeling a little reluctant. He sighed, "Your grandparents did save some private money, but that was for your two uncles to marry. How could they give it all to you? Your two uncles wouldn't agree to that."
The two younger brothers used the money when they were talking about their wives. It would be fine if they passed the examination, but if they failed, he could imagine how their status in the family would change.
Han Jixue pursed his lips, which meant that the family was not without money. Thinking of this, his eyes flickered slightly, and he glanced at Han Jiwen from the corner of his eye. If he could get money to allow him to continue studying for the imperial examination, he didn't want to dirty his hands. There is no wall that is impenetrable in the world, and paper can never cover fire. Just in case, it is better not to do it.
...
When the peonies bloomed in April, Han Ze earned another sum of money. He went to the county town and bought some land outside the county town. The land there was close to the county town and the price was a little higher. Five thousand taels of silver only bought him a farm with 700 acres of land. He used the rest of the money to buy gold and silver jewelry for his daughters.
To date, Han Ze privately owns about 2,000 acres of land, and he has a large courtyard in the town, the county, and the capital.
When he returned home, Han Maode and others learned that he had bought more than 700 acres of land. Even though they knew his son's ability to earn money, they were still a little shocked.
Han Ze took out the jewelry box he bought in the county town and handed it to his daughters, saying gently, "Dad doesn't know what styles you like, but I bought a few for each of you because they look nice. Take them and wear them."
Han Shuxin and her sisters came forward happily, carrying a bunch of jewelry boxes into their own small attic. Han Xiaodong looked at them with envy, and glanced at her eldest brother several times. Seeing that he ignored her, she felt a little aggrieved.
Wang Lanhua glared at her and said, "You deserve it. Your elder brother is so cunning that you dare to act like a demon in front of him. Just prepare to be punished."
Han Ze glanced at Han Xiaodong, his tone light but full of authority: "Didn't I buy you a lot of jewelry in the past? Why have I never seen you wear it?"
Han Xiaodong pursed his lips, twisted his fingers, and said nothing.
"Speak!" Han Ze's voice suddenly rose.
Han Xiaodong shuddered with fear and looked at Wang Lanhua as if for help.
If Wang Lanhua turned her head and ignored her, she should let Han Ze teach her a lesson.
Seeing that her mother ignored her, Han Xiaodong lowered her head, her eyes began to redden, and soon big tears fell to the ground.
Han Maode stood by with his eyelids drooping, smoking his pipe, allowing his son to teach his sister a lesson. If Han Ze was a bastard in the past, he would have been a little worried about him teaching his sisters a lesson, but in the past two or three years, Han Ze was either teaching his two sisters to read, or buying them jewelry and clothes, and even preparing generous dowries for them. He, as a father, was not as good to Xiaodong and Xiaochun as their eldest brother. Now that Xiaochun is disobedient, as a brother he must teach her a lesson and cannot relax at all. Don't think that you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is just because your family is rich and the dowry is big.
Han Ze looked at her stubborn face, frowned fiercely, and suddenly said, "If you really want to marry the boy from the next village, it's not impossible."
Han Xiaodong looked up suddenly, with surprise in his tearful eyes.
Han Ze waved his hand and said, "Listen to me and make your decision later."
Han Xiaodong wiped his eyes, and Han Ze raised his eyebrows and said, "If you want to marry the boy from the next village, then the dowry I promised to buy for you will not be given to you. So are you still willing to marry that boy?"
What he didn't say was, without a generous dowry, would that guy still agree to marry you
Han Xiaodong was startled and murmured, "Didn't you agree?"
I promised to buy dowries for the sisters. The elder sister already has it, so why don’t you give it to her
Han Ze smiled and said, "When I bought a dowry for Xiaochun, I also said that I would buy a similar dowry for you. But I also said that I only bought dowries for you because I thought it was worth it. Yao's brother-in-law is a scholar and can be promoted to Shubo, not to mention that he is now a juren."
In the past two years, Wang Lanhua had asked matchmakers to introduce Han Xiaodong to countless families, but she was unwilling to marry any of them. Unexpectedly, she secretly had an affair with a boy from the next village.
The little girl was old enough and had feelings for him, but Han Ze didn't think it was a big deal. But his stepmother said that within a few months, all of Han Xiaodong's jewelry had been pawned by her. All of it was taken away by that boy.
Even though Han Ze had never seen the student, he could imagine what kind of person he was. Scholars in ancient times were noble and upright, so if they were really good people, why would they covet the girl's money
Han Xiaodong said hurriedly: "Qian Hong is a student, he will pass the exam to become a scholar. As long as he passes the exam, he can also promote Shu Bo!"
Han Ze said bluntly: "But I don't trust his character. I think he married you for your dowry."
Han Xiaodong looked at him angrily and said, "Impossible, he said, he..."
Before she could finish her words, Wang Lanhua slapped her in the face. Han Xiaodong covered her face and looked at her mother in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, you hit me?"
Wang Lanhua took a few deep breaths, her body shaking with anger: "If you want to marry, then marry. As for dowry, I don't have a penny."
Han Ze said at the side: "If you don't have a dowry, and Qian Hong is still willing to marry you, I will recognize him as my brother-in-law."
Han Xiaodong looked at him hatefully: "Do you think everyone is as vulgar as you, with only money in their eyes?"
Wang Lanhua wanted to slap her again, but just as she stretched out her hand, Han Ze said, "Yes, I only have eyes for money. In that case, you can do whatever you want. After all, you are your brother. The gold and silver jewelry I bought for you in the past should be regarded as your dowry. I think that in the future, even if you have to eat simple meals and still go hungry, you will not come back to your parents' home. After all, love is enough to satisfy your hunger."
Han Xiaodong's face turned pale and blue, and she felt a little regretful. She shouldn't have said that just now. She remembered everything her brother did to her, but, why did he look down on Qian Hong
Han Ze looked at Han Maode and chuckled, "Dad, tomorrow you can tell the villagers that our Xiaodong doesn't value money, so we won't prepare a dowry for her. I think Qian Hong knows what Xiaodong is thinking, so he should come and propose marriage."
Han Xiaodong's face turned pale again. She stood in the yard blankly, feeling a little unsure. Would Qian Hong really come to propose marriage
However, ever since Han Ze said that he would not buy Han Xiaodong a penny of dowry and did not even pack her a piece of clothing, Han Xiaodong was sent to her other two sons by her mother. Didn't she think that silver was vulgar? Didn't she think that her eldest brother only cared about silver
Okay, since you think money is vulgar, then you can live a life without money.
After reading some books, she felt that she was great. Relying on Han Ze's good food and drink, she became naive and ignorant, with only love in her eyes. Let her suffer a little and see if she will still think money is vulgar.
Han Xiaodong couldn't believe it. Did her parents and elder brother really say they would ignore her? Seeing her parents' stubborn faces, she got angry and left. She waited for Qian Hong to come and propose marriage, so that they would think it was her.
However, as time went by, Han Xiaodong was about to turn 18, but Qian Hong hadn't asked a matchmaker to come to propose marriage. She had been eating coarse flour buns with her two brothers for nearly a month, and she hadn't eaten a piece of meat in that month. She was so greedy that she would drool whenever she smelled any cooking. She had never known that she was so greedy.
She couldn't bear it any longer, so she went to find Qian Hong in person. She didn't know what Qian Hong said to her. She returned home with red eyes and stayed in the house for a long time. When she came out, she went to find Han Ze. Looking at her brother, she said self-deprecatingly: "Brother, you are right. Love and contentment are just stories in books. How can we live without money?"
Han Ze looked at her and asked, "Are you going to find Qian Hong?"
Han Xiaodong said calmly, "He got engaged today to the daughter of a butcher in town. It is said that the butcher bought him a shop in town."
Han Ze said "oh" and ignored her, continuing to weed the flowers.
Han Xiaodong was stunned. Is that it
Wang Lanhua came out from nowhere and saw her with a sullen face: "What are you doing here?"
Han Xiaodong looked at her mother, feeling a little aggrieved: "Mom, Qian Hong is engaged."
Wang Lanhua said in a calm voice, "What does his engagement have to do with me?"
Han Xiaodong: “…”
Wang Lanhua waved her hand and said, "You can go back to your brothers if you have nothing to do, so as not to be influenced by our vulgarity."
Han Xiaodong's face flushed. She was ashamed. She pulled her mother's arm, knelt on the ground, and begged, "Mom, I was wrong. I was really wrong. Please forgive me."
Wang Lanhua was shocked by her daughter's stubbornness since she saw her daughter's stubbornness. She never knew that her daughter would be so naive and selfish. She said, "You are wrong? What are you wrong about? We are wrong. You are never wrong."
Han Xiaodong sobbed: "Mom, you're not going to forgive me?"
"Go back to your two brothers."
Wang Lanhua pulled her arm away and went into the house with a hard heart. "Silly girl, you have offended Han Ze. What's the point of asking me to forgive you? Han Ze is the head of this family. You have to let Han Ze forgive you before I can let you come back. Han Ze is still angry, so why should I let you come back? What does Han Ze think? Silly girl, why don't you understand and understand the difficulties of my stepmother?"
Han Shuxin and her sister were helping their father weed the flowers. They looked at their aunt's back, feeling a little hesitant.
Seeing their expressions, Han Ze said expressionlessly, "Do you think Dad is heartless?"
Han Shuxin shook her head, thought for a moment and said, "My aunt should regret it."
Han Ze did not express his opinion on whether Han Xiaodong regretted it. Instead, he asked, "What do you think about your aunt-in-law and Qian Hong's affairs? And what do you think about your marriage?"
Han Shuxin was also talking about her husband's age. When she heard her father ask this, her face suddenly turned red, but she still whispered: "It's our parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. We are young, have little experience, and don't know how to judge people... I, I believe in Dad."
Han Ze smiled with satisfaction and said sternly, "If you dare to act like your aunt, I will break your legs."
The sisters quickly shook their heads.
The second girl Han Shuqing felt that her aunt was not stupid, but foolish. She actually used her own jewelry to subsidize a stranger. Even if that man agreed to marry her in the future, she would feel at a loss. What's more, it was still unknown whether that man would marry her. To entrust one's life and property to something unknown, what else could it be but foolish
Han Ze added, "Your eldest sister is right. You are still young. How many people have you met? Although our family is not a wealthy one, we are considered to have some assets in this area. We prepared so much dowry for your eldest aunt. Besides, you are my daughters. In order to prevent those with ulterior motives, I will carefully examine your marriages one by one before arranging marriages for you."
Han Shuxin and her sisters all blushed, lowered their heads, and said nothing.
Han Ze smiled. Seeing that Han Shubo was going to the county city to take the college entrance examination, he didn't have so much thought on a disobedient sister who only had love in her eyes. However, through Han Xiaodong's incident, he also understood the temperaments of the girls, and he was a little relieved. These children were not like their aunt, who simply couldn't tell the difference between good and bad.
However, if he could discipline his two younger sisters, he would do so. If he really couldn't discipline them, he felt that given his original body's personality, he wouldn't care too much about it.
Besides, with him around, even if Han Xiaodong is a hopeless case, her life won't be too bad. She will just be similar to most girls in the village.
Han Ze spent his days at home planting flowers and teaching his children to read, and rarely went to the village. One day, Han Maode came back from outside, his face full of excitement. Han Ze looked at him in surprise, "What are you so happy about?"
Han Maode clicked his tongue twice and glanced at Han Ze: "Having fewer sons does have its advantages. You are my only son, and whatever property we have is yours. At least our family is harmonious."
Han Ze shook his head in amusement, picked up the teacup and took two sips.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Han Maode couldn't hide the excitement on his face and continued, "Han Xingwang has many sons. Now, the three sons are fighting over Han Xingwang's private money..."
There was a hint of pride in his eyes when he said this, and Han Ze looked at him with amusement.
Han Maode also picked up the cup and drank a sip of water, then continued: "If they start fighting, Han Xingwang and Liu Juhua must go to stop them, otherwise it will be bad."
Han Ze continued, "Were they hit by their own sons when they weren't paying attention?"
Han Maode clapped his hands fiercely, "That's right. Han Xingwang wasn't strong when he was young. He was so gentle and polite. How could he have any strength when he got old? His sons are all strong laborers. That family is full of ruthless people. They are also fierce when fighting. One side tried to stop the fight while the other side wanted to fight. This has implicated the old couple. Liu Juhua hurt her waist and Han Xingwang broke her leg. It's right for him to have so many sons!"
Han Ze smiled and said, "Dad, this has nothing to do with my son. You also said that the family are all ruthless people."
There are countless families with many sons in the world, but I have never seen sons fighting over family property. In the end, it is just a matter of character.
He had anticipated this. If he couldn't treat his three sons, Han Xingwang and Liu Juhua, equally, it would have been fine. But all three sons were rude and it was only a matter of time before they had conflicts.
Moreover, as far as he knew, Han Chengming's money was almost used up. Given the character of their family, one of Han Jixue and Han Jiwen would definitely not be able to continue studying. And since Han Jixue did not pass the examination this time, there was no need to guess who Han Chengming would choose to continue studying.
But Han Jixue is not a good person. He is arrogant, selfish and cruel. He will definitely not go home to farm willingly. He will definitely find a way to let Han Xingwang support his studies. Then it is still unknown who caused the fight between the three brothers Han Chengming.
Han Ze and his son went to the county governor's lake city with other candidates from the school. The teachers from the school did not go with them for the college examination. Because of the old students from previous years, there were eight students who went to take the exam together.
After everyone introduced themselves to each other, Han Ze discovered that Qian Hong, who had been involved with Han Xiaodong and later married the butcher's daughter, was also among them. He was wondering just now why this person was avoiding him when he saw him, since he was not a very impressive person. It turned out that this was the reason.
Originally, I had only heard of this guy from Wang Lanhua, who said that this guy was plotting against Han Xiaodong. I never thought that this guy would be so useless.
He glanced at Qian Hong and thought to himself, not to mention that you have already married someone else and have no relationship with my family anymore, even if you haven't married yet, I won't do anything to you, so there's no need to scare you so much.
Qian Hong was even more shocked when he saw Han Ze looking at him. The reason why he decided to marry the butcher's daughter so quickly was just because of Han Ze's reputation. It was said that this man was very domineering and would take up weapons if he disagreed with him. How could he dare to marry his sister with such a plan? What's more, he did indeed cheat Han Xiaodong out of a lot of money. Seeing Han Ze now, he felt guilty.
Han Ze glanced at him again. Is this his character? I don't know what Xiaodong sees in him.
When Qian Hong met Han Ze's eyes, his legs trembled and he was so scared that he could hardly stand.
Han Ze felt that this man might be ill and stopped looking at him.
Qian Hong took out the silver bills from his pocket tremblingly, counted them, took out one, and secretly handed it to Han Ze.
Han Ze looked at him strangely: "What?"
Qian Hong hurriedly whispered: "I owe your family."
Han Ze glanced at the number on it. Thirty taels of silver? He raised his eyebrows. This kid actually got thirty taels of silver from Xiaodong. It must be the money Xiaodong earned from selling jewelry. He thought that since this kid was engaged, he should have returned the money to Xiaodong long ago. He didn't expect that Han Xiaodong really didn't care about the money.
Han Ze took the silver and thought, since she doesn't care about the silver, then there is no need to give her the thirty taels of silver.
Qian Hong breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Han Ze didn't seek revenge on him, the thirty taels of silver would be worth it. Anyway, the silver was swindled from Han Xiaodong.
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