Man Bao said: "I asked, Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang are not the children of the patriarch Xia's family, Xia Qilang is still the grandnephew of the patriarch Xia, Xia Wulang and him are separated by several rooms, but he still supports Xia Wulang's study very much , I don’t have much help at ordinary times, and I also let the families of the clan help, obviously, they want Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang to take the exams and examiners first, and then pull the clan in the future.”
In fact, this is a common strategy used by many small gentry families. As long as one official comes out of one family, it can lead the whole family, or even the whole village, to a higher level.
You can know it by looking at Manbao. Zhou Zhoulang wrote back and said that after the news of her becoming an official came back to Qili Village, the village went to buy firecrackers and set them off for a day. The only way is to buy a little more and come back to set off firecrackers.
And last winter, the county decided to build the road from Qili Village to the county seat. It was directly widened and then filled with soil. I heard that it is now about the same size as the pipeline. Two carriages left.
Even the path over the mountain was simply repaired.
This is the invisible benefit that being an official can bring to the village and the family.
Not to mention the increased seed and farm tool subsidies when persuading farmers to teach mulberry. Even when paying taxes, the county government's survey is not so harsh.
In the past, a catty of hemp always had to be paid two taels more, but now that there is an extra two taels, the yamen servants will take the initiative to take out one tael and return it...
This is a typical example of one person gaining enlightenment and ascending to heaven, ahem...
Man Bao said: "But I think it's better to be happy alone than to be happy with others. Obviously, some elders of the Xia family also think so. I proposed to open a family study that day, and didn't they agree with it?"
Bai Erlang asked: "Are you going to drag down their family?"
"Nonsense," Man Bao glanced at him, and said righteously: "Am I that kind of person? Although my surname is Zhou, Xia's blood is also flowing in my body. Will I harm Xia's? Even if children are literate, there will be other benefits even if they don’t have an examiner, among other things, after studying, they will always be more polite than others, and it will be easier to find a job and make money, right?”
Bai Erlang said: "Their purpose is not to let them work as accountants or do some clerical work to make money, but to become a family of officials. You have almost cut off their way of being an official examiner."
Man Bao shook his head, "No, when this generation earns money and the next generation has money, they can be cultivated. Why do we have to use the whole family to support these two people now?"
Bai Shan interrupted the debate between the two, "Okay, the final choice is the decision of the family, we are just a proposal, why are you still arguing? It seems like you can make a decision."
Bai Erlang and Man Bao stopped arguing, but Bai Erlang still commented, "You guys are really treacherous."
Man Bao accepted without refuting.
Bai Shan didn't refute, they just wanted to let the Xia family have no time to make trouble for them in the past 20 years, and after 10 or 20 years, the people of the Xia family probably won't make trouble for them.
With this purpose in mind, when they set off for Hongtian Village the next day, they dressed up specially, put on the best clothes they brought, hung up the best accessories, and combed their hair neatly and smoothly. car to go.
Old Zhou Tou also put on his best clothes, making up his mind to lose if he loses.
Hongtian Village is a big village, much bigger than Qili Village, and the Xia family is the most populous family in Hongtian Village. Of course, there are several surnames besides the Xia family, which are not particularly small.
And in such a big village, if the children go to school, they have to walk three kilometers to the town to study.
However, the Xia family is still the family that can send the most children to school.
When Man Bao and his carriage entered Hongtian Village, they caught the attention of the villagers who were busy in the field. The main reason was that their horses were good, and they were not ordinary people at first sight, so the people who had heard the news immediately took their hoes and went back to watch the excitement.
While walking back, they were talking loudly, "I heard that Zhou Yin and Xinniang's daughters have been found. I'm afraid they are going to fight the Xia family."
"Looking at it like this, Zhou Yin is well-developed, why hasn't he come back?"
"I heard from people in the Xia family that he died long ago. His brother and sister-in-law helped raise his daughter. If he wants to prosper, it is his daughter who prospers."
"Who is Zhou Yin?"
"You don't know him, he is Xia Yan's door-to-door son-in-law."
Many young people don't even know who Xia Yan is, but who cares, just watch the excitement first, and you'll know in a while.
The carriage went a little to the village, and Patriarch Xia personally came to pick up Zhou Man and the others. Seeing so many villagers watching the fun, the smile on his face was a bit forced.
Fortunately, Man Bao, who got off the car, gave him face very much, and came forward to greet him with a smile.
Patriarch Xia breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to invite old Zhou Tou and Qian Shi to go inside, and said: "Please come to the in-laws, all the elders in the clan are waiting at home."
People in the village saw that they didn't quarrel, but they were harmonious, quite boring, and those who knew some inside information wondered: "It's strange, didn't it mean that Zhou Yin's daughter not only took over the house where Xia Yi lived , Have you taken away all the previous fields, why didn't they quarrel?"
"Yeah, when did Patriarch Xia have such a good temper?"
Everyone also wants to go to Patriarch Xia's house to watch the excitement. People with different surnames in the same village are enemies, especially in the same village where your family is relatively big but my family is not much younger than yours. There will always be some friction.
The youths of the Xia Clan didn't want to be laughed at by them, so they took the first step to occupy the wall and outside the door of Patriarch Xia's house, and people with foreign surnames couldn't squeeze in at all.
Man Bao and the others entered the courtyard of Patriarch Xia's house. When they looked up, they saw people on the wall and the door, so they couldn't help but pause.
Patriarch Xia probably also knew their intentions, although he was embarrassed, he didn't drive them away. It's better to be laughed at by people of the same clan than to be laughed at by people with different surnames, right
So he smiled awkwardly at Zhou Man, and said: "The children are naughty, please don't take offense to your in-laws and eldest lady."
Man Bao is not surprised at all, because she has seen a lot, and people in Qili Village also like to pick up the walls of her house.
Just not so much.
Because there were too many people to sit in the house, they sat down in the yard.
Patriarch Xia also asked Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang who were following him to meet Zhou Man, "I was in a hurry last time, didn't my lady see Wulang and Qilang? They are your elder brothers."
Although her surname is not Xia, she is still a granddaughter, and she must not be a granddaughter. This is the last stubbornness of Patriarch Xia.
Man Bao and Xia Wulang Xia Qilang saw the ceremony, then looked around and asked, "Where's Uncle Yi?"
Patriarch Xia didn't expect her to pick up which pot she would not open, so he twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "He went to the county to pick up his wife."
It was only then that Man Bao remembered, yes, Xia Yi finished moving his things yesterday and left the key on the street, so the county government released his wife and told him to pick her up the next day.
Yesterday Zhou Dalang and Wu Wulang didn't go to pick up the keys. After inspecting the house, they asked someone to change the locks. Now the house is hers.