Old Zhou Tou received the ceremony from Man Bao and Bai Shan, and the servants who came in also took out Mr. Zhuang's note and got them together. After loading them into the car, they were about to go out, but Old Zhou Tou still waited for the old man. After he came out, they walked side by side together, and the two cars went out of the imperial city together.
The old man envied him very much, "Has the field in your farm harvested in autumn?"
Old Zhou said: "More than half of it has been collected, and it is still a little short, but it will not be long. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will take a few days to collect it all."
"Is the weather going to be good this year?"
Old Zhou Tou almost burst into laughter, "It was just a little dry when the seedlings were planted, but it started to rain soon, so the weather is good."
The old man’s family is also a landlord, but a small landlord. Although he does not go to the field in person, he also goes to watch the long-term workers and tenants in the field every year, so he knows a lot about farming.
"The harvest is good. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, your family has another big income."
"Oh, don't you have them too?"
"How can our family compare with yours?" The old man said, "The job field of our family is handed over to the Ministry of Household Management, and he has to pay a fixed rent every year."
Old Zhou Tou suggested, "You can apply to run your own business."
The old man shook his head, "My family is not like yours. I only have two sons. One is an official and the other is still studying. That job field is not easy to take care of, so it's better to just take fixed rent."
Otherwise, why would he be so envious of old Zhou Tou
It is true that his daughter is promising and has many sons, no matter how many things his daughter lays down in the front, there will be someone behind to guard them.
After leaving the imperial city, the old man bid farewell to the old Zhou. He and the old Zhou had different paths. His son rented a two-entry yard on the edge of the inner city, and Zhou's house was on the third square from the imperial city. , go forward, turn right for a while, it's very close.
They are all foreigners, and even his son arrived in the capital a year earlier than his daughter, and they all have a house.
Lao Zhou returned home with everyone's envious eyes on his head, and he ordered his servants, "Hurry up and send Mr. Zhuang's gift to his yard."
I picked several things from Man Bao's gift and put them on it together, which was considered to be a gift from Man Bao to Mr. Zhuang.
For Mr. Zhuang, the whole Zhou family respected him the most, because everyone knew that if Mr. Zhuang hadn't brought Man Bao to read, Man Bao would never have made it this far in his life.
The Bai family received the boxing gift, Mrs. Liu asked about the extra things that old Zhou Tou added to Mr. Zhuang, and she also added the same with a smile.
By the time Man Bao and the others returned home from school, the family was already bustling with preparations for the festival.
Man Bao helped Mr. Zhuang into the door, while Bai Shan and Bai Erlang carried things for them. When Lu went out to see them, he was happy, "Mr. and Man Bao are back, sir, let's have dinner together tonight, my mother-in-law said." The meals are placed in the main hall."
Mr. Zhuang asked with a smile, "How many tables should we set up?"
"Five tables are going to be set," Lu said, "Master Bai and Mrs. Bai have also invited over. We will have a reunion dinner together tonight. We have a lot of children, so we will share the meal between two sides to avoid them making trouble."
Today is the thirteenth day, everyone will have a lively reunion dinner first, and after the fourteenth day, everyone will eat from each family. As for the fifteenth day, of course we will go out to play.
Living in the capital, but still in the inner city, it would be a pity not to go to see the Lantern Market and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with the people.
Mr. Zhuang himself made an appointment with his colleagues, and went out to eat, drink and write poems that day.
In fact, Bai Shan also had an appointment, and they were all from the Hanlin Academy. He couldn't refuse directly, so he decided to go for a walk that day and gather some people to come out.
Zhou Man didn't have such worries, "We are too hospital to socialize outside."
Bai Shan glanced at Man Bao, no, they had a social meeting, they just didn't call you.
It's like Zhao Liulang and the others never asked her out when they went to Chunfenglou to entertain.
The kitchens of the two families prepare together. After specifying the menu, one kitchen is in charge of a few dishes, so the food is prepared quickly and is still hot when served, especially the steamed meat made by Xiaoqian, which has an overbearing aroma.
Mrs. Qian brought little Qian's and others to the table with Mrs. Mrs. Liu, Zheng's Mrs. Bai, and there was no room for Man Bao at all. She could only turn around and sit with Bai Shan and the others.
Bai Dalang was the oldest, and took the lead to give Bai Erlang a piece of steamed meat, and said kindly: "Erlang, the exam is coming up next month, eat more today."
Bai Erlang also gave him a piece of meat, "Brother, you should also eat more. I heard that you were only two places away from being on the list last year."
Last year, Jinshi got very few candidates, only twelve. Generally, those who failed the list would not be ranked, but the Imperial College has a relationship, so I inquired about the answers of the students for reference, and one of the marking teachers said that Bai Dalang was a pity, because he was far away from being selected. Just two short.
But Bai Dalang was not very sad, because there was another person in front of him who was even more miserable. vomiting blood.
But Bai Dalang didn't vomit after all, because he saw the worse Wang Yi.
When Bai Shan and Man Bao saw it, they immediately graciously picked up all kinds of meat for them, and filled the bowl directly, "I want to eat more, this time you all have to work hard and try to pass the exam."
Bai Shan thinks that Bai Dalang should not be a big problem, because he almost won the prize last year, after a year of precipitation, he should be even better, and...
Bai Shan lowered his voice and said, "This year there will be a little more candidates than last year."
The amount of scholarships is different every year, and the number of scholarships is calculated by the Ministry of Officials based on the existing data and the changes in official circles from last year to this year.
For example, after the liquidation of the Yizhou Wangyi Department, there were more Jinshi candidates for the first and second admissions than in previous years, because the officialdom was depleted and had to be filled.
Walking in front of the imperial court, Bai Shan often listened to adults talking about these things with the emperor. He knew a lot of inside information, but he also knew what to say and what not to say.
Speaking of the Jinshi examination, he only had this bit of encouragement.
Bai Dalang and Bai Erlang understood, and didn't continue this topic, but they were very excited in their hearts. The more candidates they took, the greater their chances, especially Bai Erlang, he was a little guilty, he knew himself, he It's far behind his big brother.
Zhou Lijun was also at the same table with them. Seeing that they had finished chatting, she started to talk about her own topic, "Sister-in-law, I have taken a fancy to a shop in Dongfang and want to buy it."
Man Bao was taken aback, and asked, "Isn't the shop there expensive?"
Zhou Lijun nodded, "I've talked for a long time, but I still need 8,670 taels, and even one tael less will do."
Bai Shan and the others were also taken aback, and asked, "Why is the shop so expensive?"
"It's mainly in Dongfang. That street sells silk, satin and rouge gouache. The famous silver buildings in the capital are also there, so they are very expensive."
Man Bao asked, "What are you buying for?"