Except for Erfang's family, no one knew what the family said in the house of Yan Changxi and his wife that night.
Anyway, I don't know if it was the effect of the conversation that night, or whether the son's ability to study gave the couple confidence and motivation. Now that it is not a busy time for farming, otherwise, not all the money saved by the family will be handed in.
For example, Li Qiuyue and Yan Meihua, the sisters, made three rounds of work, and paid ten for eight. In this way, two more money was paid for the work, while Yan Changxi went to pick up odd jobs, and occasionally bought buns and steamed buns under the pretext of being hungry. And so on, every time I deduct a penny or two, the more times I do, the second room finally has a little money in my hand, so that sometimes my daughter wants to buy a red ribbon or a silk flower. Mrs. Heyan took the money.
In the past, encouraging parents to do such things would never succeed.
Old man Yan and Yan Jiang's actions of Erfang may not have been unaware of this move, but they all chose to turn a blind eye and miss it. Compared with the five hundred Wen that the eldest family can handle by itself, Erfang's doing this is already considered Very wronged.
When they didn't resist at the beginning, the old couple didn't mention this matter. Now that the second room will do this, it shows that they have their own little thoughts in their hearts. Excessive suppression will only arouse their greater sense of resistance.
Old man Yan and Mrs. Yan are very smart. They know that when they get old, they have to be a filial and honest second child's family if they want to take care of themselves. So from the beginning, they never thought about forcing this child to be unfilial, so this It's not too much behavior, the two old people didn't ask, they just didn't know.
Yan Chu went to school more smoothly than the original body. You must know that in the last life, the original body did not show his outstanding reading talent that day. In order to let his younger brother study, Yan Meihua almost got along with aunt Yan Mudan and the uncle's family. The state of tearing the face.
If it wasn't for Yan Changxue who was still worried about gaining fame, knowing that Yan Meihua would go out and talk about how their family bullied their second wife, Yuan would not be able to study.
However, even though the original body and Yan Yu both became new students of ethnology in the second year, the life of the second wife of the Yan family became more and more difficult. Old Madam Yan also felt angry at being offended by her granddaughter. Later, when she talked about her husband's family, Yan Meihua did not marry very well.
The man she married had a lot of money in his family, and the dowry was high, but that man was honest and honest on the surface, and beat his wife behind his back. Yan Meihua's life was hard, and that man didn't dare to go too far until Yuan Shen was admitted as a scholar Hitting her, but small fights are still unavoidable.
Logically, Yuanshen should be the one who should help this elder sister the most, but he feels that there is a Heli sister who has a bad reputation. After she became famous, she gave Yan Meihua a lot of money, but begged her to live a good life with her brother-in-law for the sake of his reputation.
From that time on, no matter how difficult Yan Meihua's life was, she never went to the Yan family's door. That younger brother, she died when he said those words.
This life is different. The old man Yan and the others saw the potential in Yan Chu, and they no longer resisted the matter of letting him study. In the previous life, Yan Meihua also said those threatening words so that his younger brother could study. She didn't say it, but in the eyes of the old couple of the Yan family, she was still the one they liked the most among their granddaughters.
In a blink of an eye, four years have passed. Yan Chu attended the school at the age of six, and now he is also nine years old.
These days, many strangers came and went in and out of the house during the day, most of them were matchmakers from nearby villages and towns, either to promise marriage to Yan Chunhua and Yan Meihua, or to help the daughters of other families to find out the tone of the eldest family of Yan's family.
Yan Fu is also seventeen this year. Over the years, he has failed in the college examinations and has been a child. However, he is still young. Becoming a child at the age of 10 means that he has the talent for reading, and many people are willing to bet on his future.
Furthermore, the Yan family has dozens of acres of fertile land. As the eldest son of the eldest son, Yan Fu will own most of the property here when the family is separated in the future. No matter what, life can be better than that of ordinary farmers, so Many girls from other families are willing to marry into the Yan family, but most of those girls are looked down upon by the Yan family.
"Mother, I think the daughter of Huang Xiucai's family is pretty good. She looks fair, has a virtuous and gentle temperament, and is the daughter of a scholar. She is not afraid of talking to Xi'er."
Liu Fuchun took a red paper list and said to Yan Jiangshi that this is the only one she is satisfied with among so many girls who have seen each other these days.
But no matter how satisfied she is, that's not enough. In Liu Fuchun's view, her son's talent is underappreciated, and it's all due to the lack of vision of the examination paper officials. Otherwise, with her son's talent, he would have been admitted to Juren a long time ago, and the champion is not a problem. Even the princess is worthy of him. have to.
It's just that Yan Fu is still just a boy now, and the grade has reached the age of marriage. She doesn't like the peasant girl, and the lady from the magistrate's family looks down on him, and the best thing is the next best thing. Liu Fuchun can only recognize him by pinching his nose. Among those girls who intend to marry the Yan family, she is the most outstanding young lady of the scholar family.
"The girl from Huang Xiucai's family is really nice, but the dowry that that family asked for was too high, thirty taels, enough to buy a small yard in the town. No matter how good his girl is, it's worth nothing."
Yan Jiang shook her head. She loves her eldest grandson, but she really doesn't think it is necessary to spend so much money to marry a daughter-in-law. As a woman, it won't be long before she can have a child.
"Mom, I'm not just interested in that girl, I value Huang Xiucai even more."
Liu Fuchun had already guessed the possible reaction of the old lady, she leaned close to the old lady's ear and whispered something, the old lady's face was tangled with joy, it took a long time before she opened her mouth.
"My son's third cousin is also a scholar. If he really has a trick, will he tell us?"
Mrs. Yan felt that her daughter-in-law's words were too unreliable. If there were any shortcuts to the exam, wouldn't the entire Jin Dynasty be scholars? Besides, if Huang Xiucai really had the ability to teach, he wouldn't be almost a prostitute by now. The daughter is begging for money to the point.
"Mother, think about it, baby, his third uncle's family is a direct branch, and he wishes that our side branch will not be successful, so that we can live on his breath. If you think about it carefully, after so many years, is it the case that the main branch has the highest chance of being a scholar?" ? That means there is indeed a shortcut to this exam."
Liu Fuchun asked the old lady to figure out for herself, how many of the Yan family's talented graduates were direct descendants at that time.
The Yanjiang family thought for a while, it seemed to be the case, but thinking about it carefully, it was also because only the main branch at that time had the energy and financial resources to raise the heirs in the family. How much money can an ordinary farming family provide for how many children
"Our family and the patriarch's side have long been distant relatives who are separated by several rooms. People may not tell us such news, but Huang Xiucai is different. If Xi'er becomes his son-in-law, he can still tell such important things. Keep it from him? Thirty taels to buy a daughter-in-law and a title of scholar, it’s not a bad deal.”
Liu Fuchun's words are very tempting and tempting. It is something they think about day and night to have a scholar in their family.
But the old lady can't completely decide on the grandson's matter, and marrying the daughter of Huang Xiucai's family is too expensive, so she has to discuss this matter with her own old man.
Seeing that the old lady was tempted, Liu Fuchun let go of half of his thoughts.
Yan Chu stood outside the door of his grandmother's room. Originally, he came to tell his grandparents and third uncle that he planned to let him take the county examination this year. He didn't expect to hear the conversation between his eldest aunt and grandmother. At this time, he suddenly realized It turned out that the days passed so quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was almost the day when Fu Zhenzhen came to the house.
"Old madam, buy a maid and go home. This girl has a small appetite and can't eat much food. Besides, she is already eight years old this year. In a few years, she will be able to give birth to sons for the young masters in the family."
Because of several times of persuasion by the elder son and his wife, and because the younger daughter also felt that the marriage was a good one, both Old Man Yan and Mrs. Yan finally agreed to marry the eldest grandson to the daughter of Huang Xiucai's family.
Today, the old lady took her eldest daughter-in-law to the county to buy things for the wedding. Because there were a lot of things to buy, she even drove the family's ox cart here.
A few days ago, there seemed to be a disaster in the north. Many refugees came to their area. Fortunately, the number was not large and the scale was not large. In addition, there were already rich people outside the county town who began to give food, which did not affect the lives of the local people. how much impact.
There are also those whose families were in trouble, and in order to settle down in the new place as soon as possible, they began to buy and sell their young children. This kind of scene is more common during this period. Stay on this kind of small road into the city, waiting for those wealthy country people, or people from the county who go out of the city.
Today I came to the county to do some shopping. The old lady Yan and Liu Fuchun were both well dressed. The woman with a thin yellow girl by her side immediately took a fancy to them and stopped in front of the cart without thinking.
"Our family is an ordinary peasant household, not so expensive, and we don't buy maids."
Yan Jiang waved at the woman, telling her to get out of the way quickly, because he had to go to the county town to do some shopping.
"If you don't want a maid, then buy a child bride-in-law. I want a bag of food. The men and children in the family are starving to death. That bag of food is life-saving. Please do me a favor and buy our daughter."
The woman pulled the little girl beside her to kneel down to the old lady, kowtowing and begging.
This is the daughter of her man's younger brother. Her brother-in-law and his wife were unlucky and died of illness on the way to escape. The only son said he was going to find food for his younger sister. They couldn't just wait for him if he never came back. They could only follow the fleeing crowd southward until they arrived at this relatively affluent small county.
In all fairness, this woman is not the kind of person who is really cruel, otherwise she is a good-looking niece, and if she sells it in the Goulan Yard, she can sell it for one or twenty taels of silver, which is enough to buy dozens of bags of grain, but she After all, I was not greedy to this point.
She just saw that this family is well dressed, and there is an ox cart at home. Even if they are from the countryside, their family is well-off. Now, she doesn't want to have another mouth to eat at home, so she sells this little girl to those For a well-to-do farmer, the fate of the future depends on her own fate.
Hearing the words child bride and daughter-in-law, the other party only asked for a bag of grain, Liu Fuchun frowned, and pulled back the old lady who wanted to refuse.
"Mother, why don't we buy this little girl." She leaned into the old lady's ear and whispered.
"You're crazy, where does the family get an extra mouth?" Yan Jiang shook his head without thinking.
"Mom, listen to me."
Liu Fuchun held back the old lady: "In order to marry a daughter-in-law for Xi'er, the family's money is almost spent. Lin'er and Xiaobao are already nine years old this year, and in six or seven years, they will also be married. By then The two children talk about their daughter-in-law together, where does the family get the money from?"
With her mouth, dead people can talk about life. Although I don't know what kind of medicine she sells in the prison, it's not wrong for the old lady's attention to be attracted by her words.
"It's not expensive to buy a child bride-in-law with a bag of grain. Even if a little girl eats, how much grain can she eat? The most important thing is that this child was raised by us, so we don't have to worry about having ulterior motives. If you can pass the exam as a scholar, the conditions for choosing relatives are different, if you don’t pass the exam, no matter who marries this little girl, if you know the basics, at least you can live a peaceful life.”
Liu Fuchun has already asked his son about it, no accidents, the youngest son Yan Yan will definitely pass the boy's test, Yan Chu has not shown much his reading talent in the school in the past few years, in Liu Fuchun's view, at the beginning the other party could memorize thousands of words by heart. Writing, I don't know how much hard work has been put in behind the scenes. In terms of talent, he is definitely not as good as his son.
If the little girl in front of me is to be married, it must be Yan Chu who will marry, just to save a sum of money for the family gift.
Liu Fuchun's abacus was crackling, but it moved the old lady's heart.
In the village, it is not uncommon for a child bride to be a daughter-in-law. She spends money to receive a daughter-in-law who was raised by the family since she was a child. The little girl went back and just arrived.
Just like what the eldest daughter-in-law said, how much food can a baby girl eat, and when the grandson is worthless, marrying this little girl can save a lot of gift money. When the time comes to marry her off, you can earn a dowry money to make up for the expenses you have spent on her over the years.
Yan Jiang's position was not firm, and he was persuaded by Liu Fuchun in just a few words, and took a bag of Jinqiu's newly threshed millet that was originally intended to be brought to the little girl. Because it was fine grain, the bag of rice A little half was poured out.
Fu Zhenzhen was sold by her aunt for half a bag of new rice.
"From now on at this old lady's house, you have to be obedient, eat less and do more, don't make trouble for others, you know?" The woman happily picked up the half bag of grain, looked at the man and child who had been guarding not far away, and felt confused. Very confident.
Just looking at the little girl who didn't say a word from the beginning to the end, and quietly got into the Yan family's bullock cart after being sold, a trace of guilt flashed in her heart, and she said a few more words to her.
The little girl didn't know how long she hadn't had a full meal, and she was thin and out of shape. Her eyes were surprisingly big, which made people feel flustered.
The woman dodged her eyes and dared not look at her. After she finished speaking, she gritted her teeth and ran towards the men who had been standing by her side with red eyes.
"What's your name?"
The food was also given, and the people got into the bullock cart. At this time, Yan Jiang felt that he seemed to have done something ridiculous, but the woman who just sold the child had already run away with the food, and now regrets it. It's too late.
"Zhenzhen, my name is Fu Zhenzhen."
The little girl's throat was a little dry, and she didn't have much strength to speak.
"From now on, you will be a member of our Yan family. When you get home, be good, you know?"
Yan Jiangshi took out the water bottle that he carried with him, and handed her a sesame cake that he was going to pad his belly on the road.
"Thank you, old lady."
Fu Zhenzhen took the kettle, some monkeys drank a few mouthfuls anxiously, and waited until the mouth was not so dry, then ate the sesame cake in her hand, took a small bite, picked up any small crumbs that fell off her body, and ate them. After slapping the pancake, she stroked her stomach contentedly and smiled. From that yellow and thin face, the old lady could actually see a bit of coquettishness. In terms of appearance, she seemed to be better than the daughter of Huang Xiucai's family. How many points.
It seems that it is not a loss to buy such a granddaughter-in-law.
"What the hell is grandma thinking? You are a scholar, how can you find a little girl who I don't know where to buy as a child bride? This is too bullying."
Yan Taohua sat on the edge of the kang in his younger brother's room, and said to his younger brother who was constantly writing on paper with a wet brush.
At this time, Fu Zhenzhen has also been at home for three or four days. Originally, the Yan family was an old lady who bought a little girl who was in distress in her hometown for a moment of kindness. Yan Taohua and his sisters live in the same room, and they also have some feelings.
But I don’t know when, rumors spread in the village that the little girl newly bought by the Yan family was a child bride for Yan Chu, and the rumors were very sharp, as if they all saw the scene of the old lady buying someone at that time. .
Yan Taohua couldn't get angry at Fu Zhenzhen's already poor little girl, so she could only tell her brother about her complaints and incomprehensions.
In fact, rumors can spread so fast, and Yan Chu doesn't believe that there is no one who has a heart to help the flames. However, Liu Fuchun is indeed a very smart person. I am afraid that even the old lady can't figure out who is talking about it. It must have been said that she bought it as a child bride.
Hearing the third sister's complaints, Yan Chu's hands didn't stop.
If you want to take the imperial examination, it is not enough just to be able to write a good essay. How well you write is also a very important scoring item in the eyes of the marking officials.
Paper and ink cost money, so Yan Chu used water instead of ink to practice calligraphy, and he would grind the inkstone and start writing when he had me. Therefore, in the past few years, even if he was also enlightened in the book school, Yan Chu's expenses It's only two-thirds of Yan Yan's.
Old man Yan and Mrs. Yan also saw his actions, and they loved this grandson who they didn't pay much attention to before. Not to mention comparable to his first cousin, but compared to his second cousin , Grandparents still favor him.
Therefore, Yan Chu can basically be sure that even if it is to buy a child bride this time, it is not certain who the old lady originally intended to buy a child bride for. The rumors are so widespread and they are so swearing, it is obvious who is responsible.
"Third sister, the most important thing for me now is to deal with the county examination, and other things, let's talk about it later."
Yan Chu hasn't figured out how to deal with his relationship with Fu Zhenzhen yet, so he doesn't plan to have too much contact with Fu Zhenzhen before the end of the county examination.
"Yes, if you become a child, grandma won't let you marry Zhenzhen."
It is because of what her younger brother said that Yan Taohua thought of being able to get rid of the troubles of her child-raised daughter-in-law and younger siblings. The master didn't dare to disturb Yan Chu's study anymore, so he covered his mouth and left quickly. She has to watch more these days, and must not let Zhenzhen and her younger brother There are too many contacts.
Because of Yan Taohua's determination, before the county examination, Yan Chu really had no chance to have private contact with Fu Zhenzhen.
On the day of the county examination, Yan Changxue and Yan Changxi took their two children to the county town for reference in the bullock cart at home. During the entire examination, the two stayed outside, eating dry food when they were hungry, drinking water when they were thirsty, and going to the toilet. The two take turns.
Because the master in the school said that sometimes there will be accidents in the exam. After all, people will always get sick if they eat whole grains. The county exam is not as strict as the future provincial exam. After being carried out, the family will need to bring him back.
Yan Changxue and Yan Changxi were afraid that their son would be the unlucky one, so naturally they stayed outside the examination room every step of the way.
Originally, it was just to be sure, but unexpectedly, less than an hour after the exam started, Yan Xuan, who had just gone in and was fine, turned pale and sweating profusely, and was carried out by the yamen officials.
Yan Changxue was in a hurry, today's exam will determine who can continue to study, his son or the nephew of the second room. How could it be a coincidence that his son suddenly fell seriously ill
"Yan Chu" also didn't understand, wasn't he sentenced to exile for deceiving the emperor, why did he appear in the examination room of the county examination at this moment.