As the saying goes, excessive joy leads to sorrow, and I think that is true.
Something unhappy happened during dinner. Halfway through dinner, my aunt told me a piece of news.
"Dad, Mom, it's like this. Jun'er's grandmother saw that Jun'er was smart, so she decided to help him with his studies. She didn't want to delay Jun'er, so she wanted to support him in his studies."
When Zhu Pingan heard the news, he subconsciously felt that something was wrong. It was rare to hear that a girl's family would be willing to help a married girl raise a child. The ancients said that a married girl is like spilled water. Is the eldest aunt's family so open-minded? Is Jun Ge's grandmother willing? Are his uncles and aunts willing too
In ancient times, there was no tuition fee, but students had to pay a gift of "Shuxiu". At that time, students gave gifts to teachers to show their respect. This was called "Shuxiu", which was actually the tuition fee. This rule was implemented as early as the time of Confucius. At that time, the gift was salted pork, but now "Shuxiu" is money.
The tuition in the countryside is much cheaper than in the towns, but it is still about one guan a year, which is one thousand wen, and is paid in two installments. There are also festival gifts such as vegetables, eggs, and meat. It can be said that the cost is quite high.
But I heard that my aunt's family is well-off, so maybe it's not certain.
When the grandparents heard that the Yue family was willing to pay for Jun'er to go to school, they were very happy. They all valued the eldest brother's family very much. If the eldest brother was good at studying, then Jun'er would definitely do well in his studies too.
The grandparents were all happy, and since it was my aunt's in-laws who paid for it, my mother Chen, my fourth aunt, and my third aunt naturally didn't say anything.
"Jun'er is going to elementary school, and Zhu'er is not young anymore, so he can take over Jun'er's job to herd cattle." Seeing that no one in her family objected, the eldest aunt's face was full of pride, and then she turned the topic to Zhu Ping'an, "It's almost autumn, so we need to raise the cattle to be stronger so that they can do farm work."
You said I was young the day before yesterday!
You want me to take over Jun Ge's job of herding cattle? When has Jun Ge ever herded cattle? He never even touched a hair.
The reason why the eldest aunt arranged Zhu Pingjun to herd cattle was because she remembered that the family had said that Zhu'er was smart and sensible, and she felt that she had to stop Zhu'er from studying as soon as possible. On the one hand, she was afraid that the family would spend money, so it would be better to let Zhu'er work hard on the land like his second brother to support himself. On the other hand, she was also afraid that Zhu Ping'an would steal the limelight from her son, even though her son was born under the fortune-telling star Wenquxing.
"Sister-in-law, my Zhui'er is still young, and the cows are so big, how can he herd them?" Mother Chen frowned and objected, with some words in her heart that she didn't say out loud. Your Jun'er goes to school, why should my Zhui'er herd cattle? Besides, when has your Jun'er ever herded cattle
Third Aunt liked Zhu Ping'an, so she also helped him out, "That's right, a pig is not even as tall as a cow's leg."
"Our cows are very obedient and know the way. Herding them is just following them and not letting them eat other people's crops." The aunt kept saying, "Zi'er has followed my second brother up the mountain before, so herding cows is nothing."
Mother Chen was worried about Zhu Ping'an letting him herd cattle, but his aunt insisted and the dinner table became restless.
"A loving mother often spoils her child. It's good for you to exercise. If you really can't let go, it's not too late to let go."
My grandmother protected my aunt and her words and actions showed her agreement.
Mother Chen was angry at the dinner table and didn't eat much. She reached under the table and pinched Zhu's father countless times.
Anyway, Zhu's father grinned many times at the dinner table.
"Mom, you should eat more. Herding cattle is also good. I like our cows." Zhu Ping'an stretched out his chopsticks to help Chen pick up food, and his soft childish voice comforted Chen.
Chen felt much better about her son's understanding, but she still felt unhappy when she thought about her eldest sister-in-law's children going to school while her own child, who was so young, had to go herd cattle.
"Zhi'er is going to herd cattle. From now on, give him half an extra cake at each meal." The grandfather said.
Grandfather usually does not interfere in the affairs of the family. As long as the matter is not too out of line, he will turn a blind eye. Although he attaches great importance to the eldest brother's family, he also likes Zhu Ping'an, the chubby grandson.
The night slowly falls, the moon slowly rises, and light clouds linger around the moon, as if covering it with a layer of gauze. The moonlight is gentle, the night is beautiful, and there is peace.
The moonlight is quiet and gentle, but not in the east wing.
"Why should his son go to school while my son has to herd cattle? You work hard, and Dachuan has already helped this man with so much effort, but Zhi'er has to herd cattle too. Does our family owe the old family anything?"
"You dead man, you didn't say a word!"
"How can I marry a man like you who doesn't even dare to fart!"
For Zhu's father, it was not easy to leave more private money for the family. It would be too difficult for him to oppose his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law. It was good for the boy to be beaten more. He also thought so in his heart. Besides, his mother also said that if he couldn't let it go, he wouldn't let it go, so he didn't say anything at the dinner table.
But Chen doesn't care about that.
Poor old dad, my condolences to you.
Zhu Ping'an left without any loyalty. It's your own wife, so you should take care of her yourself. Good luck to you, dad.
The shepherd boy rides on a yellow cow and his singing voice shakes the forest.
This poem is a perfect portrayal of Zhu Ping'an at present, riding on the back of an old yellow cow, swinging his legs, with a bamboo water bottle on his waist, holding a fishing rod in his hand, with a hemp line hanging from the fishing rod, and a bunch of green grass tied to the hemp line. The grass just hangs in front of the cow's head, and the old yellow cow hooves and gallops along the way under the guidance of the grass.
On the ox's back was a simple saddle made of bamboo by Zhu's father last night, so Zhu Ping'an's small body could hold the ox steady. The bamboo was light and did not affect the old ox's movements.
Zhu Ping'an sat on the cow's back, his thoughts drifting with the cow's hooves.
By the way, the poem "Shepherd Boy Riding a Yellow Ox" was written by Yuan Mei in the Qing Dynasty. All the poems and verses of the Qing Dynasty can be used by oneself. If life could be like Nalan Xingde who we first met, Gong Zizhen who said "Falling petals are not heartless", Zhao Yi who said "There are talented people in every generation", and even Tsangyang Gyatso who we have met or not, wouldn't it be a good thing for ourselves
I memorized a lot of the eight-part essays of the top scholar in the Qing Dynasty during my postgraduate studies. Although I can't recite them by heart, I still remember a lot of the general ideas. The eight-part essays of the Qing Dynasty are much more standardized than those of the Ming Dynasty.
Poems can be used, or modified, but eight-part essays cannot necessarily be used directly. Each eight-part essay is a topic-based composition. Although the topics are the original texts of the Four Books and Five Classics, there are so many of them that you don't know which topic it is. If you are lucky, if the topic overlaps with the ones you remember, you will be safe, but if the topic is different, then it will be useless.
In modern times, I studied ancient Chinese, but if I was asked to write an eight-part essay, I would never be able to do it. Modern people are criticizing the eight-part essay, and the school never taught me how to write it. Besides, I didn’t even know how to use a brush.
All in all, it is still necessary to go to school.
Well, it seems that the private school in Shanghe Village is on the low hill not far from the border with Xiahe Village.
There is lush grass and water on the hillside, so why not go there and graze the cattle