During the cold winter, the villagers have the custom of hibernating, especially on days when it snows.
As soon as the snow fell, the sky was covered with ice and snow, and the village streets became empty. After the villagers finished their work with the crops in the fields, most of them sat around their beds or by the stove, doing some sewing and mending. They were unwilling to go out even if the sky fell.
But today, Xiahe Village is an exception. Although snowflakes are flying and the north wind is howling outside, the cold air has not frozen people's enthusiasm. The whole Xiahe Village is bustling with cheers.
What caused the abnormality in Xiahe Village was an event: Zhu Shouyi's 13-year-old youngest son passed the imperial examination.
After the messenger who announced the good news set off firecrackers in the early morning, the whole village was bustling with excitement. Even after the messenger who announced the good news received the red envelope and rode away on a fast horse, Xiahe Village was still a sea of excitement.
Zhu Ping'an's house was full of people, and the yard was also crowded.
In addition to the villagers, the grandparents, the third uncle and the third aunt, the graceful little Yu'er, the fourth uncle and the fourth aunt, the eldest aunt and Zhu Pingjun were all at Zhu Ping'an's house, but the eldest uncle Zhu Shouren was absent. Well, the eldest uncle Zhu Shouren read until late at night and caught a cold. He was "recuperating" in the old house. But in the eyes of the villagers, the eldest uncle Zhu Shouren was too embarrassed to come here and pretended to be sick.
My grandfather sat in the house puffing on his pipe, listening to the villagers' congratulations, feeling happy but unable to help sighing a few times; as for my fourth uncle and fourth aunt, they were happy to walk around among the villagers, but my grandmother and eldest aunt were not very happy, with a sour taste in their hearts. If possible, they would rather it was my eldest uncle who passed the imperial examination.
Although the villagers were congratulating Zhu Ping'an's family as well as the people living in the Zhu's old house, there were still many villagers in the yard secretly discussing the Zhu family's division ten years ago, secretly laughing at their grandfather for regretting what he had done.
If the family had not been divided, wouldn't my grandfather and his family be a hundred times more glorious than they are now? The eldest son who was favored at the beginning didn't even pass the examination to become a scholar, and the second son who was forced to take the blame not only became rich, but even the little grandson not only passed the examination to become a scholar but also became a juren within a year.
In addition to the promotion of status, the most direct benefit of passing the imperial examination is exemption from taxes and corvée. It's a pity that in order to protect the reputation of the eldest brother, the Zhu family called the head of the village and others to divide the house, which was registered in the county, so this benefit can't be enjoyed! The Zhu family's old house is probably full of regret and can't eat in the next few days.
The happiest people were Zhu Ping'an's parents and brothers, especially his mother Chen, who was so happy that she didn't know how to close her mouth.
"His second aunt, you are the mother of a juren, how enviable. Can you also tell us how you raised a juren?"
The villagers asked Zhu Ping'an's mother Chen with envy, curiosity and flattery.
Hearing this, the smile on Mother Chen's face became even brighter. She waved her hands modestly, but her voice had nothing to do with modesty:
"I don't know what training is, I just raise him like everyone else. But don't tell me, my little pig has been sensible since he was young. He was sensible and cared for his mother when he was only two years old."
Upon hearing this, the villagers were both curious and flattering and kept asking how this unique scholar in Xiahe Village had become so sensible at the age of two.
Chen's chin almost lifted to the sky when she heard this, and she looked so proud of her son, "You don't know. Our Ping An has been sensible since he was young. When he was two years old, he was still in swaddling clothes. At that time, life was not going well. One time, he had an argument with your second brother at home. Although your second brother is honest, he can get angry back and forth. At that time, he made me cry, and I was holding the swaddling piglet. Guess what happened?"
"What happened? Haha, the second sister-in-law beat the second brother." Someone in the village started to make a fuss, making everyone laugh.
After everyone's laughter stopped, Chen shook her head and continued with a proud and gratified look, "He has thick skin and strong flesh. It hurts my hands to hit him. At that time, our little piglet was only two years old. When he saw me crying, he knew to pull the diaper out of the swaddling clothes and wipe my tears..."
He is only two years old, how can he understand how to feel sorry for others? When he was young, Zhuer was very tough, and he didn’t understand until he was five years old and recovered from an illness. He is two years old and hasn’t been weaned yet, how can he understand anything!
"He's peeing." Father Zhu couldn't bear to listen any more and couldn't help but interrupt.
Then the whole yard burst into good-natured laughter, and the atmosphere was full of joy.
Chen was just in high spirits, but after being poured cold water by Zhu's father, she naturally refused to continue. She glared at Zhu Shouyi, who looked innocent, and made him lower his head like a quail.
Then, like a victorious rooster, Chen continued to hold her head high and share with the villagers the story of how Zhu Ping'an was smart, sensible, hardworking, and studious when he was a child. The villagers listened with great interest and echoed Chen's words with envy. Then Chen became even more excited and praised Zhu Ping'an as the best in the world. If Zhu Ping'an were here, he would definitely blush after listening to her.
Chen was not the only one who praised Zhu Ping'an. Zhu Pingjun on the other side, regardless of his mother's unhappy face, was telling the villagers about Zhu Ping'an's childhood. Of course, he was involved in all the stories, some positive and some negative, but Zhu Pingjun didn't care and talked excitedly. This guy was also a crowd pleaser and he hadn't enjoyed the feeling of being praised by everyone for a long time.
"Let me tell you, when we were little, my brother Zhi and I were closest. Really, we went to school together. Let me tell you, my brother Zhi had no chance of taking the Tongsheng exam. It was because one of our senior brothers had a sudden family accident and had to stay at home in mourning. Do you know what "dingyou" means? It means to observe mourning. That's why a spot was vacated. The teacher wanted me to go, but I said, no, let my brother Zhi go. So my brother Zhi went. Otherwise, my brother Zhi wouldn't be where he is today."
"Don't disbelieve me, this is true. Why did I give it to my younger brother? Because my younger brother is a little smarter than me. Let me tell you a story from my childhood. When I was a child, my younger brother and I were very close. We basically always played together.
One time, my brother wanted to go to the mountain with my brother Dachuan to pick fruits. I wanted to play with my brother, but my brother wanted to go with Dachuan to pick fruits. So my brother told me to play hide-and-seek, and said that if I couldn’t find him, I had to keep looking, and I must not come out by myself... "
Speaking of this, Zhu Pingjun sighed and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.
"That day, I foolishly hid in the firewood pile for a long time until my mother started to cook dinner..."
The aunt on the side wanted to pin her son, the fortune teller Wenquxing, to the ground and give him a good beating. This shameless guy...
On this day, the whole Xiahe Village was bustling all day, and the villagers gradually dispersed in the evening. The people in Zhu's old house stayed at Zhu Ping'an's house for dinner, and did not take Xueming back to the old house until dark. (To be continued.)