The incident of my uncle bringing a girl back from studying abroad was resolved with the beating and scolding of my grandfather. The girl was kicked out of the house, and my uncle will go to the county town to return her to her friend early tomorrow morning. When my uncle comes back, he will first kneel in the ancestral hall for a day, and then be confined at home for half a year to study hard. He is not allowed to leave the Zhu family compound without the grandfather's order.
Actually, think about it, my grandfather still favored my uncle, and the punishments he imposed on him were not severe enough. In fact, none of the problems were really solved, such as the problem of two strings of cash, and the problem of my uncle's philandering. It was just a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution.
The matter was suppressed, but its aftermath cannot be eliminated.
For example, the relationship between my uncle and my aunt became strained because of this incident. When I returned to my room at night, I could still hear my aunt quarreling with my uncle in the room. My aunt loved my uncle very much and was proud of him in every way, but my uncle's incident hurt my aunt. My aunt was embarrassed to ask my mother-in-law for two strings of money, but it turned out that my uncle spent all the money on eating, drinking, playing and bringing girls home. My aunt was very hurt and no matter how my uncle explained, it was useless and she just wanted to make a fuss.
At night, everyone went to bed, but not long after, a howling sound was heard from the yard. It was Zhu Pingjun's cry.
"Daddy, come and see what's wrong. Why did Jun come out crying?" Mother Chen was awakened by Zhu Pingjun's crying not long after she fell asleep. She couldn't help but pull up the snoring Zhu Shouyi. They put on their clothes together and went to the yard to see what was going on.
The eldest brother Zhu Pingjun also woke up, put on his clothes and walked out of the house. Zhu Pingan also put down his brush and followed him out to see what was going on. His uncle and aunt were having a conflict, so why was Zhu Pingjun crying
The family of the Third Uncle and the family of the Fourth Uncle from the west wing also came out. They surrounded Zhu Pingjun in the yard and asked what had happened and why he was crying.
Then, under Zhu Pingjun's description, the incident was restored:
During the quarrel between the aunt and uncle, in order to better attack each other, they began to win over Zhu Pingjun.
The eldest aunt asked, "Jun'er, is mother good to you?"
Zhu Pingjun nodded and said okay.
The uncle here was not to be outdone and also asked, "Jun'er, is your father treating you well?"
Zhu Pingjun also nodded and said yes.
The round ended in a tie, which was naturally not the result that the aunt and uncle wanted, so they continued to ask, "Jun'er, who treats you better, mother or father?"
Zhu Pingjun glanced at his parents and replied, "You are both very good to me."
Very good. So far, Zhu Pingjun’s answers have been very good and have gone above and beyond.
My aunt and uncle then asked, "Now that my parents are arguing, whose side are you on?"
Zhu Pingjun looked up without thinking and answered, "I'll stand next to you..."
I stand beside... ... beside... ... So Zhu Pingjun was beaten by his aunt and uncle, asking him to stand beside, asking him to stand beside... ...
Zhu Pingan was speechless. Just stand by and get beaten. His IQ is flawed. But actually, think about it, Zhu Pingjun is indeed a victim. When adults quarrel, it has nothing to do with children. But that's how adults are. Parents always like to ask their children these questions when they quarrel, trying to find a sense of existence from their children. But how do you ask children to answer these two dilemmas? However, Jun's answer is indeed a worthy one. Any answer is better than this one. Even if you lean towards one side, it is better than hitting someone with two fists.
No one knew what to say, so they just comforted Zhu Pingjun. His mother Chen asked Zhu Pingjun to keep Zhu Ping'an and his older brother company in one room for one night, and then everyone left.
The mother's order could not be disobeyed, so Zhu Pingan and his elder brother had to take Zhu Pingjun back to the room to squeeze in. It must be said that Zhu Pingjun was really a representative of the careless class. He was still sobbing when he entered the room, and he snored in less than two minutes after lying on the bed. He didn't take today's events seriously at all. Perhaps in his eyes, as long as his parents were around, it was fine, and he didn't care about quarrels. Gradually, Zhu Pingchuan also fell asleep, and only Zhu Pingan continued to struggle.
Zhu Pingan sat at the table and continued to copy the textbook. This time he copied the Thousand Character Classic, which had a lot of words. He didn't think about copying it all in one night, so he planned to copy it in two times, copying a few hundred words tonight. The more he copied, the more Zhu Pingan felt that he and the brush were getting closer and closer. The brush in his hand seemed to become a part of his body. He felt that the brush in his hand seemed to be integrated into his body, like using his fingers and arms. This feeling was like killing monsters and accumulating enough experience points to level up. His brush calligraphy also made a small improvement at this moment, and it seemed to have reached a higher level than before. He was a beginner before, but now he is just beginning to learn the basics.
The next morning, before daybreak, my uncle was sent out by my grandfather to return Meiji without even a meal. My uncle also wanted some money for the trip, but my grandfather scolded him and he left in disgrace. However, my grandmother caught up with him and secretly gave him some money, but I don't know how much it was.
The eldest aunt seemed to have not slept all night, and she looked much more haggard. She only drank half a bowl of porridge for breakfast. Chen and other sisters-in-law also put aside their conflicts and comforted her with kind words. Zhu Pingjun seemed to be a little sensible. He sat down with the eldest aunt and did not make a fuss at the table like before. Zhu Pingan also sympathized with the eldest aunt, and of course he did not eat less. His grandfather kept asking him and Zhu Pingjun to eat more food and vegetables. Zhu Pingan relied on his grandfather's persuasion and also cooked a little special for Xiao Yuer. He put several pieces of scrambled eggs in Xiao Yuer's bowl, which made the little girl's eyes narrowed into crescents.
The uncle went to the county town to return Meiji in a very embarrassed state, but when he came back, he was full of energy and had a radiant face. This puzzled Zhu Pingan.
"Mom and Dad, I'm back now. My colleague knew what happened to me and apologized to me repeatedly, saying that he had caused me so much trouble. He gave his son half a string of coins for travel expenses. I know that I have committed a serious sin, so I didn't spend it and brought it back to you two." The uncle spoke earnestly, and he seemed to have admitted his mistakes and repented.
Grandma was very pleased and kept telling grandpa that the eldest son was a good boy who was just deceived.
When the grandfather saw that his eldest son had returned to the right path, his anger subsided a little, but he was still quite angry and did not reduce the punishment on his uncle in the slightest.
The uncle gladly accepted the punishment, saying that his mistake was serious and he should accept the punishment. He would change his ways and study hard in the future, and he would pass the imperial examination to bring honor to the Zhu family.
Before leaving, the uncle pulled the aunt into the room, saying that he was apologizing. In the room, he quietly gave the aunt half a string of money, saying that a friend had given her a string of money, and he had given the two elders half a string of money. This half string of money was to apologize to his daughter-in-law, saying that since she was so beautiful and virtuous, she should buy some rouge and powder... ...
Under the sweet words and half a string of money from my uncle, my aunt's anger subsided a lot.
When my uncle went to the ancestral hall to face the wall and repent, he had already put out more than half of the anger in the family. The rest was just a matter of time. For this, Zhu Ping'an had to admire his uncle's skills. He did not become stupid after reading the Four Books and Five Classics, but became more cunning. I don't know whether the eight-part essays in the Ming Dynasty were not as restrictive as those in the Qing Dynasty, or whether my uncle was a special case. There were too few scholars nearby to find a comparison. I could only wait until I left the village to draw a conclusion.