The Zhu family's old house is a civil structure, which is quite acceptable in Xiahe Village where most of the houses are thatched huts and adobe houses. However, the walls and wooden doors have been eroded by the years, and the wall paint has peeled off in several places, and the paint on the doors has also faded.
The commotion could not be contained, and a burst of noise came out.
Before he even reached the door, Zhu Pingan heard a flurry of noise coming out of the crack in the door. It was a familiar sound, a familiar recipe, and a familiar taste. He had grown up with this kind of noise when the family was still together. Hearing this sound again now, it couldn't be more familiar.
"Brother, you should leave at least a few taels of silver for the family. If you take it all away, our whole family will be left with nothing." The voice of the fourth aunt came from the yard, "Third sister-in-law, don't you think so?"
"What the fourth family said makes sense, big brother. May is the busy farming season, and the family spends a lot of money. Repairing farm tools, purchasing rice seeds, germination, and transplanting rice all cost money." After the fourth aunt finished speaking, the third aunt's voice was also heard.
In ancient times, men were valued more than girls. In the past, because she failed to give birth to a son and her mother's family was not as well-known as Fourth Aunt's, Third Aunt had no confidence to speak up at home. Since Third Aunt gave birth to a son, she has straightened her back in the old house and speaks more than before.
"Okay, stop making a fuss. The eldest brother is going to take the imperial examination to bring honor to our Zhu family. A poor family gets rich on the road. Yingtian Prefecture is so far away, and the eldest brother is going to take the imperial examination and he is unfamiliar with the place, so he must bring more money."
My grandmother's voice was heard soon after, and it was obvious that she was partial to and protective of my uncle.
"Cluck"
From inside the door came the laughter of Xiao Si's aunt, followed by her drawn-out voice, "Mother and elder brother have been to Yingtian Prefecture so many times that they can reach Yingtian with their eyes closed. How can they still be unfamiliar with the place?"
"What do you mean by that, Lao Si?" The eldest aunt was like a cat whose tail was stepped on. She was furious. She heard the hidden meaning of the words of the little fourth aunt. Isn't it that my man has failed the exam so many times? What do you know? The imperial examination is not that easy! You let Lao Si take the exam, but he will never pass it in his life.
"Hey, sister-in-law, why are you so angry? Did I say something wrong?"
Auntie Xiao Si covered her mouth with her hands and took two steps back, pretending to be weak, but her voice was full of fearlessness and even a tone of fear that the world would not be in chaos. "Don't scare me. It's okay if I'm scared, but it would be bad if you scare the descendants of our Zhu family."
As she spoke, Little Fourth Auntie deliberately puffed out her very conspicuous belly and rubbed her waist to show off, "Oh, I can't do it anymore. My waist is sore. I have to take a rest. When this little bastard comes out, I have to take good care of him. I am so tired. My symptoms are exactly the same as when my second sister-in-law was pregnant with a pig. In the future, let my Dazhuang study hard and take the imperial examination to learn from his pig brother."
Aunt Xiao Si found out she was pregnant when Zhu Ping'an won the top spot in the imperial examination and the government sent the good news, so she named the child in her belly, who she didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, Zhu Dazhuang. Of course, the full name is Zhu Pingzhuang, from the Pingzi generation, and the nickname is Dazhuang.
The eldest aunt was so angry about the pretentiousness of the fourth aunt. Why is she pretending? Everyone has had a bad pregnancy.
"Stop talking too much. The exam is important. We must sell everything we have to prevent him from taking the exam." Grandmother said without question, expressing her determination to support uncle in taking the exam.
"Selling everything you have? Why is that necessary? Aren't Jun'er's wife's family rich? The silk shop alone makes a hundred or eighty taels of silver every year. You haven't contributed anything since you got married. Big brother's exam is such a big thing. It would be great if Jun'er's wife's family could share some money to help him." Xiao Si's aunt rolled her eyes while sitting on the chair and said to Zhu Pingjun's wife who was standing beside her.
Well, yes, Jun'er's wife's family is rich, and Yue's family is a scholar. As soon as Xiao Si's aunt said this, everyone turned their attention to Zhu Pingjun's wife.
"Oh, aunt, you say that so lightly. My family's money didn't come from the wind. Besides, a daughter who is married off is like water spilled." Jun'er's wife rolled one eye up and spoke in a clean tone.
"We are relatives, so what's wrong with helping out?" Aunt Xiao Si retorted.
For a moment, you said something and I argued with you, you interrupted me and I retorted, and the whole yard was in chaos.
Crunch
The sound of a door opening woke up the aunt and the others who were immersed in the verbal battle, and the aunt shifted her gaze to the door.
In everyone's sight, Zhu Ping'an led Li Shu, pushed open the door and entered the old house, followed by four maids carrying large and small bags of pastries and gifts.
"Oh, Zhu'er is here with his wife. Look at you guys. You're here, so why are you bringing anything?"
Aunt Xiao Si was the first to react. She had just said that she needed to rest because of her back pain, but now she didn't look sore at all. She was carrying a big belly that had been several months pregnant, but she didn't look clumsy at all. Before others could react, Aunt Xiao Si had already moved like a fairy. In a blink of an eye, she was in front of Zhu Ping'an and the others.
Xiao Si Aunt is still the same Xiao Si Aunt, just like the airport security agent. Before the four little maids could close their stunned mouths, Xiao Si Aunt had already carefully checked all the large and small bags of pastries and gifts in their hands.
"Oh my, mom, this white thing is bird's nest, oh my, I have never eaten bird's nest before."
"Such beautiful pastries, I can't bear to eat them."
"What beautiful cloth, it looks like it's made of clouds from the sky, and feels so good to the touch. There are several rolls of cloth."
“So much meat!”
Aunt Xiao Si would yell every time she checked something, as if she was afraid that others didn't know about it.
hehe
Zhu Ping'an looked at Aunt Xiao Si who was being examined and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. This was the familiar Aunt Xiao Si.
Following the fourth aunt was the grandmother. After the fourth aunt clamored for two things, the grandmother also came over, and then the third aunt and Jun'er's wife came over.
"This is our grandmother." Zhu Ping'an introduced his family to Li Shu.
"Hello, grandma." Li Shu greeted her grandmother with a smile. Her cherry lips were so sweet and her manners were dignified and elegant. She was completely different from the women who were arguing in the yard.
"This is my eldest aunt, this is my third aunt, this is my fourth aunt, and this is Jun Ge's sister-in-law."
Zhu Pingan introduced everyone in the courtyard to Li Shu one by one. Li Shu also acted like a qualified daughter-in-law. After Zhu Pingan introduced them, she greeted them one by one without any airs. To be continued.
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