The husband's son-in-law

The bullock cart king Shitou and his father rushed back first.

Construction has started on the open space next to Li's house, the weeds have been hoeed, and the foundation pit has been dug. Now there are many piles of wood, tiles and green bricks, all of which were brought back from the town.The rural yards were originally open and large, because they were used to dry food, and now the open space next to them is even bigger.

Brother Xing heard from her mother-in-law that the uncle's house is going to build a new yard, but it's not as big as expected.

Even the wilderness in the back opened up.

"Uncle, this new courtyard is too magnificent." Brother Xing said.

Li Da said: "Zhao'er's drawing shows that the building is big or not small, and it will be a place for the whole family to take care of when they come back." There are small vegetable plots in the front and back yards, but Li Da doesn't think it's too big, but it's quite small.

I am used to living in Zhaozhou, but now the size of the house is different.

Every family in the village envied him, but they didn't dare to envy them. It's because they didn't have good eyesight like Li Da, and the family didn't have a son-in-law like Gu Zhao, who let them be the old lady.

"That's great, we can see each other every day." Brother Xing thought about buying a house in the village as well. Their household registration has not changed in the village, and it won't cost much. It's just that they didn't rush to build it before, and they don't want to do it in the future. Let's talk about the sale.Now it seems that it is better to buy it early, otherwise, wait for his family to buy the land and then build it. The location does not know where the corner is.

With an idea in mind, Brother Xing decided to just buy it this time and forget it.

"We've arrived at the door of our house, let's go in and have a break and drink some tea." Li Da greeted people to come in.

Brother Xing didn't refuse, thanked the uncle and brought his son into the yard, and said to Shitou, "We're dirty all the way, you clean it up first, I really want to see Zhou Zhou, come back after you clean it up."

"I know." Wang Shitou said.

Father Wang also said that he would come back later, and he didn't go home for several days to see how the house was doing.Brother Xing'er and mother-in-law also declined politely and said they would come later.

Everyone is winking, the Wang family and the Li family are distant relatives, and Brother Xing and Zhou Zhou have a deep relationship. They entered the gate of the Li family without looking at Li Guangzong. They are all close and distant. However, seeing his grandson Yuanyuan also went in, Father Wang felt much more comfortable and happy.

The relationship between their family and the Li family is far from being a hindrance. It is good for the grandson to use his father's relationship to get close to the Li family. After Yuan Yuan passes the exam, the relationship will be fine. official.

Yuan Yuan is a descendant of the Wang family, so he is very good.

Father Wang was overjoyed, he patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Not bad."

Wang Shitou just laughed, he knew what his father meant, and he was also happy to see his mother. At the beginning, he insisted on getting married to Xingge, and it was not because of this, he could only say that he was lucky.

"Zhou Zhou, Brother Xing and Yuan Yuan are back." Li Da shouted from the yard.

Li Zhouzhou was originally talking to Su Shiyi about building the yard in the main room, but when he heard his father’s voice outside, he immediately smiled, and finished talking to Su Shiyi first, "...the water is ready, the bathroom and toilet are important, and the other appearances are up to the teacher. .” Then he got up and went out.

There are many mosquitoes in the countryside in summer, and the door of the main room is hung with a curtain made of cloth strips tied into a small bow-made by Liu Tao. If there is nothing to do, I will make this in the yard of the town and send it to Su Shiyi later.

Li Zhouzhou lifted the curtain, and Brother Xing was in the yard.

Not seeing each other for more than ten years, the two looked at each other across the air.

Brother Xing's eyes turned red, he was happy, and Li Zhouzhou also smiled.

"weekly!"

"Brother Xing!"

The two called each other's names, and the excitement and joy of meeting for the first time were all contained in the names.Li Zhouzhou smiled and held Brother Xing'er's hand, and said, "But it's been a long time since I saw you."

"Isn't it? It's been more than ten years. At that time, you and your uncle came back from the capital and said that Mr. Gu was promoted and going to the south. I was in the prefecture and county at that time. When I heard the news, it was already Chinese New Year. Now it can be regarded as See you, I just came back and passed by your yard and didn't want to leave."

Brother Xing set off a series of firecrackers.Li Zhouzhou just laughed, but nothing changed.

"It was different then." Li Zhouzhou said.That's right, Xianggong said that he invited him to the place, but he was tampered with, and he was worried about Zhaozhou along the way, so he didn't have the heart to stay so long and talk to relatives and friends.

"I stayed for a long time this time, so I thought I'd see you again when Yuanyuan had a farm holiday in July." Li Zhouzhou said Yuanyuan, and his eyes moved to the big guy next to him.

Brother Xing smiled happily, but didn't speak yet.Yuan Yuan bowed first, but before he finished saluting, his father patted his arm and said: "You and Uncle Zhou Zhou are still bowing to each other." Uncle Zhou Zhou also said: "A family, why are you so unfamiliar. "

When the two said it, they both laughed.

Yuan Yuan was not so formal, calling him Uncle Zhou.

In fact, Yuan Yuan was very nervous on the way back. He knew that Dad had a good relationship with Uncle Zhou, but that was the relationship in the village when he was a child. After so many years, Uncle Zhou became the wife of the chief assistant, and his family background was different. How can we get along like we did when we were in the village.

I didn't hear that Fu Zun came to visit in person.

That's why Yuan Yuan behaved well, but he didn't expect that it was indeed as Dad said—as always.

"I heard from my second aunt that the girl from the Mu family is filial, which is pretty good." Li Zhouzhou said.

Yuan Yuan's fiancée's surname is Mu.

Brother Xing was very happy when he mentioned his daughter-in-law who had never been married, and said: "Look at his superficially serious manners, but in fact, can I see through his small thoughts as a father? Inviting his elder brother to come to eat at home, is it okay?" I was sending braised edamame to my elder brother, but I asked for more edamame, so I said: Classmate Mu came to our house for dinner. I seem to like meat, so I just want a pack of edamame, and it’s not for classmate Mu. ..."

Yuan Yuan's mind was punctured, and her ears turned red.

"He's a young man, what's the matter, he's really like his father, and he's designated as a soft-hearted listener in the future." Brother Xing said.

Be careful with your son, but Brother Xing is open-minded. It is normal for a boy to marry and a girl to marry. Isn’t it normal to want to find a wife? Not to get married together.

As for the son listening to his wife, isn't that normal?

Wang Shitou listens to him, he has a man who orders him to work and is obedient, and he doesn't need his son Baba to listen to his father's everything. Yuan Yuan is filial to his children, that's right.

"By the way, where's Fubao?" Brother Xing asked.What can his family have to talk about, just those two sentences, it's okay to study, and the marriage is settled, so don't worry too much.

Now that the business is going well and the expenses are not too tight, he should be able to supply a scholar, right?

"Since coming to the village, Fubao has had a lot of fun. He went out to play with Jian'an Dongdong and Gu Chen and Gu Yang all day long. The harvest was a few days ago. Everyone was busy, so he also went to the field. The boy at home played with him for a few days, and his homework slipped."

Brother Xing defended his shortcomings and said directly: "That's because they are stupid. Why did they slip after playing for a few days? It must be because they didn't do it before."

Yuan Yuan wanted to say something at the side, but she decided to forget it.Scholars, in the winter and summer, study for ten years like a day, and do not review their homework for a day is slack.

Li Zhouzhou also laughed when he heard what Xinggeer said, and he was more protective of Fubao than he was.Next to him, Li Guangzong came out with a watermelon, and when he heard his brother scold Jian'an Dongdong for being stupid, he immediately said: ...

"Why can't you say it?" Brother Xing saw Guangzong look at him.

Li Guangzong: "No, no, you are their eldest brother and uncle, you should say it." He handed over the watermelon plate, "Brother, eat a watermelon."

"Go in and talk. Your brother just came back. He fetched water and washed his face and hands to cool off." Li Zhouzhou said.

Someone fetched water and put it on the shelf under the eaves of the yard, and asked Brother Xing to wash up.Brother Xing immediately felt uncomfortable, and hurriedly said thank you for not bothering you, then turned around and asked in a low voice, "Zhou Zhou, who is this?"

"Servants at home. You wash first, the place to live is not open, only two people are left, cook, wash and tidy up the house, the others are in the courtyard of the town, and there are four guards, two of them went out with Fu Bao." Li Zhou Thoughtful.

From Zhaozhou to Beijing, the servants I brought were all bought later. There were brothers and girls, most of them were men. Now the two in the village are brothers. It is more convenient for the girl to stay in the town to take care of Liu Tao .His yard is full of men and brothers.

For heavy tasks like carrying water at home, the soldiers help out on weekdays.

Brother Xing was speechless, and when he finished washing and went into the main room - he didn't even need to pour water to clean it up.

After entering the main room, Brother Xing ate the cold watermelon, and then regained his tongue and what he said just now, "By the way, haven't you said Fubao yet? They don't play with Fubao, but Yuanyuan came back Let Yuan Yuan, the elder brother, take Fu Bao to play."

Yuan Yuan nodded.

"Also - how should I put it, Fu Bao first reviewed homework and calligraphy with them when the weather was cool in the morning, and watched the four of them finish their homework early, and then they could start playing." After listening to Li Zhouzhou at that time, it was almost yes:……

His Jia Fubao was able to play with his little friends, which is considered to be two-handed.

After returning to the village for so long, there are quite a few children of the same age as Fubao in the village. However, after Fubao played with these children for two days, he didn’t like to play with these children. .

If Gu Zhao was there, he would specify to say: Fu Bao doesn't like being uninitiated and too obedient.

It was the same when he was in Zhaozhou, his father's status was here, and Fubao was the social center in the children's circle, so his status was naturally high, but it's human nature for Fubao to make friends, and it doesn't mean that he has to argue with Fubao, Opinions differ, so Fubao chooses such a friend.

Rather, they share the same interests and have their own principles.

Like the children of the two families, their ages are not much different from Fubao’s. After the harvest was completed, they declined to play with them for two days and offered to study.

There are girls from a few families in the village who also play well with Fubao, because these little girls play for a while, and when the time is almost up, they reject Fubao, saying that they want to go back to cook, and sometimes they go to the mountains to beat a basket of pigs. When you come back from the grass, you have to take care of playing and working, instead of holding Fubao, Fubao does what he says, which is against his own heart.

Fu Bao didn't want to play with such a young and arrogant kid, saying: "He's still rolling and messing around in front of me, heh heh, I don't like this, I'm Li Zhaoxi with a heart of stone!"

"Father won't let me pity and sympathize with men." He was confident and confident.

Li Zhouzhou: ...The 'boy' is about three or four years old, and there is another one who wears crotch pants.

Fubao is not pushy and wants to be the king of children, nor is he very patient and likes to take care of children-Fubao's patience and energy are all selective, choosing for family and friends that he values, rather than trying to please everyone he sees.

At this moment, Brother Xing heard this, and said: "That's just right, let Yuan Yuan help to watch a few younger brothers study, finish it early and play early, if Fubao can't do it, ask Yuan Yuan."

"That's good." Li Zhouyi agreed.

The children were studying at Mrs. Zhao's. In the morning, Jian An Dongdong passed by Li Dayuan, waiting for Fubao to go with him, and they also came back at noon.

It is still half a day in the village, studying in the morning and going back home in the afternoon.

Mr. Zhao passed away a few years ago, and now Mr. Zhao’s grandson, Mr. Zhao Ze, is Mr. Zhao. Ever since he was admitted as a scholar, Mr. Zhao has been unsuccessful. Later, he lost his temper. When his grandfather passed away, he simply became Mr. Zhao’s teacher. Take care of your son more.

Speaking of this, Li Guangzong said to his elder brother: "Master Zhao is also strict with his son." He heard from Dongdong that if they didn't write silently correctly, Master Zhao would hit the palm of his hand three times and hit his son six times. Down.

Li Guangzong nodded in agreement after listening to it, and then told his daughter-in-law that he couldn't get used to Dongdong, he had to come with Mrs. Zhao to train hard.

"Grandpa Mr. Zhao had a heart-wrenching knot until he went, and there was no Juren in his family."

When Brother Xing heard this, he said, "It doesn't mean that you are the only one who is good at judging others—"

"Father, you can sit back and relax." Yuan Yuan added.

"That's right, you don't have to worry about falling asleep if you have a pillow." Brother Xing finished speaking, and continued to say to Zhou Zhou: "Master Yuan Yuan was also admitted to Juren a few years ago, thanks to the book that Mr. Gu brought back, After Master Yuan Yuan passed the exam, his family thanked him once, but after that, other students’ Shuxiu will be expensive, so Yuan Yuan will still be charged as before.”

"But I didn't become an official. I saw that apart from Shu Xiu being more expensive than before, it seemed to be the same." Brother Xing said.

Master Yuan Yuan was already 45-50 when he taught Yuan Yuan, and he was more than [-] years old when he was admitted to Juren.

But the reputation is good, the status is also high, and everyone calls him Master Juren.

In the past two or three years, Mrs. Yuan Yuan has grown old, and actually doesn't have much energy to teach. Yuan Yuan said that he went to a private school to study, but he didn't learn much. He just reviewed the past textbooks by himself.

Scholars nowadays are like this. Bai Ding, who didn’t pass the exam, longs for fame and power, but passing the exam is the first step, stepping on the edge of the officialdom, and the officialdom will be ups and downs in the future, either intrigues or mediocrity .

With the ratio of born rich and powerful, it is indeed a thousand times more difficult for a son from a peasant family to become an official.

"I think Yuan Yuan is calm and down-to-earth. After studying for so many years, she has not yet become a scholar. It's better to wait for the ethnology to be completed and let Yuan Yuan go back to the village to study." I wrote a letter, and the teacher I invited was a famous teacher, one for each Juren and one for Jinshi."

"Master Zhao is perfectly capable of enlightening the children in the village, but if they want to improve further, they need the guidance of a famous teacher."

Yuan Yuan, who was listening to the adults at the side, heard that the clan school had invited Jinshi Juren to teach, and was shocked and surprised, excited in his heart, and showed some yearning on his face.

"Uncle Zhou, can others enroll?" Yuan Yuan asked.

Seeing his son's appearance, Brother Xing also understood at this time that the teacher Zhou Zhou talked about must be very good. I don't want to think that Yuan Yuan is stupid.

His family, Yuan Yuan, has been clever since he was a child. He used to come to Zhou Zhou's house to play, and Mr. Gu said that Yuan Yuan's temperament and ability to sit still is the material for studying. Why didn't he make any progress in his first reading in the prefecture or county?

Listening to Zhou Zhou's words at this time, it means that the teacher is not very good-although I'm sorry to say so, Mr. Yuan Yuan, but Mr. Yuan Yuan only passed the examination of scholar in his 30s, and Juren did not pass the examination until he was 53.Yuan Yuan followed the teacher, and Xing Geer was panicked at that time, and secretly asked Wang Shitou, wouldn't his son be a scholar at 37, right?

Then he can be a grandfather.

"I must be missing classmate Mu." Brother Xing said, "It's the brother of the fiancée, can Zhou Zhou come to study?"

Li Zhouzhou said: "Of course you can, but there is no discount for Shuxiu. The family study is cheap for the children of the two villages, and free for the children of the two families. If there are too many people, the master will be too busy later, and he must take the school qualification test before accepting it."

"Enlightenment doesn't matter."

Imperial examinations and enlightenment are two different things.

Brother Xing understood roughly after hearing it, and felt that Zhou Zhou had become very powerful now.

"I originally wanted to buy a house this time, but now I have not only bought it, but also have to build it quickly."

"Buying land and building a yard is always a good thing. Yuanyuan is going to get married now, and she will be admitted to a scholar and enter a government school in the future. The yard business in the prefecture and county can continue."

Brother Xing heard the truth. If he didn't dare to open his mouth more than ten years ago, he was afraid that his mother-in-law and father-in-law would think that he was going to separate the family. Now, when the children grow up, the eldest sister-in-law and the eldest sister-in-law will all get married and marry their wives. Usually, they can still open it if they don’t come back, and it’s okay to borrow the house in his yard.

But when the family came back, they still had to sleep on the bunk on the floor, unable to stretch their feet.

It's better to cover it together in hot weather.

Brother Xing has been the backbone of the family for so many years in business, and now he has an idea, that is, to do what should be done, as fast as he can.

While talking, there was noise outside.

"See you in the afternoon, Li Zhaoxi."

"See you in the afternoon."

Li Guangzong first said: "Listen to the sound of Dong Dong, Brother Zhou Zhou, I also went back that day, I won't eat here, I will come back in the afternoon." Saying this, Sa Yazi left the main room, and he could still hear Li Zhaoxi calling his uncle.

"Hey, Fu Bao is back." Brother Xing hurriedly came out to look at people.

Saw it in the yard.

Brother Xing blinked, and Li Zhaoxi blinked too.Li Zhouzhou patted Fu Bao's arm and said, "Uncle Xing'er."

"Zhou Zhou, your family fortune is so beautiful. It looks like Master Gu. It was carved out of the same mold." As a result, Brother Xing didn't dare to get close to him when he saw him. He was a little afraid of Master Gu.

Li Zhaoxi was praised, her smiling eyes were crooked, her teeth were exposed, she raised her chin in a reserved manner, and said, "Hello Uncle Xing'er, I should be prettier than my father by a little bit, right?"

"Naughty again." Li Zhouzhou smiled.The father and son are more beautiful than others.

Brother Xing said: "That's for sure, you are beautiful." Anyway, Mr. Gu is not in front of him, so Xiao Fubao looks so pretty.

Li Zhaoxi is very happy, if he asks father, father will definitely say that they are all good-looking, but Li Zhaoxi knows that this is the best-looking father.

Hmph, Uncle Xingge'er has a good eye.