The Marginal People of Jia's Family in the Red Chamber

Leng Bi's "hometown" is in Ziling County, Huaiqing Prefecture, Shanxi Province. At this time, a large number of people fled famine and drought. It is a poor family.

Leng Bi came back with a group of people in a mighty manner, even a few people from a few households stood by the roadside to watch.Leng Bi was able to inherit the "family property", a dilapidated house, and five acres of land according to the imperial government's policy of resettlement. The land is five acres.There was no way, a large group of them had no choice but to turn to the county government and ask the county master for help.

Those who can be dispatched here to serve as county magistrates are all waiting in the middle of the capital to fill in the officials. It is easy for a severe drought to pull a group of people off their horses, and they have a chance. They are all newcomers to the officialdom.

Newcomers are so confused, it would be easier to talk without a master who knows how to do it.

A group of people came over mightily, there were also a few bodyguards on tall horses, plus some spectators, the county magistrate was so frightened that he thought it was some Shangguan coming, or some rioters were about to make trouble.

County magistrate Xiao Yuchuan came out in a hurry, but he found out that it was someone under his rule who asked to see him, so he immediately relaxed, listening to Leng Bi's intentions, wondering: "This house is like this, and this official can't do anything about it. There is an order from the imperial court that those who can produce the title deed can be returned, if you lose the title deed, there is nothing you can do about it.”

"I don't dare to bother my lord. I have to leave home. Although I lost the land deed, I still have two copper coins on me. I want to ask my lord to send someone to measure the land so that I can set up the family business." Leng Bi didn't come to make trouble to take advantage.

The magistrate was relieved when he heard that he was not here to find him to return to his original land.The worst-hit area in Ziling County is the county seat and surrounding villages and towns, which are basically all dead.The land has long been classified as state-owned. If a person suddenly appeared with the title deed now, it would be really difficult. Since it is to be bought, then there is no problem.

When the county magistrate first became an official, he was not the old-fashioned official who accepted a [-]-year-old ginseng from Leng Bi, and took Leng Bi's affairs as his own, and ordered the officials and servants under him to turn around.The housekeeper Leng Bi hired is also good at being a person. Every public official who is on official business will give him a thank-you gift ranging from dozens to hundreds of copper coins. He also shows respect in every way he speaks and does things, so that these people can be more attentive in their work. up.

Because the imperial court ordered Shanxi to be exempted from various taxes and labor for five years due to disasters, so Leng Bi took the money and bought 300 mu of land in one go. It is still a good piece of land. It can be said that there are He is the only one who can buy so many lands.Leng Bi also took the opportunity to buy two mountains and a large amount of real estate. This season is the most suitable, and the imperial court does not have a purchase restriction order, which happens to be cheaper for Leng Bi.

Leng Bi and his team first booked an inn and rested in the inn. Some people sent people to rest up the old house. In less than a month, the central axis of the front yard of the house has been rested. Other places can take their time. Leng Bi will I chose a good day to move in, and gave a gift to the county magistrate.This county magistrate is capable, and the original three classes and seven rooms in Ziling County are all dead. These people are all brought by him, and they can be regarded as strong.

After inviting people from the Gongmen to have a drink, Leng Bi officially moved in, and built an ancestral hall in the east, enshrining the family members of his parents who replaced him.Yuanshen's family concept is very contradictory. He hopes to have a son who can carry on the family line, and he is already looking forward to it. However, he doesn't pay much attention to the incense of his parents. In Yuanshen's life, he has never worshiped or offered incense to his ancestors. exist.That's right, he escaped to Beijing with great difficulty, and his household registration was lucky enough to become a commoner, but he still married a woman who was a slave.

Come to think of it, the original body was taboo to care that Leng Bi is not worshiping relatives and ancestors of his body and blood.

After the house was rested, Leng Bi went out several times one after another, and bought some middle-aged men to serve as guards. He couldn't trust the security after the catastrophe.

Half a year has passed, and Ziling County has become prosperous one after another. People who have been ordered by the imperial court to migrate slowly come from all directions, but Leng Bi's family is the only one who can be called a big family in Ziling County.

Three years later, Leng Bi passed the county examination, government examination, and hospital examination, and became a glorious scholar, with [-] mu of land under his name enjoying tax-free treatment.Of course, in the last five years, the whole of Shanxi has been exempted from taxes, and this benefit cannot be seen for the time being.But Leng Bi can be exempted from corvée, and when he becomes [-] percent, the corvée will no longer find him, and now he doesn't need to kneel down when he meets the county magistrate.

Leng Bi is an examinee in the disaster area, and his ranking is still high. Through some inspirational publicity, Leng Bi has obviously become a model of the self-improvement of a healthy gentleman. Coupled with his young age, he is very popular.

Leng Bi was originally ranked as a Gongsheng student, and was going to study at the Imperial College in Beijing.Leng Bi has successively purchased a lot of land in the past three years. The good land and several mountains in the entire Ziling County are basically his property. Almost all the civilians in the county are his family's tenants. Such a large family property, A scholar is obviously unstoppable.

Now it is different from the past. In the past, Ziling County was barren and no big families were willing to come. Now there are more and more wealthy families.

There are still two years left in the imperial court's tax exemption policy, and two years have passed. Just paying taxes on the land under his name can make Leng Bi work for nothing for two months.No way, Leng Bi entered the familiar yet unfamiliar Imperial College.

He used to be bowed down by the students of Guozijian on the high platform; he also invited celebrities as a guest to give lectures at Guozijian, but he has not been to Guozijian as a student yet.

He also came with several tribute students from Huaiqing Mansion, all of whom came from the disaster area, had roughly the same experiences and shared common topics.

There is no shortage of Leng Bi's knowledge, and the main purpose of coming to the Imperial College is to make contacts.So during the two years in the Imperial College, everyone knew that Leng Bi from Shanxi was young, but he had solid knowledge and the most important thing was that he had a wide range of friends.

One year after Dao Guo Zi Jian, Leng Bi was admitted to Ju Ren, and she was the only one among the few people from Huaiqing Mansion who was admitted to Ju Ren.

Leng Bi wrote a letter to announce the good news to Xiao Yuchuan County Magistrate. Xiao County Magistrate can be called his bole, who gave him a lot of help when he was in Ziling County.

Now, the tax-free land under Leng Bi's name has risen to 200 mu, but he is not satisfied. He has more and more land under his name, and he does not want to do business anymore. Shanxi has not collected taxes for doing business in the past five years. I also took the opportunity to make a fortune, but in the future it will be [-] tax one.Being in business also has to deal with those dignitaries, Leng Bi only wants to live a clean life in this life, and don't get involved in official circles and courts if she is killed.

Just as Leng Bi was making persistent efforts to prepare for the Jinshi examination, his servant came and told him, "Master, the companion of the second wife of the Rongguo Mansion, Zhou Rui's family, who you have been keeping an eye on, is going to marry a daughter tomorrow."

"Oh? Marry someone."

"A man named Leng Zixing said that he came from Shanxi to escape the famine. Zhou Rui's family was originally unwilling to marry their daughter to a poor boy, but later, I don't know how Leng Zixing got rich and brought 100 taels of silver to propose marriage. , and worked as a small fudao, and married the daughter of this noble slave."

"Where and when is the wedding?"

"Tomorrow at Shenshi, we will welcome our relatives from the back street of Ningrong Street, and we will get married at the Peach Blossom Fragrance Hall at Youshi." The young man reported back.

Leng Bi threw the pen in his hand, unexpectedly, his "genuine brand" Leng Zixing was no longer there, and Leng Dali had this opportunity to still be Leng Zixing.Looking back at the memory, when Yuanshen fled the famine, it seemed that he was the only one with his parents in the end. It seemed that this was a chance for the Leng family's parents.Whichever son is by his side will benefit that son.

Leng Bi no longer had the leisurely mood to read, so she ordered the servant: "Tomorrow you, you will book a banquet on the second floor of the Taoyuan Residence where the peach blossoms are fragrant."

"Yes, master."

For the first time, Leng Bi felt that the plot was so stubborn that there would be another Leng Zixing without this Leng Zixing.Cao Gong's original text is lost, and I don't know what will happen to Leng Zixing in the end, just like Lai Shangrong's family abandoning the master's family and pursuing wealth alone, or being swallowed up by the vortex caused by the sinking of the big ship of Ning Rong's Second Mansion. .

The next day, Leng Bi was sitting on the second floor of Taoyuan Residence, watching the bridal sedan chairs passing by amidst the music, hearing the noisy blessings and booing in the house, and watching them worship, toast, and entertain guests.Could it be because of the surname Leng? Leng Bi found out that she could really stand on the sidelines.

After watching their wedding, Leng Bi left silently again. Since he left at the beginning, he will never look back.

The "new" Leng Zixing married his wife, Mrs. Zhou. Zhou's father was the manager of the Ningguo Mansion, who was in charge of the money coming in and out of the Ningguo Mansion's land rent and Zhuangzi, and had great power; It's embarrassing, their family's status in Ningrong Second Mansion is probably worse than that of Lai Da's family, and they are also among the best.For a poor boy, Leng Zixing, to be able to marry such a family, apart from being a commoner, he has no advantage at all.

The next day, Leng Zixing and his wife, Mrs. Zhou, were sorting out the congratulatory gifts together. Mrs. Zhou exclaimed suddenly, "Ah, such a precious thing."

"What?" Leng Zixing asked.

"Master, look, a pair of jade pendants."

"Let me take a look." Leng Zixing finally observed the light carefully, and said, "This high-quality white jade pendant, you and I have such a wealthy family."

"Maybe some master rewarded it." Zhou said proudly, only her side has such a relationship.

Leng Zixing took out a short note from the box, wrapped it in ink and ink, and wrote "an old man in Jin, to celebrate the good time." The signature is a cold word.

Leng Zixing also learned to recognize a few characters by chance. His wife, Mrs. Zhou, was also literate when she was a child. Looking at this cold character, Mrs. Zhou was surprised: "You still have such an old friend, why don't you If you don’t invite me to come to the house to have fun, let me see you.”

"I'm still at a loss! You know that I escaped from the famine and survived by meeting my former master. How do I know who this is?"

"The surname Leng is from your brother clan?" Zhou asked.

"Where do I have any brothers and clansmen? All the people in a village are dead." Leng Zixing sighed, rubbing that cold word back and forth, his thoughts were churning, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Oh, forget it, forget it." Seeing her husband fascinated by his thoughts, Mrs. Zhou said, "Forget it if you can't remember, there are so many people with the surname Leng in the world, they belonged to one family at most 500 years ago, and they have no relatives in this life. Don't think about it, just match it, especially if you are this dress, wearing this jade is perfect. This pair is just you and me together."

"No. Put it away."

"Why?" Mrs. Zhou was puzzled. Since they sent it, it must be a good intention, and it is only when they are worn that they like it.

"Put it away, I'm always uneasy, I'll buy you a more beautiful one tomorrow." Leng Zixing coaxed.

"I know you love me. We are already husband and wife. We live together. I don't care about jade or gold." Mrs. Zhou gave Leng Zixing a shy look. What she didn't say clearly wanted to say, she cared. It's him.

Leng Zixing lowered his head and laughed.

……

Leng Bi studied in the Imperial Academy for three years, during which time he passed the Jinshi examination, and copied books in the Imperial Academy for two years. After he finished copying all the books in the Imperial Academy, he went back on the pretext of missing his hometown.

On the return journey, many old friends from the same year saw each other off.

In the Liuting in the suburbs of Beijing, everyone folded willows and presented them to each other, but they still couldn't keep Leng Bi, who was eager to return home.

Among them, Dai Jianmin, who had the best friendship with Leng Bi, said: "Good Leng Bi, if you don't learn well at a young age, you will know that you will leave us to enjoy the good fortune, you should be punished, you should be punished."

"Jianmin, tell me how to punish him. Fine him three bowls of wine, but it's cheap for him."

"Hey, I have to go on my way, how can you punish me with three bowls?" Dai Jianmin pretended to accuse, and then said, "It's worth ten bowls!"

"Ten bowls! Ten bowls!" Everyone booed.

"You guys are trying to overwhelm me, Jianmin, who did you learn from?" Leng Bi teased.

"Of course it's with you. You see, when we first met, you excused yourself for being young. Later, you said that you were in poor health. You made excuses one after another. If you hadn't seen your drinking capacity when you got married, I let you get over it." Dai Jianmin insisted that he must drink, and a bunch of people booed beside him.

"Forget it, forget it, I'm afraid of you, I'll just drink it." Leng Bi drank ten bowls of wine, and the alcohol content was low at this time, so she didn't feel drunk, but only felt bloated.

"Good drinker!" The person who saw him off praised him.

"Okay, okay, I have to say goodbye after sending you thousands of miles away, please come back, gentlemen."

"Take care, take care." As soon as he said take care, someone choked up in the pavilion. They had been together for six or seven years, and they felt really sad.

Or Dai Jianmin would liven up the atmosphere, saying, "I'm not leaving yet, are you waiting for a fine?"

Leng Bi was so frightened that he lifted up his robe and hurried back to the carriage. Everyone in the pavilion pointed at Dai Jianmin and laughed.

At this time, Leng Zixing accompanied his father-in-law to the outskirts of Beijing to collect the rent. Looking at those high-spirited scholars, he smiled and asked the tea stall man next to him, "Please tell me, old man, what's going on with those people?"

"Oh, that's a farewell to Mr. Leng of the Hanlin Academy!"

"Master Leng?" Leng Zixing repeated, and met a man with the same surname on the way.

"That's right, Master Leng is returning to his hometown in Shanxi. Just now, Master Leng's servants bought a lot of tea and fruit from the old man. The guest officer wants to bring some. Master Hanlin agrees to eat it." The old man enthusiastically sold it .

"No need, no need." Hearing the surname Leng and Shanxi, Leng Zixing was always a little nervous, and then laughed at himself for being sentimental, how could such a coincidence happen in the world.

In other words, Leng Bi jumped into the car in two steps, and said to the driver: "Let's go quickly."

Sitting on the carriage was Leng Bi's newlywed wife, the youngest daughter of an elder in the Hanlin Academy.The boss is already in his 50s and [-]s, and he is still a fifth-rank Hanlin. People like him, who hold a job in the Hanlin Academy, are not seeking promotion, but fame. They are pursuing academic achievements and leaving their names after death. Green history.

Leng Bi's father-in-law, Lord Wan Shu, is also a well-known scholar and Confucian in the literary world, and he also appreciates Leng Bi's attitude of not seeking fame, so he promises to love his daughter.

After Leng Bi finished copying the books of the Imperial Academy, he planned to return to his hometown. When he resigned, he was a sixth-rank official.Now I have spent several thousand taels of silver and donated a false title of Tongzhi, barely able to use the ritual system of a fourth-rank official.At this time, there is no official position, which is not good. They are timid in everything they do, and there is a corresponding grade for everything they use.

Wan Shi watched her husband jump into the carriage in a panic, and asked with a smile, "Someone behind will chase you away."

"It's more terrible than being kicked out by someone. If you get caught by those people, you will be punished with alcohol!"

"You drink so much, you're afraid of drinking!" Wan Shi laughed.

"Of course I'm not afraid, but I have to think about our son!"

"Bah, nonsense, where did your son come from?" Wan said with a blushing face.

"Not now, but sooner or later. Yuqin, think about it, there are so many literati and inkmen who like to drink throughout the ages, all of them are smart people, but their sons, who has left a name in history. So, this father drinks, But it will make my son stupid." Leng Bi said eloquently.

"My son was born to me, so what does it have to do with your drinking?" Wan Shi smiled angrily.

"You gave birth? Can you give birth without me? Pregnant by listening to the wind?" Leng Bi teased.

"You just listened to the wind and conceived!" Wan Shi smiled and touched Leng Bi's itchy flesh, but Leng Bi grabbed it and whispered something in his ear, and Wan Shi immediately burst out laughing.

The coachman outside the carriage also had a smile on his face when he heard that the master and mistress were so loving and harmonious.

From Huaiqing Mansion in Shanxi Province on Jingcheng Road, the couple took more than a dozen carriages and went home slowly.Most of these things are books.Leng Bi met a big inn and rented out the yard, took a good rest for a few days, and took advantage of the good weather to spread out her books to dry in the sun, so that even the robbers were not interested.Seeing that the ruts are so deep in the ground, I thought it was silver, but I didn't expect it to be a book!Books, with personal handwriting, are not easy to sell.Therefore, the bodyguards hired along the way were free, and they finished the bodyguard leisurely and smoothly, and on rare occasions, they told Leng Bi: "Master Leng, if you want to have such a good job next time, You must remember to take care of us."

Leng Bi had sent a letter to her family a long time ago, informing her that she was coming back. When she arrived at Ziling County, Leng Mansion, the head housekeeper had already brought a whole house of servants to greet her at the gate.

Leng Bi took Wan Shi to receive the gift from his servants, and after freshening up, each of them rested.Leng Bi can't rest yet, he needs to look at the general ledger for the past few years first, although these things have also been sent to the capital, but the copy left in his hometown, he still needs to look at it before he can rest assured.

Back then, when he left, he personally led a team to inspect the tenants. He said that the rent was fixed and would never increase the rent. We have been far away in these years, and I don’t know if there are any people who are obedient.It doesn't matter if there is, it happens to be given to Leng Biliwei, and it can be regarded as killing chickens and monkeys.

Leng Bi read the account book in the middle of the night, and went to visit the county magistrate Xiao Yuchuan the next day.Over the years, Ziling County has risen from a low-ranking county to a high-ranking county today, and Xiao Yuchuan's rank has risen from rank seven to rank six, which is considered a rise.The population has increased a lot, and Leng Bi has contributed a lot to it.He doesn't like to take servants, and those who work on his farm and those who lease his fields are all common people. The increase in these populations is also a merit for County Magistrate Xiao Yuchuan.

"Brother Leng, why did you come in person? It's time for me to visit you." Xiao Yuchuan greeted Leng Bi at the door and greeted him.

"Since brother Xiao Shi called me a brother, he shouldn't have such an honor. You helped me a lot back then, how dare Leng Bi forget it?"

"Well, it's all your own ability, and I haven't done anything, so I don't deserve your thanks, I don't deserve it." Xiao Yuchuan waved his hands humbly.

The two exchanged pleasantries all the way through the main hall, where they sat down to drink tea. Xiao Yuchuan had also corresponded with Leng Bi over the years, and was familiar with his recent situation, so he asked without seeing anything else: "How did you come back, you young man?" You got it right, it’s time to show off your ambitions, but there are people who make things difficult for you.”

"Brother Xiao Shi, you are too worried. I work in the Imperial Academy. I spend more time dealing with books than with people. I won't offend people. It's just that I don't take pictures of the officialdom atmosphere. You know me. You just have an honest temper and believe in Be kind to others, but this officialdom doesn’t mean that if you are kind to others, there will be a happy ending. A few days ago, the famous Uncle Guo fell from power, and I didn’t have the skills to fish in troubled waters, so I simply resigned and returned to my hometown.” Leng Bi explained road.

"It's good to go back to my hometown, it's good to go back to my hometown, my hometown is the root. You are so young, have you thought about what to do to pass the time?" Xiao Yuchuan asked. It's not obvious, he's only in the middle, but given his age, he's also famous for a while, so it's a waste to stay in Ziling County like this.

"To tell you the truth, Brother Xiao, I just have the temperament of a wild crane. I don't want to do anything serious, so I'll take a break for two years, and I'll ask Brother Shi when I have an idea." Leng Bi didn't think about what to do now either.

Yuanshen wanted everyone to praise him, so he tried his best to offend the big households in the city, and set the rent at three out of ten.Such rent extraction, in his view, is usury, but in the eyes of the tenants, it is simply a living bodhisattva.Every year when it was time to pay the rent in the autumn harvest, the richer tenants always had to pay more, for fear that Leng Bi would starve to death.

On weekdays, he also builds bridges and paves roads, donates clothes and dispenses medicine. He has a good reputation and is a well-known benevolent person, but how to achieve "commensurate praise" requires careful planning and planning.