The Little First Grand Secretary in My House

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Dog, dog...

Xue Gouzi came back to his senses and looked at the face in front of him that had been haunting him in his dreams for many years.

What you said makes sense. I won't think about it too much in the future. He paused and then said, I just want to say one thing. Can you stop calling me dog in the future?

Zhao'er said in confusion: But I don't always call you that. If you don't call you dog, what would you call you?

Xue Gouzi pondered for a moment, Call me Ting Yan.

Ting Yan? Is this a name you chose for yourself? Dog, why did you choose such a name for yourself? She understood immediately, and remembered that the talented boy in the eldest house always carried his name on his back because of his young age. People ridiculed that dog and sunspot had the same name.

A flash of distress flashed in her eyes, and she nodded repeatedly: Gou'er, no, Ting'er is different as a scholar, and the name is so nice. From now on, I won't call you Gou'er, and I won't let outsiders call you that. Let's just My name is Ting Yan. Anyway, in her heart, whatever the dog says is good.

Xue Gouzi, no, his name should be Xue Tingyan now, felt a little depressed. He was only less than two years younger than Zhao'er, but he was in a deep stream that he would never be able to cross in his life. Having said the simple words, he added: Also, can you please stop calling me sister to me in the future?

Zhao'er was even more surprised this time, and even reached out to touch his forehead: Ting'er, what's wrong with you? Are you possessed by something evil? You haven't called me sister since you were a child.

Xue Tingyan took a deep breath and smiled: But you are not my sister. You will be my wife from now on. How can a man call his wife sister.

He was pale and half-leaning on the quilt at the head of the kang. Suddenly he smiled like this, and his handsome features gave people the feeling that he didn't dare to look directly at him.

Zhao'er's face suddenly turned red and he couldn't speak clearly: Gou'er, you, what are you talking about, I, I...

Don't you want to be my wife and give me a baby? He leaned closer.

She stood up suddenly and scolded: You little kid, why are you talking about this? Your hair hasn't even grown yet! She said a curse word that Xue Tingyan didn't like to hear the most, and she didn't realize it: What are you going to do now? What you have to do is to take good care of your body. As for these things, we will talk about them later!

Her eyes were fierce and her tone was fierce. After speaking, she lowered her head and scooped rice from the bowl into Xue Tingyan's mouth. He glanced at her, eating honestly, and suddenly his mood became extremely good.

Maybe the two of us can change the way we get along in the future. If you don't like it, just change it. There's no need to wait for her to understand.

*

Zhao'er threw away the mess and turned back to the house, leaving the whole family to finish their lunch in a depressed atmosphere.

During this period, Ms. Sun had nothing to say but asked for several words, but no one paid any attention to her.

Yang couldn't eat enough. If her parents-in-law weren't there, and if she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her two younger siblings, she would have thrown away her chopsticks and left. Now, he could only suppress his grievance and eat the food in front of him like chewing wax.

After dinner, Mrs. Sun took Mao Dan and left, knowing that her son had gotten into trouble today and was afraid that he would be angered later. Mrs. Zhou took Xue Taoer to clear the table and took the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash. Xue Qingbai helped her. Zhou could not carry such a pot of dishes alone. Normally, when Xue Qingbai was not at home, she and her daughter had to carry it.

There were only three people left in the house: Dafang's mother and son, Mr. Xue and Ms. Zhao.

Yang stood up and wanted to go back to the east chamber, but was stopped by Mr. Xue.

Mr. Xue took out his dry tobacco bag, took out some cut tobacco grown by himself from the dark blue tobacco pouch, rolled it into a ball and pressed it into the tobacco pot, and then lit it with a fire stick.

His movements were very slow, neither fast nor slow. Anyone who knew Mr. Xue's character knew that he had something on his mind.

It was true that something was wrong, but it was not unusual for him to stop his daughter-in-law.

The handsome boy and the talented boy should go back to the house first. Grandpa and your mother have something to say.

Xue Youcai glanced at his mother and wanted to say something, but was pulled away by his eldest brother Xue Juncai.

Dad, just tell me if you have anything to do.

Yang is thirty-four this year. In this rural area, a woman in her thirties is no longer considered young. The wind and sun are blowing here and you can watch the sky while eating, so the women all look old.

But Yang took very good care of herself, with a disk-like face, fair skin, and a few thin lines at the corners of her eyes. She wore a semi-new azurite colored satin gown, her shiny black hair was tied into a bun on the back of her head, with a gilt hairpin inserted into it, and a pair of old silver earrings on her ears. She couldn't be called a scallion, but her hands were fair and soft, and she wore a gold ring.

With her dress and demeanor, it would be no exaggeration to say that she is the grandma of a landlord's family, and even the Zhao family is not as good as her.

Mr. Xue's old eyes flicked back and forth on Yang's body several times, making her a little uncomfortable standing.

Just as he was about to say something, his father-in-law suddenly said: Boss, wife, how many years have you been married to our family?

Yang was startled and replied: It has been seventeen years. My daughter-in-law married into the Xue family in the seventeenth year.

Then how will your mother and I treat you?

Yang's heart thumped: Father and mother treat their daughter-in-law as if they were their own daughter.

Mr. Xue nodded and took a breath of dry cigarette. The light blue smoke began to linger on his old face again, making it difficult to see the expression on his face.

You are the eldest daughter-in-law of our family, and your mother has always loved you. The hearts of you and the boss are the same as those of your mother and me. We hope that a talented person will become a talented person.

Yang felt relieved and couldn't help but laugh: Juncai is serious about his studies. Even my father said he is a rare and good young man. It's no big deal to become a scholar.

Mentioning the most proud Xue Juncai, even Mr. Xue couldn't help but smile.

Seeing that her father-in-law's face softened, Yang took advantage of the situation and said, But dad, you also know that when it comes to the end, you can't just hold yourself to death at home and study. I wonder if Juncai's father also listened to my father's words. I went to Qinghe Academy to study for two years, got to know some classmates, registered with my husband, and then took the opportunity to make some impression in front of the county magistrate. As expected, I passed the county examination. Ranking in the county examination As long as it's not bad, I'm half sure of winning the government examination, not just 10% of the time. But when it comes to the college examination, you have to rely on luck. Juncai's father just has bad luck, so he fails every time he tries.

This is the real reason why Yang is so valued by the old couple in the Xue family, not only because her father is a child, but also because her father gave Xue Qingshan guidance back then.

Yang's statement seems absurd, but it is actually true. The two county examinations are not as strictly controlled as the hospital examination, especially the county examination, which is presided over by the county magistrate.

There are five county exams in total, and the results of the first exam are mainly determined. In this test, there are two eight-part essays and one poem. As long as there are no typos and the arts and sciences are smooth, you can pass them. Whether you take them or not depends on your luck.

Compared with people who are not familiar to him at all, the county magistrate is still willing to choose someone who is somewhat familiar.

Going to a good school provides an opportunity to stand out in front of the county magistrate. Dachang has always attached great importance to the selection of talents. How many talented people the county can produce, and even how many sons can be promoted to Jinshi, can be regarded as political achievements. No matter how incompetent the county magistrate is, he will have to go through this kind of formality.

And being able to enter a good school will not only increase your connections, but also your horizons.

For example, the county examination only tests the Four Books, Five Classics and the Holy Edicts. How to write the text and what taboos should not be violated. These all need guidance. No matter how wonderful your article is, if it violates taboos such as temple taboos, royal names, sacred taboos, etc., it will not be accepted.

In places like the countryside, many private schools were opened by old students just to earn a living. I also wanted to become a scholar and change my fortune, so how could I go to a private school to educate children in every detail.

Xue Qingshan himself was like this, so he tried his best to send Xue Juncai to Qinghe Academy.

Yang thought that her father-in-law wanted to tell her about sending Xue Juncai to the academy, so she said this. Little did he know that her words really touched Mr. Xue's mind, but Mr. Xue didn't mean to tell her this.

Mr. Xue took a deep breath on his dry cigarette, and then said: The bosses you mentioned have all told me, and we will talk about this later. You are Juncai's mother, and there is nothing wrong with planning for your son, but you have to know that our family It’s not just Dafang’s family.”

The father-in-law's tone was somewhat meaningful. Yang was startled for a moment, then forced a smile and said: Dad, of course my daughter-in-law knows that we are not the only ones living in the Xue family, but don't worry, if Juncai's father and Juncai become successful, they will definitely not forget to be filial to you. And mother-in-law. Seeing her father-in-law's gloomy expression, she quickly added: There are other people in the family, Juncaike has always remembered that he can study, thanks to several uncles and aunts.

Mr. Xue nodded: As you understand, you should know that the other three houses have been sacrificing for the big house. I won't mention the distant ones, just talk about the third and fourth sons. The land in the house refers to the third and fourth sons. Seung, your dad is getting older, and his hands and feet are not as nimble as before. After the fourth child is busy at home, he also has to pick goods to sell. He wears out many pairs of shoes a year, but all the money he earns is given to the father-in-law. , I haven’t written a single penny. Why are you working so hard? It’s not just for our family and our big house.”

Yang's expression forced her face: Dad, why are you doing this just for our big house? Isn't it because Juncai's father is so successful that the Xue family is proud of him? Because Juncai's father was born in a childbirth, no one in the village doesn't look down upon us, even that person The Zheng family should also be courteous to us people named Xue. This is for the sake of the overall situation and for the future generations of our Xue family...

Mr. Xue sighed and interrupted: Dad understands what you said, and so does your mother. But as the saying goes, if the board doesn't hit you, of course you won't feel pain. Put yourself in the shoes of the third and fourth sons. , what do you think? I have to do the most work, and even my good words can’t be put into my mouth, they all go into other people’s mouths.”

These words were in agreement with what Zhao'er had just said. Yang immediately blushed and her round face turned red.

Dad, why did you call me into my mouth? I...

Mr. Xue ignored her and scolded Mrs. Zhao again: And you, you are biased in front of others. Just keep doing it, and make the third and fourth children feel cold and make trouble to separate from the family. You go there Plant them for the boss and the talented people to take the imperial examination!

At the end of his speech, his tone was filled with the lamentation that iron cannot become steel.

Mrs. Zhao was unwilling to listen to this and muttered: What do you mean I am partial? What am I partial to? I don't think that the boss and the talented man should study. Studying is a waste of brains, so I should give them more. Are those good ones all It fell into my mouth.

The more she talked, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but curse: They are still trying to break up the family. If my parents don't separate the family, even if I can spare them, the ancestral family law cannot spare them.

Mr. Xue smiled bitterly. If it weren't for these two old guys and the ancestral family methods, the family might not be like this a long time ago. Who would be willing to work hard for others and be manipulated by others.

He shifted his gaze to Mrs. Yang: You also understand the situation at home. Can your mother and I manage it for a while, or for a lifetime? Since you want to send Juncai to study in the town school, you should win over the third and fourth bedrooms.

Dad, I...

In the past, your mother doted on you, and I never said anything. You can decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. But starting from tomorrow, you will share the work of the father-in-law with the third and fourth families.

After Mr. Xue finished speaking, he stopped talking and just smoked his cigarette. Yang couldn't stand here either, so she hurried out of the main room with her head lowered.

*

As soon as Mrs. Zhou cleaned up the kitchen and came out, she saw her sister-in-law returning to the east room with her head lowered, and her face was vaguely not very good.

Her eyes flickered, and she glanced towards the south end of the west wing, which was a four-bedroom house.

There was someone faintly visible behind the window of the fourth room facing the courtyard, and Mrs. Zhou knew that Mrs. Sun had been watching the movement. She pretended not to notice, wiped her hands on her apron, and went back to the house.

When it was time to cook in the evening, Mrs. Yang unexpectedly wore a pair of coarse clothes and came to the kitchen to compete with Mr. Zhou for work.

Mrs. Zhou couldn't refuse, so Mrs. Yang smiled and said that Mrs. Zhou had worked hard and just asked her to rest and she would come.

Mrs. Zhou was pushed out of the kitchen by her, and she happened to meet Mrs. Sun who was standing at the door of the west wing. There was also surprise in their eyes.

But what surprised them was yet to come, because from that day on, Yang changed his earlier attitude and started doing all kinds of work. Although many years of neglecting her job have made her clumsy when doing things now, she does it anyway.

Not only did she cook, but she also acted very generously. She would often take the initiative to persuade Mrs. Zhao to take some money, buy some meat or bring out some eggs, and cook dishes for the family to eat.

The spark that was originally stirred up by Zhao'er's words in the Xue family was suppressed just like that. During this period, Xue Tingyan finally recovered and had the strength to walk around.

On this day, after getting up early in the morning and having breakfast, Zhao'er planned to go to town.

The rags she brought back from the embroidery workshop have been made into items such as purses and embroidered shoes. After saving it for many days, it’s time to take it to the embroidery workshop and sell it.

She put everything into the basket, and before leaving, she told Xue Tingyan that it was a nice day and asked him to go out and bask in the sun more.

Xue Tingyan nodded honestly and agreed, and then she went out with confidence.

Not long after she left, Xue Tingyan walked out of the house.

The courtyard was very quiet. The door curtains of each room were hung low, and it was not clear whether anyone was there.

He stood in front of the door for a while, then walked up to the door. Heizi, who was lazily sunbathing, immediately stood up and followed his feet out.

Smoke was rising from the chimneys of many houses, and villagers in twos and threes were walking along the village paths, either carrying hoes or pulling oxen, and they seemed to be going to the fields.

It is the time of spring plowing, and the whole year's plan is in spring. If you are lazy at this time, you will cry when harvesting grain in autumn.

Zhao'er woke up at exactly this hour and opened his eyes to find that the little man was still asleep.

Not long after she fell asleep yesterday, the little man had a fever again and was busy for most of the night. Fortunately, the fever subsided by the middle of the night.

She sat up and raised her hand to touch the little man's forehead to make sure it was no longer hot, then she put on her clothes and got off the kang.

The first thing he did was to open the door. Heizi, who had been restless for a long time, got out in a snap. Zhao'er followed him out of the room and saw Heizi hurriedly running out of the hospital to pee, so he laughed and shook his head.

At this time, there were already people in the courtyard, including the third-bedroom wife Zhou and her eldest daughter Xue Taoer.

Today it is the third room's turn to cook. The Xue family's rule is that apart from the housework of each room, the work of the father-in-law is shared equally. One day per room, changing in rotation.

The room responsible for cooking is not only responsible for eating and drinking for the whole family, but also for serving the family's livestock. The Xue family raised two big fat pigs, and just serving these two ancestors every day was not an easy job. Not to mention feeding chickens, fetching water, and chopping firewood, so the female family members who do housework on this day do not have to work in the fields.

It seems fair and just, but in fact everyone inside knows.

The eldest aunt Yang claimed that her man was a child, and she was extraordinarily superior to others at home. After Xue Qingshan passed the exam, she never did housework again. The key is that Zhao is also facing her, so others can't question her too much.

At first, it was Xue Gouzi's mother Qiu who did it, but finally the third-bedroom wife Zhou came in, and the two sisters-in-law finally shared the responsibility. After that, Mrs. Qiu followed her deceased husband, leaving Mrs. Zhou alone. It wasn't until Mrs. Sun from the fourth room came in that she could take a breath again.

It's a pity that Mrs. Sun is a lazy and cunning person. In fact, Mrs. Zhou does most of the work.

In the past, when Mrs. Qiu was still alive, Zhao'er also helped Mrs. Qiu. Later, after Mrs. Qiu passed away, Zhao'er was busy with the housework of the second house, and had to work as a middle schooler. In addition, Zhao'er was still young at that time, so Mr. Xue told her to take good care of Xue Gouzi and not have to worry about Gongzhong's work.

Zhao'er now has some free time to mess around and get some money. However, she is a conscientious person and will help out as much as she can in her spare time. As for those who tried to bully her like Mrs. Sun, her sharp tongue was not forgiving.

Seeing Xue Tao'er struggling to fetch water from the well, Zhao'er rubbed his face and walked up to help her.

Thirteen-year-old Xue Taoer is like a little flower in bud. Although she is not very beautiful, she is still very delicate. Seeing Zhao'er coming to help her, she couldn't help but smile and talk to her: Sister Zhao'er, is the second brother feeling better? .

I had a fever again last night and got better in the second half of the night. Zhao'er looked around curiously and asked, Why isn't Third Uncle here?

Although Xue Qingbai was an honest and taciturn person, he always loved his wife and daughter. Jufan would get up early and fill up the water jar when cooking for the third room.

The Xue family has their own well, but the well is too deep, and there is no windlass installed on the well. It would be very tiring just relying on the strength of the daughter's family to draw water up. That is to say, Zhao'er was born as strong as an ox, and his strength was no worse than that of an ordinary strong man, so he could pull the bucket out of the deep well very easily.

My father went to the fields. He said he would work for a while and then return after breakfast.

Xue Qingbai is an honest farmer. Unlike other brothers in the family who have other skills, he only knows how to farm, so he concentrates on the ground. The Xue family has a total of more than 30 acres of land, and now they are planted by him, Mr. Xue, and the fourth son, Xue Qinghuai.

Although the women of the Xue family also go to the fields, that is when the farmers are busy. Besides, women only have so little strength, so what can they do to help? Fortunately, the three men of the Xue family are all good hands in the fields. They were really busy, so they paid to hire day laborers to help them for a few days, so they didn't have to worry about running out of work in the fields.

Just as he was talking, the door of the fourth room opened and Xue Qinghuai walked out.

The men in the Xue family are all tall, so Xue Qinghuai also inherited a tall body.

He has thick eyebrows, tiger eyes, and a high nose. He is dressed in dark blue coarse cloth and short brown clothes, and he looks very heroic. In fact, the men of the Xue family are not bad looking, but the women of the Xue family are a bit mediocre. However, all the grandchildren are well-born, and they are all top-notch in the village.

Zhao'er Tao'er, you got up so early. Xue Qinghuai strode over, took the bucket from Zhao'er's hand, walked to the water tank, and poured the water into the tank.

How can you two little girls do this kind of rough work? You go do other things, and your fourth uncle will come to fetch water.

Zhao'er and Tao'er didn't refuse either. One went to the kitchen to help their mother cook, while the other took a basin and scooped out water for washing.

As time passed, other members of the Xue family got up one after another, and there were more and more people in the yard. Over there in the kitchen, Mrs. Zhou called for dinner. Generally speaking, country people don't have to pay much attention to setting up a table when eating breakfast. They just put a bowl in a bowl and eat it wherever they want.

Breakfast is two-meter porridge. The so-called two-meter porridge is porridge made from two kinds of rice. Yuqing Village does not produce rice, but only crops such as wheat, sorghum, millet, and corn. Although farmers all grow wheat, they rarely use it for daily cooking. They always sell it and exchange it for other grains.

Even a wealthy family like the Xue family, who had a surplus of grain, did not eat refined grains every meal, but a mix of coarse grains and fine grains. For example, the two-meter porridge for breakfast today is porridge cooked with millet, that is, yellow rice, and sorghum rice.

Because it was a busy time of farming, it was cooked quite thickly. Although it was not able to hold up with chopsticks, it was still much better than the usual watery soup.

There is no way, the Xue family seems to have a good family background in the village, but the family supports three scholars. Not to mention Xue Gouzi, Guangdafang and his son spend a lot of money every month. It's no wonder that Zhao can usually pick out fleas and draw some blood.

Zhao'er filled two bowls of porridge, put a few corn tortillas on a coarse porcelain plate, put some pickles on the side, and carried them back to the second room.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xue Gouzi sitting up from the kang.

She quickly put the wooden tray on the square table and came up to see him: But are you feeling better? Are you hungry? I'll bring you some porridge.

Xue Gouzi looked at her with complicated eyes.

After experiencing such a dream, he now didn't know how to face Zhao'er. Whenever he saw her, he couldn't help but think of him in the dream and the words he was scolded before he died. He also tried to find the cause of Zhao'er's death in his memory, but it seemed that that memory was Xue Tingyan's most unbearable past event, and he had no memory at all.

In fact, Xue Gouzi was in a daze after being burned last night. He thought about it for a long time. He couldn't figure out whether he was Xue Gouzi or Xue Tingyan now. Whether the dream was true or false, and whether he was thinking about something during the day and dreaming about it at night. , to have such a ridiculous dream.

But he also had an idea in mind. If everything in the dream was true, several things should happen in succession. If these things happened, it means that his dreams were true.

Thinking about something in his mind, he reached out to take the bowl, only to realize that he didn't even have the strength to hold it. Fortunately, Zhao'er had good eyesight and caught the bowl quickly, so it didn't spill all over him.

Xue Gouzi felt a little embarrassed and anxious. It was strange. He would not have reacted like this in front of Zhao'er before, but he didn't know if it was a dream or not, but his mentality had a strange change.

Zhao'er laughed at him: Why are you so polite to me? I forgot that when you were a child, you used to pee on the bed, and it was my sister who washed you.

Zhao'er came to Xue's house when he was seven years old, and Gouzi was only five years old at that time. It is very strange for a child to urinate on the bed. He has obviously not peed for a long time, and I don’t know if it is because he drank too much water before going to bed or something, but he peed on the bed.