Since the day Li Yuzhu rented cattle from a neighboring village and came to plow the land, Li Wencai, the third uncle, frowned and never loosened.

These dead girls, who rented cattle and people, where did they get so many copper coins?

Last fall, Jinzhu's dead girl went to pay the grain by herself. He asked the county's grain books, and it was calculated that it was a profit of a pile of money. If this pile of money was paid to Xuedong, there would definitely be no surplus. Now, where did she get the copper coins from the cattle rental?

Yuzhu and Yinzhu are all busy in the fields. Jinzhu, Xuedong, and that little girl are gone! Where have you gone?

From the day when Jin Zhu and his brothers disappeared, the third uncle squatted at the village stuttering with a bowl. He just wanted to see what Jin Zhu is doing.

Li Jinzhu took Li Xiaonan and turned around, and the third uncle saw it. He looked left and right but didn't see Li Xuedong, and his brows frowned even tighter.

The third cousin hid behind the tree, watched Li Jinzhu and Li Xiaonan go over, and continued to squat at the entrance of the village waiting for Li Xuedong.

It was dark, and Li Xuedong didn't wait for it.

The third cousin walked slowly home with his hands behind his back.

If this villain is dead, there must be something hidden from him, so I have to inquire about it.

Where to inquire?

Gaocunji definitely doesn’t work. When he was still studying in school, he was incompatible with the one named Gao. Where can I go?

Uncle San stopped, looked left and right, and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out where to ask.

After standing for a while, the third councillor accelerated and went home.

I will go to Lijiaji tomorrow and ask my elder brother. His elder brother is very sensible. Even if my elder brother doesn’t know about this, he can help him point out the direction and come up with an idea.

The next morning, Li Wencai, the third uncle, went out with a few dried cowpeas, and around noon, he arrived at his elder brother's house.

His sister-in-law took the cowpeas and threw them on the stove without even looking at them.

His eldest brother Li Wenxi had just returned from the field. When he saw the face of his third brother from those cowpeas, he frowned, "It's busy in the field now, why are you free to come?"

"He has never been to the ground." His sister-in-law replied in the kitchen.

"Have you eaten yet? Give him a bowl of rice." Li Wenxi frowned and shouted to the kitchen.

My sister-in-law brought out a bowl of rice and hit Li Wencai in her hands.

Li Wencai didn't mind, his sister-in-law had a bad temper, a sharp mouth and a tofu heart.

Li Wenxi is a frugal person. The rice is solid rice, so the dishes are too simple. They cook dried bamboo shoots and fried sour. Only then did Li Wen pick and choose between the two dishes.

After dinner, watching the eldest daughter-in-law take away the dishes and chopsticks, Li Wenxi looked at her younger brother and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No big deal, no small deal, I miss my brother, come and have a look." After all, Li Wencai is a scholar and pays attention to roundabout decency.

"I'm busy here. If you have nothing to do, I have to leave." His elder brother stood up and was about to leave.

He was very busy in the field, and he didn't have time to talk nonsense to this incompetent brother.

"Why is my elder brother so anxious? He is old and needs to cultivate his character." Li Wencai reached out to hold his elder brother.

"If you have any questions, just talk!" Li Wenxi's throat became thicker.

He has never liked this younger brother since he was a child.

"In our village, Li Wenshan, who died a few years ago, left four daughters and a sick son. It seems like he has made a fortune in the past year. This matter is a bit strange. Where did his family come from?" Li Wencai had to put aside Siwen for the time being and say something.

"Have you made a fortune? What's the fortune?" Li Wenxi frowned.

"Last autumn," Li Wenzhao paused and swallowed Li Jinzhu's food to hand over himself.

He spread his own grain tax into the villages, and then took some hard money from each family based on the poor and rich. His elder brother disagreed with it, but he couldn't do it in vain. The county's grain books also had some food!

"I mean, last fall, the sick man went to Gaocunji to go to school again. He has to go to school, so he is not cheap!

"When the moon was in the sky, his family rented a strong cow from Zhaozhuang, and there was a cattle driving man. He used it for several days. His eldest daughter and her brother and sister left for seven or eight days and just returned yesterday.

"I'm worried that their family is full of unmarried little girls. Do you think they will do something unfair? If that happens, our Li family's reputation will be ruined!"

"Li Wenshan's solo seedling is called Li Xuedong, right? That Li Xuedong, in February this year, he got the third place in the county. Don't you know this? I'm not at home these seven or eight days, I'm afraid I'll go to Pingjiang Prefecture to take the exam? Don't you know?" Li Wenxi couldn't say anything and looked at his brother with an expression.

"Xuedong is very stupid!" Li Wencai blurted out, "He took the third place in the county, that's impossible!"

"After the third place in the exam, his elder sister pushed him in a small car and came to Lijiaji. She wanted the clan to give him a copper pendant for his schooling, but there was no such copper pendant in the clan." Li Wenxi glanced at his younger brother.

"I didn't give it to the clan, so where did he get the copper tin? He also took a ox for seven or eight days?" Li Wencai glared at his elder brother.

"You don't know if you are the same village as his family, can I know?" Li Wenxi retorted bluntly, "Where did the Tongdian come from his family? What's your business? What's your idea?

"I have told you how many times I have told you, don't always remember to take advantage of others. You are righteous and you have to be fair!

"I have to go to the field, you go back." Li Wenxi didn't want to look at this younger brother at first glance, stood up and walked out with his hands behind his back.

Li Wencai followed him out, arrived at the gate of the yard, turned around and went in, stood in the yard and shouted, "Sister-in-law, are there any pickled salted duck eggs this year? Get me a few. The salted duck eggs that my sister-in-law pickled are the most delicious, they are all oily and can't be bought outside."

"Give him a few!" His sister-in-law's voice was filled with disgust.

After a moment, the eldest daughter-in-law came out and handed Li Wencai the lotus leaf bag wrapped in four or five salted duck eggs.

Li Wenxi walked halfway through the street, turned around and entered the ancestral hall.

Just after dinner, the clan leader was sitting in the corridor of the ancestral hall and talking to several clan elders.

Li Wenxi nodded and greeted each other, pulled down the bamboo chair, and stretched out his head and said, "I heard that Xiao Lizhuang, the student of the generation, went to the exam for the house. He was busy with farming, and his family was both a cattle and a renter. It seemed that the family was very wealthy and had to go to the clan to ask for a copper medal, but it was really!"

"Have you passed the exam?" the patriarch hurriedly said with concern.

"Look at what you asked. If you passed the exam, you would have been in front of us long ago! The county test was the first few days of the National Day exam, and there were so many things, so the provincial test was not that easy to take." Li Wenxi curled his lips.

The patriarch leaned back back to the chair in disappointment.

Li Shikuan, the clan elder sitting against the wall, said from Li Wenxi to the generation of Xiao Lizhuang, and then bowed over and said something to the clan elder next to him, as if he hadn't heard Li Wenxi say anything.

Before and after dinner yesterday, he received a letter from Mr. Gao that Li Xuedong's Mansion had ranked 18th in the exam and passed the exam. Now he is going to go to Hangzhou Examination Institute in July.

"My third brother came here just now. When talking about the Xueer generation, he said that there shouldn't be such a thing. He was worried that the four girls in his family would not be controlled by the elders. Don't do anything unfair to the customs for Tongdian, which hurts the face of our Li family. Do you have to be on guard against this matter?" Li Wenxi frowned and said with a worried look on his face.

"I remember, four years ago, the clan's grand ceremony was held, and there were two households in each house. One household was your third brother's family. Is that household the same family as you are talking about?" Li Shikuan asked with a smile.

"I remember it was his family." The clan elder next to Li Shikuan responded and confirmed.

"There are not many families in our tribe who can produce copper coins in equal parts. Such families can always afford to take the exam in Pingjiang City. Do you think?" Li Shikuan looked at the clan leader and smiled.

"Insatiable!" The patriarch spat, "There is no need for these copper coins in the family, and he still has to come over to cry for poverty!"

"That's it, that's what I mean." Li Wenxi quickly changed his mind.

"I won't talk about this anymore. It seems that I'll be doing well this year." The patriarch changed the subject.

Everyone talked for a while and went back.

………………………………

Copper: copper coins;
Chapter completed!