Zhang Yuan's family had a small population. After Zhang Dachun's family of three moved out, the house became even more deserted. Little Xinu Wuling brought a lantern to light Zhang Yuan's home all alone. The person who answered the door was the little girl Tu Ting.
Zhang Yuan went into the inner courtyard to meet his mother. Zhang's mother, Lu, was unhappy because Zhang Cai's family had left. Elderly people always miss the past. Although Zhang Dachun, a domestic slave, could not live with his master's family, Zhang Dachun and his son were exiled to the army. Zhang's mother, Lu
I can't bear it.
Zhang Yuan knew his mother's thoughts and said: "Mom, there is a shortage of manpower in this house. Tomorrow my son will ask someone to find a loyal and responsible family to help. He will make a written contract and give him a certain amount of money every year. This will make it more manageable."
Zhang's mother, Lu, is no longer worried about her son's ability to do things. Her son has really grown up and can take care of his parents' worries. This makes Zhang's mother, Lu, very happy. She also heard from her son that Magistrate Hou promised to win him in the county test next year.
, was even more happy and said: "Then my son must enter the social school as soon as possible, so as not to live up to the expectations of the county magistrate."
Zhang Yuan responded: "Yes, my son has some things to do tomorrow and will go to a social school to study the day after tomorrow. Don't worry, mother, his son will be eager to learn and make progress."
Yi Ting on the side said: "My little maid has a distant relative. Her home is outside Chang'an Gate in Kuaiji, a neighboring county. She is an honest person and does not want to be a slave. She is willing to be a long-term worker. If the young master wants to hire someone, I will ask someone to bring him."
I sent him a message to come here. If the wife and young master like it, they can stay. If they don't, they can send him back."
Zhang's mother, Lu, said: "Okay, let him come tomorrow. This house will be too deserted if there are not many people in it."
Yi Ting smiled and said: "Madam, don't worry, it will be lively when the young master gets married and starts a family."
After saying this, Mrs. Lu, Zhang's mother, immediately looked at her son Zhang Yuan up and down, smiled as if she wanted to hold her grandson, nodded and said: "Well, Yuan'er will be sixteen after the Chinese New Year, and we can discuss marriage. Haha, still.
Fortunately, I didn’t promise that Lady Ma last time. What a cow girl, Lady Ma will give my son her money. Now that my son’s eye disease has recovered, what kind of good girl can’t marry him!”
Zhang Yuan was worried that his mother was in a hurry to marry him, so he hurriedly said: "Mom, my son is still young, so he must put his studies first. You see, the eldest brother of Xi Zhang is one year older than the child, and he has already become a scholar. He has not yet
After getting married, the child is also determined to be named a Jinshi on the gold list before considering marriage."
Although Zhang's mother, Lu, didn't read much, she was somewhat knowledgeable and knew how difficult it was to get a Jinshi exam. Zhang Yuan's father, Zhang Ruiyang, failed to pass the exam for more than ten years, but Zhang Yuan said that he would consider marriage only after being a high school Jinshi.
Wouldn't it be bad if you failed the exam all your life? He said: "Son, the eldest son of Xi Zhang has chosen Shuicheng Liu's daughter as his wife, but she has not yet been married. I will take my time to look for you, so there is no need to rush.
."
Zhang Yuan couldn't laugh or cry: "My son is not in a hurry, he just wants to concentrate on his studies."
Zhang's mother, Mrs. Lu, smiled and said, "Mother knows that my son is working hard, so let's wait until my son has had a baby before we can discuss the marriage. That's all right."
Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "Son, listen to your mother." But he thought in his heart: "If everything goes well, it will take the next year to be admitted as a scholar. Let's talk about it then. Then I can use it as an excuse to take the provincial examination, and it will be postponed for another year. It will take another year."
Year after year—"
After sitting with his mother for a while, Zhang Yuan returned to the west building, practiced Chinese calligraphy for half an hour, then took a bath and went to bed. After lying down, he couldn't sleep for a long time. He heard Wu Ling, the little Xinu outside, calling softly: "Master -
—" When he didn't hear a response, Wu Ling turned off the lamp and slept on the small bamboo couch. He tossed and turned a few times, and soon there was only a slight snoring.
The soft light of the waning moon quietly penetrates the window, and the light spots move slowly on the ground. The moonlight and the dark night form a deep and vast breath, making the sleepless people awe and think.
Zhang Yuan opened his eyes wide and looked at the top of the bed. Under the dim moonlight on the ground, the auspicious patterns on the top of the bed were vaguely visible. He thought about how Mrs. Ma wanted to be a matchmaker for him in the past and what his mother had just said about his marriage proposal. It was so funny to be alone.
, what he is worried about is that one day a bride will suddenly be sent to him to marry him. He has never met her, does not know her beauty or ugliness, and does not understand her temperament, but she wants to get married immediately. It is said that this is a huge gamble in life.
When the red hijab is lifted, the suspense is revealed. Some people win, with talented men and beautiful women, and their husbands sing and follow their wives. Some people lose completely and suffer for the rest of their lives——
This seems very dramatic, but Zhang Yuan obviously does not want his marriage to be like a gamble. He wants to make his own decision. First of all, he does not want to marry a woman with bound feet. This is a prerequisite. Fortunately, this is in the Ming Dynasty.
, only two out of three women have their feet bound. If it were one or two hundred years later, it would be difficult to marry a woman whose feet are not bound. There are village girls and maids in the mountains and maids who do not have their feet bound. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find one.
Thinking like this, the girl from the Wang family naturally came to mind. Although she was dressed in men's clothing, she was tall and slender and seemed to be quite beautiful. In the era without glasses, the most painful thing was that it was difficult to see the beauties if the eyes were not working well. Zhang Yuan
He had feelings about this, but he didn't feel attracted to the girl from the Wang family. I don't know if it was because he was still young, or because the girl from the Wang family scared him by saying she wanted to buy "The Golden Ping Mei"?
…
In the morning of the next day, someone from the porter shop in Yiting sent a message to the distant relative who lived outside Chang'an Gate in Kuaiji County. It was only more than ten miles away. In the evening of that day, a family of four came, a husband and wife.
They have two sons. The couple are both in their thirties. The male is Shi Shuang and the female is Cui Gu. They are both conscientious country people. The older of the two sons is thirteen years old, and the younger one is called Da Shitou.
When he was nine years old, he was naturally called Little Stone.
Zhang's mother, Mrs. Lu, saw that the family looked honest and honest, and had strong bodies. She asked a few words and her speech was clear. The two children didn't look too naughty, so she felt a little happy in her heart. She asked Zhang Yuan on the side:
"Yuan'er, what do you think?"
The person was introduced by Yi Ting, so he knew everything about it. Zhang Yuan asked Shi Shuang and his wife a few more questions, and was basically satisfied, so he let the family of four live in the tile-roofed house on the other side of the hall, which was the house where Zhang Dachun's family lived before.
, it was agreed that the family of four would live and eat in the Zhang family as part-time workers, and pay ICBC five cents a month. If the owner was satisfied, they would then set a long-term employment contract, and ICBC could add more, and the government corvee they would bear would be converted into silver.
It is paid by the owner's family.
Shi Shuang, Cuigu and his wife are very grateful. This kind of ICBC is considered high. The most important thing is that the host family pays the labor silver. This is really comfortable. You don't have to worry about being exploited by official officials or villagers. You can feel at ease.
If you serve your master with all your heart, and your family background is still innocent, your son will be able to start his own business, marry a wife, have children, and take part in the imperial examination when he grows up, but the son of a domestic slave cannot take part in the imperial examination.
In this way, Shi Shuang's family of four settled in the Zhang family. Although Shi Shuang was not as lively as Zhang Dachun and could not manage the affairs of the farm, he was honest and diligent. Zhang Yuan's family only had a total of 120 acres of land.
Originally, he could just take some time to manage it, but Xie Qifu still paid the land rent to the three households of tenant farmers according to the contract between Zhang Dachun and them. Of course, the landowner could no longer sign Zhang Dachun's name.
Zhang Dachun's one hundred and fifty taels of silver arrears were collected by his own official, so Zhang Yuan didn't have to worry about it. He was going to study at the social school behind the Fuxue Palace.
————————————————
A new week has begun, and "Ya Sao" has once again begun to rush to the list. Whether it can keep the first place among new books depends entirely on the support of book friends. Log in, click, recommend, and rush!