Man Bao said: "I asked, Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang are not the children of the Xia clan leader's family, Xia Qilang is still the grand nephew of the Xia clan leader, Xia Wulang and him are separated by several rooms, but he still supports Xia Wulang's study
, I usually help a lot, and also ask other families in the clan to help. Obviously, they want Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang to take the exams and examiners first, and then recruit members of the clan in the future."
In fact, this is a strategy commonly used by many small squire families. As long as a family has an official, it can bring the entire family, or even the entire village, to a higher level.
Just look at Manbao and you will know. Zhou Erlang wrote back and said that after the news of her becoming an official came back to Qili Village, the villagers went to buy firecrackers and put them back for a day.
The only solution is to buy a little more and set off firecrackers.
As I was doing labor service last winter, the county decided to build the road from Qili Village to the county seat. I directly widened it and then filled it with soil. I heard that it is now almost as big as a pipeline. Not only will it not be bumpy, but it can also run in parallel.
There are two carriages.
Even the path through the mountain was simply repaired.
This is the invisible benefit that being an official can bring to the village and family.
Not to mention the additional subsidies for seeds and farm tools during the exhortation to teach mulberry farming. Even when it comes to paying taxes, the county government's assessment is not so harsh.
In the past, a pound of hemp was always given out with an extra two taels, but now if there is an extra two taels, the government officials will take the initiative to give one tael back...
This is a typical example of one person achieving enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, cough cough...
Man Bao said: "But I feel that the joy of being alone is not as good as the joy of everyone. Apparently, some elders of the Xia clan also think so. That day I proposed opening a clan school, and didn't they agree with it?"
Bai Erlang asked: "You want to bring down their family?"
"Nonsense," Man Bao glanced at him and said righteously: "Am I that kind of person? Although my surname is Zhou, my body also has the Xia family's blood. Will I harm the Xia family?
Children who study and become literate will have other benefits even if they are not examiners. If nothing else, after studying, they will always know more etiquette than others, and it will be easier to find a job and make money, right?"
Bai Erlang said: "Their purpose is not to make them work as accountants or do paperwork to make money, but to become a family of officials. You have almost cut off their path to becoming an official."
Man Bao shook his head, "No, when this generation makes money and the next generation has money, they can train them again. Why do we have to use the whole family's efforts to support these two people now?"
Bai Shan interrupted the argument between the two, "Okay, whatever you choose in the end is also a family decision. We are just a proposal. Why are you still arguing? It's like you can make the decision."
Bai Erlang and Man Bao stopped arguing, but Bai Erlang still commented: "You guys are really treacherous."
Man Bao accepted it without any objection.
Bai Shan didn't refute, they just wanted to prevent the Xia family from causing trouble to them in the past twenty years, and the Xia family's people would probably not cause trouble to them in ten or twenty years.
With this purpose in mind, when they set off to Hongtian Village the next day, they dressed up specially, put on the best clothes they had brought, hung up the best accessories, and combed their hair neatly and smoothly.
Go by car.
Lao Zhoutou also put on his best clothes and made up his mind to lose the battle.
Hongtian Village is a big village, much bigger than Qili Village, and the Xia family is the family with the largest number of people in Hongtian Village. Of course, besides the Xia family, there are several other surnames, and they are not particularly small.
In such a large village, if children want to go to school, they have to walk three kilometers to the town. It doesn't seem to be a very far distance, but the cost is high and the cost is high, so there are not many children in the village who can really afford it.
However, the Xia family is still the family that can send the most children to school.
When Manbao and his carriage entered Hongtian Village, they attracted the attention of the villagers who were busy in the fields. The main reason was that their horses were good and they looked like they were not ordinary people. So the people who had heard the news immediately took their hoes and went back to watch the fun.
As they walked back, they were still talking loudly, "I heard that Zhou Yin and Xin Niang's daughter has been found. I'm afraid there will be a fight with the Xia family."
"Looking at it like this, Zhou Yin must be prosperous. Why hasn't he come back?"
"I heard from people in the Xia family that he died early. His brother and sister-in-law helped raise his daughter. If he wants to be prosperous, his daughter must be prosperous."
"Who is Zhou Yin?"
"You don't know him, he is Xia Yan's son-in-law."
Many young people don't even know who Xia Yan is, but who cares, watch the excitement first, and you'll find out later.
The carriage went further into the village, and Chief Xia personally came to pick up Zhou Man and the others. Seeing so many villagers gathered around to watch the fun, the smile on his face was a little forced.
Fortunately, Man Bao, who got off the car, was very considerate to him and came forward to greet him with a smile.
Clan Chief Xia breathed a sigh of relief, then turned sideways and asked Lao Zhoutou and Qian to go in, saying: "Please come in with the in-laws. All the elders in the clan are waiting at home."
The villagers saw that they did not quarrel, but were living in harmony, which was a bit boring. Those who knew some of the inside story were confused and said: "It's strange, doesn't it mean that Zhou Yin's daughter came back and not only took over the house where Xia Yi lived? , you also collected all the previous fields, why didn’t they quarrel?”
"Yes, when did Clan Chief Xia have such a good temper?"
Everyone also wanted to go to the Xia clan leader's house to watch the fun. People in the same village but with different surnames are enemies, especially in the same village where your family is relatively big but my family is not much younger than yours. There will always be some friction.
The young people of the Xia clan did not want to be laughed at by them, so they occupied the wall and door of the Xia clan leader's house first, so that no one with a foreign surname could squeeze in.
Man Bao and the others entered the courtyard of the Xia clan leader's house. When they looked up, they saw people at the wall and the door, and couldn't help but pause.
Chief Xia probably also knew their intentions. Although he was embarrassed, he did not drive them away. It was better to be laughed at by people of his own clan than to be laughed at by people with other surnames, right?
So he smiled awkwardly at Zhou Man, and then said: "The children are naughty, please don't take offense to the in-laws and the eldest lady."
Manbao wasn't surprised at all, because she had seen it a lot, and the people in Qili Village also liked to pick up the walls of her house.
Just not that much.
There were too many people to sit in the room, so they sat down in the courtyard.
Patriarch Xia also asked Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang, who were following him, to meet Zhou Man, "Last time I was in a hurry, I didn't see Wulang and Qilang, right? They are your brothers."
Although her surname is not Xia, she is still a granddaughter, and she must not be a granddaughter. This is the last stubbornness of the Xia clan leader.
Manbao and Xia Wulang and Xia Qilang greeted each other, then looked around and asked, "Where is Uncle Yitang?"
Patriarch Xia didn't expect which pot she would not open or pick up. He twitched his lips and said, "He went to the county town to pick up his wife."
Man Bao then remembered, yes, yesterday Xia Yi finished moving his things and threw the keys on the street, so the county government released his wife and notified him to pick her up the next day.
Yesterday, neither Zhou Dalang nor Wu Lang went to pick up the keys. After checking the house, they directly had the locks changed. Now the house belongs to her.