Back home, Cheng Xue put Li Huai and Yu Yingjie to sleep, and then went to the study.
Li Hui is studying hard. He can take a short break after the exam, but he doesn't dare to relax at all, especially this time, which makes him feel a sense of crisis.
Cheng Xue got half of the desk, took paper and pen and started drawing. She just wanted to roughly express her thoughts. It didn't matter whether the drawing was good or not. If the Xu family hadn't caused such trouble, she would have finished it long ago.
Half an hour later, I looked at my meticulous painting and my mouth twitched.
Sure enough, she has no talent for painting.
Her stomach growled, so she went back to the house and used the leftover bone soup to make dough. Then she cut half a radish and mixed it with sweet and sour. It was sour and refreshing.
"Stop looking and eat something. The provincial examination is in August, so don't work so hard."
Li Hui put down the book, smelled the fragrant smell, shook his head and said:
"It's impossible not to fight! The provincial examination is more cruel than the college examination. The entire Liaodong Prefecture is competing for fifty places. If you are not careful, you will lose your reputation. One student can only exempt two people from serving. We now have three children in our family."<
/p>
This does not include the younger cousin from his uncle's family. This time the staff was reduced and the army was drafted again, the younger cousin was about to leave. Fortunately, he passed the exam in time, so his cousin was exempted from military service.
Cheng Xue put the meat in his bowl and finished the bowl of noodles. She knew he was going out for a walk, so she followed him out.
The two of them wandered around the village. After the New Year, the patrols withdrew, so they spoke in a lower voice and there was no need to be shy.
"I have something to ask you. Today, Aunt Xu said that government officials cannot take the scientific examination. Why can Wang Sen?"
"I've been meaning to ask for a long time."
Facing Li Hui's narrow-mindedness, Cheng Xue chuckled and acquiesced.
It was difficult to ask questions at Xu's house. When he came back, he was reading again and could only hold it in.
"Actually, Wang Sen is not a government official. He was indeed selected, but he was rejected by the nephew of the current county magistrate's family. To explain in our words..."
"It was made up by others."
"Yeah." Li Hui nodded, "Although the income is not bad, I am not taken seriously in the county government and my talents are not recognized."
"The county government is so dark? Pan Yongzhang doesn't care?"
"Have you never heard that a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake?"
In all the county offices in Liangyan, except for the county magistrate, who was appointed by the imperial court, all other officials of the eighth and ninth grades were recruited from local candidates and scholars. They were intricately intertwined and complicated.
After returning home, Li Hui went into the study and saw the person lying on the bed, and chuckled:
"I thought you were going to break your promise."
Wen Tian rolled his eyes, "Aren't you afraid that I will do something bad to you?"
"We have no grudges in the past, and we have no grudges recently. Why are you doing something bad to me?" Li Hui didn't care, "You can come back after the house in the west of the village is repaired."
I thought I would show up in the county, but I didn’t expect to show up today.
When Wen Tian saw him telling him the date, he got up and went out. He walked to the door and stopped again——
"There are people in your village who are not good for you, so be careful. The dogs you raise are good, but they still can't do it when you meet Lian Jiazi."
"It's just a small fight between the villages. You Jianghu people have principles and will not kill innocent people indiscriminately."
"What if I meet someone who recognizes money?"
"Isn't it you?"
Li Hui said it very easily. Then he heard a cold "hum", and then the tiger in the yard began to wander again.
Oh my god, this guy can't give a dog acupuncture.
Li Hui didn't think too much, picked up the book and continued reading at night...
……
It rained for three consecutive days, and the temperature finally rose after it cleared up.
After two days of drying, you can see old farmers working in the fields. You need to plow the land first, turn out the fences to dry, and then burn the wasteland.
The list of streamlined personnel at the forest farm on the mountain has also been reduced. Xu Kun from the Xu family left the forest farm, and Xu Jin stayed. This was intentional to ensure that every household had a male who stayed at home, who happened to be working on the forest farm again.
Just when everyone didn't understand why the forest farm wanted to downsize its staff, Jiang Jianye struck the gong again and made everyone understand.
"...This time the recruitment is going to the south, where it is hotter than here, so I try to prepare thin clothes. I need to prepare a few more pairs of shoes. I will be issued two pairs when I enter the military camp. It will definitely not be enough."
Jiang Jianye talked about the news he had just received. As for the resistance of the villagers, he was powerless. His arms could not lift his thighs, so he had no other choice but to listen.
After everyone's complaints subsided, he spoke again——
"After talking about the conscription, the next step is to farm. We spent two days digging all the fences in the fields, and the day after tomorrow we set out to clear the land. Those who are not in a hurry should pay attention when clearing the land, in case something happens.
Pay it out of your own pocket. Okay, let’s all be gone.”
Jiang Jianye left without looking back, and the villagers gathered in groups to chat.
When Cheng Xue saw that everything was okay, she walked back, but Li Wangchuan blocked her way.
"Tiedan Niang, can I trouble you for a while?"
"Sorry, it's no trouble." Cheng Xue shook his head, "One of Huizi's places is for brother Xin and the other is for his little cousin. They are gone."
Now she just plays straight ball without giving any face to anyone.
Those who respect you won’t cause trouble, and those who don’t respect you naturally don’t need to pay attention.
Mrs. Xu caught up with her in a few steps, took her arm and walked straight away. Li Wangchuan hit a soft nail to no avail, so he had to find another way.
Since the separation of the Xu family, Mr. Geng has really done what he said that day, only making food for himself every day. The old man doesn't care, and no one cares.
For this reason, Mrs. Xu came to Cheng Xue for help more than once, and this time was no exception.
"...What should we do, Snow Mother? I have said everything I need to say. My father also apologized to my mother and admitted that I was wrong, but my mother just ignored my father."
Cheng Xue looked at the distressed Xu, patted the back of her hand and said:
"Three feet of ice did not last in a day. My aunt has suffered for so many years. Do you think that if Uncle Xu apologizes and admits his mistake, the past can be wiped out?"
"I know we can't, but...but after so many years, we are all grown up."
"Just because you are older, Auntie has the confidence to let go and live alone." Cheng Xue reminded.
She never thought of persuading Geng, let alone giving Xu Daguo advice. The old man had not hinted, but she pretended not to have seen it.
"Er Ni, I think you should just let nature take its course. Don't you think that my aunt has been very energetic since she thought about it? As for your eldest brother and your younger brother... I am really surprised. I used to think that they
Very good, but now it seems that this 'very good' is just superficial."
How many people have been deceived by this illusion of honesty? Speaking of which, this is selfishness. They only think about themselves. It doesn’t matter what others say because it doesn’t affect their interests.
After Mrs. Xu thought about it carefully, she sighed and stopped making any sound.
Maybe Xue Niang is right. Her mother did this because they have grown up. In fact, it was not only a surprise to her friends, but also to her as a younger sister.
"I'm going to dig wild vegetables in the mountains, will you go?"
"Go, wait for me, I'll go home and get the basket." After Mrs. Xu said that, she turned around and hurried home...