There was a table of dishes. The main dish was chicken and goose. A dozen eggs were steamed in one go without peeling them and were placed on the table. A basin of oily white meat from the restaurant was also taken away. The grass carp that had been raised in a vat at home was also taken away.
The restaurant was burned together, but now several pieces of rice are served together, along with a plate of vinegar and garlic, and finally a bucket of rice.
Those who are not vegetarian are those who are carnivorous.
This kind of life is really luxurious, and it must be criticized carefully. How can the family have the money to afford such a life for my eldest brother?
Although Zhang Yue said this in his heart, when he sat at the table and smelled the fragrant food, all he could say at this moment was "it smells so good".
Zhang Yue looked up and saw Mrs. Yu's stern expression. She didn't know how she felt when she saw this scene.
"We have county food at home, why go to a restaurant to cook it? How much does it cost? How much does this table of food cost?" Yu asked Zhang Shi in front of the family.
Zhang Shi smiled and said, "Madam, it's really not worth much."
"Did you go to the restaurant to get credit again?" Mrs. Yu cried anxiously.
Zhang Shi said quickly: "I will marry you with cash, okay?"
Yu was stunned and said: "Where did you get the money?"
Zhang Shi smiled and said: "Madam, sit down first and then talk. Yes, Sanlang, do you think what Mr. Zhuang said today?"
The eldest brother used Mr. Zhuang to persuade Yu to return to the table.
Zhang Yue hurriedly explained the matter roughly in the Three Character Classic, which was regarded as transferring the sister-in-law's transfer. Zhang Shi took a sip of wine and discussed: "This is really difficult to handle. What do you think, Madam?"
While peeling eggs for Zhangqiu, Mrs. Yu said: "Uncle has been studying abroad for the past six months. Not only did he not spend much money, but he also brought a lot of money home. He has made a lot of progress. As an elder brother, you shouldn't take everything for granted."
Idea, I think uncle himself has already figured it out."
Hearing this, Zhang Shi put down his wine glass, widened his eyes and said, "Third brother, how come you still get the money back? The family doesn't lack your money. Studying hard is the right thing to do."
Zhang Shi scolded Zhang Yue for a while, apparently thinking that he was just trying to support his family instead of studying hard.
Zhang Yue said with an apologetic smile: "Brother, I also work as a bookkeeper after studying, and it doesn't take much effort. Recently, my husband even praised me for my progress. If you don't believe me, just ask my husband and senior brother when I go to Wuxi."
.”
"Really?" Zhang Shi was full of doubts.
"real."
"Okay, third brother is my elder brother and I wrongly blamed you. I will apologize to you." As he said this, Zhang Shi took a chopstick of meat and put it in Zhang Yue's bowl.
Zhang Yue took his brother's chopstick meat and rice into his mouth. Well, it tasted so delicious that he almost cried.
"But third brother, you can't do this. If you do this for others, where can I put my face? Brother, I have hands and feet, do you still think I can't support this family?"
As he spoke, Zhang Shi took a handful of money from his pocket and slapped it on the table: "Take a look."
Zhang Qiu already sighed: "So much money! Daddy is really amazing."
Zhang Shi smiled.
Mr. Yu said suspiciously: "Shilang, all your money for saving materials has been paid off in the past few days. Where did the money come from?"
Zhang Shi did not say it bluntly. He had won some money yesterday by gambling, otherwise where would he have the money to buy Zhang Qiu icing today? Zhang Yue and Yu didn't know the reason, so they thought Zhang Shi could find the money somewhere.
Zhang Shi dealt with the matter perfunctorily, and Yu persuaded him: "Shilang, as long as my uncle does not delay his studies by writing books for others, I think it is a good thing, and it will be a good thing to make a living in the future."
"Third brother is a scholar, how can he make a living by servicing books for others?"
Yu sighed: "It's up to you, Shiro, to make the decision."
Zhang Shi also took a step back: "My wife said that Third Brother makes up his mind, so be it. But Mr. Zhuang is Xi'er's teacher, Third Brother, you need to know some propriety."
"I know." Zhang Yue's mouth was full of meat now, especially the half-fat and half-lean white meat that was so delicious. After traveling through time, he actually became greedy for fat meat. In his previous life, he refused to eat it.
In this life, I can only experience what true fragrance means repeatedly.
"Axi, how does Mr. Zhuang treat you on weekdays?" Mrs. Yu asked worriedly.
Zhang Qiu took the peeled hot eggs and blew on them while saying: "Very good."
Zhang Yue took advantage of this and suddenly said: "Yes, brother and sister-in-law, do our family have any contact with the second aunt's family recently?"
Zhang Shi said: "They live in Suzhou, how come they have no contact with me? Why do you suddenly ask this question?"
Zhang Yue said: "I'm just curious. We used to be very close to my second aunt's family, but why have we broken off in recent years? Is it my second brother's fault?"
Zhang Shi said vaguely: "There is something wrong with your second brother, but in the final analysis, your second aunt's family became an official, and they gradually drifted away from us. This is also human nature, no wonder them."
Zhang Yue gradually learned about the events of that year from Zhang Shi and Yu.
It turns out that the second aunt not only wanted the second brother to join their family, but also wanted the second brother to change his name to the generation of the Zhang family in Suzhou.
Zhang's father Zhang Zhen refused to agree.
No wonder, the name was given by the parents, and even the name was changed, indicating that the relationship with the original family was severed.
Therefore, in the eyes of Zhang's father, Zhang Shi, this was no longer just changing his official status to take the imperial examination, but recognizing his son! So Cai refused to agree.
Zhang Yue couldn't help but thought, if the second brother is really naturalized, he must have changed his name, so what is his name now?
At this time, Mrs. Yu said again: "Speaking of the second uncle, I suddenly remembered that Zhao Yasi's daughter was engaged to the third son of the Lu family a few days ago."
"The Lu family? Which Lu family is that?"
Yu said: "It's the Lu family that sells soy sauce and vinegar."
"That's really good... It's as good as the third brother said..." Zhang Shi said with a chuckle, which could be regarded as resolving the grudge between his family and Zhao Yasi.
Mrs. Yu glanced at Zhang Shi and said, "I want to be a concubine!"
Zhang Shi suddenly fell silent after hearing this.
Good families know not to take their daughters as concubines, but Zhao Yasi, who is a prominent figure in the county, actually allows his beloved daughter to be a concubine. It can only be said that he has no choice but to do so.
In the end, the debt will fall back on the second brother.
"It's all the second brother's fault." Zhang Yue sighed.
Zhang Shize slammed the table and said angrily: "For this plan, even if my second brother is in the sky, as long as he is seen, I will definitely let him come back and come to Zhao Yasi to apologize! Otherwise, how can I live with my conscience? How can I do such a wicked thing?
This has really insulted the face of my Zhang family."
"Can you come to the door to apologize? The matter has come to this, what can we do? Our matter with the Zhao family is over, there is no need to stir up trouble again." Yu said.
Zhang Shi let out a long sigh.
Mrs. Yu added: "But I mentioned this today, and I haven't finished my words. There were rumors in the public that the daughter of the Zhao family once had a relationship with the third son of the Lu family. I don't know whether it is true or not."
"What? A relationship? Is this the case?" Zhang Shi was surprised, "If this is really the case, then the fault does not entirely lie with the second brother."
Yu said in a low voice: "You don't have to worry about overturning the case for my second uncle. In this neighborhood, you can only hear two or three sentences out of ten, and even one sentence can't be taken as true. I came here just by hearsay, and you can forget it after you hear it."
This matter is over, let’s not discuss it again in the future.”
As Zhang Yue listened, he felt that the affairs at home were Rashomon.
Zhang Shi thought deeply and suddenly said: "I think it is not baseless to say that the Zhao and Lu families are related?"
"How do you say it?" Yu asked.
Zhang Shi said sternly: "More than ten days before my second brother got married, I saw him hurriedly come home one day. Originally he had to study at the county school and didn't return until two or three days before the wedding... But that day he came home unexpectedly, and I didn't know
What to do?"
"At that time, I went to ask him why...but he ignored me and rushed upstairs to close the door. I knocked on the door and he ignored him. I also said that my second brother was going to take the exam after getting married, so I was in a bad mood.
I was irritable. I wanted to leave it alone and get busy, but after thinking about it I felt uneasy, so I went to his door to listen for a while, but I heard him say a few words like "You old man insulted me" and "Kill this bitch."
'Words."
"I was outside the door at the time, so I didn't hear it clearly. I don't know the rest. Later, I was so busy preparing for my second brother's wedding that I forgot about it. After hearing what you said today, I thought carefully about it.
What can second brother hear?"
Zhang Yue's expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and now he couldn't help but secretly rejoice. It turned out that on the day Zhao Yasi broke off the engagement, a neighbor joked that since Zhang Erlang ran away, wouldn't there be Zhang Sanlang?
What if Zhao Asi's daughter is really as his brother and sister-in-law suspected, and Zhao Asi falls in love with him, wouldn't he become... a great hero, someone who can help others solve their problems?
If you think about it carefully, it's so dangerous. You can't bully us honest people!
Yu shook his head and said: "I wonder how Zhao Yasi, who is also the boss of the county, doesn't know how to restrain his daughter from doing such a disrespectful thing. I think it's probably you who got it wrong. Don't do it because of that."
He is our second uncle, so you should wholeheartedly speak for him."
Zhang Shi said anxiously: "Madam, I trust my second brother. Although he usually only knows how to study, he is not a person who does not know what is right. But if you can make him know what is right, it will definitely irritate him."
"He has been very courageous since he was a child. When our family lived in the countryside, a vicious dog bit a child and refused to let go. Children four or five years older than him did not dare to move, so he held a stone.
He went up and smashed the head of the vicious dog. If he wanted to tell me about killing people, I would definitely believe him."
Yu asked: "If this is really the case, why didn't my second uncle tell us in advance?"
Zhang Shi said with some sadness: "Second brother's temper has been something he has been accustomed to since he was a child. Even people like Chen Lingjun, who are superior, look down upon him. Over the years, the number of people who have come to our house to seek marriage and matchmaking has almost crossed the threshold. I
He and his father also wanted to have a good marriage with him. At that time, he also met Zhao Yasi's daughter, which was considered a passing moment..."
Zhang Yue heard this and knew that this passing behavior was a custom in Bianliang.
Generally, after a matchmaker sets up a matchmaker, when a man and a woman meet, the man prepares four glasses of wine and the woman prepares two glasses of wine.
If he likes the girl, he will put a gold hairpin on the woman's temple, which is called a hairpin; if not, he will give a piece of cloth and satin, which is called "pressing the hair".
Of course, this is only available to wealthy families. At that time, the second brother and Zhao Yasi's daughter also went through this process, which was somewhat based on the wishes of men and women.
It would be a great shame and humiliation for the second brother if it were based on the opinions of men and women.
But if you think about it carefully, even though it was a blind date, since it was the second brother who fell in love with her, there were things that happened in the process that no one knew about, and finally all kinds of things accumulated in the family led to the second brother running away from the marriage that day.
But the problem is that this is just the speculation of the eldest brother and sister-in-law. There is no real evidence. Only the second brother knows the truth of this matter.
From the outside, including Zhang Yue, one can only sigh, it is really difficult for an upright official to deal with household affairs!
Zhang Shi drank one cup after another, while Zhang Yue, Yu and Zhang Qiu didn't speak.
Zhang Yue still remembers the scene during the New Year's Eve last year. At that time, the Zhang family was in a good situation.
The eldest brother talked about how much money he made from his family's shop and farmland in the countryside, and Xu Dutou introduced him to some people in the county.
The second brother was silent and silent.
He and Zhang Qiu were quarreling under the table, while two servants were cooking and serving the dishes. When the dishes were served, Mr. Yu started to arrange the dishes himself.
At that time, people would come to visit me from time to time.
At this time, Zhang Shize stepped forward to receive him warmly, while the second brother picked up the book and pretended to eat while reading. Yu received gifts and helped. Zhang Yue had a handful of money in his pocket and took the opportunity to take Zhang Qiu with him.
Go out and have fun.
Now it is a different situation.
Zhang Yue secretly made up his mind to make this family better through himself.
