Not talking about Aunt Zhou talking to Qiao Lian, just saying that Jia Ke returned to his room. Seeing that he had been away for many days, the room was still clean and tidy. It must be that Aunt Zhou and Xia Mai cleaned it every day.
As soon as Jia Ke sat down in the room, Chun Cao came in to pour him tea and water. Jia Ke and Chun Cao looked at each other, with smiles on their faces, and everything was unspoken.
After dinner, Jia Ke went to Mrs. Wang's place to pay her respects to her and Jia Zheng.
After Jia Zheng came back from the Yamen, he knew that Jia Ke had arrived home. He was very happy to see him come to say hello and talked to him a lot of common things. Jia Zheng saw that it was late and asked Jia Ke to leave.
The next day, Jia Ke went to the study to visit Mr. Li.
As the Chinese New Year is approaching, classes in the study have been suspended. However, Mr. Li did not relax and continued to study hard.
When Mr. Li saw Jia Ke coming to visit, he let him into the house. After entering the house, Jia Ke first greeted Mr. Li respectfully, which is what a student should do. Mr. Li asked him to excuse himself, and then they parted ways.
The guests and hosts took their seats.
Mr. Li first asked Jia Ke: "You can study during this time, and don't forget what I said again." Mr. Li asked Jia Ke about studying every time he saw him, which shows that he attaches great importance to reading.
Jia Ke reported back: "Thank you for your concern, sir. During this period of time, in the students' spare time, they also read poetry and books, and also dabbled in military books and war books."
Mr. Li nodded with satisfaction and said to him: "You haven't forgotten all what I said. You know that studying is a good thing. Even if you don't make progress for a while, you will gain something over time."
After that, Jia Ke asked Mr. Li again: "It's such a time, and Mr. Li is still studying hard. Do you want to participate in the Spring Festival next year?"
Mr. Li said: "I studied hard for ten years just to go to the examination room."
Jia Ke said to Mr. Li: "Students here wish sir in advance that he will be the best on the gold list."
Mr. Li answered him with a smile: "Thanks to your good words, I think I should be somewhat confident this time." There was a bit of pride in his words.
Mr. Li should have won last time, but he was demoted because he forgot to avoid a word. This time, it took three years of hard study and three years of preparation, so there was no big problem.
The teacher and the student said something else. Jia Ke was afraid of delaying Mr. Li's study, so he resigned.
He withdrew from Mr. Li's place and now went inside to kowtow to Jia Mu. As for the eldest master, Jia She, as a concubine, he was not qualified to visit him.
After kowtowing to Mother Jia again, when I came back, I met Jia Zhu in the small garden of Rongxi Hall. He had not changed much from before, but the fatigue on his face was obvious at a glance.
Jia Zhu saw Jia Ke going up to salute him. After Jia Ke returned the favor, he asked, "I just went to Mr. Li's place. He said that he will be dismissed next year. Mr. Li's knowledge can probably be ranked on the list. I don't know Mr. Li."
After I leave, my father may hire another famous teacher."
Jia Zhu replied: "I just went to see my father. My father said that after the Chinese New Year, he would let me go to the clan middle school to study first. Then I will have a feast with famous teachers when I have the opportunity."
Jia Ke disagreed with Jia Zheng's decision, because in the Red Mansion, Jia Zhu was only a scholar. He died of illness before he passed the examination. The teaching quality in ethnic studies has always been average.
The teacher in Ethnology is Jia Dairu. Although he is a long-time Confucian, I have never heard that he has any fame. In Dream of Red Mansions, I have not heard that he taught any students with fame. I guess he is not a famous teacher, just a teacher.
They are just ordinary Confucian scholars who make a living.
Jia Ke wanted to remind Jia Zhu, but there was a voice in his heart that stopped him, because if Jia Zhu failed in repeated attempts, Jia Zheng would be disappointed and invest more resources in him. You must know that the Jia family has already
In decline, with limited resources, he and Jia Zhu could only fully support one person.
If he reminds Jia Zhu, with Mrs. Wang's energy, Jia Zheng will definitely invite famous teachers for him. If Jia Zhu succeeds in the exam, as Jia Zhu's legitimate son, the resources of the Jia family will definitely give all their strength to Jia Zhu in the future.
If the bead tilts, then he will lack support.
Although he has a golden finger, his rise to prominence will be greatly delayed. It is not known whether he will be able to form a force that can influence the situation of the government and protect the Jia family.
Therefore, Jia Ke kept silent after hearing what Jia Ke said. After that, the two chatted for a few more words and let go.
Jia Ke turned his back to Jia Zhu and walked away, as if their future paths were going in opposite directions. At this time, Jia Ke only had a few ancient sayings in his mind: If a man does not serve himself, heaven will punish him and the earth will perish. I can only bear the burden of the world, and don't let the world bear me.
At this time, Jia Ke thought that sometimes bad people are not born bad, but maybe they are forced by the situation and have to do this.
In the next few days, the Jia Mansion began preparations for the New Year.
First, Zhuangzi from various places sent items as tribute for the New Year. Things like deer, deer, roe deer, Siamese pig, soup sheep, dragon pig, wild boar, domestic wax pig, wild sheep, green sheep, domestic soup sheep, domestic style sheep, sturgeon and sturgeon.
, live chickens, ducks and geese, wind chickens, ducks and geese, bear paws, deer sinews, sea cucumbers, deer tongue, ox tongue, dried razor clams, hazelnut peach and apricot flesh, large prawns, dried shrimps. Silver frost charcoal, firewood charcoal, and Oden rouge
Rice, Bi Nuo, Bai Nuo, Shao, variegated beams, various kinds of dried vegetables, and so on.
Wangjiatun also followed the example of previous years and sent Jia Ke a New Year tribute. It was just some deer, deer, sheep and the like, as well as some rice and noodles. Aunt Zhou happily took care of these things herself. Just these were sent.
The food is enough for them to eat for a year. Aunt Zhou kept sighing that it is different to have her own Zhuangzi. Now their family is considered wealthy among the entire family. Not only does it have an income of two thousand silver each year,
There is also filial piety during festivals. This was something that Aunt Zhou never dared to think about before.
Next, it is time for the Jia family to open the ancestral hall and worship ancestors. In the entire Jia family, Ningguo Mansion has inherited the patriarch for generations, so the Jia family ancestral hall is in Ningguo Mansion. The ancestor worship is also handled by Jia Zhen.
But Jia Zhen said that the ancestral hall was opened, and people were cleaning it, packing up the offering vessels, inviting the gods, and cleaning the upper room in preparation for the hanging of the remains. At this time, everyone inside and outside Rongning's second mansion was busy, not
Don't dare to be negligent in the slightest.
The ancestor worship in Ning Rong's second house is different from other families. Ning Rong's second ancestor is worshiped as an ancestor god, and his status has surpassed that of the family elders. Jia Ke doesn't know why.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the two houses began to get busy, changing the door gods and Spring Festival couplets, then opening the main door, and lighting two rows of tall red candles on both sides, with extraordinary momentum, like "two golden dragons."
On the thirtieth day, Jia Mu and other wives with titles will first enter the palace to greet the New Year, and then come to the Ningguo Mansion to begin the formal New Year's Eve ancestor worship ceremony with the clansmen waiting here.
During the ancestor worship ceremony on New Year's Eve, the order in which everyone stands is fixed and there is no room for confusion; every procedure of playing music, presenting honors, saluting, burning incense, and toasting wine is strict, and no one dares to neglect it.
All the men of the Jia family were present. Even Jia Jing, who was devoted to cultivating Taoism and didn't care about secular affairs at all, rushed back to preside over the New Year's Eve ancestor worship.
First, the men of the Jia family presided over the ceremony, Jia Jing performed the ceremony, Jia She, Jia Zheng accompanied the ceremony, Jia Zhen presented the jue, Jia Lian, Jia Cong presented the silk, Jia Ke, Jia Zhu held the incense, Jia Chang and Jia Ling displayed the worship blanket and guarded the burning pond. Qingyi Music
After the memorial ceremony, the three kings were presented, the worship was completed, the silk was burned and the libations were made, the ceremony was completed, the music was stopped, and the guests exited.
Then the offerings are placed. This is also in order and there can be no confusion. Every dish arrives and is passed to the Yimen. Jia Yun, Jia Zhi and others take it and pass it to Jia Jing at the bottom of the stairs. The female family members are on the threshold.
Inside, every Jia brought a dish to the table, and everyone inside passed it to Mrs. Wang directly in front of the offering table. Mrs. Wang passed it to Jia Mu, who then placed it on the table. Mrs. Xing stood to the west of the offering table, facing east.
, released with Jia Mu.
After that, Jia Mu held incense and bowed down, and everyone knelt down together. The ancestor worship was completed here.
However, the ancestral hall remained open, and the main gate was not closed until the seventh day of the first lunar month after the sacrifices were held again.