Chapter 2
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Zhao’er always thought that the little man’s eyes were the best looking eyes in the world, although when they faced her, they always hated and resisted.
In fact, Xue Gouzi’s eyes are the only pretty part all over the body. He was born weak. The second and her husband had a hard time supporting him, and they were also spoiled. All the boys of his age in the village were swarthy and strong like a calf, but he was pale and emaciated and silent.
However, Zhao’er has always been bossy, and never allowed anyone to talk about her man, whoever said she was angry. Because of this, she had fought with many girls and boys in the village. Although some people still said bad words behind Zhao’er’s back, no one dared to talk in front of her.
Zhao’er always felt the little man’s eyes were weird today, some uncomfortably avoided.
She knew that the little man must be angry again. He didn’t like her saying “Gouzi is my man”. Every time he heard her saying this, he would ignore her for several days. In fact, Zhao’er was also shameful, but she was the child bride of the second wife of Xue’s family. If she didn’t call herself like this, she would not be qualified to challenge Sun’s, the fourth aunt.
“Are you hungry? Look at what I bring to you?”
Zhao’er left these troubles behind at once, and take out a paper bag from her arms. After opening the paper bag, there were two hot steamed buns in it, white and fat, which made people like them.
“Hurry up, while they are still warm.” She smiled, shoved the paper bag into the little man’s hand, and placed the basket on her shoulder in the corner.
Xue Gouzi glanced at her.
The girl in front of him is in the marriageable age. Her skin is a wheat color that is common in rural girls, but her skin tone is very different from others. It is smooth and shiny, like a layer of honey. The tall bridge of the nose, a pair of small and medium eyes, the pupils are dark, and when they smile, there is a flash of light in it, and she looks so lively.
Zhao’er is taller than other ordinary girls, and she is also well developed, with bootylicious figure, full of youthful vitality.
It’s fresh. It’s as fresh as his dream.
Unconsciously, he took the bun and chewed it up. Seeing this move, Zhao’er laughed more happily. She went to the kitchen and poured him a bowl of water and put it on his hand. She bent down to pick up the scattered bedding on the bed, thinking about what to cook for her man in the evening.
After all, the little man got better, but the medicine had to be drunk, and a few more were needed to consolidate. From this, Zhao’er naturally began to calculate the small amount of money left in her hand, and she should find a way to get some money to solve the urgent need.
“You, have you eaten something?” Xue Gouzi asked.
This kind of behavior rarely happened to him, so Zhao’er could not help looking up at the little man sitting on the bed.
In fact, the little man’s appearance is beautiful fair-skinned, different from the countryman, and the corners of his eyes are slightly raised. The curvature makes his face look a little delicate and handsome. The little man just always hangs his head halfway, his temperament is gloomy and silent, and he is too thin to stand out in front of others.
Zhao’er’s eyes warmed up a little and her smile widened. And she said, “Yes, I’ve eaten outside. This is for you.”
After she had finished speaking, she realized that she had missed her words. She waited for the little man to show a disgusted expression, or condemned her for not running around. But she didn’t expect that he didn’t say anything. It seemed that he had something on his mind and was eating a bun.
Zhao’er can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, at the same time in the heart something aches, can’t help but say, “Gou’er, you don’t need to worry too much, that words after all is what you heard. If these weren’t face to face to say, then you can’t believe. Even if it’s true, I’m not afraid. I earn money for you to study.”
Xue Gouzi’s head was actually a little sore and dizzy. Zhao’er thought he has something on his mind, but he was just thinking about the dream. At this time, hearing the words of Zhao’er, he suddenly remembered why he had this serious illness.
Seriously speaking, Xue Gouzi’s severe illness came with stagnation of liver and anxiety.
Speaking of this, we must talk about the general situation of the Xue family. Yuqing Village is a village located under Huyang Town, Xia County, Pingyang Prefecture. There are only over 200 households in the village. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset. All of them are the farmers depending on the climate.
And Xue family is one of them.
However, unlike other ordinary farmers, Xue family has some backgrounds.
The ancestor of the Xue family, that is, the grandfather of Grandpa Xue is a scholar. It is the great thing of Guangzong Yaozu to be a talented man in a poor mountain like Yuqing village.
Because of this scholar, the generation of Xue’s family had the clan leader of Xue’s family, and there were several village elders in the family. Finally, they had discourse power in Yuqing village.
At the same time, it is natural that the younger generation will also be blessed. Mr. Xue’s father was hardworking. With the help of his elders, he has also slowly set up a family business.
By the time of Mr. Xue’s generation, the Xue family had more than 30 acres of good land, and several sons each had their own livelihoods. The flourishing life was enviable, and they were regarded as one of the most prosperous people in the village.
Grandpa Xue and his wife Zhao had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son Xue Qingshan married his wife Yang and they had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Xue Juncai, is fifteen. The second son, Xue Youcai, is ten years old, and the eldest daughter, Xue Man’er, is married.
The second child, Xue Qingsong, is a carpenter and married his wife Qiu, and they have a son, Xue Gouzi, who is fourteen. The third son, Xue Qingbai, is a farmer, married to his wife Zhou, and has a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter Xue Taoer, thirteen this year, the youngest son Xue Shuanzi, eight years old. The fourth son, Xue Qinghuai, was a pick-and-go man and married his wife Sun, who also had a son named Xue Maodan, who is only four years old this year.
As for the two daughters, the eldest daughter, Xue Cuiping, has been married. Xue Cuie, the youngest daughter, is 14 years old, and still unmarried.
It’s worth mentioning that nowadays, there is a saying that, “If parents are alive, then don’t separate the family.” In addition, people in the countryside are all ruled by clans, so the Xue family has not separate family.
The Xue family has experienced the benefits of reading, so it has a more vision than ordinary farmers. Xue Qingshan was smart and the eldest son since he was a child. Father Xue had high hopes for him. At the age of enlightenment, he spent money to send him to private school.
Xue Qingshan also made a good showing. At the age of 20, he passed the examination of Tong Sheng (scholars failed in the imperial examinations). Although he still stopped at scholar, in the end he can be regarded as a learned man nearby.
Don’t underestimate Tong Sheng! As the saying goes, scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant. Scholars are the highest class of people in the society at present. If ordinary people want to be scholars, there is only one way: the imperial examination. On the way to the imperial examination, it is said that it is not enough to go to the west world to learn from the classics, but to go through all kinds of checkpoints and hardships.
In order to embark on this path, first of all, they must be qualified, and Tong Sheng is the person who has this qualification. It is necessary to pass both county and prefecture exams in order to be called Tong Sheng. As for the next step is to be a talent, becoming a talent is to enter school, and is also the first step to imperial examinations.
It can be seen from this that Tong Sheng is not an ordinary person, so Xue Qingshan’s status in Xue’s family is high.
But as I said before, the family of the Xue family can only be regarded as a middle-class family in the countryside. If a family like this wants to provide a scholar, it will almost exhaust all the members and financial resources of the family. Because Xue Qingshan is the eldest son, he will set up a portal in the future, and he is talented and intelligent. So the following sons naturally have to give in.
As for why Xue Gouzi became seriously ill, it would also involve another old story of the Xue family.
When Xue Qingshan became Tong Sheng, he was also a young man. He was full of ambition to pass the court test and get a scholar. Unfortunately, the destiny didn’t follow people’s wishes.
He got too close to the scholar, and he was not reconciled to failure. So Xue Qingshan could only be quiet, angry and diligent, and hoped to succeed next time.
Time flies, in such a hurry for many years, his original ambition was devastated by the reality. Xue Qingshan failed in the exam for many times, and could not stay at home to eat without working. In desperation, he set up a private school in the village, which collects children from their own village and several nearby villages to teach them knowledge so he can make subsistence more or less.
With such convenient conditions, several children of Xue’s family naturally followed suit. The following small ones are still small. Among the grandchildren, Xue Juncai, the eldest son of the first wife, and Xue Gouzi, the eldest son of the second wife, have learned for the longest time.
However, compared to cousin Xue Juncai, Xue Gouzi was obviously inferior to many. It is also because he was too weak. He was always sick for three days and two days when he was a child, which delayed many homework.
It was five years ago. This year, the school officer opened an examination in Fucheng. Certainly, Xue Qingshan would not miss it. He stopped the private lesson early and went to Fucheng to take the exam.
At that time, it was not easy to go out. Besides, Father Xue was not assured that the elder son was going out alone, so he was accompanied by the second child Xue Qingsong. It was always a care to do some chores.
That’s what happened this time. Xue Qingshan didn’t know who offended in the Fucheng. Xue Qingsong was injured all over the body in order to protect his elder brother. He was finally pulled back, but he died shortly after returning. Before death, Xue Qingsong asked Xue Qingshan to promise himself that he had to cultivate Xue Gouezi to a talent as much as possible.
As a matter of fact, Xue Qingsong has been making way for others all his life. How could he have no complaints in his heart? It’s only because he is simple and honest in nature and knows that his talent is not as good as that of his eldest brother that he has been making contributions in an unknown way.
But when it came to his own son, especially Xue Gouzi’s infirmity from an early age, he didn’t seem to be the person who is born to be a farmer. Then he died shortly before Xue Qingsong took the opportunity to force his elder brother to make a promise.
Xue Qingsong would do this, but wanted to break the situation where the resources of the Xue family had been tilted towards the first wife all the time. The Xue family only had two students in the first wife side, and now there is added Xue Gouzi. The child of the third wife was still young, and the fourth child was not married. As long as Xue Qingshan agreed, there was naturally nothing left to say, Xue Qingsong was also doing his best for his son as much as possible.
Xue Qingshan promised to do it on the spot. He cried and said he would treat Xue Gouzi as his own son. Then Xue Qingsong closed his eyes and died.
Not long after that, Qiu, which was already in poor health, became melancholy, and died, just followed Xue Qingsong. So Xue Gouzi has since become a fatherless and motherless kid. Fortunately, there are grandparents and uncles, and Zhao’er, the child who will raise him, so he doesn’t need to worry about the lack of clothing and food.
In the next few years, Xue Qingshan really treated Xue Gouzi like a parent-child. Everyone in the village said that Xue’s eldest brother raised his nephew as his own son. But as the saying goes, people are fickle, and selfishness is human nature. As time goes by, the first wife gradually change her attitude. Although it is as before in front of others, it is only the person concerned who knows how to deal with it.
In this year, when he found that he had nothing to teach his son, Xue Qingshan wanted to send Xue Juncai to the town school for two years.
But it will spend too much money. And not to mention one year’s remuneration to teachers is not small account, but the book fee, as well as the usual pen, ink, paper and inkstone, all require money. Xue’s family has already suffered a great loss of vitality because they have supported Xue Qingshan to go to school. How can they afford to go with their two children.
Only one a small part of money can be taken out, which means that Xue Juncai and Xue Gouzi can only go to one person.
Xue Qingshan told the matter in front of the whole family. Xue Gouzi didn’t say anything inexplicably, but chose to be silent.
At that time, the atmosphere of the Xue family was weird. Grandfather Xue frowned. Grandmother Zhao was very gloomy all day long, but the eldest couple were still as usual.
That ’s not to mention, it was also a coincidence that Xue Gouzi accidentally heard the first uncle Yang and the 4th uncle Sun talk secretly, saying that their parents in-law had to come forward and let Xue Gouzi give up the quota to study in town consciously. Then Xue Gouzi became very ill under the anger.
When he thought about this, Xue Gouzi was in a state of difficulty. At the same time, many pictures appeared in his mind, just some of the contents of his previous dreams.
In the dream, Xue Tingxiang also faced the same situation when he was 14, and that Xue Tingxiang also changed his temperament through this matter, and changed his earlier nature.
Is he Xue Tingxiang? And that Xue Tingxiang is him? But why did he dream of these things!
Xue Gouzi’s brain was aching pain, the bun in his hand fell on the bed, and the water bowl next to it was knocked over. When Zhao’er heard sound, she rushed forward and hugged him in his arms.
“Gou’er, Gou’er, don’t scare me!”
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Zhao’er always thought that the little man’s eyes were the best looking eyes in the world, although when they faced her, they always hated and resisted.
In fact, Xue Gouzi’s eyes are the only pretty part all over the body. He was born weak. The second and her husband had a hard time supporting him, and they were also spoiled. All the boys of his age in the village were swarthy and strong like a calf, but he was pale and emaciated and silent.
However, Zhao’er has always been bossy, and never allowed anyone to talk about her man, whoever said she was angry. Because of this, she had fought with many girls and boys in the village. Although some people still said bad words behind Zhao’er’s back, no one dared to talk in front of her.
Zhao’er always felt the little man’s eyes were weird today, some uncomfortably avoided.
She knew that the little man must be angry again. He didn’t like her saying “Gouzi is my man”. Every time he heard her saying this, he would ignore her for several days. In fact, Zhao’er was also shameful, but she was the child bride of the second wife of Xue’s family. If she didn’t call herself like this, she would not be qualified to challenge Sun’s, the fourth aunt.
“Are you hungry? Look at what I bring to you?”
Zhao’er left these troubles behind at once, and take out a paper bag from her arms. After opening the paper bag, there were two hot steamed buns in it, white and fat, which made people like them.
“Hurry up, while they are still warm.” She smiled, shoved the paper bag into the little man’s hand, and placed the basket on her shoulder in the corner.
Xue Gouzi glanced at her.
The girl in front of him is in the marriageable age. Her skin is a wheat color that is common in rural girls, but her skin tone is very different from others. It is smooth and shiny, like a layer of honey. The tall bridge of the nose, a pair of small and medium eyes, the pupils are dark, and when they smile, there is a flash of light in it, and she looks so lively.
Zhao’er is taller than other ordinary girls, and she is also well developed, with bootylicious figure, full of youthful vitality.
It’s fresh. It’s as fresh as his dream.
Unconsciously, he took the bun and chewed it up. Seeing this move, Zhao’er laughed more happily. She went to the kitchen and poured him a bowl of water and put it on his hand. She bent down to pick up the scattered bedding on the bed, thinking about what to cook for her man in the evening.
After all, the little man got better, but the medicine had to be drunk, and a few more were needed to consolidate. From this, Zhao’er naturally began to calculate the small amount of money left in her hand, and she should find a way to get some money to solve the urgent need.
“You, have you eaten something?” Xue Gouzi asked.
This kind of behavior rarely happened to him, so Zhao’er could not help looking up at the little man sitting on the bed.
In fact, the little man’s appearance is beautiful fair-skinned, different from the countryman, and the corners of his eyes are slightly raised. The curvature makes his face look a little delicate and handsome. The little man just always hangs his head halfway, his temperament is gloomy and silent, and he is too thin to stand out in front of others.
Zhao’er’s eyes warmed up a little and her smile widened. And she said, “Yes, I’ve eaten outside. This is for you.”
After she had finished speaking, she realized that she had missed her words. She waited for the little man to show a disgusted expression, or condemned her for not running around. But she didn’t expect that he didn’t say anything. It seemed that he had something on his mind and was eating a bun.
Zhao’er can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, at the same time in the heart something aches, can’t help but say, “Gou’er, you don’t need to worry too much, that words after all is what you heard. If these weren’t face to face to say, then you can’t believe. Even if it’s true, I’m not afraid. I earn money for you to study.”
Xue Gouzi’s head was actually a little sore and dizzy. Zhao’er thought he has something on his mind, but he was just thinking about the dream. At this time, hearing the words of Zhao’er, he suddenly remembered why he had this serious illness.
Seriously speaking, Xue Gouzi’s severe illness came with stagnation of liver and anxiety.
Speaking of this, we must talk about the general situation of the Xue family. Yuqing Village is a village located under Huyang Town, Xia County, Pingyang Prefecture. There are only over 200 households in the village. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset. All of them are the farmers depending on the climate.
And Xue family is one of them.
However, unlike other ordinary farmers, Xue family has some backgrounds.
The ancestor of the Xue family, that is, the grandfather of Grandpa Xue is a scholar. It is the great thing of Guangzong Yaozu to be a talented man in a poor mountain like Yuqing village.
Because of this scholar, the generation of Xue’s family had the clan leader of Xue’s family, and there were several village elders in the family. Finally, they had discourse power in Yuqing village.
At the same time, it is natural that the younger generation will also be blessed. Mr. Xue’s father was hardworking. With the help of his elders, he has also slowly set up a family business.
By the time of Mr. Xue’s generation, the Xue family had more than 30 acres of good land, and several sons each had their own livelihoods. The flourishing life was enviable, and they were regarded as one of the most prosperous people in the village.
Grandpa Xue and his wife Zhao had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son Xue Qingshan married his wife Yang and they had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Xue Juncai, is fifteen. The second son, Xue Youcai, is ten years old, and the eldest daughter, Xue Man’er, is married.
The second child, Xue Qingsong, is a carpenter and married his wife Qiu, and they have a son, Xue Gouzi, who is fourteen. The third son, Xue Qingbai, is a farmer, married to his wife Zhou, and has a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter Xue Taoer, thirteen this year, the youngest son Xue Shuanzi, eight years old. The fourth son, Xue Qinghuai, was a pick-and-go man and married his wife Sun, who also had a son named Xue Maodan, who is only four years old this year.
As for the two daughters, the eldest daughter, Xue Cuiping, has been married. Xue Cuie, the youngest daughter, is 14 years old, and still unmarried.
It’s worth mentioning that nowadays, there is a saying that, “If parents are alive, then don’t separate the family.” In addition, people in the countryside are all ruled by clans, so the Xue family has not separate family.
The Xue family has experienced the benefits of reading, so it has a more vision than ordinary farmers. Xue Qingshan was smart and the eldest son since he was a child. Father Xue had high hopes for him. At the age of enlightenment, he spent money to send him to private school.
Xue Qingshan also made a good showing. At the age of 20, he passed the examination of Tong Sheng (scholars failed in the imperial examinations). Although he still stopped at scholar, in the end he can be regarded as a learned man nearby.
Don’t underestimate Tong Sheng! As the saying goes, scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant. Scholars are the highest class of people in the society at present. If ordinary people want to be scholars, there is only one way: the imperial examination. On the way to the imperial examination, it is said that it is not enough to go to the west world to learn from the classics, but to go through all kinds of checkpoints and hardships.
In order to embark on this path, first of all, they must be qualified, and Tong Sheng is the person who has this qualification. It is necessary to pass both county and prefecture exams in order to be called Tong Sheng. As for the next step is to be a talent, becoming a talent is to enter school, and is also the first step to imperial examinations.
It can be seen from this that Tong Sheng is not an ordinary person, so Xue Qingshan’s status in Xue’s family is high.
But as I said before, the family of the Xue family can only be regarded as a middle-class family in the countryside. If a family like this wants to provide a scholar, it will almost exhaust all the members and financial resources of the family. Because Xue Qingshan is the eldest son, he will set up a portal in the future, and he is talented and intelligent. So the following sons naturally have to give in.
As for why Xue Gouzi became seriously ill, it would also involve another old story of the Xue family.
When Xue Qingshan became Tong Sheng, he was also a young man. He was full of ambition to pass the court test and get a scholar. Unfortunately, the destiny didn’t follow people’s wishes.
He got too close to the scholar, and he was not reconciled to failure. So Xue Qingshan could only be quiet, angry and diligent, and hoped to succeed next time.
Time flies, in such a hurry for many years, his original ambition was devastated by the reality. Xue Qingshan failed in the exam for many times, and could not stay at home to eat without working. In desperation, he set up a private school in the village, which collects children from their own village and several nearby villages to teach them knowledge so he can make subsistence more or less.
With such convenient conditions, several children of Xue’s family naturally followed suit. The following small ones are still small. Among the grandchildren, Xue Juncai, the eldest son of the first wife, and Xue Gouzi, the eldest son of the second wife, have learned for the longest time.
However, compared to cousin Xue Juncai, Xue Gouzi was obviously inferior to many. It is also because he was too weak. He was always sick for three days and two days when he was a child, which delayed many homework.
It was five years ago. This year, the school officer opened an examination in Fucheng. Certainly, Xue Qingshan would not miss it. He stopped the private lesson early and went to Fucheng to take the exam.
At that time, it was not easy to go out. Besides, Father Xue was not assured that the elder son was going out alone, so he was accompanied by the second child Xue Qingsong. It was always a care to do some chores.
That’s what happened this time. Xue Qingshan didn’t know who offended in the Fucheng. Xue Qingsong was injured all over the body in order to protect his elder brother. He was finally pulled back, but he died shortly after returning. Before death, Xue Qingsong asked Xue Qingshan to promise himself that he had to cultivate Xue Gouezi to a talent as much as possible.
As a matter of fact, Xue Qingsong has been making way for others all his life. How could he have no complaints in his heart? It’s only because he is simple and honest in nature and knows that his talent is not as good as that of his eldest brother that he has been making contributions in an unknown way.
But when it came to his own son, especially Xue Gouzi’s infirmity from an early age, he didn’t seem to be the person who is born to be a farmer. Then he died shortly before Xue Qingsong took the opportunity to force his elder brother to make a promise.
Xue Qingsong would do this, but wanted to break the situation where the resources of the Xue family had been tilted towards the first wife all the time. The Xue family only had two students in the first wife side, and now there is added Xue Gouzi. The child of the third wife was still young, and the fourth child was not married. As long as Xue Qingshan agreed, there was naturally nothing left to say, Xue Qingsong was also doing his best for his son as much as possible.
Xue Qingshan promised to do it on the spot. He cried and said he would treat Xue Gouzi as his own son. Then Xue Qingsong closed his eyes and died.
Not long after that, Qiu, which was already in poor health, became melancholy, and died, just followed Xue Qingsong. So Xue Gouzi has since become a fatherless and motherless kid. Fortunately, there are grandparents and uncles, and Zhao’er, the child who will raise him, so he doesn’t need to worry about the lack of clothing and food.
In the next few years, Xue Qingshan really treated Xue Gouzi like a parent-child. Everyone in the village said that Xue’s eldest brother raised his nephew as his own son. But as the saying goes, people are fickle, and selfishness is human nature. As time goes by, the first wife gradually change her attitude. Although it is as before in front of others, it is only the person concerned who knows how to deal with it.
In this year, when he found that he had nothing to teach his son, Xue Qingshan wanted to send Xue Juncai to the town school for two years.
But it will spend too much money. And not to mention one year’s remuneration to teachers is not small account, but the book fee, as well as the usual pen, ink, paper and inkstone, all require money. Xue’s family has already suffered a great loss of vitality because they have supported Xue Qingshan to go to school. How can they afford to go with their two children.
Only one a small part of money can be taken out, which means that Xue Juncai and Xue Gouzi can only go to one person.
Xue Qingshan told the matter in front of the whole family. Xue Gouzi didn’t say anything inexplicably, but chose to be silent.
At that time, the atmosphere of the Xue family was weird. Grandfather Xue frowned. Grandmother Zhao was very gloomy all day long, but the eldest couple were still as usual.
That ’s not to mention, it was also a coincidence that Xue Gouzi accidentally heard the first uncle Yang and the 4th uncle Sun talk secretly, saying that their parents in-law had to come forward and let Xue Gouzi give up the quota to study in town consciously. Then Xue Gouzi became very ill under the anger.
When he thought about this, Xue Gouzi was in a state of difficulty. At the same time, many pictures appeared in his mind, just some of the contents of his previous dreams.
In the dream, Xue Tingxiang also faced the same situation when he was 14, and that Xue Tingxiang also changed his temperament through this matter, and changed his earlier nature.
Is he Xue Tingxiang? And that Xue Tingxiang is him? But why did he dream of these things!
Xue Gouzi’s brain was aching pain, the bun in his hand fell on the bed, and the water bowl next to it was knocked over. When Zhao’er heard sound, she rushed forward and hugged him in his arms.
“Gou’er, Gou’er, don’t scare me!”
Zhao'er always thought that the little man's eyes were the best looking eyes in the world, although when they faced her, they always hated and resisted.In fact, Xue Gouzi's eyes are the only pretty part all over the body. He was born weak. The second and her husband had a hard time supporting him, and they were also spoiled. All the boys of his age in the village were swarthy and strong like a calf, but he was pale and emaciated and silent.However, Zhao'er has always been bossy, and never allowed anyone to talk about her man, whoever said she was angry. Because of this, she had fought with many girls and boys in the village. Although some people still said bad words behind Zhao'er's back, no one dared to talk in front of her.Zhao'er always felt the little man's eyes were weird today, some uncomfortably avoided.She knew that the little man must be angry again. He didn't like her saying Gouzi is my man. Every time he heard her saying this, he would ignore her for several days. In fact, Zhao'er was also shameful, but she was the child bride of the second wife of Xue's family. If she didn't call herself like this, she would not be qualified to challenge Sun's, the fourth aunt.Are you hungry? Look at what I bring to you?Zhao'er left these troubles behind at once, and take out a paper bag from her arms. After opening the paper bag, there were two hot steamed buns in it, white and fat, which made people like them.Hurry up, while they are still warm. She smiled, shoved the paper bag into the little man's hand, and placed the basket on her shoulder in the corner.Xue Gouzi glanced at her.The girl in front of him is in the marriageable age. Her skin is a wheat color that is common in rural girls, but her skin tone is very different from others. It is smooth and shiny, like a layer of honey. The tall bridge of the nose, a pair of small and medium eyes, the pupils are dark, and when they smile, there is a flash of light in it, and she looks so lively.Zhao'er is taller than other ordinary girls, and she is also well developed, with bootylicious figure, full of youthful vitality.It's fresh. It's as fresh as his dream.Unconsciously, he took the bun and chewed it up. Seeing this move, Zhao'er laughed more happily. She went to the kitchen and poured him a bowl of water and put it on his hand. She bent down to pick up the scattered bedding on the bed, thinking about what to cook for her man in the evening.After all, the little man got better, but the medicine had to be drunk, and a few more were needed to consolidate. From this, Zhao'er naturally began to calculate the small amount of money left in her hand, and she should find a way to get some money to solve the urgent need.You, have you eaten something? Xue Gouzi asked.This kind of behavior rarely happened to him, so Zhao'er could not help looking up at the little man sitting on the bed.In fact, the little man's appearance is beautiful fair-skinned, different from the countryman, and the corners of his eyes are slightly raised. The curvature makes his face look a little delicate and handsome. The little man just always hangs his head halfway, his temperament is gloomy and silent, and he is too thin to stand out in front of others.Zhao'er's eyes warmed up a little and her smile widened. And she said, Yes, I've eaten outside. This is for you.After she had finished speaking, she realized that she had missed her words. She waited for the little man to show a disgusted expression, or condemned her for not running around. But she didn't expect that he didn't say anything. It seemed that he had something on his mind and was eating a bun.Zhao'er can't help but breathe a sigh of relief, at the same time in the heart something aches, can't help but say, Gou'er, you don't need to worry too much, that words after all is what you heard. If these weren't face to face to say, then you can't believe. Even if it's true, I'm not afraid. I earn money for you to study.Xue Gouzi's head was actually a little sore and dizzy. Zhao'er thought he has something on his mind, but he was just thinking about the dream. At this time, hearing the words of Zhao'er, he suddenly remembered why he had this serious illness.Seriously speaking, Xue Gouzi's severe illness came with stagnation of liver and anxiety.Speaking of this, we must talk about the general situation of the Xue family. Yuqing Village is a village located under Huyang Town, Xia County, Pingyang Prefecture. There are only over 200 households in the village. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset. All of them are the farmers depending on the climate.And Xue family is one of them.However, unlike other ordinary farmers, Xue family has some backgrounds.The ancestor of the Xue family, that is, the grandfather of Grandpa Xue is a scholar. It is the great thing of Guangzong Yaozu to be a talented man in a poor mountain like Yuqing village.Because of this scholar, the generation of Xue's family had the clan leader of Xue's family, and there were several village elders in the family. Finally, they had discourse power in Yuqing village.At the same time, it is natural that the younger generation will also be blessed. Mr. Xue's father was hardworking. With the help of his elders, he has also slowly set up a family business.By the time of Mr. Xue's generation, the Xue family had more than 30 acres of good land, and several sons each had their own livelihoods. The flourishing life was enviable, and they were regarded as one of the most prosperous people in the village.Grandpa Xue and his wife Zhao had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son Xue Qingshan married his wife Yang and they had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Xue Juncai, is fifteen. The second son, Xue Youcai, is ten years old, and the eldest daughter, Xue Man'er, is married.The second child, Xue Qingsong, is a carpenter and married his wife Qiu, and they have a son, Xue Gouzi, who is fourteen. The third son, Xue Qingbai, is a farmer, married to his wife Zhou, and has a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter Xue Taoer, thirteen this year, the youngest son Xue Shuanzi, eight years old. The fourth son, Xue Qinghuai, was a pick-and-go man and married his wife Sun, who also had a son named Xue Maodan, who is only four years old this year.As for the two daughters, the eldest daughter, Xue Cuiping, has been married. Xue Cuie, the youngest daughter, is 14 years old, and still unmarried.It's worth mentioning that nowadays, there is a saying that, If parents are alive, then don't separate the family. In addition, people in the countryside are all ruled by clans, so the Xue family has not separate family.The Xue family has experienced the benefits of reading, so it has a more vision than ordinary farmers. Xue Qingshan was smart and the eldest son since he was a child. Father Xue had high hopes for him. At the age of enlightenment, he spent money to send him to private school.Xue Qingshan also made a good showing. At the age of 20, he passed the examination of Tong Sheng scholars failed in the imperial examinations. Although he still stopped at scholar, in the end he can be regarded as a learned man nearby.Don't underestimate Tong Sheng! As the saying goes, scholar, farmer, artisan and merchant. Scholars are the highest class of people in the society at present. If ordinary people want to be scholars, there is only one way: the imperial examination. On the way to the imperial examination, it is said that it is not enough to go to the west world to learn from the classics, but to go through all kinds of checkpoints and hardships.In order to embark on this path, first of all, they must be qualified, and Tong Sheng is the person who has this qualification. It is necessary to pass both county and prefecture exams in order to be called Tong Sheng. As for the next step is to be a talent, becoming a talent is to enter school, and is also the first step to imperial examinations.It can be seen from this that Tong Sheng is not an ordinary person, so Xue Qingshan's status in Xue's family is high.But as I said before, the family of the Xue family can only be regarded as a middle-class family in the countryside. If a family like this wants to provide a scholar, it will almost exhaust all the members and financial resources of the family. Because Xue Qingshan is the eldest son, he will set up a portal in the future, and he is talented and intelligent. So the following sons naturally have to give in.As for why Xue Gouzi became seriously ill, it would also involve another old story of the Xue family.When Xue Qingshan became Tong Sheng, he was also a young man. He was full of ambition to pass the court test and get a scholar. Unfortunately, the destiny didn't follow people's wishes.He got too close to the scholar, and he was not reconciled to failure. So Xue Qingshan could only be quiet, angry and diligent, and hoped to succeed next time.Time flies, in such a hurry for many years, his original ambition was devastated by the reality. Xue Qingshan failed in the exam for many times, and could not stay at home to eat without working. In desperation, he set up a private school in the village, which collects children from their own village and several nearby villages to teach them knowledge so he can make subsistence more or less.With such convenient conditions, several children of Xue's family naturally followed suit. The following small ones are still small. Among the grandchildren, Xue Juncai, the eldest son of the first wife, and Xue Gouzi, the eldest son of the second wife, have learned for the longest time.However, compared to cousin Xue Juncai, Xue Gouzi was obviously inferior to many. It is also because he was too weak. He was always sick for three days and two days when he was a child, which delayed many homework.It was five years ago. This year, the school officer opened an examination in Fucheng. Certainly, Xue Qingshan would not miss it. He stopped the private lesson early and went to Fucheng to take the exam.At that time, it was not easy to go out. Besides, Father Xue was not assured that the elder son was going out alone, so he was accompanied by the second child Xue Qingsong. It was always a care to do some chores.That's what happened this time. Xue Qingshan didn't know who offended in the Fucheng. Xue Qingsong was injured all over the body in order to protect his elder brother. He was finally pulled back, but he died shortly after returning. Before death, Xue Qingsong asked Xue Qingshan to promise himself that he had to cultivate Xue Gouezi to a talent as much as possible.As a matter of fact, Xue Qingsong has been making way for others all his life. How could he have no complaints in his heart? It's only because he is simple and honest in nature and knows that his talent is not as good as that of his eldest brother that he has been making contributions in an unknown way.But when it came to his own son, especially Xue Gouzi's infirmity from an early age, he didn't seem to be the person who is born to be a farmer. Then he died shortly before Xue Qingsong took the opportunity to force his elder brother to make a promise.Xue Qingsong would do this, but wanted to break the situation where the resources of the Xue family had been tilted towards the first wife all the time. The Xue family only had two students in the first wife side, and now there is added Xue Gouzi. The child of the third wife was still young, and the fourth child was not married. As long as Xue Qingshan agreed, there was naturally nothing left to say, Xue Qingsong was also doing his best for his son as much as possible.Xue Qingshan promised to do it on the spot. He cried and said he would treat Xue Gouzi as his own son. Then Xue Qingsong closed his eyes and died.Not long after that, Qiu, which was already in poor health, became melancholy, and died, just followed Xue Qingsong. So Xue Gouzi has since become a fatherless and motherless kid. Fortunately, there are grandparents and uncles, and Zhao'er, the child who will raise him, so he doesn't need to worry about the lack of clothing and food.In the next few years, Xue Qingshan really treated Xue Gouzi like a parent-child. Everyone in the village said that Xue's eldest brother raised his nephew as his own son. But as the saying goes, people are fickle, and selfishness is human nature. As time goes by, the first wife gradually change her attitude. Although it is as before in front of others, it is only the person concerned who knows how to deal with it.In this year, when he found that he had nothing to teach his son, Xue Qingshan wanted to send Xue Juncai to the town school for two years.But it will spend too much money. And not to mention one year's remuneration to teachers is not small account, but the book fee, as well as the usual pen, ink, paper and inkstone, all require money. Xue's family has already suffered a great loss of vitality because they have supported Xue Qingshan to go to school. How can they afford to go with their two children.Only one a small part of money can be taken out, which means that Xue Juncai and Xue Gouzi can only go to one person.Xue Qingshan told the matter in front of the whole family. Xue Gouzi didn't say anything inexplicably, but chose to be silent.At that time, the atmosphere of the Xue family was weird. Grandfather Xue frowned. Grandmother Zhao was very gloomy all day long, but the eldest couple were still as usual.That 's not to mention, it was also a coincidence that Xue Gouzi accidentally heard the first uncle Yang and the 4th uncle Sun talk secretly, saying that their parents in-law had to come forward and let Xue Gouzi give up the quota to study in town consciously. Then Xue Gouzi became very ill under the anger.When he thought about this, Xue Gouzi was in a state of difficulty. At the same time, many pictures appeared in his mind, just some of the contents of his previous dreams.In the dream, Xue Tingxiang also faced the same situation when he was 14, and that Xue Tingxiang also changed his temperament through this matter, and changed his earlier nature.Is he Xue Tingxiang? And that Xue Tingxiang is him? But why did he dream of these things!Xue Gouzi's brain was aching pain, the bun in his hand fell on the bed, and the water bowl next to it was knocked over. When Zhao'er heard sound, she rushed forward and hugged him in his arms.Gou'er, Gou'er, don't scare me!
