The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

Chapter 12 We will know the true face today

The rice barns are full, new clothes are worn, taxes are paid and it is the new year. Looking forward to the coming year, I hope that the coming year will bring good weather and good weather for another year.

This is a folk ballad circulated in the countryside of Yangzhou. The sentences are simple and clearly explain the vision of the farmer. When the farmers finish their farm work, the New Year is not far away.

In the last few days of autumn, officials sent by the county went door to door in Shanxi Village to collect grain and pay taxes. In ancient times, it was difficult to check farmers' harvests, so we could only set quotas. Fortunately, there have been no disasters in recent years, and everyone's harvests are pretty good.

Because Chen Heng was studying this year, the old Chen family could not afford much money, so they had to let the official take away a few more bags of grain. Mrs. Zhou was very heartbroken when she saw it. This was all grown with hard work by her family.

It's a pity that there is no way, every household comes here like this. Fortunately, the new king intended to take care of farmers after he came to the throne, and the price for grain harvesting was higher than the price charged by ordinary grain merchants. It was more cost-effective than paying for it.

After finishing the last major event of the year, Lao Chen's family can prepare for the New Year in peace and contentment.

A lot of happy things have happened to Chen's family this year. First, there are children in the family who have started studying, and they have better hopes for life. Secondly, Mrs. Li gave birth to a son. This was a happy birth, which made her second uncle Chen Huaijin proud for several months.

Farmers make a living by farming, and having many males in the family is ready productivity. In the eyes of Chen Gaishan and Zhou, this fat grandson is just like the bunches of rice ears that will grow in the future, and they both feel happy when they look at it.

Chen Heng continued to attend classes at his wife's house until the day before the Lunar New Year, when the Spring Festival holiday was about to begin. It's a bit like a winter vacation in later generations, but it doesn't last long, so it's only on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

The teacher and student agreed on the next time the class would start, and Chen Heng could study at home without any worries. This year Wang Xianming's family is going to Yangzhou Mansion to celebrate the New Year. His wife occasionally mentioned that she seemed to have a relative or friend there.

Chen Heng didn't dare to inquire about his elders' affairs. In addition, he himself has to be busy making money.

Before the New Year, every household must change Spring Festival couplets. It costs ten cents to buy this thing from the county, and the journey is still far.

As the only one reading in the village, Chen Heng directly asked for eight cents. He only needed to bring his own paper and take home a pair of spring couplets with excellent calligraphy.

With such a fair price, the door fence of Lao Chen's house was broken by someone for a while. Many people from neighboring villages also asked people to come over and ask for a pair. Chen Heng also accepted everyone who came, and even helped him practice calligraphy.

When these people come to the door, they can't help but pull Chen Gaishan to say some happy words to Mr. Zhou: For example, your grandson has a high and broad forehead, he will be great in the future.

After hearing this, the two elders beamed with joy and felt that life would get better and better, and they would feel more confident when going out to chat with the villagers.

At this new year's end, Chen Heng earned half a tael just by writing Spring Festival couplets. There was not much money, so Zhou let him keep it by himself and use it as his own pocket money.

Chen Huaijin saw it and was very envious.

One night, he and his wife Li were lying on the bed. They suddenly stood up and said to each other: Let Shuangxi study in the future.

Shuangxi is his son's nickname.

Mrs. Li just laughed when she heard this, The child is not even one year old yet, and you are still thinking about this?

That's not the case. Chen Huaijin lay down proudly, Look at how proud Heng'er is now, even my eldest brother is proud of himself. There are so many old carpenters in the village, and all of them are good carpenters. They all came to see my eldest brother this time. Isn't that right? Because Heng'er is studying.

Mrs. Li nodded, but said with some hesitation: I'm afraid this study will cost a lot of money.

The person in charge of money in the family is her mother-in-law Zhou, so Li has never been very clear about Chen Heng's education expenses.

But Chen Huaijin knew it well. Thinking of the ten taels of silver that his elder brother gave to Wang Xianming, he couldn't help but darken his eyes and muttered: No, after the New Year, I have to go to the county to have a look, but I can't delay the double happiness in the future.

Father and mother, are you willing? Mrs. Li recalled that Chen Huaijin had gone there several times before and returned without success, and she couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

If you don't want to, I'll make a fuss. Chen Huaijin smiled and started to act like a rogue, I'm not going to the county for fun, they will definitely agree. You know, I don't like farming. I face the loess every day. Chaotian, there is no work for humans.

Seeing that Chen Huaijin had made up his mind, Li didn't know what to say, so he had to give up.

Although Shanxi Village has a good New Year atmosphere, the excitement is certainly not as lively as that in the county. I heard that there are opera troupes singing in the county, and the bigger Yangzhou Prefecture is brightly lit and fireworks are blooming. The people in Shanxi Village can only fire off a few cannons and have a sumptuous dinner together as a family.

But don’t underestimate the end of the peasant family. Their highlight is the Lantern Festival after the new year. We have been preparing dragon boats and Eight Immortals sedans since the year before. We will start from the ancestral hall on the 15th night and walk along the paths in the village to every household.

This dragon boat is different from what Chen Heng remembered. The workmanship is very simple. Sections of mahogany are connected to each other. Holes are punched in every other section and wooden sticks are inserted so that adults can carry it around. A lantern is placed on the top, and only the head and tail are shaped like a dragon.

This dragon is more than ten meters long. It is very beautiful to dance in the dark night.

Occasionally, good people from neighboring villages will come over with their own dragon boats and circle around the village to greet them. The young men in Shanxi Village were naturally not timid and just stepped forward carrying the dragon boat.

Several dragons sometimes intersect and sometimes circle around each other, competing for which village will have a better harvest in the coming year.

Chen Heng, who had already started class, was asked by Wang Xianming to go watch it and compose a poem by the way. It is a child's practice, so there is no need to explain it clearly here. However, after the Lantern Festival, Chen Sande came to visit Lao Chen's house and said that he would take Chen Huaijin out to find a living.

This Chen Sande sounds strange to everyone, but when you talk about his son Qisuo, everyone will know what kind of person he is.

Chen Sande was fond of gambling by nature and did not engage in farming.

When I heard that he was bringing his youngest son, Chen Gaishan strongly disagreed, and the family was unhappy for several days.

Chen Heng heard about this from his parents. Farmers want to save money on lamp oil at night, and often only light one lamp in the east wing. Chen Heng wants to study, Gu and Chen Qing are busy with needlework, and only Chen Qi is chattering.

It is said that idle men have a broad vision and know the news. Chen Sande plays horse games in the village every day, how could he know that a 'Hengshidian' is going to be opened in the county.

What does this 'Heng Shu Dian' do? Mrs. Gu squinted her eyes and threaded the thread, which did not affect her response to Chen Qi.

I heard that he is a pawnshop. The shop from Jinling is very big. Chen Qi was worried and also a little puzzled. What kind of good place can a pawnshop be? I don't know how to coax Chen Sande into it. , I just have to go.”

Dad, isn't the pawn shop bad? Chen Heng looked up from the book, a little curious.

He felt that at least it was a job, which was better than having his second uncle stay at home every day, and he didn't like farm work. It would not be good for the second uncle himself to stay like this.

You study hard and stay out of these things. Chen Qi was in a bad mood, so he naturally didn't speak in a good tone.

Well, it is only natural for me to teach my son. Chen Heng can only suffer the disadvantage of being dumb. After all, he is young. Even if he is six years old after the New Year, he still has no say in the eyes of his elders.

But Chen Qi didn't say anything, Chen Heng naturally had people he could inquire about.

On the second day, while chatting in the school, he asked Wang Xianming about Heng Shudian. His original intention was to inquire about the reputation of the pawn shop, and he was afraid that Chen Huaijin would go astray and cause a fight.

Coincidentally, Wang Xianming happened to know about it, and saw the master frowning and saying, Heng Shudian's boss's surname is Xue. Their ancestors made their fortune in the palace. They were originally working as royal merchants, but thanks to the favor of the Supreme Emperor, they became more and more prominent. Get up. Hum!

Hearing the hidden meaning in the master's tone, Chen Heng couldn't help but asked curiously: Is there anything wrong with this pawn shop?

Wang Xianming sighed and prepared to show his incompetent disciple the world, What do you think this place is, Heng'er? Think about it. If you are a pawnshop owner, and someone else has a rare family treasure in their hands, and you want it, but he If he refuses to give it, how can you get it from him?

Chen Heng rolled his eyes a few times and then had an idea: Buy a good relationship, file a false lawsuit against him, put him in jail and beat him for three days, are you still afraid that he won't hand it over?

When Wang Xianming heard this, his eyes turned black. He glared at Chen Heng and said fiercely: Copy the Yan Family Instructions ten times to my teacher tonight. If I make a mistake in a word, I will mark it ten times.

Chen Heng did not dare to complain, so he could only argue in his heart: You always ask me to think divergently.

Why do you need to do this? Wang Xianming shook his head and sighed, He only needs to send someone to send a message saying that he has a sum of interest to be released, and then send someone to lure you to borrow it. When you press your fingerprint, It's just endless interest. Until you give him the treasure and then lose all the money and food in your family, isn't it better than what you are thinking?

Can it still be like this? After hearing this saucy operation, Chen Heng couldn't help but start to review his own stupidity, and couldn't help but curiously asked: Aren't they afraid of the government?

Chen Heng thought that businessmen in ancient times had their tail between their legs. After all, wealth is really vulnerable in front of power. Shen Wansan's story and TV series were all poorly made.

Idiot, as soon as he sent the treasure to the palace, he got the money and left it there. After all the planning, no one can beat them.

Wang Xianming slammed the table angrily, obviously he had been dissatisfied with these things for a long time. He continued: The so-called Four Great Families of Jinling are all working together. Since the current emperor has great ambitions, sooner or later he will punish them and quell the anger of the people.

The Four Great Families of Jinling? Chen Heng was stunned when he heard this. This name sounded very familiar.

Wang Xianming continued to popularize science with Chen Heng, It would be better if I told you earlier, so that you would not feel guilty of offending the children of these princes when you go out for scientific examinations in the future. The four families are 'Jia Shi Wang Xue', among which the Jia family is the most Wealth...

Familiar names popped into his ears one after another. The more Chen Heng heard, the more panicked he became. He has been in this world for some years. He originally thought he was just reborn in an imaginary dynasty, but today we found out that he actually came to the Red Mansion.

Wait until the teacher finishes the popular science and end the day's study. Chen Heng returned home in a daze. Even when he lay in bed at night, he still felt a little emotional.

So, thousands of miles away in the capital, there is a young man named Jia Baoyu?

Are all the twelve beauties of Jinling real people?

Unable to fall asleep, Chen Heng simply got up from the bed and came to the courtyard with a volume of books in his arms. At this time, the bright moon was high and the Milky Way was hanging upside down. Chen Heng opened a page of the book at random. The content was already memorized by heart. Since he did not dare to disturb his family, he just used the moonlight to look at a line of words and read it silently in his mind.

Live like this for a while, until your mind becomes clear again. Chen Hengcai put down the book. He figured out that even if he wore it and entered the Red Mansion, his surname was neither Jia nor Xue, so there was no need to worry about the decline of Jia's house.

The distance between him and Jia Baoyu was as far as the distance from Shanxi Village to the capital. Knowing the lives of those people is useless. It is better to work hard now and go to the capital to see the prosperity and decline of the Grand View Garden before the decline of the Jia family.

It was not in vain that he came to this world and embarked on this journey.

The adult's decision made Chen Heng suddenly figure out what he should do. His expression returned to leisurely. After putting down the book, Chen Heng walked in the courtyard for a while, looked up at the half-round laurel moon, and couldn't help but chant:

The mountains and rivers meet, the dragon rises from the land, and the boat wants to cross the ten thousand mountains.

…………

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Chen Huaijin, who didn't like farm work, eventually left home. Unable to stand up to his noisiness, Zhou had no choice but to agree. Even if Chen Heng secretly persuaded him, nothing would change.

The fate of others does not depend on your own will.

And your own destiny cannot be controlled by others.

After Chen Huaijin left home, Chen Heng studied more seriously. There is quite a sense of urgency that time flies by quickly and time does not wait. Wang Xianming saw it and was happy in his heart, and he taught even more vigorously.

Several winters come and go.

Two years later, in the twelfth year of Wuding, the Yong Dynasty finally decided to abandon this era name and changed the era name to Wenhe when the New Year's bell rang.

In the first year of Wenhe, the lively Lantern Festival comes again.

Everyone in Shanxi Village went out to have dragon boat races, but Wang Xianming stayed at home and couldn't help but worry about Chen Heng's new article.

Two updates today, the story of the Red Mansion is about to begin, brothers, vote quickly, vote quickly.

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