On the day of the funeral, the Li family did not invite anyone seriously, but the second uncle Li and the Zhong family still rested for a long time, and only Zhu Guida came from the Zhu family. A simple ritual was carried out, and at the end a few of their plain clothes were burned, and the family gathered together for a meal.

Zhu Guida poured a glass of sake and put it aside, and then raised his glass to Li and the others: "After today, you will live a good life and let Guitang go in peace." After all, it's the one who went, and it's been three years, and you don't have to keep it in mind all the time, if you think too much and don't have the heart to put it in front of you, it's not good. In the future, if you encounter something happy and talk to him again, if there is anything sad or bad, you don't have to tell him, just come to me. ”

Li nodded, answered softly, raised his glass and took a sip.

Zhu Guida went to pay tribute to Second Uncle Li again, "I also rely on you to take care of them for a while! They are orphans and widows, and it is inconvenient for them to do things and live their lives, and they are also indebted to you." He sighed, "I'm an uncle, and many things are not as good as yours, and I feel ashamed when I think about it." He became a little sad as he spoke, "I can't live with Guitang either." ”

Li's eyes were red, and he shouted in a low voice: "Big brother......"

Second Uncle Li shook his head and went over to touch a glass with him: "Uncle He, you have also said a little too much, our own relatives, who helps no one is so clear." You are different from us, there are old and young, the family is tired, you can't see it if you look at it wrongly, where can you take care of so much. I don't blame you, I really don't blame you. ”

Li also said: "Big brother, I am very grateful to you in my heart. If no one asks us to go back to the Zhu family, our mother and son still don't know what to do in the past few years. ”

Hongzhu saw that they were sad again when they spoke, and hurriedly turned away and said: "Fang just said that this day is a good day, and if you don't cry anymore, you can cry one by one." Hongzhu had some disgust on her face, "Wen Han is still looking at it, and he is still ashamed." ”

Zhu Guida couldn't help but smile when he heard this, and when he smiled, the Li family also eased up.

After Li's second uncle and they left, Li cleaned up the house, and couldn't help crying again. On the side, Cheng Wenhan was infected by her, couldn't help crying silently, and stepped forward to hug Li's arm. The red beads are still durable. But when they saw their mother, son and son clinging to each other and hugging each other and crying, their hearts trembled, and they cried after all.

After a long while, Hongzhu wiped her tears and persuaded them, "Mother, Wenhan, don't cry, the three of us will be fine in the future." ”

Li and Cheng Wenhan responded with tears in their eyes.

After finishing her father's business, Hongzhu prepared for Cheng Wenhan and Zhu Boxiu to go to Xishan Academy. I've been there once before, and the left and right distances are familiar, just because this time I said that I could see Mr., Hongzhu thought about bringing Cheng Wenhan's calligraphy and old writing, if I met Mr. and asked, I could just see it.

Cheng Wenhan felt a little uncertain in his heart, and then squirmed before asking: "Sister, do you really want to bring these?" If Mr. feels bad, isn't he unhappy and unwilling to accept me. ”

Hongzhu wrapped a stack of papers and put them in the small baggage, frowned, and only said, "I picked the few that you have written the most carefully recently, and I look very good." This selection of students is not only the perfect one, if there are such people, there is no need to go to the teacher to study. Turning her head, she told again: "When you see Mr., you can answer whatever he asks, be honest and serious, even if you can't answer, it's nothing, you just don't panic." ”

Cheng Wenhan nodded silently.

Hongzhu was afraid of hitting him, and said with a smile: "Okay, what are you worried about, my brother is the smartest, and any gentleman will be happy to see it." ”

Cheng Wenhan smiled at this time, but his face was still a little sullen.

Li's face was full of gloom, for fear that Cheng Wenhan would have another thing like falling into the water like last time, and if she had another time, she would really be frightened. After thinking for a long time, she said, "Hongzhu, why don't you go with you?" she looked at her son worriedly, "Your brother is still young, this is another hired carriage to walk a long way, and he has to go up the mountain, it is not very convenient for Bo Xiu to be there, and I don't know how he arranged it." You went and there were more people to help the handle. ”

As soon as Li opened his mouth like this, Cheng Wenhan's mind suddenly came to life, he was afraid that Hongzhu would not agree, so he immediately stepped forward and grabbed Hongzhu's hand, and said pitifully: "Sister, you are the best at talking, if you are also there when I see Mr., it will be better." ”

Seeing him like this, Hongzhu looked a little helpless and a little funny, she glanced at him, "What nonsense are you talking about?" Mr. is also asking you, even if I am here, it is not easy to answer for you." If I really rush to answer you, what will it look like? Having said that, in fact, she can quite understand Cheng Wenhan's mood, who is not afraid of Mr. when he is young, but he is too old to apply for a job. Cheng Wenhan is also independent, and he can do whatever Su Rili asks him to do.

Thinking about it this way, if she went with him to make him feel more at ease, then it would be okay, just treat her as if she was going to accompany the exam.

Cheng Wenhan looked at her carefully, and saw that she didn't look very negative, so she couldn't help but be happy, and hurriedly flattered her: "Sister, you can go with me, even if you don't speak, I know that you are here, so I will be more comfortable." It was better for me to write silently before you than in the school. ”

Li Shi also followed: "You go, I'm so relieved." After a pause, he said, "There is me in the restaurant, and I will go directly tomorrow." ”

Hongzhu heard her resolutely, and knew that she was really uneasy, and after thinking about it, she should go.

When she went to Zhu's house that day, Hongzhu also took the opportunity to make a good schedule with Uncle Zhu, for fear that something would happen temporarily, so Hongzhu asked Zhu's house again.

When Hongzhu arrived, he saw Zhu Bo packing his luggage, and because of his foot injury, he stayed at home for more than a month, which was much more than the annual leave in previous years. After a hundred days of breaking his muscles and bones, now Zhu Boxiu can walk on crutches, but according to the meaning of Mrs. Zhu and Jiang's family, he should have eight or nine points before he is willing to let him go if he does not raise it to ten points.

But Zhu Boxiu is self-studying at home, and the more he reads, the more uncomfortable he becomes. The words he said to Cheng Wenhan last time were not nonsense, and he himself felt the disadvantages of self-study. If he is really allowed to recuperate from his injuries for three or four months, he is afraid that he will lose seven or eight points when he returns to school.

Therefore, this time Zhu Boxiu went up the mountain, that is, he stayed directly, and when he came back, I am afraid that it will be the Dragon Boat Festival.

Jiang was worried about him, and he couldn't think of a way, so he found a seven or eight-year-old boy for him, saying that he would follow him up the mountain to wait for Zhu Boxiu.

The students of Xishan Academy are not limited to rich and poor, only on natural character, intelligence and knowledge, and the children of rich families have been enlightened by famous teachers since they were young, which are cheaper than the children of poor families, so most of the students in the academy are also wealthy students. If you really throw dozens or hundreds of children who are not very good at dressing and eating on the mountain, it will take a lot of effort to toss the small things of life, not only the students are not good at learning, but the husband is also distracted to take care of them. Therefore, the academy also allows students to bring a scholar.

When Zhu Boxiu first went up the mountain, he also hired a boy to be a scholar. In fact, he didn't have a scholar to take care of him since he was a child, but he saw that everyone else had it, and Jiang didn't want his son to be looked down upon, so he hurriedly found one. Later, Zhu Boxiu was valued by Mr. Jiang, because although Mr. Jiang was born in a family, he was a person who did everything himself, and Jiang thought that Zhu Boxiu was also old, and in order to please Mr. Jiang, he sent the scholar away.

Now that he is in a situation, Zhu Boxiu can only hire another one, thinking that he has no choice but to do so, and Mr. Jiang should not be harsh.

Because of this time the search for someone to hire a scholar, Jiang also took the opportunity to find a little girl for the family.

The Zhu family is just a small merchant in the south of the city, even if they have been here in Tong'an for a few lifetimes, but this foundation is really shallow. Mrs. Zhu's parents could still see it at that time, and there were also two maids and cooks. Later, it was Zhu Yanmei's marriage that did not go well, and Mrs. Zhu was anxious to give her daughter a long face, so she found a little girl to wait, which meant that her daughter was pampered since she was a young lady. When Zhu Yanmei gets married, her husband's family is just a broken house with a better reputation, and the girl can't follow her, so she will go back and send it away.

Now with their family background, it is really not the time to call a girl. It's just that there is no one at home at the moment, and the few red beads of the Biyun Li family are not there, even if Zhu Zilan comes back, she can't just say it, and the work of the Zhu family will be a mess in a few days.

Mrs. Zhu couldn't look good, and wanted to force the Jiang family to be one, but she only said that she didn't have to toss the grocery store in front of her, and she took care of the house. Hearing that Jiang said that she wanted to invite someone, Mrs. Zhu also scolded that if you don't have that life, don't think about enjoying that kind of blessing, this is marrying a young lady and coming back, and waiting for her to wait.

With such a pressure, Jiang's anger weakened a little. But at this time, Mrs. Zhu didn't pay attention, and asked Zhu Sanbao to catch a cold at night and get sick. At this time, the Zhu family made trouble again, and the Jiang family felt sorry for his son and couldn't help complaining about Mrs. Zhu, and in order to take care of Zhu Sanbao, the family work could not be done.

At this time, the matter of inviting people was decided. And because I invited a servant woman to come to the house to do the work and settle the money every month, it was troublesome, and finally I went to buy a little girl and came back.

When Hongzhu came, he met Jiang Shi with the little girl who was packing up Zhu Boxiu's things, and Zhengzheng also packed two big bags and a box.

The little girl was only eight or nine years old, thin and small, I heard Zhu Zilan say that it was a family in the mountains, the family was poor, but she gave birth to six or seven children, the first four were daughters, she was ranked fourth, and her name was Pan'er.

The Jiang family is not a poor and weak person, even in the past, she also used to call Li's red beads seriously, and Mo said that now this Pan'er is just a little girl bought by the family. Hongzhu watched Na Pan'er toss back and forth, moving boxes and buckets, to see if the weight didn't crush people.

Hongzhu sighed, turned around and found Zhu Boxiu, and said that she would come over with Cheng Wenhan early tomorrow morning. Because Zhu Boxiu had a lot of things this time, he also asked Zhu Guida to send him tomorrow, so he said that he would hire two carriages. Zhu Guida has an idea, and Hongzhu responds.

Early the next morning, the Hongzhu siblings came over.

Before leaving, Zhu Boxiu looked for Cheng Wenhan as if he remembered something and asked, "The Zhao Gongzi who sent you back last time, and then there was no news?" He paused, and said, "You moved, and he didn't look for you?"

Cheng Wenhan felt strange in his heart, but said flatly: "No." We just met in the water, and we forgot most of it if we couldn't turn back. Somewhere else has that free time to come to me. ”

Zhu Boxiu thought about it and felt that this was the truth, so he didn't continue to ask.