(a)

With a "squeak", the old but still clean courtyard door was slowly pushed open, and a thin middle-aged man slowly walked into the courtyard. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The man was dressed in a somewhat shabby blue-gray robe, and although it was midsummer afternoon, he still wore the crown peculiar to the local scholars. The rim of the crown was drenched with sweat, but it seemed that he didn't care about it. The man turned around and closed the courtyard door, then turned around and swept around with a somewhat lost gaze, sighed softly, and walked slowly around the courtyard.

The yard is not big, in the middle is the main house, next to a small wing room and a utility room, which is also a room. When he walked to the bottom of a tall locust tree at the corner of the courtyard, the man stretched out his right hand and touched the trunk of the tree, and stopped on it. With his left hand, he stroked his beard, which was more than two inches long, shook his head, smiled bitterly, and sighed again.

"Childe, you're back!" a woman walked out of the room, holding a vegetable plate in her hand, and was about to walk towards the main house, when she saw the man under the tree, she shouted with a little surprise. The woman looks like a virtuous and capable, although she is nearly middle-aged, she still shows a lot of grace.

"Yes, ma'am. The man looked up at the woman, forced a smile on his face, and replied, "I'm back." But then he sighed softly.

"It seems that Childe's trip is not going well. The woman saw that her husband was in a bad mood, but she immediately smiled and said, "Let's eat in the first room, and talk while eating." ”

"Well, let's get inside. The man looked at his wife's smile, was in a slightly better mood, and nodded yes.

"Childe, eat more. The woman at the dinner table didn't ask her husband anything, but kept serving him food.

"Madam, hey, my husband can't stand you, and I haven't let you live a good life. Halfway through the meal, the man put down his chopsticks, looked at his virtuous wife, and sighed again.

"Don't say that, Childe, it's my great blessing to marry Childe. The woman hurriedly responded, and didn't let him continue the topic that couldn't help her: "But today you went to Beifu to discuss things, what happened, looking at your demeanor, it seems that something is not going well." ”

"Hehe, madam, it should be called Beiyu Mansion, not Beifu. The man smiled wryly and corrected his wife's words.

"I know, just get used to it. The woman hurried again, obviously knowing that her husband cared much about the title.

"Today is not just a bad day. The man smiled wryly again and said, "We may end up on the streets." ”

"What!?" The woman was taken aback when she heard this, and quickly asked, "Childe, what happened?"

"Meguka, you know. The man directly called his wife's name this time, and then said: "The ancestors of our Beiyu family were in the limelight for a while, but our descendants were incompetent and gradually declined. ”

"I know a little bit about that, too. The woman named Huixiang replied, "But you can't be blamed for it." ”

"You don't blame me, but I'm really useless, alas!" the man sighed helplessly again, and continued: "Although it is in decline, there are still many family properties, such as the small mansion where we live now. The eldest brother and the second brother called me to Beiyu Mansion to discuss matters today, but they told me that this mansion had been sold by them to fill the shortfall. ”

"Ah, and this matter, don't you really want us to move out?, how can they do this!" said Hui Xiang when she heard the news, and was very annoyed.

"It's useless to blame the husband, since my father died a few years ago, the two of them have taken control of the family and driven us to live in this small compound. The man put down the chopsticks he had just picked up again, and began to speak slowly...

It turned out that the man's name was Bei Yuchen, and he was the fourth son of the local Beiyu Mansion. His ancestors appeared as a great virtuous person, and the official residence was a first-class minister of Wuchu State. Because of his outstanding merits, he was named the official of the northern frontier by the emperor of the current dynasty, and was given the surname "Beiyu" to manage the military and political affairs of the north. In his later years, the royal family changed, and the new monarch ascended the throne, but he was slandered by traitors and ministers in the court, and gradually lost power. The old man is a time-saving person, and he knows that staying strong can only bring disaster to the family, so he told the old man to return to his hometown and set up Beiyu Mansion in his hometown Qingmin Town. In his twilight years, the old man warned all the juniors not to get involved in officialdom, so as not to invite misfortune. Although the old man had good intentions, after his death, the family motto brought long-term sequelae to the family. You must know that once the people in the family are separated from the officialdom, they lose their power and lose their protective umbrella, and all kinds of actions in the future will inevitably be easily calculated by others, so after several generations, the family gradually declines.

In Bei Yuchen's generation, there are two gentlemen, the eldest and the second, who only know how to eat, drink and have fun all day long. After their father died a few years ago, the two of them were even more unscrupulous, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling. After a few years, he almost emptied the original remaining family funds that were not very solid. Bei Yuchen is thick by nature, not good at words, he likes to read since he was a child, and he is deeply loved by his father, and originally wanted to make him the head of the family in the future, but he doesn't like to fight with others, and he is always at a disadvantage in the interaction with the two brothers. And the eldest and second also knew that his father had a soft spot for him, so he also stepped up his exclusion.

When Bei Yuchen was fifteen years old, his family gave him a maid, Wang Huixiang, who is now his wife. At that time, because he was only interested in reading, he rarely went out for activities, and almost got along with little girls every day. In addition, Wang Huixiang also takes good care of this Chen Gongzi, and the relationship between the two is naturally natural. In fact, there is another important factor, that is, the Beiyu family is already a declining family, and it is not easy to marry a lady who is the right person. When Bei Yuchen was nineteen years old, he officially married Wang Huixiang as his wife, and she was seventeen years old at this time. After marriage, the two no longer asked for maids to serve, and still maintained their previous living conditions.

When his father was alive, Bei Yuchen's life was not very sad, not to mention that his father admired him very much, and originally intended to make him the head of the family. Although there are all kinds of calculations by the eldest and second, it is not enough for them to really do anything excessive. But unfortunately, the Bei Yuchen couple has never had an heir. As the saying goes: "There are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is great." "The eldest and second are much older, and each of them has several concubines in addition to the main house, and they have a lot of children. Bei Yuchen and his wife also looked at the doctor, but there was no result. In this way, his father just wanted to support him, but he was also powerless. Although Wang Huixiang also persuaded Gongzi Chen to continue a concubine, the family became increasingly empty, and the most important thing was that this Gongzi of Beiyuchen was like an old man, and he was only willing to stay with Wang Huixiang. Wang Huixiang felt her sincerity, and no longer mentioned the matter of taking a concubine, but the husband and wife were very affectionate.

But with the death of his father a few years ago, things went from a bad start. In addition to the internal struggle to seize the position of the head of the family and seize the remaining property of the family, the eldest and second eldest will certainly not forget to completely squeeze Bei Yuchen out of the family. According to the plan of the two men, they were going to throw them a few taels of silver, and then they sent them away. Fortunately, his third sister Bei Yujing helped him fight hard, and finally assigned a small courtyard in the town to their husband and wife to live in, so as not to live on the streets.

Although Bei Yuchen is not good at socializing, he is full of economic resources in his belly, so it is also a good livelihood to teach the children around him. The couplets for the New Year's holidays, the daily copywriting deeds, etc., plus the good words of Bei Yuchen are also things that the surrounding neighbors like. When he first moved to this small courtyard, Bei Yuchen also deliberately asked the third sister to find someone to get a locust tree to plant in the corner of the courtyard to show the joy of the housewarming. Writing and reading under the locust tree, opening a private school, and playing chess games with friends are also pleasant things for him. Coupled with his wife Wang Huixiang's virtuous lady taking care of her and doing some needlework, their life is not bad. And without the calculations of the two brothers here, Bei Yuchen has felt really happy in recent years, and the only flaw is that he does not have a child, which often makes the two sigh.

It's a pity that the good days of the past few years are coming to an end again. As Bei Yuchen's two brothers squandered their family property more and more, the two of them became more and more tight, so they started the idea of this small courtyard again. This time he called Bei Yuchen to discuss the matter, in fact, he was telling him that this yard had been sold. The two also pretended to give him twenty taels of silver, saying that the proceeds from the sale of the house were given to him in addition to making up for the family's shortfall. Although Bei Yuchen is not very familiar with the world, he also knows in his heart, the location of this courtyard is very good in the town, and it should be worth at least hundreds of taels of silver. But what can I do to argue with the two brothers, it's very kind to be able to give you some money. If it weren't for the fear that other elders and relatives would be dissatisfied, they wouldn't have given him this money.

"Ma'am, we have to move out by the end of this month. You see, where can we go to live? That's enough money to go to the country and build a few cottages, or rent a small house in the town. Bei Yuchen still didn't pick up the chopsticks on the table, and asked his wife worriedly.

"I actually guessed that this situation might happen before, but I still didn't expect them to be so ruthless!" Wang Huixiang didn't continue to eat, and said helplessly.

Bei Yuchen didn't say anything, just sat gloomily and didn't move his chopsticks.

"Childe, I have a place to go here, I don't know what Childe thinks. After a while, Wang Huixiang raised her head and said to her husband.

"Madame, just say, I don't have any good ideas. Bei Yuchen heard his wife's words, raised his head and said.

"During the Chinese New Year, I went to my third brother's place. Seeing that her husband was willing to listen to her advice, Wang Huixiang continued: "Do you remember some of the situation in my family? In the early years, my family was poor, so I came to Beiyu Mansion to work as a maid. I also have two younger brothers, the second brother later enlisted in the army and has not been heard from again, and the third brother has some strength and has been learning from a master blacksmith since he was a child. The last time I saw him, he had been out of school for a few years, and now lived in Songyang Town, where he was a skilled blacksmith in the blacksmith workshop under the Zhao family, a large family in the town. The Zhao family is still martial, and there are martial artists to train their families, so there is a greater demand for weapons. My third brother is a good craft, so he is reused. In addition, the Zhao family also allows them to take on outside work when they are not busy, so my third brother's life is good. Now he is married, has children, and has bought a house, and the last time I went, I saw that there was a large house that was still empty. My third brother is a good person, and we have a good relationship with my brother and sister. I don't think I'll talk to him about it, and we'll move in with him. ”

"This... Let me think about it. Bei Yuchen heard his wife's words and said with a little hesitation.

"Childe, I know you're a little worried that others will look at you differently, after all, I heard that your surname is Beiyu, and I know whose family it is. But my third brother is a straightforward person, he will not be disrespectful to you, and he will not see you as a parasitic fence. As for the others, I think you can ignore them or change your name. Wang Huixiang hurriedly said that she knew that her husband was a person who cared about face.

"Madame said that, but I was too worried. Bei Yuchen thought for a moment and said, "I'm already homeless, of course your third brother is a good place to go." As for changing the name, it's also a way.,Hey.,Our Beiyu family is like this.,It doesn't matter what the surname is.。。 “

"Then it's decided, and I'll write to the third brother immediately. He's sure to say yes, and he mentioned that last time, because then you can still teach his two children to read. At the time, I didn't continue to talk about it because I knew that we were okay here. Wang Huixiang finally showed a smile and said, "Son, hurry up and eat, the food is almost cold." ”

"Okay, okay. Bei Yuchen saw that his future livelihood had been settled, and his face was much lighter, so he finally picked up the chopsticks.