When Shang Cheng asked Liu Laozhu to propose marriage for him, Huo Shiqi was sitting in front of the window of his house reading a book.

During this period of time, he was like this, getting up in the morning and dancing in the courtyard to play a sword, and then he locked himself in the study to read, and after eating, he took a nap at noon, and got up to read again. Occasionally, he would go out and walk along the bank of the girl's river, or go to Liu Laozhu's house to sit down and say a few words to his pillar brother. The neighbors didn't see him go to the yamen in the county to work, and at first they thought he had committed something, but then they gradually learned that it was because he was not in good health, so he took a long leave to recuperate at home. So many people even brought things to visit his condition.

In fact, he is not sick, and he is not like his sixth brother, who pretends to be sick because of his unsatisfactory career. He was just tired and wanted to rest for a few days to recuperate. Since the sting in March this year, he has been running back and forth between the three places of Duanzhou Yi County and Beizheng, and after half a year, he has lost a whole circle of tiredness, and his round face, which was originally white and fat, has become black and thin, and wrinkles have crawled on his forehead. In the past six months, he has hardly been idle for a day, not to mention the ten-day holiday, and even the spring equinox, autumn equinox, March 3, April 4, these officials should have taken vacation, all on the road. Not only is the road tiring and the rest is not good, but the food is also poor, sometimes when I am hungry and thirsty, I will nibble on the dry and hard black bun and drink cold water as a meal. And his messenger is not easier than the hard packmen, the packmen arrived at the ground as soon as the goods were unloaded, they were finished, they had to eat and drink and fell asleep, he also had to hand over the account book to pay money and food, and finally he was dizzy and busy, just sat down and wanted to take a breath to drink saliva and shave two mouthfuls of cold rice, and then he threw down the bowl and went on the road again......

Last month, when I went to Duanzhou on official business, I met two colleagues from other counties who were doing the same errand, and the brothers talked about it when they were talking about it at the wine table, one said that there were more than ten days off and no time to make up for it, and the other had three more days, and he also counted the accounts with his fingers. It's not that I don't know, but I'm scared and scared, and he has saved almost forty days of vacation in the past six months! On the one hand, the two people sighed at his loyalty and sincerity, and on the other hand, they advised him that the body is the capital. He also thought so, so at the beginning of that month, after taking a batch of cowhide tents from Yanzhou to Beizheng, he handed over a letter in the yamen on the grounds of "physical fatigue and injury", and asked him to go home for a long vacation to rest.

He took a long leave of absence and had another layer of thought.

On this trip to Duanzhou, he also got a message that next year's government examination will be after the township examination, and it will not be later than early March at the latest.

According to the system and law of the imperial imperial examination, the government examination of the border guards of the Central Plains provinces is three years and five ratios, which is a common thing, there are two games in any year, the person who said it is casually, and the person who listens to it is just by the way. I don't know why, Huo Shiqi, who hasn't thought about going further for many years, actually moved the idea of taking the exam this time.

When the thought first came to him, he was startled. What's wrong with you? Caught in a nightmare? Why are you thinking about passing through the ghost gate again? He remembered that the last time he took the government exam, the eldest girl was still in swaddling clothes, and fourteen or fifteen years have passed, why did he suddenly think about it again? He couldn't figure it out. It wasn't until he returned to Yixian that he went to visit the sixth brother who pretended to be sick and pretended to be really sick, and the sixth brother solved the mystery in his heart with a few words.

"After passing the government exam, you can only become an official."

These words were said to him by the sixth brother ten days ago, but every time he remembered it, he felt that the sixth brother's words were still lingering, echoing, and circling in his ears...... The faint tone of the sixth brother when he said this, the calm and undisturbed look on his face, and the deep gaze that made people dare not look at him directly, all made him feel in a trance that the sixth brother was sitting opposite him, and said this sentence to him, and at the same time to himself......

The sixth brother suffered a loss because he failed to pass the government examination, failed to have a well-known identity as a lifter, worked hard for 30 years, helped and followed more than a dozen county orders before and after, and now he is just a non-mainstream from the nine grades of Baoxinlang, and can only be a household leader in the yamen; And the arrogant guy who had just entered the county government for only three and a half years and was confused about the six-room errand, but he easily topped the lack of the main book, for no other reason, just because the person passed the government examination and was a move. Speaking of which, the main book is also from the ninth grade, and Bao Xinlang is the same level, but the main book of a county is a position appointed by the imperial court, with salaries, allowances and subsidies, and most importantly, there are opportunities for promotion, but Bao Xinlang is a fictitious title, which is an encouragement and reward from the imperial court to those who have contributed to the local area, and there is not even a salary......

He took a sip from his teacup, trying to keep his eyes on the book in front of him, but after reading two lines, his thoughts drifted uncontrollably to other places.

…… The sixth brother trembled for decades, and finally looked forward to an opportunity, but he could only watch others take the lead, and he was so angry that he became seriously ill and became the laughing stock of others. He didn't want to learn from the sixth brother and worked in the yamen for decades, but in the end he had nothing, so it was necessary for him to try to change his fate by taking the government exam.

However, there is one problem that he cannot but think clearly: if he wants to take the government examination next spring, he must resign from his post as the secretary of the county government office before the first month of next year, and then he can register for the examination.

If he is admitted, this book's errand will be dispensable, even if he has nothing to do for a year and a half, the Huo family clan can't watch him starve for more than a hundred years, and the Huo family has not even made a move, which is also the biggest reason why the Huo family is in a slump and gradually declining.

But what if he can't pass the exam? What should I do if I can't pass the exam?

In fact, he also felt that he would definitely not pass the exam, and now he forced himself to sit here and read, and no one bothered him, but he had not seen two pages of the book all morning; He has been reading this "Book of Songs" for more than ten days, and he has not yet turned half of it...... He stared at the book in disgust, as if trying to carve a hole in the paper with his gaze.

If I quit my job at the yamen, what should I do if I can't pass the exam again?

When the time comes, it will definitely be impossible to return to the Yamen. The current master has regarded himself, the sixth brother and Li Qi as a raccoon dog, and he can't wait for them all to get out, if he wants to go back, even if he doesn't oppose it in the open, he will be in the dark. Even if the main book is not in the trouble, he may not be able to participate in the government examination one by one, so he has to start reading books in advance, to hone the pen in the article, and to go to Yanzhou in advance to prepare for the exam, this walk is at least half a year, where will he be in the yamen? What's more, the number of clerks in each room of the yamen is customized, and no matter how good the sixth brother is, he can't help with this. Moreover, there are rumors that the current county magistrate is about to be promoted to the Xinzhou state judge, and no one knows what kind of temperament the new county magistrate is......

What's more, when he leaves, his hard work in the yamen for more than ten years will be written off, even if he goes out and steps on dog shit to hand in the great luck of the sky, and when he returns to the yamen, he has to start from scratch as a scribe who copied and wrote. How could he have endured such hardships and survived such qualifications?

But it doesn't seem to be possible to go to the government exam, so will the master book let himself go? He forced away Li Qiqi and fell ill Sixth Brother, seeing that it was his turn to be next, should he swallow his anger when the time comes, or will he go to learn from Li Qiyi and leave?

Alas, whether to take the test or not, it will give people a headache.

He stared out the window with a frown. In the distance, there was a row of geese lined up in a neat line, moving quietly like a black line against the vast clouds. A merchant's shout broke the silence in the backyard alley from afar, and the high-pitched and long voice kept echoing, "rags, corners, old clothes, old pants, old shirts, and old shirts." Somewhere there was a string of "clucking" hen chirps, as if to show off her ability to lay eggs.

"What do you want? One by one, he also said that he wanted to read the book quietly alone, but when he came back, he saw you in a daze! Is there a woman out there? A hand was placed on his shoulder.

The only person who can talk to him like this is his wife, who has been with him for seventeen years. He didn't speak, smiled and sighed with a self-defeating smile, reached out and patted his mother-in-law's already dull hand twice, and said softly: "It's cold, be careful that your hands are chapped and bleeding." Don't forget to dispense medicine according to the prescription I want to come, and if you have clothes to be washed, you will ask someone outside to pick them up and wash them......"

Although her daughter was not in front of her, Aunt Seventeen still blushed a little, and took a bite of her hand: "Where did you learn the skill of ingenious?" Reaching out and stroking the back of her husband's hand that she had just patted, she paused before saying, "Brother Zhuzi is here, sitting in the hall......"

"Why don't you let him in and sit? Brother Zhu is not an outsider. Huo Shiqi glared at his wife dissatisfied.

"Let it, he won't come......"

"Then I'll call him over. It's all a family, what kind of hypocrisy are you still making in the hall? ”

"You...... You're going to wear this? Aunt Seventeen hurriedly stopped her husband.

"What? This body is not suitable? Huo Shiqi looked at his wife inexplicably, and then looked down at his clothes. Except for the shoes that are kicking a pair of half-new round-toed cloth shoes, there is nothing wrong with the rest of the clothes and pants, right? He glanced at his wife quizzically.

Aunt Seventeen hesitated a little, as if she remembered something funny, but also seemed to be worried, and hesitated with a complicated expression before saying: "Brother Zhuzi seems to have something, he is dressed more neatly than during the New Year, and it is the first time in many years that I have seen him wearing a shirt......

"Oh?" Huo Shiqi frowned and pursed his lips, his eyes rolled, and his face immediately smiled, and he beckoned to his wife, "You help me change my clothes!" Fast! While changing into the clothes of the visitor, he said to his wife, "You go and boil a pot of southern tea that someone else gave me, put more ingredients, and sugar." Hurry up one by one, give me my hat! Hat! That's the veil hat! As he spoke, he had already cleaned up, looked up and down carefully, and said to his wife with a smile, "Brother Zhuzi is here to be a matchmaker!" You go and tell the big girl, I will allow her to eavesdrop outside the door! Then he walked to the hall.

In fact, he doesn't need to be a father's grace, the eldest girl and the second girl recruit the younger brother and the fourth girl, and his four girls are already outside the door of the hall, and they climb through the crack of the door to look into the house like a rare thing. Seeing him coming, Erya and her two sisters hurriedly fled far away; The eldest girl stood by the door and did not move, blushing and twisting the corners of her clothes and bowing her head without speaking, but her eyebrows were full of indescribable joy.

Huo Shiqi didn't hurry into the house first, stared at the big girl through the door of the hall, snorted heavily in his nose, and then reached out to sweep the dust on the long shirt, and then dusted off his long sleeves, and then raised his legs into the hall.

As soon as he entered the house, he waved his hand, and said: "Let Brother Liu wait for a long time......" When Liu Laozhu hurriedly returned the salute in his mouth, he straightened up, looked at Liu Laozhu, and almost laughed out loud Liu Laozhu also wore a veil hat, and also wore a black robe, and even changed the shoes on his feet, no longer the old hemp shoes that he usually pedals, but stepped on double mille-feuille cloth shoes. In fact, Liu Laozhu's dress is not inappropriate, but Huo Shiqi is used to his usual outfits, and there is always an indescribable awkwardness when he suddenly changes into new clothes.

"Brother Liu, please take a seat."

Liu Laozhu was stunned for a long time, and finally held back a sentence: "...... Seventeenth brother, please be seated......"

Erya was already covering her mouth against the crack in the door and giggling.

"Nonsense!" Huo Shiqi turned his face to teach his second daughter a lesson, and he also took this opportunity to squeeze his eyebrows vigorously, and finally stopped laughing, then turned around and sat on the chair and arched his hand again, and shouted outside the hall: "Big girl, serve tea to the uncle of the Liu family." ”

On the tea, the guests say hello, the host asks for tea again, the guests thank you, and after a general step of going through the motions, Liu Laozhu, who is a matchmaker, is sweating, and Huo Shiqi, who is the host, also keeps taking out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead. But it's finally time to "ask your daughter's age". Liu Laozhu next asked, "How old is this handsome and clever girl", and then Huo Shiqi said, "Sixteen years old", this matter has become seven or eight points, and the following thing is just to push the boat down the river......

"How handsome and smart is this girl, how old is she?" Liu Laozhu looked at his feet like an endorsement and said.

Huo Shiqi was about to speak, but his mother-in-law had already come in from outside, and said: "My eldest girl is still young, and I don't dare to let Brother Zhu praise her!" ”

She suddenly said such a sentence, and the three people in the room were all stunned and stunned, according to the customs of the village, and the daughter's parents said this, that is, they did not allow this family affair, and there was no room for turn......

In an instant, the eldest girl's face became whiter than the snowflakes floating in the sky in the moon, her lips were so gray that there was no blood left, she held the teapot tightly in both hands, and the joints of her ten fingers were all tinged with a terrible pale color. Huo Shiqi stared at his wife with his mouth stammered, and the smile and joy on his face were all "frozen"; Liu Laozhu couldn't see what the look was on his face, he blinked his eyes vigorously, his lips trembled, but he didn't shake out a word and sentence by sentence, Liu Yue'er, who obviously taught her father how to talk when she came to the door, never expected such a situation in advance.

As if she didn't understand what she had just said, Aunt Seventeen walked to her husband's side by herself, snatched the teapot from her daughter's hand, and poured the tea soup for Liu Laozhu and Huo Shiqi, and then said, "...... But I have a pro to mention here, so I don't know if Brother Zhu agrees or not, is he willing or not? ”