dragged his tired body, pushed open the low and dilapidated courtyard door, and Xiao Huang rushed in, and after a while, he ran out again with the happy little sister.

Mao Yulong bent down, opened his arms, hugged the little sister who rushed over in his arms, and happily turned around, and the little sister put her arms around her brother's neck and reported: "Brother brother, someone just sent rice, there are so many of them, we can eat a full night today." ”

Looking at the thin little sister in the dark, Mao Yulong's eyes were red, thinking that the little sister's biggest hope was to eat a full meal, and she couldn't help but shed tears at that time.

When the little sister saw her brother crying, she immediately sensibly wiped her brother's tears with a pair of small hands: "Brother, brother, I still eat half a bowl of rice today, and I will be full." ”

Mao Yulong's tears couldn't stop flowing down again: "It's all my brother's bad, let my little sister starve, from now on, we will never be hungry again, tonight, you must eat to your heart's content, not only to eat to your heart's content, my brother also bought you meat, you must eat more." ”

As soon as she heard that there was meat, the little sister immediately cheered, and in a blink of an eye, she forgot the promise she had just made, and shouted loudly at the dark door: "Mother, we have meat to eat today, and we have meat to eat today." ”

In the dark room, the sound of weaving stopped, and the mother appeared in front of the door, with a thin and stiff body, trying to straighten up, and said to the two brothers and sisters standing in front of the door: "It's getting dark, come in quickly, I'll cook for you now." ”

Holding the little sister, dragging Xiao Huang, who was hugging his thighs tightly, moved to the house with difficulty. put the little sister down, and then took out the copper coins obtained today in his arms, a full three hundred and eighty yuan, and handed them to his mother: "Mother, this money will be handed over to you for safekeeping, and I will go to make a fire to cook." ”

When my mother saw more than 300 heavy money, she was very surprised, this was the most money her family saw after his father's death. At that time, I was surprised and asked, "Why do you have so much money?" Of course, surprised is surprised, my mother would never think that her thin son was stolen and robbed.

Mao Yulong took off the scribe's clothes, folded them carefully, wore the short clothes of ordinary people, and said today's events while smiling and tidying up the stove: "It's just a few round trips, and I earned this month's food and drink, and so on next month, I have the capital of more than 300 yuan, and I can earn more, mother, you just wait for the little sister to give the little sister oil star every day next month." ”

The mother didn't say anything, they were all poor children, so they couldn't pay attention to the identity of those scholars, but let a fifteen-year-old son worry about the family's livelihood, and the mother still had tears in her eyes. Hiding from his son and not letting him see his tears, he hid the three hundred coins in a crockpot under the bed, waiting for the future child to be used.

Draw water, add firewood to the stove, and beat the fire with a fire sickle.

However, this fire sickle is really not easy to use, and it can't ignite the spark after hitting it a few times.

Seeing Mao Yulong's clumsy appearance, the mother smiled at the time: "My son has been a scholar of this dynasty since the day the list was issued, and the scholar is not allowed to do what these subordinates do, it will ruin the identity, according to the sage, that is what kind of gentleman is far away from the kitchen." The mother pushed her son away and lit the fire in the stove with three or two strokes.

Mao Yulong sneered: "According to my mother, then I am a scholar, so I should stay away from the crowd." ”

The mother lit the stove, blew it with a blowtorch, and then educated her son: "I am already a scholar, of course, the person who comes and goes is the master, how can I deal with those mud legs again, I heard Mr. say that a scholar must have the dignity of a scholar, and he can't associate with people who have no meritorious status, so he will lose his identity in vain." ”

The gentleman that the mother said is the old master hired by the Mao family clan school.

Mao Yulong retorted with a smile again: "According to my mother's statement, you have no fame, so I should cut off my relationship with my mother." Then he deliberately took three steps back, feigning disgust.

The mother slapped her baby son in disgust: "Don't talk nonsense, the emperor still kowtows to the Queen Mother every day, you little showman, dare to disown your mother?" See that I don't break your legs. ”

Mao Yulong pouted: "Didn't you say that I am a scholar now?" The saints that Mr. said told you that I can't associate with people who don't have meritorious status? How could this change again? ”

The mother was embarrassed and dazed, and didn't know why.

Mao Yulong laughed, took the torch in his mother's hand, and lay on the ground to blow the fire. Discussing the outline and ethics with my mother is indeed a bit of a trick.

When the water boiled, the mother sat on a small stool and looked at her son lying on the ground, and remembered something: "Yesterday, the patriarch asked the mother to go to the upper room and told the mother that you have been selected for the autumn show, and the county has decided to send you to the county to study after the New Year. When she said this, her face was full of pride.

The branch of the Mao family originally came to Taiping County, Pingyang, Shanxi, and was the main place of immigration when Hong Wuye moved the people of Shanxi to fill the world

It is Taiyuan Pingyang, Lu, Ze, Liao, Qin, Fen five states, at that time, the five brothers of the Mao family, carrying the only pair of merchant burdens, under the big locust tree outside the Hongdong Guangji Temple, were forced to board the immigration road of the road of no return.

At that time, the five brothers broke a branch of the big locust tree and divided it into five, and no matter who has a descendant or above the family of Xiucai in the future, even if they are thousands of miles apart, they will go home to worship their ancestors. Then look back one step at a time, and gradually drift away. Looking at the old eagle's nest on the big locust tree, I couldn't help but burst into tears, and I said goodbye.

Now every time the patriarch opens the ancestral hall, he has to mention this matter, and every time he has tears in his eyes.

For this reason, after the Mao family was just stabilized, it did not hesitate to go bankrupt and hire well-educated people to teach the children of the family to read, so that from time to time qualified children and grandchildren could return to their hometowns to pay tribute to the tombs of their ancestors.

To have a chance for the clan to pay back to their hometown to worship their ancestors is definitely the glory that the clan dreams of.

But hearing what his mother said, and looking at his mother's somewhat embarrassed smile, Mao Yulong smiled bitterly and shook his head.

It is said that the patriarch is looking for someone to invite the mother to go to the upper room, or it is better to say that the mother goes to the patriarch of the upper room every day to plead and ask. Because since his father died in battle, Mao Yulong's family is weak and small, and they can't contribute to the clan at all, but they still have to provide free education in the clan and help them at any time, which has long caused dissatisfaction among the families in other houses. Then after several runs, in the end, the few acres of paddy fields that my mother shared in Mao Yulong's house were also returned to the public property of the clan, so that Mao Yulong could barely finish reading the book.

After Mao Yulong's serious illness this time, an ignorant child was unexpectedly admitted to Xiucai, and he was still the youngest Xiucai in Hangzhou Mansion, but this not only did not increase his family's status in the clan, but it attracted a lot of jealousy.

The truth is this, but it is still necessary to pretend to be confused, which can make the mother happy. But it's better to go back to your hometown, if you go far away in this era, it is equivalent to going to the eighteenth layer of hell for a circle, and you may not be able to go back, and you don't have the heart to show it. So Mao Yulong said with a smile: "After the year, I will go to the county school to study, so as to go further, the county school has a limited number of places, and the prefect favors it, and it is indeed a rare opportunity to avoid the recommendation and endorsement of the old sages of the township." And my hometown of Pingyang, Shanxi, is 108,000 miles away from here, and I also heard that there is a great drought in Shanxi, and hungry people are rising everywhere, and the chaos is to the point of cannibalism. Then he exaggeratedly opened his hands to look at his body: "With my small body, it is just enough for someone to eat a fat and tender porridge." ”

When Mao Yulong said this, her mother couldn't help but feel excited, and hurriedly said: "Then you still won't go, when you become a big official in the future, it will not be too late to go back when you have the protection of the guard." ”