"Elder, as far as you know, do you have a suitable daughter from each family who is willing to marry into my family?"

After entering the topic, Ge asked a little eagerly, looking a little uneasy.

In all fairness, the family background of the Meng Zhong family is still quite good, since the ancestors are the "scholar" level of the lower nobles, although in contemporary times, the scholar level aristocracy is quite common, for example, Confucian disciples are basically all scholars, and the status of Confucian scholars is higher than that of "soldiers" and "soldiers", but basically only the scholars obtained through military merits can be passed down from generation to generation.

For example, the Meng Zhong family, whose ancestors received the title of "shi" very early, can wear armor when fighting, board the chariot to fight the enemy, unlike ordinary foot soldiers, no matter whether they march and fight, they have to rely on their own two legs.

Meng Zhong's grandfather Meng Shu was not brave in battle, but because he knew some art of war, and had the secret help of Meng Zong from the background of the clan, he was promoted to "chariot officer" by the clan, that is, the commanding officer who commanded the soldiers of the first vehicle, although he did not make any great achievements, and died in the "Battle of Song Qi", but after the Song State defeated the Qi State, after the Song Dynasty Wang Yan rewarded the Meng family, Meng Shu's wife and children still got some fields, wealth and silk as rewards and pensions.

And Meng Zhong's father, Meng Qu, was a fierce pawn in the clan at that time, and his combat courage was no less than that of his brothers in the clan, such as Meng Qi, Meng Hu, Meng Qing, and Meng Zhi, and established more feats than his father.

The accumulation of the ancestors, coupled with the reward received by the father for his merits, is that the Mengzhong family has a full 800 acres of land - at this time, ordinary families, as long as they have 100 acres of land, can basically ensure the survival of a family of eight under the national policy that is not harsh.

The land of Meng Zhong's family is eight times that of ordinary people.

Therefore, the family background of the Meng Zhong family is still good, although it is not enough to be above, but it is more than the bottom, and it is not a big problem for the Ge family to find a marriage for their eldest son Meng Bo.

It's just that the mother is a baby son after all, as a mother, Ge certainly hopes that her daughter-in-law in the future will be outstanding in appearance and dignified, which is why Ge is worried.

After all, although her family is not bad, in the Mengshi clan, it is only in the middle of the stream.

Meng Jian naturally couldn't guess what Ge was thinking, so when he heard the words, he smiled and persuaded Ge Shi: "Don't worry, Bo'er, this child is my outstanding family of Meng, how can he not find a suitable woman to marry?" ”

As he spoke, he stroked his beard, and the old god said on the ground: "In a few days, my Montessori will sacrifice to the ancestors, during which a feast will be held to invite the Ge family, the Le family, the Hua family, the Xin family and other families to come, and when the time comes, the families will also bring their school-age children to watch the ceremony. As far as the old man knows, the Ge family, the Hua family, the Le family, etc., all of the clans have women to be married who are the same age as Bo'er, if your mother and son see the attention, they will tell the old man, and the old man can go to say goodbye on behalf of your family. ”

The marriage of contemporary men and women is basically "marriage", "intermarriage", "recruitment", etc., all of which have interest components, and there is almost no so-called free love.

Recruitment is the entry of a man into the woman's family, which can be roughly divided into two situations.

First, because the man's family was poor, his father sold him to the family as a slave, and the master of the large family married a female slave.

Second, the woman recruits a man who is not a slave into her home, and marries her daughter as a "son-in-law" and a widowed mistress as a "stepfather"—both of which fall under the category of son-in-law.

Whether in the eyes of the woman's family or the world, the son-in-law and stepfather are the most despised, most of these people do not produce, they are idle on weekdays, do not do their jobs, so they are regarded as a cancer by the state and the monarch, if the country needs to recruit a large number of soldiers, it is very likely that people like sons-in-law and stepfathers will be forced to confiscate the army, their status in the army is no different from that of prisoners, they can only eat white rice without meat, and the rice is only one-third of that of ordinary soldiers.

What's more, if you encounter a ruthless general, you will even be cruelly used to fill the enemy's trenches. [PS: There is this passage in the letter of a certain monarch of Wei to the general, and the monarch suggested that the general do this. 】

Intermarriage is a relatively fixed form of marriage between two or several forces of similar status and strength, which is basically used for ordinary people.

The nature of marriage is the same as that of intermarriage, both of which are to draw the relationship between the two parties closer to each other through marriage, so as to achieve a stable alliance relationship, the difference is that both parties to the marriage are relatively high-status figures of each party, such as the monarch of a certain country, the prince, the prince, or the son-in-law and grandson of a certain family, etc.

In general, whether it is an intermarriage or a marriage, it is important to pay attention to the right family.

Take Meng Zhong's brother Meng Bo as an example, he is a small sect disciple of the Meng clan, so the object of his marriage will also be the small clan women of the big families such as the Ge family, the Hua family, and the Le family, which have a harmonious relationship with the Meng family.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything, if the object of this marriage is changed to Meng Zhong, then the elder Meng Jian will definitely not agree to let Meng Zhong only marry a woman from a small sect of a certain family.

Because he has higher expectations for Meng Zhong, he will feel that those women of the small sect are not worthy of Meng Zhong, so Meng Zhong is also a child of the small sect.

In short, whatever the status of the man, he will marry a woman of approximate status, which can be called a good match, so that there will be no situation where the man's family looks down on the woman's family, or the woman's family looks down on the man's family, and will not be ridiculed for not understanding the etiquette.

But then again, under this old-fashioned and serious form of feudal marriage, there is actually a little freedom.

For example, the summer festival mentioned by Meng Zhifang is actually a way for the young children of various families to have the opportunity to contact each other.

Of course, sacrificing ancestors and gods is a very serious matter in itself, and there is no room for negligence, but after a solemn and solemn sacrifice ceremony, a clan will also preside over some celebratory activities and invite people from other families to come to the meeting, so as to connect with other families and even reach a consensus on certain matters.

Like a feast.

In modern times, there are sacrifices all year round, but not all the return sacrifices will be held to entertain the guests of other families, and the banquet guests of this scale are only about once or twice a year, mainly to show the strength of the family (financial resources), cohesion and credibility, which is a very important thing.

"Summer festival? At what time? Ge asked curiously.

"If there are no accidents in the preparation of the clan, it should be around the summer solstice." Meng Zhi explained.

Ge Shi nodded, reached out and touched the head of his eldest son, Meng Bo, with a kind and doting look on his face.

However, at this time, Meng Bo lowered his head, blushed, and did not say a word, obviously because Ge Shi mentioned the topic of his marriage with Meng Xuan, which made him feel very shy.

Seeing his brother's appearance, Meng Zhong also felt a little funny beside him.

In all fairness, Meng Bo has been very good to Meng Zhong since he was a child, but everything that is good is given to his mother Ge Shi and his younger brother Meng Zhong is simply a model of filial piety and virtuous brotherhood, and the only flaw is that his character is too honest, so that although Meng Zhong is a younger brother, he sometimes needs to worry about his brother.

It was precisely because of the good relationship that he couldn't help but tease at this moment: "Brother, this matter is that the hands are fast and the hands are slow." When you wait for the summer festival, if you see it, you have to tell your mother and elders quickly, if it is too late, your sister-in-law may end up in someone's house in the future......"

was ridiculed by his brother who had a very good relationship, of course Meng Bo would also talk back, but now that the elder was recommended by his side, and Meng Zhong said it too bluntly, he really couldn't say anything, so he could only blush, embarrassed and at a loss.

Instead, Ge Shi scolded: "Don't talk nonsense!" …… How can you be presumptuous in front of the elders? ”

Hearing this, Meng Jian said with a smile: "Haha, the old man thinks that Zhong'er, this kid is right." ”

After that, he turned his head to look at Meng Bo, and said with a smile: "Bo'er, remember your brother's good words, don't be shy when the time comes, men should marry, women should marry, this is the eternal principle." Treating parents well, marrying wives and having children, continuing the family lineage, and establishing a family business should be done by men. …… Remember? ”

"Boy, remember." Meng Bo nodded vigorously, which made both Meng Jian and Ge Shi quite pleased.

Meng Bo's marriage came to an end for the time being, and after thinking about it, after glancing at Meng Zhong, he said to Ge Shi: "Ge Shi, the old man came today, in addition to the matter of Bo'er's child, there is one more thing. ”

Ge Shi was puzzled when he heard this, and said respectfully, "Please make it clear to the elders." ”

Seeing this, Meng Jian pointed to Meng Zhong and said: "Zhong'er, this child, has been smart since he was a child, and no one in the clan is unmatched, and now the old man intends to ask him to serve a great sage named Zhuang Zhou, hoping to worship under his door, so that the revitalization of your Mengqu family can be expected." ”

"Zhuang Zhou?"

Ge Shi muttered, and then opened his eyes wide and asked with surprise: "Could it be that Zhuang Zhou, who is known as "Zhuangzi" in the world?" ”

As soon as he saw Ge's surprised expression, Meng Zhi knew that this matter was done, so the smile on his face was even worse.

He nodded and smiled and said, "Yes! …… Ge also knows Zhuangzi? ”

Ge Shi nodded again and again, and said in surprise: "Although the concubine is dull, she has also heard of the name of Master Zhuang, who is the great sage of my Song Kingdom." ”

Speaking of this, her face suddenly showed a little concern, and after glancing at Meng Zhong, she asked Meng Jian in a slightly weaker tone: "Elder, I don't know...... I wonder how long Zhong'er will have to be away from home? ”

Such a shrewd old man, of course, guessed Ge's concerns, and smiled and relieved when he heard the words: "Ge, the old man knows what you think, don't worry, Master Zhuang is now living in seclusion in the upper reaches of the muddy water, just between "Xiayi" and "Mengbo", and you can go back and forth in only one day from here. ”

As soon as he heard that Zhuangzi's residence was in this area, Ge's worries in his heart were immediately dispelled, and he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't dare to bother, don't dare to bother, when the time comes, the concubine will just walk by herself." ”

"It's better for the old man to send his family to send you there, after all, it's not very peaceful in China recently." Speaking of this, Meng Jian paused, stroked his beard and asked Ge Shi with a smile: "Then this matter ......?"

Ge Shi understood, bowed his head and bowed, and said gratefully: "According to your wishes, Elder." …… The elder has always treated my family well, and the concubine is unable to repay him, so thank you again. ”

Meng Jian smiled when he heard this: "Your father-in-law Meng Shu is like a brother and sister with the old man, whether it is Bo'er or Zhong'er, in the eyes of the old man, he is like his own grandson, so there is no need to say these polite words." ”

As he spoke, he put his hands on the low table and stood up: "It's not too early, the old man will leave first." ”

Seeing this, Ge Shi hurriedly dissuaded: "Elder, can you leave after dinner?" ”

Meng Jian smiled and waved his hand: "No, no, the old man still has something to do, so he won't be at your home meal, another day, another day." ”

Seeing this, Ge had no choice but to give up.

After a while, with the support of Meng Zhong, and under the send-off of Ge and Meng Bo, Meng Jian slowly walked out of the courtyard on crutches.

When leaving, Meng Jian told Meng Zhong: "Rest early tonight, and come to the old man's house tomorrow morning." ”

Meng Zhong was surprised when he heard this, and asked, "Tomorrow?" Will you go to Zhuangzi's dwelling tomorrow? ”

Hearing this, Meng Jian laughed, stroked Meng Zhong's head, and said meaningfully: "No, what the old man means is that in the next two or three days, you will live in the old man's house." …… If you want to become a disciple of Zhuangzi, even if you are you, you have to do your homework beforehand. ”

“……”

Looking at Meng Jian's meaningful smile, Meng Zhong nodded, thoughtful.