Uncle Zhong, the housekeeper, unloaded the wine and meat from the mule's back, and went out into the yard with a chatter. Li Xu stuck out his tongue at the back of the old housekeeper, led the blue and white mule to the backyard stable, tied the reins, added fodder to all the livestock, and replenished the well water. After tidying up everything, he changed into a short coat for home wear and came to the main room to meet his father.

The dried muntjac meat and miscellaneous vegetables that Li Xu handed over to the housekeeper had been neatly cleaned up by Aunt Zhong and his mother, and they were sorted into four side dishes and placed on the table. Li Xu's mother doesn't like to drink, not the New Year's Festival, and the housekeeper Uncle Zhong is not good at the master's table, Li Mao drinks alone, and he is drinking so much that he is boring. Seeing that his son had finally entered the door, he raised his glass and shouted, "Xiao Xuzi, come here, talk to Dad." As far as you kid knows, it hurts, count the day your father comes back to knock on your uncle's bamboo pole! ”

"Not serious!" Li Zhang took a sip of dissatisfaction and put down the needlework in his hand.

"No, the gentleman in the official school said, wine, wine can mess with people's character, mess with people's character!" Li Xu looked at his mother's face and made an excuse to prevaricate his father's invitation. The Adam's apple that had just grown on his neck rolled involuntarily, making a clear "grunting" sound.

"Forget it, don't pretend. The wine worm that has been held in the arms of the old lady since he was a child and sipped the chopsticks, it is difficult not to let you drink. Just drink more, so as not to delay the endorsement at night! When the Zhang lady heard this, she glanced at the child lovingly and whispered.

"Hey! Thank you! Thank you Dad! Li Xu waited for his mother's promise, took three steps and made two steps to his seat, took the wine jar and sifted it himself, raised it, touched his father's wine cup, and then continued to raise it between his eyebrows to salute his father, and then drank it all.

"Good boy, just looking at this drink, it's our Li family's seed!" Li Mao praised with a smile, and his face was full of love. In late spring, the caravan went north, and in early autumn, it rushed home. One? worked hard to be able to sit at the table with his wife and children and eat a stable meal. After three months of not seeing him, his son's head has jumped up again, but his wife looks more haggard, and the wrinkles between the corners of her eyes and cheeks confirm the hardships of life when the man is not at home.

"Dad has been working hard all the way on the saddle horse, and I would like to express my heart to my father with this lamp. I wish my father a long and healthy life, and the business will get better and better! Li Xu picked up the wine jar and poured it for his father. The wine that my uncle had made by the secret method looked very thick, and in the faint light of the oil lamp, it swayed like a warm piece of amber. This reminded him of the afternoon, and when his father put down the pottery pot, he said while sifting the wine: "I passed by my uncle's inn today and helped him clean up." He's very quiet there! ”

"That is, now the people have little money in their hands, the government levies a lot, the trade routes are withering, and the inn is naturally not patronized. Occasionally, he went to order two dishes, and they were all masters who he didn't dare to ask for money. And ordinary people, who has the money to eat and drink from him! Father Li Mao sighed lowly, not knowing whether it was for his wife and brother or for himself.

Life is getting tougher, and people who do business are always the most keenly aware of the changes in the world. During the Kaihuang and Renshou years, the emperor was not so wise and powerful, and he couldn't write good articles, but the leather goods and livestock he got back from outside the fortress were always able to get out of his hands quickly. And now it is the year of the great cause, and it is said that it is a big business, but it takes three times as much effort to do goods from the market by yourself. It also takes three times as much effort and time to sell the goods that are brought back from outside Cyprus without sacrificing the cost.

"Then you are still cheeky to take food from your uncle's house, when you go to the official school next month, remember to bring a long shirt to your uncle by the way, my mother just made it this spring, and I originally wanted to wear it for you in winter. Anyway, looking at your long body, I can't wear it! Li Zhang listened to her husband and son talk about her mother's family, put down her chopsticks, and said in a low voice.

The festive atmosphere in the room was washed away by the trivialities of life, and the husband and wife, father and son were silent. The embarrassment of the Zhang family is clearly there, and the situation of the Li family is only a little better than that of the Zhang family, even if the Li Zhang family wants to help the family a little more, they can't squeeze out too many things.

"Smack!" The wick of the sesame oil lamp exploded, spitting out a boss spark. Li Zhang took the opportunity to cut the lamp grass and left the dining table, and the moment he turned around, he gently rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Okay, what are you sad about. Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi, who knows when Brother Baosheng's luck will turn back! Li Mao knocked on the table with his chopsticks and complained with some dissatisfaction. Seeing that his wife lowered her head and didn't talk, her heart softened for no reason, and she said loosely: "I brought a cow and three thin horses back this time." The skeleton can still be seen, and the cattle will be tamed by someone to be familiar with the plough stick, and this winter will add more material to the horse, and it will be sold at a good price in the spring. When the time comes, borrow some capital from Brother Baosheng, let him hire a good cook, and then go to the county to invite Old Master Yang to write a piece and hang it in the hall. ”

"That's good, but will we have enough money to do the goods next year? The second brother of Guan Zongci recently came to ask when you can come back to discuss adding incense money to your ancestors next year. Xuzi's book is well read, and the year after that, the county recommended Xianggong to go to the capital for the exam, only two places, if you don't have some money to do it, ......" Li Zhang's family heard that her husband decided to help her mother's family, and she was grateful, but also remembered a lot of troublesome things in her own family, and faintly felt a little painful money. babbled endlessly, and didn't explain whether he agreed with her husband's arrangement for a long time.

As the last branch of the clan, he was ostracized by the clan. The husband was forced to live and became a businessman, so that the elders of the clan grasped the handle. If everything is not well done, Li Xu's dream of entering the capital for the exam will come to naught. Although the current Shengshang has repeatedly emphasized that the township tribute sent by the counties (Note 6) should be based on merit, if the students are not used, the local officials must be held responsible. But those who don't have the word 'shell' will never be able to use the top of the wealth with the word 'shell', and Shanggu County is so big, how can the outstanding person in the official school be one of his own family Xuzi.

"I've already prepared the incense money, and Second Brother Ruomu came to look for me, just to take advantage of the autumn breeze when I come back." Li Mao explained by calling the words of his own brother. "As for the Xuzi exam, when you take the exam the year after tomorrow, you can only apply for the Ming Jing (Note 7), and if you pass the exam, you can only become a local official. It is better to wait a few years, and after the crown (Note 8) is added, go directly to the Jinshi examination, and at least make a county order after coming out. Once you win, it will be regarded as a green smoke coming out of the grave of our old Li family! ”

"But I've heard people say that twenty old Ming Jing, fifty young Jinshi! Although the Jinshi can be a big official, how many of them have been admitted? How can it be as good as the examination of the Ming Sutra, once you can put a county and a household trough, you don't have to stretch out your own hands, and there will be 100 hangs of Shutan money sent to the door every year," Li Zhang argued in a low voice. This method of selecting talents based on knowledge regardless of family background has made many small families like the Li family see the hope of changing their living conditions. Although the chances of winning the award are very slim, before entering Beijing, it is necessary to raise the threshold for officials at the county and county levels. But after all, it makes people see the opportunity, unlike in the previous dynasty, when the children of non-wealthy families had no possibility of becoming officials.

There are many types of exams in the capital, but the most popular ones are only "Ming Jing" and "Jinshi". The reason for the popularity of the former is that it is relatively easy to get the exam, and you can pass by memorizing a few books designated by the government. The latter, on the other hand, is because once it is examined, it is immediately famous all over the world, and the future suddenly becomes limitless. Others, such as Ming Calculation, Ming Shu, etc., because of the high threshold and few outlets, there are few students who basically care.

"It is precisely because it is difficult to take the Jinshi exam that there is a future!" Li Mao took a sip of wine, and his emotions gradually became excited. "Xuzi reads so well, if it's really high school, those brothers and sisters-in-law in the clan, who would dare to let us pay more incense money. Zhao Ergou and Yang Bald in the yamen, which one dares to come to the door to bully us! ”

"Then you have to pass the county school first, although Old Master Yang appreciates our Xuzi, but he doesn't care about anything. Although Master Liu, who is in charge, promised to help us, he is a person in officialdom after all, unlike a businessman, who spits and foams and smashes a pit! (Note 9) "When it comes to his son's future, Li Zhang's will always be more unique than her husband's. Master Liu, who is in charge of the county school, has always been famous, and when he puts away the money, he does not refuse, and when it comes to doing things, no one can tell what principles he has in his heart.

"No, it won't!" Under the urging of alcohol, some sweat gradually appeared on Lao Li Mao's forehead, and he muttered: "Master Liu took our Turkic horse last year, but he is only four years old!" He can really just eat without pulling, and he doesn't look at the face of the monk to see the face of the Buddha, how can Xu Zi say that he is also a registered disciple of Old Master Yang. Speaking of this, he turned his head to Li Xu and asked a little anxiously: "Before I left, I asked you to ask the master to give me a watchword, did you ask him?" Did he promise to give you the words? ”

Li Xu's age is far from being as old as the weak crown, and it is too early to ask for someone to pick up the word at this time. But that old master Yang is a famous man in the local area, and he took the word, which means that he has the name of master and apprentice. In the future, even if others want to belittle Li Xu, they must first consider his master's feelings.