It wasn't until it was dark that Shen Xi was called out to eat.

The Shen family was not divided, in the west room of the main house, the whole family was divided into two large tables, and the boxy Eight Immortals table was brushed with a layer of dark red paint, which may have been used for a long time, and the paint was already very light, leaving only a faint paint print.

The two tables are big enough, let alone a small doll, even if it is more than 20 adults, they can barely squeeze down.

These two tables were originally used to set up flowing water banquets when the family entertained guests, but now the Shen family is down, and they can't live that kind of luxurious life, and the rest of the tables are all gathered in the backyard, and now there are two of them in the family barely squeezed.

The Shen family is prosperous, except for Shen Mingjun, who is Shen Xi's cheap father, he only gave birth to one, and the eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, and fourth uncle are all children under their knees.

At first, Shen Xi thought it was a bit strange for so many people to eat together every day, but over time, he got used to it, after all, the Shen family had not been in decline for a long time, so there were a lot of rules, and eating and sleeping without saying anything was the most basic requirement, otherwise he couldn't stand the scene of a group of people making a noise.

And Shen Xi hates the half-grown bear child the most, he wipes it on others with snot when he has nothing to do, and there are a lot of shiny traces of this kind of air-dried on his body, but he still has to pretend to be young and ignorant......

Originally, the old lady sat at the head of one table, and Shen Mingwen sat at the head of the other table, but now Shen Mingwen has entered the attic, so the other table is seated by Shen Mingwen's wife Wang.

A large family gathers around to eat, in fact, there is nothing unusual at all, the only thing that makes Shen Xi feel unaccustomed is that there are too many exquisiteness when eating, not to mention the ranking of seats for the elders and young, just picking up vegetables and eating, these seemingly simple actions cannot be violated at a glance.

Shen Xi's soul sat down at the table to eat for the first time after wearing it, because he was the youngest, so he had to wait for everyone to move his chopsticks before he was allowed to move. It was only that time when he stretched out his chopsticks to prepare to pick up the vegetables, his hand was twitched by the old lady fiercely, telling him that he had to shave a mouthful of rice before eating.

Of course, there are many similar details, and Shen Xi has gradually become accustomed to these rules, and now he has followed the rules.

It's just that today's dinner table is slightly different, in the past, people always didn't say a word when eating, but now there are endless discussions, and all they say is about the uncle entering the attic.

Shen Xi's table is basically full of women and children, children account for the majority, and the older ones are thirteen or fourteen years old, so they can't grab Shen Xi's small body at all. In addition, it was Shen Xi's mother who was in charge of the kitchen today, and no one served the dishes for him, so he could only look at the second aunt sitting beside him with a look of help.

However, the second aunt didn't pity him at all, she just worked hard to pick up vegetables for her children, for fear that she wouldn't be able to eat when it was late.

In fact...... It's too late to eat!

Every time Shen Xi eats, he will look at these uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, and secretly say in his heart: It turns out that grabbing vegetables can be so gentle and elegant, but I am destined to only drink some soup after me.

Fortunately, although the Shen family eats grassroots wild vegetables every day, the only thing that is okay is that they never let the children in the family starve, and they can eat as much as they want, which is also what Shen Xi has relied on to survive in the past few years.

One of the most common dishes made by the Shen family is called "Blue Water and Green Dragon", which has a nice name, but it is actually a big pot of boiling water, sprinkled with some green onions and some wild vegetables, and even sprinkled very little salt.

In this era without industry, salt accounted for a large proportion of the country's economy, especially fiscal revenue.

Therefore, the production and operation of salt is usually monopolized by the government, and the official salt of one or two hundred wen per catty is not something that ordinary people can squander arbitrarily. Every day, Shen Xi could only drink this so-called "blue water and green dragon", and at the same time, he secretly decided in his heart that when he had money, he must eat a handful of salt purely......

The old lady snorted coldly, stood up tremblingly, and scolded angrily: "The rules of the ancestors are also the teachings of the saints, if you don't eat or sleep, shut up for me, and talk about anything after eating." ”

When everyone heard this, none of them dared to speak again, Shen Xi stuffed a tender folded ear root into his mouth, regardless of whether it was delicious or not, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it in his stomach.

As quiet as ever, Shen Xi was the first to eat, put the chopsticks neatly on the side of the bowl, and sat quietly.

After a while, after everyone finished eating, Zhou, who was barely half-full in the kitchen, cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks with Shen Xi's third and fourth aunts, and wiped the table clean, and then sat down next to Shen Xi.

Shen Xi smiled bitterly, he was an orphan in his previous life, he didn't start a family after work, and he had never seen what a family meeting was like in his life, this time it was good, the family meeting that these twenty or thirty people held together was also an eye-opener.

"Mother, I heard that the family is also planning to cultivate a scholar, is there such a thing?" The second uncle is more oily and smooth, and he likes to take advantage of it the most, so he asked first.

The old lady nodded with a smile and said, "This still depends on your intentions, if you agree, then send another baby to the county seat to study." ”

"Mother, I agree with this, although our family has not been doing well over the years, but it can't go on like this, I haven't read, but I also know the truth of chickens laying eggs and hatching chickens, if we don't cultivate juniors, we won't have a head in the future, unless the eldest brother he can be lifted, otherwise our vein, will only decline more and more...... Let's suffer a little more now, it's nothing. Fourth Uncle Shen Ming said.

The old lady nodded when she heard this, and said: "Everyone understands what you said, but since you want to cultivate one more baby, it will not happen overnight. I am also old, my body and bones are not as good as before, once there is a disease or a disaster, I will go like this, can you people keep it, whether the family is harmonious, how can you say clearly? ”

Although Zhou's was spicy, he respected the old lady, so he saw her stand up and said respectfully: "Mother, I have no opinion with the child's father, if the child can really fight, it is nothing to suffer a little as an elder." ”

The old lady said with relief, "Okay, do any of you disagree?" Otherwise, it's settled! ”

Everyone was silent, and the old lady was quite happy to see this: "After all, the Shen family is a scholarly heirloom, and the ancestral property is only the big mansion we live in and dozens of acres of land. ”

"Over the years, everyone has had a hard time, and when it comes to the Yongzhuo generation, the reading is almost broken, which is not good...... If you want to get ahead, you have to let your child go to a private school, and you have to spend money, so it is not easy to provide a child with education! However, if you don't read, the classics handed down by your ancestors will be useless, and the spirits of your ancestors in heaven will not rest in peace! ”

The crowd remained silent, listening quietly to the old lady's words.

I saw that the old lady shook her head, sighed slightly, and continued: "I have decided, let the boss take the test twice more for fame, in less than six years, if he does not win the first place, he will teach his children to read at home, and do good deeds by the way, so that the villagers can send their children to know a few words." Several of your daughters-in-law are still young, and they have to add heirs to the Shen family, and they will definitely be better than other children when they are enlightened from an early age in the future......"

The second uncle, Shen Mingyou, said: "Mother, I think the eldest brother will be able to be lifted, but the world is impermanent, and our own children are estimated to be enough for the eldest brother to worry about, not to mention those little dolls in the village who are wild all day long?" Let's just let the eldest brother teach us our own children, so that we can concentrate......"

"Hmph—"

Before Shen Mingyou's words were finished, the old lady snorted coldly: "I said, the Shen family is a big family, although now our branch is separated, but the branches are scattered and there is also a heritage, do we think that we are like a small family from now on?" The big clan should do the things of the big clan, and if the tooth is broken, it must be swallowed in the stomach, so why not? ”

"Mother, I have always had some things that I don't know whether to say or not?"

After the second child said that, the fourth Shen Mingxin took over the conversation, his face was a little heavy, and he stopped talking.

Li Shi said impatiently: "Say it, say whatever you have to say." If you don't talk about these today, you will inevitably have a pimple in your heart in the future! ”

When the fourth uncle heard this, he took a long breath: "Mother, the child has never understood, according to the affairs of the uncle's generation, I, as a junior, should not be criticized, and his old man has passed away for more than ten years...... But some words are not unpleasant, our vein was just separated at the beginning, why bother with the genealogy of famous families? ”

"Although I was only a teenager at the time, I still remember the scene of our family being driven out by my uncle, we were a big family, starving, and unfamiliar with the land came to this peach blossom village, spent several days tidying up the house, and spent more than half a year to reclaim the barren fields...... We should do a good job in farming, why bother with the Shen family, the Shen family is short? ”

"Mother, we have already separated, back then, the uncle sold a thousand taels overnight, what about us? There is no grain of rice to satisfy the stomach, where is the ......?"

"Smack-"

Before Shen Mingxin's words were finished, he was interrupted by the old lady's heavy slapping sound, only to see the old man stand up tremblingly, pointing at Shen Mingxin, and hating iron is not steel, and said:

"Do you still know that you are a descendant of the Shen family? According to the family rules, as long as the long house is not disputed, the children and grandchildren of other houses are qualified to be the head of the Shen family! ”

"Besides, Lichang or Lixian, it is a paradox in ancient times, your lobby brother personally came to our house last time to ask for the guilt, even if this matter is in the past, what do you want to do?"

"Your uncle is ridiculous by nature, and the Shen family is also ruined in his hands, but you children and grandchildren should not think about how to hate him, but how to revive the Shen family's business!"

The old lady said so loudly that everyone was silent and didn't dare to speak anymore, Shen Mingxin hurriedly apologized: "It's the child who is not good, the child will not dare to say this again in the future." ”

"I can't think about it, the more I think about it, the more I hate it, and the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable it becomes." The old lady scolded.

The fourth aunt Feng Shi glared at her husband, hurriedly stepped forward to help the old lady, patted her on the back gently, and said, "Mother, you are not angry, Xianggong didn't mean to make you angry, how angry are you?" Sit down and have fun. ”

The old lady didn't say much, sat back in the chair, and rested for a while before saying: "I said just now, this time choose the children to enter the private school, you don't have to pay too much attention, in a few years, if the eldest man does not win, he will come back to teach the children, if it is the middle lift, then it will be better, and then all the children will be sent to the private school." ”

When Shen Xi heard this, he didn't feel cold in his heart.

By the time the uncle finishes the two autumn exams, it will be at least six years later, and he will have to nest in the mountain village in these six years, and even if he studies again in the future, it will be too late.

The only way forward now is to seize the opportunity in front of you.

The second aunt Qian's eyes rolled and asked, "I wonder if you have a candidate in your heart?" ”

When the old lady heard this, she shook her head slightly: "There are candidates, but I also know that it is not easy for you, and you all attach great importance to this matter, old lady, I can't be arbitrary, so I will leave it to you to discuss it yourself, and it will be done by telling me when it is over." ”

When the old lady had said this, she closed her eyes and said nothing.

Shen Xi was anxious, he didn't know what medicine the old lady was selling in the gourd, but he didn't dare to speak, so he could only sit quietly in the chair.

The scene was silent for a moment, and the second room Qian Shi spoke first: "I think my family Gorou is quite clever, he must be a reading material." ”

As soon as her words fell, Feng Shi in the fourth room was not happy, and immediately retorted: "Second sister-in-law, everyone's children are very smart, no one in our family is a stupid boy, right?" ”

When Qian heard this, he was not angry, he smiled and nodded silently.

The third aunt Sun was a little anxious when she saw them talking, and pulled her husband next to her, wanting him to say something, but the third uncle Shen Mingtang was cowardly and crowded, so he laughed a few times and touched his head: "Yes, yes, yes, that's right, where can our children be stupid......"

Sun is usually very timid, but at this time, for the sake of his son, he can only blush and say, "I...... I think, my Shiro is also very good, can you let my Shiro go to school in the county? As long as Shiro is allowed to go to school, even if I will be a cow and a horse for you in my life, I will never complain. ”

Looking at the originally timid and fearful third aunt Sun's face and thick neck, trying to argue, Shen Xi's heart was extremely moved, pity the hearts of parents all over the world!

However, Shen Xi knew that it was not that he had to fight, with his knowledge, there was actually nothing to fight. But if you want to get ahead, you must get out of this mountain, otherwise no matter how good your knowledge is in the village, it will only be the life of farming. Even if you are sorry for the person in front of you, if you treat him with the title of the daily gold list, he will naturally not forget his roots and treat his family.

Just as Shen Xi was thinking about her thoughts, the fourth aunt Feng Shi held the corner of her skirt, her expression was a little hesitant, but her face was firm, and she saw her eyes with tears, and she choked up:

"Two sisters, please, let Rokuro go to school, Rokuro has wanted to study since he was a child, please...... I beg you, as long as Rokuro has a future interest, he will definitely treat you as if you were his own mother. ”

Seeing Feng's weeping appearance, the third aunt Sun's eyes turned red, and she stepped forward to support her at the moment, but she still didn't let go: "Sister, it's not that we don't talk about love, whose child is not a treasure that fell from his body?" We're all kids, I can understand your feelings, but ......"

Before she finished her words, the Qian family in the second room snorted coldly, and her tone was a little unkind: "I am also the mother of the child, and I also hope that my child will have a good future, who doesn't want my child to read and write and get fame and glory to his ancestors?" Everyone thinks so, hmph, it's really in response to that sentence, a child who can cry has milk to eat, and a child who doesn't cry can only starve to death. ”

When the words were finished, everyone fell silent.