The Shen family lacks everything now, that is, there is no shortage of rooms, this Peach Blossom Village is poor and remote, the land is not valuable, and the natural house is very large.

The three rooms in the south study are all dominated by the unitary room, so even the smallest Shen Xi has his own room.

At this time, Shen Xi lit an oil lamp and watched the moth fluttering its wings towards the lantern veil, but it was blocked by the thin gauze and couldn't fly in.

The peach blossom villagers are simple, naturally there is no nightlife at all, the sunrise and sunset rest, and the cycle starts year after year.

Seeing that the spring rush is coming, the night in Peach Blossom Village has become extraordinarily quiet.

The plan of the year lies in spring, spring represents sowing, is the key moment to determine the harvest of the year, so the villagers do not dare to be careless at this time, rest early, for fear of getting sick in the busy spring and mistaking farming.

Just when Shen Xi was a little irritable, the door squeaked open, and Zhou came from outside, looking at Shen Xi staring at the oil lamp in a daze, in a trance, he was suddenly startled, and asked urgently: "Baby, what's wrong with you?" Don't scare me. ”

Shen Xi was excited, and quickly put away the gloomy look on his face, looked up at Zhou, and smiled: "Mother, I'm fine, didn't I just not go to school?" I'm not uncommon! ”

Seeing Shen Xi comforting himself in turn, Zhou sneered, twisted his ears, and said, "You are poor." ”

Shen Xi put aside the unhappiness in his heart, looked at Zhou with some doubts, and asked, "Mother, you still haven't slept so late?" ”

"I'm not worried about you, come and have a look?" Zhou said lightly.

Shen Xi was a little moved, and then fell on the bed, giggling: "Mother, you look down on me too much, let me tell you, I am really Wenqu Xingjun, you can't tell others." ”

"Stinky boy, you're talking nonsense again?"

Zhou glared at Shen Xi very dissatisfied, and surprisingly didn't beat him.

Shen Xi smiled, his little eyes were full of complacency: "Mother, don't worry about my business in the future, I will find a way to study sooner or later." ”

"You little doll, what can you do?" Zhou looked incredulous.

Shen Xi shook his head: "Mother, I'm a Wenqu ......"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou interrupted him: "Okay, don't talk nonsense anymore, your father has been in the county seat for six years, I guess I know a lot of people there, and I will definitely send you out if I have the opportunity in the future." ”

When Zhou turned around, she was quietly wiping her tears, originally she was here to comfort Shen Xi and pity the hearts of her parents all over the world, but in fact, she was the one who needed comfort the most.

"Mother, don't lie to me, our family is so poor, where can we afford to study? Even if a gentleman is willing to teach me, my family can't afford to pay the tuition. Save money and buy you more good clothes. ”

When Zhou heard this, he sighed slightly, and then his face was hateful: "Hmph, I will go to your aunt's place tomorrow to collect debts, and then take the money to take you to your father...... That dead man, he is happy in the county, and he doesn't care whether our mother and son live or die. Otherwise, who would dare to bully us? ”

"Mother, Daddy sent us a basket of eggs last time, and asked someone to bring you a message, saying that you should hide it secretly and cook one for me every few days, but you took most of it to the kitchen yourself, mother, are you stupid......"

Zhou Shi glared, and saw that Shen Xi was really still so badly beaten, and finally made sure that he was fine, and twisted his little arm fiercely at the moment: "You are a fool, you dare to say that the old lady is stupid?" See if I don't beat you to death! ”

After making a fuss in the house for a long time, Zhou went out of the door, and did not forget to instruct before leaving: "Stinky boy, it's still cold, don't kick the quilt, tomorrow the old lady sees your quilt fall to the ground, I have to beat you." ”

Listening to the old lady's footsteps gradually walking away, Shen Xi chuckled, got up and blew out the oil lamp, and through the moonlight outside the window, he lay back on the bed, and saw the hazy moonlight pouring into the house through the thin window paper, and he didn't know what to think, and fell asleep in a daze.

……

……

Time flies, time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Shen Xi has been in this world for almost a year.

From the beginning of his eyes, to now his heart is suitable, and even the days of not touching meat and drooling every day for several months have been adapted to him.

The hard days are grinding, Shen Xi looked at Da Lang who was going home while the school was resting, sitting on the bench at the door, and reading aloud with a copy of "University" in a decent manner.

"The way of the university is in Mingmingde, in being close to the people, and in stopping at perfection ......"

The sound of reading came, but it didn't sound like a taste in Shen Xi's ears. From Da Lang's reading, Shen Xi figured out that he should have begun to systematically study the Four Books and Five Classics.

Generally speaking, in order to be admitted to Xiucai, one must be familiar with Zhu Xi's "Commentary on the Four Books and Chapters and Sentences" and Confucian classics such as "Commentary on the Five Classics", "Filial Piety", "Zhou Li", "Warring States Policy", "Chinese", etc., the most important of which are "University", "Analects", "Mencius", "Zhongyong" and other four books.

Zhu Xi believes that when a person reads a book, he must first read the "University" to determine its scale; Read the Analects for the second time to establish its foundation; read "Mencius" for the second time and watch its development; Read "The Mean" for the second time, in order to seek the subtleties of the ancients. Now that Da Lang has begun to deal with "University", it is presumable that the remaining three books will also be systematically studied.

After mastering these contents, learning how to write Baguwen, and choosing one of the five classics as the main scripture, the eldest lang with Xiucai's father as a guarantor can go to participate in the county examination and the government examination, if you are lucky, you can obtain the qualification of children, you can go to the provincial capital to participate in the hospital examination, and obtain the fame of Xiucai.

In this regard, Shen Xi had no choice but to envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Two months have passed in a blink of an eye, and Shen Yuan, who is the sixth lang of the four-room family, has been sent to the county private school to enroll.

Spring is the end, in May, the warbler is long, the sky is blue, and the clear stream is shining golden by the high sun.

Still next to the stream, sitting are still Shen Xi and Little Fat Dun. Yang Wenzhao still likes to be clingy so much, he can't get rid of it like a fart.

"Little cousin, you always took me to the mountains when I came here before, why don't you play with me anymore?"

Shen Xi nodded subconsciously, then shook his head again, and said in a slightly instructive tone: "If it's okay, you can go play by yourself, don't bother me." ”

Yang Wenzhao looked depressed: "Little cousin, you used to be the best to me, I always begged my mother to bring me back just to play with you, now how can you say that I am annoying?" ”

Shen Xi turned his head sideways and said meaningfully: "People will always grow up...... I will grow up, you will grow up, and when I grow up, my state of mind will be different. When I was a child, I liked toys, and when I grew up, I always had joy and loyalty, and I couldn't expect to be born the same, right? ”

Yang Wenzhao was stunned by his words, how could he understand these words at his age?

Shen Xi suddenly felt that he was too bored, and he had been a university lecturer and professor for a few years, so he actually used the preaching set to dismiss this little kid who was playing with him, and I was afraid that it would make people laugh out of their big teeth.

Yang Wen beckoned: "Little cousin, if you don't play with me, no one will play with me." They all say I'm small and bully me, only your little cousin you won't bully me. ”

Choosing playmates as a child was the most subjective and general, and even Shen Xi didn't know that his mentality could be dissolved into this thin body. Shen Xi asked, "By the way, Wen Zhao, you and the fifth brother fought the day before yesterday?" ”

"Yes, little cousin, fifth cousin is so annoying, he always likes to bully me, so I fought with him. My mother saw that I was always fighting, so she wanted to take me home......"

As he spoke, Yang Wenzhao's tone became low.

Seeing that he was about to cry, Shen Xi smiled: "Actually...... It's none of your business......"

Yang Wenzhao looked at Shen Xi very puzzled when he heard this, and Shen Xi could only explain patiently: "Your mother wants to go back, it will be a matter of time, and it doesn't matter if you fight with the fifth brother." Besides, what can an adult do with you two children? ”

Yang Wen looked at Shen Xi and asked, "Oh, after that...... Will I be able to see my little cousin in the future? ”

Shen Xi saw Yang Wenzhao's stupid appearance, and added a touch of love to him in his heart, and patted him on the shoulder at the moment, with a smile on his face: "Yes, your mother will come back often in the future, and when you come over, won't you be able to see me?" Maybe I'll be a guest at your house again in the future...... It's a pity that you and I are too young to go far. ”

When Yang Wenzhao heard this, his mood was soothed, and his sorrow was gradually left behind, only to hear him smile and say: "Little cousin, it turns out that you really don't dislike me and don't want to play with me...... Alas, it would be nice if I could stay a few more days, my mother originally said that she would ignore my father for the rest of her life, and I think it's actually good to stay here, but the food is not good. ”

Shen Xi couldn't help but smile, how could a child understand the world of adults? If it weren't for the quarrel between my aunt and my uncle, my aunt wouldn't have brought Yang Wen back to her parents' house.

After a long time, who doesn't want to live a comfortable life in the city? My aunt was also angry for a while, but now that a few months have passed, she will always think about her husband's well.

Shen Xi's two aunts, one married to Linxian County and the other married to Fucheng, they all have a way out, especially Yang Wenzhao's father, who is still the big shopkeeper of a pharmacy in Fucheng, and Yang Wenzhao will most likely inherit his father in the future.

Shen Xi pulled Yang Wenzhao over and said with a smile: "You are in the pharmacy on weekdays, have you learned some skills from your father?" ”

Yang Wenzhao thought about it and shook his head like a rattle.

Shen Xi said: "Then I'll teach you a trick, look at it." ”

Shen Xi took Yang Wen to the river, found a slightly poisonous grass in the grass, crushed it with a stone, and threw it down little by little in a still pool at the turn of the stream.

Shen Xi beckoned: "Take off your clothes quickly and carry the fish." ”

Yang Wenzhao immediately took off his clothes and handed them to Shen Xi, who at this time was like an elder playing with children in the mountains, supporting his clothes with bamboo branches, blocking the exit of the waterhole.

After a while, the fish, which had already noticed a problem with the water quality of the pool, tried to swim out of the waterhole's exit, but were blocked by a cloth bag. Shen Xi took Yang Wenzhao and threw down the grass in his hand, put away the cloth pocket, and wrapped a few yellow fish in it.

This yellow fish, known locally as slate fish, is the most common fish in the mountainous areas of Fujian, and its flesh is extremely delicate and tender.

"Let's go, go home."

Shen Xi greeted him, and Yang Wenzhao was wearing a single coat, and he followed behind.

Back home, Shen Xi found a basin of clear water, threw a few slate fish weighing a few taels into the basin, only to see that the fish that was about to die gradually came to life again, and kept foaming on the surface of the water, Yang Wenzhao smiled so much that his little face was full of wrinkles, like a meat bun.

Yang Wenzhao admired Shen Xi's methods so much that he threw himself to the ground, and asked Xizizi: "Little cousin, what's going on, aren't these fish dead?" ”

Shen Xi smiled faintly and said, "It's not that I'm dead, it's just that I've been temporarily anesthetized by Drunken Fish Grass, and as soon as the medicinal properties pass, I will naturally wake up...... Alas, you don't understand these things when you tell you, and after learning medical science and pharmacology from your father, you will be able to figure out these good things yourself. If you have the opportunity, you should learn from your father, but don't waste your studies. ”

Yang Wenzhao nodded with a bit of longing.

The two stayed in the courtyard for a long time, Yang Wenzhao's mother walked into the courtyard, saw the two squatting on the ground, stepped forward to take a look, and then asked with some surprise: "Xiaolang, is this the slate fish that you and your cousin caught?" ”

When Shen Xi heard this, he raised his head and smiled at her: "Yes, auntie, are you leaving?" ”

Yang Wenzhao's mother nodded with a smile, and pulled Yang Wenzhao, who looked unhappy, up from the ground: "Yes, I'm going back to Fucheng." A caravan happened to pass by, and I followed them...... Wen Zhao, say goodbye to your cousin. ”

Yang Wenzhao stood up and looked at Shen Xi's eyes full of anticipation: "Little cousin, you remember that you will come to Fucheng to see me when you have time in the future." ”

Shen Xi looked at Yang Wenzhao's affectionate expression, and nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll go see you when I'm free!" ”

Yang Wenzhao reluctantly glanced at the surrounding scenery, and then took his mother's hand with some frustration and left step by step.

Shen Xi suddenly felt a little lost and emotional in his heart. This feeling is very strange, although he and Yang Wenzhao have a psychological age difference of more than 20 years, but when he needs a playmate with a small body, only Yang Wenzhao has really become friends with him for a year.

Friendship is precious, maybe only when I was a child there were not so many intrigues, and when I was older, from the family to the court, it was all full of deceit. Confucianism pays attention to moderation, but there are few things that can really be done, and more is the pursuit of fame and fortune.

So in a sense, Yang Wenzhao is a friend who has no interest in Shen Xi.

Shen Xi lowered his head, and suddenly there was an incomparably strong desire to get out of the mountain. Studying, taking the imperial examination, becoming an official, being promoted step by step from the officialdom, chasing fame. If it weren't for this, even if he was a wealthy businessman in the Ming Dynasty, he was still at the lowest level of society, taking life and death, and his fate was controlled by others.

Everything is inferior, only the reading is high, the literature and martial arts are learned, and they are sold to the emperor's family. In and out of the phase, he is the real romantic person in this world. Otherwise, it is like a fish in the basin in front of you, which can only be confined to a small range, and cannot enter the river or even the big river and sea.

But Shen Xi knew that with his current conditions, there was no way for him to go to school. If you can't enter a private school, you will be nameless, and the so-called teacher is nameless, and it is bound to decline. To increase knowledge and keep pace with the times, it is the first step to get out of the mountains.

In his previous life, as a university professor, he was also familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics and the Eight Strands, but he had no evidence and no one to guarantee him, how could he enter the examination room?