Meng Tianchu: "This vacant land should be the field of the Xi family's mother and daughter before the mourning hall is built." ”

Ergou: "It should be." ”

Wang Yi: "What should it be, you don't seem to know anything, do you know this family?" ”

Ergou smiled generously and said, "How can you not know it, but where is there any leisure time to inquire about other people's affairs." ”

Meng Tianchu: "What's the name of this man?"

Ergou: "Xi Ping"

After Meng Tianchu walked around the clearing, he found that this land was not very large, and it was surrounded by fields, how could he build a mourning hall around the field, and the people who came and went like this would not trample on the crops.

Meng Tianchu: "Ergou, take us to Xi Ping's house to have a look." ”

Ergou: "Just where you are standing, this is Xi Ping's home." ”

Meng Tianchu was puzzled, and Ergou pointed to the two fields on the left and right of the vacant land and said: "Together with these two pieces of land, it is Xi Ping's home, and the adults think Xi Ping's home is very big?" ”

Meng Tianchu looked at the few people beside him and laughed together, Meng Tianchu said: "You mean that their family of five lives in these three fields, including this mourning hall?" ”

Ergou: "Yes, my lord, but their eldest daughter didn't live at home when she was ten years old. ”

Meng Tianchu: "Then where to live?" ”

Ergou: "My lord, do you really don't know or pretend not to know." ”

Wang Yi scolded: "How to talk to adults! Meng Tianchu said with a smile: "It's not in the way." ”

Ergou was a little embarrassed, and repeatedly compensated Meng Tianchu: "The adult is more forgiving, the little one is a rough person who is used to talking like this, adults, please don't be surprised." Since adults don't know. Then I'll tell the adults, the eldest woman of the Xi Ping family was bought by Mrs. Xi's daughter at the age of ten, and went to be a personal maid for her daughter, who was only ten years old at the time. ”

Meng Tianchu: "So it is said that Lord Xi's family is prosperous, and it should be the fourth generation in the same house." ”

Ergou smiled. Said: "That is, Mrs. Xi is powerful and powerful in our walled village, it is a well-worded figure, they are more than 200 people in Xi's house, almost all of them are people from our walled village, everyone is relatives, take care of each other." Even if it is for us to eat, Mrs. Xi is a good person. Mrs. Xi herself has five wives. The original wife died four years ago, and his five wives gave birth to a total of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, and two daughters remained at home, and the sons-in-law are all in the land. ”

Meng Tianchu: "In this way, it is indeed very lively. ”

Meng Tianchu looked around and said, "As soon as the Xi Ping family died, how could this place be planted with crops so quickly?" ”

Ergou: "Our croppers rely on the fields to eat, and Li Zheng means to give them a piece of land to set up a clothed mound." Don't waste so much land idle. ”

Meng Tianchu nodded. He said, "What's the name of the village you are in?" ”

Ergou: "It's the nephew and nephew of Mrs. Xi, named Xi Yuan, who is still a tribute student, kind and kind, and very good." ”

Meng Tianchu muttered in his heart, no wonder Xi Rui is not afraid of us to investigate, he is in this walled village. Even Li Zheng is a member of his own family. I'm afraid that the surrounding village is his land, and he can't just admit defeat in the world.

Meng Tianchu: "That Xi Ping's eldest daughter heard that she was going to marry before she died, do you know who to marry?" ”

Ergou: "It's to marry my old family."

Meng Tianchu and the people present were stunned. What kind of game does Xi Rui, an old man, want to play with himself, and he teases himself like this.

Meng Tianchu: "Your second son? ”

Ergou: "Exactly." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Then it stands to reason that Xi Ping's family and you are about to be in-laws, so you may not know anything about their family?" ”

Ergou was puzzled, and said: "The children and relatives of our walled village are all in charge of the Lizheng patriarch and Mrs. Xi, and they think which family and which family is suitable is decided, why do we two have to know." ”

Meng Tianchu was depressed, he had never seen such a simple and honest common people, and he couldn't even make decisions about the marriage of his children in his own family, and he didn't seem to feel anything very honorable, but he didn't want to pretend to be it.

Meng Tianchu: "Then have you seen the eldest daughter of Xi Ping's family?" ”

Ergou: "Naturally, I have seen it, we are all in the same village, although we rarely meet, but I also know the appearance, to be honest, it is one of the best girls in our village." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Such a good method? ”

Ergou: "Diligent, down-to-earth, not much talk, but very good eyes, this is enough to be a very good girl in our walled village." ”

Xiaonuo asked on the side, "Are you good-looking?" ”

Ergou said disdainfully: "It's good-looking, but it can't be eaten as a meal." ”

Xiao Nuo was choked by Ergou's words, Meng Tianchu looked at Xiao Nuo with a snicker, and said, "It's okay to ask." ”

Ergou thought for a while and said, "It should be okay, I don't remember." ”

Meng Tianchu believes that people in this countryside have to think that good character is the most important thing, as long as they are not hideous.

Jian Ning had been very calm on the side, and suddenly said, "Take us to meet your second son." ”

Ergou wanted to say something, but he couldn't help it, nodded, turned around and walked in the other direction, Meng Tianchu said, "What do you want to say?" ”

Ergou: "No! ”

Meng Tianchu: "Just say what you have." ”

Ergou then looked at Xiao Nuo and Jian Ning behind Meng Tianchu, and said, "It's really rude for a man to speak, and a woman to interject on the side." ”

Meng Tianchu was surprised at first, then turned to look at Xiao Nuo and Jian Ning, only to see that the two of them were smiling and didn't say anything, so he tried his best to hold back his laughter, nodded towards Ergou, and didn't say anything.

Before he arrived at Ergou's house, he saw a pair of young men and women walking towards him, and when he was about to arrive, the woman obviously walked behind the man and took a slow step, and her eyes kept staring at the ground. With his hands at his sides, he looked a little restrained and even ridiculous.

The man walked up to Ergou and respectfully shouted Dad, Ergou pointed at Meng Tianchu and said, "Don't hurry up and kowtow to the prefect." ”

When the man heard this, he quickly knelt on the ground. The woman behind also knelt down in response, and the two of them respectfully shouted to the prefect, Meng Tianchu hurriedly asked them to get up, and Ergou said: "This is my second son and second daughter-in-law." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Oh, where are you going?" ”

The man bowed his head and replied, "Go back to the prefect's words." The grass people and the people at home went to work at the old lady's house. ”

Ergou explained: "Every year before the year, every family has to send someone out to help Mrs. Xi's family for a few days, Xi's family is so big. Just the underground people and maids in the family are busy. ”

Meng Tianchu looked at the man and said, "Okay, then you guys hurry up, don't delay." ”

The man bowed deeply to Meng Tianchu, and then took the woman behind him to bypass everyone and walked cautiously.

Meng Tianchu: "Your daughter-in-law is quite polite. ”

Ergou said proudly: "There is no etiquette and no upbringing, and my Ergou family does not want such a woman." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Then what if Li Zheng is in charge of finding such a rude woman for your family?" ”

Ergou didn't expect Meng Tianchu to ask himself like this, thought about it, and said, "That... The grass people don't know, I don't think so. ”

Everyone couldn't help laughing, and when Ergou saw everyone laughing, he didn't know what everyone was laughing at, so he laughed along.

Xiao Nuo whispered in Meng Tianchu's ear: "I see that this son of his land is not a wooden person. ”

Meng Tianchu: "My daughter-in-law looks like a daughter-in-law, but I don't dare to compliment. ”

Xiaonuo joked: "You can't eat it as a meal!" ”

Meanwhile. On the roof of the Xi family's house. The two men stood on it and looked at Meng Tianchu and them, and one of them said in a low voice: "Old lady, what kind of corner is this Meng Tianchu, he walked in the field with the second dog for a long time, as if he was playing, and he smiled so happily." ”

Xi Rui sneered and said, "I listen to Yuanqiao's meaning." This kid used to be just a fool. And then there is the master, if it is not for the long live master. He will always be a ninth-rate person, where can he get into his eyes. ”

The man beside Xi Rui looked at Meng Tianchu not far away with disdain, and said, "Relying on the support of the Long Live Lord, he can do whatever he wants like this, so just find a few people to give him..."

Xi Rui smiled and said: "It's going to be the New Year, don't say such bloody words, besides, our Xi family has always used virtue to convince people, don't use force to solve problems at every turn, this is not good." ”

"What if..."

Xi Rui looked at the man next to him, the man quickly lowered his head, Xi Rui said: "No case, so many people came to check, and in the end, didn't they all leave one by one with the money given by my Xi Rui?" Besides, who would really ask the bottom of an orphan with no name or surname, but just to show an attitude, in order to prove that he is still an aspiring young man. ”

The man nodded again and again, smiling flatteringly.

Seeing that Meng Tianchu and the two dogs were separated, Xi Rui walked towards the side of the house, and said, "Okay, we should go down too, are the lunches prepared for Meng Tianchu and them ready?" ”

"It's all ready according to your instructions, and the bird's nest and shark fin are all ready."

Xi Rui nodded with satisfaction, and said as he walked down: "The one who comes is a guest, we must do our best to be a good landlord, and don't let people say behind their backs that our Xi family will not entertain guests, you know?" ”

The man hurriedly responded: "Old lady, don't worry, the lord and the lady have already been ordered." ”

Xi Rui: "Well, by the way, three days later will be the old lady's death day, remember to prepare everything you should prepare one by one, no less, you know?" ”

"Got it, old lady, the minions all remember."

Xi Rui: "Alas, this winter every year is really annoying, and the cold goes to the bones. ”

"Yesterday I was already instructed, and the charcoal fire for the New Year has been transported from Shanxi."

Xi Rui walked down to the roof, looked at the door, and said, "Today, you let the master accompany Meng Tianchu and them to dinner, and I won't go." Yesterday Yue'er said that I was asked to go to her to eat crab roe porridge, and I was hungry when I thought about it. ”

The man saw that Xi Rui showed a kind smile, and said with a smile: "Miss's complexion has improved a lot recently, and I heard from the people below that she is also willing to talk to her mother and maid around her." ”

Xi Rui nodded. said: "Yes, it's been three years, and some things should be forgotten." ”

"The old lady said yes."

Xi Rui: "Then you go and get busy with your go, I'll go to Yue'er to have a look, and you go and tell the housekeeper." Send me the bottle of daughter red in my study to Yue'er. ”

"Well, the minion will do it."

Only then did Xi Rui slowly hum a little song and walked towards a small bridge in the inner courtyard.

Meng Tianchu and the others walked to the gate of Xi's mansion. Xiaonuo stopped, looked at the threshold of Xi's mansion, and said, "Why is the threshold of this place much higher than the threshold of ordinary people?" ”

Wang Yi: "I guess I just want to show that I am different from others." ”

Jian Ning: "I see that this Xi Rui is becoming more and more mysterious, what does he want to hide?" ”

Meng Tianchu shook his head and said, "No matter what he wants to hide, he can't let us give up easily. ”

At this time, the housekeeper came over, first respectfully saluted Meng Tianchu, and then said, "Our master has invited Master Meng and you to the side hall to eat." Meng Tianchu: "There is a labor housekeeper." ”

Butler: "Please, Master Meng is already waiting for you in the side hall." ”

Meng Tianchu was sitting in his room reading a book, and it was snowing again. A brazier and a stove were placed in the house. Xiao Nuo was lying on the bed and napping boredly, the room was very quiet, and occasionally Meng Tianchu was the sound of turning over a book. Suddenly, a pleasant laughter came from outside the door, Meng Tianchu looked back at Xiao Nuo, he was already asleep, got up and opened the window to take a look, only to see a man wearing a long water-red jacket and wearing a pair of cotton shoes of the same color. Woman in a white shawl. Age about sixteen or seventeen, eyes are clear, eyebrows and nose, cheeks slightly pear vortex, straight is beautiful, although the age is not big, the figure has not yet grown, but the appearance is beautiful, can not hide the childishness in the face. The strong light reflected from the ice and snow shone on her face, making her complexion even more crystal clear and soft as jade.

The woman apparently didn't notice that a window was open not far away. A man was looking at her, she was running and laughing happily in the snow, and the two maids around her didn't seem to dare to stop her, but only persuaded her to go back to the room.

The woman was running in the snow with a red lantern in her hand, coming towards Meng Tianchu, she accidentally fell, the lantern was thrown out of the distance, Meng Tianchu couldn't help but call a word of caution, the woman probably only found out that there was someone behind her at this time, the maid helped the woman up, the woman turned her head and looked in the direction of Meng Tianchu, and suddenly saw a man wearing an ink-colored dress and a felt scarf looking at him with a smile, his face was like the moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the color was like the flower of spring dawn, the sideburns were like a knife, the eyebrows were like ink paintings, the face was like peach petals, and the eyes were like autumn waves. Born to be romantic.

The woman's face suddenly flushed, smiled shyly, shook off the hands of the two maids, and walked away quickly.

Meng Tianchu closed the window at this time, Xiaonuo was probably woken up by the cold wind, so he got up and said, "Tianchu, why are you standing at the window and watching so intrigued." ”

Meng Tianchu said with a smile: "I just heard a commotion outside the window, I was worried about waking you up, so I wanted to stop it, who wanted to open the window, it was just a few children who were fighting, and now they are also gone." ”

Xiao Nuo walked to Meng Tianchu's side, gently hugged Meng Tianchu's waist, and said, "I'm afraid it's not a naughty boy, maybe it's some kind of daughter who has come to the earth fairy, right?" ”

Meng Tianchu's heart was shocked, and the shy expression of the beautiful woman just now appeared in front of Meng Tianchu's eyes again, and Meng Tianchu couldn't help but murmur: "Maybe." ”

Following

Xi Rui sent Meng Tianchu a person, this person is what Meng Tianchu has been looking for, but Ergou doesn't know where this person is, this person is the neighbor of Xi Ping's family back then, and later moved to the south of the walled village.

Meng Tianchu thought that Xi Rui was really a person who was quite deep in the city, and people who couldn't see him all day knew what they were thinking, since they asked the housekeeper to send people to the door for him personally.

The man didn't wait for Meng Tianchu to speak, so he said directly: "My lord, it was Old Lady Xi who asked me to tell you, that is, to talk about some things in Xi Ping's family in the past, right?" ”

Meng Tianchu motioned for the man to sit down, but the man didn't dare, he just stood, and his appearance was very restrained.

Meng Tianchu: "You and Xi Ping's neighbors moved away so suddenly after so many years?" ”

"Everyone said that the feng shui in that place was not good, Xi Ping died less than two years ago, and his mother-in-law and daughter all died overnight, and I was also scared, so I moved to the south of the village."

Meng Tianchu: "Do you know that Xi Ping's family is so adopted by Xi Ping?" ”

"I know, it's probably winter, and it's snowing, Xi Ping has always wanted a son, but because his mother-in-law is not in good health, and the family is not very good, and he has two daughters in his life, so that day I suddenly saw me and said happily that I picked up a boy when I came back from shopping outside the village, and the two of them seemed to be very happy, and the next day I saw Xi pick it up, the young man looks good, and he is also an honest person, who wants to do that kind of thing that loses his conscience, he really knows people and knows his face."

Meng Tianchu: "How does Xi pick up and Xi Ping's family get along on weekdays?" ”

"We look good, but in fact it's good or not, who knows behind closed doors, in those two years, Xi Ping bought some haberdashery in the market town and came back to sell it to the people in our village, and life gradually got better, but there was one more person to eat, and naturally I couldn't see what was good, and then after a few years, Xi Ping was probably too tired to get sick, so he died, leaving this family of four, and then Xi picked up a man, and the field mainly relied on him."

Meng Tianchu: "I heard that Xi Ping's wife was going to give Xi a daughter-in-law at that time, do you know who it is?" ”

"We surrounded the village and told people that the daughter-in-law was not our own business, it was Li Zheng and the patriarch who had the final say, but at that time, Xi Pick's mother also mentioned it, saying that it was for Li Zheng, and later I heard that Li Zheng told Xi Pick up a family affair for Xi in the neighboring village, who wants..."

Meng Tianchu: "I heard that the eldest daughter of the Xi family is a maid for a young lady in Xi's mansion?" ”

"Yes, that girl doesn't talk much, she is very honest and responsible."

Meng Tianchu: "I heard that when the girl died..."

Before Meng Tianchu finished speaking, he saw that the person hurriedly interrupted Meng Tianchu's words and said, "As for when Lotus died, I don't know, I don't know anything." ”

Meng Tianchu saw that the man's face changed, and felt strange, and said, "You were neighbors at that time, you don't know how to do this?" ”

"When... I wasn't in the walled village at that time, I went out, and when I came back, even the mourning hall had been burned down, and the mound had been built. ”

Meng Tianchu: "Okay, then I won't ask this, then do you know what the name of the young lady served by the Xi family's daughters is and where she is now?" ”

The man thought for a moment and said, "It's Mrs. Xi's granddaughter, called Miss Yue'er, I haven't seen her for several years, and I don't know where she is now." ”

Meng Tianchu: "How many years are you?" ”

"I... I really can't remember, maybe three or four years. ”

Meng Tianchu: "You mean that as soon as the Xi family's daughter died, you didn't see Miss Yue'er, right?" ”

"Big... Probably. ”

Meng Tianchu felt that this case became more and more bizarre the more he asked, and after the man left, Xiao Nuo said, "Why don't we ask Li Zheng or the patriarch?" ”

Jian Ning smiled: "I'm afraid these two people can't ask anything." ”

Meng Tianchu: "If we can't ask, we have to ask." ”