The old man was not indifferent to his daughter's arrival, Zhang Luo asked his daughter to stay for dinner, and also told his grandchildren to prepare to eat. Xue Wu didn't have a deep impression of the three nephews, but it was always blood and family, looking at them, he could think of the second brother who died on the battlefield and the eldest brother who was still in prison, and it was inevitable that a kind of maternal care would be born in his heart, and he pulled the three children to wash his hands.

The three children were obviously a little afraid of Xue Wu, so they kept hiding back, calling their grandfather in their mouths, Xue Wenbi waved his hand and said, "That's your aunt, what's so terrible about your own flesh and blood relatives?" Go with it, do what your aunt tells you to do, who dares to be disobedient and smash his P shares! ”

Fan Jin and the people who came with him naturally retreated outside, and someone had already run to buy food, but Xue Wenbi did not stop him, and looked at Fan Jin and said: "In the past, when I was in Jiangnan, I saw a lot of scholars like Master Fan. In this place, people like you don't read much. There are a few people who read here, and the children of these military guards only know how to kill people with knives since they were children, and they don't know the truth of being a human being. As it continues from generation to generation, the place becomes more and more barbaric, and the gap with the southeast is getting wider and wider. If some scholars like Mr. Fan are willing to come here and teach children the principles of being human beings, there will be hope here. ”

Fan Jin smiled, "I'm afraid that they will not adapt to the soil and water after they come." Either bullied by the locals, or had their heads cut off by the Tartars. When fighting, you will be caught at the head of the city to help defend it, and it will eventually be consumed in vain. A character like the old man who is willing to be martial can only be encountered. ”

As he spoke, he glanced and found stone slabs in the courtyard, as well as some sand and wicker, which Xue Wenbi used to teach his grandson to write. No matter how affected the old man is in the border area, he is a Confucian general in his bones after all, and he will not let him throw away all the moral articles he has learned because he has lived in the border area for a few years.

After all, it is a person who has been a commander, and he will not be so confused that he thinks that skilled martial arts is a good soldier, and the old man who knows that articles are more powerful than swords will naturally not give up the work of teaching children culture. And in a strict sense, a few more scholars here in Yanghebao can't actually change the overall situation, and what the old man wants may not be as simple as a scholar.

Xue Wenbi followed Fan Jin's gaze, and then nodded: "Yes, the old man will teach these little things to read when he has time, but they are old and their energy is not as good as before." There are too many things to worry about, and I can't take care of the children's teaching. Poor dolls. I want to read a book, but I can't find a teacher. Datong is only a hundred miles away from here, not only there are health studies but also teachings, and every few years there will be a few people who show people. It's only a little more than a hundred miles, and it's a world of difference, and God is too bitter for the dolls here. ”

Fan Jin said: "After several governors of Xuanda, no one wants to establish a health school here? ”

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't build it. The governors and ministers are all pillars of the country, how can they not know the use of poetry and books? If a person does not read and write, he will not understand the truth, and he will not know right and wrong in his heart. Ordinary people don't understand the reason, they often defy the law by doing nonsense, and the martial artists have swords in their hands, if they don't understand the reason, they will break the rules, and the world will be in chaos. Naturally, the governors don't want to see that step, but it's one thing to see it, and it's another thing to be able to manage it. The environment here is too bad, and it's too difficult to build a health school......"

As soon as he said this, there was a sudden commotion outside the door, and several guards walked in and said in Fan Jin's ear: "The bastard who whistled at Aunt Xue was tied up, and he said that he wanted to plead guilty to Old Man Xue in person." Subordinates don't dare to call the shots without permission......"

"Let people in. This is not our place, don't just stop people. ”

After a while, I saw that the big man was bare-chested, puffing out his muscles, and was pushed in a big tie, with a wooden stick behind his back. As soon as he walked in, he shouted: "Old man Xue, I, Li Biao, am not human, I didn't know that you had such a beautiful daughter, and I didn't know that she came back to see you and blew a few whistles at her." Your old man is casually dropped, even if you kill me, you won't have anything to say. ”

Xue Wenbi asked two words, and then snatched the wooden stick, and he didn't see how hard he used, his hands were divided left and right, and his legs did not move, and the thick wooden stick was broken into two, and then he pulled it casually, and the thick hemp rope was untied. Xue Wenbi immediately kicked the big man in a somersault and scolded: "Blind Li, if you don't change your temperament, you birdman will give away your life sooner or later." You still learned this method from me, don't use it in front of my eyes, I don't know you yet? A body of iron bones, three knives and seven arrows from a Tartar are not killed, and a wooden stick tickles you? I really want to ask for sin, next time I will carry a mace! You have this time, keep an eye on the kiln, the bricks are not burning well these days, but you have to be careful, otherwise something will happen. ”

Li Biao stood up with a smile, looked at Fan Jin again, and then looked at Xue Wenbi: "Old man, now that your daughter has met a nobleman, do you still need to worry about burning bricks?" ”

"Fuck off! No matter how much you dare to talk nonsense, the old man will tear you apart with one hand. If you can't burn a good brick in three days, I'll stuff you into the kiln and burn it! Xue Wenbi scolded a few words and scolded this Li Biao away, before he said to Fan Jin: "This birdman is thirty-four years old and has not yet married, so he is greedy when he sees a woman." There is no way, there are more men and fewer women in this place, and women try their best to run out, but women outside are reluctant to come, so many people can't get wives. In fact, he was a good hand at war, and all the things he lacked were lost in the hands of the Tartars. In the end, it was not until he could not be a soldier that he came here to burn bricks. When it rained, the wounds on his body flare-up, and he screamed in pain all night, but in the turn of the day, he could still pat his chest and brag, all the injuries on his body were in the front, and there were no injuries in the back, and this one could blow for a lifetime. ”

Fan Jin nodded, "The environment here is too hard, and it is really not appropriate for Zheng Luo to arrange the old man here." ”

"It's not Zheng Junmen's fault. At the beginning, Second Brother Mei transferred our whole family from Shaanxi to take refuge and settled us to live in the city. On the side of the kiln factory, they are all old and weak soldiers in the military guards, and they can't fight in the battle array, so they come here to burn bricks. This Yanghe Fort is in Hongwu 31 years, by the Zhongshan King Xu Lao Chitose presided over the bricks, with rammed earth inside and bread bricks outside, until now for many years, not to say that it is bricks, even the iron has already rusted over. Therefore, the purpose of building this kiln factory is to burn bricks and replace them, and repair the city wall. But now this city wall is afraid that it is not a matter of repair, and it has to be moved once, and at this time the Tartars are going to make trouble...... God is against us. The old man finally knows more than these rough billets, and it is better to be able to do something on the kiln than to have a casual meal at home, and besides, he can also atone for Wenlong. ”

Fan Jin said: "Old man, do you also believe that your brother-in-law is guilty?" ”

"His son knows that if he dares to rape the people's daughter, he will not do it. But after cutting off a few Tartar heads, and having a few more rewards in hand, he was going to eat and drink, which was definitely his doing. Originally, he and Changce went to Datong to send money to the family of Pao Ze, who died in battle, but he ran to find a woman, which is also why he killed himself and did not blame others. ”

"Old Taishan, I heard that my brother-in-law is a woman who has provoked the acting king's mansion?"

Xue Wenbi waved his hand, "Master doesn't have to be polite. Old decay is a sinful body, and he never dares to climb the officials. Lao Taishan said, don't mention it, otherwise the old man won't dare to talk to the old man. When the old man was in Jiangnan, he also thought that the children of the clan were all rich and noble people, but it was not until he came here that he knew that he was very wrong. The prince and the prince are naturally rich and noble, and it is difficult to say when they get to the bottom. Some people are rich, while others are poor, and they are no better than beggars. ”

At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang did not allow the clan to communicate with the four people, that is, the clan was not allowed to engage in any work, and all expenses came from fields and rice. In the Wanli period, the scale of the clan's iniquity was huge, and it had become a cancer in the Ming Dynasty. For example, Shanxi has a total population of more than 5 million, and there are more than 40,000 clan personnel on the register, and almost 100 people are in charge of a clan. As far as the clan is concerned, there is also a serious division, and there are huge differences in the state of existence.

The rice is distributed to the first floor of the vassal king, and the generals, lieutenants, and so on below all receive the rice from the vassal king. The vassal king is close to the water, and he naturally makes a windfall, and he can make a rich fortune with the county king and the pro-branch faction. The really unlucky is the small sect of the Yuanzhi, who has no voice in the imperial court, and can't find a place to protest, and Lu Mi is detained and has no place to reason. On the surface, although he is a descendant of the Heavenly Family, he is actually subject to the subordinates of the palace.

Limited by status, these people cannot do any work, and if they do not get rice, they can only starve to death. Even in the Wanli period, there were already some people who secretly ran out of the domain, secretly concealed their names and worked as homeless people to make a living, or simply inherited the ancestral inheritance and picked up the dog beating stick to become beggars.

The same is true of the female clans, although they are institutionally given land and rice after receiving their names. However, when it comes to the women of the clan at the grassroots level, this system is also difficult to implement, subject to the exploitation of the officials and the oppression of the clan, many women from far and weak clans cannot get their names when they reach their twenties, and they cannot get dowries and cannot marry, and they become old girls. More serious than marital problems is the problem of eating. Without a name, there is no Lumi, and it is very difficult to survive in a place like Shanxi.

Some desperate women are forced to exchange the most primitive human methods for living rations, and some people are also happy to patronize with the mentality of trying golden branches and jade leaves. Everyone tacitly keeps it a secret, otherwise no one will have to play.

According to Xue Wenbi, his son obviously found such a woman after drinking, and then was caught by the clan. As for why there is still a Xue Changce at the scene...... The reason is also simple, save money. After all, the border troops are all bitter haha, and they must be careful to do this kind of thing, and they can save a little bit. The design factor in this can be seen by fools, but the problem is that it is useless to see it. The Xue family was originally assigned to serve in the border land, and Xue Wenlong also had a case record of beating the children of the clan in Shaanxi, but the administrative system and scientific and technological level of the Ming Dynasty determined that his wanted service in Shaanxi would not affect his meritorious service in Shanxi. But if this matter is big, and even Shaanxi gets the news, it will really be as simple as killing more than one Xue Wenlong.

Xue Wenbi raised the water bowl towards Fan Jin. "There are poor people here, and they can't afford to buy good wine to honor the lord, and even this water is not good water. But the only thing we have but a faithful heart is this water. I don't know if the old man can promise the old man one thing after drinking this water. ”

"Old Tai...... If the old man has something to say, he just has to tell him, and he doesn't have to be polite. ”

"If it's convenient for the eldest master, can you save Changce's life. He is different from Wenlong, he is the only son in the family, and he has been married, but his wife died in childbirth, and he has two lives, and he has no heirs until now. If he is beheaded, his house will be cut off from incense. In addition, although the woman of the Mei family did something wrong, her father and I were sworn brothers, and she also died on the battlefield for the imperial court. If she is allowed to enter the happy household, I am afraid that her dead ghost Lao Tzu will have no light on her face, even if she thinks of her father's military exploits, it should not be like this. ”

"It's nature. I won't let Mei's be a happy household, and I won't let my brother-in-law and Xiao Changce be beheaded. However, there are some places that the younger generation doesn't know very well, the environment in Datong is so bad, even the clan has to rely on that way to make a living? ”

Xue Wenbi didn't answer this question, only looked at Fan Jin, and then said: "Wu'er and I have been separated for many years, I want her to eat at home tonight and stay for one night, what if the eldest master doesn't know what to do?" ”

"As it should be. The younger generation also has to beg for food in the old-timers' house. ”

Xue Wenbi was noncommittal, and only nodded. Fan Jin accompanied him to say a few words, and at this time, several mothers-in-law in the kiln factory had already come to Xue's house to help Xue Wenbi take care of the meal. Looking at the two laughing looks, the relationship is very close, and each other is like a family. Fan Jinchuan ordered to go, and the servants went out to buy rice and grain, and transported ten stones of grain in one go, and feasted the residents of the entire kiln factory to eat and drink.

When there is more rice and grain, there is not enough manpower. The residents of the entire kiln factory who are not working are moving, helping to operate, or carrying water or raising fires, and are very busy. Fan Jin said: "It's really a shame that the meat preparation is limited in eagerness. ”

Xue Wenbi shook his head and said: "Wine and meat are all for men who fight, and everyone here knows that it is enough for those who do not go into battle to have a full meal." Others, no one picks on. The old man can also borrow the light of the old man to let them eat a full meal. During this time, everyone worked hard, but they could still only eat five points full, and the eldest man helped me a lot. With this full meal, maybe tomorrow the bricks will be burned. The eldest lord can ask his subordinates how much silver they spent on these rice grains, and then they can know what kind of life everyone is living. ”

The people here in Fan Jin have never cared about the price of grain, and they will never lose money if they go to Shanxi anyway. When Fan Jin asked, Zhang Tiejian, who was in charge of procurement, said: "The grain here is more expensive than Datong, and you can buy one stone for one or two or eight dollars." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman who was burning wood on the side hurriedly said, "One or two or eight dollars? At this time, how did the price of food fall. This uncle, you are doing well, can you even a bucket and a half bucket of food, my fourth child is still young, and he shouts hunger to me all day long. I can't help it, as long as I can let him eat a few full meals, I am willing to do anything. ”