Dinner in the West Building, the bronze goose fish lamp in the dining room emits a soft yellow light, there is a bordered reed mat on the ground, Chen's mother Li is sitting in the north, in front of him is a five-foot-long golden silk Nanmu food table, Chen Caozhi, Chen Zongzhi, Chen Run'er knelt on both sides of the Nanmu case in turn, there are four dishes on the case: celery, tofu, carp, xunder (that is, wax meat), and there is a yellow roll soup, and the yellow roll is the soybean sprouts.

The cooking of four dishes and one soup is very simple, there are no ingredients, but the original flavor is very delicious.

Chen's mother, Li, is very particular about Confucian etiquette, and even six-year-old Chen Run'er sits upright, chews slowly, and tries not to make a sound.

Although the dinner under the goose fish lamp is quiet, there is a kind of warmth, and the feeling of a family gathering together to dine is really beautiful.

There was a sound of rain outside the building, it was the rain in the south of the Yangtze River in April.

Chen's mother Li ate very little, put down her chopsticks after eating half a bowl of wheat porridge, smiled and watched her son, grandson, and granddaughter eat wheat rice, and saw that the juniors ate sweetly than she ate herself, especially tonight, this family seems to have some kind of gratifying change -

Chen Caozhi felt his mother's loving gaze, he was a little embarrassed, he had already served three bowls of wheat rice, and it seemed that he hadn't eaten, and he only smelled incense for three months, so he was really hungry.

Chen's mother Li smiled and said: "Ugly, you eat more, you are now an adult, and you are the pillar of the Chen family in the West Building." ”

Chen Caozhi chewed and swallowed the wheat rice in his mouth, and bowed slightly: "My son will not disappoint my mother." ”

Run'er's eyes with a pair of sheared eyes were dripping, she wanted to speak, then she saw her grandmother and uncle open their mouths one after another, she understood that she could whisper a word or two now, the little girl looked at Chen Caozhi's right hand holding chopsticks, opened her eyes and exclaimed quietly: "Grandmother, Uncle Ugly is holding chopsticks with his right hand!" ”

At this moment, Chen's mother, Li and Chen Zongzhi, both looked at Chen Caozhi's right hand holding chopsticks, and they were all full of surprise.

Chen Caozhi's forehead was slightly sweaty, the young man who fused with his soul was a left-hander, eating and writing with his left hand, he didn't pay attention for a while, and habitually held chopsticks with his right hand, no wonder he felt that his right hand was so clumsy.

"Run'er is careful and sharp-eyed." Chen Caozhi laughed and said: "My mother has always taught me to hold chopsticks with my right hand, so that it is etiquette, but I always can't change it, and this time I am determined to change it - mother, my son is holding chopsticks in his right hand okay?" ”

Chen's mother, Li Shixi, said: "Very good, although it is not flexible enough, as long as you insist on using your right hand, you will become proficient, and you must change to your right hand when you practice calligraphy every day." ”

After dinner, Zeng Yuhuan came to clean up the dishes and chopsticks and went downstairs, and after a while, he came up and said to Chen's mother Li: "Mastermother, my family has something to say to my mother-in-law and Xiaolangjun." For some reason, Zeng Yuhuan had a sad face, as if he had troubles.

Chen's mother Li said: "Call Laifu to come up." ”

The calloused and honest and loyal Laifu came to the dining room on the third floor, respectfully saluted Chen's mother Li, and then knelt outside the reed mat, looking a little hesitant, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke: "Mastermother, Xiaolangjun, Laifu heard something just now, and Laifu's family is very worried——"

Thirteen years ago, when Chen Su, Chen Caozhi's father, came to Chenjiawu, in addition to his wife Zeng Yuhuan, there were three sons, and the three sons only had nicknames at that time, which were the big names that Chen Su gave them, namely Laigui, Laizhen, and Laide-

Lai Gui is twenty-one years old this year, married the daughter of a nearby tenant family, Lai Zhen is eighteen years old, is a good strong man, a good farmer, Lai De is sixteen years old, short forehead and thick lips, as simple as his father Laifu, is Chen Caozhi's playmate since childhood.

Chen Su and his wife Li are kind, they take great care of the Laifu family, the Laifu family has been to Chenjiawu, although the daily work is hard, but it can be rich in food and clothing, compared with the days when the beacon fire in Huaibei is in the sky, the day is not safe, this is simply a fairyland, so the Laifu family and the Chen family in the West Building can be said to be the master and servant of the deep righteousness.

Chen's mother, Li, asked: "What are you worried about, is it too heavy for the Huang tenant family to ask for the dowry?" Don't worry about this, how many old women will make up for the shortage of dowry for you. ”

Laifu's second son, Lai Zhen, was recently discussing marriage with the daughter of the Huang tenant family, and Chen's mother Li thought that Laifu was worried about the dowry.

Laifu was so grateful that he almost cried, and said, "Master, Laifu is not for the sake of shock. ”

Chen's mother, Li, let out an "oh" and asked, "What's the matter?" Don't rush, Blessing, speak slowly. ”

Laifu said: "Laifu heard that this inspection in July is stricter than in previous years, and homeless people like Laifu father and son will be sent to Qiaozhou, receive official land for cultivation, pay rent and taxes and serve miscellaneous labor——"

Speaking of which, Laifu is so sad that he can't go on, although he will make up a household registration in Qiaozhou, he will receive the official land, and he is considered a free commoner, but the layers of the official officials are stripped of the free people, and the free people are often not as good as the tenants who cultivate for the big clans, and the tenants have the big clans as backers, as long as they pay the rent and serve according to the law, the traitors and cunning Xu do not dare to rip excessively, the problem is that Laifu can not be regarded as a tenant, the tenants are registered, Laifu is a homeless person, and there is no household registration, the same does not have to pay taxes and serve in the government, the eight officials have the right to have a shade household, but because the Qian Tang Chen family is not a scholar family, so once the official is dismissed or dies, his shadow household must be returned to the government to re-naturalize, and now Chen Su has died for five years, Chen Qingzhi has died for almost three years, and no one in the Qian Tang Chen family can shelter the Laifu family.

Chen's mother Li Shi was silent, and she was very sad, but she couldn't do anything about this kind of thing, so she had to comfort Laifu and said: "Don't worry too much, didn't you also check the registration in the first two years, and then send more money and silk to the lieutenant in charge of the county inspection will be confused." ”

Laifu and Zeng Yuhuan were slightly relieved, and Laifu said: "The kindness of the housemother, it is difficult for the Laifu family to repay them for being cattle and horses——"

Chen's mother Li waved her hand: "Okay, come and bless you to go down, these days you have to often go outside to inquire about the inspection, if there are variables, the old woman should also be prepared in advance." ”

After Laifu retreated, Zeng Yuhuan went to prepare water for Chen's mother and the four of them to bathe.

Chen Caozhi has been listening quietly to the dialogue between his mother and Laifu, and sighed in his heart: "In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there is no power, no power, no status, and even my own subordinates can't shelter it, my Qian Tang Chen family is really declining, and now it is less than 100 days before the July inspection, what proper way can I, a fifteen-year-old boy, come up with to help the Laifu family?" ”

I only heard my mother sigh and said: "If you really have no choice, you have to go and ask for money Tang Ding's family, and you can't let the Laifu family go out." ”

Qian Tang Ding is the mother of Zongzhi and Run'er, Qian Tang Ding thought he was a third-class scholar family, looked down on the Hanmen Shu family, and married Ding Youwei to Chen Qingzhi, first, because Chen Qingzhi's father Chen Su was the county of Wuxing County at the time; The second is that Chen Qing's character is handsome and talented, and Lu Na, the Taishou of Wuxing County and the Dazhong Zheng, rated Chen Qingzhi as the seventh product according to the nine-product Zhongzheng system——

The nine-product zhongzheng system is the basis for the selection of officials formulated by Emperor Cao Pi of Wei Wen Emperor at the suggestion of Chen Qun of Shangshu Ling, and its criteria are three: family background, morality and talent, which are divided into nine grades, the first grade is a saint, because no one in the world dares to claim to be the first grade, so the second grade is the highest grade, and the following three grades are the lower grades.

The family background is generally only about the county and the ancestral officials, the ancestral home of the Qiantang Chen family is Yingchuan, and the county is very prominent, but since the Yellow Turban Rebellion moved to Qiantang County, Wuxing County, the three generations are only low-grade officials, powerless and powerless, so that they are excluded from the scholar clan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty spy ranking, only a small landlord of the Shu clan, and the most important family background of the two Jin Dynasty, so although Chen Qingzhi's morality and talent are outstanding, because of his humble family background, it is already the limit to be rated as the seventh grade.

Chen Qun, the Shangshu of Wei Guo, who launched the Jiupin Zhongzheng system to envelop the Shi clan, was from the Yingchuan Chen family, but he didn't expect his descendants to be excluded from the Shi clan, alas!

Because of Wuxing County's appreciation of Lu Na, Chen Qingzhi's reputation has been greatly enhanced, since he has been rated as the seventh in the township, it is a matter of course to be an official below the seventh grade in the future, the patriarch of the Ding clan is interested in Chen Qingzhi, and because the Ding family and the Chen family both believe in the way of the heavenly master, so they were tempted to marry the famous beauty Ding Youwei of Qian Tang to Chen Qingzhi, after all, although there are very few high-ranking officials in the Shu family, but it is not nothing, and the big Sima Taokan is also from a poor family.

But the Ding family soon regretted it, the marriage between the Gaomen clan and the Shu clan was a very humiliating thing, and the reputation of the Ding family in Qiantang County and Wuxing County plummeted, but Ding Youwei had already married out, and it was irretrievable, and Ding Youwei and Chen Qingzhi were deeply in love, and they couldn't persuade her to divorce.

Unfortunately, Chen Qingzhi left his wife and children behind when he served as the magistrate of Haiyu County three years ago, at the age of twenty-six, the Ding clan immediately took Ding Youwei back to Qiantang, Ding Youwei was only twenty-three years old that year, although he was already the mother of two children, but the beauty is still the same, Chu Chu is moving, the Ding clan wants Ding Youwei to remarry, want to get rid of the Chen family's marriage-

Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, because of the war, Ding Zhuang died a lot, in order to increase the population, the law of etiquette gave way to the survival of the country, widows remarry is a very common thing, will not be criticized, the royal princess also remarried, but Ding Youwei would rather die than marry, and the Ding family wants to climb other clans and can't climb, and they disdain to be lower than them, so Ding Youwei has been widowed in his mother's house, and the Ding clan only agrees to let her see her children in April every year, not to go back to Chenjiawu, but to send someone to take Zong Zhi and Run'er quietly to Qian Tang, and send them back after living in Ding Mansion for a few days.

……

Chen's mother Li asked: "Chou'er, at the end of the month, I want to send Zongzhi and Run'er to the county to meet with his mother, do you want to go together?" ”

Chen Caozhi said: "Of course the child has to go, in addition to taking care of Zongzhi and Run'er, the child also wants to have a little more knowledge." ”

Chen's mother, Li, was slightly surprised when she saw that Chen Caozhi had agreed happily, and said, "Ugly, aren't you worried that the Ding family will despise you?" "The year before last, Chen Caozhi went to Qiantang Ding Mansion once, and when he came back, he was very angry and said that he would never go to Ding Mansion again.

Chen Caozhi smiled and said: "Mother, I took my nephew and niece to visit my sister-in-law, as long as my sister-in-law is good to us, as for other people's faces, why care!" ”

Chen's mother, Li, was greatly relieved: "My ugly child has really grown up, and he is as free and easy as your brother." He sighed lightly: "Alas, your sister-in-law is indeed a good sister-in-law!" It's a pity that Qing's life is thin-"

Chen Caozhi said: "My sister-in-law doesn't want to remarry, so I'll find a way to bring my sister-in-law back this time, so that I can take care of Zongzhi and Run'er, and I can also be with my mother. ”

Chen's mother Li shook her head and said: "The Ding clan refuses to let Xiaowei come back, ugly son, you must not argue with them, our Chen clan can't compete with their Ding clan, you must not be reckless in your youthful spirit, do you hear?" ”

Chen Caozhi agreed: "The child knows, the child will not let the mother worry." Heart said: "In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the background of this family is very important, I remember there is a saying called 'the upper grade has no cold family, and the lower grade has no scholar clan', I Chen Caozhi is now from a poor family, doesn't this make me inferior everywhere?" ”

……

It was late at night, Chen Caozhi couldn't sleep, he browsed the books in the study on the left side of the bedroom, and read the "Analects" annotated by Ma Rong from beginning to end, and now he was in a thousand years ago, and he had a wonderful understanding of this Confucian classic, he knew that the Eastern Jin Dynasty had a saying that "poor Confucianism, noble Confucianism", Confucianism is Confucius and Mencius, Xuan is Lao Zhuang, he is now a poor man, naturally he must be proficient in one or two Confucian classics, and he must win a good reputation in the county, county, and even the state, so that he can be appreciated by Dazhongzheng, who is responsible for the selection system of nine products, can enter the list of nine grades like his brother Chen Qingzhi and get a low-grade official position-

A good reputation is very important, how to get a good reputation in the shortest possible time? The people of the Wei and Jin dynasties don't appreciate the kind of honest people who follow the rules, and the records in "The New Language of the World" are all vast and timeless, maverick celebrities and gentlemen.

Chen Caozhi slowly studied the ink, and then held a hairpin pen, practiced calligraphy on a side of Zuobo paper, the Eastern Jin Dynasty people were extremely fond of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, Xie An's calligraphy added great charm to their personalities, it can be said that if you want to get ahead in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, you can't write a good hand, you don't need to talk about it.

The boy was originally accustomed to holding a pen with his left hand, and copied the most well-known sticker "Declaration Table" of the great calligrapher Zhong Xuan of the Three Kingdoms in the late Han Dynasty.

Chen Cao's predecessor also loved calligraphy, the most admired calligrapher is Ouyang Xun, during the university he had three years like a day early three times a day to copy Ouyang Xun's "Zhang Han Si Perch Sticker", a little with its charm, as for Zhong Xuan's "Declaration Table" he also copied, the real work has been lost at that time, what has been handed down is Wang Xizhi's copy of the engraved copy, and now this copy is the brother Chen Qingzhi in Wu County Lu Na Mansion treasured Lu Ji copy of the "Declaration Table" on the basis of the copy, this is like hearsay, it is inevitable to be distorted.

It is said that Zhong Xiang got Cai Yong's calligraphy secret decision after the calligraphy made a big progress, and then passed it to Mrs. Wei, Mrs. Wei passed on to Wang Xizhi, Wang Xizhi is the most famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and even the later millennium, born in Langya Wang's top door valve, is a super celebrity, therefore, copying Zhong Xuan's "Declaration Table" can be traced back to the source, in-depth understanding of the essence of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy.

Chen Caozhi made up his mind, and the regular script started with Zhong Xuan's "Declaration Table", and the book drew on Ouyang Xun's "Zhang Hansi Perch Sticker" and Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Collection Preface" -

Also, he wants to practice the stunt of writing with both left and right hands, and if he wants to be famous in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he must be surprising and new, so in the future, he will practice the italic "Declaration Table" with his left hand and the book "Zhang Hansi Perch Sticker" with his right hand.

On this rainy night, Chen Caozhi was thinking: "I have the forward-looking advantage of a traverser, I can write fresh and gratifying prose, my painting skills are ahead of the contemporary, Go has the strength of amateur strong three paragraphs, and I have traveled all over China, I can be said to be well-informed, the most important thing is that I am only fifteen years old now, I can carry out targeted learning, metaphysics, Confucianism, calligraphy, music, I can learn, do not believe in learning and not refined, of course, I can't keep learning, time is not waiting, to become famous as soon as possible." ”

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