The spacious ancestral hall compound of the Xu family in Taiping was lively again early in the morning. A few idle clansmen were carrying tables, chairs and benches there, and at the same time discussing what the ancestral hall was for today, but they couldn't get the point. Just when they were arguing about whether the clan priests should send money and food to the stalls, or whether the public middle school sacrificed fields to help the orphans and poor in the clan, or whether they wanted to praise or reprimand which family was virtuous or unscrupulous, a sneer of disdain came from behind several people.

"If it's really for such a trivial matter, the patriarch of the fourth elder has visited a family elder as if he could turn around, and he still runs to the house of the sixth elder every day? The day before yesterday, when the minister Ping Beibo arrived at the Jinchuanmen Wharf outside Nanjing, he didn't know how many officials ran to greet him, and the sixth old man finally occupied a seat, and the fourth old man didn't even show his face, let alone drink a glass of wine at the reception banquet. Look at it, today must be the fourth old man who wants to discuss this matter with everyone. Thinking about the things caused by the old man who died at the beginning, now it is going to affect us and make a low noise to people! ”

Hearing this, several people immediately looked at each other. I thought that Xu Xun lost his family property and left the house, and then recognized his ancestors and returned to his ancestors, how this person will have nothing to do with the Xu family in Taipingli in the future, who knew that there would be such earth-shaking changes in the blink of an eye in two years. Soon after the father and son of the Xu family arrived in Beijing, the old son was first named an earl, followed by his son and then a commander, and he went out to fight a battle and came back to be the same earl, and he was a son of heaven. This kind of rare miracle in ancient times actually happened to that kind of loser!

So, when the Xu clan people came one after another, this kind of talk immediately spread around. Although some people are not angry in their hearts, there are also people who hope to be able to climb the high branches to get some benefits, until the patriarch Xu Si Lao Ye and Xu Zhen and other clan elders arrive together, and the four miles gradually quiet.

And those clansmen who were not angry at the beginning, seeing that Xu Xun was nowhere to be seen, finally felt better. However, when the fourth elder Xu sat on the main seat in the middle and then said those words, the upper and lower sides immediately exploded.

"The Xu family in Taiping has gone through ups and downs several times, and now it has been more than 100 years. The Yu Yin of the Ancestral Sect has enjoyed these many years, but there have been no outstanding talents, but they are withering day by day, and now there are not many people who have even passed the examination to show their talents, and the name laid by the ancestor has been exhausted for our future generations! Therefore, I have summoned all of you people here today to do the work of persuasion. I have discussed with the old deacons of the clan, including the sixth brother, that from today onwards, the clan will be reorganized, and in addition, the famous teachers will be invited, and each family will come up with a sum of money and grain, and in the future, the clan will subsidize thirty taels of silver every year for each talent in the examination. And if you win the exam, the clan will subsidize sixty taels of silver every year. ”

There are only three Xiucai in the Xu family in Taipingli, and when they heard this, the three families were naturally overjoyed, while the rest of the families stood up and asked questions after the initial surprise. Some people say that the subsidy is too high, some say that the stalls are unreasonable, some question the accounts, and some coax them there, saying that if those talented people can't pass the test, won't it be a waste of everyone's money and food. Just in the midst of the commotion, a voice suddenly came from outside.

"Patriarch, ladies and gentlemen, a big sedan chair was parked outside the ancestral hall."

With this voice, Old Master Xu Si immediately lifted his spirits, and ignored the noisy clansmen and Old Master Xu Liu, and then looked at the old deacons of other clans. Seeing that everyone was happy, he walked ahead with a nod. With the high power of these elders, the others didn't care about shouting there, and they all followed. When they got outside, they saw these bigwigs in the clan bowing in front of the green sedan chair, and greeted a young man in a red splendid palace robe with a smile, and everyone couldn't help but be stunned, and then someone exclaimed. ..., "It's the little seven in the second room!" ”

"Wai Xiaoqi, don't hurry up and shut up, people are now big officials...... Bigger than Ying Tianfu Yin! ”

This straightforward description is enough to silence most people, plus Xu Xun is not as simple as when the official ship arrived in Nanjing today, the hat with jade tops and jade beads, the robe embroidered with red silk and silk, and the jade belt around his waist, naturally revealing majesty between his expectations, which makes people dare not force his eyes. Even the person who was worried about losing face and making amends at the beginning of the complaint, he unconsciously lowered his head at this time, let alone said those complaints.

"Am I late?"

"It's not too late, it's not too late, Uncle came just right, and he just started to say a charter."

Hearing what the fourth elder Xu said, Xu Xun nodded, and entered surrounded by several elders of the Xu family. When he arrived at the front of the ancestral hall, he saw that he had already packed up the Taishi chair with a tiger pattern on the back of the Huanghuali screen and a tiger pattern cushion, he glanced at the distance from the main seat, and then ordered the chair to be moved down a few steps, and then stepped forward and sat down. As soon as he sat like this, Xu Si and Xu Zhen led the other clansmen to give birth. This time, Xu Si spoke again and continued the topic just now.

"Just now someone said that there are too many offerings, and each family has a big burden, I might as well make a clear statement to you here, this is all Pingbeibo does not forget the old feelings, so he just proposed, he is willing to help eight hundred taels a year! As for saying that if you don't pass the test, you can't go on for the rest of your life, I have discussed it with my sixth brother and other brothers and uncles, and Xiucai can get a total of eight years of support within the fourth class every year. Lifting people to take four subjects in a row, that is, twelve years of offerings. If it doesn't work out in the future, you are either willing to teach in a museum, or you are willing to become an instructor, or even willing to devote yourself to studying and learning, and your support will be halved until you die. As for the clan studies, Pingbei Bo agreed and was willing to ask Lord Jiuzhang of the South Priest to recommend two people who were both strong in conduct and knowledge to be gentlemen. ”

Seeing that he was quiet for a while, as if he was stunned by this great news, Xu Si thought that this would become the long-term virtue and politics of his Ren clan, and he couldn't help but become more and more excited: "Over the years, only the sixth brother of the Xu family in our Taiping has been the most promising, and now he has reached the seventh grade, and then he can seal his wife and son, and glorify our Xu family." Now there are a lot of school-age children in each family, so they should be allowed to study hard and advance in the imperial examination, if they can build another Jinshi archway in our Taiping one day, what a glorious thing! Pingbei Bo can ignore the past suspicions, and make such a big effort to the Xu family, as the patriarch, such a righteous act should not be left behind, and I will pledge one hundred taels of help every year in the future! ”

Xu Zhen also followed and said, "I will also give a hundred taels!" ”

There are only three Xiucai in the clan now, and the total expenditure is less than one hundred taels of silver, even those who don't know how to count can also think of how big the money will be in the future. Thinking about the benefits of being able to show off a talent in your own family, for a while, whenever there are children studying in the clan, it is often you who recognize five taels and I recognize three taels, and in the end, Xu Si asked people to write a note, and the number has reached 1,200 taels a year. And Xu Xun followed up with a sentence that made him even more happy.

"I heard that there are only three Xiucai in the Xu family now, and I am afraid that this money will not be spent in three or five years. Rather than putting it away, it is better to put it in an industry to earn interest, and it is also good to help the orphans and poor in the tribe. Of course, those who study ethnicity will also be provided with this money for books, pen, ink, paper, and inkstones in the future. Of course, this is not in vain, if you fish for three days and dry your nets for two days in the clan study, just because you covet that little income to go to school, once the two gentlemen find out, they will be expelled immediately. If the Xu clan wants to regain its reputation in Taipingli, what is needed is not a harmonious atmosphere, but a real reading atmosphere in the clan, so that those who are dedicated to learning do not have to suffer from the fees. Otherwise, just like the Changfang back then, he only wanted to get involved in other people's property, and only wanted to benefit himself, regardless of the life or death of the clan, it would only be farther and farther away from the scholarly family! Although he is no longer a member of the Xu family in Taipingli, Xu Xun's words are so loud that no one dares to refute them. After leaving the last sentence, Xu Xun slowed down and said in a calm tone: "Although I now recognize my ancestors and return to my ancestors and become famous, after all, I was born and grew up in Taiping since I was a child, and I can't watch Xu's reputation get worse day by day!" What's more, I can't write two Xu characters in one stroke, I only hope that the Xu family can really prosper. In this way, it is not worth the adoptive father's many years of support for me! ”

Xu Xun's words were sincere, and at the moment, those clansmen who originally went out for three or five taels were all more or less moved, not to mention the three families who had talents at home, all of them stepped forward to thank Xu Xun sincerely. After all, scholars don't do anything to produce, and it is already the limit for an ordinary family to support a showman, in the past, when the old man Xu was in charge, even if the so-called scholarship, that is, at the end of the year, he gave an extra three or five taels of silver, and now this good deed is tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow.

Listening to the endless thanks, praises and flattery, listening to these people nagging about how to treat themselves well when they were children in the old days, Xu Xun was stunned in his heart, but his face became more and more gentle, and he waited until Xu Si and Xu Zhen discussed all the details with the others, and they agreed on the same without any backlash, and he got up and said goodbye after completing today's task. This time, when the official sedan chair was put on, thirty or forty people from that clan were sent out in one go, but they were a little more enthusiastic than when they came to greet them before.

Sitting in the green sedan chair that he never sat on weekdays, Xu Xun endured the uncomfortable feeling of dizziness, and waited until he walked two or three streets before he kicked his legs to signal the sedan chair to stop.

Wearing this outfit and pretending, it doesn't quite fit his temperament, and singing this scene is more tiring than anything else! He didn't care about those false feelings, but it was an unexpected surprise to gain a little sincerity. It's just that with this scene, coupled with the previous efforts, those who wanted to lose his reputation were afraid that they would steal chickens and rice, and it would be much easier to open a breakthrough next.

His trip to Nanjing is not just to return to his hometown! He originally went out from Nanjing with a good reputation, and now that he has returned, he has to raise his good name again, otherwise how can he impress people? ）