Last night, Shen Jiayou specially explained to Shen Kan that before entering the county school, he first read the notice in front of the county office.

Shen Kan said unhurriedly: "Back to the master, Taicang has two buckets and eight liters, and two buckets and five liters of the service faction are deducted; Cheung Chau three buckets seven five, deducting three buckets and two liters of service; Changshu three buckets and one eight, deducting two buckets and eight liters of service; Kunshan three buckets and three five, deducting two buckets and nine liters of service, three liters of Jiading, deducting two buckets and seven liters of service. ”

"Hmm." Shen Han nodded with satisfaction and asked, "What do you think?"

"This..."

Shen Kan couldn't help scratching his head a little, thought for a while and said: "This time, the imperial court did not adopt a rough one-size-fits-all approach to local conditions, but took into account the different outputs of various places, and formulated the exemption conditions separately, and the good governance is also sincere."

Shen Han nodded again, and said with some emotion: "Although it is good governance, the disadvantages of the southerners being trapped in food and the northerners being trapped in service cannot be solved. It is a pity that no matter how fertile the field is, it will not exceed seven stones per acre. ”

As long as there is chemical fertilizer, Shen Kan first chattered in his heart, and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, the court is greedy, the people are greedy, although the fields in Suzhou are heavy, the farmers have already had a way to deal with it, and the big guys are in arrears, and after a long time, sooner or later, the saint will issue a decree to reduce it."

"Huh!" Shen Han smiled and asked again, "How much silver is the apportionment of the village conscription this year?"

"It's five hundred taels." Shen Kan's smile disappeared, and he frowned, "The state and county are out of service, and I see that the silver has risen to forty or fifty taels, plus the deputy errand, etc., as well as the sub-cases of the clerk's book and door soap; The village supplies compradors' next journey, furnishings, banquets, etc.; The oil candles of each yamen, the paper of the six rooms, the coils, and the like. Counting all together, the chief promised to give fifty taels and distribute it to our family, which cost one hundred taels, eighty taels for the Zhou family, fifty taels for the Gu family, ten taels for each head family in the village, and the rest was shared by each household, and a household needed at least two taels of silver. ”

Shen Han's face also became very unsightly, and after a long time, he sighed: "The field endowment has decreased, but the apportionment has increased unabated, it really refers to one subject and ten, the fate of A and B, with the supply of one thing and one thing in the government, it will harm the people of Tongfu all over the country!"

After the old man finished asking, he waved his hand like a fly and ordered Shen Kan to retreat, and Shen Kan had to turn around with depression.

As soon as he left, Shen Jiayou said softly: "Father, since Shi'er said that Brother Mu wants to study, then let him go to Yixue, and work hard for a few years to get a child, and also make the third brother and his wife feel relieved, and we will live up to their trust."

Shen Han was silent for a while, and then slowly shook his head: "As the saying goes, people do their best, Brother Mu's serious illness has become weird, and now he is getting better, although his words and deeds are weird, but his temperament seems to have become stable overnight." You see that he is doing things more steadily today than before, who else can rest assured that he can explain? Alas! I think that the Shen family has never lacked reading materials for several generations, and there is a lack of people who can anticipate things, this child should follow Jiaji, and he will assist Shi'er to manage this family well in the future. ”

"Yes." Shen Jiayou stopped talking nonsense.

Who made the Shen family's generation have no shortage of scholars, especially the top early wisdom, Shen Shi, Shen Hua, Shen Wei and the young Shen Zhuo, all of whom were admitted to Tongsheng at the age of ten, which is also rare in the whole Suzhou.

Anyway, there is a gap between comparisons, who made Shen Kan fifteen years old or white, and he may be a reading seed in someone else's house, but what should he do in the Shen family.

Just because of the poor academic performance, it is actually a big step backwards, and Confucianism is not as good as the previous Shen Kan. When the other brothers were fifteen years old, they had a coming-of-age ceremony, and the family paid attention to it, and held a solemn ceremony, during which Shen Han gave his grandson words in public.

When it was Shen Kan's turn, he only told Shen Jiayou to invite a few relatives and friends to have a meal, which was no different from ordinary people's homes, and then scribbled a "Daogu" matter.

After coming out here, Shen Kan was depressed, but he walked quickly to the outer study.

Shen Jiaji, the fourth uncle who was busy directing his family, saw him coming and said, "It's just right, this year you take the little guy to hang the statue of the god of happiness, be careful."

"Got it." Shen Kan got along with the smug fourth uncle more casually, and went out as soon as he agreed.

"Come back!"

"What?"

Shen Jiaji squinted and asked, "Do you have any silver on you?"

"Nope." Shen Kan shook his head.

"You, don't be confused, you're just a hairy kid in the subsection." Shen Jiaji sneered and explained to the people around him, "Give the silver to the fifth child, you can be considered an adult anyway, what should you do if the junior gives you winter greetings?" Don't make people laugh. ”

Because the crown ceremony was too casual and it didn't take it seriously, Shen Kan never realized that it had passed the coming-of-age ceremony.

At this time, I realized that I had to give red envelopes to the underage children, and took the money bag handed by the steward speechlessly, and muttered: "What money did you give if you didn't make money?" I'm poor, why do people laugh at me?"

Shen Jiaji said funny: "Why don't you make money, which month's monthly money is short for you?"

"Monthly money?" Shen Kan smiled bitterly, and couldn't help but complain, "Half of the wages of my four people have gone, and the remaining one or two pieces of silver will be gone in a few days." It's not that Caidong complained that I didn't have new clothes to wear yesterday, but fortunately, my aunt helped prepare it, otherwise I might have to be angry for many days. ”

"Who told you not to come out and help me? Who's to blame?" Shen Jiaji scoffed.

"That's right!"

Shen Kan patted his head in annoyance, as a member of the Shen family, it is not called corruption, it is a natural errand money. No wonder Cai Dong nagged for several days, and Aunt Jin also complained in her tone, daring to 'earn' a lot before!

"It's easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it's hard to go from luxury to thrift!"

Shen Kan sighed, now he has found the motivation to do things, and the first pot of gold to make a fortune seems to rely on it.

"." Shen Jiaji saw that his nephew had come to his senses and waved his hand.

The action was almost exactly the same as that of the old man, so angry that Shen Kan pursed his lips, put the money bag in his sleeve, turned around and ran out.

Hanging the statue of the god is to hang the portrait of the ancestors, in the ancestral hall not far from the main hall.

Seeing that the little servant was hung up, Shen Kan held a "family gift" and helped Shen Jiaji count each sacrifice one by one, and the uncle and nephew were afraid that there would be a little mistake.

In the Ming Dynasty, the general common people sacrificed three generations, and the scholars sacrificed four generations; The card of the ancestor of the Shen family is on the center left, the great-grandfather is on the middle right, the ancestor is on the left, and you (father) are on the right.

According to the "family rites", four generations should be sacrificed at four times of the year. The winter solstice sacrifice to the ancestors, the spring sacrifice to the ancestors, and the summer and autumn sacrifices to the ancestors and fathers must be held every year. As for the customs festivals such as Shangyuan, Duanyang, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Chongjiu, they should be dedicated to "Shiyang".

Because the Shen people have been divided and lived, on the day of the winter solstice, each sacrifices its own. During the Spring Festival, we should go back to the ancestral house for a big sacrifice, and every year we must select a person who knows the rites from the children of the clan in advance as a tribute sacrifice, and begin to prepare for the ancestor worship ceremony several months in advance.

The ancestral hall of the ancestors gave Shen Kan a deep sense of belonging, and he had to visit on every important day and have something to tell. Before going out, I got a message to my ancestors in the ancestral hall, and I had to report it when I came back.

Even if there is a funeral in the family, the sacrifice cannot be abolished.

The god of the ancestor must be worshiped by the sect, and the branch can only be sacrificed with the class, so the Shen family can only worship to the tablet of the ancestor.

As for the sacrificial blessings, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, who had to take care of everything, also made a royal decision and became the paradigm of the world's blessings.

After checking inside and out three times to confirm that there was no omission, Shen Jiaji, who was sweating on his forehead, said in a low voice: "Hurry up and go back to bathe and change clothes, so that you can rest for a while, it will take nearly two hours."

"Two hours?"

Shen Kan was secretly stunned when he heard this, this was the first winter solstice he had ever had, and he knew that the ancients attached the most importance to ancestor worship, but he didn't expect it to last for so long.

Bidding farewell to the fourth uncle, Shen Kan hurried back to his small courtyard all the way, Aunt Jin and Cai Dong were not there, and when they left, they extinguished the lights and candles, and the house looked gloomy.

The dress was neatly placed on the bed. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang prescribed detailed etiquette in all aspects of life, and the people did not exceed it at all.

Today, it has become a trend, after all, the standard of living is relatively high, and people are no longer satisfied with rigid and simple clothes.

Shen Kan was barely a scholar, and his dress was a cyan round-necked shirt, which should have been variegated cloth according to the law.

The student is a jade-colored cloth, the prisoner is a cyan round neck, the jinshi is a dark blue robe, and the champion is given by the emperor, with a scarlet round neck. In addition, the champion's line also includes white silk middle single, brocade ribbon, knee covering, gauze hat, locust wood wat, light silver belt, medicine jade pendant, court boots, blanket socks, etc.

Shen Kan's fragmentary pendants are also a lot, the square turban is sewn with gold and jade and agate, and the dress is decorated with black horn, coral, amber, crystal, and fragrant wood.

The length of the sleeves was very particular in the Ming Dynasty, the scholars were short, and the common people were long, of course, they are not very particular now.

In the bath room, he took a shower with warm water, Shen Kan didn't dare to wash his hair, and it was not fun to catch a cold in winter.

Long hair was a real nuisance, and he had to wash it every few days. And men in this year do not wash their hair frequently, and when their scalp is itchy, they use a grate.

Shen Kan didn't wait to see that thing, some people could even grate out lice.

Half an hour later, the ancestral hall.

The Shen family stood silently in their respective positions, and the courtyard echoed with Shen Han's deep and old voice.

"The family members of the filial grandson closed the door, and told the great-great-ancestor Kao Yan Ling: The ancestors of the past have been one after another, and they have raised their children and grandchildren, and they have all kinds of strength. Explain every four o'clock, follow its cold and warm, increase or decrease clothes, and eat and drink modestly. Or worry about being close to fire and water, or afraid of being hurt by mosquitoes, or afraid of disease, do everything possible to care, but fear of restlessness, this heart hangs, and does not taste a respite, so that the descendants are established, and those who have today are the grace of their ancestors.

Although I want to repay it, I don't want to repay it. The spring, summer, autumn and winter weather will be warm and cold, and the feeling of the past will be eternal. ”

Speaking of this, Shen Han sighed deeply and said sadly: "Be careful with wine and food, soup and rice, and the descendants of the Han Dynasty will lead the family members to offer." Enjoy!"