Chunhua didn't look at it, she was in her early 30s, and she didn't have to deal with a little girl who didn't understand things.

Time flies, the summer is over, and in August, it is the day when Meiqu goes to the county seat for the exam.

"Have you prepared the money for the third son's exam?" Mei Laosu asked Mao.

The corners of Mao's eyebrows were raised, and he shouted in a sharp voice: "Why do you still use me to prepare?" Didn't she say she was out? You go and ask her to go! I don't want to look at her, the lonely star, the chicken that doesn't lay eggs! ”

Mei Laosu hesitated, "At first, the eldest daughter-in-law only told one or two silver coins, didn't the third son talk enough?" He also said that he wanted to participate in the cultural meeting and ask the people who had taken the old talent test about their experience. ”

"She only gives one or two when she says one or two?" Mao said viciously, "You go and ask her for five taels of silver, if she wants to give it, you squat by the door and don't leave, see if she loses this person!" ”

Mao's words were ruthless, but Mei Laosuo didn't have the face to do this according to Mao's words, he picked up a broken reed hat, and when he was about to go to the town, Mao stopped him again, followed neatly, and prepared to spread oil and pancakes.

When the fragrance of the pancakes wafted out, Aunt Mei smelled it in the house, but she was in confinement, and she couldn't go out to see the wind, Mei Yindi went out to hunt pigs and eat grass, and Mei Tang was not at home, so she could only sit on the kang and ask loudly: "Mother, what are you doing?" Why does it smell so good! ”

Mao didn't say a word, she quickly fried a few pancakes like a hurry, left one, and put the rest in a cloth pocket to ask Mei Laosu to bring to Meiqu, and she took the one pancake left behind to go to the west room and gave it to Aunt Mei.

"Take it and eat it." Mao's embarrassed had a good complexion, and almost gave the pancake to Aunt Mei's second aunt with a pleasant face, "Make up for your body." ”

Mao's is so "low and small", Aunt Mei is not good at saying anything, pouting and taking the oil pancakes and eating them in a big gulp.

After Mei Laosu arrived in the town, he first went to the Listening Wind Academy and begged the porter to call Mei Qu out. In the past few days, Mei Qu has lost a lot of weight, Mei Laosuo's heart is painful, looking at Mei Qu gobbling up oil pancakes, and asking, "Why did you lose so much weight?" Is it because the food is not good? ”

Mei Qu nodded angrily, and her tone was very aggrieved, "I haven't been out of the gate of the academy for a long time!" ”

"Otherwise, you can go to your sister-in-law's place to eat at noon." Mei Laosu hesitated for a long time and preached.

Mei Qu was immediately annoyed, gritted his teeth and said, "Don't go!" I'm not going to go to that little ...... All in all, I'm not going! Gentlemen don't eat the food that comes from the mouth! Didn't they look down on me, and when I got into the subject, I didn't have to ...... Prosperous! ”

"If you don't go, you won't go." Mei Laosu shook his head helplessly and sighed, in addition to this, he didn't know what to say to Mei Qu, and he was asked by Mao's thousands of instructions before, not to tell Mei Qu about his bad thoughts at home, lest Mei Qu be distracted and affect the exam.

"Father, you're here to bring me pancakes?" Mei Qu asked.

Mei Laosuo shook his head and said honestly: "At that time, your sister-in-law was not

Did you promise to give you the money for the journey, I came to ask her for the money. ”

"Oh." As soon as it came to the cost of the journey, Mei Qu's courage was obviously weak, and his expression was a little bored, and he didn't want to talk about it, "Then you go, I'll go back to review my studies." ”

Mei Laosuo watched the boy's back disappear in the academy before turning his head and leaving, gloomy relief, the third boy of Jue was finally considered to have grown up, and he had never seen him worry about it like this before.

When Mei Laosu arrived at the Qiu Ji shop, he met Jia Shi leading a few people to move the stall next to the door back to the house, he didn't want the village Chunhua and a few people to look at it, so he hid to the side, and when Jia came out alone, Mei Laosu came out and shouted, "Boss daughter-in-law!" ”

Jia Shi turned his face to look at Mei Laosuo, and after a pause, he said with a smile: "Father, you are here, sit in the house." ”

They moved Mei Laosuo and his wife didn't even show their faces, and they were really out of line, so even people with a good * temperament like Jia had pimples in their hearts, they didn't care about Mei Laosuo and his wife's eccentricity, and they didn't break off with the Mei family, Mei Laosu and his wife also picked up Qiao, and they didn't treat them as the Mei family.

"Nope." Mei Laosuo was also very embarrassed, looking at Jia's smile and humor, his face was ruddy, and he was full of confidence in speaking and doing things, he was a little stunned, this daughter-in-law is different from before, it is not something he and Mao can control, he can't help but be weak-hearted. "Isn't this the old man who is about to take the exam in the county government...... That...... The eldest daughter-in-law ......"

Jia Shi listened to him for a long time, and his old face was flushed and he couldn't say a complete sentence, so he understood what he wanted to do, and he didn't embarrass him, but only stood by the door and called Sister Qiu, who was calculating the general account in the shop, "Go and get a tael of silver to your master, your uncle is about to take the exam." ”

Sister Qiu nodded, and when she saw Mei Laosuo standing a few steps away from the door of the store, she smiled and said, "Master, why don't you come into our store and take a look?" ”

Mei Laosu looked at this granddaughter, she really didn't like it, and shook her head and said, "No, your grandmother urged me to hurry home and go to the fields to do work." ”

Sister Qiu curled the corners of her mouth and smiled, went back and took out a bunch of money, put it in a cloth bag, and handed it to Mei Laosuo. At this time, Jia Shi cut a few catties of tofu and soybean sprouts, found a bamboo basket to hold them, and asked Mei Laosuo to take them home to eat.

Mei Laosuo took the bamboo basket and looked at the cloth bag given by Sister Qiu, there should only be a thousand copper plates in it.

Seeing that Mei Laosuo hesitated and didn't leave, Sister Qiu asked with a smile: "Master, what's wrong?" Money doesn't count? Why don't you count again? ”

Mei Laosuo's face was flushed with shame, and he stumbled and said, "No need, don't have to, go first." ”

When Mei Laosuo walked away, Jia Shi tapped Sister Xiaqiu's head fiercely, "How did you speak?" That's your grandfather! No big or small! ”

Sister Qiu frowned and said, "If I don't say it, my lord will definitely say that the money is not enough, so ask us more, will we give it or not?" ”

If you don't give it, it's not good to stand by the store, and it's uncomfortable to give it.

For Mei Laosuo, Sister Qiu has long been lost,

They weren't happy to ignore him. Originally, Sister Qiu still had a friendship with him and grandchildren, and he felt that he was much better than the Mao family, but now he has gone through so many things, and those friendships have long been gone, and if there is no consent from Mei Laosuo, how can the Mao family not want the little baby girl born by Mei's second aunt.

As for Mei Qu, who was going to take the exam in the county town, Sister Qiu didn't expect anything from him, and it didn't have much to do with them if she didn't pass the exam. If he is really a good student, even if he makes a mistake, the teachers will definitely intercede for him.

Sister Qiu is also not afraid that Mei Qu will retaliate after passing the exam, Lao Xiucai is only the most low-class subject name, look at her father Mei Lao Xiucai, she knows that Lao Xiucai can also live very lonely. If Mei Qu wants to go through the study and scientific examination to become prosperous, he should first pray for Sister Sinqiu, who will never be wanted, otherwise the "confession" he wrote down by himself at first will be known to everyone. It is almost mid-autumn, this is the first Mid-Autumn Festival after they separated, Jia's pastry shop in the town made nearly 100 pounds of moon cakes, all the materials are prepared by themselves, the pastry shop only charges a processing fee, all of them are made of the best flower oil and flour, Sister Qiu also specially cooked 20 salted duck eggs, peeled out the egg heart and sent it over to make Cantonese salted egg heart moon cakes.

Wang Ming asked the family to bring a return gift the next day, 20 Liufanglou chefs made lotus paste and bean paste stuffed moon cakes, five catties of cane sugar, a jar of wine and a piece of fine satin cloth with dark patterns of red flowers.

The givers all gave gifts in return, and even the eldest uncle and father went to the store to give two chickens and two packets of cane sugar.

The Jia family was very reluctant not to go, but he was afraid that the Tian family would go back and make trouble with Li Changjiao, so he asked Li Changjiao to bring the chicken back.

"How can this be!" Li Changji smiled and said, "Where are you bringing things back, this is for my two nieces and daughters." Seeing that Jia still insisted, Li Chang whispered in Jia's ear: "Your sister-in-law knows...... She's not the one to watch out for. When these words came out, Li Changjie felt very empty.

On August 13th, Jia Shi filled ten moon cakes and ten catties of water tofu in a bamboo basket, bought candle yellow paper and a jar of wine, and took Sister Qiu back to Xiaohe Town. She and Sister Qiu were not happy to go back to Mei's house again, Aunt Tuo Chunhua sent moon cakes and water tofu to Mei's house, which was regarded as filial piety, and Jia took Sister Qiu to Meiliang's grave.

Jia Shi first pulled out the weeds on Meiliang's grave with his arms and legs, then lit a candle and burned the paper, and quietly looked at the black paper ash floating in the air, Jia sighed at the tomb, slowly poured the wine in the jar under the tombstone, and said in a flat tone: "Sister Qiu, her father, I brought Sister Qiu to see you coming." Our mothers are doing very well, we can eat and dress warmly, and no one scolds us and doesn't give people a dislike. I know that you have two delicious bites, and today I will bring you a good jar, you can bless our mother and a few people in peace, you have not done anything bad in this life, and you will beg Lord Yama for a good life, and you will be reborn in the next life

Others. ”

Sister Qiu's Jia family has really come out of the shadow of bereavement.

Approaching mid-autumn, the weather is crisp and crisp, and the golden sun in the afternoon is bright and warm, which is in stark contrast to the gloomy clouds on the day of Qingming this year. She still remembered that when she came to Mei Liang's grave on the Qingming Festival, Mao and Jia all cried, the difference is that Mao stopped after crying a few times, and Jia was crying with grief and grief, not because of how deep her feelings for Mei Liang are, but only the person who can rely on is gone, and the only daughter can't be saved, life is hard and numb, there is no expectation, and it is sad and helpless.

Now the Jia family can face all of this very plainly, and it can be seen from her steady tone that Mei Liang has no influence on her, only because Mei Liang is her deceased husband and her daughter's father, she will take Sister Qiu to worship him on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival, saying that it is out of affection, or out of a kind of respect for etiquette.

(End of chapter)