couldn't persuade her mother, so Ming Wu had no choice but to put it down for the time being.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Ming Wu sat in the courtyard and waited for the master to come; waited for a stick of incense before waiting for the next person to report, and the master had already arrived outside the door. She hurriedly picked up and called Xiao Mei to take her luggage and follow.

When I went to the outside of the house, I saw the carriages of Ji Mansion and Cui Mansion, and the three carriages of Xu Mansion.

Ji Jin and Cui Changhe were waiting outside the carriage, and when they saw her come out, they stepped forward with a smile, "Little junior sister, did you sleep well last night?" Is it good to eat it early? ”

"Very good, thank you two senior brothers for your concern." Ming Wu smiled sweetly, "What about the master?" ”

"The master is in the carriage, are you going to the master's carriage, or are you going with us?" Ji Jin glanced back at the first carriage of the Xu Mansion and motioned for Xu Shoufu to be inside.

Ming Wu glanced at it and said, "I'll go and say hello to the master first." ”

"Go ahead."

Ji Jin and Cui Changhe walked with her to the first carriage of the Xu Mansion and listened.

The subordinate brought a short stool for Ming Wu to go up, and Ming Wu thanked her with a smile and stepped on the stool to get on the wheel; Opened the curtain and looked inside, only to see that there was not only one master inside, but also the grandson of the head of the Xu Mansion.

"Good morning, master."

Getting into the carriage, she was short, but she was still able to move freely when she entered; With a smile, he greeted the master.

Xu Shoufu gave a handful of hands and bowed his head gently, "Don't be polite, get up." ”

"Yes." After Ming Wu got up, Xu Shoufu pointed to the position beside her, "Come and sit, just to tell the teacher and you something." ”

Mingwen tapped her chin and sat down next to Xu Shoufu.

Ji Jin and Cui Changhe heard the sound of talking outside the carriage, and the two looked at each other and returned to their respective carriages.

Everything was ready, and Xu Shoufu's carriage opened the way, and Xu Shoufu did not speak at the beginning; But when he got out of the capital, he opened his eyes and glanced at his eldest grandson,

"Shilin, where is your etiquette?"

Xu Shilin was obviously stunned, and then looked at his grandfather in disbelief; In the past, my grandfather didn't care about this, could it be that my grandfather really valued Xiao Minghua's little apprentice so much?

No matter what he thought in his heart, Xu Shilin still stood up and saluted.

"My nephew has seen my aunt, good morning."

"Good morning, nephew, don't be polite, sit down and talk." Generously accepted a gift, she couldn't understand it better; This is the master telling her that she can discipline several grandchildren, and he also wants to suppress the arrogance of the eldest grandson.

Xu Shilin sat back on his side.

Xu Shoufu shook his head silently, it was impossible not to be disappointed in the eldest grandson's state; Fortunately, he can't change it, let's try it first, it's really hopeless.

Ming Wu pursed her lips and smiled, "Master, which gentleman are we visiting this time?" ”

"He was the dean of Xingzhi Academy, and he was ranked high among the jinshi that year; once entered the officialdom, but because he was too upright, he was dedicated to being an honest and honest official, and he spoke straightforwardly, but he offended most of the officials of the Manchu Dynasty at that time. had to Zhishi, who helped him as a teacher at that time and arranged him to Xingzhi Academy; No more than three people know about this so far, and now there are two more of you, remember, keep your mouth shut, and don't talk about it. Xu Shoufu focused on taking care of his eldest grandson.

Ming's child, who has not been together for a long time, knows that she is a measured child; On the contrary, there are several grandchildren, pampered, less polished life, and they are really inferior to Ming Wu in some behaviors and styles.

Xu Shilin: .......

Shouldn't it be an aunt? Why do you want to tell him about this grandson?

"Got it, grandfather."

Xu Shoufu was satisfied with his head and said: "You entered Xingzhi Academy, firstly, because the dean is upright, and secondly, because Xingzhi Academy is relatively fair; The competition is not as unbalanced as its colleges. ”

Xu Shilin didn't feel deeply about this, and at the beginning he studied at Xingzhi Academy; I haven't seen the competition model of other colleges, and I am in the blessings, but I don't know the blessings.

Ming Wu thought thoughtfully, "Master, are there any poor students in Xingzhi Academy?" ”

"Yes, the treatment that poor students get in Xingzhi Academy is much better than that of other colleges; Therefore, in recent years, more and more students from poor families have gone to Xingzhi Academy. "If the students go to Xingzhi College, the source of students from other colleges will inevitably be affected; For this matter, the competition among several academies has been quite fierce in recent years, and the contradictions have been laid out on the surface.

Xu Shilin said: "Grandfather, there are not many poor students in Xingzhi Academy. ”

Xu Shoufu glanced at him, and in the face of his great-grandson whose emotions were written on his face, he sighed powerlessly; As soon as he dies, the Xu family doesn't even have a lintel to support the head, and it will inevitably decline!

Ming Wu pursed her lips and didn't speak; Speaking at this time is equivalent to slapping the master in the face.

Xu Shilin didn't know what he said wrong, he looked at his grandfather blankly, and went to see Xiao Mingwen after a while.

"Grandfather, Xingzhi Academy, the poor students account for half of the minor, it's really not much."

"What's more?" Xu Shoufu asked rhetorically.

Xu Shilin's lips squirmed a few times, but he couldn't say why; Xu Shoufu's disappointment in his heart was a little more disappointing, "A few of your brothers have been pampered by your mother since they were children, and they don't know the hardships of the world. ”

"I don't know." Xu Shilin shook his head.

Xu Shoufu asked again, "Have you seen the number of poor students in other colleges?" ”

"No, I didn't."

"Have you ever visited the people? Do you know how to live a life of the people? ”

"Nope."

Xu Shoufu closed his eyes, and opened his eyes again in the middle of the ring, and the bottom of his eyes was already dull, "Ming's wife grew up in the people, and she knows more than you, Ming's daughter-in-law, you come on." ”

"There are only more than 30 poor students in our county who can really enroll; Among them are my brothers and me, and I don't know much about other academies for the time being, so I don't think there are too many of them. Ming Wu continued: "And there are very few people who have achieved fame in the examination, and three of the thirty poor students are lucky to be admitted to Xiucai; The life in the market is mostly poor, and a family's two taels of silver can be used for a year's expenses, while our county school is five taels for a year. ”

"There are even fewer people who can afford it and are willing to grit their teeth and send their offspring to study; Some even read and read and read and dropped out of school because they had no money to pay their money, and I have seen many examples of this in the county. ”

"Sometimes I wonder how lucky I am to be reborn with my father. As a woman, I can enjoy the same educational resources as a man. So, she couldn't live up to her parents' expectations.

It's for yourself, but also for your parents.

The Xiao family has the hope of rising, and their parents know better than anyone else; This hope of rising is in her and her brothers, the slower the progress of the brothers, the faster she will go. Who among the old men in the clan doesn't look forward to the Xiao clan being able to really get up again?

Xu Shilin didn't hear the taste, "Is the family background of my aunt's family good?" ”

"My family is not good, nor is it bad; Because my father is a gentleman in the county school, he has an income every month, and his life is full of food and clothing. However, in the countryside, many of my people are still struggling to make ends meet. ”