Shu Boguang saw that the politics of the court were now dim, Sima Zhao was in power, the emperors were all puppets, the three outlines were lost, the five constants had been defeated, the monarch was not a king, and the ministers were not ministers. For this reason, he has long had the intention of retreating. The worst outcome he predicted was that Sima Zhao would follow Cao Pi's example and depose Emperor Wei and replace him. But what he never expected was that Sima Zhao, Jia Chong, and Cheng Ji dared to blatantly kill the current emperor! What was even more unexpected to him was that Sima Zhao killed the king, and few of the ministers of the DPRK and China dared to stand up against it, and even stood on Sima Zhao's side, and the dynasty was already corrupted to such an extent! The atmosphere of the imperial court is like this, and it will be the same when his students become officials in the future. So, what's the point of teaching like that? Therefore, this made him completely determined to return to seclusion.

Doctor Taixue is not high, only equivalent to a petty official of about the eighth grade. Although the Jin Dynasty had a nine-grade Zhongzheng system, it was only a Zhongzheng grade, not a real official grade, and there was no official grade at that time.

Shu Boguang was a humble scholar before joining the company, and although he had been teaching in Taixue for many years, he didn't save much money. Therefore, when he returned to his hometown, Shujiazhuang in Ruyin County, with his old servant, there were only six packages with him, and three of them were full of books. The wife of the family has passed away, and there is only one son, who is twenty years old, and a daughter-in-law, who is eighteen years old, and the son and daughter-in-law just got married this year. Because there is a sentence in the "Book of Songs" and "Jianghan" chapter, "Bandits and bandits, bandits and bandits", which means to make a difference, don't be greedy for comfort and pleasure, don't be lazy, and be idle all day long. But he didn't want his son to do anything, but wanted him to spend his life comfortably and comfortably, so Shu Boguang named his son Shu An. Shu An was taught by his father since he was a child, and he was proficient in "Poems", "Books", "Rites", "Yi", and "Spring and Autumn". It's just that I was taught by my father, and I never thought about my career, but just guarded a few acres of fields and a few mulberry trees. When he was not studying, he tended to the fields, and when he was tired of trimming the crops, he read again.

On this day, Shu An was reading in front of the hall and read that "the triumphant wind comes from the south, blowing his thorny heart." Thorny heart, mother's hard work", I suddenly heard someone outside the door say: "What mother's hard work, old father, I am also hard enough." ”

Shu An saw that it was his father who came back, and hurriedly ran out. Shu An's wife, Zhou, also came out of the hall to greet her, and the young couple moved all the packages into the house. Every time my father came home, he was a light car, but this time he went home obviously different, bringing the old servant Xie Yi and six packages.

Shu An asked in surprise: "Every time my father comes home, it's simple, why is it so grand this time?" Could it be—" Shu Boguang had already intended to retreat, and Shu An had already guessed it at this time.

"Nothing, of course. All in all, your father and I quit and went home to support the elderly, so let your son serve me well. ”

"Father's resignation is not done, and it is a wise move to take care of his old age, but why is it so sudden, why not let someone bring a letter, I can pick you up."

Dr. Shu sighed and said, "Son, you don't know, now Sima Zhao is in control of the government and is in charge, which is better than his father Sima Yi and brother Sima Shi. He was surrounded by ministers Jia Chong and Cheng Ji, who actually killed the emperor and set up a new emperor, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty actually stood on Sima Zhao's side...... Ay! I can't stand it anymore! ”

Shu An was shocked when he heard this, although Sima Zhao's heart was well known to passers-by, but Sima Zhao killed the emperor, which still surprised him: "Father doesn't have to be sad, the hearts of the people have been in the Sima family for a long time, and it is only a matter of time before the Sima family seeks to usurp the throne." It is also wise for the father not to do things for such a court, and now it is better to go home to support the elderly, and the son can serve your old man every day and let you enjoy the joy of family. ”

Shu Boguang interrupted his son's words: "Family fun? Can having a son alone be considered a family happiness? It's been almost a year since you got married, when you have a grandchild, it's a real family fun! ”

When the daughter-in-law Zhou heard this, her face turned red and she ran to the kitchen to cook. The old servant Xie Yi saw Zhou going to cook, and hurriedly said, "If the eldest lady has any work, leave it to me to do." ”

Zhou said: "The old man is so old, and he is really tired enough to serve the family after walking such a long way, how can he still let you do it?" You can rest and rest in peace. ”

When Shu Boguang heard his daughter-in-law say such words, he was very happy in his heart, and greeted Xie Yi and said: "If there is any work, let them do it, and we should have a good rest after a few days." ”

Xie Yi didn't dare to disobey Shu Boguang's words, and accompanied the old master to rest.

At that moment, Shu An and Zhou killed a chicken and prepared a few meals. After the family had eaten, they cleaned up the upper room and gave it to their father and Xie Yi to live in. The two of them live in a side house.

The Shu family was originally a poor family, and they couldn't afford to use servants. Xie Yi was not originally a servant of the Shu family, but an attendant of Shu Boguang when he was a doctor of Taixue, and he was five years older than Shu Boguang. Now that he is over the age of sixteen and has lost his errand, Shu Boguang saw that he was helpless and had no source of livelihood, so he took him back to his hometown.

The old man doesn't look old, but his body is still quite tough, and he is diligent in his work. Shu An and he are not divided into master and servant, they have work to do together, and they have food to eat together. Shu Boguang did not allow Xie Yi to call Shu An "little master" or anything like that, and even made his son and daughter-in-law call Xie Yi "Xie Bo".

Shu Boguang was a celebrity in his hometown. As soon as he returned home, the villagers came to visit him, and the Shu family was lively for a while.

Shu An and Zhou's little couple treated their father with great filial piety, and every day they cooked meals and brought them to the old man's house, and they had to wait until the old man finished eating before they withdrew and ate by themselves. He never treated Xie Bo as a servant. He didn't let him do any heavy work or tiring work, but rushed to finish it himself. The two old men were physically tough, and they didn't need to be served at all.

Dr. Shu is close to the age of sixteen, and he also reads books every day, not only "The Book of Rites" and "Zhou Yi", but also "The Analects", which has only more than 10,000 words. Dr. Shu is not only proficient in scripture and history, but also calligraphy, and has to write a book every morning. Xie Yi was waiting beside him, and after reading and writing, the two old men couldn't stay idle, so they went to the garden to help, and they were no worse than the young people in doing farm work. After the hard work of the four people, the crops and mulberry trees of the Shu family grew exceptionally better than those of other families.

The four members of the Shu family are not very rich, but the father is kind and filial to the son, the master is benevolent and the servant is righteous, and they are happy, which has attracted continuous praise from the villagers. Despite this, behind the happiness of the family, there is a shadow that has always been in the hearts of the four people - that is, Shu An and his family have been married for three years, but they have never had children. The little couple was anxious, Dr. Shu was anxious, and Xie Yi was also anxious, but he never had a chance to ask.

On this day, Zhou went to the river to wash clothes, and Xie Yi and Shu An rested under the mulberry tree.

Xie Yi asked, "How long has Da Lang been married?" Although Dr. Shu did not allow himself to call Shu An "little master", he should also be self-aware, and he should not be so arrogant as to directly call him "virtuous nephew", and call him "Dalang".

Shu An followed his father's teachings and respected Xie Yi: "I've been married for three years, Xie Bo." ”

"Da Lang is full of poetry and books, but do you know that there are three unfilial pieties, and there is no queen for the great truth?"

Shu An's face flushed: "Don't hide it from Uncle Xie, the little nephews don't know it, why don't you be in a hurry!" In the past three years, I have also asked for medical treatment, but the more anxious I am, the more there is no movement. ”

Xie Yi said: "Pregnancy is a major event for all living beings to continue their lives, and it is not easy to judge whether it is the cause of the man or the woman if one of the husband and wife is weak. I have an ancestral secret recipe here, the men's take Qizisan, the women's take the Zishi Mendong Pill, and a few more herbs to accompany it. Regardless of the cause of the husband and wife, if there is a disease, there is no harm in treating the disease, and there is no harm in not being sick, and the effect can be seen within a year. ”

Shu An was overjoyed when he heard this: "If you can let the Shu family have a queen, you will be the great benefactor of the Shu family." ”

Xie Yi hurriedly stopped: "Why should Da Lang be polite, you Shu family old and young treat me as a family and never treat me as a servant, how can I sit idly by and ignore this matter?" ”

At that moment, Xie Yi wrote the formula of the prescription to Shu An, and Shu An took the medicine according to the prescription.

Ruyin County is located on the dividing line between the north and south of China, neither south nor north, and has a pleasant climate. The terrain is more water and less mountainous. Winters are shorter than in the north, and summers are less hot than in the south. But this winter was snowing heavily, and after the heavy snowfall, the weather was exceptionally cold. It was the lunar month, and every household prepared firewood, rice, and clothes for the winter. The children of the wealthy families in Ruyin County all wore furs and mink hats, and the warehouses were filled with grain, and the firewood and grass were piled up in the firewood houses. Enjoy the winter without worries. The poor, on the other hand, live without food and clothing. As for the Shu family, they are self-sufficient, although they are not rich, but they are not hungry. But since the heavy snowfall, Shu An couldn't sit still, he took two buckets of rice and a load of firewood from home, and asked his wife Zhou for a half-new linen clothes.

"What are you doing with rice and clothes on a snowy day?" Zhou asked.

Shu An said: "On this snowy day, Brother Han's family doesn't know how to live." His family was not wealthy, but last year he married a new daughter-in-law and borrowed foreign debts, and two months ago, he injured his hand while working, and most of the family could not open the pot. ”

Zhou said: "Our family has a little surplus of firewood and rice, but you only have two pieces of this dress, how can you take them and give them away?" ”

Shu An looked at his wife gently, he knew in his heart that his wife was not sincere in hindering him, but he didn't have many clothes. At that time, clothing was very expensive, and it was not possible to buy a piece of clothing casually. Even if it is a linen cloth or kudzu cloth clothes, it is a big expense for ordinary people.

"Give one away, I have another one, pay attention to it when you work, save a little bit of clothing, you can still make do, you can't watch others get cold."

Zhou also admired her husband's kindness from the bottom of her heart, and she did not insist on stopping her husband. Shu An picked up firewood, picked up rice and clothes, stepped on the heavy snow, and walked to the west of the village.

Shu An walked to Han's house and put the firewood in the door. The owner of this house, Han Ning and Shu An are the same age, the two of them are extremely good, the fields of the two families are next to each other, the two often plow the fields together, and study together when they are tired.

Han Ning and his wife Liu greeted them, and Shu An walked into the house. This family has almost no belongings except for a bed in the back room and a stove in the outer room.

Han Ning has long understood Shu An's intentions, Han Ning is a strange person, although he is poor, he never opens his mouth to ask for help easily, even if someone takes the initiative to lend him money and rice, he will not accept it, but Shu An is different. The two have been in love since they were children and talk about everything.

Han Ning took the rice and said, "Thank you Brother Shu, Brother Shu's firewood and rice really solved my urgent need, but I don't know much about this clothes, and I can't accept them." ”

When Shu An heard this, he deliberately tightened his face: "How can you not accept it?" How can you survive the winter without clothes on such a cold day? As he spoke, he stuffed his clothes into Han Ning's hand.

When Han Ning heard this, he was no longer polite, he just took it in his hand, but he couldn't help laughing and said, "Hey, what does this mean, how is it a woman's clothes?" ”

Shu An was startled, and after a closer look, it was indeed a woman's clothes. He hurriedly unfolded his clothes, and found that there was another piece under the woman's clothes, which was his own clothes. Shu An understood in his heart, or his wife Zhou thought about it thoroughly, I just thought about how Brother Han would spend the winter, but I didn't expect the woman of the Han family, but my wife took this into account and took out one of the only two pieces she had and gave it to Liu.

Since then, Shu An has increased his admiration for his wife. The friendship between the two families has also deepened.