In Jiang'an City, a wealthy merchant was in the mansion, and there were two people sitting in the gatehouse.

One of them was thin and haggard, although his clothes were neat but it was difficult to hide his tiredness, he sat upright, and he revealed a nervous tension, which was Xia Jingyun's father Xia Hengzhi.

He turned his head to look at the concierge who was leisurely drinking tea next to him, and said respectfully: "Brother, I don't know when the lord of your mansion will come back?" ”

The porter glanced at him, "When will the master come back, how do I know?" Why do you have to report to me? ”

Xia Hengzhideng, who had little dealings with outsiders, was so scared that he didn't dare to speak anymore.

After waiting restlessly for a while, he finally heard the shout of the sedan chair outside the door, he hurriedly shook his clothes and got up, only to find that the porter who was still drinking tea leisurely with Erlang's legs crossed just now had stood at the door with his waist bowed and waiting.

A wealthy middle-aged man and a charming young woman each stepped out of a palanquin and headed for the gate.

"Master, there is a gentleman who wants to come to the mansion to hire a seat, and he has been waiting in the concierge for a while."

The man's footsteps paused, and Xia Hengzhi on the side hurriedly mustered up the courage to step forward, so nervous that he stammered a little, and said in a trembling voice: "Xia Hengzhi in Xia Wanfu County, he has been reading poetry and books since he was a child, and he wants to be a Xixi in your mansion, please ask your nobles to take the test." ”

The man looked Xia Hengzhi up and down, "Do you have merit and fame?" ”

Xia Hengzhi shook his head, and the roots of his ears were red.

The man sneered, "Xixi is so important, it's not something that a random rural scholar can do, take some grain and rice back." ”

After speaking, he walked straight in, and the concubine on the side whispered: "Master, didn't that Wen Kui say that he is also a country scholar today?" ”

"What kind of skills are people? The writing is amazing, and the bearing is extraordinary, that is any person who can compare? Look at that man's poor and sour face, is there any comparison with other people's Wen Kui, he is not worthy of lifting shoes for others! ”

"It's still a wise man!"

The voice faded away, and the porter glanced at Xia Hengzhi, who was lost in his soul, and said calmly: "Your Excellency, please?" ”

Xia Hengzhi was stunned for a moment, "Didn't the master of your mansion say that there is still grain and rice?" ”

The porter smiled but did not speak, and did not speak.

No matter how stupid Xia Hengzhi was, he understood, and he staggered towards his home in despair.

After walking for a while, I actually met my brother Xia Mingxiong at the entrance of my alley.

As soon as the two of them looked at each other, they knew that they had no good results, and they sighed together.

"Hey! It's hard! ”

"Yes! It's not easy to find something to eat! ”

"Think long-term! The family still has some money, which can last for ten days and a half months. ”

At this moment, three women are busy in the house.

Today, the three of them didn't even go out of the door, thinking about making some cooking cakes and other things, and tomorrow they would go to the street to sell them, hoping to earn some money to supplement the family.

Now that the powder has been grinded, I waited to get up in the middle of the night to make it, and picked it out early in the morning while it was hot.

It's hard work, but it's much better than the days in the labor camp.

At this moment, Xia Ningzhen was sitting in front of the stove to light the fire, Xia Jingyun's mother Xia Li was chopping vegetables, and Xia Zhang was in charge of the pot.

"Sister-in-law, I'll get up tonight, you and Ning Zhen have a good rest first."

Xia Li's family is hard-working as always, and does not fight or grab.

Xia Zhang shook his head, "It's okay, let's go together, it's all here, who is still a housewife and a young grandmother." ”

Xia Li persuaded: "There is no need to be like this, the three of them are so tired, they can be tired for a few days!" ”

Xia Zhang insisted: "I'm mainly afraid that you won't be able to make it delicious, and all of a sudden the capital will be put in." ”

Xia Li stopped talking.

As soon as Xia Zhang's words came out, his brain reacted, and he hurriedly made up for it, "Brother and sister, I didn't mean that, I mean, we don't have more than three taels of silver left now, a family of seven, you have to come carefully, otherwise you have to drink the northwest wind." ”

Xia Li snorted.

Xia Ningzhen was still young after all, and he was not interested in these things, and muttered, "I don't know what happened to the second brother going to participate in the cultural meeting." ”

Xia Zhang blurted out, "What else can I do, just have a long experience, do you still expect him to be the first in the Wenhui?" ”

Xia Li was silent, but when he was chopping vegetables, the sound of the knife chopping the cutting board seemed to be louder.

When Xia Hengzhi and the two brothers returned home, they were watching Xia Yunfei chopping firewood in the courtyard bare-chested, splitting the big firewood they bought into small strips, which could save more and be more convenient to use.

Looking at his son's sweaty appearance, Xia Mingxiong's expression was gloomy, "The two children are not bad, can they only do these jobs in this life?" ”

Xia Hengzhi also sighed, remembering the news he had just heard in that Yuanwai Mansion.

On the way back, I also heard someone talking, it seemed that it was also surnamed Xia.

is also a child of a poor family, and the same surname is Xia, why is the gap between people so big!

The two shook their heads, pushed the door in, and suddenly there was a shout behind them.

"Brother Xia family!"

The two brothers turned their heads at the same time, saw that they were actually neighbors, and hurriedly turned around to greet them.

Xia Hengzhi arched his hand and said in a crepe manner: "I remember that Your Excellency went to watch the Wenhui today, how can you have the leisure to come to my house to talk." ”

The neighbor smiled and said, "It is worthy of being a person who can teach Wen Kui, and this is a taste." ”

"Your Excellency praised it falsely, but ......" Xia Hengzhi subconsciously replied, and then was interrupted by a thunderous voice in his ears.

Xia Mingxiong stared at him like an old cow, his face full of shock, "What did you say?" ”

The neighbor smiled and arched his hand and said: "Congratulations to the two elder brothers, the prince of your mansion Jingyun has defeated a group of talents in the state today and won the Wenkui of the Wenhui!" ”

Bang dang!

At the door of the kitchen, Xia Lishi, who heard the voice, stood on the spot, and the kitchen knife in his hand fell to the ground.

-----------------

"It is said that Zheng Gongzi, as the son of Jianning Taishou, is a master of the state school, a scholar of the state, a man of literature and martial arts, and is recognized as the first talent in Surabaya Prefecture. He came on a white horse, and the laughter came, which made Zeng Jimin and Lin Feibai, who had shined before, instantly dimmed. ”

In the small courtyard, everyone immediately brought chairs and invited the neighbor to sit down, and then sat in a row to listen to him tell the story of what had just passed.

Zheng Gongzi looked around and said that he would pick someone to break through with him. Everyone is worried, and it is not a shame to take action with such talents! But the matter is already in front of him, Zheng Gongzi will not listen to them, I saw Zheng Gongzi look around and randomly order someone. And guess what, it's just Mr. Xia! ”

Xia Li's body trembled and almost fainted, but fortunately, Xia Hengzhi on the side hugged him, "Don't panic, don't panic, our son won in the end!" ”

Only then did everyone react and breathe a sigh of relief, but the hearts that had already mentioned their throats did not fall.

"Xia Gongzi is also bold and bold, and he fights directly, at that time, we only thought he was ignorant and fearless, and later I realized that he had his own confidence!"

......

After listening to Zheng Gongzi's poems, everyone felt that it was difficult to make better poems than him, but when they saw Xia Gongzi groaning slightly, they recited [Since ancient times, autumn has been sad and lonely, and I say that autumn is better than spring. A crane in the clear sky is on the clouds, and it leads poetry to the blue sky. When a poem comes out, the audience is shocked! ”

Everyone in the Xia family was overjoyed when they heard it, as if they had seen Xia Jingyun create a miracle with their own eyes.

And Xia Jingyun's "mentor", his father Xia Hengzhi is full of sluggishness, this is what I taught?

Who can write such a poem? Can I be taught by a reader of my grade?

"But it's not over yet, there is a great Confucian who is close to Zheng Gongzi who actually ignores his conscience and wants to give this position to Zheng Gongzi with a clear conscience."

"He dares!" Xia Mingxiong and Xia Yunfei, father and son, blew up thunder at the same time.

The other three girls were also aggressive, so Xia Hengzhi hurriedly persuaded again: "Don't panic, don't panic, Gao Yang won in the end." ”

The neighbor took a sip of the water soaked in the broken tea, "Fortunately, the crowd is excited, everyone argues with reason, and many big people come forward to uphold justice, and in the end, this position of Wenkui is still in the hands of Xia Gongzi!" Don't say it's him, don't say it's your family, even our entire Nantian Lane is also honored! ”

Everyone looked at each other, and their eyes were full of surprise.

Xia Ning was really excited, she didn't expect the second brother to be so powerful, and when she was happy, she immediately turned her head and said, "Mother, didn't you say that the second brother can only go and go through the motions to see the excitement?" ”

"You dead girl, don't you want to kill me if you're angry!"

Xia Zhang scolded with a red face, everyone laughed, and the room was filled with happy air.