The full moon turns into a crescent moon, shuttling through the clouds, appearing and disappearing.

At night, the village is cool and comfortable with the fresh smell of grass and trees blown by the wind. Children are laughing and noisy, and adults greet and reprimand from time to time. The woman was pounding her clothes, and the loom was creaking, with the occasional dog barking.

Thatched huts, tiles, dimly lit.

Lively, and inexplicably quiet.

Cheng Zi'an came to the outside of the fence courtyard wall of the Mo family, and looked into the courtyard on tiptoe.

In the hall, the bean-sized lamp was shaking, and Mao was swaying beside the lamp, pulling the thread and weaving cloth.

Mo Saburo sat under the yellow horn tree in the corner of the courtyard, weaving a cage by the moonlight. Mo Zhuzi hurriedly pulled his naughty younger brother and shouted: "Guizi, don't step forward, beware of bamboo hurting you." ”

Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er carried the wooden barrel into the pigsty, and the pigs hummed loudly, snoring and grabbing food.

Cheng Zi'an watched for a while, and Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er cleaned up from the stove and entered the main house. Mo Cao'er took her younger brother away, and Mo Zhuzi and Mo Hua'er entered the main house, and he increased his steps and shook in front of the fence courtyard.

Mo Saburo heard the footsteps outside, put down the work in his hand and walked out, saw clearly that it was Cheng Zi'an, and hurriedly greeted politely: "Young Master Cheng." ”

Cheng Zi'an called out to Third Uncle Mo and said, "Third Uncle, you are busy, I have nothing to do at night to go out for a walk." ”

Usually Mo Zhuzi got a lot of snacks from Cheng Zi'an, Mo Saburo hurriedly shouted the pillar out, and said: "There are fewer people under the banyan tree to enjoy the shade, and there are many dogs in the village, beware of biting you if you don't know, let the pillar accompany you." ”

When Mo Zhuzi heard the voice, he quickly ran out and greeted Cheng Zi'an warmly, "I haven't seen Young Master Cheng for a long time, have you finished the exam?" ”

Cheng Zi'an said yes, at this time Mo Hua'er also walked out hesitantly, he knew that she hadn't come out to mow the grass these days, and she hadn't made any income in the account, so she would definitely not be able to let go.

Mo Guizi loves to be lively, when he heard the movement, he stretched out his hand, babbling and struggling in their direction, and as soon as Mo Cao'er pulled it, he didn't scream.

After autumn, the winter melon was ripe, Cui Suniang made winter melon candy, Cheng Zi'an grabbed a handful in his purse, and then untied it, and said: "Sister Cao'er, you bring your son here, I have sugar here." Sister Hua'er also came. Pillars, I'll give you one first. ”

Mo Zhuzi took the winter melon sugar and put it in his mouth, and Mo Saburo hurriedly bent down and thanked him again and again. Cheng Zi'an hurriedly stopped him, and seeing that Mo Cao'er hesitated and didn't move, he called her with a smile: "Sister Cao'er is here, your son is in a hurry." ”

Mo Cao'er walked out with her noble son in her arms, Mo Hua'er was bold, took the candy and broke half of it and ate it, and kept half of it in her hands.

Cheng Zi'an gave Mo Cao'er and Mo Guizi the sugar, and gave the rest to Mo Sanlang: "Third uncle, you and Aunt Mao also taste it, it's A-Niang's craftsmanship, see if it's delicious." ”

Mo Saburo kept wiping his hand on his body, and said crampedly: "How embarrassing is this, the candy made by Cui Niangzi must be good." ”

Cheng Zi'an stuffed the sugar into Mo Saburo's hand, and saw Mo Hua'er holding the hidden half of the sugar in her mouth, and her big eyes were bent.

Sure enough, Mo Huaer left sugar for Mao's. When he saw Cheng Zi'an give Mo Saburo and Mao's family, he ate a piece of candy the size of a fingernail and ate it very preciously.

Cheng Zi'an sighed secretly and said, "Sister Cao'er, your son is naughty, it's better to take him out for a walk." Do you want Sister Hua'er to go with you? ”

Mo Saburo pinched the candy and hurriedly spoke: "The pillar can't be alone, the grass and flowers are all good to accompany Young Master Cheng." ”

Cheng Zi'an thanked her, Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er sisters were not idle all day long, and they were as busy as a spinning top. The whip of life keeps coming and goes, and they just keep spinning.

It is rare for the sisters to come out and walk around at night, and the two of them walk at the end in a proper manner, Mo Zhuzi is jumping in front of them, chattering and talking to Cheng Zi'an.

Cheng Zi'an answered him patiently, looking back at the sisters from time to time. Mo Cao'er was carrying Mo Guizi on his back, he grinned and giggled, and a crystal line of saliva hung on the corner of his mouth, dripping behind Mo Cao'er's collar.

"Takako's saliva, oops." Cheng Zi'an smiled, pointed to the osmanthus tree in front of him, and said, "Let's go and rest for a while, put your son down and play." ”

There are several stone piers under the osmanthus tree, and next to it is the main road out of the village. Usually there are always people sitting under the tree gossiping, maybe it is the busy season of farming, the night is empty, the rich fragrance of osmanthus flowers, in the moonlight faintly emanated.

Several people stepped forward and sat down, Mo Guizi purred in his mouth, twisted his body and slid down to the ground. Cheng Zi'an said: "Zhuzi takes Guizi to play, let Sister Cao'er and Sister Hua'er rest for a while." ”

Mo Zhuzi was honest, Cheng Zi'an said whatever he wanted, and immediately stepped forward and hugged Mo Guizi to pick the osmanthus flowers in the low place. Brothers, you babble and I speak cheerfully.

Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er were not familiar with Cheng Zi'an, and the two sat with their heads down, looking very cramped and uneasy.

After Cheng Zi'an opened Mo Zhuzi, he took the opportunity to take out the gold coin from his arms, stepped forward and put him in the hands of the two of them, and whispered, "Take it quickly." ”

The two of them picked up the gold coin and looked at it again and again, they rarely even saw silver, let alone the gold coin made of exquisite pods, and they were at a loss for a while, and stayed there.

Cheng Zi'an said: "There is no pillar, only for you." Don't be afraid to think about it, take it quickly. ”

Mo Zhuzi made a lot of money from Cheng Zi'an, and if he became his scholar in the future, his life would be better.

Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er are girls, the world is unfair, and their status in the family cannot be compared with Mo Zhuzi no matter what, so Cheng Zi'an didn't give him any more money.

Mo Cao'er became anxious, "I can't ask for it, the flowers will be returned to Young Master Cheng soon." Holding the gold coin and about to step forward, Mo Hua'er also stood up obediently.

Cheng Zi'an pressed down with his hand, "Don't push, listen to me!" Although he was young, he showed a majesty that did not match his age, and the two sat back in a daze.

"This money is for your private house, and I will have copper coins in the future, and I will exchange them with you, so that you can spend them. This is not a lot of money, you can use it to buy a new head rope, buy a head flower, buy a bag of snacks you want to eat, buy whatever you want, don't treat yourself badly. ”

Cheng Zi'an has never lived a poor life, and he can't really understand what it's like to be poor. But he knew the regrets of his childhood, and no matter how much he had in the future, he would not be able to make up for what he had missing.

Even if Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er are lucky enough to live a good life in the future, the poverty when they were young will not see the light of day, and they will never come back.

If there is a hint of brightness, it may bring them some comfort for the rest of their lives.

The matter on Cheng Zhen's side has not yet been decided, and Cheng Zi'an can't tell them about the future arrangements, if it fails, it will be a happy thing in vain.

"The money is given to you, and you can spend it however you want. However, do not expose your wealth, and protect yourselves. I'll teach you a trick, if you can earn some pocket money in normal times, this money can be spent in the open. With money, you have the confidence at home, and you can say no. ”

Cheng Zi'an also wanted to give them some life advice, and finally swallowed it.

Each other's circumstances are different, and the advice is not as practical as the help of real money.

I hope that their sisters will have some courage with this insignificant money in hand.

I don't dare to say that I can fight against this world, at least I can fight against the life path they have set since they were born.

Mo Cao'er and Mo Hua'er held the gold coin tightly, looking at Cheng Zi'an for a moment, stunned and grateful, and all kinds of emotions were intertwined. His lips moved, but he couldn't say anything.

Under the moonlight, they were thin and helpless, tears slipped quietly from the corners of their eyes, their shoulders twitched, and they were sensible and restrained when crying, for fear of causing others to look sideways.

Mo Zhuzi walked over with Mo Guizi, and Cheng Zi'an stepped forward, blocking his sight, and laughing at Mo Guizi.

"It's getting late, you guys should go home early, I'm going back too." Cheng Zi'an heard the sound of squirming stopping, so he said to Mo Zhuzi.

Mo Zhuzi said okay, and Mo Cao'er stepped forward to take Mo Guizi behind him. Cheng Zi'an raised her hand to say goodbye to them, and she walked silently behind him with Mo Hua'er.

Mo Zhuzi, who was inexplicable, scratched his head and stepped forward.

Cheng Zi settled down, but finally didn't say anything.

They sent him home, and that was the only reward they could give.

In front of Cheng's house, the four sisters and brothers waited until Cheng Zi'an entered the courtyard gate, Mo Hua'er helped Mo Guizi on Mo Cao'er's back, and Mo Zhuzi followed at the end and left together.

Cheng Zi was silent for a moment, then turned around and entered the brightly lit room.

Cui Suniang came out when she heard the movement and asked, "Who is coming?" ”

Cheng Zi'an replied: "The pillar said that there were dogs in the village, and they were afraid that I would not be able to beat them, so they gave me a ride." ”

Cui Suniang said that the pillar was sensible, and beckoned Cheng Zi'an to wash.

Cheng Zhen said behind his back: "You can't just play during the holidays, remember to review your homework and practice big characters." ”

Cheng Zi'an answered lazily and entered the house with a cigarette.

Next, Cheng Zhen came forward and found a weaving workshop for Mo Huaer, and after harvesting the rice, he followed a weaver surnamed Wu in the weaving workshop to learn the craft. Mrs. Wu is a widow with no children and no daughters under her knees, and seeing that Mo Hua'er is clever and honest, she is still dedicated to teaching her.

Mo Zhuzi became Cheng Zi'an's scholar, with 300 yuan a month, clothes for all seasons, eating at Cheng's house, and returning to Mo's house to live at night.

Mo Cao'er has no eyebrows about recruiting a son-in-law, Mo Saburo has discussed with the Mao family that he wants to keep her for a few more years and find out slowly.

When the people in the village saw the changes in the Mo family, they discussed for a while. The gossip passed quickly, and after harvesting rice, it was necessary to pay rent and autumn grain. There is not much food left after the harvest has just been received, the long winter is coming, and the spring famine season is not in the mood to talk about other people's family affairs.

Cheng Zi'an had a happy holiday, except when he was writing homework, he wilted when he saw the pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

After the holidays, when the weather became cold, he, like a bear, began to hibernate, shrinking all day long. The brain enters a dormant period and begins to nourish fat.

History is difficult to learn, it used to be pure recitation, and now there are more interpretations. Cheng Zi'an learned to shake his head and read like Mr. Zhou and his classmates, and soon shook himself to sleep.

Mo Zhuzi is still in the stage of learning "Thousand Character Essays", and Cheng Zi'an has to wait until he writes his homework, and he has to stay up.

Zhang Qi Chengzi An Xin sent three people, and became the bottom three in the class that was difficult to shake.

Fortunately, Cheng Zhen didn't have much to do with him, and Cui Meiniang's husband, Sun Shiming, was filial piety, and wrote to invite him to leave for the capital earlier to prepare for the Spring Festival.

Mingzhou is about a month's journey from the capital, take a boat from Mingzhou Mansion to the wharf in Yanzhou to get off the boat, and then change to a horse-drawn carriage, and you can get to the capital in two days.

Whenever the spring is the big exam, the houses and inns near the Gongyuan are particularly in demand, and if you go later, you can only find a place to live farther away. There are even distant state capitals, which set off for Beijing immediately after the autumn season.

In the triennial spring, people from all over the country will rush to the capital in advance. Participate in various literary meetings, turn around and ask the examiner, and look for various relationships.

Time flies, and in a flash, it is time to harvest rice, and Mingzhou Mansion has begun a tense autumn season.

Cheng Zhen took Qingchuan with him, and with a few people who were familiar with each other and had previously delayed a spring festival, they got on the boat together and went to Qingzhou to meet Sun Shiming and enter Beijing.

As soon as Cheng Zhen left, Cheng Zi'an was not as easy as the tight spell on his head was removed.

Cui Suniang was worried about Cheng Zhen's body and Chunqiu, in order not to worry Cui Suniang, he was more well-behaved and sensible than before, pretending to study in the study, and never went out to play crazy again.

That night, Cui Suniang and Cheng Zi'an were having dinner when there was a knock at the door.

Lao Zhang hurriedly opened the door, and when he saw Cui Wen and Cui Wu standing outside the door, he hurriedly saluted them, and greeted them in surprise: "Uncle, please come in." ”

Cui Suniang hadn't come back to her senses, Cheng Zi settled down, put down her chopsticks and got up, and said, "Uncle is here, I'll take a look." ”

Cui Wen and Cui Wu strode through the courtyard and came to the eaves of the porch, Cheng Zi'an stepped forward to salute, and saw the two of them uneasy, and his heart chuckled.

Cui Suniang also walked out, called the eldest brother and the second brother, and said in surprise: "Why are you here at this time, but there is something urgent?" ”

Cui Wen glanced at Cui Wu, his Adam's apple moved, and said with difficulty: "Sister, my brother-in-law in the capital has news." ”