Chapter 29 Meeting an acquaintance
The old Gu family received more than 70 kilograms of wild boar meat. Now that it is still early to the New Year, it should be enough to keep a few kilograms for their own consumption, and the rest can be sold to villagers at a lower price.
But the old Gu family only sold a small part of it and kept most of it.
The children of the Gu family were cheering, after all, if the meat was not sold, it meant they could keep it at home and eat it.
The children ate it for several days in a row and didn’t feel sick of it at all. Instead, they were as happy every day as if it were New Year’s Day.
Old Mrs. Gu wanted to sell most of the wild boar meat, but Gu Mingda stopped her.
"Now that our family sells tofu, we live a more comfortable life than before, and there is no need to be as frugal as before. The children are at the age of growing up. If the boy grows up strong, it will be easier for him to find a wife in the future. If the girl grows up strong, she won't have to worry about the difficulties of childbirth in the future." This is what Gu Mingda advised Old Mrs. Gu.
Old Mrs. Gu was also a grandmother who truly loved her younger generation, so even though she still felt pained, she still accepted the suggestion.
For the boys from the eldest branch of the Gu family, what made them even happier was that Gu Mingda’s private class was finally closed.
Gu Mingda was about to leave for the provincial capital to take part in the college entrance examination. He could no longer teach the children to read and write, but he still assigned them a lot of homework before they left.
However, the brothers Gu Yun and Gu Jin did not take it seriously. After all, they had not finished their homework and their second uncle had no punishment. As long as they avoided their parents, they would not be beaten at all. The brothers immediately went around flirting with cats and dogs like birds released from a cage.
Their joy did not last long, as they were suppressed harshly by Old Lady Gu again.
Old Lady Gu was very strict with her own sons, but was more doting on her grandchildren. This time, it was again Gu Mingda's slander that made the old lady maintain her previous high-pressure education.
"They will have to set up their own families in the future. Big brother and big sister-in-law are too doting on them. If they are not polished, they will develop weak personalities in the future. Mother, you don't want Gu Jin to finally become a carpenter's apprentice, but fail to continue learning because he can't endure hardship."
Listening to Gu Mingda's advice, Mrs. Gu's heart skipped a beat. After all, Gu Jin was so lazy in studying and practicing calligraphy. If he became a carpenter's apprentice in the future, he might not be able to endure the hardship.
Old Mrs. Gu couldn't help but scold her eldest son and his wife. Children in the countryside grow up early and have to help with housework at a young age. But the couple in the eldest house spoiled their two sons to no end. Gu Yun was already fourteen years old, but he still spent the whole day wandering around outside playing with cats and dogs.
Unfortunately, the autumn harvest has passed and there is not much farm work to do at home. After thinking about it for a night, Old Mrs. Gu forced the two boys from the eldest wife to learn how to weave baskets and ropes from Old Man Gu.
Old Man Gu was a little confused, so in order to persuade him to teach, Old Lady Gu had to spend a lot of time and effort, using both coaxing and deceiving methods to get him into the mood.
When Chen Chunhua learned about this, her first reaction was not that her son had finally learned some skills, but she said hesitantly to Old Lady Gu: "Mom, should the things they made belong to our eldest house?"
Chen Chunhua's idea was very simple. Although the woven rope frame was not worth much money, the couple went out to sell tofu every day. They might be able to sell it if they could. If they couldn't sell it, they could give it as a gift.
Anyway, she didn't want the whole family to take advantage of her.
Old Mrs. Gu was also a shrewd person. Naturally, she understood the eldest daughter-in-law's little calculations on the spot. She didn't indulge her. She scolded her every five seconds: "Why don't you say that their shit belongs to your eldest wife? Why don't you take it home and eat it! If you really want to calculate so clearly, then raise the children yourself! The two children are so old and still only know how to play around. They are all spoiled by you. If I were you, I would be so ashamed! How dare you say such things!"
Chen Chunhua was scolded so badly that she couldn't even raise her head.
Old Mrs. Gu was so provoked by her that she went to extremes. Originally, it was enough for the two children to work for one hour every day, but now she was like a vicious supervisor, watching her two grandsons work all day, causing them to complain bitterly. At the end of the day, they were so tired that they could not even lift their arms.
Gu Yun and Gu Jin even began to miss Gu Mingda. They felt that when their second uncle was at home, learning to write was not as painful as it was now when they had to weave baskets as soon as they opened their eyes.
The efforts of the two were not in vain. The old Gu family accumulated a lot of baskets in the woodshed in a short period of time. Old Mrs. Gu took some time to go to the town and sell the frames at a low price.
Chen Chunhua also wanted to share some of the money from selling the baskets, but was severely scolded by Old Lady Gu again.
After the bamboo strips for weaving baskets were used up at home, the Gu Yun brothers thought that the hardship had finally come to an end, but they did not expect that the old lady would urge them to go up the mountain to collect firewood again. There were tasks every day to ensure that they were busy all day.
Gu Mingda had no idea that he had brought misery to his two nephews. He had already set off with his wife and daughter, following the caravan on a long journey.
If you take a horse carriage normally, you will reach the provincial capital in about ten days.
However, when the caravan headed north, its final destination was not the provincial capital, but it first went to the south of the Yangtze River and only returned after arriving in the capital.
The caravan stopped and went on the road, and basically stayed for a day or two in every small town it passed by. The caravan had more and more goods, and more and more people paid to travel with the caravan. Among them, there were many students like Gu Mingda who were going to the provincial capital to take the exam.
Although the speed was very slow, this was what Gu Mingda was happy to see. After all, he had a family to support, and his three children were relatively young. If the schedule was too rushed, they might not be able to endure it.
Gu Mingda also saw acquaintances in the caravan. He had participated in so many college examinations that he inevitably knew many scholars from various counties. This time the caravan passed through Huaize County, and there were more guests in the caravan, and one of them happened to be his acquaintance.
"Brother Sun, this is my wife and three children. They are..." Gu Mingda introduced his family to Sun Jiaxing.
Sun Jiaxing and his wife Li both looked at the Gu family's children with envy.
They have been married for more than ten years, but have no children.
The friendship between Sun Jiaxing and Gu Mingda was actually quite condescending.
The ranks of scholars who took the imperial examinations were: tongsheng, xiucai, juren and jinshi.
Gu Mingda was just a student, but Sun Jiaxing was a juren. Sun Jiaxing followed the caravan in order to go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination next year.
Although a tongsheng can be looked up to by the villagers, he has not actually stepped into the threshold of the imperial examination and cannot enjoy any benefits of the imperial examination at all. But after becoming a xiucai, he can be exempted from taxes on several acres of land, and he will not continue to take exams in the future. He can open a school in the town to accept disciples.
Becoming a juren not only exempts one from taxes on 300 acres of land, but also means one has one foot into officialdom and can seek an official position. Although it is difficult to climb higher, one is already far ahead of ordinary scholars.
Sun Jiaxing and Gu Mingda are about the same age, but they are already preparing to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination. They can truly be described as young and promising people. What's more rare is that despite the huge difference in their status, Sun Jiaxing is still willing to interact with Gu Mingda.
His wife, Mrs. Li, was also a very kind person. After glancing at the two children of the Gu family, her eyes fell on Niu Niu.
Seeing the little girl looking at her with big eyes and a worried look on her face, Li couldn't help laughing and teasing, "Little girl, is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Zhang Yunniang pulled Niuniu and was about to tell the child that it was impolite to stare at people.
But I didn’t expect that Niu Niu suddenly burst into tears.
"Aunt Sun, you can't go to the capital!" Niu Niu said loudly.
(End of this chapter)
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