Chapter 91: The Pig-Slaughtering Feast When Good Things Are About to Happen...
Master Guo waited at the academy for two days, and finally on the third day, Guo Baiwen returned to teach.
"Have you settled your farmland?" He assumed that Guo Baiwen, like other students who had taken leave from farming, was rushing home to help with the autumn harvest.
"It's all settled." Seeing this, Guo Baiwen didn't explain further.
He went back and talked to Uncle Shi in the past few days, and most of the usable things from the old house have been moved to the county town.
For the remaining items, we can patch up what we can use and use it; otherwise, we can just throw them away.
As for the house that has been renovated, it would be good if it could be rented out, but it doesn't matter if no one rents it.
After all, it's a house we've lived in for so long, and the family doesn't want to see it fall into disrepair.
Guo Shitou naturally understood what he meant. Not to mention that Grandma Guo had always been on good terms with his family, he had heard from Banshan that he was able to find such a decent job in the county town largely thanks to Guo Baiwen.
Of course, he had no objections and simply nodded repeatedly, saying, "Since you've entrusted it to Uncle Stone, then you can rest assured!"
"I will definitely handle everything perfectly for you."
Grandma Guo then briefly described the places she wanted to renovate, handed over the money for managing lunch to the village head, and asked someone to help prepare a meal for the villagers and craftsmen who were repairing the house every day.
Seeing that nothing had been overlooked, he took the donkey and made a detour to the tenant farmer's place to inquire about the situation before returning to the county town.
There were so many things to do that I had to take two days off.
Fortunately, neither Master Guo nor Master Cao said anything about it.
Guo Baiwen felt a little relieved. When he returned to his seat, Lin Zhongbin handed him the notes he had made over the past two days: "Yizhang, I have written down everything the teacher said in class these past few days. Take a look. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
"Thank you, Qingru," Guo Baiwen said, taking the notebook. Although he could not hide his fatigue, he nodded gratefully. "I'll return the notebook to you before school ends today."
“No rush,” Lin Zhongbin waved his hand. “I’ve memorized almost everything on it. You can return it to me tomorrow.”
"Thank you very much."
It would be better if I could return it tomorrow, so I wouldn't have to rush during my lunch break.
At this moment, Master Cao entered the classroom, and everyone quickly sat up straight, holding their books and reading aloud.
When Guo Baiwen went to see Master Guo during the lunch break, he unexpectedly found several altered articles on his desk.
When Master Guo saw him coming, he was a little embarrassed and put his things away.
He initially intended to pretend he hadn't noticed, but after hesitating for a few moments, he couldn't help but ask, "Master, what were those articles just now?"
Knowing that his students had discovered it, Master Guo no longer hid it and openly revealed, "These are all my policy essays."
"Strategy?"
"Next year will be the autumn imperial examination again, which is held every three years," Master Guo stroked his beard, his tone tinged with a touch of melancholy. "Although I have participated a few times before, I have never been able to achieve a good ranking."
If you count carefully, next year will be his fifth time participating in the provincial examination.
Each time, the expenses were not small, and most of the money accumulated over the years was spent on taking the exams.
Although his wife and children never complained about him, sometimes in the middle of the night, Master Guo would ask himself whether he should continue to persevere.
But after years of hard study, he felt unwilling to give up so easily.
If you only think this way in your mind and your students find out, that's a different story.
Guo Baiwen naturally noticed the embarrassment in his teacher's eyes, so he awkwardly changed the subject, saying, "I am grateful that you have taken the time out of your busy schedule to teach me."
Master Guo waved his hand, then looked at Guo Baiwen and couldn't help but sigh, "Time waits for no one. Every time I see you, I feel like I'm seeing myself when I was a child studying."
When Guo Fuzi passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), he was only twenty-five years old and felt that he was destined for great things.
As a result, I participated in the provincial examination held once every three years, and time has passed by. Now I am almost forty years old, and I am still working hard for the autumn examination.
Fortunately, over the years, he has also taught many good students.
It can't be said that time has completely slipped away.
Master Guo thought for a moment and then took out his previous notes. "I'm afraid I won't be able to spare the energy to guide you during this period. These are my notes from when I was studying at the academy. You can take them back and take a good look."
"If there's anything you don't understand, just write it down for now. If I really can't find the time to answer it for you, you can go ask Master Cao."
However, I heard that Master Cao is also preparing for next year's autumn imperial examination, just like him.
He thought for a moment, then added another word of advice.
Guo Baiwen nodded in agreement. When he returned to the classroom with his things, Lin Zhongbin was just about to have lunch. Seeing that he was still holding books, Lin Zhongbin called out, "Why don't you eat at the stone table under the tree?"
Master Cao forbade eating in the classroom, believing that the mixed smells of various foods would contaminate the books.
Guo Baiwen was also feeling a bit hungry, so he picked up the food box and said, "Let's go."
The two sat down at their usual dining spot. Lin Zhongbin looked at the book in his hand with some curiosity, "Did Master Guo give this to you again?"
When he arrived at Yangzheng Academy, he entered the Confucian classics section and was not very familiar with the teachers in the elementary school section.
In other words, Guo Baiwen would visit Master Guo from time to time, and as a result, he also became familiar with Master Guo.
“Yes,” Guo Baiwen said, carefully wrapping the book in clean oil paper before opening the food box. “These are the notes that the teacher made when he was studying. I plan to make a handwritten copy later.”
Then he looked up at Lin Zhongbin and said, "Once we've finished copying, we can look at it together."
"That's good." Lin Zhongbin wiped his hands first, then carefully opened the book, glanced at a few pages, and carefully put the book away. "Then I'll wait for you to finish copying it before lending it to me."
"I haven't finished copying your notes yet. I reckon it'll take at least three days, no matter how fast I try."
"No rush, just borrow it from me before the ten-day break."
"That's definitely no problem."
This had happened a few times before. Lin Zhongbin's family also had relatives in the provincial capital, who would often help send books from there.
The two had a good relationship and would exchange copies of each other's books.
When I was walking home from school today, I was stopped again by the Chen family.
This time, however, it was Chen Baoyue who stopped him; the two hadn't met very often lately.
Chen Baoyue had just called out to the person when she blushed involuntarily and began to stammer, "You, you're going home."
The couple's wedding is in a few months.
But Chen Baoyue still hasn't decided what to call him.
When she called him Brother Guo before, she didn't know he was younger than her. But if she called him Baiwen directly, it would seem too intimate.
Fortunately, Guo Baiwen didn't find anything strange. His ears turned red as he nodded and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
“We slaughtered a pig today, and my parents are still busy in the backyard,” Chen Baoyue said, her eyelashes half-lowered. “We were thinking of inviting your family over for a pig-slaughtering feast. We also have some cured meat to make later, so we can take some back with us.”
It's a wild boar from the mountains, delivered by Chen Damu early this morning.
The two are currently slaughtering a pig in the backyard. Chen Zhonghua found a clean wooden basin specifically to collect the pig's blood, so they can have fresh Maoxuewang (a spicy Sichuan dish) tonight.
Outside the courtyard, the water for scalding pig hair on the earthen stove had already boiled.
It was only because someone had to be left in the backyard that her father asked her to wait for someone while she looked after the shop in the front.
The highlight of the pig slaughtering ceremony is naturally the pig-slaughtering feast, which is usually attended by relatives and close friends.
However, the families who are invited will arrive early to help.
Guo Baiwen quickly nodded in agreement, "Is there anything I need to bring?"
The Chen family didn't invite many people: the Guo family, the Lin family who promised to help embroider the wedding dress, and the Sun family who had acted as matchmaker.
So Chen Baoyue was a little unsure, "We should not lack anything, you can decide what you want to bring."
When Guo Baiwen arrived with Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua, the shops in front of the Chen family's house were already closed, but the backyard was bustling with activity.
Inside the kitchen, Granny Sun and Chen Zhonghua were busy cutting meat, while Madam Lin and Chen Baoyue were helping to wash vegetables.
Carpenter Hu was overseeing two stacked stoves by himself, with water boiling in the two pots on top.
As for the dishes for the pig-killing feast later, Chen Zhonghua has already thought of them. Lotus root and pork rib soup can be made, as well as spicy blood curd and pickled cabbage with pork bones.
Grandma Sun said she was good at cooking offal, such as pig lungs and pig liver, which she could make very delicious.
The only troublesome thing is that the pig intestines are difficult to process. They need to be washed and scrubbed. Chen Youtian thought for a moment, put the things in a wooden basin, and said he would take them out to wash.
I'll bring it back after it's washed clean.
Seeing that everyone had found their own tasks, Grandma Guo joined in to help stir-fry vegetables and cut meat.
Guo Baiwen and Guo Xiaohua arrived late, so all they could do was bring hot water or set out the tables, chairs, and dishes.
There were so many people today that the Chen family's table wasn't big enough, and they didn't have enough bowls and chopsticks. Luckily, Grandma Guo had thought of this beforehand and brought some bamboo bowls that her family used to use, which was just enough.
Guo Baiwen and Hu the carpenter carried another table down from upstairs.
When two tables are pushed together, the dishes at one end are always out of reach. Fortunately, Chen Zhonghua cooked two large plates of each dish, which were then placed on the two tables, making it more convenient for everyone to eat.
By the time we finally managed to sit down, it was already completely dark.
Grandma Guo picked up a piece of stir-fried pork liver with chives made by Grandma Sun. The pork liver was stir-fried so well that it was both flavorful and tender that she couldn't help but nod and praise, "This dish you made tastes so good. You could open a restaurant with this skill."
Chen Zhonghua originally didn't like eating pig liver, but after hearing what Grandma Guo said, he also picked up a piece with his chopsticks.
After taking one bite, her eyes lit up. "This tastes delicious! Grandma Sun, you must teach me how to make it!"
Grandma Sun was delighted to receive praise, and without holding back, she directly revealed her cooking methods.
Worried that people might not remember, I repeated it twice more.
Sitting next to her, Zhao Dayong took a few sips of the pork rib soup. The soup was fragrant and rich, and the meat on the ribs was tender. "This soup is delicious."
The lotus root soaking in the broth is also delicious; it has completely absorbed the flavor of the soup.
Carpenter Hu likes to eat pig's blood, and he usually stews it with cabbage and radish. But perhaps the pig's blood is fresh enough today, and when paired with the spicy broth of Mao Xue Wang (a Sichuan hot pot dish), it is hot, numbing, and spicy, making it very addictive.
Today's dishes were oily and delicious. People at both tables had been busy for a long time, and it was only with great difficulty that they were able to sit down and eat. The speed at which each person ate their chopsticks never slowed down.
After eating until they were about 80% full, they started talking while still eating.
"Chen family, isn't the marriage between your two families just around the corner?"
"It's coming soon, only two or three months left."
Madam Lin chimed in, "The wedding attire for the newlyweds should be almost finished by next month." As she spoke, she glanced at Guo Baiwen, "Brother Guo, are you sure you don't need me to make your wedding attire?"
Guo Baiwen and Chen Baoyue were picking up food when they heard this, so they both lowered their heads and picked up their bowls, as if they hadn't heard their conversation.
Having been called out, Guo Baiwen could only put down his bowl and say, "I have a healthy meal here, so I don't need to cook anymore."
Grandma Guo had been making arrangements before, wondering if she should have a new outfit made to look more festive.
However, Guo Baiwen took out the brocade bamboo patterned outfit that he had gotten from signing in before, but had been keeping at the bottom of his trunk, and showed it to everyone several times.
Even Grandma Guo didn't say a word when she saw the clothes.
Hearing Lin Niangzi still asking, she smiled and waved her hand, "Wenzai's wedding clothes are ready, so there's really no need to worry about it anymore."
As the conversation shifted to the upcoming wedding, everyone teased the newlyweds a bit more.
When both of their faces were flushed, Chen Zhonghua quickly changed the subject, "Grandma Guo, I heard that young man Guo is thinking of taking the exam?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dayong perked up one ear.
When it came to Guo Baiwen's schooling, Grandma Guo was naturally happy, but she still said, "Yes, they said they'd give it a try next year. I think it would be good for him to broaden his horizons."
Guo Baiwen is eighteen years old this year, which is not considered young among the candidates. Although he has not been studying for very long, if he can pass the preliminary examination next year, it will be a great joy to bring honor to his ancestors.
Zhao Dayong's tone was tinged with envy; it's still the scholars who appreciate such things.
Education is expensive, and his family's previous household registration also limited their efforts in this direction. Fortunately, now his grandchildren are also able to go to school.
Even if I don't achieve any official rank, at least I can learn to calculate, and it would be good if I didn't continue to be illiterate.
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