Qiao Sanlang took over the conversation with a wronged look on his face.
"If it had always been like this, I wouldn't have said anything. But I don't know what went wrong with my second brother. Suddenly one day, he put up a sign on the old man's stall and started to help the poor students who were preparing for the exam and couldn't afford to eat properly.
A few days ago, the scope of relief was expanded to include caravans and passers-by who were temporarily in trouble."
"How many people are there? Are the students willing to come?"
"There weren't many at the beginning. After my second brother brought my third brother, Pei Chaodong and others along, Sanlang changed some rules, and then more students came here!"
"Who is Pei Chaodong?"
"Master Pei Xinshu's son usually gets along well with us."
Qiao Xin remembered that Pei Xinshu was the official in charge of Sinongjian, Guan Guanze's uncle. Qiao Xin had contacted Sinongjian when she asked him to make farm tools, and he was a responsible person. He was a cousin of Pei Xinyuan, who was next to the third brother, and a descendant of the Hedong Pei family.
I didn't expect that his children could get along well with Dalang and others.
The children of the noble families were actually very xenophobic. Ever since Dalang and his friends had a feud with Lu Le, the grandson of the Right Prime Minister, they were basically excluded from that circle. Even the Eighth Prince, who was close to them, was refused entry.
Fortunately, these children didn’t take it too seriously and gradually established their own social circles.
"Da Lang, do you agree with what my second brother is doing? What do you think, San Lang?"
"Grandma, I actually have no objection to what my second brother did. If this matter is handled well, perhaps there will be unexpected gains!
Qiao Sanlang nodded and said, "I think so. Qingyang Academy can only accept a few hundred students at most, but there are so many poor students in the world, they may not be bad.
Although a meal may seem small, it is a timely help and is far more touching than icing on the cake.
Scholars are very proud and have a strong sense of self-esteem. My second brother thinks too simply about people. Giving food to students for free may seem like a good deed, but it may not be rewarded. People may think that we are giving them food to humiliate them.
It is better to give them credit. As long as you register your address and name, you can eat for free. You can pay them back when you have money in the future.
If someone appreciates this, we will consider it as a good relationship. If he passes the exam, gets promoted, and is willing to pay back the few dozen coins, that would be great. If someone doesn't pay it back, we won't lose much. Anyway, we are doing charity with a lot of money, and it's not the first or second time.
I think my second brother got lucky this time! The poor students in the college are much kinder to us brothers.
"Have you told Jiro these words?"
"As I said, my second brother sent three servants over to help the next day, and also doubled the area of the stall. He also gave the grandfather and grandson two taels of silver every month. As for the ingredients consumed by the customers for free, he bought them from our farm with his own money.
Later, we simply set up a separate account and put a little money into it every month. It is used exclusively to support this stall. We only need to check the account book once a month.
When we are free, we often go there to sit! There are indeed many students who are taking exams there, but many of them rent a yard with more than a dozen people to save money for their families. There are many who only eat one meal a day or two steamed buns. Now that this stall has opened, it has helped many people solve the problem of eating.
Everyone has difficulties when they are away from home, so let’s do a good deed on that day!”
Qiao Xin laughed. The young are really promising. These grandsons of hers are kind-hearted but not malicious. They are tactful but not worldly-wise!
Erlang is really a fool with good fortune! How many invisible connections can a good deed bring him?
Qiao Sanlang felt a little distressed when he said this.
"That's right... that's right. Whenever I go to Beijing, my second brother drags me there. I have to talk about history and modern times with a bunch of students. I feel uncomfortable all over and have no time for myself.
Grandma, you know me well. I just like to stay quiet!"
Qiao Xin tried to hold back her smile and almost burst out laughing, but she was afraid of hurting her grandson's face, so she held back.
To put it bluntly, Sanlang is the kind of aloof and academically gifted teenager. In front of outsiders, he is cold, speaks little, has a sharp tongue and is not sociable.
In fact, I just like to be alone, like quietness, and don’t want to be the center of attention!
Qiao Xin thought about it and decided that it was not a big deal. If she didn't want to be a star, she could be a director. She could find some topics, hold some debates, and discuss some academic insights. She could find some classmates who were good at socializing and had a wide range of interests to help out.
There are many people in this world who like to be the brightest one in the crowd!
Qiao Xin reminded them that it would be better not to talk about state affairs but only discuss academic matters.
Maybe this place will develop into a good place for poor students.
The grandparents and grandchildren talked in whispers for most of the night, and the noise from the side room gradually died down!
The next morning, Qiao Xin took her grandson to do morning reading and exercises. After breakfast, she personally sent him to Fan Yanqiu.
Fan Yanqiu is now a juren, but he still serves as a private tutor to Qiao Dalang and his friends, and has no intention of entering the officialdom. When his wife Fan was in the most difficult time, she once worked as the head of the Qiao family.
Now that her status and position have improved and her life has become better, she has returned to her inner house to take care of her husband and children.
They were extremely happy to see Qiao Xin.
This is the great benefactor of their family, the old lady who has always treated them kindly regardless of their wealth or poverty.
Fan was grateful to Qiao Xin from the bottom of her heart.
When her parents-in-law passed away, not only did they spend all their savings on medical treatment, but they also borrowed a large amount of foreign debt. They were left with a young uncle and sister-in-law to take care of, and she also had a pair of children to raise.
The husband was just a scholar, and the couple was penniless and even in debt. It was the Qiao family who took them in.
Although it was for Fan Huairen's sake, why didn't my husband's other relatives give me this face?
During these years in the Qiao family, Fan had come to understand some things.
It is a relative but not a relative, it is not a relative but it is a relative.
The people who are cruelest to their own people are usually their blood relatives. If we only consider blood ties, with my husband's indifferent personality, their family would have been eaten to the bone without leaving any residue.
She would rather live with a family like the Qiao family than go back to the old house in Weizhou Prefecture.
Qiao Xin sat in the Fan family's backyard for a long time, getting along well with the forthright Fan. It was not until Nanny Qin sent someone to deliver a message that she got up and left.
Nanny Qin followed behind and said, "The nanny who manages the majesty has come in person, saying that she is sending out the list of palace maids."
Qiao Xin slapped her forehead and said, "Look at me, I'm old and forgetful. I was busy talking to Dalang and the others yesterday, and I didn't have time to tell you some things. The palace maids on this list are all those who will be released from the palace by His Majesty. Some of them will become Zhang Yun's wives in the future.
Mammy has a sharp eye and has seen many evil spirits, so you have to worry about them and keep an eye on them."
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