Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Qing'an County.

The door of He's house was slammed loudly.

It was evening and sunset, and every household in this neighborhood was busy cooking.

For Qing'an County, this street block is neither the residential area for local dignitaries nor the gathering place for low-level peddlers.

The housing standards in this neighborhood correspond to the middle class in Gyeongan County.

The so-called middle class here are basically the families of officials in the government offices of Qing'an County, finance, military, taxation, fortification and other fields, or the collateral relatives of the big families living in Changhuai Prefecture, the small families of Qing'an County, small gentry and landlords, or the local big businessmen who rely on these forces...

Therefore, although the He family settled here and it was a two-story house, it was not conspicuous at all.

In particular, everyone knew that the owner of the He residence was He Lian'er's parents, and the people who came in and out were He Lian'er's parents. The external identity of He Lian'er's parents was that they opened a teahouse on the street and hired several waiters to run the tea and snack business.

The He family has no son, only a daughter, He Lian'er, who is looking for a husband to marry her.

My son-in-law's surname is Yang. He works as an instructor in the Ministry of Works in Qing'an County. He is responsible for recruiting soldiers and training them in the spring every year. He is a practical man and does not have much power. His salary is just enough to support his family. Usually, my father-in-law's family uses the teahouse business to support the family and support two or three servants.

The He family is a low-key family who rarely goes out and about. On a daily basis, there are not many dignitaries visiting them.

So over time, in the eyes of other people in the neighborhood, the He family was a family that was just filling in the gaps among the high-class neighbors in the neighborhood.

However, the He family's house is in a good location, with the Yangtze River behind it and close to the intersection. It is also very close to the nearby tile market and school.

In particular, there is a cedar tree in the He family's yard. This cedar tree is very tall and beautiful, standing above the yard. Whenever other people pass by the yard, they can't help but stop to watch.

Among them were many elegant people who wanted to obtain the cedar tree, so they sent their servants to the He family to offer a price in order to buy the tree.

I was told that the tree was not for sale.

Then someone else went and raised the price, wanting to buy the house as well.

Once again rejected by the He family.

Buying and selling things should be a matter of mutual consent. There is a saying that goes, "Even if the deal fails, the friendship remains."

But it is left here, because the He family repeatedly rejected the request to buy and sell cedar trees, which made these people who can get whatever they want angry!
After they found out the details of the He family again and learned that the He family's greatest support was the son-in-law who married into the family and that they had no other backing, these people planned to force the sale.

Hu family.

The family name of the Hu family is Hu Xuesong, who is fifty-eight years old this year and is a juren.

The Hu family was originally a poor family in Qing'an County, but Hu Xuesong passed the imperial examination and got a job when he was young. He was sent to an outer county in Changhuai Prefecture to serve as a minor official for a few years and also served as a county magistrate for a few years.

Later, he retired to Qing'an County to live out his retirement.

Hu Xuesong was born with a lot of daughters, and he spent his whole life trying to have a son. In his early years in office, because he had no background and his family had no land, he could only support his family with his salary and the little money he saved. Later, when his daughters grew up, in order to reduce the burden on the family and continue to buy young concubines to try to have a son, Hu Xuesong married off his daughters one after another.

Finally, when Hu Xuesong was 40 years old, his concubine gave birth to a baby son. Hu Xuesong felt that he had nothing to desire in his life. A few years later, due to poor health, he took his family back to his hometown in Qing'an County to live out his retirement.

Originally, he couldn't afford to live in the house here, but one of his daughters married a scholar.

This daughter was the least favored one among Hu Xuesong's daughters. Her son-in-law, a scholar, was unable to offer a decent dowry at the beginning, so the couple were not well-liked by Hu Xuesong.

As a result, this son-in-law who was most disliked actually passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. He is now the governor of Qing'an County, controlling the local administration, economy, and military of the county...

When he was fifty years old, Hu Xuesong returned to Qing'an County with his streamlined family due to poor health.

With the help of the county magistrate's son-in-law, he bought a two-story house on a street by the river to live in during his retirement.

Because the son-in-law was the county magistrate and the daughter was the county magistrate's wife, the daughter's belly was more promising than her concubine's, and she gave birth to three sons for the son-in-law in one go. The couple treated each other as equals, and the son-in-law took better care of his father-in-law.

However, this kind of care from the son-in-law is a normal form of filial piety from the younger generation to the older generation, and it does not constitute an abuse of one's rights.

However, the others were shrewd people. If they wanted to establish a relationship with the county magistrate, they would look for ways everywhere. The county magistrate's wife's maiden family, the Hu family, naturally became their breakthrough point.

Hu Xuesong himself was an official in his early years, but he was only slightly corrupt and didn't have the courage to do anything serious.

However, he had a son in his later years and was very obedient to his son Hu Wangjia. He even wanted to fish out the moon in the water for his son. Everyone in the Hu family revolved around Hu Wangjia.

Over time, although Hu Wangjia was not from a noble family nor the son of a powerful person, he relied on the love of his old father, the favor of the county magistrate's wife and sister, and the flattery of those who had something to ask of the Hu family. Over time, Hu Wangjia became more and more arrogant and domineering, and became a well-known dandy in Qing'an County.

Hu Wangjia liked climbing trees, especially cedar trees. He also heard from that lackey that cedars were the banished immortals among trees. Cedars are vigorous and tall, rising into the sky, and those who climb cedars are real men and heroes.

So when Hu Wangjia passed by the He family's yard and saw the cedar tree in the yard, he had the idea of ​​transplanting it to his own yard.

It caused so much trouble later.

As a result, the deal fell through and Mr. Hu was very unhappy. He lost his temper with his father Hu Xuesong at home and refused to eat.

From the eldest wife to the concubines and maids, all were in a panic.

Hu Xuesong had no choice but to use some clever tricks to fulfill his beloved son's wish.

So he asked his housekeeper to go to the county government office to say hello to Captain Wu and send some gifts.

Then, just this morning, after the He family's morning tea shop opened, a customer ate a tray of buns and suddenly had a stomach cramp and fell to the ground.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Captain Wu and his men broke into the He family's morning tea shop and directly took He's father away!
The morning tea shop was ordered to close and suspend business pending verification.

The servant hurried to the He family to tell He Lianer and her mother the news. Both mother and daughter were shocked and angry. (End of this chapter)