surnamed Wang

Chapter 216 Bamboo Leaf Green

In the bamboo house, a table of meals has been prepared.

A few people occupied other people's space, so they were naturally embarrassed to make an old man busy. There were rice and noodles in the house, so the few people divided the labor and cooperated, and quickly tossed out a table of meals.

Perhaps it was because the family hadn't had any guests for a long time, the old man seemed very happy, and deliberately took out the treasured Zhuyeqing, and wanted to have a drink with a few young people.

Wang Gingquan couldn't resist, so he had no choice but to agree, secretly thinking that he must leave the money later.

The old man seemed to see his thoughts, and said bluntly:
"If you really appreciate it, then eat and drink enough, and don't turn around and say that I have neglected the guests.

As for money, old man, I have some savings, and I can afford a meal. "

Seeing that the other party said so, Wang Gingquan felt embarrassed to mention the matter of money again, and together with Pu Wen, he toasted the old man seriously.

When people are old, they like to tell stories after drinking.

Now, taking advantage of the strength of the wine, the old man talked about his youthful past.

The old man’s surname was Zeng. There were originally two people living in this bamboo house. Last year, due to a serious illness, the old man’s wife couldn’t hold on and passed away. The old man was left in the empty house.

According to the old man, his wife is seven or eight years younger than himself, and she was a young lady who was "abducted" when he was working in a wealthy family when he was young.

It is not appropriate to say "abducted". At that time, he was also considered a handsome person. He was selected as a scholar at a young age, but unfortunately he kept failing in the provincial examination, and the foundation left by his family's ancestors was almost consumed, so he found him. He became a householder and became an accountant.

The family's master was surnamed Sun. Although the business was very successful, they failed to produce a decent scholar.

Mr. Sun has two sons, both of whom are not suitable for studying, one eats, drinks, whores and gambles, and the other fights, neither of them is fuel-efficient.

There is only one little daughter left, who is well educated and smart enough, but it is a pity that she is a daughter.

Every time Mr. Sun sees the gentle Zeng Xiucai, he always thinks of his two unfulfilled sons. Seeing that they can't be counted on to provide for his retirement, he has the idea of ​​recruiting this scholar.

The young Zeng Xiucai still had a spirit of refusal to admit defeat, and he was unwilling to say anything.

It wasn't until later that the young lady who was not particularly outstanding, but could be regarded as Xiaojiabiyu, came forward in person and convinced Zeng Xiucai with her literary talent, which made him have to accept his fate.

Even if your heart is higher than the sky, you still have to have a foundation to hold on, right?

So the young Zeng Xiucai finally agreed to the marriage after a month of consideration.

On the day of marrying his daughter, Mr. Sun, whose hair was gradually graying, smiled happier than when he gave birth to his son.

One is because there is finally a scholar in the family, and the other is that I will not sleep on the streets for the rest of my life and have no one to rely on.

Mr. Sun is a shrewd businessman, and even a shrewder man.

Taking advantage of his youth and not being confused, he divided his foundation into three equal shares and handed them over to his two sons and one daughter respectively.

The two sons were happy when they got the foundation. Thinking that no one would nudge them in the future, they let go of eating, drinking and having fun. On the other hand, the daughter and son-in-law here managed one third of the foundation well.

After getting married for a long time, the wife still didn't see any signs of pregnancy. Zeng Xiucai even thought of the name of the child, but unfortunately, she didn't see any movement in her stomach.

Fortunately, the husband and wife have compatible personalities and are harmonious, but there is no rift because of this.

Later, those two uncles ruined all their property, and they had the cheek to come to the door to ask for money. The husband and wife were kind-hearted, and they planned to help them, but they happened to be spotted by Mrs. Sun.

As a result, the two sons were scolded by him, and he told Zeng Xiucai and his wife to leave them alone.

But blood is thicker than water, how could they really ignore it, not to mention that Zeng Xiucai knew in his heart that his son-in-law could be half of him, but he was only half of him.

After much deliberation, the couple still decided to give the money, but they still explained the truth to the two elder brothers in a serious manner. As for how much they can listen to, it all depends on themselves.

This incident has passed for more than a year, and the two brothers have not shown up again.

Later, two news came, one good and one bad.

The good news is that the elder brother who likes to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, has learned his shame and bravely started a business with the money the couple gave him, and he is doing pretty well now.

The bad news is that the second brother, who likes to fight, had his head chopped off by a guy who was probably a gangster because of an argument with someone on the street.

Grandpa Sun, who heard the news, lamented, "It's the father's fault whether to raise or not teach", and then burst into tears.

A few years later, the elder brother who had made a good appearance in the capital returned to his hometown in fine clothes and reunited with Mrs. Sun. Before leaving, he returned twenty times the money he had borrowed and took the Mrs. Sun away.

One year later, Mrs. Xiucai, who hadn't seen anything for a long time, was finally found pregnant. One year later, she gave birth to a son named Juren. Xiucai hoped that the son would inherit his father's career and fulfill his unfinished wish.

……

Holding her newly born son, Zeng Xiucai was filled with emotion.

In just ten years, too many things happened. Some people gave up their bad habits and started a new life, while others died miserably by the side of the road.

There is both the death of old life and the birth of new life.

After experiencing all this, Zeng Xiucai figured out something, gave up the business life he didn't like, sold all his properties, and reopened the life of studying hard in the cold window.

It is said that it is a poor window, but it is much better than when he was at his worst. His wife and children are hot on the bed, which is something no one can ask for.

Zeng Xiucai, who has been taking the exam for many years and still can't get a result, finally admits his fate. Maybe he really doesn't have the talent for reading.

But at this moment, he discovered that his son's talent seemed to be much superior to his own, and his proud "literacy at the age of three, and reading a thousand words at the age of five" seemed to be passed on to the child.

In addition, the child also inherited the wisdom of his mother, not limited to memorizing memorized books. At the age of eight, he wrote poems that even he couldn't help applauding.

Zeng Xiucai was overjoyed, and began to concentrate on teaching his children to read and write. He even sent him to a private school because he was afraid that his rigid dogma would delay the child.

The child named Zeng Juren was also up to the challenge. He was selected as a scholar in the [-]th year, and he was a scholar in the [-]th.

Although he is not as good as the No. [-] scholar, he is also a figure who stands above the millions of students of the dynasty.

Coincidentally, the person who participated in the imperial examination in the same year as Zeng Tanhua and finally won the first prize is the husband of the third princess, Lian Lilian.

And the second place in that year was also a son of a well-known family in the south of the Yangtze River. In terms of background, he was several blocks away from Zeng Tanhua.

Because of this, Zeng Xiucai said to everyone that his son was able to be today because he was mostly like his mother.

He doesn't mind saying more about these self-deprecating words. Thanks to the support of his good wife these years, the child can achieve what he is today.

Furthermore, he is a married man, and he has heard a lot of contempt and ridicule these years, and the scholarly spirit in him has long since disappeared.

……

After the old man finished speaking, he drank the bottom of the glass and squinted his eyes to think about it.

I don't know if I am reminiscing about the taste of the drink, or reminiscing about my own life.

"So, the grandpa's son is a high official, so why do you still live here?"

The girl Moon Cake spoke quickly, and asked out the doubts in her heart with her big eyes open.

The old man smiled and said:

"The child knew that I like quietness, so he built a bamboo house for me here. After my wife left, he wanted to take me to the capital more than once. It's just that I'm used to living here, and I really don't want to move."

After speaking, the old man stood up, walked to the window, opened the window and looked behind the house.

In the open space surrounded by a bamboo forest behind the house, a solitary tomb is quietly erected.

Several people saw it clearly.

Yan Rongrong's eyes turned red at this time, and asked in a low voice:
"You said, one day we will be separated from each other?"

"Yes."

"Will you be uncomfortable then?"

Wang Gangquan looked at the old man's calm expression, and said calmly:
"It's hard to think about it now, but when the time comes, maybe you can see it."

(End of this chapter)