Good luck with koi carp

Chapter 141 Bohe Mansion

After the banquet was over, the Xu family did not leave.


After finally making the trip, they interrupted to stay a little longer. In order to entertain her mother-in-law's family, Ms. Xu simply took them to play in another courtyard of her house.


This villa is much larger than the house the Xu family lives in. It is located at the foot of the mountains in the countryside. It is called a villa, but in fact it is more like a relatively spacious farmhouse.


Let Chi Li see that this place is completely a farmhouse.


There are houses, vegetable plots, poultry, and a small fish pond. The key point is that the surrounding environment is completely close to nature. Not only modern people occasionally want to relax in this kind of place, but ancient literati and poets also loved it. A place like this seems to be very likely to inspire poetry.


Sure enough, as soon as the two families arrived here, before Chili had time to finish the visit, her father and uncles took her to enjoy the natural scenery and write a few poems along the way.


The poem written by Chi Lihui is quite spiritual, and occasionally there are some amazing works that can make people marvel.


But when it comes to viewing natural scenery, she is not very interested.


As a fish, she grew up in nature. She was tired of seeing these scenery and could not draw any so-called inspiration from them. However, her own father and uncles liked it, so Chili just treated her as an elder companion.


Mrs. Xu was on the other side greeting her sister-in-law and nieces. Chili occasionally took the time to come back and listen to what they were talking about, and then retreated silently.


They were all about family issues such as children's marriages and so on, and she was even mentioned in them, but she didn't like to hear them.


"Cousin Li'er."


Xu Fan'er didn't know when she came to Chi Li, raising her little head and calling her in a sweet voice.


"What's wrong?" Chi Li lowered her head when she heard the sound, then squatted down to keep her eye level with the little girl, listening to what she wanted to do.


What big thing can a child do? It's just a greedy mouth.


It turned out that she had set her sights on the oranges on the trees beside the vegetable field, but she was too small to pick them, so she came to Chili for help.


"Let's go, cousin will take you to pick oranges."


Chili led her little cousin all the way to the orange tree, stretched out her hand and picked two oranges on the branches for her. Picking a pair was not enough, so she picked a lot of ripe oranges back in one go.


Oranges in the south usually mature in December, but now it is early January. There are still some late-fruiting oranges on the trees. It just so happens that these are picked by Chili and brought back not only to the cousins ​​to eat, but also to show filial piety to the elders.


Although the orange tree is outside and everyone can pick it if they want, the elders are still coaxed to be happy by their daughter/niece/granddaughter’s wishes and they can’t stop praising Chili for her filial piety.


Chi Li is already used to being praised.


Ever since the arrival of her maternal grandfather's family, she had been praised almost every day. She might have been a little embarrassed at first, but then she was happy and a little proud after being praised, and in the end she was just calm.


Noticing an envious gaze falling on her, Chi Li turned her head and caught Xu Xiang'er's gaze before she had time to retract it.


Her gaze paused for a moment, then returned as if nothing had happened.


During this trip, Mrs. Xu brought two families to the Chijia Villa. In addition to inviting her mother-in-law's family to come for an outing, she also wanted to come and see the fields.


As mentioned before, the Chi family is planning to buy land.


It's just that there weren't many people selling land around Da'an County, so Xu searched for a long time and finally found some decent fields.


Most of them happened to be scattered near their Chijia villa. In other words, the location of these lands was actually found by Xu. If they bought all the land near their villa, they could directly expand it. The scope of the hospital is also convenient for management.


Originally, when the two aunts of the Xu family heard that the Xu family was here to look at the land, they wanted to help with the consultation. However, before the Xu family could politely refuse, they were distracted by a word from the Xu family's grandmother.


Mrs. Xu gave her mother a grateful look, and quickly said that she didn't dare to tire her two sisters-in-law. She could just take her three children for a walk, and it was all for fun.


The last people to leave were Xu, Chili and two cousins ​​from the Xu family.


It was Xu's intention to bring her cousins ​​​​with her. Firstly, she wanted to appease her two sisters-in-law who were refused to accompany them. Secondly, she also planned to let the children come and see what the fields looked like in person. In the future, when they get married and take care of the house, it won't be a big deal. Don't even understand.


I heard that the family Xu Xiang'er promised also has hundreds of acres of fertile land, and the family mainly relies on these fields to live. When marrying into such a family, Xu Xiang'er must know some knowledge about the field, so as not to be fooled by servants in the future.


Although after she gets married, her mother-in-law will naturally teach her what she needs to learn, but if she knows more, wouldn't she be able to be looked upon favorably by others?


So Xu, the aunt, is also planning for her niece's future.


Xu Xiang'er is smart, so she can naturally see her aunt's good intentions, but she doesn't seem to be very interested in these things. Although she listened carefully to her aunt's teachings during the whole trip, how to judge the quality of fields, crops, fruits and vegetables, but There is also some lack of energy.


He looked like he didn't want to learn but had to learn.


Contrary to her, Chi Li and Xu Fan'er listened with great interest, and occasionally asked questions themselves, asking Mrs. Xu or the accompanying farmers from other courtyards to help answer their questions.


For example, what type of rice was sown and when, what is the difference between high-grade fertile land and medium-grade land, how to tell whether the land is fertile or not, etc.


After they took a look around all the land they were planning to sell, they were still a little bit unsatisfied.


"I didn't expect that there is so much knowledge in farming." Xu Faner sighed like a young adult.


Chili smiled and replied to her: "That's natural. Whether we people can have enough to eat depends entirely on the harvest of this land. Naturally, we have to study the knowledge inside, how to grow food, fertilize, irrigate, prevent pests, etc. It’s all precious knowledge passed down by our ancestors through experiments from generation to generation, and there’s a lot of knowledge in it.”


"Well said, haha... I didn't expect my son to have such an opinion. Not bad." He didn't know how long he had been listening nearby. After hearing what his daughter said, Chi Xiucai couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised with a smile.


As someone who has been dealing with fields all his life, Chi Xiucai also has a very deep affection for fields. He is extremely gratified to see that his daughter can draw such insights from them.


Although it was too early to think about this now, a thought flashed through his mind for a moment. If his daughter could become an official in the future, she would definitely be a good official.


Chi Li didn't know that her father had already thought of going so far away. After she stopped praising her again, she couldn't help but reply: "Dad, please stop praising me. If you praise her again, your daughter will be proud."


"Be proud, be proud. My daughter is so good, so she should be proud and confident." That's what he said, but when Chi Li was studying the next day, Chi Xiucai went out of his way to teach her the golden mean and let her learn to be humble. Don't be proud of yourself, etc...


In fact, these are good principles for life for Chi Li, and Chi Li is also learning them. But in the future, she decided to base her decision on the actual situation. After all, there are many people in the world who do not need you to be civilized and polite. People, when dealing with guys like this who don't even act like people, you don't need to treat them like people.


"Mom and Dad, have you decided what land you want to buy?"


At night, in the main hall of the Chi family's house, Chi Li curiously asked her parents about their final decision to buy land.


Chili didn't put forward any opinions to influence his parents' thoughts on this matter. It was entirely up to the Chi family and his wife to make the decision themselves. After all, they had been housekeepers for so long and had much more experience in this matter than Chili. They really didn't need it. Pear helps with something.


Chili asks now just out of curiosity.


Family matters have been basically open to her daughter since she was admitted as a scholar. Now that her daughter wants to know about the family's land purchase, Chi Xiucai does not hide it and informs her daughter of the decision that the couple had discussed for a long time.


"We are going to buy all the fields for sale around the courtyard, regardless of their quality."


Before Chi Li could ask why, Mrs. Xu answered for her: "There are 34 acres of good farmland and 21 acres of medium farmland in those lands. Although it costs a lot to buy them all at once, in the long run, it will still be beneficial to our family." ."


Chili did a quick mental calculation. According to the current market price, it would cost 720 taels to buy these fields in one go. His family just spent a lot of money to buy two shops in Fucheng some time ago. Logically speaking, the family's current financial situation The situation must be a little tight.


So if you really want to come up with so much money at once, you will have to use your parents' coffin book.


Thinking of this, Chili frowned: "If I buy so much land, will my family be unable to support it?"


"That's not true. Have you forgotten, the autumn harvest has just passed. Our family has just harvested a large amount of grain some time ago. My father sold half of it. The money earned plus the original money at home is almost enough to buy these lands. ."


If he hadn't been concerned that he still had a grain store open and had to keep some goods to supply the store, Chi Xiucai might have sold more than half of the grain.


In fact, it was just a coincidence that the government was collecting grain recently and the price offered was right, so Chi Xiucai was willing to sell the grain. Otherwise, even if he wanted to sell, he would have to find someone who could swallow half of his grain in one go. Buying is not an easy task either.

"The government is collecting grain? Is there going to be a war? Or is there a disaster somewhere?"


If there is any difference between Chili before entering school and her after entering school, it is her sensitivity to current events.


Just from her father's unintentional words, she realized something and made a rough guess.


"I haven't heard of any disasters. The border area is still the same as before, and it hasn't stopped. It's just that my father heard that someone in the northwest was dissatisfied with the empress's rise to power, and started a rebellion in the name of Qingjun. The government should collect grain. They are preparing to supply military supplies to the army that is suppressing the rebellion."


Chi Xiucai, who also always pays attention to the current affairs of the country, has much more information than his daughter due to the connections he has accumulated over the years. He immediately confirmed his daughter's guess and gave her an appreciative look.


Their area is one of the most important grain-producing areas in the country. Every time there is a war or there is a disaster somewhere, the imperial court has to send people down to collect grain and support those places in need.


So they are actually used to it. Whenever the government tries to collect grain on a large scale, there must be something wrong.


It's just that the west side is far away from their south side, and even if there is a war, it will not be affected, so it does not affect the Chi family's use of the money from selling food and most of the coffins of the old couple to buy land.


Anyway, the couple are still young, so they can just spend the money on the coffin, and they will just save it in the future.


Although his father said that this matter had little to do with them, Chili had been silently paying attention to the rebellion in the northwest.


The rebellion in the northwest started quickly and was put down faster.


The army sent by the imperial court to quell the rebellion was the most elite cavalry under the empress, led by Mo Yu, the duke and general who protected the country.


There were a full 6000 people in this force. When each of the well-equipped cavalry came out, wherever they went, they fell in pieces like rebels. After hearing that scene, it was like harvesting wheat in the autumn. They just lay down together. The scene was quite shocking and frightened the rebels into fleeing in all directions. In the end, within three days, they were completely dispersed. The king of the northwest, the culprit who led the rebellion, was also captured by the Duke of Zhenguo. Now he is being escorted to Kyoto to punish the empress.


When the rebellion was put down, Mrs. Xu also arranged everything at home, took her daughter, and set off with her natal family back to Chenxing County, Bohe Prefecture, where her natal family was located.
In addition to riding in horse-drawn carriages, they also had to take a passenger boat and travel a section of the waterway.


It takes about half a month to reach Xu's natal home.


Chi Li got familiar with the journey, and there were no adverse reactions on the way. On the contrary, her cousin Xu Xiang'er was a little seasick when taking the boat, and she almost lay in the cabin for the entire journey.


Suffered terribly.


Worried about her cousin's health, Chi Li went to visit her several times. Every time she went back, she could see her cousin reading. It was only then that she discovered that Xu Xiang'er was a person who loved reading, but for some reason, she always seemed a little depressed.


Xu Xiang'er has always been in a different mood. It was not Chi Li who discovered this, but the little guy Xu Fan'er said it.


Children are always very sensitive to other people's emotions, and since she is so small, no one will be wary of her, so she can always learn things that no one knows from unexpected corners of the adults.


After getting along with each other these days, Chi Li and Xu Xiang'er's relationship was not as good as she had imagined at the beginning. On the contrary, she and her little cousin Xu Fan'er were closer.


Chili doesn't have the leisure to pay special attention to people she's not close to.


After all, she planned to take the provincial examination, and now there are only two years until the provincial examination. Such a small amount of time is not enough for her to study, so she actually spends most of her time and energy on studying during the day, even when she is on the road. He never stopped, and he had no intention of paying attention to others.


Therefore, even if she knew that Xu Xiang'er seemed to have something on her mind that she didn't want to tell outsiders, after asking a few concerned questions and seeing that she didn't want to talk more, Chi Li just gave up.


Respecting the privacy of others is also a form of respect for others.


But maybe because she sensed Chi Li's concern, Xu Xiang'er gradually became close to Chi Li. Although she still didn't say why she would look lonely in a deserted corner from time to time, at least she started to I took the initiative to play with my sisters.


This matter was temporarily brushed aside, and Chili's attention was gradually drawn to new things.


After half a month of turbulence, they finally arrived in Chenxing County, Bohe Prefecture.


Bohe Prefecture is a place where the number of scholars and the degree of involution are much more terrifying than that of Nanhuai Prefecture. It can even be said that if you can pass the college examination in Bohe Prefecture, then there is a good chance that you will pass the next provincial examination. Being on the ninth list is just a matter of ranking.


This is the same as if a modern student is admitted to a key high school with a very high admission rate, it is like stepping into the door of a school.


Therefore, students who can break out of the tight siege here can be regarded as talents almost anywhere in the country. The number of students who can win the Jinshi in the past spring is also the highest in Bohe Prefecture.


Therefore, this also creates a scene of strong academic style everywhere in this place.


When she got here, Chili just took a quick glance at it and found that there was a bookstore at almost ten steps, a shop specializing in pens, inks, paper and inkstones at twenty steps, and a private school at thirty steps. People were coming and going on the street. Many of them are scholars wearing student uniforms, and many of them have seals representing their identities hanging on their waists.


It can even be said that if a scholar goes out on the street and does not have the lowest-class child seal on his waist, his straight waist will be a few points lower than others.


From this we can see how terrible the degree of involution among scholars here is.


It is reflected in almost every aspect.


If Chili wants to enroll in Henglu Academy, in addition to having to be recommended by her uncle who teaches there, she also needs to participate in the college's own entrance exam just like other students who also want to enroll.


Only students with passing test scores can be admitted to the academy.


That is to say, Chi Li is not guaranteed to be admitted to the academy when she comes. If she does not live up to expectations and fails to pass the exam, she will not be able to enter the academy to study.


Fortunately, both Chi and Xu families have considered this situation, and the elders are already prepared. If Chi Li regrets not being admitted to Henglu Academy, they will find a suitable teacher for her here.


There are many outstanding scholars in Bohe Mansion, and there are even more outstanding scholars. With Uncle Xu's connections, it is possible to find a good teacher for the children.


Therefore, Chi Li, who had been fully prepared, did not need to worry about running in vain. However, with her competitive spirit, she was not willing to choose the 'second best' step when there was a better choice.


Maybe it was due to some stimulation. After entering the realm of Bohe Mansion, everyone found that Chili studied harder, even to the point where she was even reciting the words silently in her dreams.


The child makes progress on her own, even if the elders feel a little distressed when they see her hard look, they dare not disturb her.


Mrs. Xu took care of her daughter even more meticulously, and from time to time taught the maids around her to learn how to take care of her, so that her daughter could concentrate more on her studies, and so that her daughter would not be alone when she went back. Be prepared to take good care of her.


After previously saying that she wanted to hire servants for her daughter, Mrs. Xu acted quickly to find servants and bought two families.


One family has a family of four, and the other family has a widowed mother with three children, also a family of four.


The four members of the family, father and mother, were left in the Chi family as errands. The widowed mother, her three children, and another woman named Wang next to Xu were all given to Chi Li.


That Mrs. Wang is a person who is strict in her work and can control her subordinates. She is also the person Xu brought from her natal family. It can be said that she not only grew up with Xu since she was a child, but also watched Xu get married and have children. Seeing that Chi Li has grown from a small regiment leader to a respected scholar now, he has deep feelings for both mother and daughter and is loyal to them.


With her by her daughter's side, Mrs. Xu can rest assured.


As soon as Mrs. Wang came to Chi Li, she used her skills as a housekeeper to manage the people around her obediently. Even the four newcomers were trained by her to serve Chi Li with ease.


Among the four new servants around Chi Li, the widowed mother Lu was assigned to take care of the young lady's clothes, mainly responsible for laundry and storage. She was careful and loved to be clean, so she was quite good at this job.


In addition, the three children she gave birth to were also arranged to work next to Chili. The daughter was about the same age as the young lady. She was taught by Mother Wang for a period of time and then placed next to the young lady as a maid. Of course, the new ones were not as good as the original ones. She is a big maid, but she can only earn a living as a second-class servant, and she also gets a monthly salary, which is much better than the life of the other girls.


Two teenage boys acted as Chi Li's servants and bodyguards. They were sent to learn some boxing and kicking skills. They haven't learned yet, so they can only do some errands for the time being.


In this way, Chi Li's servants were almost fully equipped by her mother. From now on, if she had to ask someone to do something, she wouldn't have no one around to help her.


The Xu family is considered a big family in Chenxing County, with a large population and a rich family fortune.


Xu's maiden family is also a very influential person in the clan, and her father is the elder of the clan, quite dignified.


They live in a four-entry courtyard in the county. It has the same southern garden-style architecture. There are many houses and small gardens with rockeries and flowing water. It is almost a scene every ten steps, and everything is exquisite.


The Xu family's maternal grandparents gave birth to two sons and two daughters in total. The eldest daughter unfortunately passed away many years ago and did not leave a son and a half daughters. However, the Xu family did not cut off contact with the eldest daughter's in-laws. During the holidays, the Xu family They also give each other gifts to show their affection.


In addition, the two uncles and aunts of the Xu family, Chi Li, have also met, but apart from the two sisters Xu Xiang'er and Xu Fan'er, the eldest uncle Xu's family has a total of three children, two daughters and one son. My younger sister Xu Fan'er's son, who is about the same age, has been pregnant recently. My aunt, who has just returned, is already preparing to visit her eldest daughter. She is the eldest in the family, while the youngest daughter and the second son in the family are not yet married. However, my son is already engaged and is planning to get married this year.


Chi Li came over at this time, just in time to catch up with her second cousin's wedding.


Uncle Xu's family is relatively prosperous. The couple has two daughters and two sons. The second eldest daughter among the sisters is also married and has a son and a daughter. The eldest son among the brothers has married. But there are no children yet, and the remaining Xingsan's daughter and the youngest son are not married yet.


The sons of the Xu family are all studying in Henglu Academy. Among them, Chili's eldest cousin and second cousin have both passed the Tongsheng examination. I heard that they also went to the academy for the last examination, but they just missed it and failed. Vice list.


This is normal. After all, the test here in Bohe Prefecture is too difficult, and the difficulty of the exam has skyrocketed. It is not as easy as in their Nanhuai Prefecture. Therefore, it is much more difficult to pass the exam to become a scholar here than in other places.


But if they can pass the examination from the middle school, their gold content is real. It is said that in the imperial court, officials who passed the examination from Bohe Prefecture are promoted the fastest, and there are many students in Bohe Prefecture, so they are naturally in the same faction, and they can interact with each other. Got a lot of help.


So overall there are pros and cons.


The third cousin is young at heart and his character is not stable enough. He is still unable to completely concentrate on studying. Therefore, he has not even passed the county examination yet, so the second aunt has not mentioned him to Chili.


The aunt was bringing her cousin to the house, and the Xu family had been notified long ago. So on the day Chili and her mother arrived at the Xu family, the whole family was extremely complete, including the married girl, except for her newly pregnant eldest cousin. , she also got to know her mother all at once.


Chili has a good memory and is not face-blind. She has no problem remembering people, so she can basically remember all her relatives from her maternal home just by looking at them.


The eldest cousin Xu Xiangbi is the eldest son of the second uncle's family. He is twenty-four this year and is married to Mrs. Zhang.


Second cousin Xu Xiangmo is the only son of his uncle's family. He is twenty-two this year and is engaged but not yet married.


Third cousin Xu Xiangzhi is the youngest son of his second uncle's family. He is the same age as Chi Li this year, both fifteen, but he is three months older than Chi Li, so he is still the older brother.


My eldest cousin Xu Lan'er, my uncle's eldest daughter, is Nian Fang, 25, and her husband's surname is Shen. She is still pregnant, so she didn't come today.


Second cousin Xu Pei'er, the eldest daughter of my second uncle's family, is Nian Fang, 23, and her husband's surname is Chen.


The third cousin is Xu Xiang'er, the second daughter of the second uncle's family, and the fourth cousin is Xu Fan'er, the youngest daughter of the first uncle's family and the youngest grandchild of the Xu family.


In addition, the eldest aunt's surname is Chen, and everyone usually calls her Chen, the second aunt's surname is Zheng, and she is called Zheng in the family, and the Xu family's grandmother's surname is Shen. Yes, it is the Shen of the eldest cousin's husband's family.


This kind of operation of marrying a granddaughter back to her natal family is not uncommon in this era. Fortunately, Mrs. Shen chose a distant relative from her natal family, and her relationship with Chili's eldest cousin has been in the past five years. Otherwise, Chili would be afraid that her eldest cousin's child might What is the problem.


Chi Li is getting to know the Xu family, and the Xu family is also getting to know this little cousin.


Xu was also the youngest child in the family. She married late, and her daughters, except Xu Fan'er, were all younger than the Xu family's grandchildren, so it was not an exaggeration to call Chi Li a little cousin.


Maybe it's because there is only one cousin on the father's side who has the closest blood relationship, so the Xu family's grandchildren have a very kind attitude towards Chili.


The second cousin even left the child with her husband. She personally held Chili's little hand and took her to familiarize herself with the environment at home, focusing on the place where she would live in the future.


They already know that the little cousin came here specifically to study. If nothing happens, the little cousin will live in their home until the provincial examination two years later, so they, the older brothers and sisters, should take more care of her.


The residence that the Xu family arranged for Chi Li was the place where the Xu family originally lived. It was also the yard of the eldest cousin of the Xu family. Later, it became vacant after the eldest cousin got married. Until now, it has been assigned to Chi Li and her daughter. , after Mrs. Xu settled down with her daughter and left, Chi Li was the only one left living here.


Chi Li was a little curious about the place where her mother had lived before. She carefully observed the place and saw that the interior decoration was warm and elegant. She could also see that the Xu family also loved their daughter.


Maybe it was because of the harmonious family and the love of her parents that she was able to raise such a reasonable mother as her mother.

(End of this chapter)