They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 403 Which Cousin?
Xu Zhichun and Liang Minglang went out with smiles to greet everyone and say hello. After exchanging pleasantries, they went inside to accompany Magistrate Lu and the others.

The villagers outside were taken care of by Liang Mingliang, Qi Tian, ​​Zeng Xiaojuan and her husband, the village head's wife and her children, and everyone was quite considerate, so Xu Zhichun and the others didn't need to personally entertain them.

Magistrate Lu and the people from the county school have come, so they should naturally entertain them personally. Village head Liang, along with Fourth Aunt and Sixth Grandfather, also accompany them.

Liang Mingxuan owes his success to his elder brother and sister-in-law. Liang Minglang and Xu Zhichun were invited by the crowd to sit at the main table with Magistrate Lu, Dean Su of the county school, and others.

A banquet where both the guest and the host enjoy themselves.

Magistrate Lu and his party could not stay too long, so they prepared to return shortly after the banquet.

Magistrate Lu patted Liang Mingxuan on the shoulder, "Mingxuan, keep up the good work, be steady and pragmatic, and avoid arrogance and impetuosity. I hope to attend your victory celebration banquet again in the future."

"Yes, sir, I will remember your teachings."

"well!"

Magistrate Lu laughed heartily, and together with Assistant Magistrate Zhao and others, boarded their carriage and departed, with everyone respectfully seeing them off.

Everyone looked at Liang Mingxuan with envy. The county magistrate had patted him on the shoulder to encourage him. He was the county magistrate, an official appointed by the imperial court.

For the county magistrate to value him so highly, one can only imagine how truly remarkable this scholar is, and how promising he is in the future.
Dean Su of the county school, along with other guests from the county town, gradually took their leave. Since the Qin family had brought servants to help and still had time to wrap things up, Mr. and Mrs. Qin weren't in a hurry to leave and chatted with the villagers.

The villagers and their relatives and friends from other villages were not in a hurry to leave. Some went home, but most of them sat on small stools in Xu Zhichun's house, in the yard, or at the door, chatting.

Since we rarely get together, we should chat as much as possible.
There's plenty to talk about, from today's meal and the changes in Liangjia Village to the story of Xiucai Gong's diligent studies since childhood and the Liang family's businesses.

Liang Mingxuan entertained guests, greeted them, and saw them off, busy for a long time until he was dizzy and disoriented.

Someone told him that his sixth grandfather was looking for him and asked him to come over. He didn't think much of it, nodded in agreement, and went.

Fourth Aunt and Sixth Grandfather are both getting old. Although they still enjoy lively gatherings, their bodies and energy can't keep up.

Therefore, after Magistrate Lu and Dean Su left, the elderly elders also quickly went home.

Liang Mingxuan assumed that the old man had remembered something he wanted to tell him.

Sixth Grandfather's house is located near the westernmost end of the village. To get to their house, you have to pass through a long alley between two vegetable gardens.

There were already a few trees growing sparsely on both sides of the road, with tall canopies and lush foliage.

Later, Xu Zhichun used his own money to buy various fruit tree seedlings and let the villagers take them to plant in front of and behind their houses. When they grew up, they would belong to their own family. The two sides of this alley were also planted with fruit tree seedlings.

The saplings grew very quickly, sprouting new shoots in spring and summer, with vibrant branches and leaves, and the main trunk was already half the thickness of a wrist.

Although it hasn't yet become a tree-lined road, it is still quite shady.

Bai Yunxian stopped Liang Mingxuan on this very road.

"Cousin."

Bai Yunxian nervously clutched her clothes, smiled at Liang Mingxuan, her eyes sparkling with a hint of ingratiation.

Her aunt had already told her everything. For a thirteen-year-old girl, if she came from a good family and was also outstanding in appearance, matchmakers would already be coming to her door to propose marriage.

After all, good girls and boys from good families are all snatched away.

Strike first to gain the upper hand.

A thirteen-year-old girl may not fully understand the nature of relationships between men and women, but she has a vague concept of them.

She knew in her heart that she was of marriageable age. When her aunt brought it up, she blushed deeply. When her aunt said she could marry Liang Mingxuan, she blushed even more.

She couldn't help but think of the young scholar she had met today.

Although he is still young, he is really handsome and so promising. I am only two years older than him. In my aunt's words, we couldn't be more suitable.

Just thinking about how respectful other people would be to her if she married him made Bai Yunxian excited and her heart flutter.

What little girl doesn't want a glamorous life? Who doesn't like to be in the spotlight and be envied by others?

Bai Yunxian's ambition was immediately exposed by the Bai family.

She never dared to dream of someone like the scholar, but now her elders were telling her that he was within reach, and her horizons were suddenly raised to a whole new level.

If she doesn't marry Liang Mingxuan, it's hard to say whether it will be good or bad for her in the future.

Bai Yunxian only resisted her aunt's method for a moment before quickly accepting it.

No matter how ambitious she was, or how much her aunt praised her for being different from other girls, she understood that the scholar might not even look at her.

Even if they think highly of themselves, they wouldn't think highly of their own family.

Marriage should be based on matching social status and economic conditions.

Besides, he could become an official in the future, and he's still young. If we were to propose marriage to his family now, they might not be happy about it.

If you refuse, then you'll have no chance at all.

Aunt is right. Let's settle things first, and we can talk about the rest later.

Her aunt also said that once things were settled, she would definitely help her get married so that she could move into their house as Liang Mingxuan's fiancée.

This made her even more excited and eager.

Liang Mingxuan looked at the girl blocking his way with great curiosity and hesitated before asking, "May I ask which family you are from, sister?"

There were quite a few relatives who came today. He met so many cousins, but he couldn't remember many of them.

Bai Yunxian was a little saddened that he didn't know who she was, but she forced a smile and said, "I'm your cousin from the Bai family."

If the Bai family had enough time to consider this matter, they would definitely have instructed Bai Yunxian not to reveal her family background to Liang Mingxuan.

Unfortunately, time was short, and Bai had no time to think things through. As soon as Liang Mingxuan asked, Bai Yunxian blurted out the answer.

There weren't two families with the surname Bai that were related to his own, and Liang Mingxuan quickly realized this, becoming secretly wary: "Is it my second aunt's family?"

Bai Yunxian was delighted and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes!"

Liang Mingxuan gave her a polite but distant nod and was about to walk past her.

He thought he and Bai Yunxian had just bumped into each other on the street.

Bai Yunxian stopped him, less than a meter away, and said, "Mingxuan, cousin Mingxuan."

Liang Mingxuan stepped back: "Is there something you need, Cousin Bai?"

Bai Yunxian blushed deeply before she could speak, stammering, "Cousin, I, I—"

Caught off guard by a jade pendant hanging from Liang Mingxuan's waist, her greed for wealth overwhelmed her. She grabbed Liang Mingxuan's arm, "I...I'll marry you! Will you marry me? I can do anything, really!"