Chapter 38
When I got home, Da Ya had already cooked the meal. While eating, Zhou Yi looked at the old clothes on the older sisters, "Father, mother, the family is better now, and the older sisters should dress better, you see." Look at the elder sister, the clothes are too short."
Since they separated, they cook by themselves, and the food is no longer so harsh, and the complexions of the daughters are no longer sallow, and the eldest ya and Sanya have daughters on their faces. But because I have been busy, I didn't expect to come here, Wang Yan smiled: "You are worrying a lot, yes, we have a better life now, we have to dress them up, tomorrow will be Come with me to the county for a stroll, and everyone buys some clothes and jewelry."
The girls burst into laughter when they heard this, they have grown so big, they have never been out of the village, and they still need to buy new clothes, thinking about it Excited, Wuya and Liuya can't wait to go to bed early, tomorrow will be tomorrow when they open their eyes, the eldest girl is the most sensible, she knows that the family has made money, and she doesn't refuse, "Okay, mother." There is nothing to say all night, the whole family wakes up
early After breakfast, Wang Yuan went to the workshop to act as a supervisor as usual, and everyone else walked to the county seat. After Zhou Yi was sent to the academy, he went to Lin County to handle the contract. A literate clan brother was invited to go with him.
When Zhou Yi was in class, Wang Yan took her four daughters for a walk on the street.
They went to the tailor shop first, and the girls stared straight at the colorful clothes. After choosing and choosing, everyone reluctantly chooses their favorite clothes from the many clothes. What Wang Yan bought for them were fine cloth clothes, and a girl from a woman's family couldn't wear the silk and satin clothes.
This made the girls happy. They were new for three years, old for three years, and sewed for three years, especially five and six, who had been wearing the old clothes of their two sisters since they were young. This is the first time she has her own new clothes, touching the soft fabric, her face blushes happily. After buying clothes, Wang Yan went to the cloth store to buy some fine cloth, and she was going to make a suit for Zhou Laoer and herself. After all, the ready-made clothes were much more expensive than buying cloth for herself, while the ones she bought for Zhou Yi were silk and satin. Now that they have money, the couple can't wait to give him the best.
After visiting the cloth shop, Wang Yan followed Zhou Yi's instructions to the jewelry shop, and finally bought a pair of silver earrings and bracelets for the eldest and third ya. The fifth and sixth yas were still young, so they only had bracelets. It also made the two girls so happy that they couldn't find Bei.
After buying these, Wang Yan went to buy some firewood, rice, oil, salt and vegetables, and prepared to go to the back of the shop to prepare lunch and wait for Zhou Laoer to come back. The mother and daughter were very happy. When passing by a tea shop, Wuya suddenly pulled Wang Yan: "Mother, don't you think that's Auntie and Brother Dalang?"
Wang Yan looked in the direction Wuya pointed, and it really was Li Ermei and Dalang. The mother and son were talking about something, and then the woman pointed outward, Da Lang, mother and son looked in the direction she pointed without blinking their eyes. Wang Yan felt strange, and followed their line of sight, only to find a mother and daughter standing opposite. The daughter was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and she was delicate and quiet. She was looking at purses at a stall. The woman should be her mother.
But Wang Yan obviously felt that the mother and daughter's thoughts were not on the purse, but from time to time, they cast their eyes on Da Lang secretly.
In all fairness, Da Lang has a good shell, he was well-raised by the Zhou family, and he looks like a white-faced scholar. This is very popular with some little girls.
Sure enough, the girl blushed with shame after seeing Da Lang's appearance. But Da Lang looked at the girl without blinking his eyes, and almost straightened up.
Wang Yanming realized that this was looking at each other! ! ! Then decisively took a few maids and left, it's better for her not to provoke her about going to the room.
When Zhou Yi left school in the afternoon, Zhou Yi who came to pick him up had a happy expression on his face. Zhou Yi knew that it was a matter of buying land. The father and son went to the shop first, had dinner there before returning to the village.
When the family got together at night, Wang Yan held the land deed and trembled: "His father, this is the land deed. The one hundred mu of land belongs to us?"
"That's right, that land is ours." Zhou Lao Er expressed emotion. A few months ago, he was still worried about Zhou Yi's Shu Xiu. Who would have thought that he would earn so much money in the blink of an eye? Now that you have a hundred acres of land, you can be considered a small landlord. On days like this, it is really possible to wake up from a dream with a smile, and all of this was brought about by Liu Lang. Zhou Lao Er believed more and more that Zhou Yi was a lucky star sent to him by heaven.
"It just cost another forty taels of silver to go to the yamen." This made Zhou Laoer a little unacceptable, forty taels, nothing was done, and it was just gone for nothing.
Wang Yan also felt a little distressed when she heard it, but there was nothing to do about it. Who would let it be the government?
After Wang Yan collected the land deed, she suddenly thought of something, and said to Zhou Lao Er: "By the way, I saw my sister-in-law and Da Lang looking at each other in the county today. It seems that something good is coming.
" Change color: "Let's not provoke them."
"I know, when I saw it on the street, I took a few girls and walked away." Wang Yan said, they were also afraid of going to the house, this is far away from them If you are far away, you can't wait to pounce on it, if you go up to provoke it, you will not be glued to it.
It was also funny for Zhou Yi to see the husband and wife looking like they were hiding from a scourge.
After buying the land, Zhou Lao Er planned to build a house.
Their family of seven huddled in this cramped house, and now that Wang Yuan was added, it was even more difficult to live in, so this house had to be built. And Zhou Laoer also held his breath, the house he built must be bigger and better than Zhou's yard.
In fact, if the workshop wasn't in the village, they could live in the county, but now Zhou Laoer and Wang Yan are used to living in the village in order to take care of the workshop, so they decided to build the house in the village. It's just that all the good places have been taken up by other people. Zhou Erer was not satisfied after looking at it for a few days, but Zhou Yi took a fancy to one place, that is a bamboo forest next to the workshop. It is close to the official road, and the important thing is that it is also close to the workshop. Buy this piece of land and do a good job of repairing it when the time comes. This bamboo forest is a natural scenery.
Zhou Lao Er firmly believed in Zhou Yi's words. Not long after, Zhou Lao Er went to the village chief's house to buy the land, signed the title deed, and began to talk about repairing the house.
Zhou Lao Er really made a lot of money!
Since Zhou Laoer brought a clan brother with him when he went to buy land, the matter of buying land was publicized like this, and Zhou Laoer didn't want to hide it. This was both buying land and building a house. How much money did Time Zhou's second child make?
People in the village were all guessing. At the beginning, when they saw Zhou Laoer working on this kind of workshop, they were not optimistic. They thought that he was a carpenter, and he could earn more than one or two taels of silver every month. This is definitely a good income in Xiawan Village. It's enough for many people to chew on for several months, and earning so much money is not enough, and it is ridiculous to want to do such a thing, the heart is too big.
But seeing that the workshop was opened, the shop was also opened, and the new wardrobe was selling very well in the county, and even the wealthy people in the village couldn't help but buy one.
Looking at the booming business, no one could figure out how much money they had earned. They only vaguely guessed that there were a few hundred taels of silver, and they also felt that three hundred taels was the sky, and they didn't dare to think about it.
But a few days ago, it was said that Zhou Laoer spent seven hundred taels of silver just to buy the land, and he needed to build a house. How much money did he earn? Could it be thousands?
Thinking about it this way, the people in the village just feel short of breath, thousands of taels of silver, what kind of concept is this, the pile of silver is probably enough to fill a room.
When the poor become rich, people will always be jealous, and some people will say some acid words behind their backs. But the people in Xiawan Village have always been simple, especially the Zhou family who are still united, so they immediately retorted: "If you don't have the ability, you will hurt others. If you have the ability, you can earn a thousand dollars."
Zhou Laoer didn't say anything after he knew about it, but when building the house, he tried to hire people from the Zhou family as much as possible, and the wages were high. Both the second uncle and the third uncle's family have grandsons who work in the workshop. They had a good impression of Zhou Lao Er at first, but now seeing Zhou Lao Er doing this, they feel that this child is human and thinks of his clansmen.
Two old men who walked tremblingly killed the village chief's house together: "Our Zhou family's ancestors have been in this village for many years, and now they have finally produced a promising son and grandson, so some people are jealous. You can’t ignore the matter, do you think our Zhou family has no one else?”
The village head was ashamed, these two old men are in their seventies, and their seniority in Xiawan Village is surprisingly high, at least they can call him Zhuangzi. There are really not many people in Xiawan Village. As he said, the Zhou family's ancestors have been in this village for generations, and they are common surnames. The clan members account for more than half of the village, and their old Li family is still an immigrant household who moved here.
"Second Master, Third Master, what are you talking about? It's not like we don't know what kind of person Brother Zhou is. Don't worry, I will handle this matter well." The youngest son of the village chief's family was also in the workshop Here, the salary of two taels a month is paid out on time as soon as the time falls. Where can I find such a good job. Even if the second uncle and the third uncle don't talk about it, he still has to take care of this matter. It is a trivial matter to ruin the atmosphere of Xiawan Village. If Zhou Laoer thinks he is slack, it is a major matter to drive the second son out of the family.
This is also the first time that Zhou Yi clearly felt the meaning of the clan. A person in the clan may not be able to see anything at ordinary times, but once a major event happens, it will be all prosperity and damage. The bullying, other people will rush forward screaming, of course, except for those who are in the house of the Zhou family. At the same time, if one person in the clan is successful, it will be of great benefit to the entire clan. Otherwise, if an official commits a major crime, why would the emperor want to kill the nine clans!
While the Zhou family was busy building a house, Dalang's marriage was settled. The woman's name was Jin Ye, and the family opened a grocery store in the county.
Zhou Yi didn't understand why people in their county fell in love with Da Lang, and why their daughter married into the village. Unable to figure it out, he shrugged his shoulders, and didn't care about his business anyway.
But Zhou Yi had a bad idea about this matter. They were willing to marry their daughter to Da Lang. Apart from seeing that Da Lang was a scholar and had the status of a child, their family also took up a large part of it.
"I've inquired. The second room of the Zhou family was separated this year, but the bones are broken. Da Lang is his own nephew. The second room has made a lot of money. Even if they leak a little through their fingers, it's enough for them. If Da Lang is admitted as a scholar again, then the second room will not have to rely on Da Lang? No matter how much money they earn, it will be Da Lang’s, and Jin Ye will have a good life in the future.” This is a relatively remote street in Guang’an County. Most of them are the middle and lower classes in the county. Their families have no property except a house, and they live by picking up jobs in the county.
A store named Jinji Grocery is on this street. It is said to be a store, but in fact it is a compartment separated from the front of the main room. The store mostly sells small goods such as oil and salt, needles, thread and rags. The money earned in a month is just enough to feed the family.
It was Jin Ye's father who was talking, named Jin Xin. It can be seen how much his parents wanted his son to be rich. Unfortunately, Jin Xin seemed to have failed his parents' expectations. Although he had a house in the county, the shop he opened was enough for the whole family. , How much gold is really not counted. What he said made Jin Ye's eyes full of longing, yes, Da Lang is so handsome, he will definitely be named on the gold list in the future, with such a gentleman by his side every day, it must be a very happy life. If Zhou Yi knew what this girl was thinking, he would definitely think, girl, you are really thinking too much. Just because she is good-looking does not mean that she must have great promise. There seems to be no necessary connection between the two. Of course, if it is in the modern age where beauty is justice, it will be assumed that he did not say this. Zhou Yi's house was gradually completed in an orderly construction process. High courtyard walls were built, and the spacious wing rooms were enclosed together. The white walls and black bricks were hidden in the trimmed bamboo forest, especially in the morning when the dew was heavy and the mist formed a thin veil. , making it look like an ink painting painted with splashed ink. After the house was built, everyone in Xiawan Village was shocked. This house can still be built like this. I used to think that the bamboo forest was in the way, but I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful around the house. This also caused people in the village to dig everywhere. Bamboo was planted outside my house, but without careful planning, there were a few bamboos erected abruptly in front of the house, which seemed awkward no matter how you looked at it. After entering the courtyard, I realized how big the house was built. The main house faces north, and there are several rooms in the back.
The villagers who saw this were envious.
When the house was built, Zhou's second son held a housewarming banquet, and Mr. Zhou was arranged to sit at the table, but he didn't show any joy on his face.
The second uncle and the third uncle couldn't bear to see it: "Second baby, today is the happy day for your second son's housewarming. Who are you to show your mournful face to? Don't touch Er Zhuang's bad luck." "Second uncle, I...
" Grandpa Zhou Le felt aggrieved, thinking that he couldn't even laugh? It was said that he would touch Zhou Laoer's brow.
His eyes were full of complexities, he never thought that this son whom he had been neglecting and even hating would actually have a real future! If I had known earlier..., what if I had known earlier? Treat him better? Mr. Zhou asked himself that he already hated Mr. Zhou, and he was afraid that it would be impossible for him.
Zhou's mother didn't come. For her, watching Zhou's second child succeed was worse than the death of her parents. She thought that watching that bitch's descendant succeed was like gouging out her heart.
Some people who don't know why saw that Zhou's mother didn't attend, and felt that Zhou's second son was not kind. Even if he wasn't his own mother, he was raised anyway. Zhou's mother was not invited on such a big day as housewarming. This has nothing to do with the white-eyed wolf. What a difference.
This may be another reason why Zhou's mother didn't come. If she didn't come, she would still be disgusting to the second bedroom family. On this day, everyone from the Zhou family came except Zhou's mother.
Zhou Laosan walked among the guests, completely acting like a host, and those who didn't know would think that he and Zhou Laoer had a deep brotherhood.
Boss Zhou and his wife are complicated and excited at the same time. No matter what, if Zhou's second son earns a lot of money, even if they don't get a lot of money, it should be easy for them to get a little bit of money, but it requires the cooperation of Mr. Zhou, and Zhou They were never worried about the old man's attitude.
In contrast, Zhou Laosi and his wife were much more honest, sitting quietly at the table to eat without talking too much.
After the lively housewarming banquet, the whole family was very busy. After a day's rest, they moved immediately, from that cramped house to the newly built large yard. The whole family was very excited.
Especially the girls, who have been squeezed into a small bed since they were young, and now everyone has their own room, which makes them all suspect that they are dreaming.
Zhou Yi lived in the East Wing, and Zhou's second child gave him a spacious study room here. The occasional chirping of cicadas and the fragrance of bamboo made Zhou Yi feel much calmer.
Da Lang and Jin Ye got married not long after the Erfang Housewarming Banquet, and the banquet they held was only average in Xiawan Village, which did not match the image of the "rich" in Xiawan Village that Zhou's Shangfang used to have. Zhou Yi guessed that most of them really didn't have much money. He heard that Zhou Laosan took less and less money from his family, and Zhou's family was forced to change their previous habit of spending money extravagantly. It's been two days. The new daughter-in-law came in to meet her second uncle and aunt. Zhou Yi followed Wang Yan and Zhou Laoer to look at the bride. The little girl was pretty and delicate, and she had two dimples when she smiled. The Merry Ghost in the Flower Bush was charmed. After watching it for a while, Zhou Yi felt a toothache. In just a short while, the sweet couple couldn't help flirting. After saluting Zhou Lao Er and Wang Yan, Da Lang quickly supported Jin Ye: "Lady, you are tired, sit down quickly." His expression was affectionate and righteous. Jin Ye blushed in embarrassment, "Brother Yang~~" His tone of voice was so varied that it made Zhou Yi tremble and rubbed his goosebumps. The two just looked at each other like no one else, which made Wang Yan and Zhou Laoer very embarrassed. "Cough..." Zhou Er Er coughed. The loving young couple was willing to look away, and Jin Ye began to look around the room. After seeing the furnishings, the little girl's eyes were full of joy. Zhou Yi looked puzzled, thinking about his house, why is this cousin so happy. This is really not to blame for his lack of imagination. After all, as long as he is a normal person, as a nephew, he would never think about the property of his second uncle who has already divided the family. Isn't this a joke! "You two got married, and your second aunt and I didn't do much. It's our little wish. I hope you have a peaceful and beautiful life in the future."
Da Lang quickly took the red envelope from Zhou Lao Er, and immediately opened it, and put two taels of silver in it.
Zhou Laoer and Wang Yan looked ugly, after all, it is not very polite to open the red seal in front of people. Da Lang is really a child who has been raised and has no knowledge of personnel.
Da Lang saw that there was only two taels of silver in it, and the joy on his face disappeared immediately. When he came, Li Ermei told him that Zhou Laoer had made a lot of money, and the new wife would definitely give him a big red seal when he came to the door.
Dalang is studying in the town. Zhou’s family used to have savings, and Zhou’s second child can earn so much money every month, so for him, Mr. Zhou is willing to buy a book. He usually says he wants to buy a book, pens and paper. Take two taels of silver or a few taels of silver. As a result, he seemed to have misunderstood the farmer's expenses. In his eyes, the two taels of silver were too little, not enough for him to spend a few visits to brothels.
You know, in the countryside, two liang of silver is considered a very important gift. If this money is saved, it will be enough for a farming family to eat for a year. Zhou Laoer and Wang Yan were thinking that the family had made money before they gave so much. If it was any more, it wouldn't be a
red seal.
, Zhou Laoer was so angry, what is this, he kindly gave a gift to his niece and daughter-in-law, but he didn't expect to be rejected by Da Lang.
On the other hand, Jin Ye looked at the two taels of silver with a flash of surprise in her eyes. What her father said was true. The second uncle’s family made a lot of money, and even if they leaked a little bit, it would make her and Da Lang happy. You must know that their grocery store is a The moon is at the top of the sky, and the income is only half a tael of silver! If Dalang succeeds in the imperial examination in the future, then these industries...
"Thank you, second uncle and aunt." Jin Ye pulled Dalang and thanked Wang Yan and Zhou Laoer.
This made Zhou Er Er's face pale, Da Lang was ignorant, but this nephew and daughter-in-law looked good.
"This is the sixth younger brother. It looks really clever. I heard in the county that the sixth younger brother dared to confront Steward Wang in order to save the second uncle! It's amazing." Jin Ye thanked the second brother Zhou The couple, seeing Zhou Yi on the side, praised with joy.
Her words made Zhou and the second couple burst into laughter. Zhou Yi is their baby bump, so he is naturally the best, and they can't praise it too much. Zhou Yi shyly flung himself into Zhou's second son's arms, causing Jin Ye to smile
coquettishly: "Sixth brother is so shy!"
Sanya came out with a sneer on her face: "You don't take what other people say seriously, do you? Let me tell you, she only praised you so much because she saw that our family is rich. If it was before, you can see if she looks at you!"
Zhou Yi shrugged his shoulders: "So what?"
"You...don't think that even your parents say you are a lucky star, you really are. My child, I am a hundred times stronger than you!"
Zhou Yi frowned, he thought that with the passage of time, Sanya would grow up, and he would sincerely expect that the barrier between siblings would be eliminated, but now it seems that, The prejudice in San Ya's heart deepened!
"Second sister, why don't you think about why everyone values sons more than daughters?"
"Son will carry on the family line." Sanya said angrily.
"No, Second Sister, this is just one reason. The other most important reason is that a man can carry the burden of the family and shelter the family from wind and rain. Imagine that if you were born as a man, you would have to work day and night to feed and clothe the family. You have to do all the dirty work, and the hope of the whole family rests on you alone, can you bear all the pressure?" While men gain more rights, they themselves assume corresponding obligations.
"I..." Sanya concluded, yes, father worked hard to earn money outside, and mother worked hard at home, but at least she still had someone to support her. If the whole family is supported by the mother, can the mother do it?
Zhou Yi looked at Sanya's expression and shook his head. It is true that the relationship between men and women in ancient times was very unequal, but this was formed by the general environment of the farming society. In the era of hard work, men were inherently superior to women, and Sanya It's not that she is dissatisfied with the society of inequality between men and women. She just wants to have the calmness of women hiding behind men and the privileges of men. Where does such a good thing come from in the world!
"Second sister, do you want to start a career?" Zhou Yi looked at Sanya firmly.
Sanya smiled sarcastically: "I want to too, but can I?"
"You can!" Zhou Yi said very firmly: "Do you know the wine lady in the county? Sold to a sick child for joy, just after getting married, her husband passed away, and she was kicked out by her husband's family. She was penniless and had to eat, and later lived in a ruined temple by washing clothes, but you know What kind of person has she become now?"
"What kind of person?" Sanya asked subconsciously.
"She became the largest wine merchant in Guang'an County, and the pear blossoms she brewed were sold throughout Nanyuan Prefecture. She made friends with all wealthy merchants. She recruited Xu, and her husband obeyed her words. The parents who sold her before The younger brothers are rushing to the door to curry favor, isn't this kind of life very beautiful?"
Sanya nodded subconsciously.
"But do you know how she came here? When she first started doing business, some people called her immoral and immoral, and when she went out, someone threw rotten eggs at her, and the neighbors avoided her like the plague, because she was a woman. The wine she brewed could not be sold at the beginning. In order to win the first buyer, she followed someone for a whole month, researched the other party's family background and preferences thoroughly, and then fell in love with him, and finally won it with sincerity. This buyer, can you do all these things? Can you bear these things? Everyone will scold you, even beat you, and endure other people's eyes from time to time, and your business partners will not trust you because you are a woman. Even if you have survived all these, the chance of success is still very small, Second Sister, are you willing to take this road?" "
I..." Sanya was in a daze, what kind of road is that? She couldn't breathe just from Zhou Yi's description, how could she bear it?
"If it doesn't work, put away your blaming mentality. Respect is earned by yourself, not given by others! Since you have chosen to be a stable little woman, stop thinking about the rights of big men, otherwise I will only think you I'm suffering from useless pink eye disease!" Zhou Yi said directly with a cold face, regardless of whether Sanya could accept it or not. This society is very unfair to women. In fact, he thinks that if Sanya is really high-minded and determined to make a career, he doesn't mind being the support behind her and helping her get what she wants. It's a pity... I think diamonds are heavy, but I want to do porcelain work. Where did such a double-comprehension method come from!