163. Chapter 163

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Xue Gouzi has been ill for a long time. His face is thin and out of shape, which makes his eyes look bigger.

Zhao'er always thinks that the eyes of a little man are the most beautiful eyes in the world, although when facing her, these eyes are always disgusted and resisted.

In fact, Xue Gouzi's eyes are the only beautiful ones. He was born weak, and the second wife and her husband had a hard time raising him. They also spoiled him on weekdays. The boys of his age in the village are all dark-skinned and strong like a calf, but he is pale and thin, silent and taciturn.

However, Zhao'er has always been domineering and never allows people to talk about little men. She will get angry with anyone who talks about them. Because of this, she has fought with many girls and boys in the village. Although some people still talk about it behind her back, no one dares to point fingers in front of others.

Zhaoer always felt that the little man's eyes were strange today, and she avoided his eyes uncomfortably.

She knew that the little man must be angry again. He hated her saying "Gouzi is my man" the most. Every time he heard her say this, he would ignore her for a few days. In fact, Zhaoer also wanted to save face, but she was originally the child bride of the second branch of the Xue family. If she didn't call herself that, how could she have the qualifications to challenge the fourth aunt Sun.

"Are you hungry? Look what I brought you back?"

Zhaoer turned her head and threw these troubles behind her, and took out a paper bag from her arms. She opened the paper bag, and there were two steaming buns inside, white and plump, and people liked them just by looking at them.

"Eat it quickly, while it's still hot." She smiled and stuffed the paper bag into the little man's hand, while putting the backpack on her shoulder in the corner.

Xue Gouzi glanced at her.

The girl in front of him was in her twenties, with the wheat-colored skin common among country girls, but Zhao'er's skin color was very different from others, smooth and lustrous, as if covered with a layer of honey. She had a high nose bridge, a pair of medium-sized eyes, dark pupils, and a bright light when she smiled, looking lively.

Zhao'er was taller than ordinary girls, well-developed, with a curvy figure, and full of youthful vigor.

She was so lively, just like in his dream.

He unconsciously took the bun and started to eat it. Seeing this, Zhao'er smiled even more happily, went to the kitchen to pour him a bowl of water and put it next to him. He bent down to tidy up the scattered bedding on the kang, thinking about making him something delicious to nourish his body in the evening.

The little man finally got better, but he had to continue to drink the medicine, and drink a few more doses to consolidate it. From this, she naturally began to calculate the little money left in her hand, and think of a way to get some more money to solve the urgent problem.

"Have you eaten?" Xue Gouzi asked.

This kind of behavior rarely happens to him, so Zhaoer couldn't help but look up at the little man sitting on the kang.

In fact, the little man has a delicate appearance. Unlike the white skin of the country people, his eyes are slightly upturned at the corners of his eyes. The arc makes his face more delicate and handsome. It's just that the little man always half-hangs his head on weekdays, his temperament is gloomy and silent, and he is too thin and weak, so he is not conspicuous in front of people.

Zhaoer's eyes warmed up, and her smile became bigger. She said in a crackling voice: "I ate it, I ate it outside, this is for you."

After she finished speaking, she realized that she had let the cat out of the bag. She waited for the little man to show a disgusted expression, or to condemn her daughter for running around, but he didn't say anything. He seemed to have something on his mind and lowered his head to eat the buns.

Zhaoer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and at the same time, his heart ached. He couldn't help but say, "Gou'er, don't be too anxious. After all, you heard that. Since it wasn't said in person, you can't take it seriously. Even if it's true, don't be afraid. Sister will make money to support your studies."

Xue Gouzi's head actually still hurts a little, and he feels dizzy. Zhaoer thought he was worried, but in fact he was just thinking about that dream. At this time, he suddenly remembered why he got this serious illness after hearing Zhaoer's words.

Seriously speaking, Xue Gouzi's serious illness was caused by liver qi stagnation.

Speaking of this, we have to talk about the general situation of the Xue family.

Yuqing Village is a village located in Huyang Town, Xia County, Pingyang Prefecture. There are only more than 200 households in the village. They work from sunrise to sunset and rest from sunset. They are all farmers who rely on God for their livelihood.

The Xue family is one of them.

However, the Xue family is different from other ordinary farmers. It can be said that it has some origins.

The ancestor of the Xue family, that is, the grandfather of Mr. Xue, was a scholar. In a poor mountain village like Yuqing Village, it is a great honor to have a scholar.

Because of this scholar, the Xue family produced the patriarch of the Xue family in that generation, and the family produced several village elders in succession, and finally had some say in Yuqing Village. At the same time, it naturally benefited the younger generation. Mr. Xue's father was hardworking and hardworking. With the help of the elders, he also slowly built a family business.

By the time of Mr. Xue's generation, the Xue family already had more than 30 acres of fertile land, and several sons also had their own livelihoods. They lived a prosperous life that was enviable, and they were also considered to be one of the most prosperous families in the village.

Mr. Xue and his wife Zhao had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son Xue Qingshan married Yang and had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son Xue Juncai, now fifteen years old, the second son Xue Youcai, now ten years old, and the eldest daughter Xue Maner who is already married.

The second son, Xue Qingsong, is a carpenter. He married a woman named Qiu and had a son named Xue Gouzi, who is now fourteen years old. The third son, Xue Qingbai, is a farmer. He married a woman named Zhou and had a son and a daughter. The eldest daughter, Xue Taoer, is thirteen years old this year, and the youngest son, Xue Shuanzi, is eight years old. The fourth son, Xue Qinghuai, is a peddler. He married a woman named Sun and had a son named Xue Maodan, who is only four years old this year.

As for the two daughters, the eldest daughter, Xue Cuiping, is already married, and the youngest daughter, Xue Cui'e, is fourteen years old and still waiting to be married.

It is worth mentioning that there is a saying that parents should not divide the family, and the rural families are all ruled by clans, so the Xue family did not divide the family.

The Xue family has tasted the benefits of reading, so they are more open-minded than ordinary farmers. Because Xue Qingshan was smart since he was a child and was the eldest son, Mr. Xue had high hopes for him. When he reached the age of enlightenment, he spent money to send him to a private school.

Xue Qingshan also worked hard. He passed the examination for Tongsheng at the age of 20. Although he has not yet reached the level of Xiucai, he is still a scholar in the surrounding area.

Don't underestimate Tongsheng! As the saying goes, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, scholars are the highest class of people in the current society. If ordinary people want to change from ordinary people to scholars, there is only one way, that is to take the imperial examination. And the imperial examination is like going to the West to obtain scriptures. You have to go through various levels and go through hardships before you can get it.

If you want to take this path, you must first be qualified. Tongsheng is a person who has this qualification. You need to pass the county and prefecture tests to be called Tongsheng. As for the next step, it is Xiucai. Becoming a Xiucai means entering school, which is also the first step to embark on the road of imperial examination.

It can be seen from this that Tongsheng is not an ordinary person, so Xue Qingshan's status in the Xue family can be imagined.

But as mentioned before, the Xue family's family background can only be regarded as a middle-class family in the countryside. For a family like this to support a scholar, almost all the manpower and financial resources of the family must be exhausted. Because the eldest son is the eldest son, he will set up his own family in the future, and he is also talented, so the following sons naturally have to give in.

As for why Xue Gouzi fell seriously ill, it has to do with another old story of the Xue family.

When Xue Qingshan passed the examination for Tongsheng, he was considered to be successful at a young age. He was full of confidence and wanted to pass the examination in one go, and also get the title of a scholar, but unfortunately, it was not as he wished.

Only one step away from the door, no one would be willing to give up, Xue Qingshan could only calm down, work hard, and hope to pass the next time.

In this way, many years passed in a hurry, and the initial confidence was devastated by the impact of reality. Xue Qingshan failed the examination many times, and he couldn't just sit at home and eat white rice. He had no choice but to open a private school in the village, which specifically accepted children from the village and several nearby villages to read and learn, so that they could make a living.

With such convenient conditions, the children of the Xue family naturally benefited from it. The younger ones are still young. Among the grandchildren, only Xue Juncai, the eldest son of the first house, and Xue Gouzi, the second house, have studied for the longest time.

However, compared with his cousin Xue Juncai, Xue Gouzi is obviously not as good as him. He is also too weak. He was always sick every other day when he was a child, which delayed a lot of his studies.

Five years ago, the school official held a college examination in the city. Xue Qingshan would naturally not miss it. He stopped the private school class early and rushed to the city to take the exam.

It was not easy to go out at this time. Besides, Mr. Xue was worried about his eldest son going out alone, so he asked the second son Xue Qingsong to accompany him. He was always a caregiver when he was doing chores.

It was during this trip that something happened. Xue Qingshan offended someone in the city. In order to protect his eldest brother, Xue Qingsong was beaten all over his body. He was finally pulled back, but he died a few days after returning. Before his death, Xue Qingsong asked Xue Qingshan to promise him that he would do his best to give Xue Gouzi out.

In fact, how could Xue Qingsong have no complaints in his heart after giving way to others all his life? It was just that he was honest by nature and knew that he was not as talented as his elder brother, so he had been silently contributing.

But when it came to his own son, especially Xue Gouzi, who had been weak since childhood and was not a person who could eat the food of the banker, and he was dying soon, Xue Qingsong took the opportunity to force his elder brother to make a promise.

Xue Qingsong would do this, but he wanted to break the current situation where the resources of the Xue family had always been tilted towards the eldest house. The Xue family only had two scholars in the eldest house, and now there was Xue Gouzi. The children of the third house were still young at that time, and the fourth was not married yet. As long as Xue Qingshan agreed, others would naturally have nothing to say, and Xue Qingsong would do his best for his son.

Xue Qingshan agreed to this on the spot, crying and saying that he would definitely treat Xue Gouzi as his own son, and Xue Qingsong closed his eyes.

Not long after that, Qiu, who was already in poor health, became depressed and passed away. Xue Gouzi has since become a poor child without a father or mother. Fortunately, he still has grandparents, uncles, and Zhao'er, a child bride, so he doesn't have to worry about food and clothing.

In the following years, Xue Qingshan really treated Xue Gouzi like his own son. Everyone in the village said that the eldest brother of the Xue family raised his nephew as his own son. But as the saying goes, people's hearts are the most fickle, and selfishness is human nature. As time goes by, the eldest wife gradually changes her attitude. Although she is still the same in front of others, only the parties involved know what happens behind the scenes.

This year, seeing that he has nothing to teach his son, Xue Qingshan thought about sending Xue Juncai to the town's academy to study for two years.

But going to the academy to study costs a lot of silver, not to mention that the annual tuition fee is several taels of silver, the teacher's three festivals and six gifts, and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone used in daily life, all cost money. The Xue family has long been seriously injured because of offering Xue Qingshan, so how can they afford to send two children together.

Only one person could take out the money, which meant that only one of Xue Juncai and Xue Gouzi could go.

Xue Qingshan told the whole family about the matter, but Xue Gouzi did not say that he could not go, but chose to remain silent.