Mr. Zhuang was thinking while holding the tea cup. He turned his head and looked out the window, because the sunshine was good today. Although it was cold, this was the time when the sunshine was at its best.

Therefore, the windows were opened wide for ventilation, allowing sunlight to come in. The sunlight was not crooked or slanted, but it just hit the table in front of Mr. Zhuang.

His hand holding the teacup was right in the beam of light, as if he were holding the sun.

Amidst the misty fragrance of tea, Mr. Zhuang's voice was also full of mistiness. He said: "You also know that I am taking Bai Shan and Bai Cheng with me now. One of them is studying at Guozi School and the other is at Taixue University.

With their family background, it is inevitable to become an official."

He said: "You don't have to worry about no one taking care of Ji An after he enters the officialdom. With the kindness of our family, they will definitely take care of Ji An."

Mr. Zhuang raised his eyes and looked at Dalang Zhuang who was thinking, and said softly: "Dalang, as a father, I am not obsessed with being an official, nor do I have any big ambitions for my children to fulfill. I, like you, want their future lives to be fulfilled."

Live a better life."

"You are indeed living a stable life in the Zhang family now, but after all, you are dependent on others. This is not a long-term solution."

Seeing his frown, Mr. Zhuang stopped and said, "I still mean that. If you don't want Ji An to follow me to the capital, it's better to send him to the county school to study for a few more years and take the math test."

Ke, if you two, father and son, really don’t want to enter the county government office, you can go to the Zhang family."

He said: "You are in your prime, you can do it for another twenty or thirty years, so why bother to bring Ji An with you to practice?"

Mr. Zhuang said this, and Dalang Zhuang finally calmed down and thought about it. He hesitated and said: "But Ji An can't get into the county school..."

"I will find a way to let him enroll as an auditor, don't worry, just learn how you want to learn." Mr. Zhuang said: "He may be worse in other studies, but he is not bad in academics. As long as he can keep up with this course,

Neither the teachers nor the students in the school will look down upon him."

Zhuang Dalang hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Mr. Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief and felt that it was more difficult to convince his son than to teach several children to read for a month.

But this is also progress.

Mr. Zhuang said that he would send Zhuang Ji'an to the county school and he would be able to send him there.

He has been running the business for many years after returning to his hometown. At first, people did talk about him privately, but later they stopped mentioning it.

He had friends in Luojiang County and even more friends in Mianzhou. Otherwise, he would not have been able to recommend Bai Dalang to go to Mianzhou to study.

After Mr. Zhuang came back, he asked someone to let Zhuang Jian go to the county school to audit as long as he paid a sum of money.

However, he still avoided Zhuang Dalang and called Zhuang Ji'an into the study room and warned him, "Although you can go to the county school to audit, it is best to pass the exam yourself. Your ability is limited now, but you can study for another year. Next year, no, it will be the next year."

years."

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said: "You can try to take the exam in the spring of next year."

He handed the five books he had compiled to Zhuang Jian and said with a smile: "I have annotated these. You can read them. If you don't understand, ask your teacher for advice. When it comes to learning, don't be afraid to ask. You know?"

Zhuang Ji'an responded respectfully.

Mr. Zhuang then asked him to leave.

Although Mrs. Zhuang objected to her son leaving with his father-in-law, she did not object to her son entering the county school. On the contrary, she was very happy and quietly asked Mr. Zhuang, "Father can let Ji An enter the county school. What about Ji Ran?"

Zhuang Dalang:......

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at his wife, "What are you thinking? How old is Ji Ran? And the county school is not run by our family. My father spent a lot of favors and money to put Ji An in. You

Don't think about it. If you want Ji Ran to enter school, let him study hard and take the exam himself."

He felt that it was okay if he failed to pass the exam. As long as he could read and write, and knew arithmetic and accounting, it would be easy to find a job.

Sister-in-law Zhuang couldn't help but ask, "Does it cost a lot of money?"

Zhuang Dalang said "hmm".

Sister-in-law Zhuang felt distressed, and then she leaned on Dalang Zhuang and asked, "How much did it cost? How much money does father-in-law have on hand?"

Zhuang Dalang glanced at her and said, "Didn't Dad give him fifty taels of silver when he came back? I've asked the dental shop in the past two days and no one is selling land around the county. I'll look elsewhere later, farther away."

It’s okay. After I buy the land, I’ll find someone to farm it. You should take more care of the house and see how the spring clothes you made for your father are doing..."

Just like that, the topic was changed.

When Mr. Zhuang came to Beijing, he sold all the land in his family. In these years, the money earned by the family, in addition to the expenses for the children's education, was used to buy land.

Even if Zhuang Dalang does not farm, he can still plant crops for tenant farmers. Although it is not a lot, it is still a family business.

Although Mrs. Zhuang was dissatisfied, she didn't say anything. She knew that although they accepted the gifts from outside, her husband didn't like her asking about her father-in-law's money.

The banker did not observe the New Year, but the old Zhou family all observed the New Year in the main room.

There are too many people at home, especially children, who are so noisy that it is almost impossible to hear the adults talking to each other.

Zhou Dalang became angry and waved the children back to play in his room.

It was impossible to go back to their own house, so the children grabbed candies and ran out to the small courtyard to play together. Manbao, who was not very young, also ran away with them.

The main room, which was originally as lively as a vegetable market, was suddenly filled with only adults and not a single child in sight.

Sanya also helped carry the youngest Batou over to play with him.

Man Bao's house was the most spacious, so everyone entered her room together. San Tou took a brazier from the kitchen and warmed up the fire directly in the house.

The four heads dragged out a small bag of yam beans from somewhere, picked up a dozen and roasted them in the fire pot.

He vowed to tell Man Bao, "The roasted yam beans are particularly delicious."

Apparently they often bake secretly.

Although he had just finished eating, Manbao still swallowed.

The five little ones took the toys from the aunt's shelf and played with them, forming their own group. The older ones, Manbao, sat by the brazier, roasting yam beans and talking.

Zhou Liwei asked: "Do you want to go to the capital with us for the Spring Festival?"

Man Bao nodded, "I want Li Xue to study in the capital and take the imperial examination in the future."

There are so many children in their family, and it seems that the boy who is better at studying is Zhou Lixue.

Sanya on the side looked up at her brother and said proudly: "Second brother, I also want to go to the capital with my sister-in-law."

Zhou Liwei was stunned, he really didn't know about this.

Manbao also patted his head and said, "I forgot to tell my second brother and sister-in-law. I'll talk to my second brother and sister-in-law tomorrow. Sanya, please remember to remind me."

Si Tou, who was waiting for the yam beans to be cooked, was shocked. He looked at the third brother and then the third sister, and asked in disbelief, "So I'm the only one left in the house?"

"Aren't Wutou and the others human?"

Si Tou said unhappily: "They are so young, they can't go to school with me."

Si Tou Zhou Li Gu is only a few months younger than San Ya Zhou Li Ru. They grew up together and studied at the same table.
Chapter completed!