In Nan'an Town, Luoya County, Jiangzhou, carpenter Yan Laojiu sat in front of his shop, smoking a dry cigarette.
He has been looking like this since he came back from the theater with his wife half an hour ago.
His wife Qi looked at his back and hesitated to speak, unconsciously shaking the rag in her hand.
"You said..." After an unknown amount of time, Yan Laojiu let go of his cigarette holder, stared at the sunset that turned half of the sky red, and spoke hesitantly.
He only said these two words and then remained silent, but Mrs. Qi's face lit up and she hurriedly ran to his side, pushing the man who looked like a black iron tower: "The boss?"
Yan Laojiu sighed, not unwillingly, but a little worried: "If the court really confirms the girl's inheritance rights, can this... be implemented among us?"
Mrs. Qi suppressed her excitement and whispered: "How can it not be possible! You see, the court said that girls should take the imperial examination, so let them take the imperial examination! A while ago, I heard from the young man studying in the courtyard next to me that there are several young men in their academy. The girl has to take the Tongsheng Examination! The court even supports the girl becoming an official, not to mention the issue of inheriting the family business!"
Yan Laojiu chewed his flower seeds, but he was still a little worried: "Since we got married, we haven't got a boy and a girl, and now we have to adopt from relatives... If we don't choose a husband, we choose a girl. I'm afraid it won't make sense."
Hearing this, Mrs. Qi raised her eyes and said, "All the brothers in your family are only sons. If you want to adopt a husband, you can only choose one from the clan!
Although there are two of them who are the right age, can they get involved? The three-year-old was raised by his uncle. What happened? You dare to ask for the seed of a master who can starve your own uncle to death? !
There is another one who was just born, which seems more suitable, but how calculating are his parents? I'm just afraid that if I raise him, I'll have to support his whole family! If they come to your door every three days, what's the point of raising this child? Why don't you choose your cousin's daughter, who can still be considered a niece. "
Yan Laojiu had a cousin who had earlier married a young boy because of her relationship with the older generation. Unexpectedly, the young boy was quite talented and she passed the exam after two or three exams. If the examination booth hadn't collapsed and hit him during the provincial examination, my cousin would have become the first lady to be elected!
The poor boy died giving birth to him, and his pregnant cousin was born prematurely, and her daughter also died shortly after giving birth.
Now this niece is less than two years old. Because her father has no uncles or brothers, he is raised in front of his aunt Yan Laojiu. I heard that she is living a miserable life.
This is the child that Qi is interested in.
"Xiao Nier's father can read, and her mother is also smart. The children born from these two people may not be bad in talent. If they are raised well, they will be able to earn a title for us in the future!"
When Yan Laojiu heard this, he couldn't help but laugh at her for overthinking.
Mrs. Qi added: "It doesn't matter even if you can't learn how to be a Ding Mao, as long as you have a good character! Her father is a kind man who cares about the old and the young, and her mother is also a good and filial girl. Xiao Nier can be as good as Where to go? As long as we don’t let it go too far, the future will be good for both of us."
In this way, Yan Laojiu was a little tempted, but he still had concerns: "But, a girl can establish a household and support us two in the future?"
However, Mrs. Qi was not worried: "Have you forgotten the official drama you just heard? When Sheng Liuyuan criticized the old Confucian scholar, he said, 'It doesn't matter whether a man or a woman inherits, whose father and mother are responsible'! That is, if you don't recruit, The law also requires her to take care of us."
"Then the law hasn't been implemented yet!" Yan Laojiu was a little discouraged not long after he got a little taller.
Mrs. Qi nodded his head and said angrily: "You are stupid! If the imperial court had no such intention, why would they let us sing official operas?"
Although she doesn't know a few Chinese characters, she is not a fool!
At this point, Yan Laojiu suddenly realized and knocked the cigarette pot on the ground with enthusiasm: "Okay, let's go back to discuss it with my uncle and aunt right now!"
"Bring more money and food. We will decide tonight at noon and go to the government office to go through the formalities tomorrow!" Ms. Qi was overjoyed and dragged her husband to get busy.
Since the official opera became popular among the people, although not many people reacted like Yan Laojiu and his wife, there were also many people who were watching and secretly looking forward to it.
Until the snow arrived at the beginning of winter, two imperial edicts were passed down in the morning, finally bringing the dispute that had lasted for more than half a year to an end.
(End of chapter)
