In Jiang'an City, there were two people sitting in the concierge of a wealthy businessman's house.
One of them was thin and haggard. Although his clothes were neat, he couldn't hide his tiredness. His sitting posture was upright, and he showed an uneasy nervousness. He was Xia Jingyun's father, Xia Hengzhi.
He turned to look at the concierge who was drinking tea leisurely next to him, and said respectfully: "Brother, I wonder when your master will come back?"
The concierge glanced at him and said, "How will I know when the master will come back? Why do you want to inform me about what the master is doing?"
Xia Hengzhi, who had rarely interacted with outsiders, was suddenly reprimanded to the point where he did not dare to say anything anymore.
After waiting restlessly for a while, he finally heard the shout of someone getting off the sedan from outside the door. He quickly shook off his clothes and stood up, only to find that the concierge who had been leisurely drinking tea with his legs crossed just now was already standing at the door with his waist bent and respectfully waiting.
A rich middle-aged man and a charming young woman each walked out of a sedan and walked towards the door.
"Sir, there is a scholar who wants to hire a tutor in the house. He has been waiting at the concierge for a while."
The man paused, and Xia Hengzhi on the side quickly plucked up the courage to step forward. He was so nervous that he stuttered, and said in a trembling voice: "I am Xia Hengzhi of Wanfu County. I have read poetry and books since I was a child. I want to be a teacher in your house. Please Noble people test each other."
The man looked Xia Hengzhi up and down, "Do you have any fame?"
Xia Hengzhi shook his head, his ears turning red.
The man sneered and said, "Teacher is so important that it cannot be done by just a country scholar. Take some grain and rice back."
After saying that, he walked straight in. The concubine on the side whispered: "Master, isn't the Wen Kui today just a country scholar?"
"What kind of ability does that person have? His literary talent and magnanimity are astonishing. How can anyone compare to that? Look at that person's poor face. How can he compare to that person's literary talent? He's not even worthy of carrying someone's shoes!"
"The master is still wise!"
As the voice faded away, the concierge glanced at the lost Xia Hengzhi and said calmly: "Your Excellency, please?"
Xia Hengzhi was stunned, "Didn't the master of your mansion say that there is still food and rice?"
The concierge smiled and said nothing, folded his hands and said nothing.
Xia Hengzhi, no matter how stupid he was, understood it and staggered towards his home in despair.
After walking for a while, I unexpectedly ran into my brother Xia Mingxiong at the entrance of his home alley.
The two of them knew at the first glance that neither of them had a good outcome, and they both sighed.
"Hey! It's difficult!"
"Yes! It's not easy to find food to eat!"
"Let's think about it in the long term! We still have some money at home and can survive for ten days and a half."
At this moment, three women are busy at home.
Today, the three of them didn't even go out. They were thinking about making some cooking cakes and the like, and selling them on the street tomorrow, trying to earn some money to supplement their family income.
Now that I have ground the flour, I am waiting to get up in the middle of the night to make it and pick it out for sale early in the morning while it is still hot.
Although it was hard work, it was much better than the days in the labor camp.
At this moment, Xia Ningzhen was sitting in front of the kitchen door, lighting a fire, Xia Jingyun's mother, Xia Li, was chopping vegetables, and Xia Zhang was holding a spoon by the pot.
"Sister-in-law, I'll get up and do it tonight. You and Ning Zhen have a good rest first."
Xia Li is as hard-working as ever, and does not fight or rob.
Mrs. Xia Zhang shook her head, "It's okay, let's come together. It's been a while now, who can still be the mistress and young mistress."
Xia Li advised: "It doesn't have to be like this. The three of us are so tired. They can last for several days!"
Mrs. Xia Zhang insisted: "I'm mainly worried that if you cook it poorly, you'll lose money all of a sudden."
Xia Li immediately stopped talking.
As soon as Xia Zhang's words came out, her mind came to her senses and she quickly made up for it, "Brothers and sisters, I didn't mean that. I meant that we don't have more than three taels of silver left now. We have a family of seven, so we have to be careful, otherwise You have to drink the northwest wind."
Xia Li made a hum.
After all, Xia Ningzhen is still young and has no interest in these fussy things. She muttered: "I wonder what happened to my second brother when he went to attend the cultural gathering."
Xia Zhang blurted out, "What else can I do? Just gain some experience. Do you still expect him to be the first in literature?"
Xia Li was silent, but when she was chopping vegetables, the sound of the knife chopping on the cutting board seemed louder.
When the two brothers Xia Hengzhi returned home, they were watching Xia Yunfei shirtless chopping firewood in the yard. He chopped the big firewood he bought into small strips, which would save more money and make it easier to use.
Seeing his son sweating profusely, Xia Mingxiong looked sad, "Both children are good, can they only do these jobs in this life?"
Xia Hengzhi also sighed, remembering the news he just heard at the Yuanwai's house.
On the way back, I also heard someone talking, and it seemed that his surname was Xia.
We are both from a poor family, with the same surname of Xia. Why are there so many differences between people?
The two shook their heads, pushed the door open, and suddenly heard a shout from behind them.
"Brother Xia!"
The two brothers turned their heads at the same time, saw that it was their neighbor, and quickly turned around to say hello.
Xia Hengzhi cupped his hands and said politely: "I remember that you went to observe the cultural gathering today. How come you have time to come to my house to talk."
The neighbor smiled and said: "As expected of a person who can teach Wen Kui, what he said is very interesting."
"Your Excellency, that's a ridiculous compliment, but..." Xia Hengzhi replied subconsciously, and then was interrupted by a thunderous voice in his ear.
Xia Mingxiong stared like an old cow with shock on his face, "What did you say?"
The neighbor smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to both brothers. Mr. Jing Yun of your mansion today defeated all the talented people in the state and won the title of Wengui of the Wenhui Association!"
Bang!
At the door of the kitchen, Xia Li stood stunned when she heard the sound, and the kitchen knife in her hand fell to the ground.
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"Speaking of which, Mr. Zheng is the son of the prefect of Jianning. He is a disciple of Master Xue Zheng in the state. He is recognized as the most talented man in Sishui Prefecture with his literary and martial arts skills. He came riding a white horse, with people arriving and laughter, which made the previous Zeng Jimin and Lin Feibai, who were so brilliant, were instantly dimmed."
In the small courtyard, everyone immediately brought chairs and asked the neighbor to sit down. Then they sat in rows and listened to his story about what had just happened.
"Mr. Zheng looked around and said that he wanted to choose someone to go with him to break through the border and execute the order. Everyone was worried. Wouldn't it be self-defeating to join forces with such talents? But things are already happening, and Mr. Zheng will not listen to them. , I saw Mr. Zheng looking around and randomly selecting someone. Guess what, it happened to be Mr. Xia!"
Xia Li trembled and almost fainted, but Xia Hengzhi on the side helped her up, "Don't panic, don't panic, our son won in the end!"
Only then did everyone react and heaved a sigh of relief, but their hearts that were already in their throats did not drop.
"Mr. Xia was also very courageous and faced him head-on. At that time, we just thought he was ignorant and fearless. But later we realized that he was confident!"
...
"After listening to Mr. Zheng's poem, everyone felt that it would be difficult to write a better poem than him. However, Mr. Xia pondered for a moment and then recited: "Since ancient times, autumn has been sad and lonely. I say that autumn is better than spring. A crane flies above the clouds in a clear sky, bringing poetry to the blue sky. When a poem comes out, the whole audience is shocked!"
Everyone in the Xia family was overjoyed, as if they had seen Xia Jingyun create a miracle with their own eyes.
Xia Jingyun's "teacher", his father Xia Hengzhi, had a dull look on his face. Did I teach him this?
Who can write such a poem? Is it possible for a scholar of my level to teach you?
"But it's not over yet. There is a great scholar who is close to Mr. Zheng, who wants to give the position of Wengui to Mr. Zheng against his conscience."
"He dares!" Xia Mingxiong and Xia Yunfei, father and son, exploded at the same time.
The other three women were also aggressive, causing Xia Hengzhi to quickly persuade them: "Don't panic, don't panic, Gao Yang won in the end."
The neighbor took a sip of water soaked with crushed tea powder, "Fortunately, the crowd was excited, everyone argued hard, and many big shots came forward to uphold justice. In the end, Mr. Xia got the position of Wengui! Don't say it was He, not to mention your family, even our entire Nantian Lane is proud of you!"
Everyone looked at each other with surprise in their eyes.
Xia Ning was really excited. She didn't expect her second brother to be so powerful. She was so happy that she immediately turned around and said, "Mom, didn't you say that my second brother can only go through the motions and watch the excitement?"
"You damn girl, are you trying to piss me off to death?"
Mrs. Xia Zhang blushed and cursed, everyone laughed, and the room was filled with happy air.
