A few days after the banquet, Li Zhu arrived home. He is twenty-one years old this year. He has been in the provincial capital for several months and his face has become much darker and thinner. Only his eyes are still so bright.
I don't know why after winning the exam, he seemed calmer and less talkative.
The family was inevitably in chaos again, so Li Yan and his wife had to put aside the topic of family separation for now. It took three days for the reception in the third room to arrive before the entrance gradually stopped.
On the fourth day after his return, Li Dan walked into the courtyard where his eldest brother lived. There are five brothers in the Li family. Except for Li Shuo, who is close to Li Dan because he and Li Dan are half-bloods, the eldest brother is the closest to them.
At that time, Li Dang had just returned to his hometown, and his second brother Li Jin was only two months older than him, which was the age when he was acting bad.
Li Zhu is already ten years old. It is he who cares and takes care of his younger brothers, and it is he who protects Li Dan from being bullied in school.
Later, Li Zhu was sent to an academy in Nanchang to study, and Li Dan rarely saw him again. It wasn't until Li Zhu went home to prepare for the county exam the year before last that the two brothers met again.
Li Zhu married Zhu at the beginning of last summer, and the two brothers saw each other less and less. When they met again this time, Li Dan felt a little strange standing in front of his eldest brother.
"Why, you are making trouble at home all day long, and when you see me, you pretend to be a cat?" After Li Zhu finished speaking, a smile appeared on his lips.
Li Dan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar smile. He stepped forward to greet him and said, "How come the eldest brother is so dark and thin that the younger brother doesn't recognize him? Do you have to suffer a lot outside?"
"It's a small thing to endure hardship, but it's a big thing to worry about national affairs!" Li Zhu sighed.
"Brother, this was not the case before." Li Dan was a little surprised.
At this time, Mrs. Zhu brought a little maid to serve tea and said to him with a smile: "I don't know, Sanlang, your elder brother seems to be a different person when he comes back this time. He talks less. He often walks around this camellia when he doesn't see visitors." Go, as if you still haven’t finished the three days in the examination room.”
"Oh, those three days were really miserable!" Li Zhu waved his hand: "It's okay not to mention it."
"What makes the eldest brother so worried?" Li Dan thanked his sister-in-law and returned to the topic after she left.
"I have been back home for two years. Unexpectedly, I encountered thieves twice during this trip and return home. Fortunately, the danger was saved, but my brother was worried.
Peace is hard-won, so why is it starting to cause trouble again now? "Li Zhu said in a low voice.
"Is there someone causing trouble?" Li Dan asked in surprise. He had been in the city for a long time and didn't know the outside world. He didn't expect that his brother would also encounter thieves.
"Brother, did you fight off the thieves?" He asked, knowing that Li Zhu was also good at swordsmanship.
"It was not my brother's fault. When I left, there happened to be archers and policemen rounding up the thieves, thinking that my brother had been rescued. When I returned home, I met a knight who helped me, and the danger was averted.
Otherwise, with my little swordsmanship, being able to resist one or two people is already my best! "
Li Zhu spread his hands: "I just wonder why the world is like this now.
Later, the hero escorted me to Yugan. As we chatted on the way, I found out that a large number of internal supervisors had been sent to Jiangxi to serve as mine supervisors in various places, so that mine owners and foremen were in conflict with them. In Ganzhou, some mine supervisors were even killed and expelled. Soldier.
The mining slaves and miners who escaped from these turmoils were scattered all over the country, and many gathered to escape and engage in illegal activities. "
"So that's it? Isn't this tantamount to rebellion? Why don't the officers and soldiers suppress it?"
"It's not a rebellion at all. It's just robberies and kidnappings. The number of people is only a dozen or dozens, not enough to require the deployment of government troops. However, the local authorities are not doing enough to arrest them, so..."
Li Zhu shook his head: "Anyway, this is not a good sign!"
"So brother is worried?"
"It's not just that." Li Zhu sighed: "This time I went to take the exam. In Nanchang City, I saw not only the grand government offices, but also the homeless people everywhere. I saw rich families feasting on wine and meat, and there were also beggars dying of hunger.
At the Luming Banquet, a table of food was worth one or two or four taels of silver, but in a country hut, the family's wealth was only thirty Renxuan Tongbao. Why is this so? Brother, I am puzzled! "
After listening to Li Zhu's words, Li Dan understood. This eldest brother is a young man full of ideals and fantasies.
He went out excitedly with ideals, but reality poured cold water on him and he returned in embarrassment.
He didn't feel that it was a big deal that he won the exam. On the contrary, Li Zhu saw the reality of the world and recalled that he had studied hard for more than ten years but had no practical skills to save people. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and was full of confidence. It became a hesitation.
It was as if I had entered a fog, and suddenly I could not find my way out or the passage.
"Brother, what are your plans for the future?" In order to prevent Li Zhu from getting stuck, Li Dan changed the subject and asked.
Li Zhu shook his head with a grimace: "I don't know either. However, when I left Nanchang, a friend invited me to Ganzhou.
That man was now working as a guest at the governor's office in southern Jiangxi and said he could recommend me to Governor Zeng. I haven't decided on this matter yet and am still considering it. "
"This is a good idea." Li Dan patted his leg and said, "That's the governor's guest, better than a county magistrate!
I think it’s good, at least I’ll gain some insight and know what governance is, and the secrets of coordinating top and bottom, internal and external. Then, wouldn’t it give me more confidence than other students to take the college examination?
Although the imperial court and the emperor's selection of officials are based on the holy words, they still have to deal with practical matters according to the circumstances.
The fact that my brother passed the examination means that he is already among the best in the province in terms of classics and meanings. If he learns more about practical matters, he will probably have a smoother career as a scholar. dont you agree? "
After he said these words, when he saw Li Zhu staring at him dumbfounded, he felt that these words were a bit too mature. "What a three-day separation!
I didn’t expect that the monkey Saburo that my uncle talked about could also have this insight? How strange! "
Li Zhu slapped the case and yelled: "I, Li Wenzhou, have wasted my reputation as a civil servant. I didn't expect to ask my brother to guide me when I couldn't see clearly. I'm really ashamed!"
After saying that, he stood up and bowed to Li Dan: "Brother, thank you Sanlang for your advice."
He was so frightened that Li Dan jumped up to avoid him, stretched out his hand to help him stand up, and said: "Little brother, just say it casually, brother, why do you do this?"
"There was a teacher in ancient times, and now my brother has given me some enlightenment. How can I not thank him as a brother?" Li said and bowed down, and Li Dan also hurriedly returned the bow.
When Mrs. Zhu came in and saw the two of them like this, she couldn't help but laugh and said: "What's wrong with your brother? You've just met and bowed so politely. He really responded to the saying of 'brothers, friends, brothers.'"
The two brothers smiled at each other and returned to their seats.
Mrs. Zhu walked to the table with the support of her maid and said, "There is nothing good to entertain you at home. Fortunately, my brother asked someone to send some plums and melons yesterday. My uncle will use some if he doesn't mind."
While talking, he kept taking out two or three plates of fruit from the basket carried by another maid and put them on the table. Then he resigned and asked someone to help him slowly go out.
Li Dan looked at her back and asked strangely: "Brother, I haven't seen you for many days. Why is it that my sister-in-law has trouble walking and she needs help?"
Li Zhu smiled and handed it over to Li Zhu, and said softly: "Your sister-in-law is happy."
"Ah? Really? Congratulations, brother!"
"Well, she knew it as soon as I left. She didn't say anything to prevent me from being distracted. I only listened to Dawan (Liu Dawan and Liu Dawan) after leaving the examination room. Otherwise, she would have just finished the deer-minging banquet. Rush back in a hurry."
"Congratulations, brother! Does Third Uncle know?"
"I'll send Dawan to ask the doctor from Sanshengtang after lunch, and then the whole family will know."
Li Zhu pursed his lips and smiled: "Maybe my father will hold a wedding banquet when he is happy, and you will have to go and invite the master from Hongyan Tower."
"That's no problem. I'm going to have a nephew, so I'm happy to make as many trips as I want!" Li Dan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
"Ha, then don't you want to beat Master Xuezheng up this time?"
"Uh..." Li Dan stuck out his tongue: "How come this matter about me reached the ears of the elder brother so quickly?"
"Hmph, good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. Do you think others won't know if you don't tell them? You're so clever!"
Li Zhuo pointed at him with an iron heart: "Sanlang, what is not lacking in this world is cleverness, but what is really lacking is great wisdom.
If you just want to stay in Yugan County and be a 'little Yuanba', then you should continue to be so smart.
As long as you still want to do great things, and still want to honor my Li family, you have to throw away this feeling of good and this self-righteousness.
No matter how tall the person standing at the foot of the mountain is, he can only see the fence in front of everyone above their heads, but the person at the top of the mountain can see a vista that no one can reach, and even the mountains, rivers, lakes and swamps hundreds of miles away.
You can wake up your brother, why can't you wake up yourself? "
"Brother, I am different from you." Li Dan put aside his hands helplessly: "You all have great ambitions, and you are people with great ambitions.
I just want to live a good life in this life, and be a commoner, a commoner who cares about the mountains and rivers. I have no plans to do anything spectacular. "
"Ha!" Li Su laughed.
"Really! I'm not joking!" Li Dan shouted seriously, almost swearing. “I just wanted to make some money, and one day I would take my whole family to build a few thatched cottages by the lake.
It's nice to have some free time to fish, drink wine, and meet up with two or three friends for a meal or a drink. "
"By the way, talking about this, I heard that you always like to run to the kitchen and teach Mavericks how to cook? It is said that everyone who has eaten it is full of praise. Is this true?" Li Zhu clicked his tongue: "The ancients said... ….”
"I know, a gentleman stays far away from the kitchen, right? A gentleman is like an animal. Seeing its life, he can't bear to see it die; hearing its sound, he can't bear to eat its meat. So a gentleman stays far away from the kitchen," Li Dan said.
"Don't you memorize it very well? You can just open your mouth and speak!" Li Zhu was surprised.
"The ancients said that a gentleman is kind and can't bear to see anyone killed, so he stays away from the kitchen.
Brother, I dare not say whether I am a gentleman or not. I am not ashamed to kill to serve my elders, relatives and friends. Moreover, those who have been reincarnated as cattle, sheep, dolphins, and dogs for three lifetimes will have such retribution due to reasons in their previous lives.
What does it have to do with me to kill him to fulfill his sin?
Even if I try to be half a gentleman, I cannot be as kind as the millions of people in the world. How can I have the time to love the animals that have fallen due to bad fate in my previous life?
I'm sorry for my clumsiness, but I am really helpless! "
"You, you are using strong words to make sense!" Li Zhu was dumbfounded by what he said. He waved his sleeves and pretended to be angry: "Where did you come from? I have never heard of such nonsense!"
"Hehe, brother, if you can't tell me it's wrong, just say it's crooked. Anyway, you are the master of the people's education, so just say it's crooked!"
Li Dan shook his head and said with a smile: "But my craftsmanship is really good. Do you want to show your skills tonight and ask me to have a try?"
"What? Sanlang wants to cook?" Zhu was surprised when he heard this when he came in to refill his brother's teapot.
"Well, I won't do anything. I'll point Brother Niu and let him do it!" Li Dan rolled his eyes and said hurriedly: "My sister-in-law is inconvenienced, how can I let you work hard?"
Zhu's face turned red and she looked at her husband strangely.
Li Zhu smiled sheepishly: "Sanlang is not an outsider. I just told him."
"Oh, you...!" Mrs. Zhu shouted, covered her face with her sleeves, turned around and ran away.
"Brother, did I say the wrong thing?" Li Dan made a face.
Li Zhu smiled and waved his hand: "Let's not talk about this. Sanlang, after talking for a long time, do you really not want to take the imperial examination and enter the official career like my brother?"
Seeing Li Dan shaking his head vigorously, he could only sigh and nod: "That's okay, I won't force you. You have been the best at reading among your brothers since you were a child, and you have a photographic memory.
If you change your mind in the future, it won't be difficult to pick it up again. However, those nonsense of fighting and beating must not be repeated in the future! "
Li Dan stood up and bowed solemnly: "An elder brother is like a father. Dan promises to think twice before doing anything in the future and not to upset my brother!"
In fact, what he was thinking was: Those things have been in my mind for a long time, so why bother to endorse them as long as they wake up my memory?
He had memorized everything he had to memorize in his previous life. Li Dan didn't want to be a test worm again!
