Allure of a Country Maiden

After Jingrui and Hu Daicai separated, they walked towards another alley where Xiaoer was. After the two left, two people jumped from the roof in the original alley.

The tall young man in a rain-stained azure robe said to the equally tall, more handsome and noble boy in a purple robe next to him: "That boy is quite smart and has a lot of talent."

"Oh." The man in purple responded obediently, not sure whether he agreed or not.

Here, after the two siblings Shen Jingrui and Shen Xiaoer reunited, they didn't stay in the town and hurried home. Back in the village, I cut some pigweed by the stream and took it home.

After lunch, Mr. Shen called everyone in the Shen family to go to the upper room, including Mr. Liu who was in confinement, saying that he had something to say.

In the upper room, Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen Zhuang were sitting on the kang. Shen Yuzhu and Dafang's family were sitting on the left and right sides respectively. People in the other rooms were sitting on stools on both sides of the kang.

Xiao'er was being held by Shen Chengyao, Liu was holding his little sister and sitting under him. Jing Rui and Jing Hao were standing behind them. Shen Jingjie in the fourth room was playing with Jing Hao, and Lu was sitting next to Liu. The two of them were talking softly. say. Fourth uncle sat next to Lu.

Opposite are the people from the second room sitting.

The distance between people can be seen from the sitting formation.

Mr. Shen started talking only when everyone was gathered, and he talked a lot. The meaning of the words is probably: how hard I worked when I was young, how I worked as a salesman in the streets, earned the family business, and even opened a grocery store. Then he talked about how hard it was for a large family, how they scrimped on food and clothing, and how they were starving and cold so that the eldest grandson could study, and how the eldest son must repay his younger brothers in the future, etc. He went on for a long time without getting to the point.

"Dad, we are all members of the family, and we are all happy to support our eldest brother and nephew in their studies." Shen Chengyao said, thinking that Mr. Shen was worried that he would have objections to Shen Jingwen's study.

He really had no problem with supporting his nephew to study, but he hoped that his wife and children could have food and clothing. He felt distressed when he saw his wife and children starving and suffering along with him, and he had also imagined that he could provide for his son to study.

"Yes, dad, brothers should support each other." Shen Chengzu also expressed his opinion.

Xiaoer sighed in her heart about these two big buns. The old man's ability to turn a blind eye to such unfair treatment for so many years is also due to the contribution of these two buns. In fact, it is appropriate to contribute to the prosperity of the family, but not by being mean to other descendants. I can provide you with education, but I cannot provide you with fine clothing and food. At least the cost of food and clothing should be at the same level for everyone. A family should be united, work together, and share blessings and hardships.

Mr. Shen must have an ulterior motive for what he said today. Shen Jingwen is also good at studying. I heard that children who are at least 15 years old are rare in the entire county. They are expected to be scholars soon. Yesterday, Shen Chengguang and Shen Jingwen stayed in Shangfang and Shen The old man talked for a while, probably related to what he said today. Today I deliberately mentioned that Dafang will definitely repay others in the future, repay? Thinking of this, Xiaoer suddenly understood that the family was about to be separated. After the family separation, Shen Jingwen became an official and they were also a family. The wealth and honor were shared, so why should there be any repayment? They want to separate the family before the scholar is selected, so as not to be ignored. If this is really the case, Xiao'er is looking forward to it. Separating the family is a good thing for her.

"Dad, if you have anything to say, just say it." Shen Chengzong has understood over the years that the old man's heart is boundless, and he will not believe that he will love his family.

Mrs. Shen Zhuang saw that Mr. Shen had been talking for a long time, but none of his sons understood his intention. Instead, they misunderstood his meaning and couldn't sit still: "You old man, you have been talking for a long time and you don't know what you are talking about. Brother, help me." Isn’t it natural to support your brother? What can you say to repay him! Your father means to separate the family, don’t be confused by him! "

"You know nothing, what are you talking about here!" Old Shen glared at Mr. Shen Zhuang. He must have had his intentions when he said so much. He was not worried that other descendants would not understand his good intentions. , do you think Dafang’s family wants to leave them alone to enjoy their wealth? And this woman is here to cause trouble, right? It’s only natural! Can this be said? What nonsense!

Separate the family? The sons and daughters-in-law below were all shocked. Mr. Shen Zhuang likes to live together as a family. They never thought that the old man would take the initiative to split up the family. The daughters-in-law were equally shocked when they heard this, but they were more happy. To be honest, life under Shen Zhuang's nose was really difficult.

"Mom and Dad, did your son do anything wrong?" Shen Chengyao reflected on whether his family had done anything wrong recently, but except for his wife not doing housework because of confinement, he couldn't think of anything else. It couldn't be because of This is the reason. His wife has given birth to children for him. If he doesn't even have time to confine himself, he still has to do this and that. If he becomes ill in the future, he himself will not be able to forgive himself.

"Our little kid is still ignorant. What did he do to make you angry?" Shen Chengzu thought about it but had no idea, so he could only think about his son.

"No, what are you thinking about? Dad knows that you are all good sons of Dad, and your grandchildren are all good grandsons. But Dad has thought about it recently and feels that when the tree grows bigger, it needs to branch. We Shen family, old and young, add up to twenty With many people living together, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of inconveniences and friction will easily occur. If there is too much friction, the relationship will be weak. I thought that we should break up first while we are still close, and my father is also worried about the future. If my son has the opportunity to become an official, the officialdom is dark and villains are hard to guard against. If you are not careful, you may cause the disaster of annihilation. If you divide the family, if it is not a serious crime, at least it will not implicate you, and our family can be considered to have offspring. And you can still think of ways to deal with it outside, instead of settling the pot, then you really have no way to ask for help. And as long as you are willing, even if the family is separated, Wen'er will definitely help everyone when he becomes an official, and this help will be divided. We can do the same things regardless of whether we are separated. Think about it, is this true?"

After hearing this, no one said anything, and they were all thinking about whether it was feasible to separate the family.

"We are separated and you are still my brothers. I know how much my brothers have suffered for me over the years. If you have anything in the future, just come to me. If I can help, I will help without saying a word." Shen Chengguang saw no one. Talk and make promises. Of course, there is a lot of room for what he said. First of all, come to him, not to Shen Jingwen, who is an official. Secondly, he will definitely help whoever can help. Whether he can help is not a matter of his words.

Xiaoer sneered after hearing this. If I can help, I'll help. The water content is too high, so I can just say that I can't do anything.

Mr. Shen was very satisfied after hearing this: "Dad also planned for a rainy day. He thought a little further. Wen'er is just a child now. It's not known how many years will it take to be a scholar, a scholar, a Jinshi, or an official. Ten years is too early. It’s not decided in ten years, but the worst thing in this world is the worst. If we break up early, if something happens in the future, others will think that we have separated a long time ago, and there will be less chance of being implicated.” After saying so many words at once, his mouth was dry. After speaking, Mr. Shen drank water by himself and let his sons think about it.

"Dad is all for our own good. I listen to him." Shen Chengzong agreed without thinking. Li brought back news this morning. His brother-in-law boarded a caravan to do business between the north and the south. He made money. He only did it once and invested 30 taels. It tripled in the past two months. Jing Earned 60 taels. He planned to follow suit. If he didn't split up the family, he would have to hand over any money he made in the future. If he didn't hand it over, he would have to do it secretly. But if he split up the family, he could do whatever he wanted, and whatever he earned would be his own. So the separation was timely for him.

Shen Chengyao turned around and asked Mrs. Liu: "My dear, what do you think?"

Of course Ms. Liu wanted to separate. She didn't expect to be able to enjoy the blessings of being an official with a big family. She just wanted her children to have enough food and clothing, so she said: "Dad is very thoughtful." This is to agree to the separation of the family. .

Mrs. Liu glanced at Mrs. Lu, and when she saw the smile in her eyes, she knew that she also wanted to separate the family.

Shen Chengzu also asked Mrs. Lu's opinion. Knowing that she also wanted to separate the family, he asked Shen Chengyao. Shen Chengyao also thought about it and said, "We listen to dad."

The brothers all agreed to separate the families, and the separation of the Shen family was officially established. Mr. Shen listed the money, land, shops and other properties shared by the family, and then told the family separation plan he thought of last night and asked everyone for their opinions.