Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 134 Gift
  "Uh…"

Zhang Zhen said with some embarrassment: "I thought it was the wise Rui, but the auspicious Rui is not bad either."

Li An saw that Zhang Zhen was a little embarrassed and explained: "Brother Zhang, the Rui of Ruizhi is actually very good. It has good meanings such as wisdom, profoundness, understanding, shrewdness, ability, and brightness. It is better than the Rui of auspiciousness, but Rui is often used in praise of emperors, but it is not appropriate to use it as a name."

In ancient times, naming was actually very particular. Names and characters used by parents and ancestors had to be avoided.

Naturally, things related to imperial power cannot be used.

In ancient times, "Rui" was often used as a tribute to the emperor by his subjects. Although there is no rule that cannot be named with the word "Rui", anyone who reads a little will deliberately avoid this.

You can see this just by looking at the names of the ancients. For a word like ‘Rui’ which has such a good meaning, people who were more famous in ancient times would hardly see anyone with Rui as their name.

"You brat, no wonder you failed the imperial examination after taking the exam several times. Look at Erlang, he is much more knowledgeable than you." Zhang Rongxing glared.

Zhang Zhen, who was almost twenty years old, blushed when his father scolded him in front of so many people, but he did not dare to refute.

"In-laws, Dalang just didn't think of it for a moment. Let's not talk about this anymore. Come on, continue drinking."

Li Nan quickly stopped Zhang Rongxing and glared at Li An without any trace, as if he was showing off.

Li An was a little speechless. He only explained to take care of Zhang Zhen's face.

However, it is a bit strange that Zhang Zhen didn't even know this after reading such a New Year's book.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Li Ping quickly changed the subject and said, "Aniu, is that strong guy Goudan? Is the other one your friend? Please tell them to sit down."

"Back to the eldest young master, the younger one is the young master's book boy." Desheng said quickly.

"Zhuzi, do it next to me. Brother, ask someone to take Desheng down to eat something." Li An said.

"Aunt Niu, take him down and get him some food."

At this moment, a woman in her forties came in carrying bowls and chopsticks, and Li Ping gave orders.

"Hey!"

Aunt Niu responded, put the dishes and chopsticks on the table, and said to Desheng, "Brother, come with me."

Li Nan and Zhang Rongxing were drinking, while Li Ping quietly asked Li An about his stay in Bianjing in the past few years.

Li An chose some interesting things to talk to Li Ping, and then asked some about the situation at home.

He also knew a little about the situation at home in the past few years. The second year after he went to Bianjing, his eldest brother Li Ping got married.

Li Ping has been studying in the academy for three years and can learn basic Chinese characters and arithmetic. He has stopped studying since last year.

After his persuasion, his parents finally stopped doing it themselves and hired a few people.

The family has also saved a lot of money in the past few years. Last year, Li Ping bought another store in Yangzhou and opened a branch.

In fact, to make braised food, you only need to master the secret recipe of the braised food and make the marinade. Even if you hire someone, you are not afraid of leaking it.

In the past, Li An also advised his parents to hire someone to do it.

But at that time, because my parents had just changed from farmers to businessmen, they were too peasant-minded and couldn't listen to me at all.

The fact that my parents have changed so much now has a lot to do with having been doing business in the city for several years and broadening my horizons.

But no matter what, this is good news, so parents don't have to be so tired.

In the past few years, in addition to adding a house and a shop to the family, the extra money has been used to buy fields.

Now my family has hundreds of acres of farmland alone, and I can be considered a small landowner.

Li Nan usually has nothing to do, so he is responsible for collecting rent from these fields.

In Li Ping's words, his father actually likes to hear others call him Yuanwai Li.

Every time I come back from inspecting the fields, I can eat two more bowls of rice.

The term Yuanwai first came from the Tang Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, the court had no money, so Li Yuan began to sell his official position in order to raise money.

You read that right, it’s selling your official position.

But at that time, officials and Han Ling Emperor were sold, and Han Ling Emperor was really for sale. All kinds of officials clearly marked their prices, and they could be used for money, and they still had real power.

Of course, how long you can stay in office depends on whether someone pays a higher price for your official position. But Li Yuan was different. His method of selling his official position was a bit rogue.

Wealthy merchants and gentry could become alternate officials as long as they donated a certain amount of money and grain.

And this candidate official only has an official status, no real power, and no salary. If there is a vacancy, it will not be their turn.

But the landowners and squires cared about this very much. Many of them donated money and became candidates for official status.

Alternate officials were also called Yuanwaiguan. At that time, they had to be Yuanwaiguan to be honored as Yuanwai.

By the Song Dynasty, it had become a term for wealthy people.

Just like a prince, before the Song Dynasty, only the children of princes could be called princes, but in the Song Dynasty, basically everyone could be called a prince.

Even though the title "Yuanwai" is a bit shabby, for small farmers like Li Nan, they have a different feeling.

Li An secretly smiled, he didn't expect his father to have such a cute side.

Li Nan, who was drinking with Zhang Rongxing, noticed that Li An looked at him a little strangely and asked in confusion: "Aniu, why are you looking at me like this?"

"No... nothing." Li An shook his head repeatedly.

If his father knew that he had arranged this in his mind, he might be able to see his father's majesty.

While they were chatting, mother Liu and Aunt Niu came in carrying some dishes.

After placing the dishes on the table, Mrs. Liu sat down next to Li An and picked up dishes for Li An from time to time.

During this meal, Li An was so full that he didn't even dare to open his mouth to speak, for fear that he would spit out the food he ate.

There is a kind of thinness that makes your mother think you are thin.

Li An has not only grown taller in recent years, but has also become much stronger.

But in Liu's eyes, he just lost weight.

Faced with Mrs. Liu's full 'maternal love', Li An could only hold on.

As for the waste that Li Ping was worried about, it did not happen. Although the whole table was not eaten cleanly, there were only leftovers.

The reason for this is all due to Shizhu. He can eat as much as three or four ordinary men, and he is still a relatively strong man.

Li Nan and the others had seen Shi Zhu's appetite before. Although he could eat more than before, he had grown up, so he was not too surprised.

However, Zhang Rongxing and his son were so shocked by Shi Zhu's appetite that they couldn't close their mouths.

Zhang Rongxing looked at Li An as if he was looking at Zhou Bapi.

That look seemed to say, look, this person is very hungry.

After eating, the Zhang family and his son sat for a while and then left.

After all, when Li An comes back, the family has to catch up on old times, so it's not convenient for them to be here.

After sending Zhang Rongxing and his son away, Mrs. Liu would clean up the house for Li An and let him take a bath and rest.

Although Li An was not tired, he could not refuse his mother's kindness.

While his mother was cleaning the house for him, Li An also opened the gift and took out the gifts for his family.

The gift Li An brought to his mother was a set of silver jewelry. The jewelry was made by a famous jewelry shop in Bianjing and was very exquisite.

When Mrs. Liu saw it, she complained about Li An's reckless spending, but her eyes showed love.

I brought two small jars of good wine to my father. This wine is unique to Fan Lou. Normally, you can only order one pot per table, and you can't take it out.

Li An still asked Qi Heng to get these two jars of wine.

The one given to the eldest brother is a jade pendant, and the one given to the sister-in-law is a jade hairpin.

My nephew's is a gold lock.

In addition, there are some gifts for grandparents and some fine cloth.

(End of this chapter)