golden scales

Huang Desu led Wang Yi into the county town, and arrived at the gate of a small house with ease.This used to be the residence of the housekeeper of the Huang family, but now it is assigned to the Huang Desu family.If there is only a family of three living there, this house is not bad.But now there are five families living here, and the Huang family only occupies two of the north rooms.

"Master is back." Mrs. Huang Li came out to meet Huang Desu, blessed her, and said in a low voice, "It's too early to come back this time. I'll cook for the master."

Huang Desu nodded, seeing his wife's gaze flickering over the young man, he said, "Wang Yi, this is your teacher's wife."

"Student Wang Yi, pay my respects to the teacher's wife." Wang Yi took a step and bowed to the end.

"Students in my school will take the second exam tomorrow, but will live at home today." Huang Desu said.

"Yes." Huang Lishi nodded, turned around and went back to the house to fetch rice, ready to make dinner.She lifted the lid of the rice jar and saw the black bottom of the jar at a glance.The housewife pulled the rice vat hard, gathered the rice grains in the vat, and finally scooped out a spoonful.

Huang Desu asked Wang Yi to wait at the door, and went into the house by himself. Seeing his wife struggling to get rice from the vat, he felt sore.He stepped forward to hold the rice vat, put it down gently, sighed, and said, "I'll ask Zhang Wenquan for some rice."

"Don't..." Huang Li grabbed her husband and said softly, "I borrowed a bowl last time, but I haven't returned it yet."

"Didn't I give you monthly money last time? Why didn't you buy it?" Huang Desu lowered his voice, but there was some sense of reproach.

"I think the price of rice is going to fall, so let's bear with it for two days." Huang Li said: "In just these two days, I can already buy an extra catty of rice."

Huang Desu patted his wife's arm and said, "I also brought some coarse grains back, it's enough to mix them in together."

"You don't have enough food for yourself, how can you bring it back?" Huang Li asked suspiciously.

"There are a lot of wild vegetables that can be eaten in the mountains. Once you stretch it, it will come out." Huang Desu chuckled lightly: "Where is the elder sister? Why don't you see her?"

When Mrs. Huang heard that her husband was eating wild vegetables in the village school, he insisted on saving his rations and bringing them back. His heart was sore, and he couldn't help but shed tears.Hearing her husband ask about her daughter again, Huang Lishi shed tears.Suppressing her crying, she said: "A few days ago she went to Laizhou with her female companions to take the female officer examination, and I'm afraid she will be back tomorrow or the day after."

Huang Desu lowered his head, two tears fell on the ground, and said: "It's because of my husband that I harmed your mother and daughter."

"Master, why do you say that?" Huang Li couldn't help crying. "Wives are virtuous and husbands have few misfortunes. Now that they are in this situation, it is also a concubine's crime."

The couple hugged their heads and cried for a while, before restraining their faces.Huang Desu went out first, and took Wang Yi to register at the county school.Huang Lishi waited for them to leave before coming out with a pair of red eyes.I saw the coarse grains my husband brought back.Take it to the shared kitchen for cooking.

Someone was already using the stove in the kitchen. Seeing Mrs. Huang Li, she said in a low voice, "So it's the grandma of the Huang family. I'll be fine."

Huang Lishi got used to the dim light in the kitchen, and just now she saw clearly that it was Zhang Wenquan's wife, and she came forward to say hello.Looking at this Grandma Zhang again, she also spoke with a crying voice.Her eyes are swollen like peaches, she must have just cried.Huang Lishi herself felt desolate, if she told her about it, she would inevitably cry again, so they went about their own affairs and remained silent.

This is the Court of Prisoners, where all guilty officials are placed together.People with minor crimes such as Huang Desu and Zhang Wenquan can still make a decent living as a teacher or copy notes in the county.Those who committed serious crimes were directly sent to hard labor.It is even more tragic.

"Mother! Mother! I passed the exam!" A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl rushed into the kitchen like a whirlwind. Seeing an outsider, she restrained herself a little, saluted, but still couldn't help but said happily: "Mother! I passed the exam." From the Ninth Grade East Palace female official. Worked in the Wenxuan Department, mother! I will have a salary from now on! Five silver coins per month!"

Huang Li finally couldn't help crying and said: "I don't think my family will sell a girl to survive... It is said that once the Hou family enters the deep like the sea, the sister lives carefully in the palace, and can no longer be like at home." Zhang Shi also cried with him, and comforted him: "Ten years have passed, I heard that they can be released, and they can still be reunited with their families at that time."

The girl didn't care, instead she held her mother's arm and laughed.

"Mother, grandma of the Zhang family, after hearing the rumors, do you think that female officials are meant to enter the palace to serve people?" Ms. Huang threw herself up and down with a smile: "The female officials in the Eastern Palace are just like when Dad was an official. Rest for a day. If you have a place to live in Laizhou, you can live at home. If you don’t have a place to live, there is a dormitory for female officials in the East Palace, including board and lodging. Marriage is not prohibited. As long as you have a first-class diploma, you can take the exam. It is said that people under the age of 40 are not restricted. !"

Huang Li was stunned for a while, and Zhang was also stunned and speechless.

"When I came back from Laizhou Mansion, I still took the official carriage." Miss Huang said with a smile: "The official road has also been repaired, and it took only a day and a half after walking two hundred miles."

"From the ninth grade..." Huang Li muttered: "Can't help getting married?"

"You don't need to enter the palace, you only work in the government office." Ms. Huang said excitedly, "The Department of Wenxuan is to test the teachers and teachers of the village schools and village schools below, so as not to let them slack off. But my aunt who took the test said: This job is indispensable. I have to run around. But I'm not afraid, the road is easy to walk!"

"You said... as long as you have a first-class diploma, you can be hired even at the age of 40?" Mrs. Zhang was quite tempted by hearing this, and asked hastily.

Ms. Huang said convincingly: "There is an examination announcement posted outside the East Palace, and it only says two things: applicants must have a first-class diploma; they must be under 40 years old and in good health." She paused, and then said: " By the way, there is another one, although no one has mentioned it, but I think it might be a hindrance."

"What's the matter?" Zhang's heart hung up again.

"Foot binding." Miss Huang kicked her feet and smiled at her mother: "With me, there is a Miss Zhu who is the lord of Defan Township. She has a handsome character and a good literary talent, but she doesn't have 'Liqu'. I only got a "to be passed on". Although I was a criminal officer, I took it immediately, and I made up the Wenxuan Department on the spot. I was also surprised at the time. Later, when I visited the aunt, the aunt said: "I still want to thank your parents. I'll bind your feet'. Only then did I realize that if I had my feet bound, I could only sit in the office, and it would be inconvenient to call them."

"Amitabha, a blessing in disguise, a blessing in disguise!" Huang Li breathed a sigh of relief, took her daughter's hand and said, "I still blame your father for indulging you, making you unable to marry at seventeen or eighteen. Got the official status!"

Mrs. Zhang looked down at her feet, and said helplessly, "I am Yangzhou Tangfa. When I was a girl, I could walk and run. It shouldn't hinder me."

In the Ming Dynasty, the custom of having small feet was much more prevalent than in the Song Dynasty, but only one-third of girls in official families knew how to bind their feet.If you want to work for a woman at home, it is even more impossible to bind her feet.

There are also different ways of binding feet. The "three-inch golden lotus" often called "three-inch golden lotus" was not common in the Ming Dynasty.The Yangzhou wrapping method is popular in the south of the Yangtze River. It does not need to break the entire foot bone, but only clamps the arch of the foot and the blade of the foot. It looks slender and delicate, and will not affect walking and running.It is for this reason that the girls in brothels and songs can still sing and dance as usual after their feet are bound.

Concubine Yuan of Emperor Chongzhen was Tianzu, and the two empresses of Zhang Zhou were also Yangzhou Tangfa.

"As long as it doesn't hinder walking, there's nothing taboo about it." Ms. Huang suddenly covered her mouth and smiled: "If Dad saw me at school for the assessment, I don't know if he would bow and say: 'Student has seen a job!'"

Mrs. Huang Li couldn't help laughing, and lightly slapped her daughter's hand: "Don't talk nonsense. It's a double blessing. Your father also came back today, and he brought a student with him, saying that he will give him a second-class diploma tomorrow."

"Oh, there is one so soon?" Ms. Huang was overjoyed, "My family is really about to change."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang touched the sorrow in her heart again, forced a smile on her face, waited for the meal to be ready, and then washed the pot after serving it.Ms. Huang went forward to grab the wash, said some comforting words, and sent Mrs. Zhang out.

Mrs. Huang Li waited for Mrs. Zhang to go far away before saying: "When you get your salary, take two money first. There must be a banquet at home. The neighbors want to be happy."

"Mother, when the salary is paid, all the money will be handed over to you." Miss Huang said: "I will cover food and lodging, and wear official uniforms, so I don't need money."

"I have to save some myself." Huang Lishi sighed: "You cook the rice first, and I will buy some wine and meat for your father. I saw that his student is not bad today, and there is a heroic look on his brows, but it is a pity a bit."

Ms. Huang just pretended she didn't understand, she buried her head in her work and didn't answer. (To be continued. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m. to read.)

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