Good son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty

"Cough, cough..." There was a violent cough, and the room was filled with thick smoke. Finally, the people in the room couldn't stand the smoke, and ran out with red eyes.

Su Mu just came back from a round of shopping in the street, he was a little tired, so he sat on a recliner and read a book, when he turned his head, Xiaodie's eyes were full of tears, it was obvious that she was tossed hard by the newly opened stove.

"I told you not to do it, but you didn't listen, you will suffer a lot, haha!" Su Mu couldn't help laughing out loud.

"It's okay." Xiaodie stretched out her dirty hand to wipe her eyes.

"Don't move." Su Mu took out a handkerchief and handed it over: "Your hands are so black, you've turned into a cat." In fact, the face of the little girl in front of her is already colorful, looking both funny and cute.

Xiaodie took it and wiped her eyes, and said: "Young master, it's a hard life for you to treat me like that, but the face of the fourth room is really ugly, and it's really hard to get in and ugly to keep working on their stove, it's better to get angry by yourself Woolen cloth!"

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

This sentence is sincere, Su Mu did not expect this fifteen or sixteen year old girl to be able to do such a thing, he was quite surprised.

Since the last evening when she went to the fourth-bedroom kitchen to heat up meals and got angry, Xiaodie also got angry, bought a pile of bricks out of her pocket, hired a mason to build a stove in her yard, and prepared to cook for herself. .

Today, the stove had just been built, and the little girl hurriedly lit the fire.Probably because the stove was still wet, the smoke was so strong that it smoked her out.

Su Mu is also in favor of this matter, as the old saying goes: put your mouth on someone's stove, naturally you have to look at other people's eyes.

Su Mu was originally a person who was soft on the outside and strong on the inside, but he still had a strong sense of self-esteem in his heart.Besides, he couldn't bear to let Xiaodie suffer from other people's anger for three meals a day.

It's just that it took another four coins to open the stove.The family didn't have a lot of money, and these things became more and more embarrassing, and it was not an option to sit still like this, so I had to think of a way to make money as soon as possible.

In the past few days, Su Mu has been out wandering around the city all day long, he needs to spend time getting familiar with the environment when he first arrives.Besides, only by going out for a walk can you figure out how to make money.

But after wandering around the city for a few days, he couldn't come up with a specific plan.

His first thought was to burn cement, but when he went to the street to inquire, he realized that it was impossible.In fact, this thing is not uncommon in ancient times, it is mainly used for building graves.The ancients used to use bricks to build the chambers of tombs, but this is a good building material, so it is easy to be stolen.Therefore, people in the world sintered limestone and clay together, ground them into powder, and used them together. Its strength is not much lower than that of ordinary Portland cement in later generations.

Then he thought about burning glass.But modern glass manufacturing needs to add a lot of chemicals, and he is a layman in chemical engineering.

Later, he also thought about making briquettes.

But no matter what you do, you need capital, and Xiaodie's pitiful scrap of money can only support her livelihood for two or three months, nothing else at all.

For now, Su Mu can only choose to do business that does not require capital.

But a business with no capital... Isn't that going up the mountain to become a robber?

If this is a troubled time, being a robber is also a good career with a bright future.The problem is that it's Hongji's 16th year now.The three dynasties of Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing were the most prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty. The society was stable, the people were prosperous, and the state apparatus was unprecedentedly powerful.Besides, Su Mu is a scholar with no power to restrain himself, so doing this is purely looking for death.

So... what to do?

"Master, just now you asked me for [-] Wen to buy something, did you buy it?" Xiaodie couldn't help asking.

The old young master in the past was so stupid that he didn't know what livelihood was. Even if you gave him money, he couldn't spend it.In the past few days, the Eldest Young Master has finally come to his senses, but he suddenly asked himself that he wanted money, and he didn't know what to use it for?

In the last years of Hongzhi, before South American silver and Japanese copper were imported into China in large quantities, the purchasing power of copper coins was very strong.

Thirty Wen is enough for an ordinary family of four to eat for two days, Xiao Die was very surprised that the young master asked for so much money.

"Buy books." Hearing the little girl's question, Su Mu casually raised the new book in hand.

Xiaodie blinked her eyes and asked again: "Master, the master left you a whole room of books when he was alive, and you haven't read them much, so you spend money to buy them instead?" In her opinion, books are just books, and all the books in the world are Same, see which book is not read.

Su Mu smiled, pointed to a line of words on the cover and said, "This book is different from other books, you can read it yourself."

Xiaodie gave Su Mu a dissatisfied look: "Master, I can't read."

"Hehe, I forgot." Su Mu explained: "This book is a selection of excellent essays from the last Beizhili Township Examination. Isn't Baoding Prefecture going to hold a boy's exam soon, so it's so expensive."

Xiao Die: "Master, I'm not talking about you, you don't take the imperial examination, why spend money on such useless books?"

Su Mu: "Who said I won't take part in the imperial examination? You forgot that when I went to the county government that day, in addition to sending [-] acres of land to the county school, I also applied for the county examination in Qingyuan County today. It will start early tomorrow morning. I passed the exam. By the way, Xiaodie, remember to wake me up before Maoshi."

"You...to participate in the county examination?" Xiaodie opened her mouth wide and said after a long time: "Young master, you have fallen ill again, right? Although the master taught you to read for more than ten years before his death, you can't even read the words, let alone Entering the examination room to write stereotyped essays."

Although she was illiterate, the Su family was originally a scholarly family, and their ancestors had several officials, and Su Mu's father was a well-known gifted scholar, so he knew something about the imperial examinations.

"The stereotyped essay is actually very simple." Su Mu said: "The stereotyped essay is a style of imperial examination. It is also called Zhiyi, Zhiyi, Shiwen, and Babiwen. It is divided into breaking questions, inheriting questions, starting lectures, There are eight parts: start, start, middle, rear, and bundle, with a fixed format. "To break the question" is to use two sentences to break the meaning of the question. For example, the article on the test paper of the Beizhili Township Examination in the previous issue."

Su Mu pointed to the article "Zi said: A sack of food, a ladle of drink, in a back alley, people can't bear their worries, and they don't change their joy when they return. Xianzai Huiye" explained: "The author breaks the topic like this, and the gentleman is worried. The way is not worrying about poverty, and the joy is in the pillow. Although it is not refined enough, the meaning is right... In the part of the title, the sorrow and joy of the sage, and the use of the imperial desire, but it is rare from the beginning of Yanzi Avoiding difficulties with frugality. It’s not very good. If I do it, it should be... Well, Xiaodie, grind the ink for me later, and I will try my hand with this question. Forget it, this is a big question, too complicated , let me choose a small topic to warm up..."

In his previous life, he and his mentor studied this. Although they can't write like the ancients, they still have the basic appreciation.

As soon as he mentioned his major, Su Mu became interested, and he also forgot that Xiaodie was an illiterate. He talked on and on for about ten minutes, and was satisfied when he suddenly heard a low cry .

Su Mu stopped, looked at Xiaodie who was rubbing her eyes in astonishment: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Die: "Master, your dementia is really cured, and you can even write articles."

Su Mu: "My illness is completely cured. This is a great thing. Why are you crying? Besides, writing an article is not a big deal."

"Are you really going to take the county test tomorrow?"

"I want to participate, and I've signed up. It's not good if I don't go?" When Su Mu thought of getting up at three or four o'clock in the morning tomorrow, he felt a burst of hatred for no reason.But that day, by accident, I signed up, again in front of Mr. Shao.If you don't go, you don't know what Shaotai will think of him.

It was agreed to go to his place to study and receive education, but three days passed in a blink of an eye, and I don't know how angry the old man is?

Although Mr. Shao has no official status, he is still a local cultural celebrity.It can be foreseen that Su Mu will live in Qingyuan County in the next few years, and he has already worshiped Shaotai as his teacher.He was the guarantor when he signed up, if he didn't take the exam, I'm afraid he would be offended badly.

If you look up and see you down, I'm afraid it will be a little embarrassing in the future, and you don't have to mess around in this county anymore.

This matter is really troublesome, Su Mu doesn't think he can go far in the imperial examination.Instead of wasting energy on such illusory things, it is better to make a living with quick money.

Xiaodie asked again: "Can I pass the exam?"

"Naturally, I'm fully sure." Su Mu is still very confident about this. He also brought back some papers from the previous county test from Mr. Gao that day. Unreasonable, as far as its level is concerned, it is also the level of junior high school students' composition in later generations.If you change yourself, you must do better than those candidates.

"Wow!" Xiaodie cried loudly: "That's why I cried, young master, you can easily pass the county exam, and you are also a student after all. But our family is so poor, please buy some books, sir. In the future, I will go to other places for study tours and references, and where to find money, won't this delay you?"

Su Mu thought: I will just take this exam and deal with Mr. Shao.As for the future, who has the patience to study again?

Of course, this cannot be said to her.

He comforted the little girl: "Xiaodie, you don't have to worry, I will take care of the money, who made me the only male in Su's family, and it is my responsibility to support the family and get ahead."

Seeing that Su Mu spoke seriously, Xiaodie saw that her young master was a mature, steady and confident adult, compared with the idiot before, it seemed like a different person.

The young master's illness is really cured.

While feeling relieved, Xiaodie feels even more sad when she thinks about the situation at home.

Just as they were talking, there was a commotion in the kitchen of Su's fourth room, as if there were many people.Curious, Xiaodie wiped away her tears and ran out of the courtyard to have a look.

Su Mu shook his head, women are gossips and like to watch the excitement.

After a while, Xiaodie came back angrily, and went back to the house with a sullen face to tinker with the newly built stove, without saying a word for a whole day.

Su Mu felt strange, knowing that Xiaodie was angry with Sifang, it was not easy to ask.

In the evening, Xiaodie prepared the meal and waited for him to finish eating, then said: "Master, you must pass the exam, let's win for our big family!"

"what happened?"

After asking for a long time, Xiaodie said angrily.It turned out that the reason why the four-bedroom kitchen was so lively before was because many children of the Su family would also take part in the county examination tomorrow morning, borrowing to live in the old house of the family, and partnering with the four-bedroom.

Xiaodie ran over to watch the excitement, just in time to run into the big fat woman who had quarreled with her that day.

The fat woman and Xiaodie's enemy were extremely jealous when they met, so she drove Xiaodie out with a broom, saying that these are the children of the Su family, and they have an exam tomorrow, and a dude like you came here to do it What, affected the candidate's emotions, failed the ranking, are you angry?

Xiaodie was upset for a while, so she said, what, isn't it just a county test, what's the big deal, my young master will also participate tomorrow.The eldest young master has recovered from his illness now, and has developed wisdom. With him here, he is stable.

As for the rest of the Su family, hmph, the two Su Ruisheng brothers have been on the list in these years?

These words angered the examinees of the Su family, so everyone pointed at Xiaodie and cursed.

How Xiaodie is the opponent of everyone, was scolded and cried a lot, and then went back to the yard depressed.

Su Mu was furious, and slapped the table: "So many men bullying a girl, what kind of skill is it? It is tolerable, which is unbearable."

This time, not only do we have to win, we also have to get a good ranking, just as I, Su Mu, are easy to bully?