When talking to Mrs. Xu, she also said something that she couldn't say to Xu Xuan: "The shopkeeper Li of the bookstore only got a daughter when he was thirty years old, and he loves her like a pearl. That girl is already eighteen this year.

I haven’t found the right one yet…”

"There must be something bad about it." It's not surprising that Mrs. Xu thought so. Generally, girls who are delayed for such a long time must think that there is something wrong with this girl.

These words made Li Gongfu angry: "What do you know? People want property and wealth, but there is one thing they don't like, that is, they don't have a son. When this girl is old, she wants to find a gentle scholar and an honest man.

I am willing to obey my duty. But people are not willing to recruit such a scholar..."

"What do you mean? You want to ask my brother to marry you?" Mrs. Xu quit, and tears came down: "I knew that you said you didn't dislike it at that time, but you were just trying to coax me. We, the Xu family, are the only ones left.

The Chinese language is the only one left. If you ask him to recruit a wife, wouldn't it mean that you will destroy the roots of our Xu family? Li Gongfu, you...you...what are you thinking about?" As he said this, he couldn't help but pat his hand.

On Li Gongfu’s body.

Li Gongfu became even more angry. He stood up and hid for a moment: "Why do you want to recruit a wife or not? As long as you get married and have children in the future, one will follow the surname of the Li family and the other will follow the surname of the Xu family. That's it. I promised to give the eldest son the

Give the Li family an heir. The Li family's daughters are already that old, so they will agree to it. You said shopkeeper Li and his wife are almost fifty years old, how many years can they still be directors? In such a big shop, there are two entrances at the back of the shop.

The yard and the dozens of acres of paddy fields outside the city are not all owned by the daughter and son-in-law. Otherwise? What do you think we should do? Where can I find someone for Han Wen who doesn’t despise him for having no family, no job, and no place to stand?

Are the weak scholars going?"

This is naturally not unreasonable.

When the results of the fourth master's state examination came out and he passed with third place, Li Gongfu came to invite him and asked the fourth master to accompany the guests.

Lin Yutong was angry at home, why did Fourth Master only get third place in his paper?

The fourth master also advised: "If you really win the first place, there will be no ghosts in it, right?"

Yes! It seems to make sense.

If you are not so honest, you will be haunted.

Li Gongfu not only came to invite the fourth master, but also invited Lin Yutong: "Please come over and help us entertain our guests. Today we have invited the shopkeeper and my wife, and we also want to invite someone decent to help us entertain the guests."

Then go ahead.

For the sake of dignity, the two of them even brought a servant with them when they went out.

Because I passed the state examination, my status is a little different. After entering, Mrs. Li was very polite, and the girl following behind also smiled shyly at Lin Yutong.

Lin Yutong understood that he wanted to get married.

She was sitting with Mrs. Li and Miss Li chatting, and she could see the male guests outside through the curtain. The girl blushed when she saw Xu Xuan, lowered her head and pulled her mother's sleeves and kept shaking them.

When I came out, I was extremely satisfied.

Mrs. Li patted her daughter's hand and said to Lin Yutong, "You are making me laugh."

The men outside were also talking. The fourth master asked shopkeeper Li to help collect various miscellaneous books, but shopkeeper Li said: "Xiangongzhou has tried it, and the future is limitless. I'm afraid that looking for miscellaneous books will delay my husband's time...

…”

"My wife just came to kill time, it's okay." Fourth Master directly pushed Tongtong.

It's hard for others to talk about someone else's daughter-in-law, so they praised Tongtong in general, and then followed the topic of the state exam just now.

Shopkeeper Li felt uneasy, so he asked Xu Xuan, "Is Mr. Xu still prepared to pass the exam?" If he still wants to pass the exam, he will have to think about the marriage. Don't wait until someone becomes successful and fall out, as that will really harm your family.

child.

Xu Xuan shook his head: "No more exams."

Shopkeeper Li had just put his mind at ease when he heard Xu Xuan say: "Nowadays, the people who pass the scientific examination are all those who are eager to pass the exam. Those who have real talent and practical knowledge may not necessarily stand out. But those who are rich and powerful will definitely

To get ahead. In such a world, there is no point in becoming an official. It would be better to..."

What's more, before he could say anything, shopkeeper Li's face changed. He laughed twice and carefully looked at the fourth master's face.

Fourth Master waved his hands indifferently: "Brother Xu said yes."

Li Gongfu also belatedly realized that his brother-in-law's words seemed to have a big impact, and he hurriedly said: "Brother Jin is definitely not included in this."

It's better not to explain.

Shopkeeper Li chuckled twice and stopped talking about the scientific examination. He only talked about some experiences of traveling around.

The food was quite sumptuous, and Mrs. Xu cooked it herself. But before they left the house, both Lin Yutong and the fourth master knew that the marriage would not work out. Shopkeeper Li was so old, and he would never leave his daughter and property to a man who was ignorant of the world.

people.

Li Gongfu was very disappointed, but Mrs. Xu was disappointed on the one hand, and relieved on the other hand, "If you don't succeed, you can't do it! It's not because of the fate. I still don't believe it. A child who is so good at Chinese will not meet a child."

Good girl."

Lin Yutong doesn't have to worry about these things. After all, Xu Xuan still has Lady White to take care of it, and it has nothing to do with other people's other matters. What she is busy with now is learning to draw talismans and trying to make elixirs. As for Fourth Master, in addition to preparing for the provincial examination,

He also tried to engrave the talismans on wooden tablets and jade tablets to see if placing them on other carriers would have any effect.

When I was busy with these things, time passed quickly. In my impression, I didn’t seem to have spent much time celebrating the New Year in the south.

Winter in Hangzhou does not make people feel comfortable. People who are used to staying in the north can't stand the cold when they go to the south. This kind of cold is the kind of dampness. When winter comes, it rains every three days and is damp.

It was cold, as if the seams between the bones were cold. At this time, Lin Yutong particularly missed the heated kang in the north, and did not dare to dream of burning the earth dragon's house. It would be good to have a heated kang.

But even a warm bed is hard to come by.

The weather is too cold, and the mud bricks used to build the kang cannot be used at all, and this thing is particularly susceptible to moisture. If it is moved here as it is, it will definitely not work.

How to do it?

Charcoal basin.

This is the only way to stay warm.

Of course, it’s not a good idea to stuff the quilt with a soup woman, because the temperature is uneven. So, as soon as winter comes, the two people who originally slept under separate quilts merge into one quilt again, and they have to cling to each other to keep warm.

During this period, Lin Yutong will not disturb Xiaoqing, because according to the snake's habits, this month is her laziest month, and it is the time to hibernate. Even the little carp eats less. After being out for a day, Lin Yutong will not disturb Xiaoqing.

, can't move a few times.

During this period, Xinghua wanted to get close to her a few times, but it seemed that she was quite afraid of Xiao Li. Perhaps she saw what happened to Xiao Li, but she never appeared in Lin Yutong's sight again.

The life suddenly became more comfortable, and I almost forgot about the messy and annoying creatures in this world.

It's Chinese New Year, and there are only two masters and four servants in the family, so the Chinese New Year is also very simple.

Neither of them have any relatives, that is, the neighbors want to pay New Year's greetings. For example, Li Gongfu's family, who has a good relationship with each other, can prepare slightly better gifts. In addition, the master's family has to pay a formal visit, and then the county magistrate, no matter what other people say

There is also the grace of recommendation.

After bringing things to the door, the fourth master went to the front, and Lin Yutong went to the back to meet the master's wife. When he just entered the second door, he met the aunt and grandma first. Lin Yutong stuffed a small box in and said, "I just said I wanted to visit. Today

I saw you and I stopped by to wish you a happy New Year, so don’t be offended."

The aunt's smile became more sincere: "I want to tell you something important. My wife's natal sister-in-law's brother-in-law is Mr. Lin, a scholar." After saying that, she walked forward with a smile.

Does this mean that you want to follow the path of the great master and his wife?

Forget it. Recommendation is a stepping stone. Just take this step and leave the rest... no need.

As long as the article is good and as long as you are not directly eliminated, the ranking does not matter. Recommendation is just to get an opportunity. The state examination is a real test, and the provincial examination will definitely be able to pass it.

Therefore, it was just a normal meeting ceremony. Lin Yutong was not enthusiastic, but the lady was very enthusiastic: "...I wonder what the Jin family's maiden name is?"

"My surname is Lin." Lin Yutong smiled: "I heard that my wife is from Kyoto."

"Yes! She is from Kyoto." Mrs. Taiye looked at Lin Yutong and sized her up: "Do you have any relatives in Kyoto? To tell you the truth, I always feel that I have a good face."

"My mother-in-law is also from Kyoto." Lin Yutong said in a general way: "It doesn't matter where I met Madam."

"May I ask Madam who her natal family is..." When she asked, Lin Yutong quickly said: "A small family is not worthy of being asked by a lady."

The lady didn't ask anymore, and she didn't know whether she believed it or not.

Believe it or not, Lin Yutong felt that now was not a good time to find her natal family for her original self.

After the first lunar month, Mrs. Xu came to the door again. This time she came to ask Lin Yutong to do something fancy. "I made a spring shirt for my brother. Our brother found a job for Han Wen in the drug store. Let's do it first."

Come on."

"That's a good thing." The story was still following the original track, Lin Yutong said: "I heard that my ancestor was in the herbal medicine business. Mr. Xu has been practicing in the medicine shop for two years, and he will definitely be able to resume his ancestral business..."

This is a good thing.

He obviously went out to work for others, but it was said that he went out to practice for his ancestral business. This is a good saying, and it makes people feel comfortable when hearing it.

Mrs. Xu left in a happy mood. When she got home, she said to Li Gongfu: "If Hanwen could find someone like Mrs. Jin, I would have nothing to worry about."

Li Gongfu heard something go in and out of one ear, and only after he left the door did he say: "Dream!"

Lin Yutong didn't pay attention to other people's affairs. He only discussed with Fourth Master that he would find a time to go to the temple to ask the great monk about these Qi training methods.

The fourth master said: "February 29th."

February 29th is the Christmas day of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Going to the temple to offer incense on that day also has the same meaning.

This time, both of them were very formal. They fasted three days in advance, took a special shower before going, and prepared to go to Yongfu Temple to see the great monk.

Nowadays, the custom of worshiping Buddha is particularly strong, and there is an endless stream of people going out of the city. It took a long time just to wait for the boat.

When walking up the mountain, Fourth Master regretted, "I still chose the wrong time."
To be continued...