Chapter 2 The third brother was selected

After returning to Huangzhupu, Tongde Township, Yuyao County, Huang Zongxi lived lonely and bored at home for more than a year. Although at the end of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, on his way back from Beijing to the south, he heard the news that the Qing soldiers had once again invaded the fortress, and was shocked, angry and worried for a while, but the news gradually calmed down afterward.It is said that the Qing army did not dare to go too deep. It only killed and ravaged in Gyeonggi, Henan, Shandong and other places for several months, and then withdrew from outside the pass again.As for the "rogue bandits" who once caused earth-shaking disturbances in the Central Plains and Huguang area-the peasant uprising army, since last autumn, they have also returned to the west and entered Shaanxi and Sichuan respectively.All of this made Huang Zongxi somewhat relieved, and he calmed down and returned to the simple and peaceful rural life.

It is now the end of March in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen.For several days, Huang Zongxi led his servants to collect the rent arrears from the tenants door to door in Hua'an Mountain, five miles away from Huangzhupu.Although it is only the turn of spring and summer, the purpose of going to the countryside to press rent is mainly to strengthen supervision and accountability, and I didn't expect to get much harvest; In the end, the harvest was still less than ten shi of wheat, Huang Zongxi couldn't help feeling very annoyed.The accompanying butler, Huang Deng, a black and fat man, insisted that wheat had just entered the field, and there were actually some tenants, but they were just pretending to be poor. He also cited his past experience in rent collection to prove it.This made Huang Zongxi feel fooled and deceived more and more. "Hmph, these hateful things, I planted Tian Dian for them with good intentions, but they are ungrateful!" He thought angrily.For a while, he even planned to go back and confront the tenants, asking them to hand over the rent immediately!However, when he thought that he would have to face those dull and vulgar faces again, and listen to those disturbing pleadings again—even if he knew they were pretending, Huang Zongxi couldn't help hesitating, "Oh, why should I agree with you?" Are they entangled? If they don’t pay, I’ll just take the land back and rent it out to others to grow it!” After making this decision, it seemed as if he had regained his reliance, and his mood gradually calmed down.

On this day, it was almost noon before they returned to Huangzhupu.As soon as he entered the village, he received unexpected news: his third brother Huang Zonghui was admitted as a "chosen tribute student" in an examination hosted by the provincial Xuezheng, "excellent in character and learning, young and vigorous, and excellent in repeated examinations".According to the imperial examination system, the selection of tribute is the same as that of Juren and Jinshi, and it is counted as "right-course background". In the future, there is no need to take the provincial and general examinations, and as long as you pass the next "court examination", you will be officially awarded official positions. .Because the good news came so suddenly, Huang Zongxi didn't quite believe it at the first moment.When he finally found out that this was absolutely true, and the family was anxiously waiting for him to go back, he let out a "ah" in surprise and joy, and hurriedly separated from the servants who surrounded him to inquire about the news, ignoring Spring's surprise. The village road was extremely muddy, so Guan Zi raised the hem of his straight skirt with both hands, and walked towards the east of the village with one foot shallow and one foot deep.

"Ah, so to speak, the third brother really won the election, really won the election! How good it is, how difficult it is! Hmph, we brothers are said to be talented but useless, who will dare in the future! Sigh, mother doesn't know How happy I am!" Huang Zongxi hurried forward, thinking excitedly and hastily.After experiencing these years of setbacks and hardships, he certainly knows very well what his younger brother's success means this time—yes, the current success is only his younger brother's, and it can be said that it has nothing to do with his own future.But the important thing is that the fame and family business established by the deceased father in the past finally have the hope of revival; the heart of the mother, which has been suffering from hardships, is finally comforted a little.And this is exactly what Huang Zongxi, who shoulders the responsibility of the eldest son, has been secretly anxious about for a long time, especially in the past year or so. "However, I came back late. My mother was happy at the first moment, and I can no longer see it! For many years, I have been looking forward to this moment even in my dreams, but I missed it when it came. I shouldn't have volunteered Going to collect rent, hey, I really shouldn't!" Huang Zongxi thought remorsefully and regretfully, climbing the stone steps built along the slope in one breath, and crossing four willow trees and eight painted lacquer trees lined up side by side. The peeling flagpole passed under the gate with the plaque with the word "Feng Xian" hanging, and walked into the home called "Taifu Gong's Mansion".

As soon as Huang Zongxi stepped into the yard, he found that the atmosphere in the house had completely changed.This old house, which has been handed down for several generations, has a large bluestone patio and many brick-and-wood structures. When he left a few days ago, it was still gray and monotonous, listless, and even dilapidated.But now, everything has changed: the crimson firecracker confetti that was blown up all over the place replaced the firewood that was spread all year round in the courtyard; those bright red pieces of paper that still smelled like gunpowder added to the house. A lot of happiness.The main hall with peeling plaster and the buildings on both sides are also set off by the auspicious colored balls hanging under the tile eaves.Children in new clothes chased and played in the courtyard.One by one, the servants became energetic and beaming.Seeing the uncle came back, those who sat under the gate stood up in surprise and greeted him attentively and warmly.

"Hey, where's the third master?" Huang Zongxi couldn't wait to ask, while widening his eyes and looking at the unfamiliar home. "Oh, that's not it!" The old servant pointed with his hand. Huang Zongxi turned his head, and sure enough, his outstanding younger brother was sending a guest out of the main hall with his hands clasped.Today, Huang Zonghui wore a brand-new blue silk gown with five blessings holding longevity patterns, a scarf on his head, and silk shoes on his feet. He was dressed neatly and beautifully like never before; With a childish innocent and happy expression.He didn't see his elder brother, because the guest - a small scholar from the same village, was pulling his sleeve and repeatedly asking for something. Huang Zonghui seemed very patient and attentive, nodded his head repeatedly, and then turned his face away Come.In an instant, his eyes lit up.An indescribable ecstasy made his face tremble, and as soon as he yelled out "Brother!", he was swallowed by the tears that burst from his eyes.Suddenly, he got rid of the guests, took an impulsive and desperate posture, leaned forward and ran a few steps, and knelt down in front of Huang Zongxi.

"Brother, you... haven't come back for two days, but little brother Pan Sha!" He sobbed, and said loudly, "Zonghui is today, it is all thanks to elder brother, Zonghui will never forget." Knock your head down. When he saw his younger brother for the first time, Huang Zongxi stepped forward, wanting to meet him in the past.But the 12-year-old eldest son Baiyao and the 10-year-old second son Zhengyi had already spotted him, and ran over cheering loudly.Huang Zongxi couldn't dodge in time, so he stretched out his arms first, and embraced Zhengyi who was hanging around his neck; when Huang Zonghui came running towards him, he wanted to step forward to help him, but he couldn't.He looked helplessly at his younger brother who was prostrate on the ground, and at the brand-new beautiful scarf that made the younger brother look like a different person, his heart felt hot, and his eyes became moist.In fact, because his father passed away early, Zonghui and his second brother Zongyan's studies were all taught by him.He is not only their elder brother, but also their veritable teacher.Now, his younger brother has lived up to his years of painstaking teaching, and finally succeeded in one fell swoop, which really makes Huang Zongxi feel so relieved that his blood boils.He finally got rid of the Zhengyi in his arms, and knelt down on the ground at once, stretched out his hands to support his younger brother tightly, and said repeatedly: "Third brother, don't do this, don't do this!" Before he finished speaking, his throat was already choked up.He had to pause for a while, and waited for his emotions to calm down a little, before smiling again, looking at his younger brother with unbearable love, and said in an affectionate and cheerful tone: "Third brother, you are in high school today, and you are happy for my brother. It's just that the congratulations are late, I am so sorry that I made you wait at home instead!"

"But it shouldn't be!" Huang Zonghui shook his head vigorously with teary eyes, "The elder brother's moral writing is ten times better than that of the younger brother, so he should be the first to go to high school. Who would have thought that the gods would make people take the burden of overstepping?" Name, thinking about it for days, Zonghui will feel terrified!" "Ah, don't think so!" Huang Zongxi quickly stopped and held his younger brother's arm tightly, "Brother has indulged in playing and playing in recent years, and his studies have been neglected. Unlike you and others who have devoted themselves to making great efforts, you have already caught up with the others. .Now it is only natural that I will be whipped first. As a brother, I am sincerely convinced, and I like it very much!"

When Huang Zongxi first heard the news, apart from his joy, there was indeed a flash of disappointment and even aggrieved emotions.Only he was immediately ashamed of the feeling. "Well, that's wrong and despicable!" he reproached himself.Now his younger brother's frank confession reminded him of the emotion he had back then. "Well, you mustn't think so!" he repeated firmly, somewhat angrily, and then averted his eyes. However, Huang Zonghui obviously attached great importance to his brother's painstaking training in the past years, and always felt that his success had hurt his brother.He probably wants to remedy it, but doesn't know how to do it.Now his brother's congratulations and consolation moved him deeply, but it also made him feel even more embarrassed.Suddenly, he broke free from Huang Zongxi's grasp, covered his face with his sleeve, and burst into tears.

Huang Zongxi looked at his younger brother silently.This time, he didn't stop immediately.Indeed, due to the growing age and the different personalities, interests and behaviors of each person, in recent years, the brothers have not been as close as they were when they were young.What's more, even after each of them got married, they still lived together in the same compound, and all kinds of friction and cares inevitably occurred between sisters-in-law and sister-in-law.This affects their husbands more or less.Therefore, on weekdays, the brothers disagreed over a small matter, and even big disputes sometimes occurred.This made Huang Zongxi quite sad and disappointed. "Ah, if you can't go on like this, then we should separate, yes, just separate!" While annoyed, he had such thoughts more than once.It was just thinking that my mother was still alive, and I was afraid it would hurt the old man's heart, so I tried my best to hold back and didn't bring it up, but the sense of crisis in my heart was getting heavier and heavier.Now, Huang Zonghui burst into tears so emotionally, it was like opening a floodgate that was getting thicker and rusty, allowing Huang Zongxi to see his brother's heart clearly again amidst the tide of emotions pouring out. "Yes, I may have thought wrongly in the past few years. I wrongly blamed him and them! In fact, they are all very good and haven't changed. They are all my own brothers, which is the most important thing. In the past, I Why do you have to care about them in such a narrow-minded way? It's contemptible and shameful! From now on, I will never do this again, never again!" He blamed himself resolutely and ashamedly, and when he raised his head, he found that a group of people had gathered around him, most of them They were maids and servants who heard the news, and the fourth brother Zongyuan and fifth brother Zongyi were among them.They were silently and movedly looking at Huang Zonghui and himself.So, he grabbed his younger brother's arm and used a powerful movement to help Huang Zonghui stand up.

"Hey, don't cry, spread the word in front of the servants, and make people laugh!" He whispered in his younger brother's ear; hello...