Chapter 38: Guyu Marriage
When De Geer learned that Shanzi was also going to school, he jumped up and down and said, "Shanzi, that's great. We can go to school together and have fun together."
Laughing triumphantly, De Ge'er's clear eyes revealed clear stupidity.
Sun Shan said with a fake smile: "Brother De, let's go to school together. You must study hard. I will take care of you."
Hey little bastard, I'm here for you, De Ge'er, don't even think about being lazy. Also, you and I will be a control group at home, and as a poor student, your fate is very miserable.
Sun Shan thought that he had many years of experience in college entrance examinations and was definitely better than De Ge'er, so De Ge'er was destined to be a supporting role.
Sun Shan always insisted on taking the imperial examination, at least to become a scholar.
I don't want to get promoted or make money, and I just don't want to do hard labor.
Every early spring, the government would conscript men to perform corvée labor. Each household would send one man, and the three brothers of the Sun family took turns to go.
As for whether anyone has ever thought about asking for money as a substitute, no one in Sunjia Village would do so.
If you don't want to work, you have to pay 5 taels of silver, which is a sky-high price for farmers and they can't afford it.
Sun Boming has 5 taels of silver, but he will definitely not spend it. If he spends 5 taels a year, how many years can he spend it?
It would be better to just do hard labor.
Fortunately, the magistrate of Huangyang County was a good one. Generally, his labor service was to build bridges and roads, which was a bit tiring but not life-threatening.
So far, no one in Sunjia Village has lost his life due to military service.
But Sun Shan couldn't bear this hardship, let alone the hardship of having no human rights. At least he could pass the examination and become a scholar, so he could be listed in the government, and he wouldn't have to kneel when he saw an official, and he wouldn't be beaten or killed at any time.
The fate of having merit and not having merit is very different. Sun Shan must work hard to become a person of status.
Studying is the only chance of advancement for rural people.
Sun Bomin understood all the details of the school and took Sun Shan back with him. De Ge'er followed because Sun Shan said there would be goose to eat tonight.
The goose at Uncle Sun's house had been eaten up long ago. De Ge'er loved meat, so he naturally followed Sun Shan.
Huang saw Sun Bomin coming back and asked, "Did you find out?"
When his grandson entered school, Huang favored Sun Shan and naturally wanted to know every detail.
Sun Bomin then told the details he learned from Uncle Sun San.
Huang nodded and said, "That's good. Shanzi and Dege'er can go to school together and take care of each other."
Seeing his two grandchildren, he said happily: "Shanzi, Dege'er, you will go to school in a few days, so you must study hard."
De Ge'er patted his chest and said confidently: "Grandma, don't worry, I will definitely study hard and take care of my brother Shanzi."
When Huang heard this, she said happily, "Good job, Dege'er. You are stronger than Shanzi. If Shanzi is bullied, you should help him."
De Geer said even more arrogantly: "Grandma, don't worry, no one will dare to bully Shanzi. If anyone hits Shanzi, I will hit him."
He also demonstrated his kung fu skills by showing off the acrobatic performances he saw at the market.
Sun Shan looked at De Ge'er speechlessly. The happier you are today, the more miserable you will be tomorrow.
In the past life, school bullying was very common, but in ancient times, teachers were the authority. Zheng Tongsheng was famous for being old-fashioned and serious, and anyone who made trouble in the school would suffer.
Sun Shan was not afraid of being beaten by his classmates, but he was afraid of being beaten by his teacher.
If the teacher hits you, he will hit you. Even if you tell your parents, no one will help you.
Sun Shan decided to be a diligent, studious and excellent student.
He was determined to become something that Zheng Tongsheng could brag about for the rest of his life and to become the first scholar in Zheng’s school.
Su and her daughters prepared the meal, which was braised goose with fermented bean curd. De Ge’er ate until his belly was full.
Su didn't like the third wife, but was very happy with De Ge'er. De Ge'er was cheerful, sweet-talking, gossipy, and could talk about anything. Most importantly, he was willing to play with the taciturn Sun Shan.
Mr. Su was worried that his son was a fool and not sociable.
It was late at night when Sun Boming sent De Ge'er back.
Wash it and get under the quilt.
Su couldn't fall asleep. She was excited and worried about her son going to school. She pushed Sun Bomin and said, "Master, Shanzi will go to school in two days. What should we prepare?"
Sun Bomin was also concerned about his sons: "I asked the third son, and he said there was no need to prepare anything. Just go to the school and ask the teacher. Just buy whatever the teacher tells you to buy."
He paused for a moment and thought of something, then continued, "I heard from the third brother that we need meat or something like that as a gift for our apprenticeship. I forgot the details, but the third brother has experience. We will buy whatever he buys when the time comes."
Su became even more nervous after hearing this: "Is the third brother reliable?"
Uncle Sun is careless in his work and often forgets things. We are most afraid that he will act recklessly and make us follow suit.
After Sun said this, Sun Bomin also muttered: "Yes, the third brother is not very good at doing things. Hey, why not ask the second brother."
Because he heard that De Ge'er was also going to school, Sun Boming chose to ask Uncle Sun for advice.
Su rolled her eyes at Sun Bomin and said anxiously, "Let's go ask my second brother and his wife tomorrow. Dingming and Dingqing are also studying at Zheng Tongsheng's school."
Dingming will finish his studies and will go to the city to work in the near future. Uncle Sun's family also has Dingqing in the school. They also know the rules of Zheng's school.
Su thought of another question and said, "Should we make some new clothes for Shanzi? He's going to school soon, and if he wears too shabby clothes, people will laugh at him."
Parents always want to give everything to their children. Sun Shan is Su's only support, so they want to give Sun Shan all the best.
Sun Bomin nodded and said, "Of course we have to do it. We Shanzi can't let our classmates look down on us when we go to school."
Su quickly asked, "What style do you want? Do you want a straight one like the one Yu Ge wears?"
I don’t know what kind of clothes scholars wear, but Su thought Yu Ge’er’s clothes were very pleasing to the eye and she liked them at first sight.
Sun Bomin thought for a moment and said doubtfully, "I saw that my nephews also wore ordinary clothes when they went to school, not like Yu Ge'er's."
In fact, Sun Bomin also felt that the straight clothes worn by his elder brother-in-law and Yu Ge'er were very special. At a glance, one could tell that they were not country people.
When Mrs. Su heard what Sun Bomin said, she nodded and said, "I will ask my second brother's wife tomorrow. I will prepare in the same way as she does. It will definitely be right."
After talking about Shanzi, the couple talked about Guyu.
Su said worriedly, "Master, Guyu is 15 years old this year. It's time to meet someone. Do you have anyone you like?"
Su hoped that her eldest daughter could marry into the provincial capital like her elder sister-in-law, but this was just thought-provoking. Guyu could not compare with her elder sister-in-law.
Not to mention courage and knowledge, in terms of appearance, Guyu is like himself, with a pointed face, high cheekbones, short and thin stature, especially his butt, which is small, and it is hard to say about his fertility.
Sun Boming was also worried. Although he favored boys over girls, his daughter was his own and he wanted her to have a good place to go.
He said sadly: "Alas, I don't know anyone, and the young man from the next village is not that good either."
Su suddenly said, "Why not let Shanzi's sister-in-law pay attention and marry someone close to the county town, like near Sunjia Village. We are too poor here."
Zhengjia Village is next to Sunjia Village. Apart from Zheng Tongsheng's slightly wealthy family, there are no other wealthy families.
Many families are worse off than the Sun family.
The couple didn't want their daughter to marry down and suffer.
Sun Bo comforted her, "Yes, ask my younger sister to help keep an eye out. My brother-in-law's village is much richer than ours. It's better to marry him than to stay here."
As for asking Aunt Sun to arrange it, Sun Boming never even thought about it.
If she can marry into the provincial capital, at least she will look lucky.
None of the four daughters in our family is as generous as our eldest sister, not to mention her temperament, which is not even one-tenth of hers.
The couple fell asleep with worries in their hearts.