Chapter 61 Homely
Since Sun Bomin was not at home, the old house of the Sun family seemed deserted. Sun Shan taught the sisters to read seriously.
Su said worriedly, "Mother, I don't know how the head of the family is doing?" He said he was repairing a canal in the suburbs of the county town, but there was no way to know the specific situation. When you are away from home, you always worry.
Huang was also worried, but she was used to her three sons taking turns to serve every year, so she said soothingly: "This time the canal repair is not dangerous, and I heard it will only take 10 days, it will be over soon."
Sun Shan was also worried about Sun Bomin, so he asked, "Grandma, can we bring some food with us to visit Dad?"
Huang shook her head and said, "Outsiders are not allowed to approach where you are serving. Unless something serious happens at home, the officer will inform you."
As for what is a big deal, it is nothing more than a matter of life and death. For example, if your parents suddenly pass away, as a son, you need to come back to mourn. For such a human matter, the government is still reasonable and can let you go.
Sun Shan found that the rules here were very strict and clear, and ordinary people could not overstep their boundaries. It also relied on connections. For example, if you wanted to set up a stall in the place where you served, you had to find connections and pay money. Other methods would not work. If you set up a stall privately, your stall would be confiscated once you were discovered.
Sun Shan's family said a few more words and then dispersed.
After Su helped Sun Shan wash up, she led him to Huang's bedroom and put him on the bed.
Turning around, he whispered to Huang, "Mother, Guyu has already reached the age of marriage, but she still hasn't found a marriage. What should I do?"
There were a few aunts in the village who came to inquire about the situation on behalf of their nephews. Su was unhappy when she thought about the situation of those aunts' families. None of them was better than the Sun family. If she married into the family, her eldest daughter would suffer.
Huang was also worried. In her life, she had only arranged a marriage for her second son and didn't have to worry about her other children.
Needless to say, the eldest daughter has great abilities and married into the provincial capital.
Because of some accident, the eldest son was forced to get married by Su's father who came to him on his own initiative.
The third son fell in love with Zheng, so Huang brought people to propose marriage.
As for the younger daughter, she was found by someone else, introduced by the village chief's eldest aunt who had passed away. After finding out enough information, I agreed.
The second son was the one Huang found herself, but it was not easy. After looking at several, she came to propose marriage to her son when she was satisfied, and the marriage went smoothly.
Now that my eldest granddaughter has grown up, I realize how difficult it is to find a marriage for her.
The Sun family is now in a situation where they are neither high nor low. If they are too good, others will look down on them. If they are too bad, they will look down on them themselves. They don’t know what to do.
Huang said with a bitter face: "I don't have many candidates here, and I don't know anyone. Hey, our Guyu is good in everything, but I can't find a good man."
If we look at simple boys, there are a few who are honest and hardworking, but if their family conditions are not good enough and are lower than those of the Sun family, none of them are wanted.
Su said in a low voice: "Mother, do you want me to help keep an eye on it? I'm not asking for anything, but at least when Guyu gets married, she can have enough food to eat."
Huang nodded, then shook her head and said, "During the New Year, I asked Chunjiao to help keep an eye on it. I wonder how well she is doing?"
After all, the eldest granddaughter is the first child in the Sun family, so Huang is very concerned about her and definitely hopes for her well-being.
As for Su and Huang, they never thought of asking Aunt Sun to pay attention, as they felt that their granddaughters were not worthy of marrying in the capital city. No matter from the temperament or appearance, people in the city looked down on Guyu.
Sun Shan closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, but his ears perked up to eavesdrop on the conversation between his grandma and mother.
My heart skipped a beat. Yes, my elder sister Guyu is already 15 years old. She can get married when she turns 16 in a year. No later than 18 years old, she must get married. If she is over 18 years old, she will be an old maid and it will be more difficult to find a partner.
Sun Shan's mind flashed with the image of his elder sister, thin, with yellowish hair, and looking like Su Shi, not pretty, but honest and kind, efficient at work, caring for her younger siblings, and especially good to Sun Shan. If there was anything delicious, his parents would not give it to him, leaving it all for him.
When he thought of this, Sun Shan's eyes became red, and he sincerely hoped that his elder sister would find a good home.
He thought carefully about the men he knew. Except for a few senior brothers from Zheng's School, the others were all members of the Sun family and were not candidates for consideration.
As for the several senior brothers in Zheng’s School, they are younger than the eldest sister and are not within the scope of consideration.
He was worried. In the neighboring Zhengjia Village, only Zheng Tongsheng had a well-off family. I heard that he had an eldest grandson, who was 16 years old, and was of the same age as his eldest sister. But the grandson worked in the county town, and Sun Shan had never met him.
As for the next door Yangjia Village, which is Yang Qingbei's village, the landlord Yang is the richest. Qingbei does have an older brother, but he is married.
Sun Shan couldn't think of anyone else further away.
Then he thought of his aunt. The suburbs of the county town were richer than Sunjia Village. This was the village that Su's family was focusing on exploring. After all, there was aunt Sun there, who knew a lot of people. If he married Guyu there, she would be taken care of.
Then I thought of my eldest aunt. It would be best to marry her to the provincial capital. Life there would be better than that in Huangyang County, and it would also be good for her children.
But it is not easy for a rural girl to marry into the capital city, especially in a place with strict hierarchy. It was all luck that the eldest aunt married into the He family. Moreover, He Erlang was only a side branch, not a direct descendant. He was just within the fifth mourning period of the direct branch who served as an official in the capital, so he could get the protection of the He family in the capital.
Sun Shan was lost in thought and fell asleep unknowingly.
The next morning, Su woke him up, had breakfast, and hurried to Zheng's school to start a new day of study.
As soon as Master Zheng finished explaining the new knowledge, he arranged for Sun Shan and others to practice calligraphy on their own and come back for a spot check later.
Sun Shan recited the book in a rhythmic manner. When he had almost finished reciting it, he would silently repeat the new knowledge in his mind. He would mark the parts he did not understand and ask the teacher for help later.
De Ge'er was reading with his head shaking, saying something here and there, which made Sun Shan and Yang Qingbei frown.
De Ge'er also asked confidently: "Shan Zi, is what I read in Beijing dialect correct?" Look, how good I am, I can read it all.
Sun Shan said coldly: "De Ge'er, you read several sounds wrong." Then he pointed out them one by one and helped him correct them.
Yang Qingbei next to him said admiringly: "Ashan, you can read all of them?"
Ashan is not good-looking, but I didn’t expect him to be so capable. After the teacher explained it a few times, he understood it all.
Sun Shan said embarrassedly: "I remember it only because I recited and read it often." In fact, he marked the pronunciations he didn't understand and expressed them in a special way.
Yang Qingbei said with envy: "Ashan, I have several words that I can't read, can you teach me?"
Sun Shan nodded and said, "Okay, let's learn from each other."
In his previous life, Sun Shan did not mind sharing knowledge with others, so that learning from each other could help people make progress. I especially miss discussing problems with the top students in my class. Every time we worked together to complete a project, I felt a sense of accomplishment and learned new knowledge.
Only by learning, and learning from each other, can we make better progress.
For example: When three people walk together, there must be one person who can teach me something. Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. Communicating with others makes people think better.