Chapter 353: Erecting the wok ears to seal the fire wall

Chapter 353: Erecting the wok ears to seal the fire wall

Sun Shan hid the recommendation letter in his arms, fearing that he would lose it. He straightened his chest and walked out step by step.

This letter is extremely precious and is something many scholars would wait for their entire lives to receive.

Sun Shan was like getting a stepping stone and was about to knock on the door.

As for whether he could knock the door open, Sun Shan believed that he could.

After walking out of the He family compound, he took a deep breath, and then exhaled deeply, before he calmed his throbbing heart.

One second he was worrying about where to study, and the next second someone told him where to study.

This is what it means, “When you're surrounded by mountains and rivers and you think there's no way out, suddenly you'll find another village with willows and flowers.”

As Sun Shan led Gui'er out of the gate, they ran into his second cousin He Shuyu who was busy running home.

I saw him directing the craftsmen to build a wall.

Sun Shan asked in confusion, "Second cousin, what are you doing? Renovating the old house?"

He Dalang and Uncle He separated the family but not the households. Even though Aunt Sun had many children and grandchildren, their second branch of the family still lived in the old He house.

Aunt Sun and Uncle He once thought that now that they had grandchildren, it was time to move out of the He family's old house. With so many people living together, there would always be some unpleasant things happening.

Moreover, it would be crowded if so many people lived together. It would be better to live separately. Anyway, they are all in Hejia Village and can get there in two steps if something happens.

First, Old Mrs. He disagreed, then his father and mother disagreed, and after his eldest cousin passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, He Dalang and his eldest sister-in-law also disagreed.

Aunt Sun said that unless Old Mrs. He and Mr. and Mother He passed away, they would not be able to move out of the old house.

Fortunately, the He family's old house was big enough, and He Dalang made a fortune selling abalone, shark fin, and bird's nest, so he bought the house next door, so the He family's old house became bigger and bigger.

There is enough space for great-grandchildren to live here.

He Shuyu asked curiously, "Shanzi, why are you here? Are you here to pay your respects to the old lady?"

Even if he wanted to pay his respects, Shanzi couldn't come alone. Besides, the people from Sunjia Village hadn't arrived yet, so the whole family had to come together to pay their respects.

He Shujin told Sun Shan not to tell anyone about the recommendation letter he had given him, as only a few people in the He family knew about it.

Sun Shan understood his eldest cousin's concerns because he was first a member of the He family and then a cousin of the Sun family.

The eldest cousin didn't want the He family to know that the rare letter of recommendation was given to the in-laws instead of the main family.

Although the He family will not do anything, there will always be gossip and dirty talk, so they should keep a low profile if possible.

Sun Shan didn't know whether his second cousin knew about it, so he simply didn't mention it and responded, "I came here to ask my eldest cousin for advice. It would be a waste to have a cousin who has passed the imperial examination. Hehe, second cousin, you know what I mean, haha."

Sun Shan blinked at He Shuyu, and a look that said "you understand" made He Shuyu understand.

Of course He Shuyu understood, and said with a smile: "Hehe, Shanzi, well done. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask for advice, hehe. Not to mention you, the scholars and candidates in the clan also came to ask my elder brother for advice. Hehe, my elder brother ranked fourth, Shanzi, fourth, I have never seen anyone who did better than my elder brother."

He Shuyu puffed out his chest proudly, as if his elder brother ranked fourth, which meant he also ranked fourth; his elder brother became an official, which meant he also became an official.

He Shuyu suddenly changed his attitude and said, "Shanzi, I regret not studying hard. It would be great if I could pass the imperial examination. I wouldn't have to be ordered around by my grandparents to do hard labor, and get scolded for not doing it to their satisfaction."

He Shuyu kept complaining and directing the workers to work.

If Sun Shan hadn't seen his cheerful look, he would have really thought that he was unwilling to work.

My second cousin would definitely want to keep doing this sweet burden, and it would be best if he could help my son do it.

Sun Shan asked curiously, "Second cousin, why do you want to build a wall?"

The He family’s old house is not old. Even if it needs to be renovated, there is no need to do it now when they are busy with the banquet.

He Shuyu pointed at the roof and whispered, "My eldest brother is an official now, so my grandfather thinks we are an official family, so he built the roof into a wok-shaped roof and the walls into turtle-back walls. If the house was not fixed, my grandfather would have wanted to build a high foundation, one foot higher than the neighbors."

Sun Shan understood that the He family's old house had three courtyards, but only one was big, and the others were ordinary.

Now that the He family landlords have turned into an "official family", they naturally want to renovate the house to look like an official family.

The wok-ear house is also called the pot-ear house. Because the shape of the wok-ear ears on both sides of the wok-ear house is very similar to the ears of the ancient official hat, people also call it the Aobei Wall, which means to be the best.

Only the noble families were qualified to erect wok-ear fire-proof gables on the roof. And the higher the position, the higher the wok-ear gables.

Now my eldest cousin has passed the imperial examination and is a scholar-official. Although he has no rank and no salary, he has a bright future and is a man of honor. Naturally, the He family's old house can be renovated and have fire walls.

So that outsiders can tell at a glance that his house is different.

He's parents must have wanted to repair the roof before the banquet so that people coming to the wedding would know that their home had been moved.

Sun Shan pretended to comfort his second cousin: "Second cousin, you must do a good job of supervising. Grandpa and Grandma He trust you the most. If not you, who else can they give it to? Second cousin, you go ahead and do your work. I'm going to go back now."

After Sun Shan finished speaking, he took Gui Ge'er and ran away without looking back.

I really don't want to listen to my second cousin complaining, mainly because he complains in a boastful way, which makes Sun Shan, a poor scholar who didn't pass the imperial examination, extremely envious.

The more his second cousin talked, the more worried Sun Shan became.

Sun Shan didn't want to carry on with the negative energy, so the best strategy was to run away.

When we returned to Aunt Sun's house, people from Sunjia Village came.

Those who came to the wedding banquet included the village chief, his eldest son and grandson, Uncle Sun and his family, and Yong Ge'er.

Sun Shan asked doubtfully, "Grandpa Village Chief, where are my third uncle and third aunt?"

It was impossible for Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun not to come to such a lively scene. As for Huang, due to her status, she would not attend the wedding, and De Geer should be working in the county school and could not leave.

The village chief said nonchalantly, "Your grandma is alone at home, and your uncle and aunt are worried about her, so they stayed to take care of her and didn't come with us."

After the village chief finished speaking, he winked at Sun Shan.

Sun Shan was embarrassed. The village chief was lying with his eyes open. If what the village chief said was true, then Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun were not the Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun he knew.

Sun Shan understood. It must be that the village chief was afraid that Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun would go back and brag about it again, just like they did last time when they came to attend his eldest cousin’s imperial examination banquet, and thus cause trouble for his eldest cousin.

The village chief simply took a one-size-fits-all approach, cutting off Uncle Sun and Aunt Sun's fantasies at the source and allowing them to stay at home quietly to accompany Huang.

Yong Ge'er brought down a lot of Cymbidium potted plants, and they were in bloom, looking very gorgeous, elegant, loyal and honest.

Nowadays, literati like Cymbidium orchid the most, which symbolizes the noble, elegant and indifferent temperament of literati.

Sun Bomin said that Sunjia Village had nothing but the flowers they planted. Bringing a batch of flowers down for decoration represented the Sun family's intention.

Cymbidium orchid is one of the oldest and most popular orchids cultivated in China, symbolizing purity, elegance and indifference.