"Cousin Luo was a very smart man. He could recite "Hundred Family Surnames" at the age of four, write Chinese characters in square feet at the age of five, compose poems at the age of eight, and started writing contemporary prose at the age of ten." Speaking of the late Shen Luo, why? Tai Zhi's sadness was mixed with pride: "If my uncle hadn't allowed cousin Luo to pass one subject last year, there is no way that cousin Luo would have been a Jinshi last year. In the Ming Dynasty, seventeen-year-old candidates were common, how many seventeen-year-old Jinshis were there? Except for the 16-year-old Jinshi who was born in the year of Chenghua, the other 18 and 9 Jinshi are all considered young."
Shen Zhu said with emotion: "I saw in a book the words 'The best wisdom must be injured,' four words. Luo's eldest brother Xu Zheng should be here."
Although He Taizhi was only ten years old, he still had compassion for life and death, and said sadly: "Don't all smart people live long?"
Shen Zhu always claimed to be a smart person. After hearing this sentence, she didn't know how to answer.
He passed the college entrance examination at the age of seventeen and was already the best among his clan brothers. But yesterday, when he arrived at the canal pier, along with congratulations, the Wei family came to see them off at the pier. Among the people on the pier, there was a frail young man, 13-year-old Jiang Tao. He Taizhi's cousin from his eighth aunt also passed the college entrance examination in June this year, so he was in the same year as him. However, he was ranked in the middle and last place, while Jiang Tao was second, and was a junior student at Suzhou Prefecture School.
Among the Shen family children of similar age, he was still ahead of Shen Jin. When he left Songjiang, he wiped out everyone.
Not to mention the thirteen-year-old Jiang Tao, and the kid in front of me, who could pass the county examination at the age of nine, but he had not yet completed the four books.
He Taizhi felt uncomfortable thinking of Shen Luo and Jiang Tao who was in poor health, so he took Shen Zhu's silence as sadness and advised: "Don't be sad, Cousin Zhu... Cousin Luo has been reincarnated, maybe how many years ago Finally, we can meet..."
They were just words used by his elders to comfort him, so he came to comfort Shen Zhu, but he didn't know in his heart that the comforting words were just comforting words, and the person was gone when he was gone.
Shen Zhu let out a long breath and said, "Brother Luo is a single son, uncle. My uncles must have high hopes for me. I don't know how long I will be sad for losing my son now."
He Taizhi thought of the chaos in his family after Shen Luo's death, as well as his depressed sister in the cabin. He felt his scalp numb and his little face balled up: "It's better to act as soon as possible. The deceased is dead, and the others still have to Alive."
Shen Zhu knew that He Taizhi felt this way because of his sister, but it was difficult to bring the topic to the young lady.
Neither Mrs. Xu nor He Taizhi's aunt and nephew mentioned that the young lady of the He family was Shen Luo's fiancée, but everyone had guessed.
As the niece of the Xu family, it was not inappropriate for Miss He to meet her cousins from the Shen family. But when she boarded the ship at the Suzhou Pier that afternoon, Miss He was dressed in plain clothes and her face was covered with a gauze. She did not show any courtesy to everyone. I mean, after arriving at the cabin, I never left the house. My foster mother and maidservant were there to deal with every matter.
Even in Xu's room, because there were many young people coming and going, Miss He couldn't avoid it.
Shen Zhu then brought the topic back to the topic: "I have never been out of Southern Zhili, so I don't know what the customs are like in the north. How did Brother Luo live during his lifetime?"
He Taizhi has been Shen Luo's little tail since he was a child, and he knows quite a lot about Shen Luo's affairs. When Shen Zhu asked about it, he just assumed that he was worried about going to Beijing, so he told everything he knew.
How Shen Luo went to prison to study, how he socialized with friends, what kind of clothes he liked to wear, and what pastimes he did with friends during his spare time were all discussed one by one.
Shen Zhu looked like he was just chatting, but he carefully wrote down these things in his heart, and his originally anxious mood calmed down unconsciously.
Watching Mrs. Xu's actions, she became closer to the clan, fourth and fifth houses.
She lives in a family with long branches. If we strictly talk about the selection of heirs from distant relatives, it would make sense.
In that case, it would be either Shen Jue or Shen Rui, and then it would be the third family's turn. If the heirs were not selected according to distance, Shen Quan of the fifth family would be ahead.
Although Shen Quan has stated that he has no intention of becoming an heir, and the fifth-fang Shen Hong couple is neither greedy nor ruthless, they really want the Xu family to choose him. How can Wufang refuse if he is moved by emotion and rationalized?
The succession of rise and fall is the obligation and responsibility between clan members.
Although I don't know Shen Cang's temperament, looking at Xu's actions, he seems to be the master of the family.
In this case, there is no hope of long-term branching, so why should I bother with long-term branching?
In Xu's cabin, Xu lost all his money to Yu Jing, shook the empty box, and said with a smile: "The money box is empty, and the game is over. I am fasting today, and I will not leave you brothers to eat here. Let's go our separate ways. Again, don't be naughty. If you want to go to the deck for fresh air after the boat stops at night, you must say hello to Brother Quan and ask him to take him with you. You are not allowed to go to the water or start an argument with others. I I will bring you out well, but do it well. Don’t let me lose my relationship with your parents.
All the Shen family members stood up and listened, agreed in unison, and exited the cabin.
Shen Jue and Shen Qin both stared at Shen Quan.
Shen Quan just didn't see him, looked around, and said to himself: "Why don't you see Brother Zhu?"
"In our room." Shen Lin said in a low voice.
In the cabins on this floor, there are only a few large cabins in the middle, and the cabins at both ends are relatively small.
Except for the Xu family and the young lady from the He family, who shared a cabin each, the other eight teenagers occupied four cabins, two of them per room.
Among the seven sons of the Shen family, Shen Lin is neither older nor younger, so she is single. Although when the brothers are together, everyone will take care of him and talk about him, but when it comes to actions, each has his own companion.
When arranging the cabin, Shen Lin was left alone without any dispute and was arranged with He Taizhi.
He Taizhi has a lively temperament and loves to make friends. Even though he and Shen Lin were not familiar with each other before, he was happy at first when he had the opportunity to live together. He just wanted to make one more friend.
I don't think these two have such a good temperament, one is clever, weird and impetuous, the other is honest, dull and slow.
Shen Lin was not only clumsy and unable to speak, but her brain was also too stupid to turn around. When He Taizhi talked to him, he was talking like a duck. She was so anxious that her forehead was sweating. Shen Lin still didn't understand what was going on here. mean.
Over and over again, He Taizhi was no longer willing to sing a "one-man show" and talked much less.
He Taizhi was very busy during the boat trip. In addition to playing with the young people of the Shen family, he also went to talk to his sister from time to time.
That day, he went to his sister's place in the morning. When he came back, he felt a little sad, so he didn't go to Xu's place.
When Shen Lin came out, she happened to see Shen Zhu passing by and knew that the two people were together.
After hearing this, Shen Quan wanted to go to Shen Zhu, but Shen Jue and Shen Qin held him by one arm.
"Brother Quan San, I've been holding this in for three days, when will I be able to go to the deck to breathe?" Shen Jue lamented.
Shen Qin followed and said: "Brother Quan, the younger brothers are all suffocating in the cabin."
Shen Quan snorted softly and said: "The cabins you two live in have windows. If you open the windows, how much air can you get from outside?"
Shen Jue said with a bitter face: "Where can I compare to the brightness on the deck?"
Shen Qin said slightly angrily: "Brother Quan and my aunt didn't stop me, but Brother Quan has been stopping me for three days?"
Shen Quan said sternly: "Although my aunt is kind, my brothers and I must be self-disciplined and not cause trouble to our elders just for the sake of our capriciousness. There are no common people living on this boat. Of course, my uncle's current rank does not necessarily mean that he should be afraid of this and that. It is just one more thing." It's better to be less troublesome, after all." Having said this, he pointed to the top with his finger: "Those adults are here. In the past few days, although I stopped you and didn't take you to the deck for fresh air, I always arranged for people to keep an eye on the deck. .”
"Every night after the ship docked, those adults were the first to come out and take a walk for about two-quarters of an hour, followed by the official family members on the first floor. His ladies were seasick, and their children and grandchildren helped them to the deck every night to get some fresh air. When the female family members come out, we brothers should also take the initiative to avoid them. As for the few officials in the lower cabin who do not have their families with them, there is no need to avoid it. Based on this calculation, if you want to go out for a walk, you have to go out at 7:30 p.m. ) and go out."
Shen Jue and Shen Qin had already been suffocated for a long time. They were satisfied to be able to go out for air. No matter what time it was, they both responded like chickens pecking at rice: "Xu Chu is Xu Chu."
Then Shen Quan continued to say: "The water surface is wet and cold, and the wind is cold at night. Even if you go out, you can't go out for more than two-quarters of an hour. Otherwise, what will happen if you catch the wind and catch the cold? In this new year, we are visiting again, so we Brothers, please don’t cause trouble with others.”
Although Shen Jue and Shen Qin felt that the time was short and were reluctant, they also knew that what Shen Quan said was serious, so they both agreed honestly.
Shen Rui was standing by and saw that Shen Quan managed the clan members obediently and admired Xu's employment of people very much.
All the young men are the legitimate sons of each house in the Shen family. Only Shen Quan, a careful, popular and well-connected brother, can take charge of them.
Xu's age is there, and her energy is low. She can't keep an eye on a bunch of juniors by herself. As for the few stewards who followed the second house to the south, they are servants after all. Due to their status, it is difficult to restrain everyone. .
Only Shen Quan was the eldest among the clan brothers, and he was entrusted by the Xu family to take care of and restrain the clan brothers legitimately.
However, Shen Quan was indeed attentive and considerate. He did not try to restrain his clan brothers just because he was afraid of trouble. Instead, he observed the situation on the deck and came to a conclusion to make more secure arrangements. How could anyone else be so patient?
The cabin next to Xu's is where Miss He lives on the ship.
Mrs. Xu looked at the four vegetarian dishes on the table, sighed, and said: "Sister Ying insists on this, and my aunt will not stop you anymore. I just have to make an agreement with you, and you can only stay for one year at most... You are my aunt's watch." Raised, you and Brother Luo grew up together and had a good relationship, but in the early years, you were just like brother and sister. You are both well-behaved and good children, and you are surrounded by your adoptive mother and maidservants. There is no time to talk in private. Childhood sweethearts. Secretly born, that's what they say in the storybook. Which of the ladies and brothers of serious families have not been rites since childhood? It only takes two or three years for you to start discussing marriage. Even if you have put your heart on Luo in these two years. Is it possible that my brother will be with you for the rest of his life? What do you want your parents to do..."