Shen Rui didn't think there was anything wrong with the clan elder's interference in Shen Juren's remarriage.
Zhang Lao'an, the elder of the fourth room, is unreliable and has not gone out in recent years. Although Shen Juren cannot be said to be a homebody, his social circle is not wide. If the He family is planning this marriage, all they can count on is The eldest wife of the clan and the eldest master of the clan.
These two were the eldest son and wife of Shen Juren, but they did not expect that the eldest wife of the clan would object to this marriage.
As for what the eldest wife of the clan said that it was difficult for her to protect Shen Rui when her fourth wife married into the He family, Shen Jue believed it, but Shen Rui didn't. Regardless of whether or not the eldest wife of the clan had any friendship with the Sun family, or what their friendship was, in the In the past few years since Mrs. Sun passed away, the eldest wife of the clan had only treated Shen Rui in a polite way and had no special regard for Shen Rui.
However, Shen Rui believed that it was true that Shen Jue was worried about his insomnia in the middle of the night. He only felt warm in his heart and said: "Brother Jue, don't worry too much about me. I'm not a child. From now on, I will be in the clan school during the day and only go to school at night." Go home and don't bother anyone else."
Shen Jue snorted softly and said: "It's not as easy as you think. When your stepmother comes in, she is a legitimate elder. She can't say a word about life and death. But even if you are the head of the house, your food, clothing, and daily life will all be taken care of. Arrange it over there. That person is just a side branch of the He family. He cannot be said to be a small family, and his family background is also ordinary. If he is stingy and stingy, even if he doesn't mean to treat you harshly, he can still make you drink a pot."
Shen Rui said: "That's nothing, but it's just a matter of spending a few more coins. If it doesn't work, I can still move out. When the bride comes in, she has to pretend for a year and a half, and it won't happen immediately. Besides, this marriage is a congratulations. I will never choose an inappropriate candidate, otherwise I will either get married or add to the enmity."
Hearing this, Shen Jue thought about it, patted his forehead and said, "Yes, since he is the person chosen by his second cousin, let alone treating your brothers harshly, I am afraid that if I am too late to please you, I will cause chaos if I care. ..." At this point, he looked at Shen Rui with some annoyance and said: "It's you who are heartless and careless. It seems that you are an outsider, and I have become a troublemaker."
Shen Rui hurriedly comforted him: "I am so confident just because I know that there are many people who are worried about me. I have brothers from the Six Clans and my aunt as my backers, and Brother Jue cares about me. What do I have to be afraid of? Don't say it's just me. I’m not afraid of the adopted daughter of the He family, or even the direct daughter of the He family marrying."
Shen Jue smiled and said: "It's okay for you to do this. A man should have a long-term vision. There is no point in guarding against these things all day long. It's just that the aunt who is married to Uncle Yuan is only 29 years old. How old are you? , it doesn’t matter for now, but your eldest brother and future sister-in-law will be embarrassed."
Shen Rui nodded, that was indeed the case.
However, it is not unusual for the stepmother and stepson to be of the same age. Not to mention that Shen Juren is only in his early forties. Even if an old man in his 60s has a young lady who is fifteen or sixteen years old, there are also young ladies who fill houses.
As the two brothers talked, the carriage arrived in Nancheng.
Shen Jue's eyes were bright and she was full of energy.
There was already a huge crowd outside, and the carriage dared not pass by. Shen Jue greeted Shen Rui to get out of the carriage, and sent the driver back first. The two of them took a book boy with them and walked to a temple in front of them that was full of incense.
On both sides of the road, there are various vendors setting up stalls, some selling incense and candles, some selling snacks, and some selling various knick-knacks, with endless cries.
Among these vendors were interspersed with beggars of all kinds, some old, some young, some disabled, some blind, all sitting there on their knees with pitiful expressions on their faces.
Because it is the Buddha's birthday, there are many people doing good deeds on this day. It cannot be said that the coins are like rain, but I can see that these people have gained a lot. The faces of those who are giving alms are full of compassion, and they are kneeling and kowtow. With the smoke in the distance, the bells are ringing. Faintly and echoed, they form a picture of good deeds in front of the temple.
Shen Jue glanced at it and said disapprovingly: "You don't practice good deeds, but you do good deeds once a year and you become a good person?"
Shen Jue looked down upon those middle-aged beggars and muttered: "There are so many disabled people in the world. I don't think all of them have become beggars. They are just too lazy to eat."
He said this, but he was not a stingy person. He asked the book boy to give copper coins to a few old beggars, and he did not forget to say to Shen Rui: "These old people, whether they really can't survive, or they want to be greedy, It’s really not easy to kneel here in this winter month.”
Songjiang Prefecture has a good magistrate. In the past few years, the government has been well-organized and there have been no natural or man-made disasters. How could there be so many beggars suddenly emerging?
As Shen Jue said, most of these so-called beggars had temporarily changed their clothes for the temple fair. Most of those beggars in their prime were ruffians who were lazy and greedy. These old people were either from poor families or had unfilial children, for various reasons. Going out to beg is much pitiable.
Shen Rui's idea coincided with Shen Jue's, so he also ordered Liu Cheng to take out a mink of money, break it up, and hand it to a few old beggars.
This behavior just happened to fall into the eyes of others.
Not far away, a young man showed a smile on his face. He walked a few steps quickly, came closer, and reached out to pat Shen Rui on the shoulder.
Shen Ruiyin had learned the art of breathing and breathing for several years, and he had sharp ears and eyes. He immediately noticed something was wrong. Before his mind could react, he had already turned away and grabbed the person's arm.
The visitor didn't know whether he was shocked or hurt, so he made a sound in surprise.
Shen Rui blinked, a little surprised, and said: "Brother Dong?"
The visitor was none other than Dong Shuang, who had left the Shen Clan Academy a few days ago.
Dong Shuang pursed his lips and said shyly: "Brother Shen..."
Shen Rui felt that the palm of his hand was smooth and tender. He couldn't help but curl his index finger and rub it twice.
Dong Shuang's face immediately turned red as if on fire. He bit his lip and stared at Shen Rui, with a hint of anger on his face, and said: "Brother Shen, don't let go yet."
Shen Rui laughed twice and let go of Dong Shuang's arm. It wasn't that he meant to "tease" just now, it was just a subconscious action. Before, I just thought that Dong Shuang looked androgynous, but now when I paid attention, I found that he also acted with a feminine touch, and even And he seems to have a good impression of himself.
It's not that Shen Rui is being sentimental, but it's actually not difficult to distinguish between Dong Shuang's happiness and anger. Even though Shen Rui acted inappropriately and made Dong Shuang embarrassed and annoyed, Dong Shuang didn't mean to be really angry, and his eyes still looked at Shen Rui with a hint of anger. rejoiced.
Shen Rui looked normal, but was a little scared in his heart. Although he had some affection for Dong Shuang, it was just because he saw that he was young, hard-working, respectable and amiable, and had no other intentions.
No matter whether this Dong Shuang is "Zhu Yingtai" or "Qin Zhong", Shen Rui has no intention of going further with him.
Although the masculinity in Songjiang Prefecture is not as blatant as that in Fujian, it is still quite a lot. My classmates and friends have become brothers. They are a good couple before marriage, and there are many people who are seen walking around after marriage, but it is just a romantic affair. Chen Zhu There is a Qi brother who is an in-law son of the Lai tribe's middle school. Now he has also become a scholar and is Shen Zhu's follower in the tribe's school.
Shen Rui had no intention of doing this, but secretly felt pity in his heart. He and Dong Shuang had not been at the same table for a long time, but they often talked about homework together, and they knew Dong Shuang's level. Although Dong Shuang was young, he had solid homework and learned things well. Come on, if you focus on taking the imperial examination, you will go very far.
The relationship between being classmates and sitting at the same table may become that of the same year in the future. Shen Rui originally regarded him as a close friend, but if Dong Shuang's "closeness" was to others, Shen Rui would never get involved or look down on him. Friends are friends. , A friend’s private affairs are a friend’s private affairs. But the “close” person is himself, and he can only stay away from it.
Shen Jue was in the front. Hearing the movement behind him, he turned around and saw Dong Shuang talking to Shen Rui with a smile.
Shen Jue came over, looked at Dong Shuang and said, "Looking at you, you are even thinner than when you were in clan school. Isn't this because you have worked twice as hard?"
After hearing what he said, Shen Rui also looked at Dong Shuang.
Just now I thought that Dong Shuang's face was a little pale, but upon closer inspection, he was thinner than before, and his chin was much sharper.
Dong Shuang smiled sheepishly and said, "I don't dare to be lazy, and I don't want to burden my classmates with too much homework."
Shen Jue shook his head in disapproval and said: "You are younger than everyone else, so you are in a hurry? Reading is not something that happens overnight. If you go on like this and your body collapses, how long will you take the imperial examination?"
Shen Jue had always looked down upon Dong Shuang. As soon as these slightly concerned words came out of his mouth, Dong Shuang couldn't help but feel "flattered" and laughed twice and said: "Thank you, Brother Shen, for your teaching."
Shen Jue glanced at Shen Rui and said, "You call Brother Rui, Brother Shen, and you also call me Brother Shen. When you meet your classmates, it's still Brother Shen. From now on, you can call me Brother Jue, fifth brother, and Brother Rui, Brother Rui." "
After Dong Shuang heard this, he glanced at Shen Rui hesitantly and changed his tune.
Shen Rui was standing by, watching Shen Jue wink at him, quite helplessly. He understood what Shen Jue meant, that is, for his sake, he accepted Dong Shuang as his friend.
However, seeing that Shen Jue, who had always disliked Dong Shuang, could sincerely accept Dong Shuang as a friend just because he was close to him, Shen Rui felt that his idea just now was a bit narrow.
Even if Dong Shuang has a good impression of himself, and the good impression is not as pure as Shen Jue's, but his age is here, a teenage boy, with a hazy good impression, he cares about what he does. As long as he Be more careful in the future and don't show ambiguity. If you don't respond to this good impression, the young man's feelings born out of ignorance may disappear.
Thinking like this, Shen Rui felt much more at ease. Knowing that what Dong Shuang cared about most was the Four Books homework, he explained the key points of the master's recent problem solving.
Dong Shuang listened attentively, but Shen Jue picked his ears and said helplessly: "Okay, you two bookworms are here to visit the temple fair today. Don't gossip and don't forget about serious things."
After hearing this, Shen Rui and Dong Shuang looked at each other and smiled. Only Shen Jue, a playful guy, would treat serious homework as gossip and shopping and playing as serious things.
The two of them were not disappointed and stopped talking.
Shen Jue looked at the two good babies in front of him, raised his chin proudly and said: "There are a lot of fun things to do at this temple fair, and I think you have never seen them before. Let's go, Fifth Brother will take you to have fun."
Before Dong Shuang could speak, the little book boy behind him was already tugging at his clothes secretly. He glanced back and still nodded: "Then follow Brother Jue to see what he has to offer."
Shen Rui naturally said nothing, and everyone followed Shen Jue to a crowded square in front of the temple.
The venue here is divided into several areas in the middle, with platforms set up for performing various tricks. There are people who climb knife mountains, monkeys, fire-breathing people, and bowl-playing people. They are all gathered in a circle. People cheered from time to time. There were some street stalls around, most of which played games of a Guanbao nature. There were different ways to play, including hooping, bag-dropping, and pot-throwing.
Among all the performers, the one with the most crowds was the one on Climbing Dao Mountain.
The frame was built with bamboo poles as thick as an adult's arm. It was one and a half feet high. Two soft ropes hung from the middle to the ground. The middle of the soft ropes was about two feet wide. Every seven or eight inches, a three-foot handle was tied. The long knife, with its edge pointing upward, glowed with a cold white light under the sunlight. From the place close to the ground to the top of the bamboo frame, twenty or thirty sharp knives looked at people.
In the middle of winter, the men on the "Knife Mountain" were dressed in shorts. Their upper bodies were half-dressed, with half of their muscular chests exposed, and their lower bodies were in trousers with the trousers rolled up to their knees, revealing their hairy calves and a pair of naked big feet. .
Not to mention the common people of the Ming Dynasty, even Shen Rui, a man of two generations who had experienced various acrobatics, was frightened when he saw this strong man climbing the mountain of swords.
This acrobatic act of "climbing the mountain of knives" has been passed down to later generations. Although he doesn't know what the principle is, Shen Rui knows that the blades are not fake, but are all truly sharpened.
If it were a gentle girl or young man who came to "climb the knife mountain", people would not be so worried. But this seven-foot-old man, who is as big as an iron tower, looks really heavy, and step by step, it makes people nervous. His heart went up and down, fearing that if he was not careful, his foot would be cut in half by the sharp blade...