Except for Uncle Wang, no one in Shigang Village was literate. The old uncle’s knowledge was inherited from his family and came from studying abroad. After he returned to Shigang Village and got married, he did not teach apprentices. He always maintained his aloofness and added
He had some basic medical skills and was able to treat colds and colds, so he was always respected by the whole village.
Zhu San was told by him since he was a child that the Red Emperor's son was reincarnated, so he naturally became his only disciple and the only literate boy in the village. In addition, after Zhu San took over the family's fishing boat in the past two years, he has improved his family's life step by step, so he has been in the family at a young age.
The village is still quite famous.
Many neighbors who have daughters at home, when they meet Zhu Laoshi and his wife to raise their parents, all say that they will marry their daughters to him when Zhu San turns twelve or thirteen years old.
As expected, labor can exercise the body better than any fitness exercise, but eight-year-old Zhu San's dark chest muscles have begun to slowly appear.
Zhang Xiaomei remembered that a few days ago, when her father was chatting with Zhu San's father, he mentioned that he planned to wait four years for her to marry Zhu San when she was fifteen years old. This was a private agreement between the two families.
Female junior, hugging gold bricks, this is a slang word spread in the countryside. Zhang Xiaomei, who originally regarded Zhu San as her younger brother, heard the news, her little heart suddenly moved unconsciously, and her face immediately turned red unconsciously.
Thought to himself: "I wonder if he knows?"
Zhu San's voice of thanks made her come back to her senses in shock. She patted her chest in panic and waved her hands: "It's nothing. Fifth sister is like my biological sister. Sanlang, you don't have to be polite."
Lang was originally a candidate official name in the Han Dynasty. It was only 400 years after the Han Dynasty that the name Lang gradually spread to the people and became an honorific title in formal conversations among common people.
Zhang Xiaomei's face and tone were a little different from those in the past. Zhu San noticed it, but even though he was a man of two generations, he couldn't figure out the reason behind the scenes, so he ignored it, took off a clean shirt from the wooden pole, and looked after himself.
Wear it.
You can go bare-armed when you go fishing, but when you return home, you must dress neatly. This is the etiquette of the Han Dynasty that Wang Shugong taught him. If you want to stand out, you must first know etiquette.
After putting it on, Zhu San said: "I always trouble you to help look after the fifth sister. In this way, if you want to eat fish in the future, you can go to my pond to catch it yourself, and I will take the blame."
"No, no." Zhang Xiaomei declined quickly. She knew that the fish in the pond were actually for sale, but she felt that she couldn't afford it when she took Zhu Wumei to pick wild vegetables.
"You're welcome, it's settled." Zhu San gave a firm tone, took the basket from his sister, and went back to the house to help Chen.
Seeing that she was being frightened by a boy who was three years younger than her, Zhang Xiaomei couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. When she saw that he was about to leave, she said in a panic: "Sanlang, when we tell stories later, can I also come and listen?"
Zhu San heard the sound, turned around and said with a smile: "Of course you can, just do it."
Washing vegetables and picking vegetables, even before Zhu San started fishing and boating for the family, he began to take the initiative to share Chen's worries. Chen often praised his third son for his filial piety, but scolded his younger daughter for not being conscious enough in doing things and always supervising her.
In later generations, five-year-old children naturally did not have to do anything. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, children who had just begun to become sensible had to help with housework. Of course, there were still differences in the level of consciousness among each child.
Not to mention Zhu San entering the house to help Chen, Zhu Wumei saw her brother getting busy and had no choice but to follow him in. The Zhang family's younger sister also laughed and hurried home with satisfaction, obviously ready to finish the housework and have a good meal.
, come back again, nice story.
After a while, the meal at home had just been prepared. A bucket of rice, a pot of fish soup, two plates of wild vegetables and five small bowls were placed on the stone table in the courtyard. Zhu Laoshi and Mr. Zhu were carrying a hoe, and the other was carrying a hoe.
Bundle firewood and return home in time.
Eat without talking and sleep without talking. This famous saying of Confucius has been popularized in every household of the people, although poor families do not abide by it very strictly and rarely talk to it.
Zhu Laoshi was the first to pick up the bowl and put the rice into his mouth. Everyone started devouring it, especially the three grown men. Chen and Zhu Wumei's appetite was far less than that of Chen and Zhu Wumei.
Zhu Laoshi was already sixteen years old and was no longer considered a child. He and Zhu Laoshi generally did not need to participate in the cooking. After the two of them finished eating, they chatted about matters in the fields.
"Third brother, ask Fifth Sister to wash those bowls. Come and wash them." Boss Zhu shouted loudly.
"Big brother is calling you, I'll take care of these." Mrs. Chen took the man in Zhu San's hand and said...
"Come here!" Zhu San wiped his hands on the corner of his clothes, responded, strode over, and asked: "Dad, brother, what did you call me for?"
Zhu Laoshi sat on the stone pier at the entrance of the courtyard, looked at his eldest son opposite with a smile, and said loudly: "Happy event, mom and dad, we have announced the marriage to your eldest brother. She is a girl from the lower village. Your mother and I will take her with her tomorrow.
Your brother, carry some big fish and go propose marriage to him."
"Really?" Zhu San had also heard about this. His parents were making arrangements for his eldest brother to get married, but he didn't know the details very well and didn't want the result to come out so soon.
Sixteen-year-old Zhu Laoshi is seven feet tall, half a head taller than Zhu Laoshi. In fact, for a farmer, getting married is a great joy. With a silly smile on his face, he did not feel shy at all and talked calmly to his younger brother.
: "A few days ago, I asked Uncle Wang to tell us our birth dates. It was no problem. We haven't met before. Today, when I went to chop wood, I met her father and we collected firewood together. I met her. She is really beautiful.
.”
Seeing his elder brother's satisfied and happy look, Zhu San was also happy from the bottom of his heart.
After Zhu Da was overjoyed, he put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and said apologetically: "Third brother, the three days are up. You will work hard tomorrow to carry the basket of fish to the ferry for me."
On weekdays, Zhu San is responsible for fishing, and Zhu Laoshi delivers fish to the Yangtze River ferry every three days. The rest of the time, he helps Zhu Laoshi with farming.
"It doesn't matter, I will take care of it myself." Zhu San patted his small chest and assured him.
Having seen his younger brother's intelligence since he was a child, Zhu Tianran feels extremely relieved, but Zhu Laoshi still nags: "Go back when you go, don't hang around too much, and don't meddle in other people's business."
Zhu San nodded in understanding, and slowly the conversation started to spread with the father and son, surrounding matters such as weddings, banquets, etc.
Chatting here and there, time passed a little faster. Chen and Zhu Wumei had quickly put the pots and pans in order, and the whole family gathered together and continued to discuss Zhu Da's marriage.
Zhu Wumei was not overly interested in her eldest brother's marriage. She only knew that after her eldest brother got married, there would be an additional sister-in-law in the family. She didn't know if it would be good for her.
On the contrary, he was thinking about Zhu San's promise to tell him a story just now. He made a noise, but was scolded by Mrs. Chen. Due to the reincarnation of Zhu San's soul, he was extremely precocious and at the age of eight, he was already an indispensable part of the family.
All matters will be discussed together.
When adults talk like this, the little girl's trivial matters will naturally be postponed far away.
Zhu San had nothing to do about this, until a beautiful figure came outside the courtyard. The little girl of the Zhang family came as promised, and her voice came from afar: "Uncle Zhu, Aunt Zhu, your whole family is here!"
Seeing Zhang Xiaomei's visit, the little girl immediately raised her voice and shouted to Mr. Chen: "Third brother promised me to tell stories to my little sister. Aniang, you can not let me listen, but you can't let third brother."
Broken Promises and Little Sisters.”
The little girl was smart and used words to try to persuade Mrs. Chen. Zhang Xiaomei was already a little adult, so naturally she couldn't treat her like a child. Especially when Zhu Laoshi saw it, his eyes lit up and he agreed on Mr. Chen's behalf: "Go ahead.
, don’t forget to go to Uncle Wang to study later.”
Zhu Laoshi worked so hard to get Zhang Xiaomei and Zhu Sanduo to stay together. Chen actually heard him mention his intention to get married in the future and had no objection to it, so she agreed, but she hadn't mentioned it to Zhu San yet.
"Great! Great!" Zhu Wumei shouted happily, dragging Zhu San with one hand and Zhang Xiaomei with the other to the other corner of the courtyard, not with Chen and the others.
The three of them moved to the stone pier and sat down. Zhu Wumei hurriedly asked: "Third brother, what are you going to say today? Princess Snow White?"
Zhang Xiaomei opened her eyes wide and full of hope. Earlier, Zhu Wumei often mentioned in her ears that his third brother was very good at telling stories. In the past, he only passed by occasionally and listened to a fragment, which made him confused. This time, Zhu San promised to tell her, and she felt in her heart.
The expectations are the greatest.
Seeing the two people listening attentively, Zhu San sighed slightly in his heart. In ancient times, there were so few entertainment programs, and storytelling was the greatest enjoyment for little girls.
In the past, the five-year-old girl Zhu Wumei was told about Andersen's fairy tales such as Snow White and Pinocchio.
There was one more person tonight, and my mind suddenly started to move. The eleven-year-old girl was already at the age where she could have a child. Fairy tales were a bit inappropriate. Looking at her face that was slightly stripped of its childlike color, she had an idea in her mind and said:
"This time, little sister is here, let me tell you a story about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."….
"Cowherd and Weaver Girl?" they asked in a low voice, puzzled.
Knowing that they had never heard of it, Zhu San quickly made up an explanation: "Cowherd, as the name suggests, is the cowherd. We often see it in the fields, and Weaver Girl is the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven."
"The daughter of the Emperor of Heaven?" This was a big name, which aroused their interest.
"Yes, she is the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven. It is said that one day, the Weaver Girl and several fairies were bored in the Heavenly Palace, so they made an appointment to secretly go down to earth to play, and stopped to rest in a beautiful mountain.
There was a clear lotus pond with green waves. Overjoyed, several fairies took off their light clothes, jumped into the clear stream, and played in the water."
"Then there will be another cowherd..."
"The water is full of water, and the pulse is speechless... In this way, the Queen Mother Yinchai drew a Milky Way that has been immortal for two times. With the intercession of the psychic old cow, the Queen Mother finally showed mercy and allowed the Cowherd to marry her.
Weaver Girl meets once every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month."
Zhu Sankian stopped the last word on his lips and looked at Zhang Xiaomei, who had tears on her face, and Zhu Wumei, who was aggrieved.
"Third brother, the Queen Mother is so bad. Why don't you let Brother Cowherd and Sister Weaver Girl be together? They are so pitiful that they let the psychic cow hit the Queen Mother." Zhu Wumei is still young and cannot hear the poignant love in it.
, I only know that the Queen Mother is a bad person. I have seen the angry appearance of the cattle in the fields, and I know how terrible the angry cattle are, just like letting it stand up to the Cowherd.
And Zhang Xiaomei quietly reminisced and murmured: "There is a difference between immortals and mortals..."
"Sanlang, where did you hear this story? Is it true?"
After hearing this question, Zhu San smiled, raised his head and looked at the sky. It was starting to fall, and the first morning star had risen. He pointed to the sky dramatically and said, "When it gets dark later, when the stars come out,
, you can see for yourselves.”
"The brightest star at the top, with four small stars, like a weaving shuttle, is Vega. Across the Milky Way, there is a bright star in the southeast, with a small star on each side, which is Altair, separated from Vega.
Facing each other across the river."
"Remember? Every year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, it rains. In fact, these are the tears shed by the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl when they meet. Do you think they are true?"
"Haha!" After Zhu San finished speaking, he patted his knees and stood up. He touched the bamboo slips around his waist and saw that they were clamped. He looked at Zhang Xiaomei who was meditating in memory and said no more.
"Okay, little sister, go to bed early later. Third brother is going to Uncle Wang's place."
"Dad, aunt, brother, I'm leaving." Zhu San picked up a bundle of firewood from the courtyard, said this, and went out.
Every day after dark, Zhu San would go to Uncle Wang's house to read and practice calligraphy. This had been a habit for many years. Even though he had read through the few books in Uncle Wang's house, he still did not change this habit.