The daily routine of wearing a book and abusing literature to cultivate a scholar and Xiaoxianggong

Chapter 2 Xianggong does a good job

When Li Xiaodao woke up the next morning, the quilt beside him had been neatly folded.

It took a long time to fall asleep last night, and I was still a little dizzy when I woke up in the morning.

Li Xiaodao rubbed his temples, got up, put on his clothes and walked to the door, only to find that there was a basin of hot water, tooth powder and brushes at the door.

Quite particular.

Last night, the candlelight was dim and I didn’t take a closer look. During the day, I saw that the new house was furnished as well as the houses in the town. There were museum shelves and screens, carved beds, bronze mirror wardrobes, etc., and there was a word on the wall. A bit bookish, presumably Pei Zhiqi wrote it himself.

After Li Xiaodao cleaned his teeth, he washed his face.

Just then Pei Zhiqi came in with a pot of hot water.

"Morning lady. First drink a cup of tea to refresh yourself." Pei Zhiqi made hot tea while talking.

"Let's go serve tea first. If you're hungry, serve breakfast early."

When Li Xiaodao couldn't sleep last night, he imagined a hundred situations in which he saw the wicked mother-in-law. Although he is not a cowardly character, it is better not to make mistakes in such things.

After washing up, Li Xiaodao sat in front of the bronze mirror to make up. Although he didn't have any skin care products, but fortunately after wearing the book, he looked back to the watery and juicy look when he was 17 years old. He has no acne or spots, his skin is white and tender, and his figure has changed. The shapely appearance when she was young, even the hill of Venus on her stomach disappeared, this is the place that made her most satisfied after wearing the book.

This time, we must protect this perfect figure and appearance, and we must not lose it because of the foodie gene!

Sitting in front of the mirror, Li Xiaodao was admiring his beauty and combing his hair, but Li Xiaodao encountered difficulties while combing his hair.

She doesn't know the ancient hairstyle at all.

My mother usually combs it at home, what should I do now?Can I have a ponytail?

Seeing that Li Xiaodao was sitting in front of the mirror and couldn't comb his hair well, Pei Zhiqi smiled, and he walked over to take the comb: "I'll comb it for my wife."

"……Do you know?"

Pei Zhi wondered: "I untied the lady's bun yesterday, I'll try it the other way around."

Pei Zhiqi's savvy is quite high, and after studying it, he actually pulled it into a beautiful bun.

Li Xiaodao felt very satisfied after looking at it, and gave a thumbs up to Xianggong.

After combing their hair and tidying up, the two of them left the room with a tea tray.

I didn't see the courtyard of Pei's family yesterday when I was wearing a hijab, but when I saw it today, I realized that the courtyard is really strange.

In ordinary villages, several houses are built around a yard, but this Pei family has two yards?
I heard from a matchmaker before that although the Pei family doesn't communicate with the villagers of Baima Village very often, and their only yard is at the head of the village, they are wealthy and their walls are several times larger than others.

It's just that I didn't expect that the wall was simply separated by a fence in the middle, and a few rooms were built on the left and right sides. Pei Zhiqi lived alone on the east side, and his parents lived on the west side.

It's as if the family is separated, but not completely separated.There is also a small bamboo gate in the middle of the fence.

"My husband...you live in half the courtyard alone? It's the first time I've seen a house built like this in the village," Li Xiaodao asked curiously.

"I lived by myself after I was ten years old," Pei Zhiqi replied, "My parents want to arrange it this way, saying that it is convenient for me to study quietly."

Li Xiaodao nodded and said, "So that's the case."

Seeing Pei's father and Pei's mother, Li Xiaodao's evil mother-in-law detector completely failed. Not only did the father's parents look like ordinary honest villagers, but they also had a good personality.

Seeing them coming to offer tea, the second elder hurriedly helped them up when he was about to kneel down, and smiled very politely.

Li Xiaodao babbled and called his parents, the tea ceremony was over.

Mother Pei didn't leave her to say a few more words, didn't let her have breakfast, and didn't ask her to ask questions. Parents and mothers cook separately, even meals are eaten separately.

I always feel that something is wrong, but I can't tell what is wrong.And even if the yard is divided, should the meals be eaten separately?Although she likes it like this, she doesn't have to face her in-laws carefully all day long.

After serving tea, Li Xiaodao went back with his husband full of doubts.

Pei Zhiqi saw the confusion of the lady, he smiled and comforted: "It's not that the parents are not close to you, it's just that they have always had such a personality. I have been like this since I was a child, and they have never been close to my son. Don't blame me, lady."

Li Xiaodao wanted to say something, but as soon as he returned to their yard, there was a smell of food from the kitchen.

"Smells so good!" Li Xiaodao quickly put the tea bowl back into the room, and then ran to the kitchen to have a look.

Pei Zhiqi chased after him, into the kitchen and said, "Miss, are you hungry? Let's serve dinner right away. Mistress, go inside and wait, I'll bring it in later."

It was also not possible to let Xianggong work alone all the time, so Li Xiaodao took the bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen, arranged them neatly on the table in the house, and then returned to the kitchen to help serve the dishes.

Pei Zhiqi got up early in the morning and cooked a pot of salty porridge with diced vegetables and scallops in it, steamed a few pancakes, and fried a refreshing vegetable.

This porridge looks so delicious!Li Xiaodao thought she could eat three bowls.

During the meal, Li Xiaodao jokingly said: "Master, don't you say that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, I didn't expect you, a scholar, to cook such delicious meals!"

On weekdays, he was the only one eating alone, and suddenly there were more people eating the food he cooked with gusto. Pei Zhiqi felt a lot of joy in his heart.

"My wife likes to eat, so eat more. If you say that you can't be a gentleman if you cook, then I don't want to be a gentleman." Pei Zhiqi looked at the little lady who was eating deliciously, and smiled: "From now on, I can cook for my lady every day. Delicious. If there is a favorite dish, the lady can also tell me."

As a result, Li Xiaodao really ate three bowls.After eating, she touched her belly and shed tears of regret in her heart.

Li Xiaodao took the initiative to take the responsibility of taking a bath and cleaning the pot. Although Pei Zhiqi wanted to refuse, she insisted.

"You cook, I wash the pots, and the work is divided and matched, so the work is not tiring!" Li Xiaodao also did the work quickly, and it didn't take long for him to finish the washing.

After dinner, Pei Zhiqi went to the study to study. Originally, he wanted to accompany the lady around, but the lady said that she wanted to look around by herself.

After visiting the front and back yards, Li Xiaodao looked at Pei's father and mother through the fence, and found that Xianggong's house did not raise pigs, chickens, ducks or geese. The front and back yards were clean, but it seemed a little empty.

Pei's father and Pei's mother went out early in the morning, and they didn't call themselves to do housework or go to the market together. They were not so much parents-in-law as neighbors.

Around noon, Pei Zhiqi started to work in the kitchen again. Before he was busy, he found the lady who was looking around on his bookshelf, and asked, "What would the lady like to eat for lunch?"

"Uh, eat whatever you want. I'm not too hungry. I ate too much in the morning."

"Then let's make a loofah soup, there is some pork left over from the wedding banquet, and there are dried bamboo shoots at home, how about fried pork with dried bamboo shoots and an egg custard?"

Li Xiaodao understood that this kind of food was already very rich for ordinary people in ancient times, she scratched her little cheek embarrassingly: "Master, will I make your family poor if I eat like this all the time?"

Pei Zhiqi smiled and said, "My lady, just eat. Although my family is not very rich, it is enough for daily use."

"But don't you still want to take the imperial examinations? I heard that it costs a lot to study and take the imperial examinations."

"This is..."

For some reason, when he mentioned the matter of continuing the examination, Xianggong's face suddenly became worried.

Li Xiaodao felt that it would be better not to ask for the time being, since he looked embarrassed, let's wait until he wants to talk.

As a result, Pei Zhiqi explained the situation when the two of them had lunch: "When I was a 12-year-old scholar, I won the first case. I didn't have to pay taxes every year, and I could still receive some income. I usually copied books. Students come to me every ten days to guide their homework, and they usually help write letters and lawsuits. Over the years, I have saved some money here and there. It is enough to save some money to go to the province to take the exam. I spend a lot of money on a daily basis. I have almost bought the books for the exam, apart from going to Fucheng once a year to thank my teacher, and some pens, ink, papers and inkstones, there is basically no cost."

"Then why is the gentleman looking worried?"

"Because... my parents told me two years ago that they hoped that I would not take the Juren examination again."

"Ah? Why?" Li Xiaodao was puzzled, since he was willing to spend money to let his son study from an early age, how could he not let his son continue the exam.

"Maybe because I failed the exam the year before last, and my parents were a little disappointed."

"I heard that some people continue to take the exam even when their hair is gray. Xianggong will only be [-] next year, why won't he be allowed to take the exam?"

Pei Zhiqi shook his head: "I don't know either. However, after the exam the year before last, my teachers and classmates said that my essays were thorough, that there were no flaws, that the antithesis was neat, and that the rhymes were elegant. They thought I would win, but unexpectedly I failed. "

Speaking of this, Pei Zhiqi sighed softly: "I have a good memory since I was a child, and I have memorized all the books I have read in my heart. The teacher can't see any problems. I will take the next step, but I don't know where to go."

"Then did your teacher have any other students in the exam?"

Pei Zhiqi shook his head.

"Could it be that the teacher has a problem?"

"This……"

"Hasn't Mr. Xiang thought about paying homage to other teachers?"

Pei Zhiqi sighed: "I returned to the village after several years of government education in Fucheng. I have had little contact with my classmates these years, and I don't know where there are famous teachers to worship."

"If Xianggong really wants to pass the exam, he should go to the provincial capital to find a famous teacher."

"This is where the problem lies. My parents don't want me to leave the village. Maybe it's because I'm going to go to the provincial capital for the exam, so they don't want me to take the exam."

"Why on earth is this?"

Pei Zhiqi shook his head: "I don't know, but whenever I propose to go out, my parents are very opposed."

Li Xiaodao put down his chopsticks, put his hands on his face and thought, this father and mother are really strange, could it be the ancient baby control?Always afraid that it would be dangerous for the baby to go outside to suffer and suffer, so he was not allowed to go out?But it was really confusing to live separately from him.

Suddenly, Li Xiaodao remembered his rich experience in exams, and said: "When I have time, I want to read the articles written by Mr. Xiang, as well as those articles that won the Juren. I wonder if Mr. Wang would like to let me read them?"

Pei Zhiqi smiled and said: "I heard that the daughter of the Li family is a strange woman who likes to read but doesn't like housework. It seems that the rumors are true. The lady wants to see it, but don't worry. I want to take the lady to the back mountain in the afternoon. Walking around, one is to recognize our vegetable field, and the other is to let the lady relax."

After lunch, they cleaned up the pots and pans, and the two of them left the yard and headed towards the back mountain.

Although it is early autumn, the small village by the sea is very warm, even in winter it is not too cold. There are only two seasons here, one is hotter summer and the other is cooler winter.Moreover, it is green no matter in autumn or winter, full of vitality, and it is refreshing to walk in the fields on the hillside.

"The family only planted a few acres of ration land. I heard from my parents that our family moved from other places and rented the land from the village. Although the land was small, I didn't have to pay taxes after I was admitted to the scholar, so I barely had enough to eat. The terraced fields on the hillside are cultivated by myself to grow vegetables, and they are about one mu in size." Pei Zhiqi introduced it to his wife as he walked ahead.

(End of this chapter)