Farming and reading family

Chen Ke looked at such a reasonable lady and was so moved that he held Gao E's hand.

Gao E was frightened for a moment, but she quickly realized that they were also an old couple, but in her impression, Chen Ke was not a man who would be easily moved by emotions.

"With a wife like this, what else could a husband ask for?" Chen Ke said seriously.

"I heard that Luo Dagang and Zheng Xiaoshun both bought things for Qing'er. Did it affect your husband's affairs in the capital?" Gao E asked with concern.

Chen Ke moved his hand away somewhat embarrassedly.

Other men knew to bring back some things for the women at home when they went out, but he neglected this.

"We have a lot of expenses at home, and we can't waste that money in vain." Gao E saw Chen Ke feeling guilty and immediately tried to save his face.

Chen Ke gave a dry laugh: "This time it was indeed my husband's fault for being careless. I was just worried about something unexpected happening, so I didn't dare to move around freely."

"That's fine." Gao E smiled. "If my husband brings it to me, he has to bring it to the rest of the family. It's really inconvenient to travel on the road."

Chen Ke felt even more guilty when he heard Gao E say this, and thought that when he became well off in the future, he would definitely buy more things for his wife.

There were not many people walking on the streets of the city. When they arrived at the entrance of the alley, Gao E got off the carriage and went to Gao's house, while Luo Dagang drove Chen Ke to find the two elders of the Chen family.

"Big sister?" Mrs. Wu was a little surprised and hurriedly pulled her sister-in-law into the house. "How dare you go out at this time?"

Gao E handed the smoked meat and fresh bamboo shoots to Wu: "What's wrong?"

Wu thought that her elder sister-in-law was in the countryside and didn't know the situation in the city, so she told her about the epidemic in the city.

"A lot of people died before being dragged out. Later, the county magistrate got a prescription to control the epidemic. I heard that the county magistrate personally led people to capture several landlords and forced them to pay for the medicine." Wu said nervously.

Gao E wondered if He Tangchun had the courage to do that?

It seems the cause of the epidemic has been discovered.

"Our village is fine. When I entered the city, I saw few people on the road, so it should be fine too." Gao E speculated.

"Nothing's wrong now, but I'm still scared. I don't dare go out unless there's anything wrong."

Gao E thought this was a good idea, and the two of them went to the main room while talking.

"Weren't there a few servants in the house before?" Gao E saw that the yard was deserted.

Mrs. Wu was a little embarrassed. "Now that life in the city is more convenient, and there are only three of us at home, we dismissed the servants."

Gao E looked at Wu's appearance and guessed that her family was not well off and the shop had not yet opened. She wanted to save some money, so she immediately took out five thousand taels of silver notes.

"I won't give you any interest." Gao E pushed the leather bag over. "You count it in front of me."

"This..." Wu was surprised.

She knew that her elder sister-in-law must have used the money, whether it was to buy land or send people to Qinzhou City to buy food. The Chen family definitely did not have the money.

That's why she spent money sparingly, and she didn't expect her elder sister-in-law to return the money to her.

"Count them in front of me." Gao E looked at Wu's surprised expression.

Apart from anything else, Wu was still able to push the matter aside.

"No need." Wu said hurriedly.

"If you count it in front of me, we will both feel better." Gao E urged.

Wu hesitated again and again: "Okay."

I immediately counted the silver bills in front of my elder sister-in-law and confirmed it.

"Since you brought it here, I'll keep it for now. Just let me know if you need it in the future." Mrs. Wu said with a smile.

Although she didn't expect her elder sister to get all the banknotes back, she was very happy when she did.

"You should open the shop as soon as possible so that you can feel at ease having a business." Gao E said directly.

"He County is in such a state now that we can't open it." Mrs. Wu was in a dilemma.

Gao E thought about it and agreed: "So Gao Chong will just rest every day?"

"I've been urging Xiaoliang to study recently, saying that he wants Xiaoliang to pass the imperial examination like his brother-in-law did."

Gao E smiled helplessly: "Reading is a good thing after all."

The two of them chatted with each other, and Gao E had no intention of visiting the two elders of the Chen family at all.

The two elders of the Chen family were very excited to see Chen Ke. Mrs. Jiang felt sorry for Chen Ke as he had lost weight after the trip. Chen Fansheng was more concerned about how Chen Ke was doing when he visited that gentleman.

Chen Ke had no choice but to say that the gentleman had gone out traveling and he never waited for him at all.

I feel very sad.

"Son, you don't know your wife when you are not at home..." Jiang said this with grievance and wanted to cry.

Chen Ke felt helpless seeing his mother like this.

He had heard some things in the village over the past two days and knew that his mother really wanted to live in the city: "Mom, Gao is a little competitive, but she has a kind heart and gave birth to five grandchildren for the Chen family. You have to understand her a little."

When Jiang heard that her son was not on her side, her face immediately turned stern.

"Go and see how the meal is going. Stop talking nonsense in front of your son every day." Chen Fansheng said dissatisfiedly.

Jiang had no choice but to get up and go to the kitchen.

Chen Ke thought his father was angry and sat with his head down.

"How did you and Lord He know each other?" Chen Fansheng asked directly.

Chen Ke thought of Gao E asking Lord He to look after her parents: "I am a scholar in He County, so my name is in front of Lord He."

Chen Fansheng thought about it and agreed: "Studying is good. When you graduate from high school, you will be a colleague of Mr. He."

Chen Ke laughed awkwardly: "Mr. He is so clear-minded, I don't know where he will be an official in the future."

"You have to move around more often. If you have some old connections in the officialdom, you can avoid taking detours." Chen Fansheng reminded in a low voice.

Chen Keben wanted to refute, but finally nodded: "Yes."

His father doesn't understand these things anyway, so why make him unhappy?

Chen Fansheng nodded in satisfaction: "As for the matter between your mother and your wife, men don't need to ask about it. What can a woman do if she makes a fuss?"

Chen Ke did not agree with this, nor did he refute it.

"Since you're back, why not pack up and move to the city to concentrate on your studies..." Chen Fansheng suggested.

"Ah?" Chen Ke reflexively interrupted his father.

Chen Fansheng paused after being interrupted by his son. "It will also be convenient for me to get to know Lord He more often and ask for his advice if I encounter any problems."

Chen Ke hesitated again and again: "The private school in the village has just opened, I can't leave."

"But since I don't charge for teaching those kids to read, it's fine if I don't teach them." Chen Fansheng didn't care. "What matters to you now is your fame. Once you have it, you can do whatever you want."

Chen Ke wanted to say that his father was naive, but he didn't know how to explain it to him: "I need to discuss this with my wife."

"What's there to discuss with her about this kind of thing?" Chen Fansheng was dissatisfied.

"After all..." Chen Ke hesitated, "She paid for my studies."

Hearing Chen Ke say this, Chen Fansheng's face turned stern and he couldn't say a word.

The Chen family does not have the ability to support Chen Ke's studies now, let alone prepare money to go to the capital to take the exam.

"Let your mother pack up and let's go home together." Chen Fansheng suddenly said.

Chen Ke didn't know why his father suddenly said this: "Why?"

"The court has exempted us from taxes for three years, and our family has bought some land. I don't believe that we can't save enough money in three years for you to go to Beijing to take the exam." Chen Fansheng had to fight for this opportunity.