Farming and reading family

Autumn nights are cool, especially in the mountains.

It was not until the carriage stopped that Gao E realized it was pitch black outside.

Chen Ke was walking so slowly on purpose. He wanted to enter the village after dark so that he wouldn't meet the villagers and it wouldn't be so embarrassing.

The Chen family lives further back, and one has to cross most of the village to get there.

In fact, when Gao E got married, she built a brick and tile house in a low-lying area at the entrance of the village. The bricks, tiles, stones and wood alone cost more than 120 taels.

But this time, in order to raise money, he sold it to Chen Fancai's family for 65 taels.

Gao E could still recall Chen Fancai's smug look from the original owner's memory.

The dogs in the village were barking one after another. Gao E got out of the carriage and saw Chen Ke standing motionless at the door.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had seen such a dark mountain village: "Why don't you go in?"

"My parents don't know I'm back yet." Chen Ke said in a low voice.

Gao E realized what was going on: "You haven't figured out how to tell your parents yet?"

Chen Ke nodded.

This nod revealed another thing: Gao was too quiet.

From the time he met Gao until now, Gao never asked him why he came back.

"It must be my sister-in-law who is back." Chen Jie said as he came over to open the door.

"You have rabbit ears. It's so late. Your sister-in-law may be staying overnight at her parents' house." Jiang lowered her head and didn't hear any sound outside the door.

Chen Jie opened the door directly and saw his second brother standing outside. He was a little surprised: "Second brother?"

There was a small fire in the yard, and the Chen family sat around it. With the little light, some worked, and some coaxed the children.

When they heard Chen Jie calling him "Second Brother", everyone looked over.

Seeing that his family members were all fine, Chen Ke was very excited, but at the same time he felt ashamed to see his family.

"You're not..." Chen Jie looked puzzled, and then he saw his second sister-in-law beside him immediately shut up and look at his father under the eaves.

Chen Fansheng sat alone under the eaves, with half a bowl of turbid wine on a small square table at the side.

That's the Chen family.

Chen Ke sold his house and land to go for the imperial examination.

No matter what's going on at home, Mr. Chen always drinks a bowl of wine every day.

That's their decency.

To allow them to continue living with dignity.

Jiang placed the needles and scraps of cloth in a basket and stood up. "Is it really the second son?"

Chen Ke had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Under the eaves, Chen Fansheng also looked at Chen Ke, but did not stand up. Only a flash of light in his eyes proved that he was also surprised.

There was suddenly an eerie silence in the Chen family, as if the original trajectory had been disrupted and no one knew what to do next.

"Second brother, why did second sister-in-law come back at this time and didn't leave any food for you?" Lei said bluntly.

She looked down upon the second wife the most. She said that her second brother was a scholar, but not only did the family not benefit from his achievements, they also sold their land and grain to allow him to go to the capital to take the imperial examinations. The whole family worked hard for him alone.

And my second sister-in-law is so arrogant that she even sold her house but still dreams of becoming an official's wife.

It's not that she looks down on scholars, but she just believes in doing things within one's ability. One must always live first.

"I went out to buy some things. Big brother and third brother, please help me move them." Gao E broke the awkward atmosphere.

Chen Qing stood up immediately. He was always at the forefront of the Chen family's work.

When Chen Jie heard that his second sister-in-law had bought something, he immediately went out to move it.

Chen Duokui had already jumped off the carriage and was standing beside his mother. When Chen Jie passed by, he reached out and touched Chen Duokui's head.

"Where did you get the money?" Jiang suddenly asked.

She remembered that Gao said she had no money left.

"I gave it to you." Chen Ke said hurriedly.

Jiang was dissatisfied when she heard this: "You saved that money for her studies, why are you buying her random things?"

"Did my second sister-in-law buy some rice?" Chen Jie asked uncertainly.

"Oh, I think there is not much food at home." Gao E explained.

Everyone in the yard looked at Gao E.

Before, she had been making a fuss about selling the grain at home. The price of grain was the lowest just after the autumn harvest, but in order to allow Chen Ke to go to the capital for the imperial examination, she had to sell the grain.

Why are you buying food again now?

What you buy is not paddy, but pounded rice.

"Are you not living your life anymore?" Jiang shouted subconsciously.

The Chen family is now living on a shoestring, spending every penny wisely, yet Gao actually bought fine grains.

"What will happen to the second child's education in the future?" Jiang was worried.

Chen Ke mustered up the courage to say that he did not plan to take part in the next spring examination.

The reason why he said he was going to the capital so early was mainly because he didn't want to stay at home.

Everyone at home was staring at him, and they kept asking him to bring honor to the high school.

But he had taken the imperial examinations three times and knew that he could not compare with the talents of those outstanding scholars, let alone those students from powerful and noble families.

He will never meet a great scholar in his life to enlighten those people.

Those people could build a building to store the rare copies he had never heard of.

In this small place, he was a precious scholar, but in the capital, he was nothing.

"We will discuss this." Gao E didn't expect the Chen family to react so strongly. "Don't worry about it for now, mother."

"Old man?" Jiang turned her head and looked under the eaves.

"The second brother and his wife just came back, let them rest first." Chen Fansheng looked indifferent.

In fact, he was also worried.

Only if Chen Ke graduates from high school can the Chen family completely turn things around, otherwise they will become the laughing stock of the Batou Village.

"Yes." Chen Ke bowed in the direction of his father, turned around and went back to their room.

The Chen family's house is an adobe house with a tiled roof. It has three main rooms and east and west wing rooms.

Originally, the second son's family had moved out, but the house was still livable.

Now that the second son and his family of six have returned, the house is no longer large enough for them.

The two girls in the old family had to live in a shed in the backyard. After all, they were too old to live with their parents.

Gao E saw Chen Ke return to the house, so she followed him in. She was also very curious about why Chen Ke suddenly came back.

"Mom, there are still salt and pork bones." Chen Jie leaned close to his mother and whispered.

"Spendthrift women." Jiang complained softly and turned to go to the kitchen with them.

These things must of course be locked up and they can't be used by others.

Chen Ke went into the house, blew out the tinder and lit the oil lamp. The oil lamp lit up with a small light. He took the fire poker and picked up the wick, and the flame became a little brighter.

The light brightened a little, and Gao E could see the mottled walls and the messy furniture in the room clearly.

There was also a strong smell of a pigsty, but fortunately it was autumn, so it wasn't so pungent.

Chen Ke sat there thinking for a long time: "I stayed at a Taoist temple on my way to Beijing and had a strange dream that night."

Gao E's ears pricked up instantly. Why did it feel like rebirth?

Seeing Gao E didn't respond, Chen Ke continued, "In my dream, I fell off a white horse. I think this was a warning from my ancestors that I might not pass the imperial examination this time."