Rebirth of the Four Seas Emperor

The two women entered the room to talk about women's private matters. Hou Yao also discussed with Hou Fu what to buy for the New Year.

Hou Fu didn't have any ideas, so he let Hou Yao figure it out by himself, then lowered his head to read.

Hou Yao had no choice but to wait for Zhou Yu and Yu Xiuer to come out to discuss with them.

Just when he was bored, Zhang Guangcai, the newly appointed mayor outside the door, knocked on the door and entered the house:

"Hey, Mr. Xiu Cai is at home."

Bai Tao's crime of having an affair with a pirate was so serious that he and the two neighborhood chiefs he promoted were also questioned.

Three spots suddenly became available in the village. Originally, the county planned to hand over the position of village chief to Hou Fu.

But it was unanimously rejected by the villagers, and Hou Fu himself was not very interested.

In the end, it fell on Zhang Guangcai.

Zhang Guangcai is relatively old, usually generous and cautious, and has a good reputation in the village.

In the end, he was elected as the head of the village. Their family was also one of the few villagers who had a close relationship with the Hou family.

Therefore, Hou Yao was still relatively polite to him:

"Oh, Uncle Zhang, why did you come to my house today? Just don't ask for money. Our family is not rich."

Zhang Guangcai smiled and said:

"Master Xiu Cai is joking. I was entrusted by the county magistrate to send you a message."

When Hou Yao heard the message, his brows furrowed into a Sichuan shape:

"Sending a message? Is it a red or white matter? How much money should I pay?"

Zhang Guangcai hurriedly made a silent gesture and said:

"Hey, my dear scholar, please don't talk nonsense.

You have a great reputation and are not afraid of the county magistrate. I can't bear this.

I heard that this post is about some kind of poetry gathering. Alas, it’s a matter for educated people anyway, and I don’t even understand it.

I heard that some of the most talented people in the South China Sea are also here. Anyway, the county magistrate attaches great importance to him.

I just ask you to attend, and you are not just a random person. "

Hou Yao opened the invitation and looked at it. It said that he would like to participate in the "Guiwei Nian Hai County Qunxiu Poetry Festival" on the fifth day of the first lunar month.

Since it is a poetry meeting, there is no need to follow the etiquette. Hou Yao breathed a sigh of relief:

"Oh, I understand. I will definitely attend on time."

Zhang Guangcai nodded:

"The old man's mission is completed, so he will leave first."

The two people in the room also walked out. Yu Xiuer's face was still stained with tears. It was obvious that she had cried in the room just now.

"What did you say in the room? Xiu'er, why are you still crying? What's going on?"

Zhou Yu looked embarrassed and whispered:

"It's getting so late. I...I'm going to cook first."

After speaking, he ran away.

Hou Yao looked at Yu Xiuer again,

Yu Xiuer just lowered her head and wiped her tears:

"Ms. sir, I'm fine, so don't ask. Anyway, it's all Xiu'er's fault."

The more he said it was okay, the more serious it became. Hou Yao definitely couldn't let it go so easily:

"No, you have to tell me clearly what happened? What did my mother say to you?"

Seeing Hou Yao's serious face, Yu Xiuer finally couldn't resist the questioning and spoke out.

It turns out that just now Zhou Yu pulled Yu Xiuer into the room and talked about getting them married as soon as possible.

Hou Yao is 21 years old this year. In this era when people can get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, he is already considered an older bachelor.

Yu Xiuer is already eighteen years old and can be considered an older unmarried woman.

The last time Zhou Yu asked for her birth date, she went to a fortune teller to find out her birth date, and it just happened to be a good match for Hou Yao.

So when Zhou Yu saw Yu Xiuer this time, he wanted to urge her to get married.

The two of them were talking about this matter in the room just now.

If it is a marriage between ordinary people, there is nothing to say. As long as both parties agree, they can get married if they want to.

After setting up the banquet, just ask the village chief to report it. There is no censorship issue.

But Hou Yao couldn't. He had a great reputation and had to report to the government for any marriage.

Moreover, there is a detailed investigation and filing of the net worth of his wife.

Yu Xiuer was born on Haixing Island and has not registered her household registration with the government. She is a hidden household, also known as a runaway household.

It's okay to marry an ordinary person with such a status.

But if you want to marry a scholar openly, the problem will be serious.

Daxia has a strict household registration system. People like Yu Xiuer who do not have household registration,

If caught by the government, it can be regarded as a runaway.

It is a serious crime to run away from home. Once caught, the men will be exiled to the army, and the women will be sold as official prostitutes.

Although the scholar has a good reputation and can meet officials without kneeling, he still does not have the ability to protect a runaway.

If two people get married forcibly, once they are reported to the government, they can be punished with a stick, or they can be dismissed from their job titles and their futures will be ruined.

Just now Zhou Yu explained the reasons clearly to Yu Xiuer in the room.

After Yu Xiuer knew these things, she couldn't stop crying.

"Ms. Xiu'er knows that she is of low status and is not a good match for you. Otherwise, you should marry another Xianhui."

Hou Yao lowered his head and thought for a while. In fact, he always felt that this scholar's identity was dispensable.

Anyway, he never thought about becoming an official. The officialdom is a place where individuals gather together, and there are many constraints.

Instead of spending your whole life arguing with these corrupt officials,

It would be better to be a Poseidon like Wang Zhi. According to my previous thoughts,

He originally planned to return to Haixing Island after the New Year to start arranging the production of glass.

Use the killer weapon of glass to make a huge sum of money, and then recruit troops to form an invincible fleet.

After that, he took this invincible fleet to conquer the world and became proud of the world.

The four sea kings, Japanese pirates, and foreign pirates all had to kneel down before their own invincible fleet and beg for surrender.

But now that I think about it, this plan seems a bit too simple.

This is not the era of developed commerce and explosive industrial capabilities in later generations.

As long as you have money, you can get anyone. In this day and age,

The truly capable and skilled craftsmen were all working for the imperial court.

It's not easy to get them to work for a group of pirates. You have to use some means.

Now that something like Yu Xiuer has happened again, it seems that this official still needs to do something.

"Xiu'er, this is just a small thing, but your concerns are right. It wouldn't be nice for us to get married without a grand wedding.

The magistrate told us to attend next year's autumn siege. It just so happens that we can take the examination and come back, so that we can become county magistrates.

It's easy to apply for a household registration for you. Okay, let's settle it. We will get married when your husband becomes the county magistrate. "

Yu Xiuer looked at Hou Yao in surprise. She had never thought of such an operation.

Hou Fu looked at Hou Yao with a look of relief and said:

"My son's awakening is a blessing to my family. In this way, my father can rest assured. From today on, my father will urge you to study hard every day.

It was not until after Qiu Wei that the nominations for the Guibang were announced. "

The results of the rural examination are released in September, when the sweet-scented osmanthus is in bloom, so it is also called the "Guibang".

Hou Yao rolled his eyes:

"Dad, can we do something with self-awareness? Are you still urging me? You should pass the third-level college examination yourself first."

After saying that, she took Yu Xiuer's hand and walked out the door.

"Xiu'er, let's go get some New Year's goods."

There are three levels of college examinations, which are taken in counties, prefectures, and prefectures. The third-level college examination is the county college examination. Those who pass it can be called Tongsheng.

Children can attend government-run schools in the county, but Hou Fulian has failed to pass the third-level college examination so far.

Hou Yao's words can be described as murderous and heartbreaking.

Watching the two people leaving, Hou Fu's old face turned red.

Zhou Yu made the meal and came out, just in time to see the two people's retreating figures, and hurriedly shouted:

"Yao'er, you don't want to eat?"

Hou Yao waved his hands and shouted:

"We'll eat when we come back."

Zhou Yu held back his mouth, turned to look at Hou Fu, and said angrily:

"Have a meal."

Hou Fu happened to be angry and had nowhere to vent his anger, and said angrily:

"Eat, eat, eat. I know how to eat all day long. It's because I married you, a foodie, that I haven't passed the exam so far.

Eat it yourself, don't disturb me from studying the sages' books. "

After saying that, he picked up the book, shook his head and walked out the door.

When Zhou Yu heard this, he immediately exploded. He was a loser. He had been taking exams for decades and could not even pass the exam as a child student. How dare you blame me?

He immediately slammed the door shut and cursed:

"If you have the guts, don't eat it, or you'll starve to death, you nerd."

……

The Hou family has lost contact with the clan, so the Chinese New Year is actually the same as usual, just having a meal as a family.

But after the New Year, I still have to visit relatives.

In the morning of the second day of the lunar new year, Hou Yao first sent Yu Xiuer on the boat back to the island, and then went to Zhou Yu's natal home with her parents to pay New Year's greetings.

This is also the only relative of the Hou family who is still walking around.

The Zhou family is a businessman, and their ancestors have made a living by doing small business for generations. They have a shop in a not-so-good location in the city.

He was able to make a living by having the shop in the name of Hou Yao's grandfather.

A few years ago, the county conducted a household registration census. Hou Yao's grandfather was declared dead and his household registration was cancelled.

The Zhou family had to look for other scholars to be affiliated with, but no one liked the three melons and two dates given by their family.

In the end, I didn't find anyone to affiliate with, so I had to bite the bullet and pay high taxes.

In the past few years, the Zhou family's little wealth has been almost wiped out by high taxes, and life has become worse every year.

After Hou Yao was selected as a scholar, the Zhou family was overjoyed. They had long wanted to talk to this nephew about joining him.

But because Hou Fu was unable to communicate,

Hou Yao never came back. He finally came back, but within two days, he was captured by pirates again.

Until now, the Zhou family has never had a chance to talk about the affiliation.

The older generation of the Zhou family has passed away, and the current generation is headed by two brothers and sisters, Zhou Ming and Zhou Yu.

Zhou Ming actually gave birth to two sons. The eldest, Zhou Sheng, is two years older than Hou Yao. Now he is mainly in charge of the Zhou family's shop.

The wife is the daughter of tailor Zhao's family in the city. They have been married for many years and now have only a four-year-old daughter, Zhou Ping.

The second eldest child, Zhou De, is unmarried and three years younger than Hou Yao. He is a boy student in the county and is only one step away from being admitted as a scholar.

But this step is a bit difficult. He has already failed the exam three times, and the other half of the Zhou family's wealth has been swallowed up by him.

Poor scholars are not just screaming. Scholars who have not passed the examination are real gold-eating beasts.

Paper, pens, ink, inkstones, and books are all expensive.

Especially when you are rushing to take exams, you have to spend a lot of money every time. Ordinary families really can't afford to pay for the students.

Zhou Ming got up early, cleaned up the house, and arranged for the family to start a fire and cook meals.

I prepared a large table of dishes and waited for my nephew and his family to come to visit me for New Year greetings.

I just didn’t expect that their family would arrive relatively late.

It wasn't until Mao that their family came to their sight, and Zhou Ming hurriedly greeted them:

"Sister, nephew, you are finally here, come on, come on, sit down in the room..."