The happy little days of the Ye family

The back room was very empty, with nothing else except a big bed and a set of tables and chairs.

After Mrs. Ye knocked on the surrounding walls and the stone slabs on the ground, she also checked the windows carefully, but still found nothing.

I was about to give up and planned to go to the outhouse to take a look. Unexpectedly, I found a jade ring under the screen where the inner room and the outhouse met.

The old lady Jade Leaf didn't understand, but the jade ring finger was crystal clear and looked pretty good.

Thinking of the last time the jade pendant was sold for 20 taels of silver in a pawn shop, Mrs. Ye thought that this jade ring should also be sold for 20 taels of silver.

Mrs. Ye's face almost burst into laughter. She held the jade ring and looked at it carefully in the sun through the window.

Unexpectedly, when I looked at it, I found a small crack on the jade ring finger.

"How come there are cracks in a good jade ring? I wonder if the pawn shop will accept it?"

The 20 taels of silver that were immediately available just slipped away, and Mrs. Ye was very upset.

Even though there were cracks on the jade ring, Mrs. Ye still carefully put it into her purse.

Although there are cracks, the material looks good at first glance, and maybe it can be sold for a few taels of silver.

Mrs. Ye is not greedy either, she is satisfied with selling for a few taels of silver.

The outer room is about the same size as the inner room, with a small desk and a small bookshelf on the left.

Wang Chunyu knew a lot about wood. He could tell at a glance that the wood for desks and bookshelves was not cheap, but it looked a little old.

There is a rather elegant small table on the right, and there is a broken teacup on the table.

Ye Donglin and Wang Chunyu, one came to the bookshelf, and the other came to the desk.

The bookshelf is not big, just as tall as Ye Donglin and as wide as the desk.

At first glance, there was nothing on the bookshelf, but Ye Donglin did not give up and looked carefully in every crevice, not missing any corner.

After checking the bookshelf, Ye Donglin even moved the desk to another place.

The empty desk was not heavy, so Ye Donglin moved the desk easily. After the bookshelf was moved, Ye Xilin found a scattered book in the corner.

Ye Donglin took the book excitedly, but was disappointed to find that it was a book called "Hundred Family Surnames" for enlightenment. He flipped through the book but found nothing else.

I also have "Hundred Family Surnames" at home. Ye Donglin bought a copy when he was studying in school.

Later, when Ye Donglin grew up, the book was given to Ye Xilin. Ye Xilin didn't like reading, so the book is still in very good condition, as good as new.

However, Ye Donglin didn't mind it and carefully wiped the dust off the book.

Holding the book, Wang Chunyu turned around and said to Wang Chunyu behind him: "When Xiaoqi grows up, it can be used to enlighten the little guy."

"Okay."

At this time, Wang Chunyu happened to find a small wooden box on the desk.

There was nothing on the desk, and it was covered with dust. But there are two large drawers under the table.

The first drawer contained only a few yellowed blank rice papers. And there was actually a small square wooden box in the second drawer.

Wang Chunyu was particularly excited when he saw the small wooden box. His heartbeat accelerated and his palms became sweaty.

Wang Chunyu carefully opened the box and found several books inside.

Wang Chunyu had learned some Chinese characters from Ye Donglin and barely recognized these books as: "Great Learning", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean".

These books are not those used by the Ye family for enlightenment, and there are dense explanations and notes written in them.

Wang Chunyu had never been to the school and didn't know that the books inside were for scientific examinations.

But looking at the dense explanations written in them, I know that these books are definitely not simple.

"My lord, my lord, come here quickly." Wang Chunyu excitedly called Ye Donglin over.

At this time, Ye Donglin was tapping on the wall where the bookshelf was originally placed, trying to find the secret room or hidden compartment.

Hearing Wang Chunyu's voice, Ye Donglin turned around excitedly.

"Madam, you are very lucky. "The Great Learning", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" are a complete set of four books. They are all books used in scientific examinations."

Hearing Ye Donglin's words, Wang Chunyu became even more happy. He quickly opened the book and happily let him read the explanations and notes above.

"There are many explanations and explanations in the book. Mr. Xiao passed the Tongsheng examination, so the explanations in it must be good stuff."

Wang Chunyu read the explanation in the book and thought of Xiaoqi at home. He was even more excited than finding the silver.

The two rummaged through the four books again, and even looked at the box carefully, but found nothing else.

The two then turned their attention to the table and under the table.

After taking out the box, Ye Donglin found a half-worn brush in the innermost part of the drawer.

Ye Donglin took a look and found that this brush was much better than the one he used before, and it was still good enough to continue to be used.

Wang Chunyu got under the table and rummaged around, but unfortunately he only found a few crumpled pieces of waste paper.

Wang Chunyu took out all the waste paper and opened it and found that she didn't recognize most of the characters written inside.

I had to put it on the table first and let others see it later to see if there was any useful information on it.

Father Ye and Mother Ye on the other side have already rummaged through the small tables and chairs. Not to mention the gaps, Father Ye even moved them all, but still found nothing.

The two of them also followed Ye Donglin's example and knocked on the surrounding walls and stone slabs. Unfortunately, the secret room that everyone was dreaming about still did not appear.

Finally, Mother Ye focused on the screen at the intersection of the inner room and the outer room. The screen was folded and placed casually in the corner.

Ye Mu opened the screen and found that it was composed of 6 small screens. Each small screen was a piece of exquisite embroidery.

The wooden part of the screen also has beautiful carvings on it.

Mother Ye had seen this screen at Lijia Embroidery Workshop, and heard it cost 150 taels of silver.

It's a pity that such a beautiful screen was seriously damaged. The two small screens in front had some stains on them, and one was scratched, with a palm-long mark.

Moreover, the silk on this screen was not properly kept and is now yellowed.

It was precisely because the screen was seriously damaged that Mr. Xiao did not sell the screen.

The embroidery on the screen has been damaged, but the frame of the screen is still intact, the carvings on it are still very exquisite, and the wood looks quite new.

Mother Ye had an idea in her mind, "If we replace the embroidery on the screen, it would probably be worth a lot of money."

Compared to the silver notes that Ye Xilin found and the jade finger that Mrs. Ye found, the progress of the others in the outer room was slower.

Only Wang Chunyu found a set of four books with explanations, and everyone else gained nothing.

When Mr. Ye saw the four books that Wang Chunyu found, he was so happy that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear.

"You really bought this house right. These books for scientific examinations also contain the notes of Mr. Xiao who has passed the Tongsheng examination. This is a good sign."

As for Ye Xilin, he was proudly laughing at Ye's father and Ye Donglin.

"Hahaha, you have already said that you still have to look at me, but you can't do it."

Then he was held down and beaten by the angry father Ye and Ye Donglin.

Old Mrs. Ye on the side also gloated: "You deserve it, you have a bad mouth."

However, the father and son didn't mess around for long, and they were immediately rushed to the big study next door by Mrs. Ye to search.