Qin Official

"I got here first!"

The nephew, who was holding Heifu's left leg, laughed, his teeth gaping in his mouth and his speech was a bit slurred.

"Father Zhong, brother, he bullied me."

The little niece pouted her little mouth and started to show off her special skills: complaining. She just spoke in a sweet voice, but to her ears, it sounded like coquettishness.

She has dark hair, a small red mole on her eyebrow, and her fleshy cheeks are pouty. She is very cute. Although the husband's family is not very wealthy, her mother, as a grandmother, would rather eat less, but she must let others eat less. The two children were well fed. His family is not the poorest. As long as they do not encounter epidemics or famines and live frugally, their children will be able to thrive.

"Yang, you are the elder brother, so you have to give in to Yue more."

Heifu knelt down and used his sleeve to help Yang wipe away the snot that was about to flow into his mouth. He patted his niece's little head with his other hand and couldn't help pinching her fleshy cheeks. In front of him, he was a kind elder.

"Go wash your hands, I've brought you something good."

Yang and Yue looked at each other and ran away. This was Zhong's father's quirk in the past few months. Every time he ate, he would urge the two of them to wash their hands first. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but they gradually got used to it. Especially Yue, she gradually felt that her white little hands were quite comfortable after being washed, and she actually began to dislike the dirty hands of the girl next door she was playing with.

What Heifu brought back to them was the favorite sweet of children in this era: caramel. This is food made from fermented grains such as wheat. The liquid one is the maltose that is often eaten by later generations. The one Heifu bought at the county fair is a relatively hard white maltose made from millet. It has a light sweetness after drying and is quite fragrant, but it is a bit sticky to the teeth.

"Thank you very much, Father Zhong!"

After the two children ran away giggling with candy in their hands, Heifu passed by the cook again and said hello to his sister-in-law who was cooking. Then he walked up the steps and entered the main house. There was a man with gray hair in Jingchai sarong. The old woman is sitting under the tile eaves, lowering her head to weave things with strips...

Her complexion is yellow, and her appearance does not look very old, but her hair is more black than white, her body is not very healthy, and her demeanor is also somewhat declining, as if she is recovering from a serious illness.

"Mom, my son is back."

Heifu knelt down and bowed to the ground. It seemed that the eldest brother was right. Because of his incident, his mother became seriously ill.

"You still know how to come back."

The mother knew that he was back, but she just sent her youngest son to pick him up, and didn't go out to greet him just now. She still had a straight face at this moment, and she didn't know who she was angry with.

Of course Heifu knew what was going on, so he leaned over and said with a flattering smile: "Are you weaving a bamboo sieve again? It's such a winter, what should I do if my hand is cut, let my son do it..." He said Then he went to take over the bamboo strips.

But his mother lightly hit the back of his hand with a bamboo stick and scolded: "Among the three brothers, you are the most clumsy. The sieve you made can leak through not only rice but also stones! I don't want it!" "

Heifu had no choice but to retract his hand and looked at his elder brother who was collecting fish in the yard, but his elder brother just smiled and shook his head at him.

Sure enough, after a while, the mother finally couldn't help but said: "Which hand was injured when you fought with the thief?"

"The right hand." Hei Fu said hurriedly: "It's a small injury, it doesn't matter."

"Small injury? Let me see."

Heifu had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and show off the almost healed wound.

Mother touched the slender and ferocious scar, feeling a little distressed, and sighed: "What did I say when I sent you out? Don't be impulsive when things happen, let alone fight with others, let alone that. He is a ferocious thief. When your uncle came back and told the story, others praised you for your ability to fight one against three and your skill in grabbing a sword with bare hands, but I was so frightened that my heart almost jumped out. You said that if the thief's sword was more accurate, If you do this, your hand will be useless, and your life may not be saved! Are you trying to make the old woman angry? "

After poking Heifu's head hard with his finger, the old man stopped weaving a bamboo sieve and began to wipe away tears.

Her husband passed away a few years ago, and the eldest son injured his leg on the battlefield the year before last. It was difficult to work in the fields, and the third son was young and ignorant. If her second son, who is usually the most stable, behaves badly again, she really doesn't know what to do.

"Mom, isn't Mr. Hei doing well? It's all over."

Zhong hurriedly came over to comfort his mother, while Hei Fu also beat his back and pinched his legs, and said all the good things, which finally made the old man no longer sad.

"It's fine if nothing happens. You have won the title of Duke, and it will bring glory to your family. When I walk in the house and hear people praising my son, my face will be shining."

My mother is such a person. She can't hold back her tears when she should be sad, but after a while, when the sadness is over, she stands up again and does what she needs to do. In Heifu's memory, whether his father passed away or his eldest brother was carried home dripping with blood, the old lady took care of it through gritted teeth and maintained the family.

At this time, the old man started chattering again, patted Heifu's hand and said: "The sheepskin jacket you asked Zhong to buy is quite warm, but I am so old that I don't need to spend any more money. I don't have any money." I put a penny under the bed and saved it for you. In two years, Jing will be an adult. I discussed with your uncle that we should let you live separately. Naturally, the house must be built first. "

Unlike later generations, family separation in this era was inevitable. During Shang Yang's reform, in order to collect more taxes, he stipulated that "if a citizen has two or more males who are not different from each other, their tax will be doubled"! So in the Qin State, the once large clan families were broken up into small farmers' families of five to eight people.

There are currently seven people in their family, including three brothers. When Jing reaches adulthood, one of them must leave the family.

Shocked by his temper, I don't know if I can survive if I separate and live alone. My mother must be worried, so it's better to stay by her side and watch. But Zhong is married, has a pair of children, and is still responsible for taking care of his mother. Now that Hei Fu has become a public servant and has been assigned a homestead, the best way is naturally for him to get it out, and Hei Fu has no objection to this.

But he had a lot of opinions about what happened next...

But I heard my mother say again: "You will be 18 after the winter solstice. Now that you are a civil servant, it is time to talk about a marriage. I am planning to go to Banli to talk to your aunt about this matter in a few days. See if there is a suitable woman..."

Heifu couldn't laugh or cry. His eldest aunt knew "Rishu" and loved to match people. She was a bit like a matchmaker in later generations. The eldest aunt's greatest achievement was to help her eldest brother marry his eldest sister-in-law, and she also arranged for the marriage of the black husband and Jing's wife.

But Mr. Hei has no plans to do so now, and based on his aesthetics as a descendant, even if he wants to marry a wife, she must be a beautiful and fair-skinned lady, and he can't just find a crooked second-hand girl from the neighboring village. .

So Heifu hurriedly said: "Mom, let's talk about this slowly. I will come back today and I have one more important matter to discuss with my mother and my uncle!"

The mother stopped talking, Zhong put down her work, and Lian Jing poked her head out of the kitchen to look at him.

Hei Fu smiled and said, "Mom, because I captured the thief and won the first place in the military drill, the county right lieutenant admired me very much, so he asked the county to recruit me and let me be the head of Huyang Pavilion! If you can pass the assessment, you can take up the post next month!"

"Taiwan Chief!"

As soon as he said this, Zhong opened his eyes wide in shock and joy, and laughed out loud in surprise, but his mother's face showed a mixture of joy and sorrow...

…

Early the next morning, Heifu was awakened by the crisp sound of pounding rice...

Although the couch at home was made of rice straw, it was warmer and softer than outside. He slept very soundly and peacefully last night. The days when the family was harmonious, although a bit bitter, were the most comfortable.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

I took a look and saw that it was still dark, and the sound of pounding rice came from outside again. It was solid, powerful, and rhythmic, penetrating the hazy morning light, rising and falling inside.

This is the village life that Heifu has long been accustomed to.

He closed his eyes and listened to these voices, but suddenly his heart moved and he wanted to turn over and lie down.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I turned around, I found that the person sleeping on the opposite couch had already woken up and was now kneeling in front of Mr. Hei's couch, looking at him with gleaming eyes!

"What?"

Heifu was startled by this kid.

"Brother Zhong!"

His eyes were bloodshot in shock, but his eyes were bright. He said that he might not have been too excited to fall asleep last night. He couldn't help but made a big salute to Hei Fu, and then implored earnestly:

"If you want to be the director of Huyang Pavilion, take me with you!"