Chapter 144 Ancient Farmer (1) (1/2)

The spring breeze blew on his face, and the peach tree planted in the yard blossomed. Lin Shiheng sat in front of the window, and a pink petal happened to float into the house with the spring breeze.

This picture is beautiful no matter where it is placed, but it's a pity that the original owner doesn't think so.

This peach tree in the yard has been growing since he was born. I don't know since which year it has only blossomed and not borne fruit. For other farmers, it doesn't bear fruit if it doesn't bear fruit. Anyway, they rely mainly on crops rather than fruit trees.

But for the original owner, this peach tree represents himself who has failed in the examinations for the title of scholar and juren.

It bloomed early, but it didn't bear fruit.

Lin Shiheng is now in a place called Linyang Village, and the house he is staying in is the old house of the Lin family.

The Lin family has three sons. The eldest and the second are ordinary farmers. Only the third, the original owner, is loved by his parents because he was born in his old age. He was born with a fair complexion and did not look like someone who could work in the fields to make a living. Because he was born in his old age, Lin's father and mother were afraid that their youngest son would die before he grew up and would be left without support. After thinking it over, they decided to send him to the town to study.

The original owner was really smart and intelligent because his elderly parents held him in their arms and coaxed him when he was a child, saying that he could only live a good life if he studied hard, and he studied very hard.

At the age of thirteen, he passed the examination and became a scholar.

The territory of Ye State is very large, so there are naturally many scholars, including several young ones. When the previous emperor was alive, there was a fourteen-year-old champion.

But in remote areas, scholars as young as this are very rare, especially since he passed the examination on his first try, which is even more rare.

When the news that he passed the examination to become a scholar at the age of thirteen came, it almost shocked the entire Linyang Village. Everyone was saying that the Lin family was lucky and that an official would appear in the future.

The original owner who could become an official in the future was naturally praised to the sky. He had not traveled far, and the teacher who taught him was just an old scholar all his life. He did not know that there were always people better than him. He really believed it when he heard that he was a prodigy that was rarely seen in a thousand years.

Since then, he did not study so hard, but put a lot of effort into himself.

The best pen, ink, paper and inkstone must be used, and the long gown and blue shirt must be spotless. With his good face, he was indeed a beautiful scenery in the gray countryside.

Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful he was, he could not pass the examination without ink.

He took the exam from the age of thirteen to the age of twenty-two. At this age when others had three children, the original owner still did not marry a wife because of the exam.

Of course, it's not that others look down on him. Although he didn't pass the imperial examination, he was still a scholar. If he was willing to give up the imperial examination and go to the town to work as an accountant, or open a school, he would earn more than the farmers who made a living in the fields. Moreover, his face attracted the attention of many girls in the village.

The reason why the original owner didn't get married was because he was unwilling to do so.

He was good-looking and talented, so why should he marry an illiterate country girl? As for the beautiful merchant girls, it's not that no one came to ask when he just passed the imperial examination, but the original owner didn't look down on merchants at that time. He wanted to marry a rich, powerful, and beautiful official girl.

Now that he is old and failed the imperial examination, he wants to marry a merchant girl as a second choice. The merchant is also a smart one. How can he be willing to marry his daughter to a farmer who has failed to pass the imperial examination for nine years?

The girls in the village don't dislike the original owner, but he doesn't like him.

There would have been no problem if he had continued like this, but when he was 22 years old, when his father went out to drive the cart, the cow got frightened for some reason, and he fell off.

Lin's father is now 60 years old. In this era, he is already half a foot in the coffin. He was almost half dead after being thrown down like this. The doctor he invited did not say that he could not be cured, but only said that it would cost a lot of money, and even if he was cured, he could not do hard labor in the future, and could only rest well.

As soon as these words came out, Lin Da and Lin Er were a little hesitant.

They were unwilling to let their father see a doctor. They were all country people, and their family was not very rich. They spent a lot of money on seeing a doctor, but in return they got not a strong laborer but a sickly child, who would have to be taken care of by someone else in the future. There was really no need for this.

Of course, their performance was not obvious, and it was all their wives who showed it. Lin Da and Lin Er just did not stand on the side of their parents when their wives spoke.

But even so, it was enough to chill Lin's mother.

As parents, they worked hard to raise their son, provided them with food and clothing, and helped them start a family. But when their father got into trouble, the son did not want him to live.

What made Lin's mother happy was that her beloved youngest son stood firmly on her side and said that he must let his father see a doctor.

In fact, the original owner was not as filial as Lin's mother thought. He had never worked in the fields since he could remember. He relied on his family for support. His parents gritted their teeth to buy brushes, rice paper, books, clothes, and travel expenses for his exams.

And the eldest and second brothers have always complained about the cost of his studies. If his father really passed away, Lin's mother would be left alone and might not be able to control the first and second wives. Who would support him then?

This farce, which was caused by the need for treatment for Lin's father, ended with the separation of the family.

Lin's mother was disappointed with her two sons, and asked the elders and neighbors of the clan to witness the separation of the Lin family. The first and second houses lived separately, and the two old people lived with the youngest son.

This was something the original owner had not expected.

He just wanted his parents to continue to support him, but he did not expect that the task of supporting his parents, which should have been given to his eldest brother, would fall on his head. He regretted it so much.

Even after Lin's father was cured, he could not do heavy work. Lin's mother had to take care of the fields and her husband. He also had to take care of the housework when he only needed to stay in the room to read. In just a few days, he could no longer maintain his previous noble image and was exhausted.

Finally, when Lin's mother carefully proposed to hire a daughter-in-law to come back and take care of the housework for him, he had to agree reluctantly because he did not want to do housework anymore.

The wife was eighteen years old. The reason why she was still unmarried at the age of eighteen was, firstly, her family was very poor. Although her father was a good man, what was the use of being good? He was poor.

Second, her mother died early. People were afraid to marry a daughter who was not raised by her mother. Moreover, it was said in the village that this girl stopped her father from doing good things, so she must be a bad person. Therefore, some families who were afraid of marrying a bad woman and causing trouble dared not marry her.

Third, because the girl's mother had been married for ten years and passed away with only her as her only child, people were afraid that this girl would be like her mother and could not give birth to a boy.

In short, all these circumstances combined made this eighteen-year-old girl an old maid who could not get married.

The original owner did not want to marry her, but he needed someone to support him, so he married her with a cold face.

It is obvious that he did not like her, and of course he would not give her a good face.

After the girl got married, she worked around the clock almost every day, taking care of the fields, serving her parents-in-law, and providing for her husband. The original owner despised her for being illiterate. Although she was pretty, she was a country girl and didn't care about sex, which made her unhappy for three years after getting married. Finally, the original owner passed the imperial examination and she became pregnant. She thought the hard days were over, but what she got was a divorce letter.

The original owner had disliked this daughter-in-law for a long time. Before, he needed her to provide for him. Even if he disliked her, it was not easy to divorce her. Now that he has obtained the title of a juren, he is once again in the eyes of everyone's envy, and naturally he doesn't want to wrong himself anymore.

He is not stupid. He knows that it is not good to divorce his wife as soon as he passes the imperial examination. In addition, he dislikes the sick father Lin in his heart. After he has a lover outside, he and his lover carefully designed a "daughter-in-law kills father-in-law" case.

Then, he sent his daughter-in-law to jail as he wished, and got rid of the burden of Lin's father.

After that, he never passed the exam again and remarried his former lover, the daughter of a wealthy businessman.

He thought he could enjoy himself in the future, but because his lover's family was rich, she developed a domineering attitude and held the handle that he killed his father and framed his wife. Although she could not have children, she forced him not to take a concubine.

In ancient times, not being able to have your own children was the greatest punishment. The original owner had countless dreams at midnight, regretting that he had framed him despite his wife's pregnancy. If he wanted to frame him, he should have waited until the child was born.

When he was in his forties, he found out that his lover was having an affair, and he was so angry that he had a stroke in his heart. Not long after, he died in pain.

[Ding! This small world mission: Protect Li Lanlan, current completion: 0]

Li Lanlan is the original wife who took care of her husband and parents-in-law for three years with all her heart and soul, but was blamed.

Lin Shiheng was a little surprised, [The original owner didn't seem like someone who would give up his soul to protect someone. ]

[His wish is to kill his wife and her adulterer, and the task of protecting Li Lanlan is issued by the system, and the two cannot be confused. ]

[Okay, I know, you can leave. ]

Another peach blossom floated in with the wind, Lin Shiheng picked up the petals, gently placed them on the table, and stood up again.

An old lady happened to come in with bowls and chopsticks outside, and saw her son standing up, and smiled: "Shiheng finished reading so early today? Come and eat."

Because Lin's father was still recuperating in bed, Lin's mother had to take care of him, and the original owner ate in his own room.

Lin Shiheng took a look at the food she brought over, and saw that it was white flour buns, a bowl of porridge and a few side dishes, and asked: "Mom, what did you and my father eat? This white flour bun is expensive, you can give it to my father, the doctor said he needs to rest well."

Hearing her youngest son's words, Lin's mother's nose was sour.

In fact, she and the old man didn't eat very well, just some porridge. They were old and couldn't bear to eat too well. They gave their sons white flour buns, but they had nothing to eat. When she brought the porridge to their house, she happened to meet the eldest son. Although the family was divided, they still lived in the original house because they had no money to build a house, but they didn't cook together. As a result, the eldest son saw that they didn't eat well and didn't ask a question, which made Lin's mother, who was already heartbroken, very sad.

When the sons were young, they were the two old people who saved money and refused to let their sons down. As a result, when they grew up, they could throw away their own father's life.

They married their two sons and helped them take care of their grandchildren. As a result, they were so impatient to throw them to the third son. How could they not be heartbroken?

Unexpectedly, the youngest son who had never seen what they ate thought of this.

Mother Lin felt a little comforted, thinking that at least there was a filial son, and the smile on her face became happier, "It's okay, mom and dad eat well, studying takes brains, if you eat well, your dad and I will be happy."

"You don't have to eat so well, the situation at home is like this." Lin Shiheng took a bowl of porridge on the plate and put some vegetables in the bowl, "I don't do any physical work every day, eating these is enough, you can eat the rest."

Seeing that Lin's mother wanted to say more, he took the plate with a smile: "It's okay, mom, I'm so old, can I still starve myself? I'll go to the county this afternoon to see if I can find a job copying books. If I do, I can buy good medicine for my father."

Mother Lin's heart, which was hurt by her two sons, softened after her youngest son said these filial words. Her eyes were red, and she wiped them with the corner of her clothes, saying, "Didn't you say before that it was a disgrace for scholars to copy books to make money? My family is not so poor, so don't lose your reputation for the family."

"It's okay, mother."

Of course, the original owner lied to his family that copying books to make money was a disgrace. After all, he just wanted to be supported and didn't want to work so hard to make money.

Lin Shiheng answered directly: "Now that the family is divided, my parents are relying on me alone, and my father is bedridden. As a son, I will be ridiculed if I do nothing. Now, copying books to buy medicine for my father can only benefit my reputation."

Lin's mother breathed a sigh of relief, "Then don't take too many jobs, don't get tired."

"Don't worry, mother, I still have to take care of you and dad. Now that my son has no ability, I will trouble you two to accompany my son to suffer together. In the future, I will make sure that you and my father enjoy happiness in glory and comfort."

These words moved Lin's mother again. While being moved, she thought of the two unfilial sons in the family.

When the family was divided, they didn't say much, but the two daughters-in-law shouted that they were partial to the younger son and loved the younger one. Lin's mother admitted that it was mostly because she felt that the younger son suffered.

She gave birth to the eldest son at the age of 16, and the second son at the age of 18. After that, she did not get pregnant for more than ten years. She and her old man used all the money they had worked hard all their lives to help their two sons get married and start a family.

When they had almost spent all the savings they had saved for their sons, the youngest son came.

The youngest son was born at the age of 37. At that time, the eldest and the second son had become fathers, and the nephew was older than the uncle. There were a lot of children in the family, and they took care of them all together. Naturally, they could not be as careful as the first two.

Later, when the youngest son grew up, she and the old man could not take out the savings for many years to marry him off and have children. The first two older ones had taken advantage, so what was wrong with them loving the younger one a little more?

No matter how much pain she felt in her heart, at least she was impartial on the surface. There was a younger son, and there were older and younger wives. The money for sending the younger son to school was more, but that was also earned by their hard work, and they didn't spend a penny of the older and younger wives' money. If they really had to compare, they spent much more money on the older and younger sons than on the younger son. Why did they resent their parents?

They even resented it so much that they stopped their father from getting medical treatment.

Lin's father was capable. When he was young, he worked as a peddler and saved a fortune. Later, he bought a cow. The family raised pigs, chickens and farmed. On weekdays, he drove a cow cart to transport goods to make money. The money for medical treatment would empty all the savings of the two elders, but it would not affect the older and younger wives. Why did they stop him? It was because they were afraid that all the money would be used to treat their father's illness, and they would not inherit the money when they died in the future.

For money, they didn't want their father anymore.

In fact, if Lin's father was awake at that time, he might not want to treat him. Parents don't want to be a burden to their children, not to mention that he is old enough. But he was not awake at that time. Lin's mother was heartbroken and prepared to not treat him. Then she met the two daughters-in-law who couldn't wait to stand up and express their opinions. She was so angry that she said that he had to be treated.

She thought of the two unfilial sons hiding behind their daughters-in-law and letting them speak up while they kept silent. She shed two more tears, and then thought of the youngest son who didn't want to eat white flour buns and gave them to the two old people, and she felt a little comforted.

The mother was angry. The two ungrateful wolves were unfilial, but she and the old man didn't care!

In the future, she would just think that she had only given birth to Shi Heng as a son and only be his mother!

The more she thought about it, the better her youngest son was. Lin's mother suddenly thought of what she had asked the matchmaker to find out before.

The matchmaker said before, it seems to be the girl from the Li family at the west end of the village, right?

I heard that she is a good worker. She is a little old, but there is nothing to choose from given the family's current situation. It is better to settle down and marry her home as soon as possible. With a wife to take care of her, Shi Heng will not be so tired.

Mother Lin was thinking about something, so she asked her son: "Shi Heng, what do you think of the girl from the Li family? I have seen her several times. She is very pretty and hardworking. She is a perfect match for you."

She thought her son would be a little unhappy, after all, he had always wanted to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official. Unexpectedly, Lin Shi Heng paused slightly, "From the Li family?"

"Okay, then I will trouble you."

His straightforwardness made Lin's mother, who was well prepared, a little confused. She looked up at her son carefully and asked, "Shiheng, mother knows that you have never wanted to marry a girl from the village. This time, your father and I are dragging you down."

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

Lin Shiheng frowned slightly and said softly, "I think husband and wife are one body. You can't marry an illiterate person. There is no such thing as a drag. If the girl from the Li family agrees, I will naturally teach her to read when she enters the house. By then, it will be no different from marrying a girl from an official family."

Lin's mother felt better. She was soft-hearted and always obeyed her husband. The most powerful time in her life was probably the last separation. Now her husband is still lying, so she naturally listens to her son. As soon as Lin Shiheng agreed, she immediately went to the matchmaker's house and asked her to help ask the Li family for their opinions.

If it were someone else's family, the matchmaker's trip would have been in vain. After all, everyone knows the current situation of the Lin family. A poor scholar who failed the exam and is unwilling to do other things to make a living, his brothers don't help him, and he has two sixty-year-old people, one of whom needs medicine to take care of. No family that loves their daughter will marry him.

But the Li family now has only one widower, Li's father. As a man, he doesn't understand those twists and turns. When he heard the matchmaker praise Lin Shiheng to the sky and that he is the only scholar in the village, he was a little moved. In addition, in order to thank the matchmaker for the gift, the matchmaker specifically seized on Li's father's weakness and said that the old man of the Lin family is now bedridden and no one is taking care of him. How much he needs someone, Li's father's heart softened immediately.

He is a kind-hearted person in the village, but also a fool who talks behind the back of gossip. In order to do good deeds, he can endure hunger and have no bedding. Now, in order to do good deeds, he has promised his daughter out.

Even out of consideration for the difficulties of the Lin family, the betrothal gift was only a token of appreciation.

The matchmaker was proud that it was a good marriage, but she was also a little worried that Li Lanlan would regret the marriage when she returned home and found out that her father had "sent her out for good deeds". On the way back, she specially found the villagers to tell them about the happy event of the Lin and Li families getting married. In this way, even if Li Lanlan knew that the Lin family was a pit of fire, she had to jump into it. By the time she got home, the news had spread throughout the village.

Li Lanlan went to work in the fields early in the morning, and was busy until it was almost dark before she went back with farm tools on her back. She made pancakes yesterday for a day's work today, but she found out before she left in the morning that her father had taken the pancakes out and gave them to the man who broke his leg at the end of the village, saying that this man was the only pillar of their family and they were having a hard time, so he helped them.

She almost cried out of anger. That family was having a hard time, so wouldn't their own family have a hard time? There were only two people doing farm work at home. She was a girl with little strength. She finally earned money through hard work, but Li's father gave it away out of pity. Li Lanlan was clearly at home, but she had to hide the money she earned for fear that her father would know. Farm work was tiring, and she made pancakes because she was afraid that she would be too tired to hold on. In the end, Li's father still gave it to others.

Li Lanlan simply couldn't understand why Li's father was willing to give his love to unrelated people, but couldn't understand her.

Because there were no cakes today, she felt dizzy several times. She was not in good spirits when she walked back. Just when she was feeling uncomfortable, a young girl in floral clothes ran over, with a proud look on her face: "Li Lanlan, congratulations, I didn't expect that you could marry a scholar, we are so envious."

She said envy, but her face was full of gloating. Li Lanlan was shocked and almost stopped, "What did you say?"

"Don't you know? Your father promised you to the scholar of the Lin family, the one that just separated. He lives with his parents alone."

Li Lanlan was in no mood to talk to this The girl was fussy, so she hurried home and asked directly: "Dad, are you really going to marry me to the Lin family?"

Father Li was drinking water, and he stood up and laughed after hearing this: "That's right, the Lin family is not doing well now. I heard that the old man is sick and needs someone to take care of him, so he can't spare any time. The scholar of the Lin family is a weak scholar who can't do farm work. The matchmaker came to me, and I thought, isn't this a good thing, so I agreed."

Li Lanlan almost fainted. She had never met Lin Shiheng, but only heard about the situation of the Lin family. People in the village said that it was difficult for the scholar to find a wife. Now that his family was in such a situation, no one dared to marry their daughter there.

This is her father.

Her real father.

The villagers knew that the Lin family was not doing well, so they avoided their daughters and didn't let them go there. But her real father wanted her to marry there, just for his good deed.

Li Lanlan closed her eyes to hide the tears in her eyes. The hope she had for her father gradually cooled down. When she opened her eyes again, she was left with indifference.

"Okay, I'll marry you. You tell them to get married. The sooner the better."

After she got married, she would definitely take care of her husband, serve her parents-in-law, and be a down-to-earth daughter-in-law of the Lin family as Li's father wished.

But in the future, if her father did good things again and left her with nothing to eat or wear, she would not care anymore.