On the fourteenth day of the lunar month, Zhu Jiande, who had turned around the whole north, went from Xi'an along the post road to Yilong County, but he did not enter the city, and walked around the county seat for a while before resting in the town, and got up before dawn the next day, and went to his home more than 40 kilometers away. But when he walked to Maanchang Commercial Town, which was five kilometers away from his home, someone actually recognized him, so the people of the whole commercial town surrounded him.

No one knows where Taiwan is, but Zhu Jiande led the army to snatch Taiwan back from the hands of the Orientals, some villagers who have not seen Zhu Jiande still think that he is eight feet tall and has a face like Zhang Fei, and such a big official returns to his hometown, there will always be the pomp of a big official, I don't want him to return to his hometown with such a person, a bag, and a small half sack.

An old man who was often called his father-in-law by Zhu Jiande eagerly held his hand and said, "Dog baby, wasn't he framed by a traitor?" ”

"Father-in-law, there is no such thing." Zhu Jiande finally understood what these people were worried about, and he had to say in a language they could understand: "It was the emperor who granted me a leave of absence, and asked me to go home for four months to honor my parents, and I had to return to the army in four months." ”

"Good! Good! That's good! The old lady's teeth leaked with wind, his face finally wrinkled into a ball of laughter, his eyes were also smiling, and he said: "Then what about the personal soldiers you killed foreign devils, why don't you bring them back?" ”

"My pro-soldiers......" Zhu Jiande shook his head again, he couldn't explain the discipline of the Fuxing Army to them, he only said: "I let them go home for the New Year, and I'm afraid of disturbing everyone if I bring them back." ”

"Good! Good! That's good! The old lady hurriedly said to the men, women and children around: "You don't kowtow to the adults yet......

Saddle Farm gathers twice a month, and I wanted to buy some gifts for my family again, but it was such a scene. Zhu Jiande hurriedly stopped everyone who was about to kneel down and kowtow, and after helping the old lady back to the house, he went straight home. Hometown timidity. Before he reached the Great Bay, he ran to the brook that had not frozen through. I opened the ice and got some water to wash my face, and then cleaned the slush from my boots, and then made a training uniform, and the whole military backpack and the half bag of coconuts.

After being completely sure that he met the military etiquette, he picked up his bag and walked forward. Far away, after the Lying Dog Mountain, where he used to stay as a child, he saw his own house on the east side—unlike before, the outer wall of the dry base was now covered with a layer of green bricks, and the courtyard wall had been rebuilt once. Although it was covered with straw, it was new; There is also a wing house that was originally covered with straw, but now it has also been replaced with the same earthen tiles as the main house; The courtyard gate has also changed, and the old wooden door has been replaced by a large wooden door that is open to the other; And the family, afraid that they had already received the news, were waiting for him in two lines at the gate of the courtyard in new clothes.

Suddenly, Zhu Jiande's joy of going home suddenly dissipated without a trace, and he remembered the scene when he came home from Chengdu seven years ago: because he was a showman, because he became a first-class person. So when he came home, the family put on their best clothes, lined up in two rows and waited for him, and bowed to him. Even the uncle who raised him did not dare to treat him as a son, and asked him to sit in the place where his grandmother often sits. And he, like the rest of the family, spoke to him in the most polite and respectful terms—the phrases that the poor are accustomed to dealing with the rich and powerful. The house where he lived was the cleanest and the meals were specialized. also specially lit a vegetable oil lamp for him......

The memory of eight years ago instantly filled Zhu Jiande's mind, that time he was ashamed, because he spent all his family's money on studying, and after graduation, he was only a physical education teacher in the county, but even then, he was still angry at his family's behavior; Now, when he thought that his fortune would be a relief to his mother, who had cried and swollen eyes, to learn that he was just a physical education teacher, they had received him with the same courtesy as adults had done last time, which he could not accept, even in the army, and the soldiers regarded him as a brother rather than a commander.

Across the short field, looking at the family members standing in two lines at the gate of the courtyard with proud and happy looks, Zhu Jiande suddenly stopped, and then sat on the field - he didn't want to go home as an adult, he would always be their son.

The son of a big official did not enter the house, and suddenly sat down on the field less than 100 meters away from home, and the hearts of the people at the gate of the courtyard suddenly rose, and everyone was surprised, and Zhu Shilian, the head of the whole family, said: "Hey! The Jade Tier doesn't like this, so you all go in. ”

"That ......" Zhu Shilin was very uneasy, although he was his biological father, he was not liked by Zhu Jiande because of his bad temper, and now his son has passed on to the eldest brother who has no children.

"I'll go over and persuade him." Zhu Shilian smiled bitterly and said that this greeting was also organized by him as it was a few years ago. The difference is that this time it was Yujie who deceived everyone, making everyone think that he could be an official instead of being a physical education teacher, but this time he was really a big official - with the thirty taels of silver that Yujie remitted back every month, Zhu Shilian had specially inquired about it, and knew that this was an official who was higher than the prefect. The prefect is a fifth-rank official, so the official rank of the jade rank must be the fourth-rank or from the fourth-rank rank.

"Jade Steps, go back." After the family retreated into the courtyard, Zhu Shilian walked to Zhu Jiande's side, he wanted to salute but he was afraid that he would be angry and he didn't dare, so he could only persuade him out loud.

"Okay." Zhu Jiande watched his family retreat to the courtyard, and his mood suddenly improved. He extinguished the cigarette, but after getting up, he asked Zhu Shilian to go first, and Zhu Shilian saw that he insisted on doing this, so he could only go first. In order to avoid the embarrassment of the paragraph just now, Zhu Shilian nagged: "Dai Li was called by the military support office in the county, saying that he wanted to welcome you, didn't you meet them?" ”

"Supporting the military office?" Zhu Jiande walked behind Zhu Shilian, looking at his rickety back and gray sideburns, he couldn't help but feel distressed, and deeply regretted what he had just done. He was stunned here, knowing that he had not returned home and did not know the situation, Zhu Shilian said, "It is the yamen under the county government, saying that it is dedicated to taking care of military families and martyrs, and they will bring a few catties of pork, half a piece of cloth or something, and come to the door to condole." ”

"Oh." Zhu Jiande went directly to Jiangxi from Yunnan that year and did not return home at all. He was a little surprised when he heard the pork and cloth, and when he thought of his official position, he said, "Is it everyone's got it?" ”

"Yes, as long as you are a soldier. If there are more martyrs, I heard that there are still ...... in a year" Zhu Shilian suddenly thought that it was really unlucky for him to mention the martyrs. immediately changed his words: "Dai Li is also an official in the township now, and he is familiar with the old men in the county government." The master of the military office also knew that you were coming back, so he asked him to go with him to meet you. ”

Dai Li is the big brother. Zhu Jiande is the third brother, and there is an older sister on it. When he went to private school, Dai Li was smarter than his second brother Dai Fen, but he was too old and his family was poor, so he went back to farming not long after studying. didn't expect the eldest brother to be an official in the township, Zhu Jiande said with a smile: "I'm afraid that the eldest brother can't recognize all the words, right?" Is the county government a ...... of preferential treatment for military families?"

"He knows how to read in the peasant association, and with a foundation, he is better than others. He was recommended by the Military Support Office, "Zhu Shilian entered the courtyard gate and reflexively beckoned Zhu Jiande to enter the door, and wanted to help him carry the sack, but Zhu Jiande stopped him. "The officials in the township can't do it, the scholars in the city can't do it, the generation is smart, and the place is familiar, and they were selected after the exam." He couldn't help but laugh when he said this, and said with great joy, "It's better to be the new emperor." Both of you brothers are promising. ”

Zhu Jiande could feel the joy of his adoptive father, and he helped him into the main room under the attention of the whole family in the courtyard, and unlike the last time, he did not sit at the top of the Eight Immortals table. Instead, sit in the lower seat. Grandma, mother, sister, sister, and niece, except for grandma sitting on the top of the table of the eight immortals. The other women were all standing in the outermost circle, but they all looked at him with joy. The eyes are full of pride; And the father, the uncle. The second brother, younger brother and nephews looked at him happily but a little in awe. Everyone couldn't recognize the rank, and they didn't know what language to call him, whether he should be called an adult or a general...... so there was inexplicable silence in the main room.

"I..." Zhu Jiande didn't know what to say, but as soon as he said a 'me', the family all listened attentively, and he could only continue: "I...... I wanted to buy something for my family at Saddle Yard, but there were so many people that I didn't buy anything. ”

"Flutter", a nephew who was just in the saddle field and watched him surrounded by everyone couldn't help laughing, he thought at first that Zhu Jiande was demoted by the imperial court, and later learned that it was the emperor who allowed him to go home on leave to honor his parents, so he hurriedly ran home to inform the adults, and as soon as he did it, he said and laughed and cleaned up the whole house. Now he listened to Zhu Jiande mention the saddle field, and when he thought of the scene at that time, he couldn't help but laugh again.

"No rules!" A small cheer scared the child, this is one of Zhu Jiande's uncles.

"Drink tea, drink tea." Parent Zhu Shilian saw that Zhu Jiande was a stuffy gourd, so he had to take the initiative to greet him for tea, and he took advantage of his kung fu to think of the topic and greet him, "How long will Yujie stay at home this time?" ”

"There are four and a half months off," Zhu Jiande said, "starting from the ninth day of November, and I will go back on February 24." After he finished speaking, he remembered that he took the train and did the wrong way, and said ashamedly: "I could have come back early, but when I came back, because of a colleague, I went to Shandong once, and then I took the wrong train to the capital......

Shandong is not known to everyone present, but everyone in the capital knows, and when he said this, his eyes were even more in awe of him. However, Zhu Jiande didn't notice it, and several voices shouted outside: "Jade Steps... Brother Jade Rank ......"

Zhu Jiande heard that it was the voice of the eldest brother, as well as the voice of Liu Shouchuan, a former colleague from the new school in the county, and he immediately got up and walked out of the main room. On the field outside the courtyard, Zhu Daili, Liu Shouchuan, two soldiers in military uniforms and two porters were coming towards the courtyard gate. Zhu Daili is wearing a nine-grade official robe, looking forward to brilliance, and his legs and feet are very capable; And Liu Shouchuan, who was wearing a brocade cloth jacket, had a round face, riding on a donkey, obviously fat, and the two soldiers at the back, the right hand in the captain's uniform was crippled, and the other was a private.

After holding hands with Dai Li and Liu Shouchuan, who were running the most intimately, the lieutenant saluted with his left hand and said, "Lieutenant Tian Siwei of the Military Support Office has seen the chief. Tian Siwei saluted him, and the private who came with him also saluted him, but Zhu Jiande didn't hear clearly what that person's name was for a while.

"You're welcome!" Zhu Jiande solemnly saluted Tian Siwei, he finally understood at this time where the soldiers of the army who could not return from their injuries went. "Please sit inside, both of you."

"No, I don't think so." Zhu Jiande was solemn to Tian Siwei, but Tian Siwei respected Zhu Jiande, and any soldier can know what kind of meritorious feat it is to recover Taiwan. "The chief has just arrived home, and the lower official will stop nagging." He didn't wait for Zhu Jiande to be polite, and said: "Xiaguan brought a New Year's gift today, as well as an admission letter from the Beijing Army University......

The annual gift is given to every officer and soldier of the Renaissance Army, and as is customary, a royal reward, and the admission letter of the Army University. But Zhu Jiande held his breath, he remembered that he had mailed the exam after conquering Taiwan. I didn't want to be admitted......

"Please take the salute in formal attire." Tian Siwei Dao. The royal annual rite of the officers is unique and in accordance with the requirements of the General Politics. If the officer personally accepts the New Year's gift, it must be accepted in formal attire to show his solemnity.

"Okay, please wait." After welcoming Tian Siwei and the others into the main room, Zhu Jiande hurriedly washed his face and body, and when his whole body was clean, he changed into the military dress that he was reluctant to wear, and also wore the silver officer's long sword unique to the colonel. Such a dazzling outfit, when he walked out of the inner room. It only made all the people stunned, they had never seen such a mighty military uniform, nor had they seen such a mighty and handsome Zhu Jiande.

"Please take the salute, sir." Tian Siwei looked at the medal on Zhu Jiande's chest with envy, and said a word, and when he saw Zhu Jiande bowing respectfully, he said: "This New Year's gift is extraordinary. There are: a pair of the word 'spring' written by His Majesty, a pair of Furu Donghai Gate Lian, a string of canaan prayer beads in Tanzhe Temple, two classics in the imperial palace, a pair of imperial inkstones, two boxes of imperial emblem ink, two pieces of Fushou Mianchang palace silk, two horses of rich Changchun palace satin, a pair of imperial vases made in Jingdezhen official kiln, and ten bags of imperial dried fruits in the palace. There are also ......"

Tian Siwei didn't quite understand what it was in the end, so he had to read it word by word: "Sulfur... Sour... Ammonia. God gained two hundred pounds. This is to be picked up in the county seat after five days. ”

Tian Siwei started with a 'Majesty' that scared Zhu Shilian and them into wanting to kneel, but this was stopped by Zhu Jiande waving his hand, and the new dynasty abolished kneeling, at most bowing. However, Zhu Jiande was also taken aback by the words 'His Majesty's own hands'. This is something he didn't have before.

When Tian Siwei read the gift list, the soldiers put the gifts they read to Zhu Jiande, except for the word 'spring', and put them on the table of the Eight Immortals in the main room. By the time they were all finished, the table of the Eight Immortals was already full of things. And wait for him to go. The gang looked at the pile and looked stupid. The annual gifts given to officers, officials, soldiers, and teachers are all the beginning of the imperial system. But this thing is only the quality system certification promoted by the Ministry of Industry - the product under the Royal Imperial Certification, although the quality is better than ordinary goods, but it is not very valuable, but Zhu Kuanji's handwriting is rare. In fact, this is because Zhu Jiande recovered Taiwan, and the level of the gift has been mentioned to the rank of major general.

"It's better to take it and put it away." Zhu Jiande said to Zhu Shilian, and then put the pair of words in his hand on the shrine, and bowed before turning around and beckoning Liu Shouchuan to sit down.

"Jade... Stairs... Brother Yujie, you, how many grades do you have in this official position? Liu Shouchuan was a little stammered, he was a teacher and had New Year's gifts, but they were all small imperial objects, there was no palace silk and palace satin, and there was no 'spring' word given by the emperor's novices, and there was no handwriting from the prime minister and Cai Shangshu.

"I ...... I don't know. Zhu Jiande said, in fact, as usual, the brigade commander should be with the rank of major general, but he and Lu Wan were promoted too quickly, only the rank of colonel, but they got the brigade commander's official salary, I really don't know how many grades it is. He couldn't talk about this thing that he didn't even know about, so he asked, "Is Shouchuan School good?" ”

"Academy? The school is very good," Liu Shouchuan said with a smile, he was very happy, but seeing Zhu Jiande's shiny military uniform restrained this joy again: "It's a middle school now, and the school department said that from next year, the imperial court will popularize primary education, and all dolls can go to school for free, which is much better than before." ”

"Universal primary school? Are you sure? Zhu Jiande was a little excited, the money he used to go to school was saved by his family from between his teeth, but now he doesn't want to go to school for free.

"Of course it's true." Liu Shouchuan also has an identity as a deputy clerk of the Yilong County Education Office, and he is also an official, "When the Inspectorate is closed and adjourned in a few days, the prime minister will make next year's government work report, which will definitely mention that starting next year, except for the Western Regions, Mongolia and Tibet, all other provinces will popularize primary education." The enrollment of those middle schools, technical schools, and university halls should also be expanded, and the current dolls, as long as they can be admitted, they are all free, which is really ......" Liu Shouchuan shook and exclaimed: "Some people say that the new dynasty is not good, I think they are all blind, can there be such a good thing in the Manchu Dynasty." ”

Liu Shouchuan was obviously on the side of the government, Zhu Jiande thought of hearing the curses of those people on the road who were dissatisfied with the government's land reform policy, and couldn't help but look at Zhu Shilian, "Na Ding......"

Zhu Jiande wanted to say the real name of King Ding Yan, but he couldn't remember what his name was, fortunately Zhu Shilian knew who he was talking about, and said a little silently: "The land reform yamen sentenced Master Ding's land to be expropriated at a fifty percentage, and Master Ding couldn't think about it, so he ... He hanged himself......"

"Ah..." Zhu Jiande couldn't help but sigh, he remembered that on the night of the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve nine years ago, the butler of the Ding family came to force the family to raise the rent, and his uncle pleaded several times, and finally King Ding Yan only raised the rent of half of the field, and half of the land did not increase the rent, so in the end, the family could only split up overnight and return the half of the land that had increased in price. This incident made Zhu Jiande hold a grudge for life, but he didn't want the death of King Ding Yan to make him feel a little sad in his heart. "Why do people care so much about things outside of their bodies?" He sighed.

"King Dingyan's temperament of treating wealth as his life, even if he collects the full amount, he will hang himself." Township cadre Zhu Daili said. "The field is the root of his people's life, two years ago the cultivated land was collected under the management of the rental stack company, and he made trouble for more than half a year when the landlord was asked to reduce the rent, and now he hears the land resumption, and the trouble is even more serious, it is estimated that no one can come forward to say the item, and he will ...... if he can't think of it."

"Don't talk about that." Always said that dead people were unlucky, Zhu Shilian had to interrupt: "Are you going to go to school in the capital in the future?" ”

"Hmm." Zhu Jiande nodded, he was still holding the admission letter of Lu University in his hand, which was a hard-won thing, especially for him, an officer who had not attended a regular military academy and had only been in actual combat. He knew that if he entered Lujia University for further study, he would inevitably be awarded the rank of major general after he came out. He used to think that he would have to be at least thirty years old to cross that step with his background and qualifications, and he didn't want to be able to pass at the age of thirty, which was really unexpected.

"The ...... of Yunnan What to do? Zhu Shilian asked, Zhu Jiande got married in a hurry in Kunming two years ago, and the family had no preparations at all, and he didn't see his daughter-in-law's face.

"I'll pick her up in Kunming in the next year." Zhu Jiande said, "Since I have been admitted to Lujia University, there should be someone from the original army to take over my position, and Lujia University will open in the fall, and I will probably have several months off." ”

Zhu Jiande said this, and suddenly heard the crying of his mother next door, he looked around a few times, and then glanced at Zhu Shilian before getting up and walking to the wing. The room that was supposed to be cleaned up for him is now filled with royal gifts. The woman who had never seen the world was not curious about those palace silks and palace satins, and after opening them, they touched Zhong's eyes and turned red. Today's scene is no less than Zhu Jiande winning the championship for the Zhu family, and the hard life of the whole family is finally coming to an end.

That time I heard that Zhu Jiande couldn't be an official just a physical education teacher, Zhong Shi cried, and now seeing that Zhu Jiande is really an official, Zhong also cried, Zhu Jiande stood at the door and looked at his grandmother and mother and said: "Grandma, mother, you are ......" Zhu Jiande came in, and the other people in the house hurriedly retreated, he looked at his mother and grandmother in new clothes that did not fit well, and he was leaning on the bedside to touch tears.

"I'm fine, I'm happy to ......, the dog baby is a big official, my mother is happy, and my grandmother is happy." Zhong looked at him, but as soon as he said that he was happy, the tears fell down again, and he couldn't stop it.

Seeing his mother crying, the corners of Zhu Jiande's eyes were also wet, he would be able to be a general in a few years, if he used to think like this, it would be a dream, but when he thought that in order to study for himself, the family saved food and clothing, and his adoptive father even sent him the money to redeem the ancestral house, and borrowed more than 10,000 yuan outside, he, the general, was afraid that in addition to God's favor, he would still be pulled out of his family's mouth.

I didn't know how to persuade him, Zhu Jiande looked at the sack containing the coconut on the table, and immediately grabbed two and said: "Grandma, mother, eat a coconut, this is the fruit that grows on the tree by the sea, it is very sweet." ”

Zhu Jiande was opening a coconut in the wing room, and Liu Shouchuan in the main room outside thought about the long string of New Year's gifts and asked Zhu Daili, "What is that sulfur ammonia fertilizer?" Is it fat? ”

"Fat, of course. However, I heard from the agricultural technician that it is very godly fat, and the fertility is four times that of soybean cake. Use it well, one pound of divine fat for five or six pounds of grain. In the past, it was said that the technology was not yet mature, and it would take several years before it could be used, but I didn't want to have it now. Zhu Daili said. He's actually hearsay, too. (To be continued......)