dognovel Chapter 1012: The Man Comes Riding on a Bamboo Horse (1)
Chapter 1012: The Man Comes Riding on a Bamboo Horse (1)
Ning Yun, the youngest girl in the Ning family, has been very troubled these past two days.
Because Xiao Jianlu, the only son of the Xiao family, who had agreed to come to propose marriage in the next few days, did not show up at the agreed time.
Ning Yun's brother Ning Xiu went to the Xiao family to ask, and the Xiao family said that the other party was currently preparing for the examination for the scholar degree, and the marriage would have to wait a while.
The Ning family and the Xiao family are fellow villagers and used to be neighbors.
More than ten years ago, a drought struck the area where the Ning and Xiao families lived, so the two families fled together to Yanzhou City and have settled there ever since.
When Ning Xiu got home from work, he saw his sister standing in a daze in the yard, and he couldn't help feeling a little distressed.
"Sese, look what your brother brought you!" Ning Xiu took out a small cloth bag from his arms, "Come and take a look, you should like this."
When the small red cloth bag was opened, inside was a pair of hairpins. They didn't look very expensive, but they were exquisite and very suitable for young women to wear.
The comb teeth of the hairpin are made of brass, and the decorative part is made into the shape of tree branches. Several long and short silver chains hang from the branches, and broken jades of different colors are hanging at the bottom of the chains.
This hairpin may not look valuable, but it is exquisitely made.
It may not suit the tastes of some ladies from wealthy families, but it makes a beautiful girl like Ning Yun so happy that she can't take her eyes off it.
Seeing his sister's delighted expression, Ning Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, remembering his sister's frugal nature, he explained, "Sese, this golden color is brass, and the broken jade is the material for apprentices to practice in the workshop. I bought it with my wages.
The hairpin is not worth much, wear it as soon as possible, if you like it, I will make it for you next time."
The Ning family father and son were craftsmen at Jiuhualou, the largest gold and silver shop in Yanzhou Prefecture.
Their Ning family has an ancestral jade inlay craft. Although Ning Xiu is only sixteen years old, he is already a craftsman because of his family's long history.
Compared to those who are still apprentices in their teens, he is quite outstanding.
Ning Xiu was still very content as long as he could make a living based on his ability.
Ning Yun looked at her brother trying so carefully to please her and sighed softly, "Brother, you don't have to be like this. Even if you hadn't fought with Xiao Jianlu at the Xiao family that day, he would have found other excuses not to come and propose marriage."
After hearing this, Ning Xiu's expression froze instantly, and he lowered his head in embarrassment: "Sese, I'm sorry. I know hitting people is wrong. It's all my fault that I couldn't hold back that day."
Next to Ning Yun was the box of pastries her brother had brought back yesterday. She took out a piece of pastry and handed it to Ning Xiu: "Brother, you've known Xiao Jianlu for so many years, don't you understand him?
He will do what he wants to do no matter how difficult it is, and he won’t do what he doesn’t want to do even if someone forces him to do so.”
Speaking of which, when the Ning and Xiao families first fled to Yanzhou Prefecture, they rented a house in the same courtyard.
The two families had been neighbors for several years, seeing each other every day. When Ning Yun was eight years old, his father, Ning Yasi, bought a house and moved out because he received a reward for repairing a jade pendant for a nobleman.
Although the Xiao family, like the Ning family, also worked in Jiuhua Tower, Xiao's father was only a mid-level goldsmith, so his salary was not as high as Ning's father's.
In addition, over the years, all the money Xiao's father earned was used to send his son to private school, so he did not save any money to buy a house.
When it comes to his son's future, Xiao's father feels that he cares much more about it than Ning Yasi. After all, he is willing to send Xiao Jianlu to school, and he has been studying there for many years.
Ning Yasi also sent Ning Xiu to school. He started learning earlier than Xiao Jianlu. After he finished reading the basic textbooks and learned abacus and painting, he let Ning Xiu go home and learn the craft of gold inlaying and jade from him.
But Ning Yasi's greatest strength is that he treats his son and daughter equally. Whatever Ning Xiu learns, his daughter Ning Yun also has to learn.
Reading, drawing, and counting are all essential.
The only difference was probably that Ning Xiu later learned the craft of gold inlaying and jade, while Ning Yun learned the craft of embroidery.
Father Xiao even teased Ning Yasi about this: "Master Ning, you are really funny. You don't want your son to continue studying, but you are willing to let your daughter learn to read."
"Because no matter what time it is, knowing how to read is always better than not knowing at all!" Ning Yasi continued working, "I let Ah Xiu continue his studies because I felt it was unnecessary. He wanted to be a jeweler like me in the future. That would be enough."
"You really don't have any ambition!" Father Xiao disagreed with Ning Yasi's idea. "Although we are jewelers now, we can't predict the future!"
Ning Yasi looked up at the other person, but didn't want to discourage him. He just nodded and said, "Yes, yes, I didn't see far enough."
But is it really so?
Of course not. In today’s world, a dragon gives birth to a dragon and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a mouse’s son will dig holes.
Without a family background, one is not even qualified to be assessed.
Only officials of the fourth to ninth ranks in the countryside can participate in the selection of officials of the eighth and ninth ranks.
By analogy, the third rank of the township corresponds to the sixth or seventh rank official.
The second rank of the township corresponds to the fourth or fifth rank officials.
In other words, prominent officials of the first, second, and third ranks must have come from prominent families, so they have the possibility of being rated as the first rank in the township.