Chapter 1775

After a few days, Su Xuewen considered it clearly; he wanted to be a minor official at the local county yamen.

Chen Guanlou was a bit surprised. "Are you sure you've thought it through?"

"Thought it through. Being a minor official at the county yamen is close to home, so I can take care of the family."

"Never thought about going to the Six Ministries?"

Logically speaking, scholars all have higher pursuits. He didn't expect Su Xuewen to be so grounded and simple.

"I don't dare go to the Six Ministries, lest I lose face for Uncle. I asked around; to be a minor official in the Six Ministries, one must at least be a scholar. There are many people and complicated matters inside, and seniority is everything. I don't understand anything; if I rush in, I'm not afraid of anything else, just afraid that if I make a mistake in my duties, it will implicate Uncle."

Chen Guanlou chuckled upon hearing this. "You're just like your mother, both afraid of causing me trouble. Fine, fine, since you want to go to the county yamen, go back and wait for news. By the way, of the Six Departments of the county yamen, have you thought about which department you want to go to?"

"Which department does Uncle think I should go to?"

"You are quick-witted and good at organizing accounts; you can consider the Household Department! Do you want to go?"

Su Xuewen pondered for a while and said decisively, "I want to go to the Household Department."

"Fine!" Chen Guanlou promised him; if he wanted to go to the Household Department, he would go to the Household Department.

He didn't use his own name; he took the Hou Fu's chief steward's calling card, and after some dealing, he obtained a position as a Household Department clerk from the county yamen.

Upon learning that the job was settled, Su Xuewen was very excited. He had thought this matter would take a month or so, but never expected that it would be settled in just a few days.

His uncle was truly amazing.

Chen Xiaolan was even more excited, her mouth unable to close.

After her son started his job, she would have to get busy matchmaking and finding a wife for him.

Just thinking about it felt wonderful!

Chen Xiaolan prepared a banquet and invited Chen Guanlou to drink.

Chen Guanlou gladly accepted the invitation.

Su Rongrong brought Mu Wenxu back to her maiden home to keep them company and join in the fun.

The Su family's eldest branch also came; Old Man Su and his wife, and Su Xuewen's two aunts also brought their children.

The two aunts of the Su family usually had no contact at all. This time, they were rare guests.

They also invited Master Su, the Master Su who had once taught Chen Guanlou.

Because it was a family banquet, no outsiders were invited.

On this day, Chen Xiaolan and her husband, the couple, were proud and elated; from noon on, their faces never fell, and they smiled the whole time.

The Su family's eldest branch looked on with envy. They had thought Su Xuewen couldn't study his way out, purely wasting silver, but never expected that in the blink of an eye, he would go to the county yamen's Household Department to work.

In contrast, their own son had studied for several years without making a name for himself, and now he was working at the city gate following the elders in the family, a mere minor soldier with no future at all.

The eldest sister-in-law of the Su family also wanted her son to enter the yamen to be a clerk, where he wouldn't be exposed to wind or rain. It was much better than working at the city gate; any noble could give the city gate soldiers a hard time. If they met someone irritable, one whip lash and it was just bad luck. If they delayed an urgent task and opened the city gate slowly, and their superiors blamed them, they could even lose their lives.

In short, in the eyes of the Su family's eldest sister-in-law, being a city gate soldier was a lousy job with no future to speak of. They couldn't even scrape together a few taels of silver.

Once she had the idea, she took the initiative to show favor to Chen Xiaolan, trying to get Chen Guanlou to help through Chen Xiaolan and get her son a lighter job with more money.

When Chen Xiaolan learned of her sister-in-law's idea, she didn't dare to agree and directly shut it down. "My brother is a stubborn mule; if I could control him, he wouldn't be unmarried at this age. Xuewen being valued by his uncle is all due to Xuewen himself; he has been a sensible child since he was small, which is why he caught his uncle's eye. In front of my brother, I can't say a word now."

"You are his sister; surely he would listen to you."

"Do your brothers in your maiden home listen to what you say?" Chen Xiaolan retorted with one sentence.

The Su family's eldest sister-in-law looked embarrassed and lost face.

Chen Xiaolan secretly snorted; she wasn't someone with shallow vision and wouldn't lose her head because of a few words of flattery from others and cause trouble for her brother.

She knew what was what!

She often went in and out of the Hou Fu and had seen wealth, as well as how big families did things.

Helping others plan their future was not a small matter; if not handled well, it would backfire on oneself years later.

Not only was the Su family's eldest sister-in-law thinking about the job, but the two aunts were also attending this time for the sake of their children's future. If they couldn't plan a job for their sons, then they would plan a marriage for their daughters, wanting to marry their daughters to Su Xuewen.

Chen Xiaolan immediately refused sternly, leaving no room for negotiation.

Su Pozi, however, didn't think so; she was willing to have a marriage between relatives. In front of Chen Xiaolan and the two aunts, she said bluntly that a marriage would be quite good.

Chen Xiaolan was so angry that her face, which had been smiling all day, instantly fell.

Just as she was thinking about how to refuse Su Pozi and send away the two aunts, she didn't expect Chen Guanlou to step forward in time to resolve the siege for her.

"I have only heard that marriage is a matter of the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, but I have never heard of a grandmother's orders. Aunt Su, since my sister has other ideas about Xuewen's marriage, why are you doing this? It's a perfectly good banquet, and you've made everyone unhappy."

Su Pozi didn't expect Chen Guanlou to dare to make her lose face directly in front of everyone.

"Brother Lou, I am your elder after all; is this how you talk to an elder?"

She used to think this kid was good, but now looking at him, he was truly hateful.

Su Pozi was very angry.

Chen Guanlou smiled. "Please forgive me, old lady. Regarding Xuewen's marriage, I have long had plans, so don't worry about it. Uncle Su, don't you think so?"

Su Dacheng was suddenly named and felt a bit unhappy.

However, he still nodded along with the other party's words. "Xuewen's marriage is for the second couple to worry about. His grandmother and I won't ask."

Su Pozi, upon hearing this, was furious, secretly hating Su Dacheng for refusing to cooperate with her. Seeing the second branch slipping out of their control, they were increasingly disregarding them. Their days were getting better day by day, firmly suppressing the first branch.

If she could marry her granddaughter to Su Xuewen, from now on, the second branch would return to their control. At that time, having the second branch pay to support the first branch would be a matter of course.

She had calculated it well, but the old man was useless.

Su Dacheng smiled bitterly inside; what qualifications did he have to cooperate? Even if he were willing to cooperate, with a Chen Guanlou standing by, he could make all their plans stillborn.

Chen Guanlou was unconventional and unruly.

When he acted like a scoundrel, he wouldn't care about the seniority of relatives.

Su Pozi was at home all day and didn't know Chen Guanlou's temperament.

Su Dacheng worked outside; how could he not know?

In short, one word: don't provoke him!

Chen Xiaolan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; she also had nothing to say to Su Pozi. The other party could always find a way to disgust her! She even dared to covet Xuewen's marriage.

Chen Guanlou kept a smile on his face. "With Uncle Su's words, my sister, my brother-in-law, and I are all relieved. Two aunts, don't worry about Xuewen's marriage. Cousins marrying is unlucky and prone to producing fools!"

The two aunts' faces sank, their expressions extremely ugly.

They had reason to suspect that he was calling them fools.