Feeling guilty, Ms. Qian took a step back and said, "This...we don't have any money."

Lying alone on the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to the conversation outside, Yang groaned, "Dazhi, you can't abandon your mother."

Upon hearing the sound, Qiu Dazhi went into Yang's room. "Mother, your son is incompetent and cannot borrow any money."

Seeing Yang's gaunt face and emaciated body, he coldly looked at Qiu Dayong, "Third brother, what have you been feeding Mother these past few days? How could she have become so thin?"

Yang looked like she could die at any moment.

...

Two days before the Lunar New Year, every household was busy preparing for the holiday.

After helping Qiu Yan make the quilt, Wang was happy thinking that her son and daughter would be returning soon, so she went back to prepare things for the New Year.

Qiu Yan finished tidying up the quilt she had just made and noticed that Gu Qian was nowhere to be seen, which she found rather strange.

This man, who was saying yesterday that he would help their master sell meat with Ah Xu, has now disappeared after Ling Qi and Ling Ba have finished processing the meat.

She left the house, preparing to go out and search.

As soon as she stepped out of the house, she caught a glimpse of her second uncle in the next room, accompanied by Jiang Liu, learning to read and write.

Qiu Yan was somewhat surprised.

Her second uncle's actions were something she never expected.

My second uncle wanted to improve himself so that he could integrate into the Jiang family.

Inside the room, Jiang Liu turned a page of her book and smiled at Qiu Dafu, saying, "A gentleman who is not dignified will not command respect, and learning will not be solid... Dafu, do you know what a gentleman is?"

Qiu Dafu glanced at his eldest niece, who was walking towards them from outside.

"Practice what you preach before you speak."

Jiang Liu nodded and added:

A true gentleman does not flatter those of high power, does not attach himself to those of great influence, does not fawn upon those who are beautiful, and does not conceal his appearance from those who are ugly.

Fear not the strong, nor bully the weak; befriend the virtuous; never lose righteousness in poverty, nor stray from the Way in prosperity.

Qiu Dafu: "The words of the sages are the rules for conduct."

Jiang Liu: "You memorized it after only reading it once." This man is exceptionally diligent when he studies, far surpassing her third brother.

Seeing Qiu Yan arrive, Jiang Liu chuckled.

“Xiaoyan, your second uncle has suddenly become interested in reading. I was thinking, since we’re just idling around anyway, we might as well do something meaningful.”

"Very good." Qiu Yan strongly agreed with her second uncle's decision to study.

She glanced at the book on the table; it was the Analects of Confucius.

"Second Uncle, can you recognize all the characters in the book?"

"I don't recognize most of them." Qiu Dafu shook his head. Thanks to Jiang Liu's earnest teaching, he had learned some of the words of the sages and recognized some simple characters, but it would take time to recognize them all.

Jiang Liu: "Your second uncle is exceptionally intelligent. In my opinion, he will be able to read through the Analects in less than a month."

She had only taught Qiu Dafu for one day when she discovered that he was an excellent student with exceptional comprehension.

Qiu Dafu shook his head. "Liu'er is too modest." He didn't believe he could master the book in a short time.

"Don't be impatient." Qiu Yan thought for a moment. Since her second uncle wanted to improve himself, she would naturally help him. "Second Uncle, I will teach you a method of learning to read."

"What method?" Qiu Dafu and Jiang Liu asked in unison.

Both of them were very curious about Qiu Yan's method of learning to read.

Qiu Yan: "Pronunciation and character explanation."

It involves spelling out unfamiliar Chinese characters using letters.

As Qiu Yan spoke, she took out a pen and paper and wrote down a string of Chinese pinyin in her notebook.

Qiu Dafu and Jiang Liu watched Qiu Yan write intently, somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Liu considered herself to be highly knowledgeable, but Qiu Yan's handwriting...

"Xiaoyan, where did you learn these strange characters? I've never seen them before."