Chapter 41: Pity My Poor Family

Qin Fangci smiled and placed two cents in the two brothers' hands.

"After the money is divided, each of you can make your own decisions."

Dadan and Erdan took the money and ran away, hiding it before their mother caught them, and the money was theirs.

It’s a pity that they have a poor and crazy father!

The two were caught before they could even reach the door.

Li Yulan was in no mood to watch the lively atmosphere of the second wife's child education. Seeing that Qin Fangci had not yet given Li Baisong a share, she jumped up and down anxiously and said, "Mom, mom, and my younger brother, I also helped, and you haven't given me a share yet."

"Xiaowu, your four cents."

Li Yulan's eyes flickered, and she was happier than if she had received the money herself. She pushed Li Bosong forward and said, "Little brother, go quickly and take it."

Li Baisong smiled and took the four coins Qin Fangci handed over. "Mom, I have money for you too."

Li Yulan got anxious when she heard this and pinched Li Bosong, "You agreed to give me one cent, you can only give me three cents."

Li Baisong took out a cotton purse from his arms. There was a bamboo leaf embroidered on the purse. It was obvious that it was not something for a family of theirs.

"Where did you get the money, little brother? Did you rob someone?"

Everyone's attention was focused again.

Qin Fangci's heart also skipped a beat.

Li Baisong put the money into Qin Fangci's palm and said, "This is the tuition fee returned by the school."

"Hiss!" was the sound of everyone gasping.

"The school rejected you? Why did the school reject you?" Li Laosan took two steps forward. "Little brother, were you bullied in the school?"

Qin Fangci's heart finally settled down. In the morning, she was still thinking about changing the school for her child, but in the afternoon, the child took Shu Xiu back.

Seek benevolence and get benevolence?

"Third brother, no one bullies me. The master just takes pity on my poor family."

ha! ? ?

"What's that?" Boss Li felt his brain wasn't working. "The teacher said your family is poor and that's why he won't let you study? Well, even though we're poor, we haven't shortchanged him!"

How can their family be poor? Didn’t they just earn two taels of silver?

Qin Fangci held the money in her palm and said, "Okay, since the money has been returned, let's find a new school."

"Little brother, tell me honestly that it wasn't you who did it. Why did you quit so suddenly when everything was fine?" Boss Li still felt something was amiss. "Does he think you're too dumb? Not cut out for study?"

When Mrs. Du heard this, she quietly took a step aside.

Li Yulan slapped Boss Li on the arm and said, "Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Little brother," Li Yulan looked at Li Baisong eagerly, you are really not capable of it, right?

"My teacher told me this. Maybe he saw that I was injured and felt sorry for me." Li Baisong lowered his head. "I have let down my mother, brother, and sister. I will work harder in the future."

The joy of receiving the money was mostly dissipated. Qin Fangci did not show any anger, but everyone in the family became much more obedient.

Before going to bed at night, the mother and son finally found an opportunity to talk alone.

Only then did Li Baisong tell Qin Fangci everything that had happened today.

"Don't be sad, Mom. I can study well even if I don't go to Liao Family School. I will study at home for the first half of the year, and then find a school to attend in the second half of the year. I won't delay my studies."

During the five years he lay in bed, he missed going to school every day.

That kind of urgency is also present here.

Qin Fangci sighed and patted Li Baisong's hand gently. "I know it's not worth getting angry at someone like that. My son is a good man. I know it all. I was thinking of finding another school for you..."

The mother and son talked it out and fell asleep peacefully.

The next day was another busy day.

Mrs. Du asked Da Ya and Er Ya to do housework, while Mrs. Wang asked Li Yulan to embroider the purse that Li Baisong brought back, with simple bamboo branches and leaves embroidered on cotton cloth.

Even though it was simple, it still required practice. The purses she had sewn before had no embroidered patterns on them, so Wang took apart a piece of old clothes that Sandan was wearing and used it to practice.

After my hands became more skilled, I bought some good cotton cloth and silk thread to embroider.

For embroidered purses and handkerchiefs, if the fabrics and threads are good, the prices can be higher.

Li Baisong taught a few more words to Dadan, Erdan, Sanya and Siya, and then read the book on the other side of the eaves. There was no sun here and the light was bright enough.

The children were drawing realistically with small wooden sticks on the mud floor in the yard.

Si Ya was still too young and her speech was unclear, but when she saw her older brothers and sisters drawing on the ground, she followed them seriously.

Wang had her youngest son on her back, and when she looked up she could see her well-behaved daughter, which made her feel that the present day was full of hope.

Li Lao Da and Li Lao Er went to the fields in a group to harrow the fields. Qin Fangci took Li Lao San and Yuan to the reserved seedling nursery to start breeding.

The seedling nursery ground has been dug high in advance and drainage ditches have been reserved.

Qin Fangci instructed Li Laosan to spread the seeds evenly first. After all, Li Laosan was a good farmer.

After sowing the seeds, they need to be covered with soil. Just spread a layer of fine soil crushed yesterday on top.

Sprinkling wood ash on the fine soil can both increase warmth and prevent insects.

At this time, there were many sparrows. To prevent the seeds from being pecked out by the sparrows, Qin Fangci asked Li Laosan to bring a basket of rice straw and cover the seeds with it. The rotting rice straw can also increase the fertilizer. However, it should be noted that rice straw is easy to mold and needs to be removed in time. When the seeds are halfway through germination, the rice straw should be removed in time to prevent it from suppressing the growth of the seedlings.

After covering the rice straw, Yuan also split a lot of bamboo, which had been cut and transported in advance. He split them in half and inserted them around the nursery like a fence to serve as a windbreak.

In the past, plastic film was used directly to press the soil tightly. However, there was no plastic film here, so Qin Fangci had to use every possible method she could think of.

The three of them were busy all morning.

In the yard, Wang finally embroidered a decent bamboo leaf and raised her head happily. Just then, Li Baisong finished reciting a passage and was about to stand up, so Wang immediately stood up and went over to him.

"Little brother, do the bamboo leaves I embroidered look similar to the ones you brought back yesterday?"

Li Bosong took it and looked at it carefully, then smiled and encouraged: "Third sister-in-law embroidered it very similarly, she is really skillful."

Wang blushed at the compliment, "Little brother, don't talk nonsense. I'm not very skillful. If it weren't for the purse you brought back, I wouldn't be able to embroider it. I couldn't even embroider the pattern you drew for me before. Your efforts were wasted."

"Third sister, practice more, it won't be in vain. When your skills are better, you can go to the city to take on some clothing jobs, right? You should be able to earn more money with one set of ready-made clothes."

"I can't make clothes for people in the city. What I make can only be worn by my family members working in the fields." Wang smiled embarrassedly. She had thought about this before. "The owner of the cloth shop has a dedicated embroiderer. My second brother asked me about it before. He said that as long as we make some purse handkerchiefs, they won't accept any that are not done well."