Lu the eldest was a little embarrassed: "The money is what you earned, so naturally it should be given to you. You can give it to your mother when you get back."

He Jiuniang found it amusing. Could it be that the women in the family had been making so much money lately that it had hurt the pride of the men?

She thought for a moment and said, "Brother, this money was earned by everyone together, so it doesn't matter who takes it."

Lu Laoda wanted to say something, but He Jiuniang didn't give him a chance and continued, "Brother, you've been working hard on building the house all this time. It's good that we're doing this to earn some money to supplement our household income. We've built this family together. Without you building the house, we wouldn't be able to gather herbs with peace of mind. It's a two-way street, so this money is partly yours too. Don't think too much about it."

He Jiuniang knew that men were all somewhat chauvinistic, especially in an era where men were superior to women, so she could understand the sense of loss that Boss Lu was feeling.

Having his little scheme exposed, Boss Lu felt even more embarrassed, and even worried that his sister-in-law would laugh at him for it. For a moment, he didn't know how to bring it up.

Fortunately, He Jiuniang didn't care much about it. After saying those words, she rode her horse forward. As for the three children, they stared at the people on the street with bright eyes, and no one paid any attention to the matter.

Lu Laoda's mood improved considerably, and he also realized that he had been too petty. They were all family, and he shouldn't have been so calculating.

Upon arriving at the bookstore, the three children got off the bus with excitement, but looking at the people coming and going inside, they hesitated to go in.

Leizi glanced back at his father and third sister-in-law, seeking a sense of security.

Lu Laoda had always considered himself a rough man and had never been to such a refined place before, so he hesitated for a moment.

He Jiuniang tied up the horse, pretending not to notice their uneasy expressions, and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go in and take a look!"

The eldest brother refused, saying, "Third sister-in-law, I don't understand these things either. You take the children inside. Oh, and by the way, bring some money!"

As he spoke, he handed over the money bag again, but He Jiuniang refused to take it.

"Brother, the less you've been here, the more you should go in and take a look. Actually, it's no different from any other shop. Besides, you dared to go into a bandit's den, so why would you be afraid of this little bookstore? As for the money for the things, I said a few days ago that I would pay for the children's writing materials myself, as a gift for their enrollment. So just keep the money!"

As she spoke, He Jiuniang pulled the children inside. Although Lu Laoda hesitated, he felt that what He Jiuniang said made a lot of sense. After thinking about it, Leizi was, after all, his son. His son was going to school, and as a father, he couldn't just do nothing, could he? So he suppressed his unease and followed them inside.

Upon entering, one is immediately greeted by the aroma of books. Boss Lu sighed inwardly, thinking how refined this place was, befitting a gathering place for scholars and gentlemen, far superior to the place for rough men like them.

What would you gentlemen like to buy?

When the shop assistants saw them come in, they hurriedly and warmly greeted them. Today was the first day of classes at Songhe Academy, and many families came to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, making the bookstore very busy.

He Jiuniang didn't know much about these things either, so she said directly to the young shop assistant, "Young man, my children are about to start school. Can you recommend a few sets of practical writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones? They don't need to be top-notch, just durable."

It wasn't that He Jiuniang was unwilling to spend money; she mainly thought that since the children had just started school, these things were consumables and there was no need to buy expensive ones. They could use higher-quality ones later when the children had learned more.

There is no shortage of wealthy people in the county town, but they don't patronize the bookstores every day. Often, the bookstores' income comes from ordinary people, so the bookstores do have goods suitable for ordinary households, and it's not difficult to recommend them.

Especially when she heard that she was going to buy several sets together, her smile widened even more: "Yes, yes, please follow me!"

"This is the latest small sheep hair brush that our bookstore has just introduced. The handle is made of bamboo. It is inexpensive to produce and of good quality. It only costs 150 coins per brush."

For children with small ink sticks, I recommend the commonly used pine soot ink, which costs 200 coins and is suitable for children learning to write.

For paper, I recommend hemp paper, which costs 55 cash for three feet. White hemp paper is finer than yellow hemp paper, but it is also 20 cash more expensive. You and your wife can choose for yourselves.

As for inkstones, for children's use, unless there are special needs, just buy the most common ordinary stone inkstone, which only costs eighty coins!

The young man mistook Lu Laoda and He Jiuniang for a married couple. Their three children also looked quite alike, and a family that could send three children to school at once must be quite wealthy. Calling them "Master" and "Madam" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

He Jiuniang didn't care, and Boss Lu was so shocked by the price that he didn't even notice this, so neither of them said anything to explain.

The children didn't understand exactly how expensive the price was, but Leizi could tell from his father's pale face that it must be expensive.

Lu Laoda finally understood why many families dared not send their children to school. Not only were the tuition fees expensive, but the writing implements such as ink sticks, paper, and inkstones were also very expensive. Moreover, these things were not very durable. Ink sticks and paper had to be bought frequently, and they added up to a considerable sum, not to mention the books and other items that needed to be purchased.

Lu Laoda felt that if he and Yu Shi were to raise the children on their own, they would never be able to afford to send them to school in their lifetime, let alone now that they have three children to send to school at once, which would cost a lot of money.

Before Boss Lu could react, He Jiuniang said generously, "Okay, take what you just mentioned, three sets! Oh right, paper goes by quickly, so six feet per set, and make sure it's fine white hemp paper."

"Alright! Madam, you're so generous. I'll go wrap it up for you right away!"

The young waiter was a shrewd businessman; he could tell at a glance that the woman was in charge of the household. Without even asking Boss Lu's opinion, he happily ran off.

Boss Lu knew he was naive and inexperienced, and despite the turmoil in his heart, he said nothing.

He Jiuniang then took the children around and bought a few books, including basic classics like the Thousand Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, and the Three Character Classic.

The books were all priced the same, one hundred and twenty coins.

Just as she was about to go to pay, He Jiuniang saw a folding fan that looked quite nice. Remembering that in this era it seemed that going to school required a formal apprenticeship ceremony, she asked the young shop assistant waiting nearby, "Young man, how much is this folding fan?"

Without waiting for a second glance, the shop assistant began to praise: "Madam, you have excellent taste! This folding fan is a new product in our shop, priced at twelve taels of silver. The fan ribs are made of precious purple sandalwood, and the fan surface is a landscape painting personally painted by Kang Xiucai from our county, along with an inscription of poetry. All the literati and scholars in the city love it!"