Jiang Yimian had just arrived at Zhang Xiucai's door and was about to knock when she heard Xiao Zhangshi's voice behind her, "Jiang girl, are you looking for Zhang Xiucai? He's not here right now; he's gone to dig for wild vegetables."
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, and after a long while, she asked, "When will he be back?"
Little Zhang's eyes were fixed on that big lump of pork fat for a while before she said, "He'll probably be back soon. There aren't any wild vegetables at this time of year. At most, we can go up the mountain to find some green leaves to eat. What do you need Zhang Xiucai for?"
Jiang Yimian didn't answer, but was instead somewhat shocked.
She never expected that Zhang Xiucai was having such a hard time. When she heard the village chief say that he would give him cornmeal, she was already prepared, knowing that he might be forced by life to open a school in the village.
But she was still somewhat surprised to hear that the other party had gone to eat tree leaves.
Logically speaking, it's quite difficult to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), so Xiucai Zhang shouldn't have fallen to the point where he can't even afford to eat.
Seeing Jiang Yimian remain silent, Madam Zhang didn't mind and simply said in a low voice, "This scholar Zhang is also a pitiful person."
"When he was young, Zhang Xiucai was a teacher at the academy in Baiyun Town. He had a wife at that time, and the couple lived a good life and had a harmonious relationship."
Who would have thought that he would offend the dean and not only be expelled from the academy, but also have his leg broken by thugs.
His wife was pregnant at the time and searched everywhere for doctors to help him. Just when his leg was about to heal, she died in childbirth, leaving behind a child to raise with him.
Life was already difficult, and on top of that, he had a leg injury, barely managing to support his child.
More than ten years passed like this. The son grew up and they thought the hard times were over. Although Zhang Xiucai's son had a bad temper and often idled away his time, he was still a decent person.
However, some time before the war began, for some reason, Zhang Xiucai's son went gambling, racked up huge gambling debts, and never returned, abandoning Zhang Xiucai and running away.
The gambling den's men came to Zhang Xiucai's house, but couldn't find him. They started vandalizing the place every few days. It wasn't until the war started that the gambling den's men either fled or died, and things finally calmed down at Zhang Xiucai's house.
Don't let his aged appearance fool you; he's only in his forties, though he looks much older than people his age.
If it weren't for the village chief's occasional relief efforts, Zhang Xiucai probably would have starved to death long ago.
As Zhang sighed repeatedly, Jiang Yimian was also somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting that Scholar Zhang's life had been so full of twists and turns.
As they were talking, Scholar Zhang came hobbling over from the fields at the foot of the mountain, leaning on his cane.
His hair was gray and his face was full of wrinkles, making it impossible to tell that he was only in his forties. If no one had told her his age, she would have thought he was in his seventies or eighties.
It took Zhang Xiucai quite a while to finally reach his doorstep. Seeing Jiang Yimian and Xiao Zhangshi there, he simply nodded to them and prepared to go inside.
Jiang Yimian quickly said, "Uncle Zhang, could you do me a favor?"
Zhang Xiucai paused, staring at Jiang Yimian with his cloudy eyes for a while before asking, "How can I help you?"
He's starving himself, how can he help others?
Jiang Yimian suddenly smiled and said, "My younger siblings want to learn to read, but none of the family members are literate, and the academy in town doesn't accept students who haven't started learning yet, so I thought of Uncle Zhang."
Yesterday, I overheard Uncle Zhang's conversation with the village chief. I learned that Uncle Zhang is a scholar and wants his younger siblings to learn from him.
Don't worry, Uncle Zhang, we'll cover the tuition fees.
Although she knew the other party would most likely agree, she was still a little uneasy, as she hadn't had much contact with the person in front of her and wasn't sure about their personality.
Zhang Xiucai was stunned for a moment, and it took a while for his cloudy eyes to gradually clear. He simply nodded and said, "Provide me with three meals a day, and I will teach them to read. When will we begin?"
Jiang Yimian was somewhat surprised that the other party agreed so quickly. After thinking for a while, she tentatively asked, "Would I send a few children here to learn to read later?"
Scholar Zhang nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, I'll go prepare."
Although the books he used to study for the imperial examinations are slightly different from those he uses now, they are basically the same. It's time for him to review them again.
Even as the door closed, Jiang Yimian was still in shock; she never expected things to go so smoothly.
Xiao Zhang was also full of surprise, looking at Jiang Yimian and saying, "You want your younger brother to learn to read and become an official in the future?"
That would cost a fortune. There's only one scholar named Zhang in their village, and the other party moved here from the town. None of the others are literate; they probably don't even know how to write their own names.
Jiang Yimian casually said, "I only know a few words, I'm not blind."
Xiao Zhang then responded, not really paying attention, only thinking about telling the other villagers the news later.
She stared at the pork fat for a long time, still not knowing how to ask for it, when Jiang Yimian pulled out a curved dagger from somewhere. Startled, she quickly took a few steps back and stammered, "Jiang, Jiang girl, what are you doing? I, I didn't do anything to you, please don't hit me!"
Yesterday, she witnessed this person throw Chen Guixiang off the carriage, and she felt a sense of satisfaction watching it. If it happened to her, her bones would surely break!
She was just thinking to herself, "I haven't even asked for the pork fat yet! And I'm already going to get beaten up for this?"
Jiang Yimian found the other person's terrified expression amusing. She cut off a palm-sized piece from the pork fat and handed it over, saying, "Thank you so much for telling me about Uncle Zhang today, Auntie. Here's a little pork fat for you to take home and enjoy."
If it weren't for Madam Zhang telling her about Scholar Zhang, she probably would have had to investigate further, which saved her a lot of trouble.
Little Zhang's eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed the pork fat and grinned from ear to ear. "Jiang girl, don't be so polite. I know everything that's going on in this village. If you have any questions in the future, just come to me."
She just couldn't control her mouth and said a few things casually, but she didn't expect to get a piece of pork fat in return. This Jiang girl isn't a bad person at all, she's even generous!
If it were anyone else in the village, she could plead until she was hoarse, but they still wouldn't give it to her.
*
As soon as Jiang Yimian returned to the small depression, she told everyone that she could go to Zhang Xiucai's place to learn to read.
Old Liu nodded repeatedly, "This is great! It only requires three meals a day, which is much cheaper than the tuition fees at other schools."
Wang Fengqin nodded repeatedly, thinking that going to Zhang Xiucai's place to learn to read was a good idea.
The other party, a mere scholar, was more than capable of teaching a child's early education, and the tuition was so cheap; in the end, they were the ones who profited.
The adults all had smiles on their faces, but Gou Sheng, Wang Xiaohei, and the others looked unwilling. They wanted to dig, and they were willing to do anything that didn't require them to use their brains.
Seeing this, Zhao Dashu quickly said, "We still need to clear land recently, Sister Mian, I won't go. Let Xiao Hei and Gou Sheng go instead."
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow at the two of them.
For the first time, I felt that being older than Gou Sheng and his family had its advantages; at least I was an indispensable member of the family's workforce and didn't have to learn to read.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
