Ganli's words shocked everyone present.
Gan Mingyi was taken aback at first, then his face turned red, and he said with shame, "Little sister, don't listen to your second sister-in-law's nonsense. What's the point of going to school? Going back eight hundred years, our family has never had a scholar. What kind of reputation could he possibly have?"
Upon hearing this, Gan Lin couldn't hold back any longer: "Our ancestors never produced one, so how do you know we won't be able to in the future? They've already agreed to pay the money, so why are you in such a hurry? If I bring glory to our ancestors in the future, do you think you won't benefit from it?"
Madam Sun clapped her hands: "That's right! That's exactly what I'm saying! Lin'er is a member of your Gan family. They say that when one person achieves success, even their chickens and dogs rise to heaven. If he really passes the imperial examinations in the future, won't your Gan family benefit from it?"
Gan Mingyi was embarrassed by his wife and children's sharp retort, but Gan Li laughed as she listened to them.
Gan Lin and Sun kept talking about bringing glory to their ancestors, as if sending Gan Lin to school would guarantee that he would become the top scholar in the imperial examination.
Now that things have come to this point, she's even more determined to send Gan Lin. She wants to see if Gan Lin is really that capable!
"Alright, I said I'd send him, and I'll definitely send him." Gan Lin said, looking at Sun Shi's shining eyes and Gan Li's excited face.
"However, let me make this clear beforehand: you can attend school, but I will only pay for tuition, as well as the cost of writing materials. I will not be responsible for anything else that is unrelated to studying."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun expressed some dissatisfaction: "When he goes to school in town, he should at least wear some nice clothes, right? Everyone else is wearing silk and satin, and our Lin'er..."
Old Man Gan couldn't hold back any longer and scolded, "Do you want him to go to school, or to become a young master?"
Ganli was also speechless, and said coldly:
"Throughout history, countless poor but noble children have never been required to wear fine silks and satins to study. If someone really wants to study, they can do it even naked."
Sun wanted to say more, but Gan Lin couldn't take it anymore.
Seeing Gan Li's mocking expression, he was convinced that she looked down on him, and said in embarrassment and anger, "I know you look down on me, just you wait and see!"
Because of Sun's unreasonable behavior, the whole family was in a bad mood. After a hasty lunch, Ganli took Gantian back to the small, dilapidated courtyard.
Along the way, Gan Tian hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but ask, "Mother, are you really going to send Second Brother to school?"
Gan Tian herself doesn't have an older brother, and because she's close to her maternal grandparents' family, they address each other very intimately. Since she's a few months younger than Gan Lin, she calls him "Second Brother."
Ganli was very curious when she saw her reluctant expression.
Because of the bizarre things the original owner did, Gan Tian always felt guilty towards the Gan family. Although she didn't say it, she always tried her best to make amends.
But this time, she seemed reluctant to send Gan Lin to school.
So, Ganli asked curiously, "You don't want to?"
"It's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that..."
After hesitating for a long time, Gan Tian seemed to finally make up her mind and said:
"I just feel that, given my second brother's personality, even if you send him to school, he won't appreciate it. Instead, he'll think it's your duty. But if anything goes wrong later, he'll blame it all on you."
Gan Li was surprised to see that Gan Tian, at such a young age, had seen through Gan Lin's selfish nature, but she was even happier. Gan Tian's intelligence proved that her decision was right!
After leaving the Chen family, Gan Li looked at the thin and small Gan Tian and began to feed her by any means necessary. With the spiritual spring water she had given her last time, her feeding plan was very effective. Gan Tian not only became a little rounder, but also grew a little taller, reaching her chest.
Seeing the little girl's indignant expression, Gan Li couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair. Instead of continuing on the girl's previous words, she asked:
Do you want to go to school?
"Huh?" Gan Tian was taken aback, not understanding the meaning of the words for a moment. When she came to her senses, her excitement was evident, but then she seemed to remember something and asked cautiously, "Can...can I go?"
“Of course,” Ganli said.
Actually, she agreed to send Gan Lin to the academy not because she was being kind, but because she planned to let Gan Tian go to school as well.
Ganli, coming from the modern era, naturally understood the importance of education. Furthermore, the Great Jing Dynasty was open-minded and allowed women to study, so she had already planned to send Gantian to school after returning from the county town, so that she could learn and understand reason.
So bringing Ganlin along was just a side thing.
As for what Gan Tian said earlier, she had considered it, but she didn't care if Gan Lin remembered her kindness. The reason she agreed was for Old Man Gan's sake.
She could tell that although she had exposed Sun's trick of sending Gan Lin to the academy last time, the old man Gan did not know at the time. He still gave the money that was originally intended to send his grandson to school to his daughter, and he has felt guilty ever since.
Therefore, her actions today were also intended to resolve Old Man Gan's inner conflict.
Gan Tian was utterly incredulous when she heard what Gan Li said. In fact, when her younger brother Chen Yaozu was in school, she had asked her mother for permission, but her mother had firmly rejected her, saying, "What's the point of a girl studying? Do you want to become the top scholar?"
So Gan Tian never expected that her mother would change her mind... Tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so excited that she didn't know what to say. She threw herself into Gan Li's arms, hugged her tightly, and affectionately called out, "Mother..."
"Alright, after we close up shop tomorrow, let's go ask about the school."
...
After waking up from her afternoon nap, Ganli started making braised pork, while Gantian assisted her.
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