Chapter 265 Selfishness
Of the ten guesthouses, only about two months out of the year were they fully occupied. The rest of the time, the last three were unoccupied. To maintain peace and quiet, and to prevent the two sides from disturbing each other, Sui Yu decided to set up the school in the last guesthouse, combining the three guest rooms into one and demolishing the earthen wall separating them.
While the servants were busy demolishing the wall, Sui Yu took Zhang Shun and Li Wu to dig the outer wall, planning to dig a hole along the north wall to build a chimney.
The earth wall was thick, and Zhang Shun swung the stone hammer and hit it ten times before it began to loosen and collapse.
"Stop hammering!" Li Wu hurriedly called out, "Next, use a small axe and chisel slowly. Don't let the wall collapse."
Zhang Shun patted the wall and asked through it, "Master, did you hit the right spot?"
"No." Sui Yu shouted from inside the house, "Don't worry about the location. The earthen kang has been demolished anyway, and we will have to rebuild it later. The height can be adjusted."
After hearing her words, Zhang Shun and Li Wu acted boldly. After knocking for an incense stick's time, light from outside the wall leaked in.
"Mom, guess where I am." The little cub's voice came from the cave entrance.
Sui Yu bent down and looked out, just in time to see half of a face close to the cave entrance. She walked out quickly, and the little guy holding Aning's hand walked towards her like two foals.
"Slow down, look how much you're pulling your brother, he can't keep up with you." Sui Yu shouted hurriedly.
The boy looked back and saw that his brother could not keep up with him. He left him and rushed forward quickly, bumping into Sui Yu.
Sui Yu was prepared. He took a step back to relieve the force and turned him around. The little guy giggled with joy. He loved playing like this.
"Why are you two here instead of practicing drums?" Sui Yu asked.
"Kurban and Anle were teaching Aqiang and Dazhuang, so we sneaked out to find you." The kid said, "Mom, I want to eat the bread you made."
Sui Yu looked at Aning and asked, "Aning, do you want to eat the pancakes made by your aunt?"
Aning nodded heavily.
"You can eat bread, but when it snows and your father is off duty, have him take us to Aning's village to grind bean flour. I'll make you something new to eat." Sui Yu leaned over and tapped the kid's forehead, saying, "You two can't sneak out again when we go to school in a few days. If you get scolded by the teacher, I'll beat you up."
Aning subconsciously glanced at the little boy, and when he saw his brother nod, he nodded too.
"Go practice drums. When it's not your turn, just sit quietly and watch." Sui Yu said.
The boy came over just to take a look at her, and now that his goal had been achieved, he happily skipped away holding Aning's hand.
"Brother, didn't you say that your aunt never hit you?" Aning asked seriously.
"I really haven't hit her." The kid shook his head. He turned around and saw Sui Yu still looking at him. He waved his hand, turned around and continued walking. "My mother wouldn't hit me. She just scared me."
"Really?" Aning was a little unconvinced. He felt that his aunt seemed like someone who would beat children.
"If I'm obedient, she won't beat me." The kid stood on tiptoe and hugged his brother's neck, whispering, "Did Auntie beat you?"
Aning nodded.
"She's not good. When she comes again, I'll help you get justice. By the way, why did your mother beat you?"
"I wet the bed." Aning said in a very low voice.
Kid: "...you still wet the bed!"
"I was peeing in my dream, and I didn't even know I was dreaming." Aning defended herself.
"What are you two dawdling for?" Ah Shui came out to look for someone. She put her hands on her hips and yelled, "It's your turn now. Come back quickly."
"I'm coming, I'm coming." The kid quickly let go of Aning's hand and ran away, not daring to mention seeking justice for him.
After the two children entered the second guest house, Sui Yu turned around and went into the house. The wall had been broken through, and Zhang Shun and Li Wu were mixing mud and sand to build a chimney. Seeing that there was no problem here, she went to see Old Chen next door.
"Manager Yu, are you here to see Mr. Chen?" Liu was sitting by the window doing needlework when she heard the door open and came out.
Liu was Hua Suichun's family member, living alone in the guesthouse with her three children. Sui Liang had arranged for her to stay in the ninth guesthouse, which was usually deserted. She had two keys, and it was quiet and safe. After Sui Yu brought Old Chen back, she also arranged for him to stay in this guesthouse, one on the east side, the other on the west. Unless someone was interested in chatting, the two families didn't bother each other.
"Yes, I came to see Mr. Chen and see if he needs anything." Sui Yu said, "By the way, has Brother Hua not returned yet? Or will he come back next year?"
"When he left, he said he would be back this year. He will probably be back in a few days." When mentioning her husband, a worry appeared on Liu's face. There was a war outside the Great Wall and the weather was cold. She was afraid that something might happen to him outside the Great Wall.
"I guess business is just too good. In previous years, many caravans didn't return until November. Don't worry too much, sister-in-law." Sui Yu consoled her, saying, "You're busy. I'll go check on Old Chen. I wanted to come in through the east gate, but it was locked from the inside."
"It's okay, it's okay. When I'm home, the west door is always open. If you need anything, just go this way." Liu followed Sui Yu. She clenched her hands nervously and said in a flattering tone, "Manager Yu, I heard you're going to open a school. Can I let my eldest son and second son attend as auditors? Just give them a seat and tuck them in a corner. If there's no place to sit, they can stand."
Sui Yu neither agreed nor refused, saying, "Teacher Chen can only teach 20 to 30 children. We'll see how the situation turns out. If there are still vacancies, I'll let Dalang and Erlang go as well."
"Well, there's really no room. Let them stand outside the door."
Sui Yu waved his hand. "You just arrived in Dunhuang and you don't know the situation. The winter in Dunhuang is freezing. You can't stand outside."
Liu wanted to say more, but she saw Old Chen heard the sound and came out. He waved for Sui Yu to come over, so she didn't interrupt.
"Buy ten more brushes. These brushes are bristling." said Mr. Chen.
Sui Yu agreed. After he agreed, she picked up the bamboo slips on the table and read them carefully. After removing the unfamiliar words, she roughly understood that this was a conscription poem.
"Do you understand?" asked Mr. Chen.
"I think I can understand it." Sui Yu put down the bamboo slips and said, "Isn't this too profound for the children?"
"The people living at the border are most aware of the sufferings of war and corvee labor. I don't think they can't accept it." Old Chen shook his head.
"Then just let them read along at first. Don't expect them to memorize or write." Sui Yu tentatively suggested, "I can barely recognize all the characters in this poem. For young children, teaching them to write and recognize characters is like asking a six-year-old to take up a sword and go to the battlefield."
Old Chen frowned, unhappy that she was interfering in his affairs.
"They can emotionally accept this poem that complains about the suffering of war, but it is too difficult for them to memorize and write it. If it is too difficult at the beginning, I think many children will be afraid of going to school. Once they develop an aversion to learning, they will not be able to continue learning." Sui Yu continued.
"That's just right for picking out the fish eyes and pearls. If you don't want to learn, just leave and make room for others." Old Chen thought her words were too pampering for the child.
"No, no, no, you may have misunderstood. I'm not asking you to select fish eyes and pearls for me, nor are you selecting talents for the court." Sui Yu withdrew his politeness and said seriously, "I asked you to come here to teach our children to read and write. If the fish eye can turn into a pearl, that would be great. If not, it doesn't matter. Let it become a shiny fish eye."
Mr. Chen's face was tense, and he wanted to throw up his sleeves and quit.
There was a knock on the door. Sui Yu turned around and saw that it was Zhao Xiping who came back.
"The students are all here," Zhao Xiping said as he entered the room. "Most of them are children from the captains' families I'm friendly with, and there are also a few from smaller bannermen under my command. They're all between six and twelve years old. They told me they don't want them to take official exams, just learn to read and avoid being scammed. If they can learn some moral principles, that's a blessing."
Hearing this, Chen Lao Na still didn't understand what he meant. He sighed in compromise and said, "Tell me, how do you plan to teach me?"
Sui Yu thought about how her teacher taught her in school in her previous life. She repeated everything one by one and discussed with Mr. Chen about teaching the children the correct way to hold a brush and starting with the simplest characters. It was also okay to let the children recite poems, but he wanted them to explain the emotions contained in the poems and not just memorize them by rote.
"You should pay special attention to the situation of my child." Zhao Xiping made up for it. He did not hide his selfish motives and said frankly: "We asked you to come here mainly for our own child. As for whether other families' children are fake or not, it does not matter to us much."
Old Chen gave him a disapproving look, but said nothing. After all, he was obliged to pay back. He also understood that while the couple were polite to him, they were not to be fooled. He could not have the final say here.
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