An Yi, seeing her good-for-nothing younger sister still spouting nonsense, angrily raised her hand to cover An Le's mouth and coldly uttered a sentence.
"Shut your mouth!"
Anle forcefully pried open An Yi's hand that was covering her mouth.
"You don't believe I can get you into school?"
An Yi didn't even bother to glance at her at this moment.
Anle gritted her teeth and scoffed. If she didn't show them her skills, they would really be underestimating her.
He rolled up his sleeves, glared at An Yi, and said, "Third Brother, you just wait. I'll earn enough money to send you to school within three days!"
The villagers on the bus watched the two little siblings staring at each other, and listened to Anle's childish words. They were all amused and burst into laughter.
Xu Suozhu, who was driving the oxcart, turned his head and glanced at Anle, and said with a smile.
"Le boy, it costs one tael of silver to go to school. How much is one tael of silver in your life?"
Anle blinked, thought for a moment, and shook her head.
She genuinely didn't know how much one tael of silver was here, nor had she ever seen what one tael of silver looked like!
"Then how dare you talk nonsense here? One tael of silver is 1,000 coins! Even if your father and mother worked their hardest for a month, they couldn't earn that much!"
"To get into school! Just the tuition alone costs one tael of silver."
“Sending your child to school is an expensive affair. No family would dare to send their child to school unless they have a lot of money.”
This one or two taels of silver is just a tuition fee. Don't you have to spend money on things like writing brushes, ink, books, and inkstones every day?
These things are all very expensive; we farmers can't afford them!
“The family that Shou Shan is with is one of the best-off families in our Qushui Village. Of course, they can afford to send their children to school. Compared to them, your father’s family can’t hold its own. Le Wa, you should stop saying such nonsense in the future. It’s embarrassing for your father!”
“If your father were capable of earning money, your grandfather wouldn’t have made him leave with nothing and abandon him.”
"..."
Anle listened to the lectures given to her by the people in the car, some with sarcasm and others with good intentions, without saying a word.
She knows what she says and does, so there's no need to explain. She can just use facts to refute others. As for well-intentioned advice, no one will believe it anyway, so it's pointless to say anything.
Song Minghui glanced at her with disdain, her eyes filled with sneer and contempt.
“I’m telling you, girl, stop embarrassing your dad. That’s how you make your dad proud.”
For the rest of the journey, Anle didn't say another word, just lazily looked at the surrounding fields and scenery, and that's how they entered the town.
The scene upon arriving in town was truly spectacular, with a massive crowd of people blocking the streets.
On both sides of the street, there were all sorts of vendors selling all kinds of novelties: sugar figurines, used books, hair accessories, sachets, beaded bracelets, and candied hawthorns sold from door to door...
The closer you get to the temple, the more stalls there are, so many that Anle is overwhelmed by the sheer variety.
Before they even reached the temple, the oxcarts could no longer proceed; there were many horse-drawn carriages, sedan chairs, and oxcarts parked around it.
"Come and wait here before dark, you can't go any further in. I'll park my oxcart here." Xu Suozhu greeted the villagers, then paid ten coins to the man watching over the horses and carts by the roadside and went to buy wine from a nearby stall.
This was the first time Anle had seen what money looked like in this era from afar.
"Dad, how much will it cost to ride in Grandpa Xu's oxcart up to town?"
Upon hearing this, An Mancang looked pained. "It costs five coins to transport one person per trip. In the past, when we used our own oxcart, we didn't have to pay this fee—" He opened his mouth, but then realized something and fell silent.
Anle smiled knowingly. Her cheap father was trying to say that if they used their own oxcart, they wouldn't have to spend any money, thus saving the family's travel expenses.
An Daliang's family owned an oxcart, making them a respectable and well-off family in the village.
Not every family in this village owns an oxcart. Since he left with nothing and went to An Dalin's house, he naturally didn't have an oxcart available.
This family of eight would cost 40 coins, and the round trip would cost 80 coins. This 80 coins was a considerable expense for her family.
However, since this is the grandest festival of the year, every family has to come to the temple to worship the gods, which is a huge expense that cannot be avoided.
Qiao Qiuniang bought incense from a roadside stall, which cost her 20 coins.
An Ding, watching from the side, also cried out in pain, "Why is this incense so expensive?"
Anjing sighed beside her, "When has this incense not been expensive at this time of year? It's expensive every year around this time."
Anle blinked and asked in confusion, "Then why not buy them in advance when they're cheap and keep them?"
Qiao Qiuniang patted Anle's head and explained helplessly.
"Alas, how can this sacred incense be stored properly? If it gets damp, it won't light. Lighting incense that won't light is a great disrespect to the gods and also bad luck for our own home."
They'd rather spend more money than take this risk.
Every year once this month arrives, the price of incense skyrockets!
Anle nodded in realization. "Oh, I see."
"Let's go, let's go offer incense and pray first, then we'll find a place to sell our embroidered handkerchiefs after we come out." Qiao Qiuniang pulled Anle's arm worriedly and followed the crowd into the temple.
On such a lively day, this was the first time Anle had ever seen the clothes and accessories worn by wealthy families in this world.
These wealthy women and young ladies, though their hair ornaments and clothing are flashy and brightly colored, look rather garish!
She really doesn't know how to dress. She lacks the exquisiteness and unique features of the various Hanfu costumes she saw in the 21st century!
No matter how you look at it, it seems a bit out of place and doesn't show any aesthetic appeal. It looks like a bunch of mop strips hanging all over its body and a feather duster stuck in its head, making it look like a walking wildflower chicken!
At a glance—
Feather dusters were swarming everywhere on the street, fluttering and waving in the wind amidst the bustling crowds. Mop strips were also flapping and rustling in the breeze...
Holy crap, this is absolutely appalling!
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