Tian An listened to the old men talking one after another, and it took him a long time to figure out the whole story.
It turns out that when the man surnamed Han came here, he brought his mother with him.
His mother also has an incurable disease and has to rely on medicine every day. His family has no land, so they can only go to the town to find work. Because he is worried that no one will take care of his mother, he can only do odd jobs and the wages are not high.
He often goes to the mountains, so his family is very poor and can be considered the poorest family in their village.
The villagers thought that if he could read and become a teacher, then he could just find a job as an accountant and his family wouldn't be so poor!
Although the villagers said so, Tian An felt that this person should be Han Xun.
Tian An grabbed a handful of candy and gave it to the children, asking them to take him to Han Xun's house.
A few children were jumping and skipping in front to lead the way, and Tian An and the other two followed behind, pulling the ox cart.
After walking for about two quarters of an hour, the children stopped in front of a dilapidated thatched hut. An older child stepped forward, pointed at the hut, and said, "This is where the sickly old lady lives."
The house in front of him was even more dilapidated than Zhao Yiming's thatched cottage! Back then, Zhao Yiming's mother died because the roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow.
Han Xun and his daughter were really lucky to live in this thatched hut and escape the snowstorm last year!
After handing the ox cart to Deng Xue, Tian An and Zhao Yiming went forward and knocked on the door.
Although the courtyard door was hanging casually on the door frame and looked shaky, Tian An still carefully held the door and knocked gently a few times.
…Boom boom boom…
…Boom boom boom…
Tian An knocked several times but no one answered. Just when they thought there was no one in the room.
There was a rustling sound coming from a room. After a while, a hoarse voice said weakly, "Who is it? Ahem."
Tian An hurriedly said: "Mother-in-law, we are here to visit Mr. Han."
The rustling sound was heard again in the room. Then, the door opened, and a woman about fifty years old appeared in front of them.
The woman was pale, thin, and looked sickly. Her clothes were patched up, but even though they were worn, they were clean and her hair was combed meticulously.
Tian An opened the medical testing space and got the answer in a short while.
This woman's health is extremely poor! If she hadn't been taking medicine all year round, she would have died long ago.
No wonder the villagers said Han Xun always went up the mountain to collect herbs! His mother's health was very poor, and the cost of using medicine to maintain her was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Going up the mountain to collect herbs was a good idea.
The woman would stop to catch her breath every two steps, coughing occasionally. She finally reached the door, opened it, and asked, "What do you want from Han Xun?"
Tian An hurriedly explained his purpose.
The woman didn't react after hearing this. After a pause, she said, "You guys go! Han Xun won't go."
Tian An was a little anxious: "Mother-in-law, how do you know that Mr. Han doesn't want to do this when you haven't even asked him? Being a teacher, teaching others and answering their questions, and being respected is the most noble thing."
The woman sneered, "Oh! You are humiliating me for enlightening some barbarians. Even if I die, I will never let my son be insulted by you."
Tian An was stunned by the old woman's scolding, but when he came to his senses, he became angry: "Villagers? What's wrong with the villagers working with their own hands? No one is born inferior to anyone else. How can teaching them to read be considered an insult?"
The woman was puzzled: "Did he really want him to teach people how to read, or was he just trying to humiliate them?"
It seems like you misunderstood her. Didn't you understand what she meant?
"There are many children in our village, so we built a village school. We sincerely invite Mr. Han to be the village school teacher."
The woman continued, "But didn't you just say you were going to teach the villagers?"
Tian An patiently explained, "I just want everyone to learn a few words. How much they can learn is up to them, but at least they should be able to write their own names.
If they can learn more and be able to understand notices, land deeds, etc. when they go out, it will be their own luck.
The most important thing is the children. They still have a long life ahead of them. Let them learn etiquette, literacy, and more skills so that they can have more paths to choose in the future.
If there is someone who has achieved academic success and passed the imperial examination, Mr. Han will be proud of it!"
After hearing Tian An's words, the woman looked at the mountains and forests in the distance, as if lost in memories.
…cough cough…
A cool breeze blew and the woman covered her mouth and started coughing.
Tian An hurriedly helped her smooth her back. Seeing her coughing uncomfortably, if he was not afraid that she would not believe him, Tian An wanted to take out the medicine in the space and give it to her.
Fortunately, she coughed for a while and finally stopped.
"Han Xun has gone into the mountains. You guys should go back first! I'll tell him when he comes back in the evening."
Tian An and the other two ignored the woman's refusal and carried all the things they brought into the house. They said they would come again the next day and then left.
When Han Xun came back in the evening, he saw the room full of things and thought that Gu Zhenqi (County Magistrate Gu) had been there, so he didn't take it seriously.
After finding his mother in the kitchen, he helped her up before saying, "Mom, let me do these chores. You take good care of me."
After thinking for a while, he said, "Oh! If Mr. Gu wants to come again, tell him not to come."
Han Xun's mother, Qin, coughed twice before saying, "Those things weren't sent by Zhenqi. Zhenqi has taken good care of us mother and daughter. Please be more polite."
Han Xun didn't respond to her mother's words: "It's for his own good to tell him not to come. But, who else would come to our house besides him?"
Qin told Han Xun that Tian An and the others had come. Han Xun didn't react much, just said "hmm". That was it.
Qin was dissatisfied with her perfunctory attitude: "Whether it will work or not, you better give me your answer!"
Han Xun was stunned for a moment, then said without thinking: "No, what's the point of studying? Just look at me and you will know."
Qin didn't say anything, but her eyes turned red and gradually filled with tears.
He kept muttering: "It's all because of mother that I've dragged you down! Why is my son so miserable? His bright future was ruined by his family, and now he's being dragged down by an old man like me. Why don't I just die? What's the point of living..."
Seeing that his mother was anxious, Han Xun hurried forward to comfort her, but he did not mention the matter of becoming a teacher.
Qin knew her son was truly moved, and hadn't given up on studying for so many years. His usual displays of determination and resignation were all for show, because he was afraid of blaming himself.
He was afraid that something might happen to him if he went out and was alone at home. Besides, although being a teacher was good, the money the students gave him was not enough to buy medicine!
Seeing her son going in and out of the woods all day, Qin Shi felt distressed! Her son had once been a second-class Jinshi! But now he was worse off than a country bumpkin, not even owning a decent long gown.
Being able to become a teacher in the village school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If she misses this opportunity, she will probably never have it again. She must not drag her son down for the rest of his life.
Qin made up her mind and stopped crying and let her son coax her.
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