Chapter 103 The Three Great Regrets of This Life
noon.
The sun was shining brightly.
There were hardly any people in Old Zhao's courtyard.
Zhao Youcai, Zhao Youyin, and Old Mrs. Zhao all went to work at Cheng Wanwan's place.
Wen and Sun took several maids up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and picked up some firewood and grass along the way.
The two brothers, Zhao Dawang and Zhao Erwang, drove thirty ducks into the rice paddy to eat locusts. Since they had little experience, they asked Sidan for help.
In the courtyard, Old Man Zhao was sawing wood, and Cheng Zhao was helping him.
Although Old Zhao didn't master a full range of skills back then, he had all the necessary tools. Over the years, the tables, chairs, stools, and bed frames in his house were all made by him using these tools. Although they weren't as beautiful as the ones he bought, they were cheaper, and the wood he used was the best wood from the mountains, so they wouldn't get infested with insects or spoil.
"The best woods for making an abacus are sandalwood and rosewood, but these are too hard to find. Cypress will do," Old Zhao said as he sawed the wood. "Is it alright to make an abacus this big?"
Cheng Zhao nodded repeatedly: "Make it even smaller, so it's easier to carry around."
Old Zhao sawed the piece of wood a little shorter.
The two worked together and quickly made a square frame. The next step was to make the beads, which was the most delicate step.
The wood was sawn into small squares and then sanded with a foot lathe. This was something Old Zhao bought at a high price many years ago when he was an apprentice. He only used it for less than half a year before putting it away. Later, when he did woodworking, he didn't need to sand round decorations. This thing was left for thirty or forty years. When he took it out, it was covered in dust.
The foot lathe has a small iron blade at the top and a pedal underneath. By pressing the blade against the wooden block and stepping on the pedal, the wooden block will gradually be ground into a round shape under the high-speed rotation.
Grinding the beads to their shape is not enough; they also need to be polished.
Old Zhao said, "My master said to use fine cloth to polish it, but this stuff is too precious to afford. So I'll use coarse linen and play with it in my hands for a few days. It will gradually become smooth and round."
Without saying a word, Cheng Zhao lifted his robe and tore off a piece of cloth from his inner garment: "This is silk cloth, I wonder if it will work?"
Old Zhao glared at him: "Why are you so reckless, kid? You tore a perfectly good piece of clothing, how are you going to wear it now?"
Cheng Zhao said nonchalantly, "I noticed that no one is wearing an undergarment, so I don't have to wear one either."
"How can this be the same?" Old Zhao was getting impatient. "You're a scholar, you're going to be a high-ranking official, how can you compare yourself to us farmers who toil in the fields? You have no manners at all! Put this piece of cloth away, and when you get back, have your second aunt sew it on for you with white thread, so no one will notice."
Cheng Zhao looked somewhat somber.
The people here respect him because he is a scholar.
But in reality, he is no longer one; he has even been deprived of the right to study.
He wanted to explain something, but swallowed all his words.
He lowered his head and tore the cloth in his hand in half again: "After polishing the abacus beads, these pieces of cloth can be used as rags for washing face and feet. My second aunt's family is short of these."
"You child, you..."
Old Zhao sighed.
Once again, I understand why my eldest daughter-in-law favors this nephew. Even an old man with no blood relation likes this young man and would love to conjure up a cotton undergarment for him.
As things got busier, Old Man Zhao asked, "Why are you making so many abacuses?"
Cheng Zhao said, "I'm giving this to my four younger cousins. They all love learning the abacus, and I want to teach them everything I know."
Old Zhao's eyes widened; he really wanted to ask if he could go and learn along.
His three biggest regrets in life were: first, not learning carpentry; second, not learning abacus; and third, not seeing his eldest son return victorious.
Three regrets, one of which seems like a possibility.
However, Old Zhao was thin-skinned. He was already old, and if word got out that he was learning the abacus with a bunch of kids, would he still have any face left?
He sawed off a piece of wood and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be taking the imperial examination? How come you have time to come to your second aunt's house to teach?"
Cheng Zhao didn't know how to respond to this, so he avoided the main point and said, "My second aunt has helped me a lot over the years with my studies. I owe her a lot, and I can only repay that debt by teaching."
Old Zhao's eyes flashed: "Can I let my brat come along to learn? But don't worry, I definitely won't take advantage of you. We happen to have some millet at home. How about we use millet as tuition?"
Cheng Zhao quickly waved his hand: "Da Wang can learn it if he wants. There's no tuition fee. Second Aunt has already paid it."
“It’s your second aunt’s business to give it to her. Our family can’t take advantage of you for nothing. We can’t afford to give you more money, but we can afford to give you a few pounds of millet.” Old Zhao decided, “Ten pounds of millet a month, let Da Wang go alone, learn how to use it and come back to teach his younger brother.”
Cheng Zhao waved his hand again: "No need for millet, we can have Da Wang and Er Wang come together, just bring an extra stool."
Old Zhao shook his head seriously: "Just let Da Wang go."
When Da Wang learned the skills and came back, he could still secretly learn a little bit while teaching Er Wang, thus saving face for his family.
There was no harvest yet, and Old Man Zhao couldn't afford ten catties of millet. He agreed to send it to Cheng Zhao after the harvest. Cheng Zhao tried her best to refuse, but she couldn't. She could only go back to her second aunt's house with a red face.
When he got back, his four younger cousins stared at him with wide, dark eyes.
He touched his face: "Is there something on my face?"
Zhao Sidan blinked: "Where's the abacus? Is it ready?"
Zhao Ergou's Adam's apple bobbed: "Cousin, please sit down first."
He had never been so polite before. He was thrilled to hear that Cheng Zhao had specially made abacus beads for them.
Even Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu, who were not interested in abacuses, were looking forward to it. After all, to them, abacuses were something that only scholars and business people had, and it was hard to believe that they would have their own abacuses.
Cheng Zhao took out the abacus beads wrapped in cloth: "The abacus can only be made after the last step is completed."
Zhao Sidan leaned closer and said, "The abacus beads are actually finished! They're small, about the same size as my cousin's abacus beads, but they're not very smooth."
Cheng Zhao tore off all the fabric from the hem of his inner garment and gave one piece to each person: "Use the fabric to rub and polish these beads until they become smooth."
He made a slightly smaller abacus with seven columns, two on top and five on the bottom, and forty-nine beads in total.
The four boys each held a handful of beads, found a corner, and began to carefully polish them, as if they were handling the most precious jade.
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