Chapter 109: Accepting More Students
The matter of Zhao Fugui dividing the family property has caused quite a stir.
Aunt Fugui moved into a dilapidated house in the Zhao family with her two sons and two daughters, leaving nothing behind.
Cheng Wanwan went to the dilapidated house, handed the prepared gift to Da Tou's wife, and said to Aunt Fu Gui, "We haven't even been allocated a single acre of land. What are we going to do in the future?"
Aunt Fugui said coldly, "Datou and Xiaotou are the ones who do all the work in the fields. If we leave, there will be no one to do it. Unless Zhao Fugui wants the rice to rot in the fields, he will definitely come back and beg us. Don't worry, Aunt Dashan, we have hands and feet, we won't starve to death."
Zhao Xiaotou opened his big eyes and said, "These past few days I've seen Widow Zhang loitering around outside our yard. Now that we've separated, will Widow Zhang go back to Dad...?"
He was only eleven years old, yet he had already heard all this messy, absurd stuff. Aunt Fugui was so angry her heart was bleeding.
She took a deep breath and said, "If he acts like a father, then you can continue to treat him as your father. If he does something outrageous, it's not impossible to disown him... It's just that Da Tou's wife is suffering, having to endure hardship from the very first day she married into the family."
Big Head's wife grabbed Aunt Fugui's hand and said, "Mother, I'm not suffering. Let me clean the house first..."
The family got busy.
Cheng Wanwan returned to her courtyard, where the whole village was talking about Zhao Fugui's family's troubles.
Aunt Wang whispered in Cheng Wanwan's ear, "Big Head's mother just left, and that shameless widow Zhang went to Zhao Fugui's house. That bastard Zhao Fugui was almost dead last time, and widow Zhang didn't care about him. How could he do something so despicable..."
Cheng Wanwan sneered, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. If Zhao Fugui could change, he wouldn't be Zhao Fugui."
She shook her head: "It would be so much more comfortable for Aunt Fugui to live a peaceful life after she separated from the family. I'm just afraid that Zhao Fugui is shameless and will drag Da Tou and his wife down with him."
Aunt Fugui didn't care about Zhao Fugui, and no one could say anything about it.
But if Zhao Datou doesn't care about his own father, some of the older folks in the village will definitely have objections.
However, these are other people's business and are not within Cheng Wanwan's concern.
She was about to go into the yard to do some chores when Aunt Wang stopped her again: "Hey, Aunt Dashan, I need to talk to you about something. It's just that your nephew teaches Sidan and the others to read and write every night, right? Can I shamelessly let Niqiu come along and learn with us... Don't worry, I won't take advantage of your nephew. I'll pay for his tuition..."
Cheng Zhao happened to be feeding the chickens in the yard.
Cheng Wanwan beckoned him out and said with a smile, "Mudfish Mom, you should ask him about this. I can't make the decision."
So Aunt Wang repeated what she had said, and Cheng Zhao nodded: "Just bring a stool and sit down to listen together, it's not a big deal."
"It's not harvest time yet, and we don't have any grain. The ducks are still too young to lay eggs," Aunt Wang said, looking uneasy. "How about I ask Mudfish Dad to chop a few bundles of firewood to tide us over, and we'll make up for it later?"
Cheng Zhao didn't even have a chance to refuse.
Another person walked towards the door. It was Old Lady Zhu, in her early seventies, with white hair, but she still walked very steadily.
Old Mrs. Zhu held a cloth bag in her hand, shook out more than twenty coins and stuffed them directly into Cheng Zhao's hand: "The tuition fee in town is one tael of silver a month. I can't afford so much money, but I don't ask for much. I just want Hu Zi to be able to recognize a few words. Here's the money. I'll have Hu Zi come over tonight and learn with me."
After saying these words, Old Lady Zhu left.
Aunt Wang turned around, carried two loads of firewood from her own woodshed, and threw them into Cheng Wanwan's yard. Afraid of being rejected, she left as soon as she finished throwing them.
Cheng Zhao held the money in his hand, his eyes fixed on the dry firewood on the ground. He inexplicably thought of his childhood. He studied at the old scholar's house, and other villagers would also send their children to the old scholar's house. The old scholar never asked for tuition fees, but the villagers would spontaneously bring many things: a bundle of firewood, an egg, a piece of cloth, a pound of rice, a bowl of noodles... The old scholar was able to keep the school running year after year thanks to the tuition fees given by the villagers.
Now the old scholar is truly old, and the school has been taken over by his son, passing it down from generation to generation.
Cheng Zhao snapped out of his thoughts and handed the copper coin in his hand to Cheng Wanwan: "I am a tutor invited by my second aunt, and I should not collect repair fees privately."
Cheng Wanwan didn't answer, but instead asked him, "If more and more people want to learn to read, what are your plans?"
Cheng Zhao didn't know how to answer.
He came here to teach in order to pay off the debts he owed his second aunt over the years.
After his second aunt's debts are paid off, perhaps he should leave.
What will happen to the children here after he leaves?
Chengjia Village has an old scholar and his son, while in Dahe Village, the person who knows the most characters is Zhao Tiezhu.
“Let’s start a literacy class so that more children can learn more characters. You can keep the tuition fees they give you; they’re yours,” Cheng Wanwan said. “However, I also gave them tuition fees, so I have an additional requirement: Er Gou and Si Dan will not attend classes with the rest of the class. I will teach them separately, and the pace of the classes should be faster. For example, I hope that Er Gou can master arithmetic and Si Dan can read the Three Hundred Characters and the Thousand Characters fluently in a short period of time.”
Cheng Zhao doesn't belong to Dahe Village; he'll leave sooner or later.
Once they've mastered the Three Hundred Thousand, they can send Si Dan to the private school in town, so Cheng Zhao won't need to stay here any longer.
Cheng Zhao was unaware that Cheng Wanwan had thought so far ahead. He nodded and said, "If we want to speed up the pace, we need to increase the reading time. In the future, we may need to read for an hour every afternoon."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "You can arrange it."
"And another thing," Cheng Zhao said hesitantly, "I want to give the grain to my aunt as tuition fees, and the copper coins to the Cheng family."
During his years of schooling, his eldest aunt also contributed, though not as much as his second aunt, but she did her best.
And then there's the Cheng family. They raised him all these years, and the whole family has suffered so much for his education. He wants to repay their kindness as soon as possible.
Cheng Wanwan knew he was a conscientious person, so she did not raise any objections.
As evening approached, the courtyard became lively.
With the addition of Wang Niqiu and Zhu Huzi from next door, plus the four boys and Zhao Tiezhu and Dawang, there were a total of eight people.
Two rows and four columns, with eight children sitting properly.
Tonight is math class.
The abacus beads had already been polished and finished, and the four abacuses were placed on the table.
The children sitting below had their eyes shining.
Cheng Wanwan didn't disturb their class and took the copper coins to Old Zhao's house to pay.
Old Zhao refused to accept any money, saying, "The wood was cut down from the mountain, the tools are all from our own home, and the abacus beads were polished and sanded by the children themselves. I didn't do anything, so how can I accept money..."
“Zhao’er said that this abacus is even more beautiful than the cheapest abacus in Dehetang. The cheapest one is fifty coins, so I will give you fifty coins. There are four in total, so here is two hundred coins.”
Without saying a word, Cheng Wanwan placed the copper coin on the table and left.
Old Man Zhao wanted to chase after her, but Old Mrs. Zhao said, "Just keep it if your eldest daughter-in-law gives it to you. Save it for Er Gou's future marriage..."
Er Gou and Sha Gen were born in the same year. Sha Gen already has a wife, but Er Gou's situation is still uncertain, which makes the old lady secretly worried.
When Cheng Wanwan returned to the courtyard, she heard Cheng Zhao earnestly teaching the basic formulas for the abacus.
She thought Zhao Ergou would listen attentively to the lesson, but she saw that the boy was staring blankly at the ground, clearly daydreaming.
She couldn't help but sigh. Sun Shuiqin was already married, but this kid still hadn't gotten over it. It seemed she needed to have a serious talk with Er Gou.
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