Chapter 55 Arithmetic and Literacy Lesson Begins
Grandma Zhao got angry at the sight of white rice and pork and couldn't eat at all.
She said irritably, "I know you've made some money, but that's not how you spend it. The harvest is bad, and there are so many expenses to come. Er Gou is getting old; he'll be getting married in six months at most. We don't even have a place to live. We need to save money to build Er Gou a mud-brick house. I heard from Matchmaker Wang that the dowry for a wedding has recently risen to half a tael of silver..."
Zhao Ergou said, "Grandma, it's too early for me to get married."
Grandma Zhao didn't think it was too early at all; some sixteen-year-old boys in the village had already had sons.
Her gaze fell on Wu Huiniang's somewhat pale face, and she said sternly, "You're pregnant, so stay home and don't wander around. A doctor's visit cost forty or fifty coins; money doesn't grow on trees..."
Wu Huiniang lowered her head guiltily: "I'll listen to Grandma."
Cheng Wanwan thought to herself that she definitely couldn't let Wu Huiniang do so much work in the future.
There's only one month left before the season for eating ice jelly is over. She has to take advantage of this time to expand the market. She needs her sons to go to town to help. Most importantly, she wants to broaden her sons' horizons and explore their business or other abilities. She can't always be the one leading the charge.
They can come back in the afternoon after selling the ice jelly at noon. Some things in the fields can be left for them to do when they get back. Chopping firewood and carrying water can be done in the evening. Wu Huiniang can take care of lunch herself. The only thing that needs to be arranged is the flock of chickens and ducks at home.
If Sidan is at home, the chickens and ducks can be fed to him. However, she plans to send Sidan to school next. She will ask him tomorrow to see what the situation is. Of course, it also depends on whether Sidan is willing. If he is not willing, that's fine too. He can stay at home and raise chickens and ducks.
“If you really need to do something in the fields, just ask Xia Hua to come and help. Why do you insist on going to the fields and messing around by yourself…”
Grandma Zhao kept muttering to herself.
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "Mom, could I trouble you with something?"
Grandma Zhao stared at her warily: "What do you want to do?"
She's already asked Xia Hua to help, so what else does the eldest daughter-in-law want to trouble? She probably doesn't want the old house to provide lunch for Da Shan's wife.
A lunch isn't a lot, but it's not a small amount either... Oh well, considering that Da Shan's wife is carrying the Zhao family's bloodline, it's no big deal to let her have a meal.
"Let me make it clear beforehand, there's no white rice or fatty pork for lunch at the old house, just multigrain pancakes and cornbread, take it or leave it."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
Where did this come from? When did she say that Hui Niang should go to the old house for dinner?
She said helplessly, "I wanted Mother to arrange for someone to come to our house to take care of the chickens and ducks. They just need to dig up some wild vegetables or something. They would only be responsible for lunch, and we would have to wait for Sidan to come back and prepare dinner ourselves. Whoever is in charge of this will be paid two coins."
"We're all family, why bring up money!" Old Mrs. Zhao said irritably. As soon as she finished speaking, she remembered something else. The money that was in her eldest daughter-in-law's hands had all been turned into rice and pork. She was a spendthrift woman who was always trying to make ends meet. She had to save money for her three grandsons to get married!
Thinking of this, the old lady continued, "Then two coins it is. I'll go back and ask who's willing to do this job."
Wu Huiniang opened her mouth as if to say something, but was glared at by Cheng Wanwan.
Since you're already pregnant, you should just accept the arrangements obediently. In ancient times, women's lives were as fragile as paper. If something really happened, it would be too late to regret it.
Previously, there were no conditions, but now that we have earned some money, we should take good care of our pregnancy.
Cheng Wanwan looked at the mess of dishes on the table and said calmly, "Starting today, everyone except your sister-in-law will take turns washing the dishes."
"Mother, really, there's no need." Wu Huiniang said awkwardly, "Washing dishes is no trouble, just leave it to me."
She quickly went to clear away the plates and chopsticks.
"Put it down." Cheng Wanwan pressed her hand down. "Let's start with Dashan first, one by one in turn. Also, from now on, you'll wash your own clothes. You can't leave everything to your sister-in-law. Do you all understand?"
In this family, Cheng Wanwan's words were law, and the four boys naturally had no objections.
Zhao Dashan helped Wu Huiniang sit down and quickly began clearing away the dishes.
After the house was cleaned up, the four boys sat down around the table in the main room, and Wu Huiniang was also asked to sit down.
Cheng Wanwan coughed and said, "Today I'll start by teaching you addition and subtraction within ten."
Zhao Sanniu looked miserable: "Mom, I'm not smart enough, can I not study? I'm strong, I can do physical labor, and leave the brain work to my second brother, okay?"
“No way,” Cheng Wanwan refused. “Even if I can’t learn it, I have to try my best. I’ll learn as much as I can.”
She looked at Zhao Sidan and asked, "How many characters did you learn from Tiezhu?"
Zhao Sidan said smugly, "Ten chestnuts were exchanged for ten characters. I've learned them all. I can write the names of my whole family."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "After you finish learning arithmetic, you can learn one more character from Si Dan. Let's start with the character Zhao."
Zhao Sanniu was almost in tears. He wanted to run away, but he didn't dare.
As darkness fell, and with no candles in the house, Zhao Dashan lit a torch to provide light. The six people in the house had their faces illuminated by the torchlight in the dim light.
What is one plus one?
What is eight minus six?
"What? Eight minus six equals three? San Niu, how did you calculate that?"
"If you can't calculate, just use your fingers..."
Cheng Wanwan was initially in high spirits, but gradually her voice became filled with irritability.
She finished her arithmetic lesson with a headache and asked Zhao Sidan to teach her to recognize characters. Sidan dipped his finger in water and wrote a character on the table, saying seriously, "This character is pronounced Zhao, the Zhao from our old Zhao family."
Cheng Wanwan glanced at it.
I almost lost it.
How did Si Dan learn to read? Why did he only learn half of the characters and write "走" as "赵"? He's misleading students.
She covered her face and said, "Forget it, Si Dan, it's too late today. Learning to read will hurt your eyes. Let's make ice jelly together instead."
Zhao Sanniu said excitedly, "Okay, Mom, I'll go boil some water first!"
As long as he doesn't have to study, he can do anything.
Zhao Dashan didn't actually like learning these things, but he was just trying his best to cooperate. He stood up and said, "Then I'll peel out the ice jelly seeds first."
Zhao Ergou was still engrossed in arithmetic: "Mom, you can count up to ten on your fingers, but how can you count more than ten faster?"
He always spends a very long time calculating in his mind, and half of his calculations are always wrong.
Cheng Wanwan was very pleased: "Mom will teach you later. You'll learn a little bit every day and gradually you'll get it."
Zhao Sidan grabbed his hair and said, "Hey, I feel like this Zhao character looks a little different from the one Brother Tiezhu taught me. No, I'll ask Brother Tiezhu tomorrow."
Cheng Wanwan felt gratified again; realizing that she had made a mistake was a kind of progress.
She stood up and said, "Alright, it's getting late. Hurry up and peel the ice jelly seeds. We need to make three buckets of ice jelly tonight."
Just as Wu Huiniang was about to get busy, Cheng Wanwan pressed her back down: "Go back to your room and rest. Don't come out without my permission."
Wu Huiniang's heart was filled with mixed feelings. With red eyes, she returned to her room, but dared not sleep. She kept listening to the noises outside. Unable to sleep, she simply sat up, took out the fabric by the dim light of the fire outside, and began to cut and make clothes.
Farmers sew clothes at night, without candles, relying entirely on their sense of touch to cut and sew...
While the family of six was busy working, the Zhao family over there was also awake.
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