Chapter 56 I saw Cousin Cheng
There were no clouds in the sky.
The moonlight was bright, shining on this land.
Old Mrs. Zhao was sitting in the yard wrapping hay and firewood.
She took a moment to look up and said, "Your aunt raises three chickens and twenty ducks. Half a basket of wild vegetables and weeds is enough to feed them at noon. Does anyone have time to help with this?"
Chunhua is the eldest granddaughter of the Zhao family, and she is the one who usually does this kind of work. Just as she was about to agree, she was pulled back by Sun Shi.
Sun sneered inwardly. Her sister-in-law had earned so many copper coins, yet she didn't share any with them. She even wanted them to help her dig wild vegetables for the chickens and ducks. What kind of pipe dream was that?
The old lady's heart was completely biased towards her sister-in-law. Her sister-in-law's whole family had moved out, yet she still wanted the old house to help with the work. Why should she? Just because her sister-in-law had four sons?
Thinking of this, Mrs. Sun felt extremely sad.
She can't even get pregnant anymore, let alone have a son...
"Grandma, let me go help Auntie," Xia Hua said. "Is feeding the chickens and ducks enough? Is there anything else we need to do?"
After thinking for a moment, Grandma Zhao said, "Help me tidy up the yard, clean up the chicken and duck droppings. Your aunt said she'd give the person who helps two coins a day. I'll take one coin, and you can keep the extra coin."
Xia Hua couldn't believe it: "A mere half-basket of wild vegetables and weeds can earn me a penny?"
Picking the lanterns required a long search up the mountain, where wild vegetables and weeds for chickens and ducks were everywhere on the field ridges. This penny felt like a free gift to her.
Mrs. Sun stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Although the old lady had deducted one coin, there was still one coin left. If she saved it up day by day, she could buy a nice piece of floral fabric.
She said with a shameless smile, "Xia Hua is only eleven years old and not strong enough, so let's leave this job to our Chun Hua."
“Third Aunt, it’s just half a basket of wild vegetables. Our Xia Hua can carry it. Even if she can’t, it’s not a big deal to make two trips.” Wen said with a smile. “Xia Hua, you have to do this job well after you get paid. If your aunt is not satisfied, she might give it to your sister Chun Hua to do.”
Xia Hua immediately replied, "Mom, I definitely won't slack off!"
That's settled.
Sun felt a lump in her throat and pinched Chunhua: "I told you not to say a word, you silent devil. If you had spoken up earlier, would anyone else have had a chance?"
Chunhua shed tears of grievance.
She was going, but her mother wouldn't let her say a word. Can you blame her for that?
The nights in Dahe Village are a bit hot and dry. The chirping of insects and birds has lasted all night, and the morning breeze awakens the entire village.
Cheng Wanwan got up early. After several busy days, she had some backaches and sore waists, but these were not serious problems.
The mother and her five children, carrying ice jelly, boarded an oxcart and headed straight for Hekou Town.
The dock was bustling in the morning. The mother and her five children split into two groups to set up a stall. Because the reputation of the ice jelly had spread, the sales were particularly smooth today. In less than half an hour, the two buckets of ice jelly were sold out. The mother and her five children then headed to Nanfu Academy.
It was still early, so the mother and her five children found a step to sit down.
Cheng Wanwan turned to the four children and asked, "Do you want to go to Nanfu Academy?"
Zhao Dashan scratched the back of his head: "The academy shouldn't allow outsiders to come in and sell things, right?"
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
She took a deep breath and asked again, "What I mean is, do you want to study at Nanfu Academy?"
Zhao Sanniu shook his head like a rattle drum: "No, no, no, I'm stupid, I can't concentrate on my studies, I won't study!"
Zhao Ergou said, "I asked the uncle next to me, and the tuition at Nanfu Academy is two taels of silver a month. You also have to buy writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones. The cheapest set costs at least one tael of silver. My family can't afford it."
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "As long as you want to study, there will always be a way. The question is, do you want to study?"
A longing shone in Zhao Sidan's eyes: "Mom, I want to study, but it's too expensive. If I go to school, will our family be unable to afford meat in the future?"
"Then Mom will work hard to earn money." Cheng Wanwan patted his head. "I'll send you to school first, and once you've learned it, you can come back and teach your older brothers, okay?"
Si Dan is still young and is the most suitable child for studying. She has wanted to send her child to study here for a long time, but she has never had the opportunity.
I have some money now, and in a few days, once I've raised enough for tuition, I can send Si Dan over...
The kind uncle next to him reminded him, "Nanfu Academy only accepts students who have completed their studies. Your sons probably can't read yet, so they can only be sent to elementary school."
Cheng Wanwan covered her face. Okay, Nanfu Academy does not accept students who have not yet started their studies, but there is no private school in the village. The nearest school is in Chengjia Village, and she would never send her child there. So she can only send her to the private school in Ping'an Town. She will have to ask about the situation then.
At noon, the bell rang at Nanfu Academy, and Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.
She walked to the stall and started working. Students came in groups of three or five, and the ice jelly sold out quickly, with more than half sold out in no time.
The students stood in front of the stall eating ice jelly, occasionally discussing what they had seen and heard in class.
Cheng Wanwan also pricked up her ears to listen. This era was unfamiliar to her, and she needed to absorb more information.
"Without rain, the farmland within a thousand miles of Hekou Town will likely yield no harvest. I wonder what measures the imperial court will take."
"The teacher will probably set this as the exam question this month, so we can think about it in advance."
"I heard that a village in Ping'an Town next door discovered a water source and dug ditches from the mountain to bring water in, saving thousands of acres of rice fields."
"Is there such a strange thing?"
Cheng Wanwan was surprised that this matter had even reached the neighboring town of Hekou. Even these students who were oblivious to what was happening in the world knew about it. It seemed that the drought was indeed severe and the affected area was very wide. Otherwise, no one would have mentioned such unrelated things in class.
"Mom, I saw Cousin Cheng!" Zhao Sanniu exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Isn't he the one in the middle over there?"
Zhao Sidan tried to stop him, but it was too late, because Cheng Wanwan had already looked over. Cheng Zhao, dressed in the white and blue uniform of the academy, was carrying two books and walking out of the academy gate.
He hadn't planned to come over, but he sensed someone watching him, so he looked over and met Cheng Wanwan's gaze.
Cheng Zhao immediately laughed. He knew he hadn't been mistaken that day. It really was his second aunt. But why was his second aunt selling ice jelly at the entrance of the academy?
It turns out that the ice jelly that everyone in the academy has been praising these past few days was actually sold by my second aunt.
Cheng Zhao liked his second aunt very much. She paid most of his tuition fees and treated him better than his cousins.
His second aunt specially sold food outside his school, probably to raise money for his tuition.
He walked over.
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