Chapter 96 Invite Cheng Zhao to be the teacher
Cheng Wanwan cut off the power.
She went inside and took a closer look at Zhao Fugui's condition. He was probably frightened, but his life was not in danger.
It's good to scare her a little; I doubt anyone in the whole village will be so blind as to dare to cause her trouble again.
She said calmly, "Dashan's wife's child has been saved, and Dashan's father doesn't want to make things difficult for Zhao Fugui anymore. You can take him back."
Aunt Fugui lowered her head: "Aunt Dashan, I'm so sorry."
She was a woman used to doing rough work. She pulled Zhao Fugui up with all her might and dragged him out from under the big locust tree.
A group of people gathered around to watch the spectacle.
"It's unbelievable. Before, no one could get near the big locust tree, but now it's perfectly fine."
"The mountain wife's child was saved, Zhao Youjin calmed down, and naturally he let Zhao Fugui go."
“I’ll go and try it out, but it just feels too weird.”
Someone is walking this way.
Cheng Wanwan turned on the power without making a sound.
She was afraid the villagers would be too curious and dig up the wires she had buried. She had other uses for the wires, but she wouldn't be able to retrieve them until late at night.
She said calmly, "Everyone should be careful when coming here, Da Shan's father hasn't left yet."
She turned and walked away.
The crowd dared not approach any further, but one person, Zhang the Scoundrel, refused to believe it.
He strolled out casually, slowly, step by step, and then felt a tingling sensation spread through him. He quickly stepped back to avoid it.
This is unbelievable! Only Zhao Chengshi can get in, no one else can. Could it be that Zhao Youjin is a miracle worker?
Zhang Wulai originally had some inappropriate thoughts, but he could only suppress them at this moment.
When Cheng Wanwan returned home, the oxcart was already full of wooden barrels, a total of seventeen barrels. The oxcart couldn't fit them all, so two barrels had to be stacked on top of each other and secured with straw ropes to prevent them from tipping over. After the barrels were neatly arranged, there was no room left for anyone to sit on the cart.
Cheng Wanwan, Zhao Ergou, and Cheng Zhao had no choice but to walk and follow the oxcart to town.
Baiyun Town and Fenghuang Town are not far away, but they are in different directions from Ping'an Town and Hekou Town. Zhao Da suggested going to Baiyun Town first, and then turning to Hekou Town, which would shorten the journey.
The restaurants and taverns in Baiyun Town and Fenghuang Town were all negotiated with the help of the village head. When Cheng Wanwan came this time, she reconfirmed the daily supply and purchase price before the money was exchanged for the goods. Everything went smoothly.
There were quite a few suppliers, so she told Zhao Ergou to remember them all carefully. She wouldn't be delivering to them anymore, and she wanted Ergou to take on the main responsibility.
Next, we'll go to Hekou Town.
After delivering the ice jelly to Jixiang Restaurant and Zuixianlou, Cheng Wanwan took her two children to Dehetang.
Before he even went inside, people were already pointing and whispering around Cheng Zhao.
"Look, it's him."
"How dare he show his face at the entrance of Nanfu Academy?"
"He has the nerve to cheat, so he has the nerve to come here. He has truly disgraced the integrity of a scholar."
"..."
Cheng Zhao pursed her lips tightly, her lip line tightening into a straight line.
Cheng Wanwan understood the gist of the matter. She had previously guessed that Cheng Zhao was not skipping school because he was short of money, but it seemed that there was indeed another reason.
She observed her nephew last night, and no matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem like the type to cheat.
But now is not the time to ask that.
She pretended not to hear the gossip and pulled Cheng Zhao inside.
Cheng Zhao tried to ignore the gossip and walked to the counter, but before he could say anything...
The shopkeeper of Dehetang sighed, "Scholar Cheng, as you can see, the academy won't tolerate you, and your copied books will hardly sell in my shop anymore. Let's just forget about copying books..."
Cheng Zhao was stunned.
He had been working with this shopkeeper for three or four years, and the cooperation had always been pleasant. He had always regarded this place as his last resort.
But now, is there no way out?
“Copying books is a minor matter; the provincial examination is the real issue,” the manager of Dehe Hall said in a low voice. “I know you are of noble character and would never cheat. Since you haven’t done it, you must find a way to clear your name. If no one vouches for you next year, you won’t even be qualified for the provincial examination.”
Cheng Zhao clenched his fists.
He understood this principle perfectly well, but as a poor student from a farming family, how could he possibly compete with those spoiled brats?
He wasn't the type to beg for favors, and since the shopkeeper had refused him, he couldn't stay any longer.
He turned and walked out of Dehe Hall. Cheng Wanwan followed his steps: "Zhao'er, didn't we agree to pay back the money by copying books? Did you talk to the shopkeeper about how often I should come to settle the account in the future?"
Cheng Zhao stopped in his tracks: "Second Aunt, I might need to find other work..."
Cheng Wanwan patted his shoulder: "It's okay, take your time, we'll look around again later."
She saw wooden buckets and basins for sale on the street and bought ten of each. Cheng Zhao came over to help carry them. They loaded five at a time, but he lost his grip and the basins crashed to the ground with a clatter. Fortunately, the basins were of good quality and did not break.
Zhao Ergou was a little annoyed: "Big cousin, move aside and don't get in the way."
My older cousin is very good at studying, but he's too weak. If he doesn't continue his studies, he won't be able to support himself at all.
Cheng Wanwan glared at Zhao Ergou. This kid actually had the nerve to look down on others. He should be careful that Cheng Zhao doesn't think he's stupid in the future.
She spoke slowly, "You are highly talented and more than capable of teaching. I wonder if you would be interested in becoming a teacher?"
Cheng Zhao smiled wryly: "The teachers at Nanfu Academy must at least be scholars (xiucai). The academies in other towns are basically run by old scholars themselves. An old scholar can run the school by himself and won't recruit teachers from outside. I..."
He lowered his head, something he rarely does; this time, he was truly helpless.
He was unwilling to go back to farming and toiling in the fields, spending his life toiling in the fields. How could he do justice to the more than ten years of hard study he had put in?
"What I mean is, would you be willing to come to your second aunt's house and teach your younger cousins to read and write?" Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Yesterday you said you owed me fifty taels of silver, and I'll give you five taels of silver a month as a reward. If you calculate it that way, you can pay off the debt in about a year. How about it?"
She had inquired and learned that the teachers at Nanfu Academy earned six and a half taels of silver a month, but since they were scholars, while Cheng Zhao was a student, their salary was naturally slightly lower.
She had four children. Sending them to the academy would cost at least four taels of silver a month. With so many people in the class, they might not learn much.
Five taels of silver to hire a tutor is an incredibly good deal.
Moreover, these debts weren't originally on the books. The original owner couldn't calculate them, and she couldn't either. But Cheng Zhao kept a mental ledger, remembering these debts that could have been erased clearly. With money that didn't even exist, Cheng Zhao could teach the child to read. In a year, the child should be able to finish three elementary books, and then Si Dan could be sent to the town's school.
Cheng Zhao thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
Half of the tuition fees he received over the years were paid by his second aunt. He had learned so much knowledge that he should have taught it to his four younger cousins. In fact, he shouldn't have accepted tuition fees, but if he didn't accept money, he might never be able to pay off these debts in his lifetime.
He remained silent and said nothing.
Zhao Ergou sighed silently. He didn't like his older cousin at all, but his mother had made his older cousin teach them to read and write. Suddenly, he didn't want to learn anymore.
As he was feeling melancholy, a voice sounded behind his ear.
"Isn't this Er Gou?"
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