Chapter 37: Teaching Children
Mr. Zhuang asked the Bai family to take Bai Cheng and Bai Shan back, leaving Manbao behind.
He went back to the room and took out a stack of papers and gave them to Manbao. He said, "Hand in the words you wrote as punishment tomorrow. If you fight again next time, it won't be as simple as just writing a word as punishment."
Manbao agreed obediently, but did not think that writing was a punishment, because they had to write when they studied.
The Qian family members repeatedly bowed to Mr. Zhuang and apologized, then took the two children back.
Liu and the others had not walked far when they looked back and saw the Zhou family members escorting Manbao and Qian back.
Zheng also looked back and couldn't help but say, "They have such a big family."
"That's right," Mr. Bai said, "Six sons isn't the most born in Qili Village, but they are the most able to survive, so their family is the most prosperous."
Liu looked at Manbao who was supporting Qian and said, "Why do their daughters go to school?"
Mr. Bai laughed and said, "Their family didn't have the money for her education, but this little girl is smart, and Mr. Zhuang liked her, so he accepted her as his disciple and put her in the academy. She doesn't have to pay tuition, and even the books are hand-copied by Mr. Zhuang. I heard that when they became his disciples, Mr. Zhuang also gave them a set of brushes, inkstones, and inkstones. That completes everything."
After hearing this, Zheng said, "Life is a bit harder for farmers."
Mrs. Liu said, "That means this child is not only smart but also well-behaved. He is a lovely child. Otherwise, Mr. Zhuang wouldn't be so fond of talent."
So he looked at his grandson again, his face darkening, and asked him when he got back, "The young lady from the Zhou family is younger than you and she's still a girl. How could you hit her?"
Bai Shanbao felt aggrieved and raised his arms, saying, "She started it first, and she even bit me."
Zheng was so anxious that she tried to roll up his sleeves. Seeing that his arm was smooth and white without any marks, Zheng withdrew her hand and looked at her mother-in-law.
Liu's face darkened even more as she asked, "Where did she bite you?"
Although there was no mark on his arm, Bai Shanbao still felt that the feeling remained, so he pointed to a place and said, "Here!"
Liu couldn't help but slam the table lightly and shouted, "Shanbao, your grandmother taught you not to lie since you were a child!"
Bai Shanbao was stunned and burst into tears, shouting, "I'm not lying, she did bite me. If you don't believe me, go ask her. She was the one who hit me first, and she even attacked me by surprise. She's the real villain!"
On the other side, Qian was also scolding Manbao. She had checked and Manbao was not hurt, so now he could scold her without worry.
"You're a girl. If you have a conflict, you should talk it out with others. Why do you hit others?"
Manbao: "He's hitting Ertou."
"Then you should have separated them first and then asked who was right. How could you hit them? They are guests, strangers in our village. Bullying them is rude." Qian said with a sullen face, "What did mother teach you since you were a child? We should be polite. Just now, in front of Mr. Zhuang, not only did you not apologize, you even made a face at him. Is this what mother taught you?"
Manbao felt a little aggrieved and his eyes turned red.
Qian turned her back and said, "You don't have to cry in front of me. Go and think about it yourself, facing the wall, whether what mother said is right or not."
Qian also wiped her tears and said, "I sent you to school so that you could learn and become sensible. You're a girl, and you can't go out and make money by showing off your talents, nor can you take the imperial examination. So why did I send you to school? Isn't it so that you can learn more about etiquette and sensible things? If all you learn in school is fighting, go home quickly, and you're not allowed to eavesdrop in school anymore."
Manbao's tears began to fall in strings. She felt so sad that she rushed over and hugged her mother's legs, crying, "Mom, I know I was wrong. Please don't cry, don't be angry."
Qian turned her head away and said nothing.
Manbao cried breathlessly, "I really know I was wrong, please don't ignore me, I will go and apologize to him tomorrow..."
Qian's expression softened a little.
Outside, Feng grabbed Ertou's ear and scolded him, "I asked you to go pick up your aunt, but you ended up fighting over a rock. Are you itching for trouble?"
Little Qian was also beating up Big Head. "I assigned you a task, but you're lazy and ordering your brother around. He's only a few years old, and you asked him to go pick up your aunt. Luckily your aunt didn't get beaten today. What if you ran into a bigger kid?"
Soon there were ghost cries and wolves howling outside, and Big Head and Second Head were both crying out in pain from being beaten.
In the evening, three children who had made mistakes squatted in the kitchen together to boil water.
As punishment, the three of them had to boil the hot water tonight.
Of course, Manbao, who had never been in the kitchen, didn't understand, so Datou was the one who lit the fire, Ertou was the one who watched the fire, and Manbao sat aside with his knees hugged, thinking.
In fact, she was just looking for Keke to chat. She wanted to confirm with Keke whether she had really done anything wrong.
The system flipped through a lot of educational books and put itself in the shoes of Manbao and Ertou. As the elder, Manbao's way of dealing with the beaten Ertou was indeed wrong.
Hearing Koko say that, Manbao's shoulders slumped. "Then I'll tell him I'm sorry tomorrow. Do you think he'll forgive me if I give him some candy?"
The system said, "Gifts should be given to the other person, something they like. Perhaps you can ask them tomorrow."
Manbao felt that he was right, so he withdrew his consciousness from the system. As soon as he came out, he saw Datou and Ertou with bitter faces.
Manbao has figured it out. She has always been a good child who corrects her mistakes. Now that she has made up her mind, there is nothing to be sad about, so her spirits return.
Seeing her eldest and second nephews so depressed, she peeled off two candies and stuffed them into their mouths, comforting them, "It's okay, tomorrow you won't remember this, don't be sad."
Datou and Ertou unexpectedly got a candy, so of course they were not sad. Instead, they cheered up and whispered to Manbao, "Don't worry, little aunt, we will find a deserted place in a few days to help you beat him back."
Manbao was unhappy, "It turns out you haven't realized your mistake yet. Give the candy back to me, I won't give it to you anymore."
Datou and Ertou were stunned for a moment with the candy in their mouths, then they immediately bit the candy into pieces with a "crack" sound and said to Manbao, "I've eaten it."
Man Bao was furious, "Spit it out!"
Big Head and Second Head chewed hard, then opened their mouths to show Manbao that there was no sugar residue left.
Manbao said, "I won't give you any more candy from now on."
Big Head was smart, and he immediately said, "Aunt, we know we were wrong. We won't fight again, and we won't go after that guy."
Manbao reluctantly forgave them.
At the Bai family's side, Liu was forcing Bai Shanbao to kneel on the ground. She wiped her tears and said, "You have been smart since you were young. I hoped you could inherit your father's legacy and go to school to bring honor to the family. But you, not only are you obsessed with material things but you don't even know basic etiquette. Fighting is wrong in the first place, let alone hitting a young woman. Not only did you refuse to admit your mistake in front of the master, you even glared at him and made faces..."
(End of this chapter)
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