Chapter 45 Soul Painter
Liu asked him what he had learned today.
Bai Shanbao was very experienced in dealing with his grandmother. He only told her what Mr. Zhuang had said to them in class, and did not mention that he and Manbao planned to catch insects to scare their second cousin.
Mrs. Liu knew with her toes that her grandson couldn't be so honest in school, not to mention that Mr. Zhuang brought up the responsibility of the county magistrate for the first time.
There must be a reason for this, but she didn't ask too much. Instead, she waved her grandson over and told him what a county magistrate was and what a county magistrate should do.
Bai Shanbao listened carefully and decided to tell Manbao the next day. Humph, he knew much more than her.
Seeing that her grandson was listening attentively and not as rebellious as before, Liu couldn't help but explain in more detail and with a gentler attitude.
Bai Shanbao didn't understand so he asked, and also told Manbao that their county magistrate was a bad man and had collected too much entrance fee.
Only then did Liu understand why Mr. Zhuang took them to see ants, watch the autumn rain, and tell them stories.
Liu said, "Building roads in the county costs money, repairing dams costs money, and developing water conservancy projects also costs money. If County Magistrate Fu has these needs, there's nothing wrong with increasing the entrance fee."
Bai Shanbao understood this point, that everything requires money.
Mother said that they moved to the mountains because their clan bullied them, an orphan and a widow, and wanted to take over all their property.
My mother said that those properties were all for making money. He would need money to study and take exams, to marry a wife, and to become an official. All that money would be left to him.
It was also from that time that Bai Shanbao realized that money was a very important thing, and that even powerful people like the clan leader would shamelessly come to rob their family of their money.
However, Liu felt that they made the right decision to come to Qili Village this time.
Although there are many teachers in the clan school and Longzhou has more resources than here, my grandson is always isolated in the clan school and family affairs have affected him to some extent.
Although he was smart, he refused to attend classes seriously. He was naughty and got into fights at school. Most importantly, the teacher in the clan school did not treat him fairly.
In the long run, he would either be led astray by them and become a playboy or a cynical vulgar person, neither of which Liu wanted to see.
She was able to raise her son alone after losing her husband at a young age, so she could naturally raise her grandson.
Liu's eyes were determined. They had made the right move. The best part was that there was a Mr. Zhuang in this valley. Perhaps this was the fortune of their Bai family.
Liu summoned her daughter-in-law and said, "Although we are close to the Seventh Brother's family, since we have decided to live here permanently, it would be inappropriate to always stay at their house. What I mean is that we should buy a piece of land in the village, build a small courtyard and move there. That way, our two families will be close and can take care of each other, but we can also have our own doors and doors, which would be more comfortable."
Zheng had no objection. She was used to listening to her mother-in-law in everything.
Bai Shanbao, however, had many ideas. He was playing nearby. When he heard his grandmother say that, he ran over and said, "Choose the one near the river. When the time comes, we can bring the water home and dig a big pond. I want to raise turtles."
"Why are you still thinking about raising a turtle?" Before, in her hometown, this child broke the head of her second uncle's grandson just for a turtle. For this, her mother-in-law paid a lot of gifts as compensation. Even now, Zheng still feels sad when she thinks about it.
Bai Shanbao was very persistent, "I must raise turtles and make soup for my grandmother when they grow up."
Zheng's expression was quite indescribable, but Liu knew what her grandson meant. She patted his head and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, I'll dig you a pond to raise turtles. If you have anything else you want, tell me so we can plan it out later."
Bai Shanbao thought for a moment and said, "I need to think about this carefully."
"Think about it, and tell me when you come up with it."
Liu couldn't be the one to take charge of the matter of buying land and building a house, so she had to discuss it with Mr. Bai.
Bai Shanbao didn't worry about these things. He reviewed today's homework and started to draw the courtyard of his imagination.
But he is currently a soul painter, and I am afraid no one can understand what he draws except himself.
But Shanbao didn't know this, so the next day he happily took his masterpiece to show Manbao and told her that this would be his new home.
Manbao flipped it up and down and looked at it for a long time, then asked with a frown, "Where is the front?"
Shanbao straightened the painting and asked, "Look, this is my room. I'm going to build a swing here so I can swing on it when I wake up. I'm going to dig a pond here and raise a turtle in it so I can watch the turtle while I swing. Look, this is a turtle."
Manbao had never seen a turtle before, so he asked, "Can turtles be eaten?"
"Yes, turtles can live very long. I plan to fatten it up and make soup for my grandmother. That way, my grandmother will live a long life too."
Manbao's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Shanbao nodded, "Of course it's true. When I was back home they all said that turtles represent longevity!"
"How many do you have? Can you sell me one? I want to raise a turtle too."
Shanbao asked, "Why do you keep turtles?"
"Give it to my mother. She is always sick. If she eats the turtle, she will live a hundred years and won't be sick all the time."
Bai Shanbao thought turtles were very rare, otherwise he wouldn't have fought with his cousin for that one. However, he had just made friends with Manbao and it was difficult to refuse her. So he hesitated and said, "I'll ask my mother to buy an extra one. If I can, I'll give it to you. If not, then wait until my turtle gives birth and I'll give it to you to raise."
Manbao felt something was wrong. "It takes two turtles to give birth to a baby, one male and one female."
"Who said that?"
"Chickens and pigs are like this, and so are people." Despite her young age, Manbao knew a lot, listing them all to him. "When my hens hatch chicks, my mother checks the eggs. She says only eggs laid by roosters can produce chicks. In the spring, my nephew Dazhu went to the next village to invite a boar to marry his sow so that it could give birth to piglets. People also have to marry a wife before they can have children."
So, "You have to buy two turtles, a male and a female, so they can have babies. If they give birth to one turtle a year, that means ten turtles in ten years. Then we can eat the two that grow up and keep the others to have more babies..." Manbao counted them and was shocked. "Wow, we will have a lot of turtles then."
Bai Shanbao felt that what she said made sense, so he decided to tell his mother what he would do when he got home in the evening.
Seeing that he was willing to listen to her suggestions, Manbao became more lively and pointed to his blueprint. "In addition to raising turtles in the pond, you can also grow lotus roots. Do you know lotus roots? There are a lot of them on the river bank downstream of our village. The flowers in the summer are beautiful, the lotus seeds are delicious, and the lotus roots are delicious too."
Manbao became excited and said, "Let me take you to dig lotus roots. I went there last year and I already know how to dig them."
Bai Shanbao asked, "Didn't we agree to go catch cabbage worms today?"
Manbao said nonchalantly, "We can catch them later. Let's go dig lotus roots first. Lotus roots are much prettier than bugs."
Bai Shanbao didn't really want to catch bugs, so he nodded in agreement.
(End of this chapter)
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