They left the Jinguang Gate and headed north on the official road, enjoying a smooth journey. Passing through four or five towns, it took them nearly two hours to finally reach Weiyin Township.
Passing a boundary marker inscribed with the words "Weiyin Township," the two dismounted and set off on foot. Xu Jiang pounded her waist, feeling half her body nearly falling apart from the shakes. The stubborn donkey, panting with exhaustion, then searched for grass and water.
Finally, it found a small ditch and ran towards it. Xu Jiang didn't pay attention and was almost dragged into the ditch by it. After he stood firm, he couldn't help but slap it hard.
The slap didn't hurt the stubborn donkey at all. As soon as it reached the ditch, it couldn't wait to stick its mouth into the water and suck it up.
Shopkeeper Wang also led the donkey over to drink water. He was sturdy and thick-skinned, and because he had been running around in the countryside for many years, he felt normal along the way.
The two stood by the small ditch and looked out. They saw green and beautiful new growth in the near distance, with spring vegetables filling the fields. In the distance, the wind blew wheat waves, and the broken flowers looked like snow. There were also irrigation ditches like veins, covering the fields and paths, and mulberry, peach, apricot and plum trees planted on the ridges.
The farmers were busy with their farm work, digging ditches, plowing the fields with oxen, turning the soil and building ridges, or planting rice and sowing seeds.
Xu Jiang took a deep breath, filling his mouth with the fragrance of wheat flowers. He suddenly felt relaxed and refreshed, and his fatigue was greatly reduced.
Shopkeeper Wang observed the wheat growing well and said with anticipation, "In two months, it will be time to harvest the wheat. This year should be a good harvest." He then said to Xu Jiang, "Don't forget your sweet mash then."
Xu Jiang laughed, "I remember it."
The two men stood there for a while longer. Seeing that the two donkeys had almost eaten all the tender grass beside the ditch, Manager Wang said, "That's enough rest. Let's go. I'll take you to the village school to deliver the books first, and then we'll go to inspect the fields."
"good."
The two men drove the donkey and the carriage again, heading towards the village ahead.
All townships in Dasheng were divided into five-li districts, with each li consisting of five neighborhoods and each neighborhood consisting of five households. Weiyin Township was no exception. Each township had at least four or five schools, some large, some small, some public, some private.
However, there was only one public school, usually jointly run by the village head and local prominent families. The rest were private schools. Usually, the famous and wealthy villagers would send their children to the public school, while those with limited funds but who wanted their children to study and succeed would send them to private schools.
Some prestigious teachers would open their own local schools, and in addition to accepting students from local middle schools, they would also accept students from Beijing middle schools. The tuition fees were no lower than those of public schools, but this was extremely rare.
The three township schools where Xu Jiang wanted to send books were all private schools, and the one in Weiyin Township was located in Wangjia Village, the poorest place in Weiyin Township.
Arriving at Wangjia Village, many villagers greeted the two, both those they knew and those they didn't. When they heard Xu Jiang was delivering books to the academy, they enthusiastically offered directions. One peasant woman even dropped her work and offered to personally lead the two there.
She said, "My son is also studying in a private school."
The two of them suddenly realized what was going on and let her do as she pleased.
Shopkeeper Xu Jiang Wang followed the peasant woman to the school. Although it was called a school, it was actually no different from an ordinary farmhouse, built on a flat slope, and the terrain was good.
The donkey cart stopped at the foot of the slope and was watched by Manager Wang, while Xu Jiang and the peasant woman took the book and went up the slope.
After going up the hill, Xu Jiang realized that this was actually a unique place.
All I saw was a thatched roof, a mud wall, a small fence, a bamboo forest, banana trees, and chinaberry flowers. I heard the sound of "zhihuzheya" gradually fading away, and then I heard the teacher hitting my head with a ruler.
"I told you to read, but you dozed off? Get up and read standing up!"
The sound of a teacher scolding a student came from the school, making Xu Jiang chuckle.
The peasant woman was embarrassed because the student being scolded happened to be her son.
This damn brat originally wanted to save her face, but unexpectedly he lost face first. Just wait and see how she will deal with him when she gets back!
Hearing voices outside, the teacher came out to check. Seeing that one of the voices was a student's mother, and thinking about how he had just scolded someone and was seen by others, he felt a little uncomfortable.
The peasant woman introduced him to Xu Jiang, saying, "This is Master Wang from our school."
Xu Jiang was holding the book, so she couldn't greet him. She just bowed and nodded. "Hello, Master. I'm Xu Jiang. I'm here to deliver the book, entrusted by Master Ji."
Master Wang was in his fifties, with a serious face. Hearing Xu Jiang was there to deliver a book, his expression softened. He hurried forward and took the book, thanking her, "I heard Mr. Ji mention you earlier. It's truly hard work for Manager Xu to personally deliver it from such a long distance."
"It's okay. I feel bored in the city every day, so I just come out to get some fresh air." After Xu Jiang finished speaking, he saw a row of little heads sticking out from behind the door and smiled at them.
When the peasant woman saw her son leading the students to lie by the door and peek, she glared at him.
Master Wang noticed something was wrong and turned around, and the students immediately retracted their heads.
He looked helpless and simply called out, "Come out, everyone."
Upon hearing this, the students rushed out. There were about twenty children, the youngest six or seven, the oldest looking no more than twelve or thirteen. They looked at Xu Jiang curiously, then stood in two rows under Master Wang's direction.
Master Wang handed the books to them and said, "This book in your hands is a gift from Mr. Ji Shan, Mr. Deng Yuechuan, and this shopkeeper Xu. Why don't you bow and express your gratitude?"
The children held the books carefully, bowed respectfully to Xu Jiang, and then thanked her in a mess.
Master Wang coughed twice, quickly stopped the class, and then taught it again himself.
Now the voices were finally in unison. "Thank you, Mr. Ji, Mr. Deng, and Shopkeeper Xu, for the books."
"You're welcome." Xu Jiang suppressed a smile and said, "From now on, study hard and don't let Master Wang and the other teachers down."
The voices that responded were all in chaos again.
Master Wang quickly chased them back to the school, then said to Xu Jiang, "I'm sure you're tired from the journey. Why don't you stay and have some tea and rest?"
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