Chapter 224 Is it feasible?
Song Chunxue followed Sanwa and Liu Chunshu to the entrance of the county school, where the tall plaque bore the four characters "Taolin School".
She had only ever seen village schools before, never county schools. When she saw the solemn and imposing gate, she felt an unprecedented sense of shyness and inferiority.
Everyone here is a very good student. She, who has never been to a proper school, feels anxious and uneasy even standing here.
But soon, a surge of enthusiasm welled up in her heart; she could learn, and she was learning now.
Although she had forgotten about 40-50% of what Sanwa had taught her before, Sanwa and her senior brother had both said that diligence could make up for lack of talent.
Some seventy-year-old ladies are even starting to learn calligraphy and painting.
Learning to read is much simpler than learning to paint or write.
Thinking this way, she felt much more confident.
Nine steps, the smooth floor tiles were a bit slippery underfoot, making the soles of my cloth shoes feel uneven.
As soon as you step into the school, the air is different from the surroundings, and the sunlight is exceptionally bright.
Upon meeting the Master, Song Chunxue learned that Sanwa had been kept by the Master because of his own abilities.
“Aunt Song, your son is really hardworking. He told me that he only started studying in the second half of last year. He had been herding sheep for the previous nine years. But I gave him some test questions, and after the test, I found out that he had been studying quietly all these years. His accumulated knowledge is no less than that of students who have studied for six or seven years.”
The master was tall and thin with fair skin and charming single eyelids. He spoke with a gentle smile and a calm tone that was soothing to listen to.
Perhaps due to long-term spleen and stomach disharmony, there is a wet white discharge at the corner of the mouth.
"My name is Wei Qian, and I will be Jiang Yexun's tutor from now on. If there is anything you need, Aunt Song can come to me."
Song Chunxue thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you very much, Master. I will be grateful for your care of my child from now on."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Master said he was taking Jiang Yexun to give a lesson. Before leaving, Master Wei casually asked a question.
"Why did the attendant of Lord Xie bring you here personally? Are you related or...?" He asked generously, smiling slightly, "I just wanted to know a little bit. If it's inconvenient, you don't have to answer."
Sanwa explained, "When my mother was delivering grain, she was saved by Lord Xie. Because my mother was badly beaten by the officials, Lord Xie had a deep impression of her, and they got to know each other after a while."
"Lord Xie is a very approachable person and has no airs in front of us ordinary people. I met him by chance yesterday. When he learned that I had never been to the county before, he had his men show me the way."
Sanwa explained clearly and logically, "Apart from that, there is no special relationship."
Song Chunxue couldn't help but look at Sanwa with eyes full of relief; he had really grown up.
Suddenly, I noticed that he had grown quite a bit taller, with a straight and upright back, and a poised and confident demeanor.
Her third child was no longer the quiet, shy, and timid boy who buried himself in herding sheep.
Before we knew it, he had grown into a beautiful young man, much like a slender bamboo shoot.
Taolin School is quite large and clean and tidy everywhere, unlike the schools in the countryside where dust can be seen everywhere. It is obvious that someone cleans and maintains it regularly.
Song Chunxue didn't linger. After learning that the teacher would explain everything else to Sanwa and deal with it one by one, she left the school with Liu Chunshu.
"Thank you so much for sending you these past two days. Otherwise, Sanwa and I would have been completely lost and wouldn't have known who to ask," Song Chunxue said earnestly. "In a few days, I'll make some guokui (a type of flatbread) and send them over this afternoon as a token of my gratitude."
Liu Chunshu pondered for a moment, "Very well, I will thank you on behalf of you, sir."
"Okay, then you go back and get busy. I'll go home and make it now." Luckily, she prepared the dough last night, so it should be ready by now.
When Song Chunxue got home, she found that her fourth brother was not there.
She guessed he had gone with some old classmates, so she didn't pay much attention. After tidying up the house and watering the peonies that had sprouted in the yard, she went to the kitchen to cook.
They're going back tomorrow, so she wants to make more steamed buns and put them in the cellar for Sanwa to eat slowly.
Farming takes a long time, and making steamed buns is time-consuming and laborious, but Fan Sanwa can make them himself.
With that in mind, she made eight flatbreads, steamed a pot of yellow rice cakes, took some out and put them in a bamboo basket, covered them with a clean floral cloth and delivered them to Master Xie's house.
Since Lord Xie was not home, she handed the basket to the servant and took it home.
At noon, when it was lunchtime, the fourth brother returned carrying a small fish.
"Mother, there are fish in the river in this county! Have you ever eaten fish before? Do you know how to cook it?"
This put Song Chunxue in a dilemma. "I've never eaten it or made it before. Why don't you ask someone else?"
The fourth brother seemed to have anticipated her response, and walked confidently into the kitchen, saying, "I've already asked. Why don't you let me give it a try?"
After all, they are children of farmers. Even if they don't cook often, they have cooked before and seen it done countless times.
Song Chunxue remembered that the fourth brother later became a big eater. Don't be fooled by his current tall and thin appearance; he got quite fat after he became rich, and his belly was so big it looked like he was pregnant with triplets.
Seeing him pick up a kitchen knife and skillfully prepare the palm-sized fish, Song Chunxue couldn't help but watch again and again.
The kitchen counter is made of thick pine wood, four feet long and three feet wide, so you don't have to worry about not having enough room to work when kneading dough.
The large windows can be opened wide, letting in the light from outside, making it as bright as the north room in the old courtyard.
Song Chunxue slowly ate the buckwheat noodles, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Fourth brother, don't you think I'm too biased towards third brother and too harsh on you?"
The fourth brother was stunned for a moment and almost cut his hand.
"Oh, Mother, why are you saying such nonsense? Are you feeling guilty because I've been too sensible these past few days?"
"..." I feel bad for Niu, but I'm just a little uneasy.
"Actually, I feel really bad. Why did I insist on going to see the play that night? If it weren't for the Taoist priest, Mother would have suffered a loss. I've been wanting to apologize to Mother for the past few days, but I don't know how to bring it up."
The fourth son's movements became slower and slower. Looking at the fish in his hand, he awkwardly apologized, "Mother, I'm sorry. Sometimes I think about it, you've given birth to so many sons, but it seems like only the third one is reliable. You can't count on the three of us. You must be very angry."
"..." Song Chunxue accidentally got her finger crushed by the rolling pin, and her fingertip hurt.
She looked at the fourth brother in disbelief. How could he say such a thing?
The fourth son lowered his head and said, "No wonder Mother smiles less and less. She doesn't smile at us much anymore, and even towards the third child, she feels more guilty than loving."
"……"is that so?
She couldn't help but look at the fourth brother, "I didn't realize you had such a sharp eye. I hadn't even noticed it myself."
“Before, I thought your practice of Taoism with the Taoist priest and learning to read with Sanwa was just nonsense, a momentary impulse. But after the Taoist priest gave me some pointers that day, I realized that Mother doesn’t want to rely on us in the future, so she strives for progress like a young person.”
"..." Unexpectedly, this brat is quite smart, but he just doesn't like to study.
"Mother, after we finish planting, I'll go west with my classmates to join the caravan. If it doesn't work out, I'll come back, okay?"
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