Chapter 137 The Village Children Need to Go to School
After his reminder, Lu Qian and Li Hong looked more closely and indeed discovered the difference.
The fabric's texture was indeed incredibly fine and even, and the rice grains were even more uniform in size and had a purer color.
Lu Yu leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and looked sharply at Lu Qian:
“I showed it to the best cloth and grain merchants in the capital, and no one recognized the weaving technique of the fabric, nor had anyone ever seen such evenly ground rice. Not to mention, she sold it to the villagers for one copper coin; what’s the difference between that and giving it away for free?”
"Didn't you ever think of asking her where the things in her shop came from?"
Jiang Ling wasn't selling these things to make money; she just wanted to find an excuse to make everyone feel better.
After closing the shop and doing the math, I realized I had actually made a profit.
After all, even a poorly made coin like this could sell for hundreds of dollars in an antique shop.
Lu Qian fell silent.
How could he not know about the unusual activity at the grocery store?
Jiang Ling never went out again after closing the shop, yet the shop seemed to have an endless supply of goods.
From cosmetics to grains and oils, everything is inexhaustible.
Every time she talks about buying goods, no one has ever seen her go out to purchase them.
He had been curious, but every time the words were about to come out, he swallowed them back.
But after spending time together, his feelings for Jiang Ling had long since transcended those of ordinary friends.
He admired her intelligence, was moved by her kindness, and was touched by her unique clarity of mind.
Gradually, his feelings for her had long since lost the initial testing and exploitation.
He even felt guilty that he had initially approached her with the intention of concealing his identity.
He has not yet revealed his true identity to her.
If he were to deliberately pry into her secrets, he feared he would lose even the friendship he had built.
Lu Yu seemed to see through his thoughts and sighed softly, "Since ancient times, young people have found it difficult to overcome the trials of love."
He softened his tone: "I know you have feelings for her and don't want to hurt your relationship. You must understand that the moment I sent people to buy these bolts of cloth and rice, I already learned that another identical shipment had been rushed to the Eastern Palace! If you don't make a decision, the Eastern Palace will."
Lu Qian's heart sank.
Suddenly a guard rushed in and reported:
"Your Highness! Your Highness! We've just received news that His Highness the Crown Prince... has left the palace! His carriage is heading towards Ping'an County!"
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Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran finished their lunch and cleaned up the dishes.
The sun had already hidden behind the clouds, and a cool breeze was blowing in.
The shop was quiet, and even fewer villagers were passing by.
Everyone's gone home for their afternoon nap at this time.
Jiang Ling leaned against the counter and yawned. After being busy for days, she rarely had such a moment of leisure.
Seeing that no customers were coming for a while, Jiang Ling went upstairs and took a nap for half an hour.
When she woke up, the sunlight was already setting in the west, casting warm patches of light on the floor through the window.
She stretched and walked to the door. She saw several villagers squatting in the alleyway, basking in the sun, holding pipes and chatting idly.
Jiang Ling didn't want to waste this beautiful autumn day.
She got up and went to the warehouse, where she and Xiaoran moved two lightweight tables and chairs to the open space in front of the shop.
I also took a few snacks from the shelf. There were some freshly baked cupcakes, crispy cookies, and some preserved fruits that would keep well, all neatly arranged on several large plates.
Then I boiled a large pot of water and brewed some fragrant black tea, and the aroma of tea filled the air.
"Come on over and take a break, have something to eat and warm up!"
"Hey!" someone in the crowd responded happily.
Before long, several villagers who had just gathered together to chat came over with smiles.
Grandpa Zhao was the first to pick up a piece of pastry, break it in half, and put it in his mouth.
"Mmm! This pastry is so crispy, even better than the ones you buy in town!"
Aunt Zhang also smiled and came over, picking up her teacup and taking a sip:
"Indeed! Miss Jiang always has some new and interesting things to eat. My daughter was talking about it this morning, saying that the egg yolk pie we had last time was delicious!"
"Oh my, Miss Jiang, where did you buy these pastries? They're so fragrant and sweet, they're delicious!"
"This tea smells wonderful, and it warms me up from head to toe!"
"It's so comfortable here with Miss Jiang!"
Everyone sat around the table, basking in the warm sun, drinking hot tea, and eating exquisite pastries they had never tasted before, chatting about everyday life.
Aunt Zhang said that she had already pickled two vats of cabbage at home, enough to last the whole winter;
Aunt Li said that she was getting old and the sweater she knitted for her son was too small, so she had to unravel it and knit it again.
Uncle Zhao boasted that he had saved enough firewood to last until spring.
Jiang Ling sat to the side listening, occasionally interjecting a few words. The sunlight shone on her, warm and cozy, and even the air seemed to have a sense of tranquility.
Several children who were playing nearby gathered around, and Jiang Ling gave each of them two packs of biscuits, telling them to eat them elsewhere.
There weren't enough tables and chairs outside the shop, and besides, they didn't like being with adults.
After all, they didn't have anything in common to talk about.
Before we knew it, the sun was setting in the west, and it was already late afternoon.
Fu Chengze arrived at the shop entrance on time, as agreed, to give Xiaoran her lesson.
He was still wearing the same glasses, but the cotton straps on the temples had been replaced with a lighter gray one, which was sturdier; he was thin, but looked exceptionally energetic.
The cloth bag was bulging, presumably containing textbooks and pens.
"Mr. Fu is here!"
Xiao Ran, with her sharp eyes, immediately jumped up from the stool and ran to the shop to retrieve the writing implements that Jiang Ling had bought earlier.
They set up a small table on the other side of the shop entrance.
When the villagers realized that class was about to begin, they spoke in a low voice out of respect for the students.
"Xiao Ran is becoming more and more like a scholar."
"Mr. Fu is a good teacher, and Miss Jiang is kind-hearted for finding such a good teacher for her child."
"That's right. Miss Jiang even paid out of her own pocket to find a tutor for Xiao Ran. What other customer in the world would be so kind?"
"Zhao Yong's son works as a shop assistant at the grain store in town. He has to get up before dawn to carry grain, and the employer always deducts his wages. He's become so thin he's practically unrecognizable."
"Everyone has their own fate; it's just that he's not as lucky as Xiao Ran."
Not far away, several boys of similar age to Xiaoran were also standing, looking over with longing eyes full of envy.
Jiang Ling glanced at Xiao Ran, then seriously considered the villagers' conversation.
I felt I had to do something, otherwise Xiao Ran's family would become the target of everyone's scorn in the village.
As he was thinking, Xiao Ran walked over, pointed to a few children about his age standing there, and hesitated before saying:
"Sister Jiang, could you let them come and listen to the lesson together? They also want to learn to read and write. They'll just stand aside and listen; they won't ask any questions."
Jiang Ling paused for a moment, considering the feasibility of this idea.
He glanced at the group of children, then at the adults who had stayed to drink tea.
It turns out that the five boys were basically from these families, or related to these families.
Jiang Ling still had something she didn't understand.
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