Song Anxin's family owned six mu of paddy fields and had to pay taxes. Fortunately, taxes were not heavy in this dynasty, and they only had to pay one-fourteenth of a jin of rice. In the end, the rice produced was only about six hundred jin.
Song Anxin couldn't help but sigh, "Every grain of rice is hard-earned."
Finally, there were some finishing touches. Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou bundled up the dried rice straw and piled it up. In winter, it could be used as a mattress under the bed and inside the quilt for warmth, and it could also be used to start a fire.
Song Anxin, Zhang Mei, and a few others slowly milled the dried and harvested rice, turning the rice grains into white rice.
Rice grown with one's own hard work is the most fragrant. Song Anxin drank two large bowls of white rice porridge for breakfast.
Because the family had harvested new rice, Song Anxin splurged a little; otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to cook rice porridge for breakfast.
This was the first time Song Anxin had ever had plain white rice porridge since she came here, and it was also the first time the boys had ever had it since they were born. They even licked the sticky rice porridge off the bottom of the bowl, mouthful by mouthful.
Song Anbang stared wide-eyed, and after much hesitation, he finally managed to finish the soup at the bottom of the bowl.
At the dinner table, Song Anbang ate elegantly, and Song Anxin couldn't help but sigh that having naturally fair skin was amazing. Although Song Anbang and Lin Fenghe had also peeled a layer of skin after being exposed to the sun for the past few days, their skin was still smooth and fair. The two of them not only looked alike, but their behavior was also becoming more and more similar.
Then wouldn't all her physical sun protection have been for nothing? She'd been covering herself up completely every day and getting all hot and bothered. Song Anxin cried inwardly.
Lin Fenghe keenly sensed his mother's mood and asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Song Anxin was immediately embarrassed: "Oh, Mother is fine. By the way, Anbang, when are you going back after the autumn harvest?"
Song Anbang looked up and said, "Sister, I won't go back for now. I want to stay here and learn more from you."
Song Anxin almost forgot that she had only taught him arithmetic for one day before the autumn harvest began, so she hadn't had time to teach him anything else yet.
She thought for a moment and said to Song Anxin, "Could you lend me paper and pen?"
She wanted to get a math book first, so that after explaining some concepts, he could figure it out on his own, instead of both of them spending too much time on it.
Song Anbang nodded. It's nothing.
After finishing the meal, Song Anxin was surprised to find a large group of people at her house, led by the village head.
Lin Li was standing at the entrance of the courtyard when he asked, "Is Fengnian's mother home?"
Hearing the noise, Song Anxin came out and saw more than a dozen villagers at the entrance of the courtyard. She exclaimed in surprise:
"Why is everyone here? Is there something you need, Uncle Village Head?"
The villagers who came along looked embarrassed.
Several women had previously visited the village head's house and told him that Aunt Lin was a teacher and they wanted to send their children to her to study together. They asked the village head to help them make the arrangements.
Lin Lizheng actually had the same idea, but before the autumn harvest, his family didn't have much surplus food, so he was embarrassed to ask. He decided to go after the autumn harvest when there was food, so he could at least give some tuition fees. The women naturally had no objections.
After exchanging the grain in the county, they immediately went to find the village head, and some women and old women followed along.
After hesitating for a long time, Lin Lizheng finally spoke up, "Fengnian's mother, we...we want to send our children here to study and learn to read with Fengnian and Fenghe, is that alright?"
A woman quickly said, "Sister-in-law Lin, we'd like to offer you some tuition fees. Here's two catties of millet. We don't have anything else of value to offer. Is that alright?"
"Yes, yes, I also brought three catties of buckwheat noodles..."
"......."
Immediately, the villagers took out the grain they had, hoping that Song Anxin would agree.
Song Anxin didn't know what to say for a moment.
She knew that after the villagers harvested their grain, most of them would take it to the county to exchange for millet, coarse grains, and money. A family's food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and medicine for the whole year depended on this grain, which was how the family could survive until the next autumn harvest.
Yesterday, Sister-in-law Lin also came to ask her to go to town to exchange rice together, but she didn't go. She felt that she felt most at ease when she had the food in her own hands.
But now they are using the food they saved from eating to give to her, asking her to teach their children to read and write. Song Anxin was deeply moved.
No matter when or what circumstances people face, their desire to improve never ceases, which is why future generations can continue to progress and prosper.
Seeing that Song Anxin didn't speak, Lin Lizheng said, "I have three catties of old rice here. Our Lin family village has been here for generations, and most of the villagers are illiterate."
But I thought our children shouldn't end up like us. Our village is too poor to afford a school, and the county is too far for us to afford to support our children.
"Fengnian's mother, you are a learned woman, and you've taught Fengnian and Fengshou so well. I, this old man, am shameless enough to come and beg you for help."
Song Anxin said, "Uncle Village Head, what are you saying?"
She looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "It's not that I don't want to agree, but my younger brother Anbang is currently teaching a few younger children, and I need to ask him if he can agree to teach them."
Song Anbang had no objections; teaching a few students was the same as teaching a few. He hadn't expected that people in this remote mountain village would value education so much.
Lin Li and the villagers were overjoyed to hear that Song Tongsheng was willing to teach their children; they never expected to have a teacher like him.
Song Anxin said, "Uncle Village Head, ladies and sisters, we agreed that Anbang is a student who wants to take the imperial examinations, but I can't guarantee when he might leave."
Moreover, my younger brother is only a student at the preliminary level, unlike the scholars and officials in the county who run schools. If you want your child to study and eventually pass the imperial examinations, I suggest you send him to the county town. Don't delay his education."
Song Anxin had to make sure he explained things beforehand, otherwise some villagers might think that because the child had some education, they would have wild ideas about him becoming an examiner or something.
The ancient imperial examinations were even more competitive than the modern college entrance examinations; otherwise, how could there have been stories like the white-haired scholar Fan Jin passing the imperial examinations?
In fact, she felt it was unnecessary. It might not be a good thing for children without the necessary conditions and talents to take the imperial examination route, but they still had to study.
Aunt Zhao readily agreed, "It's alright, we trust Song Tongsheng. How far the child can study is up to fate."
We just wanted our child to be able to read and recognize a few words; that would make him a little smarter, wouldn't it? We'll teach him for as long as Song Tongsheng can. We'll send him more tuition next month if he's still teaching.
Song Anbang nodded and said, "What this auntie said is right. Reading makes people wise and polite. No matter what your status is or what kind of livelihood you make, reading is always beneficial."
Aunt Zhao was so flattered by Song Anbang's praise that she was completely bewildered. What?! Song Tongsheng actually said that what I said was right, then Ming... something like that. Although she didn't understand, she knew that it must be something nice.
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