Zhu Heizi was only ten years old, about the same age as Lin Fengyao, but he looked much thinner and smaller than Lin Fengyao. He looked about the same age as eight-year-old Lin Dongzi. At this moment, his thin body was carrying a basket on his back.
Sister-in-law Lin greeted them when she saw them:
"Heiwa's mother is up the mountain chopping firewood. Why hasn't Heizi gone to the ancestral hall yet? Classes there are probably about to start."
Zhu Heizi greeted politely, "Hello, Aunt Lin and Second Aunt, I'm off now."
After saying that, he handed the basket on his back to his mother and hurriedly ran away, while Zhu Heiwa looked enviously at his younger brother running towards the ancestral hall.
Widow Zhu has two sons and a daughter. Her husband passed away two years ago, leaving her and her children to rely entirely on Widow Zhu and her eldest son, Heiwa.
Zhu Heiwa is fourteen years old this year, but he is already the eldest man and the pillar of this family.
Song Anxin asked, "Heiwa, why aren't you going?"
Widow Zhu lifted the basket she had received and smiled, saying:
"Sister-in-law Lin, Heiwa won't go. We only gave him some firewood and wild vegetables. How could we let the two children go? Let Heizi learn and then teach Heiwa."
A hint of melancholy flashed in Zhu Heiwa's eyes, but Song Anxin saw the longing in them.
She didn't go to the ancestral hall and didn't know how many children went to school, but Anbang said there weren't many. It was estimated that only their family and Sister-in-law Lin's family sent all their children to school. Even the village head's family only sent two boys, and the number of girls could be counted on one hand.
Song Anxin knew that this situation was caused by two main reasons. First, every household in the village was poor, but the people were honest and simple, and it was difficult to send all their children to school for a small fee. Second, only a minority of people valued education, and they preferred to keep their children at home to work rather than waste food and time studying. As for the girls, forget about it; getting married as soon as possible was their only way out.
Song Anxin sighed inwardly. This was a product of this era, and no matter how capable she was, she couldn't change it.
She said, "Heiwa's mother, having another pair of ears is still good for listening. Just let Heiwa bring a stool; it won't get in the way. We can give him the tuition fee later."
Widow Zhu waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, this, this is too much trouble."
A glint of light flashed in Zhu Heiwa's eyes as he pushed the basket he was carrying toward him, saying:
"Aunt Lin, these are some persimmons I picked from the mountain. May I use them as tuition fees?"
Song Anxin looked at the basket he handed her. Inside were seven or eight bright yellow persimmons, but they were all damaged. Some had been pecked in half by birds, while others had fallen to the ground and were badly broken. However, she knew that this was the best thing the child could offer.
She smiled and said, "Of course you can. Go to the ancestral hall now and give it to Master Song. He loves to eat persimmons."
Sister-in-law Lin chimed in, "Yes, let's hurry up and go before classes start."
Having received Song Anxin's approval, Zhu Heiwa glanced at his mother, Zhu the widow, whose eyes had become misty at some point. She smiled and nodded at him.
Zhu Heiwa immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Then I'll put the firewood at home right now!" With that, he carried the firewood on his shoulder and the basket of persimmons in his hand and hurried away.
After saying goodbye to Widow Zhu, Sister-in-law Lin watched her retreating figure and said:
"Sigh, it's not easy for Widow Zhu to raise three children on her own. She looks a few years younger than you, but she looks so much older."
As she spoke, she glanced at Song Anxin again.
Song Anxin: "......."
I'll take that as a compliment to my youth.
You wouldn't believe it until you looked closely; Sister-in-law Lin was utterly shocked:
"Sister-in-law, you look younger than I do, and you've lost a lot of weight..."
Song Anxin sighed with relief that someone had finally noticed. She had indeed lost a lot of weight; her stomach and thighs were much thinner than when she first arrived. However, everyone here was dressed very conservatively, making it difficult for anyone to notice.
“I know why I look so young, my face has gotten smaller too,” Sister-in-law Lin continued.
Song Anxin was secretly delighted. She didn't intend to explain further and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, let's hurry to the river."
Song Anxin and Sister-in-law Lin washed until it was just getting dark when the younger children came to help after school. Back home, Song Anxin and Zhang Mei led the younger children to begin preparing the braising liquid.
It has to be said that the braised food smells really good. Song Anxin was telling stories to the children in the yard, and the smell made her mouth water.
After she finished telling the story, she asked Zhang Mei to take the persimmons and eat them. The group of people each had a persimmon and ate them with great relish.
At this moment, Lin Fengyao asked, "Uncle, do you really like eating persimmons? Then I'll go pick some persimmons for you to eat tomorrow."
Song Anbang shook his head and said, "I don't really like sweets, but sister, why do you say I like persimmons? I'd be willing to teach them even if they didn't send tuition fees."
Song Anxin ate a persimmon that was of slightly better quality and said to him:
"If any children bring persimmons as tuition fees tomorrow, just accept them and don't say anything else."
There are actually many children in the village who want to go to school. Even if you said you'd teach them even if they didn't send tuition, how could they take your gift for granted? The villagers may be poor, but they understand the principle of reciprocity.
She wants to give children of this era more opportunities and hope.
Song Anbang nodded to indicate that he understood; he was indeed not as thoughtful as his elder sister when it came to interpersonal relationships.
Sure enough, early the next morning, many children brought persimmons. Some were children who wanted to study, while others were children who were already studying at the ancestral hall and came to thank Song Anbang.
The yard was piled high with persimmons, which made Lin Fengyao extremely happy. He hadn't even gone up the mountain to pick any yet, and he already had so much to eat.
He picked out one of the better ones and gave it to Song Anxin, saying, "Mom, you eat it." He knew his uncle didn't like it, but his mother did.
Song Anxin smiled and accepted it; how could she not understand his thoughts? She said:
"Fengyao, eat whatever you want, but remember not to overeat, or your stomach will hurt."
Lin Fengyao happily agreed, picked up a bird that had a hole in it, broke off the hole, and started eating it.
"Meizi, stop busying yourself and come eat with us," Song Anxin called out.
Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou went to deliver goods, while Song Anbang and Lin Fenghe, who neither liked sweets, stayed in their room reading.
While peeling the persimmon, Song Anxin asked, "Why are all these persimmons missing pieces here and there? How come there are so few intact ones?"
Zhang Mei laughed and said, "Mom, birds always know whether persimmons are ripe or not before we humans do, so they peck them off first. Even if they aren't pecked, some persimmons will fall to the ground before we even notice they're ripe."
Song Anxin said, "Don't you know how to pick the unripe persimmons and ripen them?"
Lin Fengyao's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Mom, persimmons can be ripened? How do you ripen them?"
So, people in this era didn't know how to cure persimmons. She said, "Fengyao, go with Erxi and Dongzi to pick some good raw persimmons from the mountain later. I'll teach you how to cure persimmons."
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