Soon it was time for dinner at Song Anxin's house: stir-fried mushrooms with meat, stir-fried wild vegetables with meat, and a steamed egg topped with some pork cracklings.
There's only half a pound of meat left, so I'm cutting off small pieces each time to use for stir-fries. But I don't think it will last long, and I can't leave the meat out for too long in case it spoils.
The boys were happy as long as they had meat to eat, regardless of the quantity, especially since there were also eggs.
After dinner, it was time for the Lin family's little classroom. The children were already seated and waiting for Song Anxin. As soon as Song Anxin entered the main room, she saw the children sitting obediently, looking quite like elementary school students, and couldn't help but chuckle.
The children were taking it so seriously, so she couldn't let her guard down. She tidied her hair and slowly walked to the front.
He said, "Today is the second lesson in our Lin Family Classroom. Let's review yesterday's material first..."
Before Song Anxin could finish speaking, a flurry of noise came from the courtyard gate.
"Second Aunt, Second Aunt, are you home? My mother asked me to bring you some radishes!"
Lin Erxi ran in carrying a large radish. Seeing everyone sitting in the main room, she asked curiously, "Second Aunt, Brother Fengnian and Sister-in-law Fengnian, what are you all doing here? Don't you cook at home?"
Lin Fengyao said, "Second Sister, we finished eating a long time ago. My mother is giving us a lesson."
Because she had to teach her family's younger children, Song Anxin brought the dinner to her home earlier than usual, as it was just the time when farmers would be cooking.
Lin Erxi was very surprised and doubtful: "Second Aunt can teach? How come I've never heard of that before?"
Lin Fengshou quickly replied, "Erxi, you don't know, do you? My mother's father was a scholar, and my mother also has a younger brother who was a student in the imperial examinations."
Lin Fenghe added, "My mother was also well-read and even borrowed books from my maternal grandparents to teach us."
Lin Erxi was dumbfounded. What?! Her second aunt was actually the daughter of a scholar! And she could even read and write! Good heavens, how come her parents had never mentioned this before?
Lin Erxi quickly recovered from her shock, and her eyes immediately shone with a burning light as she looked at Song Anxin.
Song Anxin trembled under that gaze; why did it look so familiar...?
Lin Erxi walked quickly to Song Anxin and said, "Second Aunt, please teach me to read and write too."
After saying that, he realized something was wrong and quickly corrected himself, saying, "No, I should call you Master. Master, please teach me to read and write."
After speaking, he performed an awkward reading gesture towards Song Anxin.
Song Anxin was amused by her. Before she could speak, Lin Erxi said, "By the way, you have to pay tuition for studying. My family definitely can't afford it. How about, Auntie, oh no, no, teacher, I can send you a rabbit every day to pay for the tuition? I can catch rabbits now."
Song Anxin looked at her with interest and said, "Oh, so can you catch rabbits every day? Can you catch them in winter? What if you run out of rabbits? Will you stop coming to learn?"
Song Anxin fired off four questions in quick succession, leaving Lin Erxi speechless, mouth agape as she held the radish: "Huh? This... this..."
Song Anxin really wanted to burst out laughing, but she couldn't lose face in front of these kids. Oh dear, she was almost in tears.
So she pretended to cough and said, "Alright, your second aunt won't tease you anymore. If you want to learn, come on over. Your second aunt won't charge you any tuition. Anyway, all your brothers, sisters-in-law, and brothers are going to learn. As long as your parents agree, it's fine."
Lin Erxi immediately danced with joy, throwing the radish into Song Anxin's arms: "Second...Master, wait for me, I'll tell my parents I'll be right there!"
After saying that, she ran off in a hurry. Song Anxin shook her head, holding the radish in her arms. Erxi was just like her mother.
A short while later, Lin Erxi arrived with a pancake in his mouth, and Lin Dongzi followed suit, also with a pancake in his mouth. They probably didn't have time to eat a proper meal and just grabbed a pancake to tide them over.
Seeing Song Anxin quickly and hastily swallow the pancake, Lin Dongzi worried that Song Anxin might choke.
Lin Dongzi quickly asked, "Master, may I also come and learn?"
Song Anxin knew that Erxi must have taught her to call him "Master." How could she refuse such a cute little girl? She said, "Of course, but Xiao Dongzi must listen carefully."
Lin Dongzi nodded obediently and then performed a reading bow to Song Anxin, a bow clearly taught by Lin Erxi.
Song Anxin couldn't help but chuckle as she watched, and just like that, the Lin family's little classroom welcomed two new students during the second lesson.
Song Anxin rallied her spirits: "Alright, now let's review what we learned in the last class. Erxi and Dongzi, you missed the last class, I'll catch up with you after class."
Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi nodded solemnly.
"Who can tell us which line from the Three Character Classic we learned in the last lesson?"
Aside from Lin Erxi and Dongzi, the other five raised their hands in quick succession. Song Anxin nodded in satisfaction, indicating that they had been studying very diligently in private.
She pointed to Fengnian and said, "Fengnian, you come."
Lin Fengnian never expected his mother to call on him. He knew he wasn't very bright, but he always tried his best to remember things, whether he was working in the fields or chopping firewood in the mountains. He couldn't let his mother down, so he stood up and shouted, "At the beginning of life, human nature..."
Lin Erxi and Lin Dongzi looked at Lin Fengnian with sparkling eyes. Wow, they never expected that their older brother Fengnian, who only knew how to work in the fields, could actually read books.
Lin Fengnian saw it, of course, and immediately sat up straight.
These little actions, of course, did not escape Song Anxin's notice. It was a good thing that she was confident. Her boss had made great progress and was no longer as timid as she had been when she first answered a question.
Next, she asked Lin Fenghe to explain the meaning of the first sentence, and then asked Lin Fengyao to explain the second sentence. Lin Fenghe and Zhang Mei then came up to read the ten numbers.
Finally, there were the strokes; everyone wrote them carefully and neatly.
Song Anxin was very satisfied with her students when she first became a teacher.
Next, we'll teach new content: the second line of the Three Character Classic, and then new strokes. We'll teach two more strokes today, and two more each day thereafter.
Finally, in math class, Song Anxin changed the order, teaching arithmetic first and then letting them gradually learn to write calculations, so that the class progressed faster.
Today we're teaching addition and subtraction within 20. Song Anxin is writing the equations directly in Arabic numerals, which is clear and easy to understand.
A problem was written on the wooden board: 7 + 8 =
After Song Anxin waited for them to count on their fingers for a long time, Lin Fengyao finally raised his hand and said, "Mother, it equals seventeen."
“No, it’s fourteen,” Lin Erxi said, raising his hand.
Lin Dongzi couldn't count them all after a long time, so he borrowed Lin Fengnian's fingers from the side to count them.
Song Anxin covered her face, unable to bear to watch; the lingering feelings of a teacher she had just felt vanished instantly. However, for these children who had never received modern systematic education, it was understandable; wasn't that exactly what she was there to teach them?
The accumulated knowledge of countless predecessors is a piece of cake when it comes to such simple arithmetic.
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