A pumpkin, three or four eggs, a handful of wild daisies, a handful of scallions and ginger...
Every day when I open the door to my home, I often find many strange and wonderful things.
Meng Chijian remained noncommittal about any of A-Mian's ideas. As long as they didn't make a mess of the house, he treated these little brats as if they didn't exist.
However, everyone was still somewhat afraid of him. Whenever he appeared frequently, the children would scatter like birds and beasts.
Meng Chijian could only watch from outside the window as A Mian shook her head and "taught" her lesson.
Although Ah Mian only had a little formal education, she put on a very authoritative air as a teacher. She even had a ruler; anyone who was too naughty would get a spanking. However, she found that being too strict made the children less likely to come, so she came up with another method:
Before each lesson, she would first talk about her "adventure" at the academy that day, then interweave the few words she had learned in the past few days into the "adventure," and finally talk about how she had defeated several people and monsters at the academy.
When a candle had burned down to about half its original length, Ah Mian finished teaching.
After the children went home, A-Mian and Meng-Jing tidied up the front yard. Only then did A-Mian, whose back ached, go back inside.
"Is anyone still bullying you at the academy?"
Meng Chijian handed her some cooled lukewarm water, with a spoonful of honey added: "Drink more, your throat will hurt from talking so much."
However, compared to before, Ah Mian is now much more natural in interacting with people, and she is no longer always silent and talking to herself.
Amian shook her head and took a few sips: "No, I'm not in the same study hall as them."
After resting for a while, Ah Mian went to take stock of the things she had collected.
Lately, there has been no shortage of food at home. Whatever we receive, A-Mian and Meng-Jing usually share it equally. Since A-Mian spent ten taels of silver from the family, she always conscientiously hands over her share to the family.
Don't underestimate these vegetables; little by little, they can add up to a hundred coins.
Ah Mian knew that compared to ten taels of silver, this was nothing, but the thought of returning her private savings to Meng Chijian was like a knife to her heart.
She lay in bed, tossing and turning a few times, and suddenly said, "You said before that marriage is about spending money or something... So why is my father unwilling to spend money to treat my mother's illness? It's clear that what you said is wrong."
"Because your father is stupid."
"..."
“Otherwise what? The result is that your wife left early, and the child doesn’t want you anymore. What’s the point of having money? If you spend it on treatment, who knows, you might get better. Even if you don’t, at least you did your best, and you can feel at peace later. You’ll also go back to visit often.”
Instead of living like this now, neither human nor ghost.
Amian rolled over. "I miss my mother."
"Um."
“Next time the academy is closed, let’s go see my mother. I want to tell her that I went to the academy and that you even spent ten taels of silver on me. Otherwise… she won’t even recognize you.”
Meng Chijian looked into her eyes and said, "Okay."
"Maybe I'll earn lots and lots of money in the future." A-Mian didn't want to pay back the money now, but she felt guilty and made empty promises.
"Go to sleep, and don't talk."
"oh."
The next day when I went to the academy, a pleasant surprise awaited me.
"Woof woof!" Ah Mian circled around the new students like a puppy. "It really is you! You're here to study too!"
Wangwang suppressed a laugh, "Yeah. Everyone at the restaurant is talking about you, betting on when you'll stop going to the academy. It's been over a month now, and they've all lost."
Have you placed a bet?
“You won thirty coins!” Wangwang couldn’t help but pinch her cheek. “No wonder the boss loves to pinch your cheeks so much.”
"No noise is allowed in the school."
Upon hearing this, the two quickly shut their mouths and pretended to be engrossed in their books, their hearts filled with joy.
After school, Wangwang finally found a chance to talk about what had happened recently.
After she contracted the disease, her life changed dramatically. As the eldest sister in her family, with a string of younger brothers and sisters, she had a heavy burden to support. She relied entirely on her work at the fish soup shop to raise so many children. She worked at the shop cleaning fish and preparing vegetables, staying much longer than Ah Mian, and earned two and a half taels of silver a month.
Because she was hardworking and capable, and had a monthly salary, many families came to propose marriage to her. In the end, she chose the son of the owner of a seafood shop in the city, and the two became engaged.
However, now that family has called off the engagement, Wangwang has no work to do.
She became extremely depressed at home and at one point lost the will to live.
Just then, someone heard that a peasant woman had actually gone to study at the academy!
Upon inquiring, he discovered that it was none other than his former work partner, the handyman Ah Mian.
“I… I was thinking, I—I didn’t mean to look down on you! I was thinking that since we know each other, if you can come here to learn to read and write, why can’t I? In the shop, I taught you how to kill fish and all that…”
However, she also learned about the ten taels of silver.
Actually, if she hadn't supported her family for so many years, she definitely would have had enough savings to go to school.
Moreover, since this was the first such incident, Wangwang's family was still debating it, and it seemed that the turmoil caused by Amian was gradually subsiding. In the end, Wangwang took out his own savings (about five taels of silver), and the rest of the family also managed to scrape together the money and invited her to the academy.
Actually, this was a last-ditch effort. The family's original intention was for Wangwang to find a reliable son-in-law at the academy.
"By the way, how's the boss doing lately?" A-Mian asked.
"She's renovating the shop! Her family is well-off; they've had tutors for their children since they were young. Otherwise, she might be here keeping us company."
Amian was very excited to have a classmate, chatting and laughing all the way. "Oh, right! I'll take you to see something fun!"
What used to be a goat milk shop in front of them was now surrounded by a crowd in the backyard. A-Mian struggled to pull people in and squeeze through: "She's about to give birth in the next few days; the ewe is about to have a lamb."
Everyone present held their breath, and Ah Mian secretly encouraged the ewe.
The ewe had been in pain for a long time and had exhausted all her strength. A-Mian was so anxious that she paced back and forth: "What should we do?"
The shop owner, confident in his plan, first took out the bran left over from grinding flour, mixed it with water, and fed it to the ewe. The ewe drank it for a short while, regaining her strength. When the lamb finally showed its head, she pulled it out with a single, forceful pull. The lamb was covered in sticky mucus, and the owner brought some wood ash to wipe it clean. The ewe licked it off, looking incredibly adorable.
Amian was delighted and asked, "How much is this little lamb?"
"Six taels of silver!"
Ah Mian thought, "That's really expensive, but it's cheaper than mine. I'm worth ten taels now."
Meanwhile, Manager Ye, who was in the money shop, waited for a long time but the apprentice who should have arrived much earlier than usual did not appear, and couldn't help but sigh.
I thought Ah Mian could hold on a little longer.
I never expected that he would skip school like this.
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