“You can’t kick people out,” Grandma Jiang said, not wanting to hear her daughter’s explanation at all. “If people find out, who would dare to come to your house?”
That brat deserves to be taught a lesson.
Grandma Jiang took a breather, then waved her broom and chased after them.
Seeing this, Jiang Nuan decisively ran out to seek refuge with the Huang family elders.
After Jiang Nuan left, Old Mrs. Jiang sat on a small stool, panting, and said, "That brat is getting more and more disobedient."
She took back what she said last night.
Her daughter has a terrible temper, like something out of a latrine. Not even fifty taels, let alone five hundred, would be enough to buy her a coffin.
This wretched daughter, can we just throw her away?
Grandma Jiang was dejected, her eyes darting around as she thought about how to reform her daughter.
"Mother," Jiang Xu walked over, "I'm going home. Are you two really not coming back with me?"
"You haven't left yet?" Old Mrs. Jiang looked at her son in surprise. "Go back by yourself and don't worry about us. Oh, and bring some food over in a couple of days. Your sister's family is out of food."
"Mother, please come back with me," Jiang Xu said, somewhat exasperated. "Spring plowing is about to begin, don't cause trouble for my eldest sister, okay?"
The burden of three people is not small, and Jiang Nuan has wasted so much food. Jiang Xu really doesn't want to add to her burden.
"Don't worry unnecessarily," Old Mrs. Jiang knew what her son was thinking, and took out the five taels of silver that she hadn't even warmed yet. "Your sister gave this to me as a token of her filial piety. Take it first. It's spring plowing season, so use it to buy some farm tools for the family. The rest can be used to offset our family's spring corvée labor."
"This piece is so big, it must be worth four or five taels of silver," Jiang Xu took the silver, bit it with his teeth, and after confirming that it was real, he smiled foolishly, "It's actually real!"
The lecherous look disgusted Old Mrs. Jiang. "Get out of here, don't get in my way."
His impatient expression was exactly the same as when Jiang Nuan chased people away.
"Mother," Jiang Xu asked, clutching the silver in his hand, "how come my sister has so much money?"
"Why ask so many questions? Just go back!"
Once again, Jiang Xu was kicked out, and left with his head down.
On the other side, Jiang Nuan arrived at Old Man Huang's place, where the atmosphere in the hall was solemn.
Seeing Jiang Nuan, Old Mrs. Huang forced a very weak smile, "Ya Ya is here, come sit down. Eldest daughter-in-law, make some brown sugar water for Ya Ya to drink."
“No need to bother, I’m not thirsty,” Jiang Nuan looked around curiously. “Mom and Dad, what’s wrong? You two seem unhappy.”
Village Chief Huang glanced at Old Man Huang before explaining, "We just saw off the village chief of Qujia Village. He revealed that this year's corvée labor might be increased."
"Increased corvée labor?" Jiang Nuan was taken aback. "How exactly is it increased? Does it mean more people or more time are required?"
“It will take a long time,” Village Chief Huang said with a grim expression. “Our spring corvée labor mainly involves repairing the river embankment. This year, in addition to the river embankment, we will also be adding a section of the official road.”
"The corvée labor system should follow established rules, so why the sudden change?" Jiang Nuan asked doubtfully. "The official documents haven't been issued yet, so is this news reliable?"
“How can it be unreliable?” Sister-in-law Huang said with a bitter face. “Someone from Qujia Village works as a yamen runner in the county government. It seems that this year will not be easy for us.”
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. There's always a way. If all else fails, we can use silver to settle the matter. There's always a solution."
"That's all we can do," Sister-in-law Huang's expression softened. "Luckily, we saved some money last year, which can help us pay off the corvée labor, otherwise we would have suffered even more!"
The corvée laborers did physically demanding work and had to bring their own rations.
All she hopes for now is that this assignment will be close to home, so that the young men in the village can at least stay at her house and supplement their income.
After a long silence, Jiang Nuan spoke up, "Father, elder brother, was this official road a new addition this year, or was it already there before?"
“Our official road needs to be repaired every year, but that’s in the autumn,” Old Man Jiang said, equally puzzled. “This is the first time in decades that the official road has been repaired in the spring. I don’t know what those officials were thinking.”
“I see,” Jiang Nuan thought for a moment, but had no clue. “The thoughts of those above are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like us. We should just do our own thing.”
“That’s right, just do your own job well,” Old Man Huang agreed.
After a few laughs, the topic was moved on, but the gloom remained in my heart.
Jiang Nuan returned home with a heavy heart.
Today's events have given her a sense of crisis.
She originally wanted to make more money to buy land and become a local gentry, but now she realizes that without a scholar in the family, things are ultimately not secure.
Among officials, farmers, artisans, and merchants, even if landlords were second in rank, they were ultimately just ordinary people without power or influence.
They can live a smooth life when nothing is going wrong, but they become too passive when something happens.
"We still need to send them to school."
Thinking of this, Jiang Nuan immediately summoned the three Huang brothers.
"Eldest brother," Jiang Nuan took out thirty taels of silver, "take the second brother and the third brother to the county town, buy an oxcart and a few earthenware jars, and buy two sets of apprenticeship gifts. Send the fourth brother and the chubby boy to school."
Upon hearing this, the three brothers' expressions changed drastically.
"Mother, are you sending both of them to school?" Huang Lao Er exclaimed in surprise. "How much will that cost?"
“Send them there first, and you all follow along with me,” Jiang Nuan waved her hand. “The three of you should go after the autumn harvest at the latest. Next year, send Da Niu there too.”
This extravagant move left Huang Xiaosan completely stunned.
"Mother, isn't it the same if you teach us? And it saves us money!"
“How can that be the same?” Jiang Nuan rolled her eyes at her son. “I’m just a woman who has only read two books and can barely read and write. How could I possibly compare to a proper teacher?”
"Mother," Huang Lao Er asked in confusion, "why did you suddenly have this idea?"
Jiang Nuan recounted the news she had heard and sighed softly, "Don't think that the affairs of the imperial court have nothing to do with us ordinary people. If they really get involved, we won't even have a chance to resist."
Like this recent tax increase, optimistically speaking, it's just an occasional measure, but who knows if it might just be the beginning.
Since ancient times, the imperial court has favored the gentry, and having a scholar in the family provides an extra layer of protection.
“Mother, so many of our family members are studying,” Huang Xiaosi frowned and pondered, “why not simply open a private school? That way, it can benefit the whole village.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jiang Nuan patted her son on the shoulder, “but unfortunately, our family doesn’t have that much money.”
No, Jiang Nuan's eyes darted around, her index finger pressed against her chin, and she seriously considered the possibility of opening her own school.
Even if a school building is made of blue bricks and red tiles, the cost of materials is less than twenty taels of silver.
With my father and elder brother around, the land was easy to approve. So, the key is the selection of the tutor.
You can't hire someone who's too rigid and old-fashioned, nor can you hire a bookworm whose knowledge isn't solid.
That's difficult!
“Let’s do it this way,” Jiang Nuan said through gritted teeth. “Eldest brother, second brother, third brother, I’ve decided. We’ll build a school in the village!”
"Mother," Huang Laoda stammered, shocked, "Are you...are you sure you really want to do this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com