Chapter 77 Brother and Sister Who Can't Afford to Go to School

Old Ivan has been a little worried recently.

Yesterday, the steward sent people to knock on every door to notify everyone.

It’s still about the school. I heard that they are going to offer some new courses, called advanced ones.

There were quite a few names, but he didn't remember any of them. The only thing he remembered was that these courses could only be taken during the day.

The evening school only has literacy classes and general education classes. If you want to advance, you have to come to school during the day.

There is no doubt that Gaia wants to take these classes. Her grades in literacy class are quite good. Miss Zoe even praised her for her quick learning.

But if you take advanced courses, you will have to attend classes all day and learn general knowledge and spelling literacy in the evening.

In other words, there is absolutely no time to work.

What's more, advanced courses require payment.

Although I heard that the tuition was not high, it was not a free course after all. Ivan was just a fisherman, and he felt a little reluctant when he thought about paying for it.

Besides, he has a son, Ken.

Although Ken didn't say it, Old Ivan knew that he was actually quite interested in these courses, but Gaia was more obsessed with it, so he pretended not to care that much.

Gaia would be fine if Ken also took the advanced courses. Old Ivan sighed again. He could still go to work in a factory. He was currently working in an olive oil factory, and occasionally he could get the job of harvesting olives - that paid extra money, and many people were eyeing it, so it was hard to get it.

By this calculation, if you are lucky you can earn three rios a day, which is barely enough for the family to eat.

One rio could buy about six pounds of bread, which seemed good.

But this was the Middle Ages when productivity was extremely low. If you wanted to boil water or make soup, wood was very expensive. There were forests on the island, but you had to cut down trees in the mountains, carry them out on your shoulders, and then take them to the residential area far away on the other side. All this made it difficult for the islanders to start a fire.

Water also needs to be fetched outside, which requires a lot of labor. In the past, Gaia was always busy with chores at home.

What, you said we can just eat it directly without making a fire to cook?

Look at the brown bread in your hand. It’s hard to say whether it’s easier to chew it or chew a piece of wood - even the texture is similar, after all, there are real sawdust in it.

This kind of bread must be soaked until it is softened before it can be eaten.

Moreover, eating only this kind of black bread can kill people. I don’t mean that the bread is unpalatable, but it can really lead to malnutrition and death.

Old Ivan was still too optimistic. With a daily expenditure of two to three rios, the three of them would only gradually become thinner and then get sick and die.

This troubled mood followed him until the evening. Holding a torch and a spear, he carefully looked around on both sides of the road before turning his gaze back to the night school team.

He was a member of the night school team guard.

Things have been a bit uneasy at night lately, with quite a few wild wolves caught in the past two days. He has to be more vigilant.

Gaia was talking, laughing and joking with some classmates who went to night school together. Ken followed quietly beside them, occasionally interjecting.

Whenever he saw such a scene, Old Ivan would be shaken. He would remember that before he went to school, he and Ken would tell Gaia many interesting stories every night at the dinner table.

She had to clean up the chores, cook, fetch water, and dry the grain at home by herself, and only occasionally could she take a walk around the neighborhood after she was done.

Old Ivan knew Gaia's personality. She loved the stories he and Ken told her, and always listened attentively with a look of curiosity and longing.

She was still a child, and even if she tried hard to hide it, Ken could sense her disappointment when she waved to the two of them in the morning, and her excitement when she saw him and Ken return in the evening.

She really wanted to see with her own eyes everything her father and brother had described.

Old Ivan knew it, but he had no choice. The poor people knew everything, but could not change anything.

So he could only rack his brains to tell some stories to make Gaia happy.

But all that changed when she started school.

Gaia made more friends at school, started to learn to read, and found Miss Zoe's stories interesting. Even though she still had to work hard during the day, she would jump to school at night.

Gaia loves to laugh more and more.

Old Ivan also forced a smile. Things are better now than before, and that's enough, isn't it?

After the night school class ended, Ken and Gaia packed up and prepared to go home. They had learned a lot of new words recently and were happily discussing them with each other.

"Please wait a moment!" Zoe called to the two of them, then looked at Old Ivan who was peeking out the back door: "Come over together, I'll tell the patrol team, you can go back with us later."

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The three of them looked at each other and followed Zoe to the office next door with some trepidation.

"The school will start advanced courses tomorrow. You should have been notified, right?"

Old Ivan's heart skipped a beat. Did he have to make a decision now? He hadn't thought it through yet. "Got it." Gaia answered honestly. She clutched the corner of her clothes uneasily, lowered her head and didn't dare to look at anyone.

"Here is the class schedule. You can take a look at which classes you want to take."

Zoe handed over a piece of paper. Gaia subconsciously reached out to take it, then seemed to think of something and looked at her brother and father at a loss.

"Ken, you are very careful. I recommend that you study mechanical principles. Caution and caution are essential qualities for engineers. As for Gaia, I know you like to explore, but I have to remind you that chemistry is a very dangerous subject. A little carelessness in the experiment may cause irreversible consequences. If you want to learn, you must overcome your shortcomings."

Zoe finished speaking and looked up at Old Ivan.

Old Ivan quickly put on a smile and said carefully, "Ms. Zoe, please, how much do these courses cost?"

"You are all citizens of Castel, and you are also hired by the lord. The tuition is the lowest. The mechanical principle is two leos per week. Chemistry consumes a lot of reagents, so it is more expensive, four leos per week. All teaching aids including textbooks are provided by the school. I will look for the course list. Please wait for a moment."

Zoe walked out of the office quickly.

Two rios plus four rios makes six rios in all, enough to buy two pounds of butter, and this is only one week's tuition. Old Ivan's heart was filled with bitterness.

To be honest, this price is not expensive. Paper was not cheap in that era, and books that carry knowledge were staggeringly expensive. This did not include the teacher's fees. I heard that these courses were taught by the lord himself. Where else could you hire an earl to teach with two pounds of butter?

But, but... Old Ivan was just a fisherman, and Ken and Gaia were both fishermen's children. Learning was not something they were meant to do. Ken was supposed to take over his father's fishing nets one day in the future, and Gaia would marry another poor young man and start a family with a meager dowry.

This was a great opportunity. Old Ivan had a good vision. He knew that he might never encounter such a good opportunity in his lifetime, but he really had no other choice. He could not afford the six Rios' weekly salary. Even if he took out all his savings and borrowed money from his neighbors, he would not be able to hold out for long.

He could only watch the opportunity to change his fate slip away.

No, maybe there is a way. If only one child goes to school, the other child should be able to go to school. But is it really worth it? Moreover, even if one child has to go to school, who should be chosen? Ken and Gaia also thought of this. They looked at each other and turned to look at Old Ivan.

(End of this chapter)