It feels so good to live in the village. When you wake up in the morning, you can hear roosters crowing.
There are no chickens left in Zhao Qingyan's yard; they've all been taken to the valley to be raised.
Early in the morning, Huang paid Liu Xiaohua to go to Granny Ji's place in the village to buy some half-grown chickens and ducks to raise.
Farmers can't possibly have to go out and buy eggs every day just to eat one.
They also arranged for Zhao Minggeng to go to town to see which private school had a good reputation.
Ask about the specific enrollment time and tuition fees, and also whether there are any tuition fee discounts if all the male members of the family are going to study.
Zhao Minggeng lowered his head, listening to his mother's instructions, and felt his face burning.
I feel like I'm the most miserable person.
In a few years, I'll be old enough to be someone's father-in-law, and my own mother still wants me to go to school with little kids.
He drove the mule cart to town, full of resentment.
Zhao Minggeng is a very meticulous person.
We first sat down at a tea stall at the entrance of town and ordered a pot of tea.
While drinking tea, I chatted with the tea stall owner.
"You always say which private school in our town is good. There are mainly two."
One of them was a private school run by Wu Daoyou, a scholar who had passed the imperial examination.
I heard that several of his students have already passed the imperial examination and become scholars.
However, the scholar was getting old and could not recruit more than 20 students each year.
Moreover, the tuition fee is quite expensive, costing 5 taels of silver every six months.
Another teacher was Wang Xiucai, who ran a private school. He was the youngest among the teachers, in his early twenties, and his tuition was three taels of silver every six months.
Zhao Minggeng thanked the teahouse owner and went to inquire near the two private schools.
The area near Zhao Juren's house was a hub for wealthy families in Wufang Town.
There are many houses with two or three courtyards, and it's difficult to find someone to ask about them.
After wandering around for a while, I found a pharmacy nearby.
The most coincidental thing is that it was this doctor who took Zhao Qingyan's pulse after she bumped her head.
People in ancient times were superstitious; no one would go to a pharmacy unless they were sick or in danger.
Zhao Minggeng was also quite annoyed, but there really wasn't anyone nearby to ask about Scholar Wu.
After thinking for a while, he slapped his forehead and strode inside.
There weren't many people in the pharmacy right now. The young man was wiping the counter with a rag in his hand.
Upon seeing Zhao Minggeng enter, they hurriedly greeted him, "Sir, are you here for a medical consultation or to pick up medicine?"
"Get the medicine." After answering, Zhao Minggeng took out the note his daughter had written and read it to the young man.
"Cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, star anise, cardamom... I need two ounces of each. Please pack these separately."
"Sir, are you sure you want to buy this medicine? Do you have the prescription?" the young man asked, somewhat incredulously.
Zhao Minggeng nodded in agreement, "Young man, just focus on picking the medicine."
Xiao Lang thought that these medicines weren't particularly poisonous, so there shouldn't be any major problems. He quickly picked up the medicines, weighed them, and calculated the cost.
After paying, Zhao Minggeng hesitated for a moment.
"Young master, I'd like to ask you something."
There is a young child in the family who wants to send him to a private school. Hearing that Wu, a scholar, is very knowledgeable, he wonders if he should send his child to study there.
If the young master knows, could you please tell him or not?
Xiao Lang looked at Zhao Minggeng with a complicated expression, and remained silent for a long time.
Just then, an old doctor walked in from the back room and took over the conversation.
"Haha, this gentleman wants to send his young master to school, huh? That's wonderful! But you've asked the wrong person."
My grandson dropped out of school under Wu the scholar.
This kid is naturally mischievous and restless; he can't sit still and likes to ask all sorts of questions.
After being slapped on the hand, which swelled up so much, he refused to go to school again.
Wu, the scholar, was certainly knowledgeable; he was simply a bit too strict with his students.
If your son is already past the early stages of education and is well-behaved, then going to Master Wu's place is perfectly acceptable.
Zhao Minggeng went through it in his mind.
"In the end, it's just that Scholar Wu beats his child and refuses to accept students into his early childhood education program."
Having made up his mind, he bowed respectfully and left.
After walking for about half an hour, they arrived near Wang Xiucai's house.
Most of the people living near Wang Xiucai's home were middle-class families.
The houses weren't particularly luxurious; they were usually just one or two courtyards.
The local atmosphere here is much more vibrant now.
There are several shops along the street, mostly selling soup dumplings.
Walk along the street, turn right at the mango tree, and you'll enter a secluded alley.
This place is a quiet oasis amidst the hustle and bustle, and Wang Xiucai's house happens to be the third house inside.
As soon as I reached the door, I heard the sound of children reading aloud inside; I could tell at a glance that they were just beginning their education.
Zhao Minggeng circled back to the shop he had just passed, ate a bowl of soup noodles, and inquired about Wang Xiucai.
"Madam, I recently moved to the front street area. I wonder if there are any schools nearby?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady began to chatter on and on.
"You've come to the right person. In our neighborhood, there's a scholar named Wang who runs a private school. He's very knowledgeable, and even better in temperament."
My son studied under Scholar Wang for two years, and now he's the manager of the Tianqing Cloth Shop in the east of the city.
Zhao Minggeng was somewhat puzzled.
"Madam, why did your son become a bookkeeper after only two years of study? Why didn't he continue his studies to pass the imperial examinations?"
"Hey, studying requires talent; not everyone can pass the imperial examinations."
Otherwise, wouldn't most of the people in our Divine Dragon Kingdom be officials?
My son has never been a bookworm, but he is interested in mathematics.
That's why Scholar Wang specifically taught him these things, which is why my son has such a good life today..."
Having inquired about the matter, Zhao Minggeng did not linger, nor did he rashly knock on the door to see the teacher.
Besides, he wanted to try and avoid going to school; it would be too embarrassing.
Why not just learn from your own father? It'll save you money and you won't be embarrassed.
It was already late afternoon when we returned to Zhao Family Village from the town.
As soon as he got home, he quickly washed his hands and face in the yard before going inside to report to Mrs. Huang what he had learned that day.
"Okay, I understand."
"You two should study diligently with your father first. Once he deems you ready, he will send you both to a private school."
After saying that, Huang wanted her son to get lost.
"Mother..." Zhao Minggeng wailed.
Huang's eyes widened.
"Get lost, you ungrateful wretch. Don't you realize how lucky you are to have the chance to be the father of our precious daughter?"
My daughter is already 12 years old, and in two more years we'll be starting to discuss marriage.
How could an ordinary farmer be worthy of our daughter's abilities?
We can't be picky. But we're just an ordinary farming family, what good families can we find for our daughter?
Also, our darling daughter is growing up beautifully.
What if, I mean what if, you were to be taken in by some powerful person who insisted on taking you home as a concubine, could you possibly resist?
I ask you, what ability do you have to protect your precious daughter?
That's your own daughter. Do you want to just stand by and watch her be taken away and made a concubine?
They suffered endless torment from their mistresses, were often hungry and cold, did the hardest work every day, ate the worst food, and might even be sold to filthy places.
Oh dear, I can't live anymore! My poor daughter's life is so miserable, she doesn't have a powerful family to support her..."
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