Chapter 170 Gu Xiang is getting married
After dinner, the maids and the old women cleaned up the dishes. Li Wanqing watched Xuanxuan do his homework while Gu Yan was responsible for coaxing her youngest son to sleep.
In other families, the father helps with homework and the mother takes care of the children.
In their family, it is exactly the opposite. Although Gu Yan knows a few words, it is far from enough to help Xuanxuan with his homework.
There was no other choice but Li Wanqing to take on this important task.
The youngest son Hengheng becomes a little clingy at night, and Li Wanqing has no choice but to let Gu Yan coax him.
"Okay, let's stop here today. You have learned the Thousand Character Classic very well. What will the teacher teach you next?" Li Wanqing asked after finishing the homework.
"The teacher said that we will start learning the book 'Guidelines for Young Children' tomorrow. By the way, mother, I don't have the book 'Guidelines for Young Children'.
The master said it was fine to buy it at home. If they didn't, they would have to pay 500 coins. He had a handwritten copy. It was cheaper than in the bookstore. Although Xuanxuan was small, he could relay the words clearly.
Xuanxuan started school last year. After just one year, Li Wanqing completely understood why studying was not easy in ancient times.
Not to mention other things, just take the pens, ink, paper and inkstone we use daily. An ordinary brush costs dozens of coins, and a piece of white writing paper costs one coin for two sheets.
There are also books, which are the real big expense. An ordinary copy of the Three Character Classic in a bookstore costs two taels of silver, and this is the cheapest.
The Thousand Character Classic costs three taels, and the later ones are said to be more expensive.
Of course, if you want to save money, you can copy it yourself, but that will take up too much time, and not every bookstore will let you copy books for free.
"Okay, I'll give you five hundred coins later and you can give it to the teacher tomorrow." Li Wanqing agreed readily.
Li Wanqing guessed that the books in the teacher's place were all handwritten. She had heard that some students from poor families would copy books to make money.
The school that Xuanxuan attends now is run by a scholar named Lin.
Mr. Lin failed the imperial examination several times, and his family was unable to support him in taking the imperial examinations.
Later, he opened a school in his own home to teach children.
Although Mr. Lin did not pass the imperial examination, he had no problem educating his children.
Li Wanqing confirmed this after inquiring and comparing from many sources.
First of all, Mr. Lin has a cheerful personality and is not the kind of person who studies blindly.
Next were the children in the school. Li Wanqing asked around and found out that they were all from the surrounding area, and none of them came from particularly wealthy families.
Children are still young, and their values are particularly easily influenced.
Li Wanqing found out everything before deciding to send Xuanxuan to study with Lin Xiucai.
After getting Li Wanqing's affirmative answer, Xuanxuan didn't care anymore and turned around to play with his brother.
Seeing that the two brothers were having a good time, Gu Yan finally had time to have a good talk with Li Wanqing.
"Wife, my aunt came to see me today. She said that Dad is getting old and his hunting skills are getting worse day by day.
She meant that her parents wanted money for their retirement. "Gu Yan went to the farm in Qingshan Town today, and Aunt Gu had been asking when Gu Yan would go.
So as soon as Gu Yan arrived, someone told her, and Gu Xiaogu went to the farm to find Gu Yan.
"Just give it to them if they want. I've said it before, as long as they treat us equally, we'll give them as much as Big Brother and the others give." Li Wanqing never hesitated when it came to providing for the elderly.
Even though Gu Yan's parents were not as good to him as their other children, they still raised him.
It is certainly not justifiable not to provide pension, but they will not act like they have the most. They will just give as much as other brothers give.
"Yeah, I know, that's what I told my aunt.
By the way, my aunt also told me one thing. Gu Xiang is getting married, and the man she is looking for is from Qingshan Town.
Dad meant that the mountains are too far away, and he wanted Gu Xiang to get married in our family." Gu Yan said another thing.
They have had no contact with the Gu family in recent years.
They go back once a year, and every time they go back, Li Wanqing will ask Gu Yan to bring some snacks to visit his parents.
As for Gu Bei and the others, Gu Yan didn't care about them at all.
If there is anyone who has a slightly better relationship with them, it would be Gu Chuan.
It’s not that they treat them differently, but every time they go back, Gu Chuan and Zhao Cuifang will go to chat with them.
As the saying goes, there is affection when you meet someone. Even though Li Wanqing didn't want to be friends with them, she would still visit them at home every year when she returned.
Li Wanqing was not a heartless person, although she knew that Gu Chuan and the others came here for their own benefit.
But this is how the world is. Everyone is busy seeking profit. Everyone is busy seeking profit. This is unavoidable.
Now that her sister-in-law wants to marry out of the family, Li Wanqing really doesn't have any ideas. She just looks after Gu Yan.
"What do you think? Do you want her to get married in our family?
Whatever you want is fine with me." Li Wanqing said.
Gu Yan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Why not let Gu Xiang get married at the Qingshan Town farm?
It is indeed inconvenient to travel back and forth in the mountains. Although I don’t have a deep relationship with her, she is still my sister after all.
This request is too much, it's just getting married on the farm."
"Okay, I have no objection." Li Wanqing said.
"By the way, we still have to add some makeup to your sister, right? I wonder what your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law gave you?
Go ask around when you have time, and we can compare the amounts." Li Wanqing said again, remembering it.
"I don't think it's something very valuable, just pillowcases and fabrics." Gu Yan said.
"How about I give a piece of cloth as well?" Li Wanqing asked tentatively.
Although Gu Yan doesn't have much affection for his sister Gu Xiang, he doesn't have many conflicts with her either.
Just like a relative he was not very familiar with, Gu Yan didn't care whether to add makeup or not.
"Give it as you see fit. It's just a favor in the future anyway, so don't take it too seriously." Gu Yan said.
Li Wanqing thought to herself that she didn't care. She was not familiar with Gu Xiang, so why should she care?
If I really care, I don't want to give too much.
"From what I heard from you, aunt, my eldest brother also wants to send his son to school. I heard that he went to see me and wanted Shuanzi to live with me.
But I don't think my aunt is willing to agree." Gu Yan thought about it and said again.
"Of course I can't agree to that, right? I wouldn't agree to that either.
This isn't just a favor between relatives; this is taking care of a child.
If something gets bumped or bruised, how am I going to explain it to his parents?
And this isn't something that can happen in just one or two years; it takes several years to go to school. Who would want to take care of their child for free?" Li Wanqing was speechless at Gu Nian and the others' wild ideas.
“You’re right, I don’t think my aunt wants to agree.
Don't forget, my aunt is not the only one in the Chen family. She also has a son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. "
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