Chapter 137 Chapter 137 Update.
It turned out that they were returning home after closing their stalls in Huai City when they heard Ji Zhu and Xiao Yao complaining. They were so angry that they grabbed their weapons and came over.
"Who is it! Who made things difficult for my daughter this morning? Get out here!"
When Guo Dalang saw that the mother and daughter had come to settle the score, he shrank his neck and tried to slip away quietly, but Tian swept him with a broom, blocking his way. He staggered back to the liver-cutting stall.
Tian was tall and strong-boned. She was tricked into becoming a slave because the black shop saw that she was strong and capable of doing work. In Chang'an, she could carry at least two bags of grain at the dock, and her arms were well-developed.
The old man Guo Dalang was no match for her and was grabbed by Tian by the collar.
"Guo Qiandao, you dare to bully even my daughter, Tian Guinu. Do you think I have no one left in my family?"
Guo Dalang said hurriedly: "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. We saw it wrongly."
"Now you're saying you've misjudged me. This morning, you ganged up on my daughter and made things difficult for her! My poor daughter was so weak and alone, and yet you ganged up on her, you heartless old bitches!"
Guo Dalang was thrown to the ground and quickly grabbed other people, pointing somewhere else and saying:
"Not only me, but also Aunt Li who sells fried fish, and the one who sells pig cheek meat..."
Seeing that Guo Dalang was no match for Tian, Aunt Li packed up her stall and prepared to run away.
"Hey."
She bumped into someone and looked down. It was Ji Feng who was blocking the road with a big stick, staring at her with stern eyes.
It's okay for Tian, can't she handle a little girl?
"Go, get out of the way!"
"You bullied my sister, don't even think about running away!"
Ji Feng pointed at her and refused to give way.
Aunt Li looked around, fearing that Tian would come and attack her, so she tried to push Ji Feng. However, as soon as she touched her, she fell to the ground and rolled around, yelling:
"Murder, murder! Aunt Li wants to kill me!"
"Who wants to kill you?"
Seeing the onlookers gathered around pointing and talking, Li Gu Zi stayed away from Ji Feng and didn't dare to touch her at all.
Ji Feng collapsed and cried, "This cruel and vicious woman bullied my sister and now she's trying to embarrass me! Please judge for yourself!"
Some people who were in cahoots with Guo Dalang called the city treasurer to take charge. City treasurer Du Xian wanted to take charge, but Tian rebuked him harshly:
"There was a commotion here this morning, why are you so soft? Are you hiding? Now you're thinking of intervening, bah! You're a man! If you take off this white suit, no one will treat you as a human being!"
Du Xian's face was as red as a pig's liver. Jin pulled him back and said:
"Forget it, forget it. This is a shrew who dares to disrespect even her aunt and uncle at home. Why do you care about her? She just wants to show off her power to vent her daughter's anger."
The commotion at Jiaomen lasted until sunset. Guo Dalang and Li Guzi begged for mercy, spoke many sweet words, and each gave Tian some sliced liver and fried fish.
Tian then let them go and took her daughter away.
Guo Dalang's clothes were stained by the rolling on the ground, and he felt so embarrassed that he spat secretly at the back of the person walking away:
"One big and one small, two hot bitches!"
Speaking of the city clerk Guo, there was no need for Tian to go to his house and demand his death. He had always abused his job to make money and borrowed money without paying it back. The vendors who had been bullied and insulted by him had already blocked his door and smashed it with stones.
“Pay back the money!”
"Mr. Guo! Pay me back!"
Now that he has been dismissed, these vendors no longer have to worry about his revenge. They block him and ask for money, and even catch him and beat him up.
After Tian's mother and daughter vented their anger and returned home, the sliced liver and fried fish were also placed on the table for dinner.
"Those two old bastards did something sinful, but they insisted on giving it to me. Erfeng, do you think Mother forced them to do anything?"
Ji Feng shook his head and said no repeatedly.
Ji Xu knew that she had rushed out and had been violent with someone, but she did so only for her own sake, so that they would not dare to do it again in the future. Therefore, he did not say anything about Tian's impulsive words, but felt more at ease. The family sat down to eat.
Seeing that her daughter did not scold her, Tian got a little carried away after drinking and boasted about how she killed them and made them beg for mercy. All the children at the table listened in fascination, and Jizhu and Xiaoyao were especially full of admiration.
After that day, Ji Xu spent the rest of September peacefully in Jiaomen City.
Thanks to Mr. Cheng's introduction, she also braised beef for other families. They were all wealthy families who could afford to slaughter cattle for food. They sent their servants to Sangshu Lane to find her with the beef, and she earned a lot of extra processing fees.
Therefore, on the first day of October, they earned enough money to repay the 59 taels of loan to Zi Qian's family, and the whole family was very happy.
You know, this crisis was caused by paying property tax, which drained the family's assets. As long as we can get through it and run the stall steadily every month, we can pay back the money on time.
After overcoming the hurdle of repaying the debt, it was time to send his sisters to elementary school. Ji Xu thought it would be best if they could stay closer to home.
I asked around and everyone said the school was full and couldn't accept any more students.
Nowadays, most elementary schools are run by private individuals. For example, after Cheng Gong resigned from his official position, he also opened a school. However, he was like a wandering wanderer, and later he traveled around and stopped running the school. Ji Xu asked him to find out about it. He asked a child to come to Sangshu Lane to talk. The child said:
"Most of the children in Anling are from the market town, and there aren't many elementary schools here. If you want to go to the area near Mulberry Alley, you might have to wait another year to get a spot.
If it's not too far, there's a primary school near Huai City in the south of the city, next to the Imperial College. Many families in Wuling send their children there. Mr. Cheng has asked for you, and he says Master Fan is still accepting students."
"That place is great. Every day I go to Huai Market to set up my stall and carry them to school. After the market closes, I pick them up and bring them back. Isn't that perfect?"
When Tian heard about it, she thought the place south of the city was a good choice.
"Qiu Gu's Wang'er is also studying there."
Ji Fengdao said, since they were playing together, they would know clearly.
Tian said uncomfortably, "We've been asking around like this. We were already worried about the gossip we had at the alley entrance the other day. We didn't know where to send her. She listened and didn't say a word. She's really tight-lipped."
Ji Xukuan advised, "I did hear Erfeng mention it, but I was originally thinking of sending it near Anling Town, and didn't think of sending it there at first."
Ji Xu decided to send his sister to Huai City for another reason: Master Fan was also willing to take in a mute girl like Xiaoyao.
She had also taught Xiaoyao how to write before. When Xiaoyao first held a pen, he didn't hold it with one hand horizontally like Ji Feng, who was a beginner, but he was able to write quite well.
That day, she was grinding ink and writing and drawing on the side. Later, when she picked up the wooden stick, she saw that it was a crooked word "言".
Ji Xu asked: "Did Xiaoyao write this? What does this mean?"
Xiaoyao shook her head blankly, so Ji Xu gave up and continued to teach her how to read.
Tian had previously felt sorry for the lovely little girl's voice. The youngest wasn't born mute; when they first arrived in Chang'an, Tian had sought out Ma Yaogu from Baqiao to treat her. Ma Yaogu was a mysterious woman, said to be a demigod, skilled in sorcery and incantations, and many people sought her out for treatment.
This half-immortal was very much to Tian's liking. At that time, she came to her to calculate that there was an evil spirit in the neighboring house that was harming her, and she should swallow beans and sesame with wine.
The half-immortal horse medicine lady ordered the little girl to open her mouth and scream loudly, then reached her hand into her throat to feel around, saying that the little girl's throat was made hoarse by the poison, and that if she drank a dose of medicine right away, it might be cured, but her throat had been damaged for two or three years, and even a great immortal could not cure it.
Ji Xu felt that the half-immortal was unreliable, so he went to find a regular doctor in Chang'an City, but they all said that he could not cure it.
Nowadays, many primary schools do not accept mute girls, but fortunately, Master Fan is willing to accept her.
"Just send it to Master Fan in Huai City." Ji Xu said.
That day, she paid a tuition of two taels for each of them, and Tian also prepared school supplies for the three of them, including a bookcase, brushes, inkstones, a wooden brush for practicing calligraphy, a food box with rice, and a bamboo tube with water...
These were the items that Tian usually sold well at her stall. They were loved by the students of the Imperial College, so she specially set aside three pairs. She even sewed three new hand towels.
Ji Feng loved red, specifically silver red. She was wearing a newly made silver red dress, and her hair was tied up in a bun with two red hairbands. She had braided her hair herself, and with her skillful hands, she had twisted it into four braids. She pinned a silk flower that she had saved up money to buy.
Ji Zhu, on the other hand, preferred plain clothes, such as moon-white ones, and her clothes were also plain. As she grew older, she became less picky about her clothes. She even picked out Ji Feng's old clothes and asked Tian Shi to make them smaller for her. She saved money and bought books to read. Although she was small, she had read the Cang Jie Pian and the Book of Songs.
Xiaoyao was still young and didn't know how to dress herself. She was happy with whatever hairstyle Tian had or whatever clothes she wore. For her, going to elementary school meant playing with her family and she would jump around all day long.
The next day, Qiu Gu from the back corner door pulled Wang Er aside to talk:
"I heard that the three little girls from Qianmen are also going to Huai City to study in elementary school. Don't play with them. They will lead you astray and hinder your progress."
"Mother, hurry up! If you're late, the teacher will spank you!"
Wang'er didn't hear anything and climbed up the oxcart track. Qiu Gu hurriedly locked the door and drove him away.
Tian also carried her three little girls to Huai City.
She now sells groceries and snacks together. Although it is busy, she is used to it and can take care of it. In short, she doesn't ask Ji Feng to stay to help and lets her study.
This elementary school was not a private residence, but a building built for teaching, similar to the Imperial College. It was said that it was jointly built by three wealthy families in Wuling.
The purpose of running a school is not to make money, but to spread the gratitude to teachers. In the future, when these people graduate, they will become our own disciples and former officials and can be used by our family.
This Fan Shushi was also a doctoral student and studied at the Imperial College next door. However, his words and deeds were not tolerated by his superiors and colleagues, so he resigned in anger and taught here.
That day he taught an arithmetic problem and asked the students to solve it.
This elementary school is difficult to discipline, as most of the students are from Wuling and they whisper to each other.
Among them, a primary school student named Li Fuye was the most naughty. He was born in a wealthy family in Maoling County. The elementary school was jointly run by three families, one of which was the Li family.
He wore a gold and jade necklace, a yellow silk robe, pouches and sachets all over his body, and a bulging belly. He was known as the little bully in elementary school and no one dared to provoke him.
It was autumn, and it was easy to feel sleepy at noon. Mr. Fan, who had been working hard, dozed off on his books. Li Fuye began to compose a doggerel:
"Master Fan, your belly is full."
Someone next to him continued:
“I’m too lazy to study.”
"But I want to sleep."
After hearing this, the young men from Wuling started to laugh.
"Hey! Guanwaimin, it's your turn!"
After Li Fuye finished laughing, he threw the wooden stick with the doggerel on it onto Ji Zhu's desk.
Three new students came today. In Li Fuye's opinion, they were dressed in rustic clothes and looked like people from outside the Great Wall.
As expected, when Master Fan asked them to tell him their names and what books they had read, they did not speak with a Guanzhong accent. I heard that their family sold prepared food and groceries in Huai City outside.
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