Chapter 37 I Want to Study: As long as you're willing to work hard, being literate is achievable...
"If there's not enough food at home, just buy some yourself. Braised meat, smoked meat, cured meat—as long as you have money, what kind of cooked meat can't you buy?"
Tao Erni didn't understand why Yao Xiaoyu was worried. She had already found a job helping with food preparation outside. She would work for an hour before and after mealtimes, earning five copper coins every two days, with plenty of white porridge and pickled vegetables.
Although the wages were a bit low, the working hours didn't conflict with the time spent picking up and dropping off Yao Xiaoyu. It was okay, it was common for her to be offered lower prices, so her wages weren't cut too badly. Besides, it was a two-day holiday, so Tao Erni was already very satisfied.
She couldn't keep the three copper coins the Yao family gave her for the sake of her reputation, but she could control the two and a half copper coins she earned every day. In addition to the silver coin she received as compensation for her injury some time ago, Tao Erni had secretly saved more than seventy copper coins. She planned to exchange her wages and these saved copper coins for a silver coin after she finished working for a month.
More than a hundred copper coins are hard to hide, but two silver dollars are much easier to spot.
Of course, she had to find a reliable shop; otherwise, she would have been in deep trouble if she exchanged her silver dollars for a single copper coin. A shop with excessively high commission rates was also unacceptable; a hundred or so copper coins wouldn't even cover her expenses for a single transaction…
"I can buy them, but the ones made don't suit my taste."
Yao Xiaoyu's words were somewhat Versailles-esque, but she truly had her own unspoken grievances—her eating habits still bore traces of modernity. She preferred fresh meat, and in her mind, smoked, cured, and bacon all needed to be further processed in a pot before they could be eaten.
Braised and stewed meat is better, but meat from street stalls is often very salty, or they use strong flavors to cover up the fact that the meat may be spoiled. At least Yao Xiaoyu didn't find any braised or stewed meat that suited her taste.
The big restaurants don't have these problems, but they are expensive, and the prices are all in silver dollars. When she has more money, Yao Xiaoyu wouldn't mind becoming a regular customer, but right now she can't bear to spend the money.
"The ribs at Pro Restaurant are not bad, but the restaurants I like are quite a distance from Maria Hospital. I can't keep going back and forth every day just for two pieces of ribs."
The amount of exercise was secondary; Yao Xiaoyu was mainly afraid that someone would figure out her route when she went out alone, and one day she would be caught in a sack. With her current physique, which was slightly better than Lin Daiyu's, she would be completely helpless.
"this……"
Tao Erniu was also at a loss. Although Yao Xiaoyu's troubles seemed to her to be a bit like asking why the person drinking porridge didn't eat meat, they were all very real. [1]
"It would be nice to have a separate house."
Set up a separate kitchen, hire a cook who isn't particularly creative, buy whatever meat you want, cook whatever dishes you like, one person earns money and the other spends it—Tao Erniu never imagined she would live such a life, what a cheerful little girl she would be.
"Then the problem won't be what to eat, but how to deal with thieves, hooligans, and those beasts who knock on girls' doors at night."
Why hasn't Yao Xiaoyu moved out? Is it because she doesn't want to? Isn't it because living alone in this era is too dangerous?
According to the tabloid news she had seen the other day, a young master ran away from home and, not having enough money, rented a large tenement. If it weren't for someone secretly following him, he would have been raped by a drunkard who returned home that same day. Given her luck of being able to sell herself off so easily, Yao Xiaoyu didn't think the consequences of renting a place would be any better.
"Too."
Tao Erni sighed. She had originally planned to save enough money to rent a place elsewhere. After all, Shanghai was a big city, and the Tao family wouldn't be able to find her if she moved to another place. But after listening to Yao Xiaoyu's words, she realized that she had been too naive. Even if she was strong, she couldn't guard against thieves for a thousand days and was no match for the schemes of those with ulterior motives.
How do you know so much?
While feeling disheartened by the collapse of her plans, Tao Erni asked curiously, "Yao Xiaoyu looks younger than me, yet she knows so much. Is it really as her father said, 'Like begets like,' and that children from wealthy families are naturally smarter than poor people like us?"
"It's all written in the books; you'll understand once you read more."
Yao Xiaoyu answered casually, but Tao Erni felt as if a ray of light had pierced through her eyes, only to come and go quickly. Thinking of how girls her age had talked about the expenses of their brothers' schooling, Tao Erni's bright eyes dimmed again.
"Studying is wonderful, but unfortunately I can't afford the tuition, so I can only remain blind."
After the school system reform, the graduation time for primary school was shortened from five years to four years, but there were three semesters a year, and the tuition for each semester was at least two yuan. Even without living expenses, she still needed to prepare twenty-four silver dollars. [2]
A factory worker earns only a few silver dollars a month, and a maid who provides room and board earns only two or three silver dollars a month. Twenty silver dollars can buy a bonded laborer. If she is willing to marry, she can receive a dowry of several tens of dollars, but the money will not reach her hands.
Reading seems like a ray of light, but upon closer inspection, it's like a reflection in a mirror or a flower in water—something Tao Erni can't reach at all.
"Tuition fees are hard to come by, but if you are willing to work hard, it is not impossible to get rid of the label of illiteracy."
Yao Xiaoyu's mouth moved faster than her brain. By the time she realized what she had said, it was too late. When she met Tao Erniu's eyes, which were brighter than the sun, the words she wanted to use to get by got stuck in her throat, and she just couldn't say them.
Perhaps influenced by modern education, Yao Xiaoyu reflexively wanted to send all the newspaper boys, cigarette boys, and shoe shiners to school when she saw them everywhere. Now that she had met someone who genuinely wanted to learn, Yao Xiaoyu simply couldn't refuse.
"As long as I can read, I'm not afraid of hardship. I'm willing to endure any hardship, really!"
Tao Erni grabbed Yao Xiaoyu's hand, her words becoming somewhat incoherent with anxiety. She didn't know what Yao Xiaoyu's plan was, but her intuition told her that if she missed this opportunity, she would regret it for the rest of her life!
Tao Erni used all her skills in singing, reciting, acting, and fighting, and Yao Xiaoyu was so entangled that she softened. After agreeing on three rules, she revealed the associative memory method.
Actually, learning directly from a pinyin dictionary is the most convenient, but at that time, even pinyin had not been published, and dictionaries mostly used the fanqie method, with the initial consonant of the first character and the final vowel of the second character.
For example, the pronunciation of "猴" (hou) in "猴" (houzi) is "hongtou" (hongtou). "Hong" is taken from the "H" radical, and "tou" is taken from the "ou" radical and the second tone of the pronunciation. People who cannot read cannot learn it at all.
The so-called associative memory method involves placing the name of an object with the object itself. For example, place a note on a table with the word "table" written on it, and wrap a piece of paper with the word "mung bean" written on it around a mung bean. Then, read, write, and practice the word. When you can recognize the word at a glance and write it down without scratching your head, you have memorized the word.
The advantage of this method is that it does not require instruction from others; one can learn to read simply by relying on habit. However, its disadvantages are also obvious: it is costly, it can only teach commonly used characters, and it is easy to make mistakes.
Because while necessities like bowls, chopsticks, rice, and flour were manageable, when it came to big-ticket items like houses, Tao Erni couldn't afford them even if she sold her blood. As for things like hanging flower gates, which only wealthy families could afford, or abstract concepts like courage and perseverance, she simply had to give up.
In addition, many items are easily confused. White pottery bowls and celadon bowls are placed in the wrong positions, and the labels on tables and chairs are pasted upside down. It is common to find out the mistake only after memorizing it. There are also more classic cases, which Yao Xiaoyu calls "the original must be correct for the copy to be correct".
"For example, if you want someone to write down the word 'chopsticks,' and they try to fool you by just writing down 'spoon,' you finally remember it, and then you tell them outside..."
Tao Erniu's face immediately tightened, but until the very end, she didn't say she wouldn't study.
This is indeed the most suitable method for her to learn to read right now.
Yao Xiaoyu spent a lot of time teaching him learning methods. After she finished speaking, the two of them stood in front of the hospital's iron gate.
Yao Xiaoyu disappeared behind the gate of Maria Hospital. Tao Erni went to work as usual. She worked very hard and ate heartily. She only had one meal a day. She was reluctant to spend money and wanted to eat enough for the whole day.
Hmm, when I get back I'll hide another bowl from the house. Big items are hard to move for the sake of reputation, but the bowls and chopsticks were bought by her, so she can give them to whoever she wants!
"This girl can eat way too much."
The host, his face green, saw Tao Erni off and complained. Those nearby, thinking they understood the host's thoughts, quickly chimed in:
"Fire her tomorrow and replace her with someone who eats less."
For example, his cousin...
"Make the porridge thicker, so that others don't miss out."
No, so you didn't mean to fire anyone? Then what are you complaining about?
The master's words immediately brought the man, who was working with his cousin and taking advantage of their proximity to the master, to his senses. He shrank back, afraid that the master would find fault with him.
"Anyone who says that again can get out of here."
The master of the house did not see who spoke, but he still got angry. Tao Erni could eat a lot, but she was also really good at working. She could do more work than a man. She only cost two and a half copper coins a day, and a pound of rice only cost a few copper coins. She had already earned back what she had done.
Eat, eat as much as you want! As long as he maintains this bull-like energy while working, he'll provide for Tao Erni no matter how much she eats!
Tao Erni was unaware of the small argument at the side dish stall. She lingered at the entrance of a bookstore, her five copper coins sweating. After pacing around the entrance for who knows how long, Tao Erni finally took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold of the bookstore.
"How much does the cheapest pencil cost?"
Tao Erni stood inside the bookstore she used to never dare to look at and asked.
A moment later.
Tao Erni left the bookstore with a pencil and some white paper, and the remaining two copper coins, then looked back at the bookstore's sign.
It turns out that a pencil can be bought for just two copper coins, and blank paper can be bought for just one copper coin. It turns out that bookstores are not only for wealthy people and students; even a woman like her who cannot read a single word can be entertained.
Tao Erni clutched the pencil the bookstore had sharpened for her, a sudden impulse welling up inside her—
Should I write it?
Yao Xiaoyu looked at Tao Erni with some surprise. Tao Erni's knuckles were clenched so tightly that they turned white, but she nodded vigorously. Yao Xiaoyu then stopped refusing and wrote two words on the wrapped white paper, stroke by stroke—flour.
Then an "↑" symbol was added above the words.
"The arrow is pointing upwards, and reading from left to right is correct."
Seeing Tao Erni's excited expression, Yao Xiaoyu decided to go back and organize a mock exam for Wenrou and Zhou Chunhua—after teaching them for more than two months, they should know at least a hundred characters by now!
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The author has something to say: [1] Asking why people who drink porridge don't eat meat: Tao Erni wanted to say "Why not eat meat porridge?", but she couldn't describe it and could only use plain language.
[2] The information on the academic system of three semesters per academic year is taken from the archives of China Agricultural University, "10. The Three-Semester System and Subject Selection System in the Early Republic of China".
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