Chapter 62 Let’s Call Him Zhang Chuyan
Since the seedlings in the field have been destroyed by the hail, they will certainly not be able to thrive.
If you want to have a harvest, you either have to grow new seedlings or buy seedlings.
You can grow new seedlings, but there may not be enough time. Once you miss the planting season, the harvest will inevitably decrease.
In this case, buying seedlings is the best option.
But if my second sister was not there, would the family be able to afford the money to buy rice seedlings?
The surrounding areas have all been hit by disasters and there are no seedlings to be found, so we have to go to a farther place.
But there was no horse at home, and Uncle Li’s cow rolled down the mountain and died. How could he get there?
Gu Yuhe thought about it for a long time, but still had no clue. Finally, he could only give up, blushing, and stammered, "Second sister, I really don't know what to do."
Gu Jiayue didn't laugh at him. Her expression was calm and she said patiently, "Well, then I'll tell you, there are many ways to solve this problem."
"First, we can grow new seedlings and plant them. However, if we follow the old seedling-raising methods, we will inevitably miss the planting time, which may result in a reduced yield. Therefore, we need to improve the seedling-raising method. Before starting seedlings, we must carefully select the seeds and soak them in water, as soaked seeds are more likely to germinate. Secondly, we can spread the soaked seeds flat on a winnowing basket, cover them with a quilt, and place them on the stove. The warm environment will help the seeds germinate faster, but they need to be watered regularly. This way, we can significantly shorten the seedling-raising time."
"Let's talk about buying rice seedlings. If we don't have money, how can we buy them? We can exchange them for other things, or even write an IOU, borrowing the rice seedlings and repaying them later with grain. Is that feasible? What if the place to buy rice seedlings is too far away? Can we go to the county town and rent someone's ox cart?"
"We could even consider not planting rice this year, draining the fields and planting sweet potatoes, corn, and soybeans instead. After all, we have a path forward, and how can we let people starve to death?"
Gu Jiayue spoke slowly and steadily, occasionally asking a question, which made Gu Yuhe fall into deep thought.
Gu Yuhe took a deep breath, opened his mouth, seemed to want to say something but stopped himself, and finally lowered his head in silence, as if he was weighing these words over and over in his mind.
Seeing this, Gu Jiayue said no more. She just patted his shoulder lightly and said earnestly, "Studying is not just for getting a good academic performance. It is because reading can help people gain wisdom and continue to grow through understanding. There is a golden house in books. Think about it carefully."
When Gu Jiayue came out of the room, she saw Goudan and his parents had been waiting for a long time.
"Master, is Gousheng okay?" Goudan looked concerned and a little ashamed. He was too excited during the day and didn't notice that his good friend was in a bad mood.
"It's okay, don't worry about him. I think he will figure it out tomorrow." Gu Jiayue knew in her heart that not all children are suitable for studying, but all children should study.
This is also the reason why the country is willing to spend huge sums of money to implement compulsory education. If people do not learn, they will not know the meaning of things. Only by continuous learning can they get rid of ignorance.
"Uncle Shuigen, please sit down." Although Gu Jiayue was Goudan's teacher, Zhang Shuigen was the elder. How could she dare to sit down and let the elder stand? She greeted him warmly.
"Hey, hey, hey, you sit down too." Zhang Shuigen felt uneasy and didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.
Gu Jiayue was just a little girl, and in terms of seniority, she was his junior. Normally, he shouldn't be so nervous.
But she happened to be his son's teacher, and his son said that this girl from the Gu family was not only strict in her studies, but also had profound knowledge.
I am a rough guy and I really don't know how to get along with cultured people.
He wanted to seek help from his wife, but his wife had already gone to the kitchen and stayed with the other women in the Gu family as soon as he entered the door.
At this moment, he felt quite isolated and helpless.
Gu Jiayue noticed Zhang Shuigen's nervousness and didn't say anything, but she understood. Parents in her previous life had been like this too. Some even posted videos jokingly hoping the teacher wouldn't blame them, but instead blame whoever made the mistake.
"Has Uncle Shuigen ever seen Goudan's grades?"
"I've checked it. I'm sorry to bother Jiayue during this period of time." Zhang Shuigen was illiterate and didn't know what a perfect score of 200 meant, but he could clearly see the bright red ticks on the test paper.
Both papers were correct, without a single mistake.
"Well, after a month of teaching, I've discovered that Goudan is incredibly intelligent. If we nurture him carefully, he might try taking the imperial examinations. He might even pass."
What Gu Jiayue said was a conservative estimate.
After all, Goudan is still young. Although he is gifted and intelligent, there is no guarantee that he will grow up with complicated thoughts and go astray.
Because of this, Gu Jiayue was even more reluctant to give up the child and wanted to find a different way out for him.
"What?" Zhang Shuigen was so shocked when he heard this that he stood up suddenly, his eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief, "Jiayue girl, you said my son can pass the imperial examination in the future?"
There was not even a single scholar in the entire Taohua Village, and there were only two scholars in Xinan County.
His son actually passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi? Zhang Shuigen was so excited that his face flushed, and he felt his breathing was a little rapid. He quickly reached out and grabbed the hand of Gu Huangwu next to him, and said in a trembling voice: "Brother, my son is a genius! He can pass the imperial examination!"
This is something I wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Uncle Gu Huangwu was full of jealousy, but he couldn't get angry, so he could only force a smile: "Yes, yes, congratulations to brother Shuigen, you will be the father of a Jinshi in the future."
I secretly sighed in my heart, why is there such a big gap between us when we are from the same village?
The uncle glared fiercely at the room where Gu Yuhe was. Gu Yuhe could feel the invisible murderous aura through the door.
Everyone was disappointed with the child and thought that the grandmother had not hit him hard enough. If she hit him a few more times, maybe the child would come to his senses.
Grandma felt the soles of her feet were itchy again.
After the excitement, Zhang Shuigen gradually calmed down, frowned, and fell into deep thought.
Gu Jiayue knew what he was worried about. Studying was a very expensive thing.
A low-quality brush cost twenty coins; the cheapest hemp paper cost fifty coins per sheet, but only a hundred sheets were available; the cheapest ink stick also cost a hundred coins. As for books, they were even more expensive: "Three Character Classic" cost two hundred coins, "Hundred Family Surnames" cost one hundred and fifty coins...
Zhang Shuigen only earned ten cents a day working in the town, and such work was not available every day. Most of the time, he had to tend the land at home.
"Uncle Shuigen, Goudan is indeed gifted. He can even be said to have a photographic memory. Such talent is extremely rare even in the entire Dagan Dynasty." Gu Jiayue's face was full of sincerity, trying to dispel Zhang Shuigen's concerns.
Zhang Shuigen looked at his son with an expectant look on his face, his lips moved, hesitant to speak: "I..."
"Uncle Shuigen, I called you here today, first, to tell you about Goudan's grades, and second, he has started school now, and you can't call him Goudan anymore. You should give him a formal name." Gu Jiayue interrupted what Zhang Shuigen was about to say. She couldn't let him continue because Goudan's eyes had dimmed.
The Gu family was able to choose their children's names early on because they had a family tree. It's said that a scholar from a previous generation disliked the names of the Gu children, so they compiled the tree and assigned each generation a specific character. Later generations simply named themselves according to that character.
When Zhang Shuigen heard this, he became worried again.
Indeed, I've never heard of a scholar named Goudan or Gousheng. "Well... we haven't been to school either. How about Jiayue, you give him a name?"
"I'm afraid this is inappropriate. The name should be chosen by parents and elders." Gu Jiayue looked hesitant.
Zhang Shuigen waved his hand nonchalantly: "You are his teacher. Once a teacher, always a father. There is no difference. Besides, we are illiterate, so we really can't come up with a good name."
Gu Jiayue looked at Goudan's expectant eyes and stopped refusing.
She lowered her head in thought for a moment, then said, "Then let's call her Zhang Chuyan." Then, she picked up a brush and neatly wrote the three characters, explaining, "'Spring clothes, delicate blossoms, the first banquet, fragrant hibiscus'. It symbolizes a new beginning in life, the arrival of important moments and stages. It's a name full of hope and anticipation."
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