Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Difficulty in Enrollment
Sun Xu's maternal family lives in Xiaoli Village. Because Xu's mother fell into the water after giving birth to her second child, she never got pregnant again after giving birth to a son and a boy.
Xu Zhifeng, the youngest son of the Xu family, has a special look. Whenever he meets people, whether he knows them or not, he will greet them with a sweet smile. He is very obedient at home. At the age of five, he followed his mother to sell eggs. The number that his mother could not count, he, a five-year-old child, could answer just by speaking. When he returned home, he diligently went to dig earthworms with his eldest brother Xu Fulang. He even did not complain about the hard work in the fields. Because of having such a good son, I don’t know how many people have envied Xu’s mother.
After all, such a smart child is rare these days. If the Xu family sells everything they have to send him to school, who knows, Xu Zhifeng might have a bright future.
Having such a well-behaved and lovely son, Xu's mother is envied by many people.
But what Xu's mother didn't expect was that although Xu's husband was growing up well, the youngest son, Xu Zhifeng, suddenly stopped talking when he was a few years old. Whenever he came back from playing outside, his body and face would be dirty, either with mud or grass clippings, and the same was true for his hair. Sometimes, Xu Zhifeng would even smell like feces and urine.
Xu's mother and father asked him what was wrong, but Xu Zhifeng just stood there in a daze, his hands tightly clutching the dirty corners of his clothes, his hair messy and dirty, his head lowered and he said nothing. He looked as if he was filled with unspeakable grievances.
At first, Xu Zhifeng could still talk, but after he came back from outside covered in dirt one after another, Xu Zhifeng seemed like a different person. He became silent and no longer went to sell eggs with Xu's mother. He would just follow Xu's mother or his elder brother and work silently all day long.
People say that Xu Zhifeng is a mute. He used to be so smart, but now he is very stupid. Even when he was bullied by children from the same village, he didn't say a word. He is really stupid.
Xu Zhifeng is seventeen years old this year. He is a rare handsome man in Xiaoli Village. If such a man is not stupid, he would have been married at this age.
The reason why the Xu family got into trouble was because Xu Zhifeng was too handsome. Once when he was helping Xu's mother carry two baskets of eggs to sell, the owner of Zhouji Grain Store in the town took a fancy to him and wanted to make him the husband of his own son.
The girl from Zhouji Grain Shop had been married to two men before. The first man died unexpectedly, and the second man was a gambler. The reason she was willing to marry Zhou's boy was because she wanted the money he had. She pretended to be nice before, but after marrying Zhou and having a child, her true colors were revealed. She used to go out to gamble secretly, but later she did it openly and was not afraid of Zhou knowing at all.
A man who has been married twice will have difficulty getting married in the future if he divorces him, so the man becomes fearless.
Zhou's son also had a bad temper. After realizing that he had been cheated, he beat the man several times, forced him to divorce him, and then took his son back to his mother's home.
Both of Zhou Jia Ge'er's husbands were handsome men. Zhou Jia Ge'er relied on his family's wealth and did not care about the man's family situation. He only required that the man he wanted to marry should look the way he wanted.
The reason why the Xu family did not agree to this marriage was that Zhou's son already had two children, the eldest of whom was eight years old. For some reason, the child knew that his stepfather had a crush on Xu Zhifeng, and had been waiting for Xu Zhifeng in the town, scolding and beating Xu Zhifeng. If Xu Zhifeng really got married with Zhou's son, could this stepson be good to Xu Zhifeng?
An eight-year-old child is not young anymore and can remember things. Even if Xu Zhifeng treats him well, it is not certain that the child will remember the kindness.
But Xu's mother heard that the child couldn't even accommodate his six-year-old brother, and even cried and asked Zhou Ge'er to send his brother back to his father to raise him.
That's it, and Xu Zhifeng's brain is not very good. What good will come of it if he goes there?
Another thing is that Zhou Ge'er is in his twenties, nearly ten years older than Xu Zhifeng. At this age, I'm afraid Zhou Ge'er will not have another child, and even if he wants to, he probably can't.
Thinking of this, the Xu family would definitely not agree to this marriage.
If the Xu family disagrees, won’t that anger the Zhou family?
The Zhou family opened a grain store in the town and considered themselves to be people of status. Although their eldest son had been married twice and had two sons by his side, they were still rich!
What are the conditions of the Xu family?
Even so, they dared to disagree. This was simply a slap in the face of the Zhou family.
Shopkeeper Zhou has spoken, wanting to let the Xu family know the consequences of not giving him face. They are the ones who have initiated the marriage now, and in the future, he will make the Xu family come to him and beg to marry his son.
At first, the Xu family didn't know what Manager Zhou meant. Later, after their family had been selling eggs for several days and hadn't sold a single one, Xu's mother and father finally understood what Manager Zhou meant.
Xu Yunfan listened to the gossip with great interest. When Sun Xu's mouth was dry, he asked, "So, is your uncle really a...um, mute?"
"That's not the case."
Sun Xu loudly denied it, "My uncle is not dumb, nor is he stupid. They all say he is stupid, but he is not. He even taught me arithmetic. I even learned that sixteen cents plus six cents equals twenty-two cents."
Xu Yunfan: “…”
Xu Yunfan's expression was a little hard to describe. He patted Sun Xu's head and said earnestly, "Xiao Xu, you are already ten years old, not four."
So, it seems normal for a ten-year-old child to know this kind of problem. But on second thought, well, in the Dayan Dynasty, a ten-year-old child can know that sixteen plus six equals twenty-two, which is indeed quite amazing.
Sun Xu, who was confused, nodded his head foolishly, "Brother Xu, I know I am ten years old, and I am very smart."
Sun Xu had not had much contact with Qin's people before. When he heard Dadan and the others calling Xu Yunfan "Brother Xu", he followed suit and didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all.
Xu Yunfan was speechless for a moment. "Didn't they say your uncle... well, how could he know all this?"
Could it be that this person is really a talent?
"My uncle learned all this by secretly attending classes at the academy," Sun Xu said proudly, then turned sad. "But the kids in Xiaoli Village wouldn't let him go. They said he was stupid. They said stupidity is contagious. And the adults wouldn't let my uncle attend classes at the academy. The teacher said he couldn't attend classes without paying his tuition. They also said my uncle was stupid and wouldn't understand. He would only influence the other kids if he was there."
After hearing these words, Xu Yunfan's heart choked.
He had previously planned to send Qin Run and Xiao Ye to school in the spring of next year, but after hearing what Sun Xu said, he couldn't help but feel shaken.
But this is just hearsay. I haven't seen it with my own eyes or heard it with my own ears. I can only listen to it and take it as a reference. Xu Yunfan plans to go to Xiaoli Village tomorrow to take a look.
If the teacher and students there are really as Sun Xu said, they are simply misleading the students. Such a teacher is unlikely to teach anything good. He must find a way to send his two brothers-in-law to other schools.
There is another thing. If the Xu family has a lot of eggs, Xu Yunfan can buy them from them for a long time, so that he can have a fixed delivery person.
Most of the eggs in the town are sold individually by farmers. Maybe this woman comes to sell them today, but she won’t come tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
After all, there are not many farmers like the Xu family who raise hens to lay eggs and sell them.
Therefore, if Xu Yunfan wants to buy a large amount of eggs, he still has to find a supply channel.
Qin Run came back in the evening.
As usual, as soon as she got home, Qin Run immediately went into the kitchen to cook and serve her husband who had been "wasting" all day.
Xu Yunfan helped watch the fire, and from time to time he looked up at Qin Run. He found that Qin Run seemed a little absent-minded tonight, and his mind was frequently distracted, as if he had something on his mind. "Brother Run, are you worried about something?"
"No." Qin Run lied.
Xu Yunfan stuffed a piece of firewood into the fire, raised his eyes and said, "You still want to lie? Stop lying. I can tell at a glance that you are worried. What's the matter? Is it inconvenient for you to tell me about your affairs? Or is it that I can't know?"
"No." Qin Run shook his head, "Yun Fan, the dean came to see me today."
"Oh, what did he want with you?"
"He wants to buy some blackboards from you, and he wants you to come find him the day after tomorrow when you have classes."
Xu Yunfan doesn't have classes these days because the college is on holiday one day and other classes are scheduled on the other two days. Starting the day after tomorrow, he will have two classes every morning for six consecutive days, and then it will be another day off.
"If this is the case, why do you look so worried?"
"I'm worried about the blackboard."
Qin Run knew that the thing Xu Yunfan used to make the blackboard came from a box, which was different from making candles to sell.
Xu Yunfan knew what Qin Run was worried about and comforted him, "It's okay, I'll be careful. By the way, how are the hot and sour sweet potato noodles and chili sauce made in the cafeteria today?"
"It's selling very well, there's not enough to sell." Qin Run's worries faded away when he spoke of this. "Yun Fan, when can we eat this batch of sweet potato noodles from our backyard?"
"You can do it tomorrow. Oh, and since we're selling noodles now, tell Uncle Fang and Grandpa Fang and the others to fry some eggs and blanch some vegetables. But if it's rice noodles, you can cook them in more ways."
Xu Yunfan slapped his thigh. "Yes, I'll arrange for a few people to make rice noodles tomorrow. Also, I've already found a supplier for the eggs, and I'll go check it out tomorrow. Also, have you visited the school in Xiaoli Village? How is the teacher there?"
"Hmm? The school in Xiaoli Village?"
Qin Run was a little embarrassed, "No, I haven't been there."
He couldn't even fill his stomach before, so it was impossible for him to think about school matters on an empty stomach.
Xu Yunfan told Qin Run what he had heard from Sun Xu, "If the teacher is really as Sun Xu said, then it doesn't matter if they don't go to this school. I will find another school to send them to."
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if a school is not well-known; what is important is the ethics of the teachers.
Qin Run: "I've never been to the school, and I've never met the teacher there, but I've heard that two children from the Li family went there to study. They paid six taels of silver a year, but they came back crying after just two days, saying that the teacher beat them and made them stand outside the classroom for a whole day. He also called them stupid as pigs and said they would have to dig in the fields for the rest of their lives."
"Damn, are you saying that too much?"
Xu Yunfan was shocked. "With this, he can still be a teacher?"
Qin Run said as if it was normal: "Yes, of course. He has a bad temper, so he came to the village to be a teacher. Otherwise, he would have run to the town long ago. It's because of his bad temper, his words are too harsh, and he is arrogant. He couldn't make it in the town, so he came to the village. Everyone knows that the teacher doesn't think much of the villagers. He looks down on the children who have worked hard and saved money to send to school. He often scolds them for not being as smart as the children in the town or the county capital. Even so, if they want their children to learn to read and write, they must endure it. Not only that, they must also greet the teacher with a smile, agree with him, and join him in fighting against their own son. They have to flatter him. Who told him that he is the only teacher in the nearby villages? If they offend the teacher, where can the children go to study? If they go to the town, the requirements of the school in the town will be higher. Whether they can get in or not is another matter. What's more, the town is too far away, and going back and forth is a huge problem."
Children who were going to school in the town, or even in the county or prefectural capital, must have attended elementary school. They might not have known the Four Books and Five Classics by heart, but they were certainly much better than the children in the village who went directly to school without even receiving any elementary education. Therefore, it was naturally more difficult for them to enter the schools, private academies, and colleges in big places.
Even if there are elementary schools and schools in the village, they are not as good as those in larger places.
This "good" does not refer to the construction of the school, but the teaching staff.
In modern times, why do many parents choose to buy a house in the city even if it means taking on a mortgage for more than ten years?
Part of the reason is the issue of children's enrollment.
Because they all know that the education in big cities is far superior to that in rural areas or small towns.
This is the case even in modern times, let alone in the Dayan Dynasty where scholars had such a high status.
It was because of Qin Run's words that Xu Yunfan was greatly shocked. It was also because he had lived in the village, gossiped about it, and inquired about it, and witnessed the limitations of education, that Xu Yunfan, who would later become an official, would vigorously reform the education methods and cultivate a large number of outstanding teachers. He would also assign these students to serve as teachers in various villages and towns based on the principle of proximity to their place of residence. Because of this move, Xu Yunfan was even more loved by the people.
But now Xu Yunfan had to worry about the enrollment of his two brothers-in-law. "What's the point of going to this school? We might as well find a school in town and let them go with us every day. After lunch, we'll pick them up and take them back to the cafeteria to eat and sleep. Actually, going to school in town is more convenient and better."
"But," Qin Run thought, Xu Yunfan said it too easily, but he had to let Xu Yunfan face the reality, "Before you can enter the town school, you need to be personally assessed by the teacher. You can only enter after passing the assessment."
Xu Yunfan wiped his face and said, "...If it really doesn't work, I'll just teach it myself."
Anyway, he didn't ask Qin An and the others to become the top scholar or achieve a high level of achievement. The reason why he asked his two brothers-in-law to learn to read was to broaden their horizons, understand the truth, know right from wrong, and know the vastness of the world and the grandeur of mountains, rivers and lakes. In the future, their horizons and knowledge will not be limited to one town. This is enough.
Qin Run laughed, "Yunfan, you are so kind to your brother-in-law."
"What nonsense you're talking about." Xu Yunfan broke a piece of firewood with his foot and put it aside so that Qin An and the others could use it for burning firewood in the future. "Do you understand what it means to love someone and love his dog? What's your relationship with me? Isn't your brother my brother? After all, An Ge'er still has to call me brother-in-law. Is this brother-in-law for nothing?"
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