"It smells like urine, it smells like urine."
No wonder these guys seemed so affected and effeminate; it turns out they were like this.
But no matter how hard Xu Yuehuai racked her brains, she never imagined that the person eating the dishes that night would be the emperor.
"What's that urine smell?"
Zhou Wan, who was counting money, looked at her and said, "We're rich now. We can earn seven hundred silver dollars for making a single dish."
"This is just a small test; you should all learn from it."
Zhou Wan sighed regretfully, "My daughter-in-law is far less skillful than you..."
Seeing that Zhou Wan was about to say something discouraging, Xu Yuehua frowned and began to criticize, "I have been training you every day along the way. You must build up your self-confidence, otherwise you will face difficulties in the future. Study hard and do not give up when faced with difficulties. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the multiplication table."
The next day, Xu Yuehuai taught Zhou Wan and Chun San Niang the multiplication table.
San Niang learned it quickly, while Zhou Wan could only memorize it by rote.
Xu Yuehuai also had a task: "By this time tomorrow, I must hear you recite it perfectly. You don't need to do anything today, understand?"
"Yes, yes, Mother." Zhou Wan was extremely flustered.
Xu Yuehuai created an atmosphere of extreme tension, but Jiang Shichen, who was standing next to her, quickly figured out the pattern and stepped forward to remind Zhou Wan, "Mother, look, this way of memorizing will be much easier."
Immediately afterwards, they went to impart their knowledge.
Xu Yuehuai looked at Jiang Shichen, Aqi, and Jiang Qianqian.
Thinking to herself, now that everyone has arrived in the capital, things have finally settled down. She couldn't let these three suffer from their lack of education, so she immediately decided to pay for them to go to school.
The next morning, after eating, Third Sister finally started chatting with her.
"I was so worried! I didn't sleep last night, I was waiting for you the whole time. Goodness, you came back and you didn't even tell me!" Chun San Niang scolded, pinching Xu Yuehuai.
Xu Yuehuai leaned closer and said, "You two are always partying every night, so it's not appropriate for me to go to your place in the middle of the night when I come back. But speaking of which, when will I get to hold a big, chubby little boy?"
"Big Fatty Boy?" Chun San Niang lowered her head shyly. "What nonsense are you talking about? It's all baseless. Alright, alright, let's not talk about this."
It's clear that there's something she's having trouble saying.
Infertility?
Xu Yuehuai was clearly bringing up a sore spot.
That's true. Third Sister is twenty-six years old this year, and her husband is eleven years older than her. How could someone of this age not have children? Third Sister choked up, biting her lip but not saying a word.
Xu Yuehuai thought of Qi Guze.
“I’ll talk to Brother Qi. He knows someone in the Imperial Hospital. They’re incredibly skilled. One dose of their medicine will solve everything. I guarantee you’ll have twins. Now you can leave the shop to me and live a peaceful life.”
"Thank you very much then," said Third Sister with gratitude.
Xu Yuehuai changed the subject, "Are there any private schools around here?"
After thinking for a moment, Third Sister said, "There is one on Guangji Street, but the private school is set up in a nearby ancestral hall and is only for the children of the family. Others are not qualified to go in."
In fact, private schools were everywhere in the capital.
However, these schools were either located in government offices or ancestral halls, and were mostly for children of the same family or a large group of children from wealthy and powerful families. For families like Xu Yuehuai's, it was extremely difficult to send their children to school.
There are solutions. First, one could hire a scholar out of their own pocket, but this would be an expensive commission and a long-term tug-of-war, which most families simply couldn't afford.
Secondly, by pooling resources with neighbors, they could hire a professional craftsman. However, the disagreement was that some people were willing to contribute money, while others were not.
This is indeed quite difficult.
Chun San Niang offered a clear path.
"Go directly to the head of the clan at the ancestral hall and ask them to get our three children in. Each of our three children is more capable than the last, what's wrong with that?"
Xu Yuehuai went to run some errands.
We soon arrived at the Lin Family Ancestral Hall.
The ancestral hall was very magnificent and covered a large area. Several elderly men were drinking tea at the entrance of the hall. Xu Yuehuai went over to greet them, but they ignored him.
She sneaked into the ancestral hall.
They quickly found a private school; the atmosphere there was different, and the environment was much better.
The private school was surrounded by a cluster of trees. The east side of the building was well-ventilated, dry, and comfortable. A group of children were reciting something like "I examine myself three times a day" in a haphazard way.
To swallow something whole without understanding its meaning.
After finishing his lesson, Xu Yuehuai went over and bowed to the old scholar.
The old scholar told Xu Yuehuai that the tuition fees were sent by someone else; it was a whole group, and he was only responsible for teaching. The old scholar then boasted about how many outstanding students and former officials he had, and how they all wielded great influence in the capital. The more Xu Yuehuai listened, the more he wanted to laugh.
But this old teacher is indeed quite capable; he's more than capable of teaching the three little ones.
And in the future, Xu Yuehuai will definitely find them someone even more capable.
A short while later, Xu Yuehuai found the person in charge.
The man was holding a palm-leaf fan. He looked like a butcher and had a fierce expression. When Xu Yuehuai made her request, the man stared at her intently.
"Good heavens," the stinky man's voice boomed like a bell. What should have been a normal conversation sounded like an argument. Xu Yuehuai wished she could cover her ears. "This is an old tutor that my Lin family invited. Who are you, young widow, coming here to tutor my child?"
“I’m not some young widow. Let’s stick to the facts. If it’s okay, I’ll let the child come over. If not, then forget it.”
"One hundred taels!"
The butcher, who not only killed the man but also broke his spirit, actually asked for a price of one hundred taels of silver.
"Isn't this price gouging? You might as well go rob someone." Xu Yuehuai grew angrier the more she thought about it, and turned to leave. The butcher-like man smiled coldly, "You might as well go around asking around how difficult it is for an outsider like you to send your child to school here. The one hundred taels I mentioned is for three half-years' worth of tuition. The rest we'll discuss..."
Xu Yuehua left, grumbling and cursing.
After leaving, they inquired and visited the Cheng Family Ancestral Hall, Wang Jia Private School, and Zhang Family Old Brand. They found that each private school had such high entry requirements, and as the Lin family said, each one was more ruthless than the last.
Having exhausted all other options, and thinking of her child, Xu Yuehuai went to the Lin family again.
Seeing Xu Yuehuai arrive empty-handed, the Lin family sneered, "You were so arrogant just now, and now you know we offer good quality at a low price? It was 100 taels for three children for half a year just now, but now the price has gone up to 200 taels, still for half a year. If you want, come; if you don't, then leave."
"you……"
Xu Yuehuai was furious and wished he could slap him twice across the face.
But she held back and took a step back, saying, "I'll give you half first, and you can have the other half after they enroll, how about that?"
"They can come at 5 a.m. tomorrow. I guarantee they will learn new knowledge here, as well as basic etiquette and common sense about how to conduct themselves in society. They won't suffer any losses."
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