When He Jiuniang returned to Anping Village, the sun was almost setting. She had too many things to do that day, and it was already late when she went to the county town, plus she had been delayed for so long.
The Lu family had been worried sick. Logically speaking, Anping Village is not far from the county town, and He Jiuniang went on horseback, so she should have returned soon. Why is she so late?
"Third Sister-in-law, are you alright?"
Lu Guilan was the first to greet them, her face showing worry.
"It's alright, don't worry!"
He Jiuniang waved her hand and went in with Lu Guilan. When she saw Sun Shi's sullen face, she knew that the old lady must be angry again, so she wanted to coax her first.
"You still want to come back!"
She had barely approached, and before she could even speak, Madam Sun spoke first, her voice filled with accusation and dissatisfaction.
He Jiuniang went over with a grin and shamelessly took her arm: "Mom, I made money today!"
As she spoke, she took out the money pouch that the clerk had given her and placed it in Sun's hand.
"What happened?"
The old lady immediately sensed something was amiss. How could she have made money just by going out for a short trip?
He immediately stopped being angry and acted arrogant, and looked at her nervously.
He Jiuniang knew that the old lady was just pretending to be angry, and that she was actually worried about her. So she said, "Today I helped the government catch two hooligans. The magistrate rewarded me with them! How about that? Aren't I amazing?"
"What a load of rubbish! What are you, a mere woman, trying to catch thugs for? Watch your own life!"
Sun slapped her hand away, opened the money bag and saw that there were twenty taels, so she took ten taels and threw the money bag back at her: "Keep the rest for yourself!"
He Jiuniang knew that the old lady still cared about her, so she didn't refuse and said, "Alright, I'll take Xiaohuzi and the others to the county town in a few days to buy some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones... Oh right, I forgot to tell you, I also found a school for Leizi, Jiezi and Xiaohuzi to study at in the county town today. I've already paid the tuition. Just send the children to school in seven days. I heard that the teacher there is very good!"
He Jiuniang took a sip of water. She had been busy all day and hadn't had a chance to drink any water. She was really thirsty.
Lu Guilan thought she had misheard and asked, "Third Sister-in-law, are you saying that my son Huzi can also go to school?"
"Yes, Xiaohuzi is just the right age for his early education, so we sent him there together."
He Jiuniang didn't think there was anything wrong with this. She assumed that Lu Guilan was unwilling to send her child to school, so she advised, "Little sister, a child's education is a big deal. If they study and learn to read and write, even if they don't pass the imperial examinations, they will be more successful than ordinary people in the future. At least they won't be easily fooled. You can't..."
"No!" Lu Guilan knew she had misunderstood and quickly interrupted her, "I just feel that you are too good to me, sister-in-law. Hu Zi is so young and he can go to school, but your little dog can't."
As she spoke, Lu Guilan was so moved that she burst into tears. Madam Yu and Madam Qin had not expected He Jiuniang to settle things so quickly. They had thought they would wait until the house was built and everything was arranged before considering it.
"Gou'er is too young. The school only accepts children as young as four years old, which is why I didn't enroll Gou'er and Xiao Liangzi."
As He Jiuniang spoke, she deliberately glanced at Madam Shen, not wanting her to misunderstand.
Shen hadn't really thought about these things. Her family wasn't that close to the Lu family anyway; they were her sister-in-law's family, not hers, so she had no complaints.
But I didn't expect my third sister-in-law to be able to explain this to me, and I immediately felt a warm feeling in my heart.
"Oh! Third sister-in-law, you're too kind. We're already very content that our family can be together peacefully. Besides, studying will cost a lot of money, so just save it for the children in the family. Don't worry about us."
Shen smiled and spoke from the heart.
"What are you saying? Living together means we're family. When Gou'er and Xiao Liangzi reach the age next year, we'll send them over together too."
He Jiuniang smiled sincerely. She was not helping the Zhang family out of kindness, but because she was about to start her own business and needed the Zhang brothers' help. Sending their children to school was also to make them feel indebted to her, so that they would be more sincere when helping her with her business in the future.
"Oh, thank you, Third Sister-in-law!"
Shen was deeply moved and decided that she would do anything her third sister-in-law asked her to do in the future, as she was determined to repay her sister-in-law's kindness!
Sun's face was not very good. She knew that this spendthrift woman would cause trouble. Did she even know how much it costs to send a child to school?
We do have some money at home now, but after the house is built and the construction costs are paid, there won't be much left. We'll also have to support this whole family. Where will we get so much money?
But since He Jiuniang had already said it in front of so many people, she couldn't let He Jiuniang lose face, so she said, "Since it is the children in the family who are studying, the tuition fee should be paid by the public funds. How much is the tuition fee? I will give it to you right now."
I just got ten taels of silver from He Jiuniang, that should be enough.
He Jiuniang waved her hands repeatedly: "Mother, let's keep the money from the public funds to build houses and buy fertile land. I still have some money on hand. Consider this a gift for my nephews. The public funds can cover it next year. There's no need for us to be so polite as family."
The eldest and second wives, along with Lu Guilan, all looked extremely grateful. He Jiuniang smiled warmly, saying all sorts of sweet words, making the sisters-in-law fawn over her.
Sun glared at her without saying a word. She couldn't stand her spendthrift ways; she was a complete shrew.
If she doesn't want it, she doesn't want it. She's worried about the money!
A group of people sat down to eat. It was too late to kill the chicken and fish, so they decided to save them for tomorrow morning.
It was already dark when we finished eating. Fortunately, the men had finished building the thatched huts that afternoon, so we wouldn't have to count stars tonight.
He Jiuniang took out a large bundle of oilcloth from her basket and said, "Eldest brother, second brother, and brothers-in-law, please cover the roof of the thatched shed with these oilcloths, tie them with ropes, and let the excess hang down. This will cover the surroundings and prevent drafts at night, so you don't have to worry about the children getting cold."
"My third sister-in-law is so thoughtful!"
Lu Laoda couldn't help but praise, while Sun thought to herself: How could such a vengeful person not be thoughtful?
It was already late when the men, enduring their fake injuries, finished fixing the tarpaulin. The family tidied up and went to sleep.
The Lu family was large, so they built three thatched huts in total. The boys and girls were separated. Boys over four years old slept with their fathers, and girls slept with their mothers. Three-year-olds like Gou'er and Xiao Liangzi naturally slept with their mothers.
It was quite spacious for the whole family to sleep in three thatched huts. Since Sun had something to say, she deliberately slept next to her resentful third daughter-in-law.
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