On the day of the Beginning of Summer in May, the cicadas chirped loudly.
Jiang Yue sat in the carriage, occasionally admiring the scenery outside.
The carriage had already left Taohua County and was heading towards Ping'an County.
"Mom, are you hungry? If you are, I'll ask Uncle Erzhu to find a shady place to park and rest."
After the initial novelty wore off, Qingsong lost interest in the horse.
After the uncles from the church village escorted him and his mother, he returned to the carriage, sat down next to his mother, and separated himself from the other uncles who were sitting next to her.
“We are a bit hungry, Qingsong. Tell your Uncle Erzhu to find a place so we can all get out of the car, get some fresh air, and eat some dry rations before continuing our journey.”
Jiang Yue thought it was feasible and agreed.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang, who was on the right, breathed a sigh of relief.
After parking and resting, she needs to get out of the car and find a place to relieve herself.
Soon, the carriage stopped at a flat spot by the roadside, and two strong men got off and tied the reins to a tree stump.
Then, one by one, the people inside the carriage stepped off the benches, walking or jumping down.
"I'll gather firewood."
"I'll fetch some water!"
"I'll prepare the cooking utensils."
"I feed the horses grass."
"I'm going to find a place to relieve myself, Qingsong Niang, do you want to come with me?"
"Okay, I'll go with you."
Every able-bodied man consciously found work to do, while Jiang Yue and Zhuang Shi went together to find a secluded place.
At times like these, Jiang Yue is extremely grateful for the village chief's foresight.
If she were the only woman on this trip, it would likely be quite inconvenient.
Now that the Zhuang family is here, things have become much more convenient, to some extent.
So, after Zhuang finished relieving herself, the two of them "handed over" and it was her turn to go inside to relieve herself.
Of course, she dared not linger in this outdoor area. After quickly settling in, she soon reunited with Zhuang.
Being somewhat of a germaphobe, she untied the water pouch at her waist and washed her hands.
Seeing this, Zhuang followed suit.
Jiang was recognized as a capable woman in the village. Although she had no husband, she relied on her own efforts to grow medicinal plants, process medicinal materials, and do business in pharmacies. In just one year, she became the richest woman in Wujia Village!
Anyway, there's nothing shameful about learning from smart people!
Jiang washed her hands, and so did she. Perhaps this meticulousness was one of the reasons for her success?
When they returned to the carriage, the men had already cleared out a "territory," laid out straw mats, and were roasting the dry rations prepared by each family over a fire.
"Mom, please sit down~ Our sticky rice chicken is almost ready~"
The pine tree, with its conspicuous bag, immediately attracted the attention of those around it as soon as it made a sound.
Sticky rice chicken?
It sounds delicious!
Wu Erzhu swallowed hard, exchanged glances with the other three, and then silently turned his back, avoiding looking at Jiang and her son.
The travel expenses for their trip were arranged by the village chief and the clan elders. The money had to be spent wisely and not wasted!
Zhuang showed no envy or greed, and went straight to sit down next to the head of the household, speaking gently:
"Second brother, do you want some chili sauce?"
"Eat~"
Wu Erzhu responded to his wife with a silly grin. His wife was from Jinling Prefecture and her chili sauce making skills were absolutely amazing!
"The steamed buns are baked. I have a jar of chili sauce in my bag. If you want some, just scoop a spoonful and spread it on. Don't put too much on, because this chili sauce is a bit spicy."
As she spoke, Zhuang rummaged through her bundle in the carriage and pulled out a jar of chili sauce...
After tearing open the oil paper wrapping the glutinous rice chicken, Jiang Yue felt it was a bit greasy, so she gave half to her son and ate only the other half.
This was the dry food that Aunt Ge prepared after getting up very early this morning and working in the kitchen for a long time.
She didn't take them all, only three packages, afraid they would spoil on the way because of the hot weather.
"Mom, have some water~"
Qingsong didn't force his mother to eat since she really had no appetite. When he noticed that her water pouch was empty, he quickly took off his own water pouch, opened the lid, and handed it to his mother.
"Well, after we finish eating and rest for a while, we'll continue our journey. We need to find an inn or post station before dark to stay for the night and then continue our journey tomorrow."
Jiang Yue spoke loudly, making sure everyone present could hear her.
"Okay, I'll listen to Mom."
Since his own mother had spoken, Qingsong naturally agreed.
The fact that others were chosen to escort Chiang Kai-shek to business negotiations demonstrates their ability to distinguish right from wrong and their obedience to orders.
Even the Zhuang family revolved around the Jiang family, always consulting them on matters before taking any action.
After finishing their simple dry rations, the group extinguished the fire and filled their empty water bags with water at a nearby teahouse for two copper coins.
Once everyone was refreshed, they packed up, got back into the carriage, and continued their journey.
In Wujia Village, a hundred miles away, families related to the Jiang family prayed for a smooth and trouble-free journey for them.
Confucius said, "To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned..."
After a round of quizzes, the students from the two schools were reassigned to different classes based on their scores.
After the classes were divided, the seating arrangement was not based on ranking, but rather on height for the first round of seating.
Secondly, there's the issue of eyesight. Some students may have suffered too much hardship, resulting in poor eyesight.
Therefore, after careful consideration and discussions with individual students, Master Lu made the final seating arrangement.
Qingyao was placed in the second position in the very front row, a position directly exposed to the Master's view.
So, the moment she lost her focus, the teacher caught her and struck her with a ruler, leaving her palms red.
Ouch~
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to cry or act willfully.
"From now on, you must listen attentively in class and study diligently, understand?"
Master Lu didn't care whose daughter the student in front of him was; if anyone was distracted in his class, no matter who it was, they would be punished severely as a warning.
"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Master."
Qingyao bowed and apologized. It was indeed her fault for not paying attention in class and being reprimanded by the teacher, which she truly deserved.
"After school, copy the saying 'To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned' ten times as punishment, and hand it in to me for inspection when you go to school tomorrow."
Master Lu did not dwell on the matter. Seeing that the student's attitude of admitting his mistake was good and that he was remorseful, he arranged for punishment.
"The student obeys."
After Qingyao agreed, she sat down with the teacher's permission. This time, she focused her attention and dared not let her mind wander...
Confucius said: "To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned."
Soon, the sound of children reading aloud could be heard again in the school.
After school, Qingyao greeted her sister-in-law and Aunt Ge before heading back to her room to "get to work."
"Hey? Yao Yao's acting strange today."
"Young mistress, don't panic. Perhaps it's because Miss is not used to the master going on long trips."
"That's true, my mother-in-law has never been away for this long before."
"I'm going to make lotus root starch balls. The master said that Miss likes to eat them."
......
inside the house.
Qingyao grinds ink and lays out paper with the fluid movements of clouds and water.
The ink-dipped brush was held in a small hand, and the brush was used to write each stroke with great care.
That is, the handwriting is crooked and messy.
Even so, Qingyao diligently copied her lessons stroke by stroke...
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