There were quite a few people queuing outside the school, some were sending their children to enroll, some were waiting to see, and some were just joining in the fun.
The person who came in from below was an unknown man.
Zhou Lizheng asked, "Which village are you from?"
"I'm from Hongye Village. Zhuyeqing is my father-in-law. He heard that there's a school in our village, so he sent his child here." said the man.
Zhuyeqing, isn’t that a bamboo strip craftsman?
Ma Ye at the side asked, "Where is old Zhu? Let him come by himself. Doesn't he have a girl at home?"
The man chuckled and said, "What's so good about giving a little girl as a gift? If I have to give anything, I'd rather give it to a boy."
Zhou Lizheng's face changed and he said sternly, "What are you, a foreigner, doing here in Taoyuan Village? Let Old Man Zhu come and talk to me!"
The man pulled a fair-skinned little boy over and said, "Village head, it's our turn in line. Why don't you send the child in first? I'll ask my father-in-law to come and talk to you later."
"Don't worry, let Zhuyeqing bring the person over. It doesn't matter if it's a little later. I'll wait here until he arrives." Zhou Lizheng said.
The man wanted to say something but stopped himself. After hesitating for a moment, he took the child away.
Master Ma poured a glass of water for Zhou Lizheng and said, "Don't be angry. Once the news gets out, there will always be some people trying to take advantage of the situation. So, are you really not going to accept anyone from other villages this year?"
"Alas..." Zhou Lizheng sighed, "According to what the girl said, there is only one teacher now. If there are too many, I am afraid I won't be able to manage them all. So I'll recruit those from the village first. If the quota is full, I won't recruit them. If not, I'll recruit them later."
Just as the two were drinking tea, another idle man from the village came.
Before anyone could speak, Master Ma started to curse and drive them out, "What are you doing here? Go away, we are busy with business."
"Why!"
Gou Wazi clung to the door frame and said anxiously, "I'm here to do business, why can't I speak?"
"Old Ma," Zhou Lizheng shouted, "let him in."
Master Ma snorted coldly, and Gouwazi grinned as he went inside.
Zhou Lizheng asked, "You are not here to learn martial arts like Erguotou, are you?"
"What!"
Gou Wazi got up in surprise, "My second brother wants to learn martial arts? Well, then I will learn martial arts too."
The two old men were speechless.
Zhou Lizheng asked, "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Hehe, I didn't know that at first," said Gou Wa Zi, baring his teeth and laughing, "Now I'm here to learn martial arts."
Ma Ye scolded, "You need to open up two mu of land, don't you know? You need to cut 200 dan of firewood, don't you know how much you have? Don't come and make trouble!"
Gouwazi was stunned. He really didn't know why he had to do so much work.
"Well, can I go back and ask my second brother first?" asked Gouwazi.
Zhou Lizheng rubbed his head and waved his hands, and the puppy ran out with a howl.
My head hurts worse.
Master Ma drank a cup of tea in one gulp, wiped his mouth vigorously, and said angrily, "It's so hard to have a school in the village, but all these monsters come here."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone knocked on the door again.
It was the Bamboo Leaf Green mentioned earlier. As soon as he saw him, Master Ma couldn't wait to ask him if he had married his daughter to Hongye Village.
"Red Leaf Village?"
Zhuyeqing looked puzzled, "No, what are you talking about? I only have one daughter, who married Zhao the blacksmith in the county. You even drank at the wedding, how could you forget it?"
This happened many years ago. Who would worry about where other people's girls got married every day, Ma Ye thought to himself, then turned around and said to Zhou Lizheng.
"See, I was right, that guy was just trying to take advantage of the situation."
Zhuyeqing didn't know what was going on, so he just said, "Hongye Village is my wife's hometown, what happened?"
I see!
Master Ma glared at Zhuyeqing, turned his head away, and didn't bother to pay attention to him.
Zhou Lizheng didn't want to dwell on this matter anymore, so he quoted the price again according to the procedure.
There was only one bamboo craftsman in the village. Zhuyeqing's family was not poor, and he had only a 5-year-old granddaughter, Zhu Qingqing, so naturally he doted on her.
"1 book, 2 pens, 1 piece of yellow paper, 2 inkstones, 1 inkstone."
Zhou Lizheng finished counting on the abacus and said, "5 strings of cash and 3 cents."
Zhuyeqing paid the money happily. Zhuqingqing was taken away by Zhou Ergui, and he took the opportunity to ask the two of them what was going on.
Master Ma didn't want to speak, so Zhou Lizheng had to tell him about the man in Hongye Village.
Zhuyeqing said, "It must be my gossipy wife. She told people about the village after returning to her parents' home, which aroused some people's suspicion."
"That's right!" Master Ma said loudly.
Zhuyeqing was startled, and apologized with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, old brothers. I will definitely scold that woman when I get back."
After figuring out what was going on, Zhuyeqing sat down next to Lao Ma, intending to chat with the two old brothers.
Just then, there was a commotion outside the door. When Ma Ye heard it, he got up and went out to see what was going on.
Aunt Fat pulled her eldest son aside and said, "Other people can study, why can't you? Let's see what the teacher says first."
"Oh, mother!"
Qiao Daqiang pushed him away and said, "I'm already married, and it would be a joke if I came back to study!"
"How can it be laughed at? Whoever dares to laugh at you, I will tear his mouth apart!" Aunt Fat said angrily.
Ma Ye, who had just walked out of the door, paused.
Qiao Daqiang pulled his arm free and said, "I want to go home, and Mom, please stop messing around here."
"Da Qiang, Da Qiang!"
Aunt Fat took a big step and pulled the man back, pleading, "In the past, our family was poor and we didn't have the money to teach you to read. Now we finally have this opportunity. Let's listen to what the teacher has to say first, okay?"
Master Ma walked up to the mother and son and said, "Daqiang is really not young anymore."
Aunt Fat turned her head and her face turned pale.
Master Ma moved to Qiao Daqiang's side and said, "It's a bit late for you to learn literature at your age, but you can learn martial arts."
"Thank you, Master Ma," Qiao Daqiang said with a wry smile, "It's not about age or what I studied. I have to work to support my family..."
Auntie Pang quickly replied, "Da Qiang, I told you that I have taken the job of washing clothes for Mr. Jin's family. You don't need to..."
"Xiao Cui is pregnant!" Qiao Daqiang said to Aunt Fat.
Aunt Fat was stunned at first, then she said with joy and surprise, "Really?"
"Really?" Qiao Daqiang said, "I wanted to tell you later."
"Let's go, let's go back! Let's go back to see my eldest grandson," Aunt Pang said excitedly as she pulled Qiao Daqiang back in a hurry.
"Tonight I'll buy half a pound of meat for Xiao Cui to nourish her. Tomorrow I'll go to the county and buy half a foot of cloth to make clothes for my grandson..."
Old Ma looked at the mother and son in a hurry, and the word "congratulations" got stuck in his throat.
At this time, Zhou Lizheng in the room was in a very awkward situation. The woman in front of him only said that she wanted to see Song Yuehua, and when he asked her what was the matter, she was unwilling to say.
Zhou Lizheng said, "You don't say anything, how can I convey this?"
"Mr. Lizheng, please let me meet Miss Song!"
The old woman was about to kneel down, but the bamboo craftsman stopped her and said, "Old sister, you can't do this!"
Zhou Lizheng was afraid that he might delay something urgent, and just as he was hesitating, he heard Lao Ma shout, "Aren't you from Mr. Sun's family?"
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