"Mother, do you want to get back together with Su Fan?"
"Mother, please don't abandon us!"
Wan Shu looked down and saw that Siya had tears in her eyes and Dazhu looked flustered.
Sam-soon's expression didn't change much, but there was some worry in her eyes.
Wan Shu then realized that while she was mentally criticizing Su Fan for being bald and sleazy, she had been stunned for a while, which might have caused the three kids to misunderstand.
"Don't worry, your mother will never abandon you!"
"I will never be with Su Fan again!"
She quickly explained, "Since Mother has already broken off all ties with him, they will never be together again. I just didn't recognize him at first, I wasn't trying to chat him up."
Even if she were to strike up a conversation, she'd have to strike up a conversation with someone good-looking—Wan Shu silently added in her mind.
After hearing her explanation, the three children finally felt relieved.
Wan Shu led them to ask another student for directions, and they finally found the gate of Dongcheng Academy.
Students who are not students of the university are not allowed to enter without permission.
Wan Shu could only stand at the door and ask the gatekeeper, "Uncle, do you know how much tuition Dongcheng Academy charges per year?"
In modern times, you have to offer a cigarette to a security guard if you want to ask him for directions.
Wan Shu was very knowledgeable about social etiquette, and while asking the question, she slipped two candies into the gatekeeper's hand.
Sugar is a rare and precious commodity these days.
The gatekeeper was in a good mood after receiving the candy. He glanced at the three children following Wan Shu and, without mentioning how much tuition he wanted, asked, "Do you want your children to go to school?"
Wan Shu nodded: "Yes."
The gatekeeper shook his head: "Since you're so honest, I'll tell you the truth too. They can't get into Dongcheng Academy."
"To enter Dongcheng Academy, one must at least be a student of the first level of the imperial examination. I'm afraid your children haven't even started their education yet."
Wan Shu understood; she had brought a kindergarten student directly into high school, and no amount of money could get her in.
But since we've already come all this way, we can't just leave empty-handed.
Wan Shu continued, "Uncle, do you know which school in our Sishui County can provide them with basic education?"
The gatekeeper said, "Besides Dongcheng Academy, there are two other schools in Sishui County that offer early childhood education. However, both schools have a rule that children under the age of ten must be enrolled. If you really want to give them early education, you'll probably have to hire a tutor yourself and give them their early education at home."
With the money Wan Shu currently has, hiring a tutor is not a problem.
However, after hiring them, the schoolteacher would have to live in their house.
Their house only has two rooms, so they can't just let the husband sleep on the floor in the main room, can they?
It seems that I'll have to postpone my studies for a while longer, at least until the new house is built.
After returning home, Wan Shu told her five children about her plan.
"There are no extra rooms in the house right now, so there's nowhere for a tutor to sleep. That's why we can't hire one for you for the time being. But once your mother has earned enough money, bought land, and built a big house, she will hire a tutor for you to teach you to read."
The five boys looked at each other in disbelief, almost unable to believe what they were hearing.
There was a well-known saying during the Great Sheng Dynasty: "Of all professions, only studying is noble."
In the prosperous dynasty with its imperial examination system, studying was a way to defy fate and change one's destiny.
However, due to the high cost of education, most ordinary families simply cannot afford it, so few people go to school.
Take Qingshui Village and Xinghua Village as examples. In these two villages, with over a thousand people, only two people are educated: Liang Yaozu and Su Fan.
They were the envy of everyone in their respective villages.
This group naturally includes Dazhu, Erya, Sanshun, Siya, and Wuping.
They gazed countless times at Liang Yaozu's long gown, a garment unique to scholars, and dreamed in their hearts that they too could wear a long gown and go to study.
They never imagined that their dream would actually come true one day!
To be precise, it hasn't been realized yet, because the new house hasn't been built.
However! Since their mother has said so, they believe that their mother can definitely do it!
The five boys felt their blood boiling and worked with extra energy, washing the 70-plus jin of pig offal clean in no time.
Yes, Wan Shu did not reduce the amount of braised food today; in fact, she added ten more kilograms.
She was confident that with such a large quantity, they would definitely sell out by tomorrow.
Dazhu and his group were somewhat worried, and they remained uneasy even after arriving in town the next day.
"The stall next door stole a lot of our business yesterday. With so much braised food, can we really sell it all?"
Just as Wan Shu was about to answer, the annoying voice rang out again.
"Of course, we definitely won't be able to sell them all!"
"Because everyone will come to buy our Lin family's braised food!"
Wan Shu turned her head and, sure enough, saw Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin.
Yesterday, the two of them made a fortune by stealing Wan Shu's business and imitating Wan Shu's sales methods, selling a lot of braised food.
Therefore, like Wan Shu, they brought over a lot more braised food today, hoping to earn more money.
Siya was furious at their shameless attitude.
"What are you so smug about! The reason you've attracted so many buyers is because you've been blindly imitating us!"
Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin scoffed, "What do you mean by imitation? You can sell pig offal and crayfish, so why can't we?"
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