He Liu's gaze was drawn to the figure outside the shop, and she kept peeking out.
Lin Moniang spoke to her but received no response. She turned her head and saw He Liu's appearance. She followed He Liu's gaze but saw nothing.
"Auntie, what are you looking at?" Lin Moniang asked.
He Liu snapped out of her reverie during the questioning, glanced at Lin Moniang, and immediately pulled her up: "I just saw an acquaintance, come and see if it's him!"
He pulled Lin Moniang to the shop door, but when he looked in the direction where he had seen the person, he could no longer find her.
"Hey, that's strange, where did they go?"
He Liu muttered to herself, still standing on tiptoe to look around, while Lin Moniang was completely confused: "Auntie, who are you asking me to look at?"
He Liu opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately didn't: "Sigh, never mind, maybe I'm seeing things."
Lin Moniang felt somewhat confused, but didn't take it to heart.
The two went back behind the counter and began to eat.
Today's meal was prepared by He Liu: she cooked some noodles, blanched some vegetables, and made a bowl of tofu pudding.
Lin Moniang brought some cured salted meat from home to eat with it.
Since working for Su Yun'er, He Liu has received a monthly allowance, and he also eats lunch at the shop with her. When the shop closes in the evening, any leftover food is taken home by He Liu and Lin Moniang, saving them a lot of money on meals.
Gradually, He Liu and Lin Moniang's families accumulated some savings, so they would occasionally cook some of their specialties and bring them to the shop to share.
The two ate and chatted, occasionally greeting other guests.
“Yun’er has been working so hard these days, but she hasn’t forgotten about Lan’er and the others’ homework.” Lin Moniang said to He Liu, “Laan’er told me last night that Yun’er checks their memorization and makes them recite words whenever she has a spare moment.”
“My son Xiaowen also said that Yun’er is a good teacher and he loves listening to Yun’er tell stories.” He Liu smiled.
The two elderly mothers felt comforted whenever the topic of their children's education came up.
Even if the children don't pass the imperial examinations and become officials, they can still copy books and do accounting for others, so they won't starve and they can also get rid of their peasant identity.
After all, in this era, scholars were considered the upper class.
Those scholars who passed the imperial examination and became Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) had the privilege of not having to kneel before officials.
“But schooling is too expensive. Right now, Yun’er is just helping them with their basic education, and it’s already cost a lot of money. If we really send them to an academy, it will cost at least three or four taels of silver a year.” He Liu sighed.
"Yes, but I'll sell everything I own to support Lazybones' education." Lin Moniang's hands, resting on her knees, clenched into fists silently.
The two ate a few bites of noodles in silence, and then He Liu brought up a new topic.
"Hey, I heard the other day that Yun'er bought some land," He Liu said casually.
"Land?" Lin Moniang was somewhat surprised. "Yun'er's family has no one who can farm. Why buy land?"
"Why buy land? Are you stupid? Buy land and rent it out!" He Liu couldn't help but laugh, poking Lin Moniang's forehead. "Rent out the land, and the tenants will pay rent in silver or grain every year. Yun'er will be the landlady."
Lin Moniang silently ate a bite of noodles, but she was still thinking about what He Liu had said about renting out the land.
"Yun'er is really capable," she said.
"That's right, I heard they bought almost ten acres of land, but if they want to make a living by collecting rent, this land is still not enough." He Liu said, shaking his head, and took another bite of the pickled vegetable strip.
"How much will it cost?" Lin Moniang asked.
“I don’t know either, I’m just guessing. It must be at least several dozen acres, maybe even a hundred acres? Otherwise, the rent that the tenants bring each year is just a small bag of grain, not enough to feed a family for a whole year. Don’t you think so?” He Liu said.
After listening, Lin Moniang lowered her head and continued eating her noodles, remaining silent.
As the sun sets, only a few pedestrians remain on the dock.
He Liu and Lin Moniang also closed their shop and went home together.
When Lin Moniang returned home, she saw Lin Xiaolan—whom Lin Moniang had changed after divorcing Ma Tiannian—practicing calligraphy on the ground in the last rays of the setting sun.
Lin Moniang bought writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for Lin Xiaolan, but Lin Xiaolan was reluctant to use them.
So he often practiced writing on the ground with wooden sticks.
Lin Moniang and her son chatted briefly.
"Lazy boy, your mother is so happy. Ever since you started studying with Aunt Yun'er, you seem to have grown up overnight. You've become more sensible, obedient, and mature."
“Mother, I heard from the villagers that all teachers are called ‘Teacher’. Now, we secretly call Aunt Yun’er ‘Teacher’,” Lin Xiaolan said.
"Lazy boy, do you like reading?" Lin Moniang asked.
"I love it!" Lin Xiaolan nodded emphatically. "I never knew before that there were so many interesting stories, so many amazing people, and so much knowledge in the world."
"After reading books, I learned about Kong Rong sharing pears, the concept of nine generations of relatives, and that different shapes of characters have different names. Mom, reading is so good! I've learned so many things!"
Lin Xiaolan shook her head excitedly as she told Lin Moniang about what she had learned from studying these past few days. Lin Moniang was happy and gratified along with her.
***
In the first few days after moving into the Song family home, Song Zixing watched the children reading and practicing calligraphy every day, and he also wanted to study.
However, the child was shy and embarrassed to say it, so the eldest daughter-in-law went to find Aunt Song, who then personally went to find Su Yun'er.
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