He Shitou went to the fields to call his father back for dinner. After Zhao Xiaolu and Zhao Wanzi finished cooking, they fed all the chickens and rabbits in the house again.
He Tiantian was holding Xiao Mingzhu and playing with Wujin and Yezi.
The family members went about their own business, waiting for He Chun to return before starting dinner.
A short while later, the sound of the courtyard gate opening was heard. Immediately afterwards, He Chun and He Shitou entered the house.
They passed Mr. Xu's room first when they entered. When Mr. Xu saw the two of them return, he put down his book and followed them out.
"Brother, how are the crops in the field?" Mr. Xu asked.
He Chun smiled and said, "I don't know yet. The seeds haven't sprouted yet." Despite this, He Chun was still quite happy.
He and Zhao Tingzhang studied it for many days and found that this kind of wheat was much easier to grow than rice.
He can have a good harvest of rice, so there shouldn't be much of a problem with wheat.
Today's lunch was quite substantial, with each person having a bowl of white rice and five or six dishes, including both meat and vegetables.
Scrambled eggs, stir-fried wild vegetables, stewed pork ribs, boiled sweet potatoes, and braised chicken with potatoes.
The people ate to their hearts' content, and the two dogs happily gnawed on the bones as well.
Xu Qingyun has been staying at He Tiantian's house for a while now, and the meals he eats every day are better than what he has had in the past few decades.
Back when he was an official in the capital, his family's meals were just as good as this.
But then... sigh, I don't want to think about it anymore.
He's practically half-buried in the ground, what's the point of reminiscing about his youth now!
He Tiantian said politely, "Mr. Xu, please make yourself at home here, don't be shy."
Xu Qingyun quickly pulled himself back to reality, "I am so grateful, thank you so much."
He Shitou mumbled through his meat, “Mr. Xu, there’s no need for thanks. You teach us to read every day, this is what you deserve.”
Xu Qingyun felt his eyes welling up with tears. "It is my great fortune to meet children like you who love reading."
"By the way, I heard last time that the village school was already half-built?"
He Chun nodded; he knew about it. He'd been helping the villagers plant wheat with Zhao Tingzhang lately, and he'd overheard Zhao Tingzhang talking about it during his free time.
"They said it would be finished in about two months. If it weren't for the cold weather, the house could have been built even faster," He Chun added.
"Great, that's wonderful." Xu Qingyun said excitedly.
He has been preparing lessons day and night, and has even made some calculations on his own. He hopes that when he teaches the children, they will have the opportunity to learn better.
"Do you need some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones? If so, I'll buy some next time I come back. These children in the village, their families can't afford these things..."
The things used for reading are very expensive in this era. It's as if only the wealthy can afford them.
He Tiantian had previously visited the shop and found that it was common for an inkstone to sell for two or three taels of silver.
Two or three taels of silver—that's enough for a family in Changfeng Village to eat and drink for one or two years.
However, it was much cheaper for her to buy it from the modern shopping mall. These things are all mass-produced by machines, so the cost is low and the price is also low.
Xu Qingyun thought for a moment and said, "It would be great if we had them, but these things aren't cheap..."
“I’ll figure out the money. These children have been studying at Zhao’s school for so long, who wouldn’t want to have paper and pens? Besides, better conditions will only stimulate their interest in reading.”
He Tiantian thought back to her school days when she was a child. Although her grades weren't great, if she bought nice notebooks and pens, she could still learn a little more.
Xu Qingyun looked at this kind-hearted family, and he was deeply moved.
That's wonderful, that's wonderful!
He Chun quickly finished his meal, put down his chopsticks, and said, "I'm done eating. I still need to go to a few other families in the village who grow wheat to give them some instructions. I'll be going now."
He Tiantian remembered what Zhao Tingzhang had said about encouraging the village to buy seeds and grow grain. Curious, she asked, "Dad, how many households in the village are still growing wheat?"
He Chun counted, "About five or six households, besides our family and the village head's family, there's Xiang Bei's family, Yonghe's family, Dazhuang's family, and the scholar's family."
Um... okay.
He Tiantian strongly suspected that these families were only planting wheat because of their acquaintances.
"Fortunately, there weren't many, and these seeds weren't easy to buy. When we went to buy the seeds, the wheat there had already been planted. Hehe, the village head and I even spent a few days there learning from them before we came back," He Chun said with a smile. When it comes to farming, this is his area of expertise, so he has the most authority to speak on the subject.
"Oh, Dad, I believe you can succeed. Don't overwork yourself, come back and rest early." Seeing her father's happy expression, He Tiantian was also very happy.
He Chun nodded, put his hands behind his back, and went out.
He can definitely guide these few families who grow wheat.
After the meal, everyone had their own things to do.
Zhao Wanzi hadn't seen her mother and sister for a long time, so she missed them terribly.
Holding Xiaomingzhu, he walked around several rooms, unwilling to let go.
He Tiantian took out the gift she had prepared for Madam Song and wrapped it in a clean piece of red cloth.
As for the small pot of pine needles, he held it separately in his hand.
Zhao Xiaolu was wiping eggs in the yard. Some of the eggs had chicken droppings on them, so she had to wipe them off with a cloth dampened with water.
Furthermore, eggs that have been wiped with water should be stored separately and eaten as soon as possible, otherwise they will spoil faster.
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