Chapter 22 The Door of Hope
"Aye!" Su Boyan came over with a backpack on his back.
"Come, Aye, you must be thirsty. Try the wild fruits we picked." Su Ying picked a few Rhus chinensis fruits and fed them to her father.
"Woo!" Su Bucheng, who was a little thirsty, felt a sour and salty taste in his mouth, and his mouth was immediately full of saliva.
"Is it delicious?" Su Ying tilted her head and looked at her father, her eyes sparkling.
Su Bucheng knew it must be something good. "It tastes delicious, sour and salty. What is it?"
"Saltroot! The fruit of the saltwort tree." Su Ying said with a smile.
"Saltroot?" Su Bucheng hinted at the meaning behind the words, "Can it be used as salt?"
Su Ying nodded. "It can be used as a temporary substitute, but it can't be used all the time. It's not the same as the salt we eat."
Su Bucheng didn't quite understand what he was saying, but he nodded anyway, "When I have money, I'll buy salt."
"Thank you, Hu Zi!" Su Bucheng smiled gently at Hu Zi.
"Uncle Su, you're too polite!" Hu Zi straightened his clothes like a little adult.
The group returned to the village facing the sunset.
The village chief was looking out on the roadside, waiting for Hu Zi to return safely.
"Aunt!" Huzi ran to the village chief, "I want to study!"
The village chief was stunned, looking at his grandson, and said in embarrassment: "Why did Huzi want to study? The school in town..."
Who among the powerful and wealthy in the past didn't want their children to study? But life was so difficult.
Even if one could scrape together enough to pay the tuition, the expenses for pens, ink, paper and inkstone would still be considerable, as well as food and lodging in the town.
"Uncle, I don't want to go to the school. I will study with Brother Su. Brother Su has books. Uncle, I want to study!" Hu Zi pulled the village chief and begged.
Su Bucheng on the side looked at the eldest son in surprise. How could he accept a disciple with such little knowledge?
"Ahem, ahem, Father, I haven't agreed yet. I just agreed to let him copy the book." Su Boyan's face flushed as his father stared at him, and he quietly defended himself.
"How dare you, child, trouble the young master of the Su family?" the village chief scolded his grandson for being so presumptuous. "They just arrived and are about to start sowing. How can they have time to give you a lesson? Stop messing around!"
"Aunt, I'm not fooling around. My brother promised me that you would let me copy the book first and teach me when he's free." Hu Zi, who is usually well-behaved and obedient, said stubbornly.
"Hu Zi, be obedient! Aong will teach you the same thing when he is free." The village chief coaxed him in a kind voice.
"No, Uncle, I want to learn from the Su family brothers and daughter! The daughter is knowledgeable and erudite. Uncle, you don't know how amazing she is!"
Hu Zi got anxious and told everyone about the fern root powder, kudzu root powder, and saltwort.
"Really?" The village chief looked at his grandson in disbelief.
"Seriously? If you don't believe me, ask the girl!" Hu Zi said proudly.
"Girl, can fern roots and kudzu roots really be ground into powder?" The village chief's hands were shaking.
"Of course you can. Wash and mash the rhizomes, add water and filter. You can get it after sedimentation. Dry it and store it for a long time." Su Ying briefly explained the method.
"This, this..." The village chief rubbed his hands together, "This is great! The villagers finally don't have to go hungry!"
"Oh, by the way, girl, you said this can replace salt?" The village chief asked, pointing to the saltwort in the backpack.
Children like to pick all kinds of wild fruits to satisfy their cravings, but they never thought that they could be used in this way.
"When you can't afford or eat salt, you can use it as a substitute, but you can't eat it for a long time. It's different from salt. It can soothe your mouth, but it can't give your body what it needs." Su Ying said it as simply and directly as possible.
"Thank you, young lady! You have helped us a lot!" The village chief said with tears in his eyes. Life here is too difficult, and finally someone has come to help them.
"You're too polite, Village Chief!" Su Ying said modestly.
"Oh, by the way, are you satisfied with the lime kiln?" The village chief thought of the important matter.
"Not bad! Let's use it for now. When life gets better, we can get a better one. It can save a lot of fuel and increase productivity..."
"Okay, okay! Let's follow the girl's arrangements!" The village chief expressed his opinion without waiting for Su Ying to finish.
"Grandfather, my daughter has agreed that I will study with my brother!" Hu Zi tugged at the village chief's clothes, but his grandfather had not agreed yet.
"Hu Zi! They have helped us so much, how can we cause trouble for them again?" The village chief shouted at his grandson, he really couldn't bring himself to say that.
My family couldn’t afford good things, and I couldn’t even afford to give to the teachers in town, let alone the students from Chang’an City.
"Village chief, please let Hu Zi come. It's busy farming season these days, and he's too young to do any farm work. Let him copy the books first, and then my brother will teach him when he's free.
Hu Zi is smart and eager to learn. He is at the right age to study. It would be a shame to delay his studies." Su Ying advised.
"This?" The village chief looked at Su Bucheng with a look of expectation and apology.
When he was marking out the land in the morning, he swore that he had no ulterior motive, but before the day was over, he made such a request to others.
"Let Hu Zi come. It's a good opportunity for my Dalang to review what he has learned so that he won't forget what he learned in the books after a long time." Su Bucheng said generously.
"Well, thank you very much, sir!" The village chief bowed to Su Bucheng.
"Yang would like to thank you, young master and young master! After these busy days, I will choose an auspicious day and bring Hu Zi to formally become your disciple!"
"You're too polite, village chief. It's just a piece of cake for my Dalang. Hu Zi can come and learn when he has time. There's no need to make it so grand!" Su Bucheng said modestly.
"Sir, becoming a disciple is a big deal. How can you be perfunctory about it? It's settled!" The village chief said without further explanation.
"Village Chief, there's really no need..."
"Aye, just follow the village chief's instructions! You two are being so polite and courteous here, it's almost dark, are you planning to stand here all night?"
Su Bucheng wanted to be humble but was stopped by his daughter.
"That's right, my dear, what the girl said makes sense! It's settled now! Let's all go home. We have to get up early tomorrow to go up the mountain, and we still have to prepare tonight." The village chief nodded hurriedly.
The two families parted ways on the roadside.
"Hu Zi, I will give the book to my mother tomorrow, and you can come to see her." Su Boyan said to Hu Zi before leaving.
"Yes, sir!" Hu Zi agreed happily.
"Let's go, come on! Remember to take care of your books!" Su Ying moved Hu Zi's round head, waved and left.
"I don't need to! Don't worry, my lady, I will take good care of the books!" Hu Zi replied solemnly.
Thinking of paying respects to the master, Hu Zi jumped happily all the way and pulled the village chief to act coquettishly.
"You're so lucky, kid!" The village chief patted his grandson's head lovingly. "Cherish this rare opportunity, don't give up after a few days."
"Aunt! I don't need to!" Hu Zi said obediently, "Aunt, my wife said that if I study well, I can go to Chang'an to take the imperial examination in the future! Then we can go back to Chang'an! Isn't that right?"
"Well, the girl is right! My son Hu Zi studies hard, and our family is counting on you to take us back to Chang'an!" The village chief suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
A dying man actually still has hope. If Hu Zi is really capable and passes the imperial examination, he can also return to his roots.
This life has only been glorious and glorious, but now it has been crushed into mud. I thought that this was it, and my descendants would never be able to leave Lingnan again.
How could they not be excited when someone suddenly opened a door of hope for them today?
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