On the second day, Li Hehua planned to take Shulin to buy some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone after closing the stall, and then send Shulin to Master Gu's school. Today he would become his disciple and pay the tuition fee, and then he would start school formally tomorrow.
Li Hehua had wanted to close the stall early today, but there happened to be a lot of customers today because it was a market day on a double date, and there were many merchant ships at the dock, and many people got off the ships to rest and eat, so Li Hehua and Daha were too busy to handle it, and Daya had to take time out from selling cakes to help.
Li Hehua had just cooked a bowl of dumplings. Seeing that Dahe was clearing the table and had no time to come over to serve the dumplings to the guests, he had to put down the spatula and prepare to serve them to the guests himself. However, there were too many dumplings in the bowl and the soup was almost full to the brim. Li Hehua's hand was scalded as soon as he touched it. Frightened, Li Hehua quickly touched his ear.
When Li Hehua was about to get a new rag to wrap the bowl, a pair of big hands took the bowl away from the side.
Li Hehua was startled and looked up, only to see Zhang Tieshan had already neatly brought the dumplings to the guest.
Why does this person always appear suddenly?
Li Hehua asked him: "Why are you here?" Is he here to sell prey again today?
Zhang Tieshan glanced at her indifferently and said, "Aren't you going to take Shulin to the academy to pay homage to the master today? I'll take you there." Zhang Tieshan couldn't let a woman go shopping with a child alone to pay homage to a master. This woman had already done a lot for Shulin.
It turned out that he was worried about her taking Shulin to become an apprentice. Li Hehua nodded, said nothing more, and turned around to continue her work.
The next customer ordered fish-flavored shredded pork with rice. Li Hehua took out the fish-flavored shredded pork that he had fried last night and the rice that he had cooked in the morning, and neatly made a bowl of the rice. Just as he was about to call Dahe to take it away, the same rough big hands took the bowl away again.
Li Hehua frowned slightly and wanted to call out to Zhang Tieshan, but he had already brought the bowl to the guest.
When Zhang Tieshan came back, Li Hehua hurriedly said to him, "Zhang Tieshan, stop working. Take Shulin and sit down." How could she feel comfortable asking him for help? After all, it was not a big deal and she was not hired as a helper.
Zhang Tieshan looked at her and asked, "You are so busy here, can you handle it by yourself?"
She is indeed too busy, but...
Zhang Tieshan ignored her and turned to help Dahe clean the table.
Li Hehua opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. He thought that he must not let him do it again next time. It was really inappropriate.
However, with Zhang Tieshan's help, everyone felt much more relaxed, and finally at the end of the hour of Wei, the customers gradually left and everyone could take a break.
Seeing that it was getting late, Li Hehua quickly cooked a few bowls of noodles with the pork rib soup he had prepared. "Come on, everyone, eat some noodles quickly. Are you all hungry? You've all worked hard today."
Da He was already extremely hungry, so upon hearing that, he was the first to pick up the bowl of noodles and wolfed it down. After taking the first bite, he sighed with satisfaction, "Aunt He Hua, what I look forward to most every day is the closing time of the stall, because I get to eat the food you cook, it's really delicious."
Li Hehua was amused by Da He's intoxicated look and patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, stop flattering your Aunt He Hua. Go and sit down to eat. It's not good to eat standing up."
Da He walked to the table while muttering, "Aunt He Hua, I'm not trying to flatter you. It's really because the food you cook is so delicious. My mother even said that I've gained weight in the past few days."
Li Hehua smiled and thought to himself that it would be better if she gained weight. Otherwise, it would be uncomfortable to see a grown man who was not as heavy as a young girl.
Li Hehua served Zhang Tieshan another full bowl of noodles, and added several pieces of pork ribs. "Eat it quickly. Thank you so much for today."
Zhang Tieshan took the bowl silently, sat down and started eating.
There was a little noodles left in the pot, so Li Hehua scooped it up in a small bowl, which was just enough for a small bowl, and brought it to the table to eat with them.
Zhang Tieshan paused while eating noodles, looked at Li Hehua's bowl, and frowned.
Li Hehua was puzzled, "What's wrong?" Why were you looking at her?
Zhang Tieshan pointed at her bowl with his chin and said, "Isn't there enough noodles?" Why did he give them so much, but she only had so little?
Li Hehua glanced at his bowl and finally understood what he meant. He explained, "It's not that there's not enough to eat, it's just that I can only eat this much. How can someone who wants to lose weight eat like a normal person? Otherwise, how can you lose weight?"
Hearing this, Da He raised his head from his bowl and agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, Aunt He Hua has always only eaten so little. I feel so hungry just watching her. But Aunt He Hua has indeed lost a lot of weight. She is several times thinner than when I first met her."
Women are always happy when others say they have lost weight. Li Hehua also laughed. Although she knew she had lost weight, she still felt happy when others said it. This is what women are like...
Li Hehua reached out and secretly tugged at the clothes on her body. These were new clothes that she had specially gone to a cloth shop to get made some time ago. They were perfectly suited to her figure, but they began to become loose when she wore them in the past two days. This showed that she was still losing weight. She believed that after a while, the clothes would become loose again.
Li Hehua's mouth curled up, happy~
Zhang Tieshan's brows did not relax. No wonder she lost so much weight, it turned out that she lost weight by starving herself. He had been hungry before and knew how uncomfortable it was. Was she starving herself like this every day?
Zhang Tieshan looked at Li Hehua again. Actually, she was not that fat now. She was just a little fat, but not ugly. So why did she treat herself like this?
Zhang Tieshan wanted to tell her not to go hungry, but thinking that he was just an outsider to her, he finally said nothing and lowered his head to eat noodles in big mouthfuls.
After the meal, the few of them packed up their stalls, Dahe returned to the village, and Li Hehua took the little guy and Zhang Tieshan to Master Gu's school.
On the way to the academy, Li Hehua first took the little one to a shop selling study supplies and picked out a small bookcase of the smallest size for the little one, which was a schoolbag used by scholars of that era. Li Hehua had originally wanted to make a modern backpack for the little one, but unfortunately, her needlework was not good at all, so she finally gave up the plan.
After choosing the bookcase, Li Hehua also bought the little guy the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone he needed for reading and writing, as well as the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames and Thousand Character Classic, which are used by children in this era for enlightenment. These three books are collectively known as "Three Family Village" and are essential for children's enlightenment. Although the little guy is going to learn painting, he also needs to learn basic literary knowledge, so all these have to be bought.
After the boss had settled the bill, Li Hehua was about to take money out of his pocket, but Zhang Tieshan took out the money first to pay. Li Hehua quickly grabbed his arm and said, "Zhang Tieshan, don't give it to me. I'll pay for this!"
Zhang Tieshan ignored him and gave the money directly to the boss, who happily accepted it and joked, "It doesn't matter who pays the couple, there's no need to argue..."
Li Hehua: “…” How did they become husband and wife again?
However, a man and a woman bringing a child to buy things for school can indeed easily lead to misunderstanding. Li Hehua thought to himself that he should be more careful in the future. This place is different from the modern times, and men and women still have to avoid suspicion.
After leaving the bookstore, Li Hehua took out some money and handed it to Zhang Tieshan, "This is the money for buying books. You have already given it to Shu Xiu, so I will pay for the pens, ink, paper and inkstone. I am Shu Lin's mother, and this money is what I should pay."
Now that she was the kid's mother, it was her duty to buy things for him. It was unreasonable to let Zhang Tieshan spend all the money alone. Besides, he was a farmer who earned money from farming and hunting, and it was all hard-earned money. How could he afford to support a scholar? And he had given her several taels of silver last time, and this time he would spend almost one tael of silver on buying books.
Zhang Tieshan frowned, and while holding Shulin, he looked at her seriously and said, "Shulin is my son, and I should spend money on his education. There is no need to say such things again in the future."
"But you..."
However, she was interrupted by Zhang Tieshan, who pointed at the basket in his hand and said, "Didn't you spend the money?"
The basket contained what Li Hehua brought to become his apprentice. There was nothing valuable in it, just food that she had made herself. In addition to clay pot chicken, there were also various pastries and wine brewed by Li Hehua herself. Master Gu would definitely accept these things.
However, none of these cost much money, but Zhang Tieshan said that she spent money. She really had nothing to say, so she simply stopped talking.
At worst, she can buy it for the little one later.
The three of them came to Master Gu's school. It was called a school, but it was actually his family's residence. The only difference was that the house had a front yard, which was converted into a school, and the family lived in the back.
Li Hehua knocked on the door, and soon an old man came to open the door. When he heard that they were bringing children to school, he invited them in, led them to a room for entertaining guests, and then went to call Master Gu.
Just now when Li Hehua walked over, he deliberately took a few glances at the classroom where classes were held. He saw Master Gu standing in the front reading something, and the children below were lying on the small desk in front of them and reading along with the master. Some of them were even shaking their heads, which was quite cute.
Li Hehua hugged Shulin and said, "Shulin, you will be a student here from now on. You will also follow the teacher to learn, just like the little kids just now. You must be as good as them. When you finish school, your mother will come to pick you up and take you home."
The little guy blinked and looked towards the classroom not far away.
After waiting for a while, Master Gu came out of the classroom and walked towards this room.
Li Hehua and Zhang Tieshan stood up and greeted Master Gu.
Gu Zhijin smiled and said, "You're here. Please take a seat." After that, he looked at the little guy and asked, "What's the child's name?"
Li Hehua replied: "His name is Zhang Shulin, which means "Shu" in Chinese and "Lin" in "Shulin". He is four years old this year."
Gu Zhijin nodded. "Although the child is still young, it is too early for him to go to school now, but he has talent and cannot be delayed. I will teach him slowly. In the morning, I will let him read and learn to write, and in the afternoon, I will teach him calligraphy and painting."
Li Hehua could tell that Master Gu was giving Shulin some special treatment, and he was very grateful. "Thank you, Master Gu, for your trouble."
Gu Zhijin waved his hand to indicate that they didn't need to worry about it, and then told them about the school's situation, "The school starts at the beginning of the morning at Chen time and ends at the end of the afternoon at Shen time. There is one day off every ten days. The school does not provide food at noon, so you can bring your own food or take it home to eat. If you bring food, I can heat it up for you. You can choose according to the situation."
Li Hehua understood and decided to bring lunch to Shulin at noon. Because she had to do business at noon, she didn't have time to make delicious food for Shulin, and she couldn't accompany Shulin either. It would be better to let Shulin eat in the school and have a good rest after eating.
Gu Zhijin said: "This is the situation in the school. Is there anything else you are worried about? You can ask directly."
Li Hehua actually trusted Master Gu. "Master Gu, I have nothing to worry about with you. But how much is this bundle of repairs? Let's hand it over today."
Gu Zhijin directly mentioned the ordinary tuition fees, "The tuition fees in the school are paid quarterly, 300 coins each quarter."
Li Hehua knew that this was the tuition fee for ordinary children, but Shulin was different. Shulin taught private lessons every afternoon, so this price was really too little. But she also knew that since Master Gu had said this price, he would not bargain with them. She could only thank Master Gu in her heart and thank him when she had the chance.
Li Hehua remembered the food he brought with him and reached out to take it. "Master Gu, we came to become your apprentices but didn't prepare any proper gifts, so we prepared some food for you. We made it ourselves, so it's not worth much. I hope you don't mind."
Originally, Gu Zhijin would never accept the apprenticeship gift, but when he heard that the food was made by the boss himself, he could not say no. After a pause, he did not refuse, "The food made by the boss is a very good apprenticeship gift, so I will accept it shamelessly."
Seeing Gu Zhijin accept it, Li Hehua felt that he had made the right gift. At the same time, he was thinking that if he wanted to thank Master Gu in the future, he would have to start with food.
"Then Master Gu, we will go back first today. I will send Shulin here on time tomorrow." After giving the salary, Li Hehua said goodbye.
Gu Zhijin stood up to see him off.
Li Hehua was just about to go out with Shulin in his arms. When he turned around, he saw a little head leaning on the door looking at them. When it saw that it had been discovered, it shrank back in a flash.
Gu Zhijin also saw the head and said to the person outside the door: "Jinzhao, come in!"
After a while, a little head appeared outside the door, followed by a body appearing from behind the door.
The visitor was a boy of about five or six years old. He was quite cute, with a chubby face. He looked healthy and energetic, and it was obvious that his family took very good care of him.
The little boy walked in, not at all embarrassed by being discovered. Instead, he grinned at Gu Zhijin and bowed in a proper manner, "Second Uncle, my nephew is here."
Li Hehua was amused by his serious and funny look.
Gu Zhijin shook his head helplessly, but with a doting look on his face, he introduced Li Hehua and Zhang Tieshan, "This is my nephew, he's very naughty, please don't mind."
It turns out that this child likes to eat the pastries he made himself.
Li Hehua smiled and shook her head. She didn't mind at all. It was good for the child to be lively.
Seeing that his uncle didn't say anything to him, the child's eyes rolled around and finally landed on Shulin. He took two steps towards Shulin with curiosity and asked Gu Zhijin, "Uncle, is this the new student you mentioned? Why is he so young?"
Gu Zhijin patted his head, "Shulin is only four years old, of course he is young, you are not allowed to bully him, you must take good care of him, if there is anyone who bullies him in the school, you must protect him, understand?" His nephew is a bully in the school, no matter how naughty the children are, they dare not provoke him, so if his nephew is willing to take care of Shulin, no one will dare to bully Shulin for his young age.
Gu Jinzhao glanced at the child who was only as tall as his shoulder. He was thin and small, but had dark eyes. He thought the child was very interesting. However, not everyone was worthy of his protection, otherwise he would be too busy to take care of him. You know, he was very busy.
As soon as his little ancestor's eyes turned, Gu Zhijin knew what he was thinking, so he showed him the food that Li Hehua had just brought, "The cakes and fried rice and fried noodles that you usually like to eat are all made by Shulin's mother. Today, Shulin also brought you a basket of delicious food."
As soon as Gu Zhijin finished speaking, Gu Jinzhao, who had a cocky expression just now, immediately changed his expression. His eyes "whoosh" glued to the food basket. He swallowed unconsciously, looked up at his second uncle's face, and immediately patted his chest, "Second uncle, don't worry. Shulin is so young, of course I have to take good care of him. Leave it to me, I promise that no one dares to bully him."
Gu Zhijin smiled and nodded, patting Gu Jinzhao's head appreciatively.
Li Hehua was almost dying of laughter at the child, but luckily he managed to hold it back. How could there be such a cute child? I wish Shulin could be so lively.
After Gu Jinzhao and Gu Zhijin expressed their determination, they walked up to the little guy, patted his shoulders brotherly, and said to him in an elder brother tone: "Don't worry, I will protect you in the future, don't be afraid." He looked like a gangster boss, and Li Hehua inexplicably felt that his child had come to pay homage to a master today.
Shulin didn't say anything. Li Hehua was afraid that Gu Jinzhao would be unhappy, so she said on Shulin's behalf: "Thank you for taking care of Shulin in the future. If your aunt has any delicious food, let Shulin bring it to you." It's not that Li Hehua wanted to please the child with food. It's just that the child looked so cute when she saw the food she made. She was willing to let Shulin share the delicious food with her. It can be regarded as Shulin making friends.
After hearing what Li Hehua said, Gu Jinzhao's eyes lit up obviously. He swallowed his saliva without showing any emotion, then patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Li Hehua tried to hold back his laughter.
Gu Zhijin shook his head helplessly, "Don't mind it, my nephew is just naughty like that."
Li Hehua waved his hand, "It's really good for your nephew to do this. We would be happy if Shulin could learn more from him." Seeing that it was getting late, Li Hehua said goodbye again, "Then Master Gu, we will leave first."
Gu Zhijin and Gu Jinzhao sent them out of the school. Before leaving, Gu Jinzhao patted Shulin on the shoulder and told him earnestly, "Don't be late tomorrow morning~"
On the way back, Li Hehua was still smiling, "That kid just now was really funny."
Zhang Tieshan said "hmm". He also felt that the child just now had a good personality. It would be better if Shulin could be more lively.
Li Hehua patted the little fellow on the back and said, "Shulin, you must get along well with the brother you just met in school, okay?"
The little guy stretched out his hands from Zhang Tieshan's arms, wanting her to hold him.
Li Hehua hugged him and kissed him. In his heart, he was thinking about bringing two dishes for Shulin tomorrow, one meat and one vegetable, plus a dessert, making two portions of each, and asking Shulin to bring one portion for the little guy, so that the two children could eat together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
