Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 54 - Going to School_1

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Going to School_1

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Going to School_1

Mr. Zhang had always liked the intelligent Qian Yeejin, and after heaping praise and encouragement on him, he asked him to come to class the next day.

Private tutoring was held at Mr. Zhang’s house at the east end of the village, where several rooms in his east wing were used as a classroom.

In the neighboring villages, there was only this one private tutor. Aside from the children of particularly wealthy families who went to the town to study, all other children chose to attend Mr. Zhang’s private tutoring. One reason was that studying in town was expensive, and another was because Mr. Zhang was a Scholar, who in his more than twenty years of teaching had produced one Scholar and five elementary scholars, earning great admiration and respect from the villagers. The class had a total of sixteen students, with five from Huaxi Village and eleven from the other villages.

Old Lady Qian, hearing that Qian Yeejin was going to school and had received praise from Mr. Zhang, was so delighted her eyes crinkled into deep folds. She thought to herself that she had made the right decision not to follow Old man Qian to the provincial capital to live with their youngest son. If it hadn’t been for her secretly sending eggs for Jinwa to eat, would he have been so clever? At night, she made another trip to the third wife’s home, wanting to give Jinwa her savings of over ten wen money for his schooling.

Qian Sangui not only refused to accept it but had Lady Wu bring out a small silver piece and twenty wen money as a gift for her. He had wanted to give Old Lady Qian more, but the source of the money was tricky, so he only gave her this small amount for now.

Qian Sangui said, “Mother, keep the silver piece for your use over time, and the copper coins for buying some snacks you like. There’s no need to save for Jinwa’s food anymore; our family is getting by okay and won’t let him lack anything.”

Old Lady Qian refused to take it, “Times are hard for you, and every year you’ve already given us your filial money; don’t give us anything extra. Your elder and second brothers are faring much better than your family, yet they never gave extra.”

Qian Sangui replied with a smile, “Yixiu recently won Old Lady Zhang’s favor and received some reward money. Please take it, and when things get better at home, I’ll give you silver to spend.”

Only then did Old Lady Qian laugh and accept the money, adding, “Make sure you don’t tell anyone you have this money. There are plenty who resent the rich and envy the poor.”

Qian Sangui nodded, smiling.

Yixiu had to admit that Old Lady Qian was exceedingly kind towards Qian Sangui and Qian Yeejin. Perhaps she felt that Qian Sangui had made a great contribution to the Qian family but was the least fortunate, so she pitied him.

Early the next day, as the young boy dressed in the bright blue robe that Lady Wu had hurriedly made for him, he looked incredibly handsome—even if his hairstyle was a bit odd. He had begun to grow his hair out, and apart from the tuft on the top of his head that was somewhat longer, the newly grown hair around the sides was less than half an inch long, making him resemble a small mountain topped with weeds sprouting a tiny tree.

Full of ambition, Yijin went out the door carrying a basket with his study materials, his head crowned with his little tree, as the entire family solemnly accompanied him to the courtyard entrance, watching him disappear into the morning glow at the edge of the village.

The Qian’s third wife’s household, crazed with poverty, was unexpectedly sending a child to school! The villagers of Huaxi Village were full of doubts.

After all, a month’s tuition for private tutoring was seventy wen money, and the cost of lunch was another twenty; these expenses alone amounted to one Guan Money a year. Although it was said that farm children often practiced writing in a sand tray, essential items like books and writing materials still had to be purchased. Counting all these costs, annual expenditures would not be less than two Guan money.

Some said they had stumbled upon treasure; some said they had encountered a benefactor; others said that Qian Sangui had come up with a good money-making idea now that his mind and body were in better shape… Wild stories spread through the village, but Qian Sangui’s household kept their doors closed, quietly going about their own lives.

After sending off Qian Yeejin, Lady Wu went to work in the fields, for there had been no rain these days, and she needed to carry water to water the crops. She planned to go to the county town in the afternoon to repay the loan she had taken from Qianxiang House.

Yixiu felt immense gratitude and affection for her forthright and kind aunt. In the Qian family, aside from Old man Qian and Old Lady Qian, Qian Xiang was the only one who helped Qian Sangui selflessly without expecting anything in return. Therefore, she really wanted to visit her aunt’s house. However, due to the unexpected incident of the opera troupe recruiting performers, neither Qian Sangui nor Lady Wu allowed her to go.

In the morning, Yixiu sat under a tree, gazing at the sky and thinking about the things in the mountains, when Mandie arrived. It turned out that Qian Xiang had come to see Old Lady Qian, and Lady Wang was inviting the third wife’s family to Qian’s Main Courtyard for lunch.

With this, Lady Wu no longer needed to go to the county town that afternoon.

Qian Mandie pulled Qian Yixiu to her, took out two red ropes from her bosom, and dangled them in front of her with a smile, “Pretty, aren’t they? Your auntie bought these especially for you from the peddler.”

“Mmm, pretty, thank you, Auntie Die,” said Qian Yixiu sweetly.

Qian Mandie then retied Qian Yixiu’s hair with the red ropes into two little buns. Afterward, she said goodbye to Qian Sangui as she had to hurry back home to help cook.

The first wife and the second wife seized the opportunity and were the first to establish a connection with two flower stores in the county town, becoming the exclusive suppliers of Xia Grass, providing four baskets to the flower stores daily. A basket of Xia Grass was worth fifteen wen, so the two houses could earn thirty wen each day. By this calculation, they could make about nine hundred wen each month, and by picking until the end of August, they could earn three guan of money, which was equivalent to nearly half a year’s total income for a family. Both families were ecstatic.

Remembering the kindness of Qian Yixiu, Qian Mandie brought her a few candies on the first day they sold the grass, and today she even brought two hair ties. Though the gifts were small, they showed heartfelt thoughts. With such relatives, even a small tip of advice was welcome.

Qian Sangui went back inside and took out one guan of money. Originally, the snacks he planned to bring to the Qianxiang House were no longer appropriate to carry.

These past few days, Lady Wang and Lady Tang hinted to Lady Wu that since they were all relatives, if there was a better way to make money, they might as well earn together. They speculated that Qian’s third wife might indeed have other good money-making methods, as rumored in the village. Otherwise, why would they send Jinwa to study and generously give away the Xia Grass business to them.

While Lady Wu repeatedly explained that Yixiu had won the favor of Old Lady Zhang and had fortuitously helped her find the wine buried for many years, hence the old lady rewarded them with some money, it was obvious they didn’t quite believe her.

Cheng Yue didn’t want to go out, and Qian Sangui didn’t urge her, thinking it was best for the daughter-in-law not to go, so he let Qian Manxia stay home to accompany her.

Qian Yixiu saw that her younger aunt’s eyes were somewhat dim, and she nodded understandingly in agreement, feeling apologetic inside. If it weren’t for wanting to see her grandaunt, she would have stayed at home to accompany her mother and let her younger aunt go. The little girl was only twelve years old, still a child.

Qian Yixiu had long thought that in this era, there were only cured meats and salted meats, but no sausages. In the future, once she introduced sausages, she would let her aunt who sold meat make a fortune as a way of thanking her for many years of support.

Qian Yixiu followed Qian Sangui to the village. These two people rarely entered the village, so their appearance aroused some curiosity among the villagers.

“Is Brother Sangui feeling better? Oh, little Yixiu also came to the village.”

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Qian Sangui smiled and greeted them.

Before they had reached the main courtyard, they could hear Qian Xiang’s hearty laughter.

When Qian Xiang saw Qian Sangui leaning on a crutch as he entered the yard, her eyes reddened with excitement, and she walked forward saying, “Brother San is here, that’s great.”

Qian Sangui laughed with a “hehe”, his own eyes growing warm.

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