Extra 3-16: Daily life of raising a baby

The next day, Tao Sheng stayed in bed for a while. It was rare. Then she and Ji Yanming had a peaceful breakfast in the study.

But soon, Luo Qingyun and Ji Yubai came to visit.

Luo Qingyun asked Tao Sheng, “Mom, were you up late last night? Why were you in the study?”

Tao Sheng blushed. When children are younger, they can be fooled, but now they couldn’t.

Ji Yanming calmly said, “Your mother and I were working on the report late, so we stayed here to avoid disturbing your sleep.”

Luo Qingyun was about to ask more when Ji Yanming handed her the official document. “You two should take it back and have a look. Let me know if you have thoughts later.”

Tao Sheng: …

“This isn’t just pushing things forward, it’s like pulling plants out of the soil and serving them right on the table!”

Tao Sheng felt uneasy.

This child is only four years old!

Even if he has his own ideas, Tao Sheng knew he couldn’t go against his father’s wishes in front of the children. After the two kids left with the documents, Tao Sheng couldn’t help but talk to Ji Yanming: “Qing’er and Yu’er are only four. They can’t even read all the words. How can they understand the meaning?”

“We have teachers to teach them,” Ji Yanming replied naturally. “If they don’t understand something, they can always ask. We don’t need to explain things like the zodiac animals. It’s good for them to have ideas. They’re not four anymore but five. When I was five, I could already write poems that were quite readable.”

Tao Sheng: …

Well, people here count age by the lunar calendar.

She found this unbelievable. Maybe Ji Yanming just had a special talent for this.

Tao Sheng had no choice but to let it go.

Not long after the two children left, Xie Huaian came to visit.

Tao Sheng warmly invited him to sit. However, Ji Yanming seemed distant, only pouring tea without saying much.

Xie Huaian, who had known Ji Yanming for years, noticed the tension. He took a sip of tea and asked Tao Sheng, “What happened with Lord Ji?”

Tao Sheng shrugged helplessly: “I don’t know.”

“He seemed fine this morning.”

Xie Huaian shook his head.

“Some people are just too smart,” he said. “Tao Sheng once said, ‘Deep love doesn’t last, and too much wisdom can harm.’ He’s too smart for his own good. He sees too much, and it makes him uncomfortable.”

Thinking about it, Xie Huaian decided not to guess what was bothering Ji Yanming. Instead, he pulled out a document and handed it to Tao Sheng. “I’ve revised the document as you asked.”

“You even got up early to do this after last night’s banquet?” Tao Sheng smiled and thanked him. “I really appreciate it.”

Having seen Ji Yanming’s revisions from last night, Tao Sheng couldn’t help comparing them to Xie Huaian’s version.

It was clear that experts have their own unique style. Though different, both versions showed a high level of skill at key points.

One of them had been the top scorer in the palace examination, and the other was third place. Both were considered some of the most talented scholars in the past decade. Now, she had both their revisions to review.

Tao Sheng felt the bar was set quite high.

This must be how the late emperor felt when choosing candidates for the palace examination.

It was clear that Xie Huaian’s writing was more beautiful and easy to read, while Ji Yanming’s was more practical and sharp. Every word in Ji Yanming’s article seemed purposeful.

Xie Huaian had clearly put a lot of care into his revisions.

Tao Sheng thanked Xie Huaian again. “Your document has given me a lot of inspiration. I’ll present it to His Majesty after I make my changes.”

Ji Yanming spoke up, “Are you planning to change my version from last night?”

Tao Sheng frowned. How could he say such things! Did he not know that “two masters should not be bothered with the same thing”? She glared at Ji Yanming before explaining to Xie Huaian: “My cousin has been very busy lately, coming home late. I thought it was the same last night… That’s why I asked Mr. Xie for help.”

“Is something wrong?” Xie Huaian, who understood these two men well, waved his hand. “Since Brother Ji has also written it, why not let me have a look.”

Tao Sheng handed the document to Xie Huaian. After reading it, Xie Huaian praised it highly. “This is really impressive, worthy of the top scholar from that year. It’s even more sophisticated than some in the Hanlin Academy. Xiao Sheng is lucky.”

Ji Yanming nodded, raising his teacup toward Xie Huaian in acknowledgment.

It was a rare nice day in winter. Both were on break at home, and with Xie Huaian’s help, they were drying books.

They worked until noon when a few people arrived.

The leader was Lord Li, and the person arguing with him behind was Lord Wei of Jiang.

Lord Li walked into the yard, looking proud. “I said I’d visited here before. Lord Ji’s house really is impressive.”

King Wei looked around, seemingly surprised by the place.

He had met Ji Yanming before and remembered him as honest and simple. The place seemed way too luxurious compared to what he expected.

It seemed that the housing prices in the capital of Great Zhou were not as high as expected.

Tao Sheng knew both Lord Li and Lord Wei. They had met at a palace banquet before.

It was strange to see them here now, so she asked, “Why did you come here today?”

Lord Li said, “We were tired after visiting the market, so we came to rest and have tea.”

Tao Sheng had Liu Mian serve them tea and then asked, “How was your visit? Did you find anything interesting?”

“It was really rewarding,” Lord Li said excitedly, sharing what he had seen.

He had originally thought that Xiao Ze’s firearms battalion was impressive, but after visiting the market, he discovered even more.

There were many more stores selling high-quality clothing at low prices, with a wide variety of styles.

There were also foreign art galleries with paintings using special pigments, which were a rare sight. He even saw foreigners in the capital, which was unusual.

The brothels and theaters had all kinds of new performances, and restaurants sent food to people’s homes, so even if they couldn’t go out, they could enjoy good food at home.

In the capital, to make travel more convenient, people can rent donkey carts even if they cannot afford to buy one. Renting donkey carts has become one of the hottest new industries.

Li Guozhu and others met an official who was once very stingy. It was said that he was honest and indifferent to worldly affairs, refusing to let his family engage in business. He only lived off a small salary, leading to a poor life.

But this official has changed. When they met, he even treated them to wontons and added two meat dishes. When Lord Li asked, he learned that due to the recent developments in Great Zhou, grain production increased, the Ministry of Gewu managed to grow rice twice a year, and the Ministry of Revenue had more funds. This led to higher salaries for officials, which gave him money to treat others.

Lord Li has always been happy to see that the people of Ling live peacefully and face no major disasters or plagues. He originally thought that other countries were similar or perhaps even worse off than Ling. But seeing the development of Great Zhou, he realized he was like a “frog in a well” ^[1]phrase used to describe someone with a narrow worldview..

As Lord Li talked endlessly while drinking tea, Tao Sheng suddenly remembered Xiao Ze often saying they had never seen the world. Tao Sheng had reservations about Xiao Ze’s words, but after meeting Lord Li, she realized that Xiao Ze had some truth to what he said.

No matter what, this was the purpose of establishing the Ministry of Science and Technology. Now that it has been recognized by foreign friends, Tao Sheng was truly happy.

Tao Sheng’s day off was not easy. She dried books in the morning, entertained Lord Li at noon, and rested in the afternoon. After getting up, her body felt sore. In the evening, the children came to explain official documents to Ji Yanming, speaking very professionally.

Tao Sheng silently gave them a thumbs-up, feeling that the children were worthy of being Ji Yanming’s kids, far exceeding her expectations. These ideas were not just the teacher’s words but their own understanding from a child’s perspective.

Looking at Ji Yanming’s handsome profile, Tao Sheng felt more and more that marrying him was the right decision.

This rest period lasted two days. On the second day, Luo Qingyun was taken to the Luo family by Luo Xin, while Ji Yanming gave Ji Yubai a private lesson.

Ji Yanming treated all children fairly, without favoritism towards either boys or girls. He did not relax his expectations for Luo Qingyun just because she was a girl.

Tao Sheng used to think her parents were biased in their letters, favoring one side. But after meeting Ji Yanming, she realized that there are indeed fathers who treat everyone equally, and Ji Yanming was one of them.

In the afternoon, Ji Yanming had something to do, so Luo Qingyun went to the yamen when Luo Xin sent her home.

When Luo Qingyun returned, she saw Ji Yubai holding a book with a frown and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yubai replied, “Father taught the class today. Since you weren’t here, he only taught me…”

Luo Qingyun patted his shoulder and said, “Brother, you’ve worked hard. I won’t eat the chicken legs tonight. I’ll give you both.”

Tao Sheng covered half her face with a book, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

When Ji Yanming returned that evening, he was still thinking about the day. “I taught Yu’er two chapters today, but not Qing’er.”

Tao Sheng quickly defended their daughter, saying, “Let it go. It’s no big deal. Don’t overwork yourself or stress the kids.”

Unexpectedly, Ji Yanming disagreed, saying, “No.”

Tao Sheng curiously asked, “Why not?”

“They are all our children. I can’t be partial to one and unfair to the other. That wouldn’t be fair to Qing’er.”

Tao Sheng hesitated, saying, “That might not be the case. Qing’er wouldn’t mind. Trust me.”

In reality, the children would only think that if Ji Yanming didn’t give Luo Qingyun extra lessons, it meant he favored her, and Ji Yubai was neglected—quite the opposite of what Ji Yanming thought.

Tao Sheng rubbed her forehead.

Does Lord Ji perhaps think a bit too highly of himself?