Chapter 194 3/3

There were eight chickens: three roosters and five hens. Coincidentally, both Dabao and Erbao, the chickens raised by Li Damao and Li Ermao, were hens.

One day, Li Ermao came back from Li Xiucai’s place in his short sleeves and the first thing he did was check on his chickens.

He grabbed a handful of grains to feed them and sighed.

Li Qingzhi asked, “Why are you sighing at such a young age?”

Li Ermao replied, “Dad, should I eat the eggs laid by Dabao and Erbao or not?”

Li Damao and Li Ermao had raised chickens before, and to them, the eggs laid by their chickens were meant to be eaten. But Dabao and Erbao were different—they had hatched these chicks themselves. Should they eat the eggs laid by Dabao and Erbao?

“Dabao and Erbao are like my children. Eating their eggs would be like eating my grandchildren.” Li Ermao looked conflicted.

Li Qingzhi was speechless. Eating grandchildren? His son really had some wild thoughts!

At that moment, Gou Ying chimed in, “What are you thinking! If you don’t keep Dabao and Erbao with the roosters, the eggs they lay won’t hatch into chicks anyway. So, you might as well eat them!”

Li Qingzhi was about to agree when Gou Ying continued, “It’s my Jinfeng and Yinfeng that trouble me. They are a perfect pair, and their eggs can hatch into chicks…”

Li Qingzhi was at a loss for words.

Regardless of which hen laid the eggs, they should be eaten. If they were allowed to sit on the eggs and hatch them, there would be so many offspring to care for, and the house would become quite smelly!

In fact, after Dabao and Erbao grew bigger, Li Qingzhi had already moved them outside the yard to avoid any unpleasant smells in the house.

Although he wasn’t particularly picky, he still had some standards.

After feeding the chickens, the children all ran off to the school.

Now, Gou Ying, Qian Changsheng, Zhao Xiaodou, as well as Li Damao and Li Ermao, were all teachers at the elementary school.

They took turns teaching the students. Someone as shy as Zhao Xiaodou would read stories to the students, Li Ermao liked sharing various science facts that Li Qingzhi had taught him, and Li Damao enjoyed teaching difficult math problems. They had a lot of fun and gained much confidence, while the students at the school also broadened their horizons.

Li Qingzhi thought this arrangement was great.

He went upstairs to continue writing “The Solitary Journey.”

He had already written a lot and planned to finish it soon.

In the coming time, he needed to prepare for the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination in the capital.

Moreover, he had written everything he could, and it was time to conclude.

Li Qingzhi kept writing until an enticing aroma wafted up from downstairs.

When he went downstairs, he saw Chang Zhan and his two apprentices cooking.

Over the past few months, some students from Chongcheng Elementary School had been diverted to other places.

Those who struggled academically were placed in jobs: the boys at Jin Xiaoshu’s shipping company and Juewei Zhai, and the girls at Jin Xiaoye’s establishments, either at the Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop or doing other tasks.

Interestingly, after these arrangements, some parents of academically inclined children approached the school, hoping Li Qingzhi would find jobs for their children too.

After all, studying didn’t bring any immediate income, but being placed in a job meant earning money every month!

Many parents thought it was better for their children to start working early rather than continue studying.

However, Li Qingzhi didn’t agree: “Once you enter my school, you follow my rules!”

He also explained, “I want to train your children to become managers, who can earn several guan a month. If they start working early, they might only earn one guan a month. Do you really want them to start working so soon?”

Eventually, these parents were persuaded.

The most troublesome issue for Li Qingzhi, though, was parents wanting to take their daughters out of school to marry them off.

His students were quite young, and he already felt it was inappropriate to have them work. Marrying them off was out of the question!

Fortunately, it had been agreed from the start that attending his school meant working for him for a few years afterward. He managed to deter those parents by insisting that their daughters could marry only when they were older, at least eighteen years old, and until then, they should work for him.

If the parents insisted on taking their daughters back, they had to compensate him.

The cost of tuition and the clothes and bedding he provided added up to ten taels of silver.

In the end, those parents were left embarrassed.

That evening, Chang Zhan prepared a lavish meal as it was Jin Xiaoye’s birthday. They had invited many guests.

Among the guests were Jin Xiaoshu’s family, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xu, some female workers from Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop, and Mrs. Qian and her second wife.