Chapter 54

After the discussion, the five children fell silent.

Bai Ziqian felt a bit dejected but reluctantly agreed, “Alright, I’ll try staying at your place first.”

He resolved that if they deceived him, he wouldn’t hesitate to find work at another household in the village. No matter what, he couldn’t return empty-handed and be mocked by his parents, who always compared him unfavorably to other children.

Shuiqing observed the changing expressions on Bai Ziqian’s face and gradually understood.

Ultimately, he was still just a child, unable to hide his emotions well. His parents had protected him carefully, but instead of raising a sweet-natured child, they had raised a rather frustrating one.

She preferred the former, who at least brought some emotional value.

She spoke less kindly now, “Go wash the dishes, boil hot water for washing up. Soon, some villagers will come to deliver water caltrop seeds. Oh, can you use a scale?”

Bai Ziqian’s face turned pale.

Got it, Shuiqing thought. “If you can’t use a scale, you’ll just have to do the manual labor. Go mix the chicken feed and feed the chickens;

Tonight’s too late to wash clothes thoroughly, so get up early tomorrow to do it. Then, come with me to the back mountain to plant fruit trees… that’s about it. It’s not much work; you can handle it.”

Bai Ziqian’s mouth dropped open. This wasn’t a lot of work?

After giving instructions, Shuiqing clapped her hands at the children, “Alright, get to work.”

She ensured they had the best food and drink possible, but she also made sure they didn’t neglect their life skills. She wasn’t the kind of mother who did all the work and took all the hardship upon herself while her children did nothing.

Her principle had always been not to raise idlers.

The moment Shuiqing finished speaking, the five children sprang up and started their tasks, each clearly knowing what to do.

Bai Ziqian saw Yan Qiu and Xing busy with the scale and baskets.

Fan Jiang and Fan He fetched water from the spring.

Little Fan Hu cleaned up the dishes.

He had no choice but to follow behind the still small Fan Hu and asked, “If I do all these chores in the future, what will you do?”

Fan Hu counted on his fingers for the big brother, “Big Brother, we have lots to do. Look, we need to continue planting vegetables in the garden while there’s still some daylight, so we can grow more food in the future.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll first recognize and write characters.”

“Wait, you also study and write?” Bai Ziqian was genuinely shocked.

Aren’t they just villagers? It’s not that he looked down on them, but studying and writing required expensive supplies like paper, ink, and brushes, not to mention tuition fees.

Do they have the money?

Fan Hu proudly raised his little chin, “Of course.”

“Where do you go to school?”

Fan Hu answered readily, “We don’t need to go out. Our father teaches us very well.”

Bai Ziqian then remembered seeing Fan Jin in a scholar’s robe. Unexpectedly, he was a scholar.

“But paper, ink, and brushes are expensive. If you don’t have them…” He thought he could give them some… but wait, those belonged to the Bai family, not something he earned.

Fan Hu sensed the goodwill in his tone and, imitating his mother, waved his hand, “No need, no need. We don’t use ink.

Dad found some smooth slates on the back mountain. We just need to use a brush dipped in water to write. Isn’t that clever?”

Bai Ziqian patted Fan Hu’s fluffy head and praised, “Very clever.”

Truly, fish find their own way, shrimp find theirs, and even snails make their way by crawling.

Seeing Fan Hu struggling a bit with the large pottery basin, he took it over. Doing these menial tasks wasn’t as hard as he’d imagined.

“What about your two sisters? Don’t girls usually do the laundry?”

Fan Hu placed the dishes into the large wooden basin and looked up, “They also study and write.”

Bai Ziqian was taken aback. Even in affluent families, girls often didn’t study, let alone in peasant families.

“My mom says girls’ hands are long and pretty and should be used for holding a pen. She also says boys’ hands are broad and thick and can wash clothes cleanly and quickly, so my brothers do all the laundry now!”

Bai Ziqian: It sounds somewhat right, but there’s a certain logic to it.

“Big Brother, when you wash clothes tomorrow, will you also wash them cleanly and quickly, better than my brothers?” Fan Hu asked, eyes full of trust.

Bai Ziqian puffed up his chest, “Of course!”

Fan Hu nodded in satisfaction, a small smile appearing as he lowered his head.

He sprinkled the dishes evenly with wood ash, causing Bai Ziqian to raise an eyebrow, “What are you doing?”

“Getting rid of the grease. Otherwise, it’s hard to clean the oil off the dishes. Wood ash works wonders. Rinse a few times, and the dishes will be as clean as new.”

Bai Ziqian said no more and rolled up his sleeves to help wash the dishes.

Shuiqing and Fan Jin watched from a distance.

“Shuiqing, do you think the boy can handle it?”

A young master, pampered with servants at his beck and call, could he do such rough work?

Shuiqing was indifferent, “If he can, he stays. If not, he leaves. We don’t have the money to feed a freeloader.”

She would ensure he did it well and met her expectations.

She might lack experience in raising children, but she excelled in managing and training employees.

Besides, if they gave him a meal, he would be grateful. But if they fed him for free and without labor, at first, he might be thankful, but over time, he might take it for granted.

Eventually, if they stopped feeding him or required him to work for his food, he might even resent them.

So why not establish rules from the beginning and make him earn his keep through labor?

She didn’t need his gratitude, just his labor.

Don’t call her heartless; after all, he wasn’t her child. She had no obligation to support him for free.

Fan Jin always unconditionally supported Shuiqing’s decisions.

Moreover, he had to teach the children reading and writing in the morning and go out to ‘buy’ food and fruit trees in the afternoon. He wouldn’t have time to dig pits during the day.

Digging pits was labor-intensive and tedious. He had been worried about finding someone to do it. Now, there was no need to worry.

Since arriving at Shan Shui Village, Bai Ziqian felt like he slept later than a dog, got up earlier than a rooster, and worked harder than an ox.

The Fan family wasn’t lenient with him at all.

Except for the food that suited his taste, nothing else was good!

No bed, no blanket, just a crowded little thatched house with Fan Jin, an adult, and four boys. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he couldn’t stretch his legs!

But he couldn’t complain because everyone else couldn’t stretch their legs either, and it was his presence that caused the overcrowding.

Then there was washing clothes, cleaning dishes, weeding, hoeing, sowing seeds, digging pits… work he hadn’t done in the first thirteen years of his life, he did all of it after coming to the Fan family!