Chapter 40: New Clothes

Song Erquan pointed at Song Jinjing, saying, “Our family has discussed it too and wants to send Jinjing to a private school. If both of them study with Scholar Hou, they can keep each other company.”

Hearing that Jinjing would attend the private school, the old woman clapped her hands in delight, “Wonderful, wonderful! It’s great that Jinjing will also go to school! Jinjing, you’re older than Liangzuo; you’ll need to look out for him and make sure no one bullies him.”

Song Liangzuo was just as happy. He wriggled out of his grandmother’s embrace and rushed over to Jinjing, “You’re going to school too? Oh, that means I’ll have a companion!”

Jinjing nodded excitedly, straightening his small posture and confidently proclaiming, “Third Grandma, don’t worry! With me around, no one will dare to bully Liangzuo!”

“Such good children, all good children,” the old woman praised, suddenly raising an eyebrow, “Second Brother, when I last visited your house, I hadn’t heard you were considering sending your child to school. Why the sudden change of heart for Jinjing to attend school just a few days later? Is there no issue from your second household?”

Song Erquan had two sons, Song Wangshu and Song Wangzhuang. Jinjing belonged to the main household, and the second household also had a son, Song Jingliang.

Since they hadn’t divided their family yet, how could they only send Jinjing to school without the other side being upset?

Clearly having anticipated this question, Song Erquan confidently explained, “I discussed this with the second house and assured them that if Jinjing studies well and makes something of himself in the future, he’ll help out his brothers in the household. Besides, Jingliang is still young; sending him for elementary school now would be a waste of money since he wouldn’t fully understand anything. Once Jinjing comes back from school each day, he can teach Jingyin and Jingliang. If they grasp it well, then sending Jingliang to learn in a few years wouldn’t be a problem. As for why I want Jinjing to go to school now, it’s quite simple.”

“Our father was formidable, managing to acquire so much land that is now divided among the three of us brothers. Each of us has had sons, who in turn are having more children. At this rate, we have more and more mouths to feed for these few acres of land. When the time comes that our father’s rules are put into effect, and the communal land is divided among us, my family will be left with only a few acres. That said, I also have to share some of the land with Wangshu and Wangzhuang. What will happen in the future? As the tree branches out, there will only be more branches; by the time we need to divide among Jingjin, Jingyin, and Jingliang, there won’t be much land left at all.”

“So, I thought, rather than waiting for the land to be insufficient for division, I might as well take the opportunity while I can still influence the situation and send Jinjing to study. In the future, even if he doesn’t become an official, if he can find a decent position in the town or county, that would be a good outcome.”

Once Song Erquan finished, the courtyard was filled with an almost palpable silence.

The old woman and Wang Chunlan exchanged glances, amazed that Second Brother had such long-term considerations.

Judging by Song Wangshu’s expression, it seemed they had already discussed this topic at home.

Only Song Jinjing remained silent, lost in his thoughts.

The two sisters from the Song family exchanged looks as well, but their eyes conveyed more confusion than understanding. It was unclear what they were puzzled about or what they didn’t comprehend.

Suddenly, Song Liangzuo clapped his hands, “Second Granduncle, you’re amazing!”

His sincere admiration flowed from his heart for his elder, recognizing his insight and foresight.

Feeling at a loss for words, the old woman echoed, “Good, good, good!” If compelled to articulate why it was good, she might not have been able to articulate it—but she simply felt it was very good.

Thus, the decision about the private school was largely settled between the two families. On the day after tomorrow, during the town fair, they would go give Scholar Hou the tuition.

As the scheduled date approached, that evening, Song Liangzuo ate less than usual because he was so happy and suddenly didn’t feel hungry.

Wang Chunlan handed the dishwashing chores over to her daughter and sought out her mother-in-law, who was feeding the pigs in the backyard. “Mother, with Liangzuo meeting the scholar in two days, do you think he’ll be looked down upon for wearing patched clothes? Should I alter the outfit he wore last New Year?”

The old woman slapped her thigh, “You’ve reminded me! That outfit won’t do; we need to save it for the New Year. Come, let’s head inside. Take that bolt of cloth you bought for me a few days ago and cut it to make him a new outfit.”

In the past, Song Liangzuo hardly left the village, and since he was the youngest, there was no one else to wear his older sisters’ cast-off clothing. Most of his clothes were repurposed from his sisters’ old outfits or made from fabric taken from his father’s nearly new clothes.

This was the norm for many families—if anyone wore new clothes regularly while working the fields, they would be thought of as extravagant.

The old woman, forgetting about the pigs, hurried into the house.

“Mother, that cloth was supposed to be for your new clothes. I still have a few yards of fabric in my cupboard; we can use that for him instead.”

The old woman’s cloth was dark blue, while Wang Chunlan’s cloth was a lighter green color. They held up the fabric for Song Liangzuo to choose, asking which color he preferred.

In the end, Song Liangzuo chose the piece his mother brought out, not only because he liked the color, which resembled the shade of a classic scholar’s robe, but also because it felt special to him.

To get his new outfit ready, the oil lamp in their home stayed lit until the fourth watch before it finally went out.

The next day, Wang Chunlan continued sewing at home while the others went off to work in the fields.

That evening, after returning from the fields with his grandmother and elder sister, Song Liangzuo noticed a pile of vines stacked against the wall of the yard. Wang Chunlan pointed at them, saying, “These were brought by that boy from the mountains, saying you should see if there are any medicinal herbs among them.”

“Lin Shanye came by. He brought all these. Did he go into the mountains? Is his grandfather feeling better?” Song Liangzuo bombarded his mother with questions, causing her to chuckle.

“You’re asking me too many things at once; which one should I answer first? Come on, don’t rush to look at those. Come here and see if the clothes I made for you fit,” Wang Chunlan said, and while biting off the thread she was using, she put down the needle and beckoned Liangzuo over.

Ignoring the vines, Song Liangzuo dashed over to his mother, allowing her to put the assembled clothes on him. They fitted him perfectly, and the fabric felt soft against his skin. Without a mirror, he wasn’t entirely sure how it looked on him.

As he ran his fingers over the countless stitches that his mother and grandmother had painstakingly sewn, he felt the love woven into every thread; it had to look wonderful.

“Oh, my goodness, my dear grandson looks just like a scholar now!” the old woman exclaimed with delight.

Feeling the warmth of love in the newly made clothes, Song Liangzuo felt a wave of emotion wash over him. He threw his arms around his grandmother and mother, burying his head between them, and in a choked voice said, “You’re both so good!”