Chapter 50: Autumn Harvest 1/2

Li Qingzhi was unaware that his book had been seen by Li Xiucai. At this moment, he was teaching three children to read.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were still young, and Zhao Xiaodou was completely starting from scratch. Therefore, Li Qingzhi didn’t teach them too much, often letting them learn by themselves.

For example, multiplication tables. He had previously taught Li Damao and Li Ermao, so he could now let them teach Zhao Xiaodou.

Currently, he spends each day leisurely teaching them some math knowledge, discussing geography and the humanities, and finally letting them learn a few words.

Speaking of learning to write words… the paper Li Qingzhi brought from the Zhu family had been used up. Today, when Jin Xiaoye went out, he asked her to buy some cheap pens, ink, and paper to practice writing with the three children starting tomorrow.

As for not having a desk at home… wasn’t there a brand new Eight Immortals table? Li Damao and Li Ermao were short, so they usually kneeled on a stool to eat. They could also practice writing like this.

In fact, he taught them using the Eight Immortals table they used for meals. At this moment, Li Damao and Li Ermao stood on stools, listening to his lecture.

“Today, I’ll write another poem for you. Damao and Ermao, you’ve memorized it before. If Xiaodou doesn’t know, you can teach him. After teaching, try to recognize the characters and write them in the sand with chopsticks.” With his left hand, Li Qingzhi wrote a poem he had learned in elementary school seriously on the paper: “From afar, the mountains have colors; silently, the waters are soundless…”

These poems were also available in Daqi, so writing them out wouldn’t shock anyone.

After writing it once, Li Qingzhi had them recite it a few times, then explained its meaning.

He also explained the stroke order of the words.

At this time, the words were all in traditional Chinese, which were quite difficult to write. Li Qingzhi didn’t expect them to learn it all in one day. Tomorrow, they will continue learning this poem.

Just like today, after reciting the poem, Li Qingzhi reviewed what he taught them yesterday.

Children learned things slowly and easily forgot what they learned, but Li Qingzhi was very patient and willing to explain it to them repeatedly.

He had three children in front of him—three!

And two of them were his sons! Teaching the three children was an enjoyable experience for Li Qingzhi. Sometimes, when teaching them to read, he would even kiss Li Damao and Li Ermao affectionately.

Zhao Xiaodou was someone else’s child and already eight years old, so Li Qingzhi could only pat his head instead of kissing him.

To teach the children to practice writing, Li Qingzhi had specially prepared three sand trays. Now, he watched as the three children wrote while standing by.

Zhao Xiaodou, being older and very diligent, wrote everything correctly. Li Qingzhi praised him and patted his shoulder to encourage him.

Li Damao was quite steady and focused, managing to learn most of what was taught. Li Qingzhi gave him a few kisses and praised, “Damao, you’re amazing.”

Li Ermao, being more impulsive, made the most mistakes. Li Qingzhi leaned his face closer to him and said, “Ermao, you made another mistake. You have to accept punishment. For each wrong word, you have to kiss your father’s face ten times!”

While Li Ermao kissed, Li Qingzhi had Zhao Xiaodou and Li Damao count beside him.

In the village, children around Zhao Xiaodou’s age often couldn’t even count up to a hundred, but after following Li Qingzhi for a few days, Zhao Xiaodou could count smoothly, and Li Ermao’s progress had not gone unnoticed.

After teaching them for a while, Li Qingzhi let the three children go outside to play.

He didn’t have any demands for Li Damao and Li Ermao, as both of them wouldn’t turn five until the beginning of next year!

He had taught them enough already; if they didn’t learn, it wasn’t a big deal.

As for Zhao Xiaodou… Zhao Laosan sent him over just to learn a few characters; he hadn’t expected Zhao Xiaodou to become so proficient. Now, this progress is enough.

Moreover, Zhao Xiaodou was just an ordinary child. His parents weren’t particularly bright, and his intelligence was average. Teaching him too much would overwhelm him.

After spending an hour relaxing with the three children, Li Qingzhi returned to his study and began writing Ding Xi’s book.

When he wrote with his left hand, he didn’t deliberately practice any particular font. He wrote freely and quickly.

As he continued writing like this, his handwriting gradually improved.

While Li Qingzhi was busy writing at home, Jin Xiaoye had just finished distributing the fabric.

Early this morning, after arriving in the county town, she began cutting fabric with Sister Wang and Mrs. Xu. Then, she distributed the cut fabric to women who wanted to do some sewing to supplement their household income.

They only gave fabric to women they knew from Chongcheng County; after all, if they didn’t know the person and they walked away with the fabric, they wouldn’t be able to find them.

While distributing the fabric, Jin Xiaoye also kept a record.

She had been studying with Li Qingzhi for several months, and while she recognized many words, there was still a difference between recognizing and being able to write them; she often made mistakes when writing.

But that was okay; as long as she recognized them, it was fine.

Jin Xiaoye had never been one to fuss over such trivial matters!

Sister Wang and Mrs. Xu even looked at her with envy; they couldn’t read or write, so Jin Xiaoye’s ability was quite impressive in their eyes.

At this moment, it’s already noon, and Sister Wang’s daughter came to call them for lunch.

Sister Wang’s husband is a merchant who travels all year round, while she lives with her two sons and a daughter in Chongcheng County.

Her two sons are studying with a scholar. The fourteen-year-old daughter follows her home to do needlework and housework.

There are many scholars in the county, and many run schools. Sister Wang’s two sons study with Wang Xiucai, who is of the same clan as Sister Wang.

Sister Wang’s house is not small. Jin Xiaoye distributes cloth in Sister Wang’s house, and she and Mrs. Xu also eat at Sister Wang’s house.

Jin Xiaoye and Mrs. Xu both bring food from home. Sister Wang’s daughter helps to warm it up, and then they prepare two more dishes so everyone can eat comfortably.

The ingredients for cooking are provided by Jin Xiaoye. Today she brought edamame and eggs from home.

Edamame can be steamed and sprinkled with salt to eat directly. They also made pickled vegetable and egg drop soup with the eggs, which can be served with rice.

Jin Xiaoye also brought some steamed salted fish, and Mrs. Xu brought pickled vegetables from her home… The meal is not lavish, but it’s decent.

After the four of them finished their meal, Jin Xiaoye said, “I need to go out for a bit, to buy some paper and pens for my husband.”

Mrs. Xu said, “Xiaoye, I’ll go with you. I need to buy paper for my son too.” Mrs. Xu has been earning quite well recently, so she’s become more generous with spending.

Seeing this, Jin Xiaoye asked Sister Wang, “Sister, do you want to come with us?”

Sister Wang replied, “I’ll pass. My two boys at home don’t like to study, and they don’t use much paper… I’ll stay home and watch over them, also to prevent others from not finding us when they need something.”

“Alright!” Jin Xiaoye agreed, and went to buy paper and ink with Mrs. Xu.

There are more than one shop selling paper and ink in the county, but the prices are similar, so they went to the closest one.

As they entered, a clerk in his twenties, with a pleasant appearance, greeted them with a smile and asked, “What would you ladies like to buy?”

Jin Xiaoye said, “I want to buy paper and also some pens and ink.”

The clerk immediately took out some paper and said, “Madam, this paper is locally made, it’s affordable and of good quality…”

Jin Xiaoye asked, “Which one is the cheapest?”

The clerk smiled and said, “Madam, if the paper is too cheap, the writing won’t turn out well…”

“It’s okay, I want the cheapest. Just give me the cheapest pens and ink too.” Jin Xiaoye had already decided to buy cheap pens, ink, paper, and inkstones for her three children and for herself.

They had just started learning to write, so there was no need for good quality paper.

“Madam…” The clerk smiled bitterly, but he still brought out the cheapest paper.

Jin Xiaoye took a look and bought a thick stack of it, along with four brushes, two ink sticks, and the cheapest inkstone.

After buying, they put everything in the basket, and Jin Xiaoye asked, “How much is the local rice paper you mentioned earlier?”

Both Jin Xiaoye and Mrs. Xu were dressed plainly. Initially, the clerk recommended paper that wasn’t expensive. After Jin Xiaoye heard the price, she bought another thick stack, for Li Qingzhi to use.

Since Mr. Ding gave Li Qingzhi so much money to write, she couldn’t let Li Qingzhi use the worst quality paper.

The clerk who served Jin Xiaoye was happy and smiling. At first, when Jin Xiaoye said she wanted the cheapest, he thought she wouldn’t buy much. But in the end, Jin Xiaoye bought quite a lot.

Mrs. Xu also bought some paper for her son, the same kind that Jin Xiaoye bought for Li Qingzhi, which was very affordable.

Before, when Xu Qiwen bought paper by himself, he also bought the cheapest. But recently, his income has been good, so she bought better quality paper for him.

After they finished their shopping and left the store, they saw a middle-aged woman with a harsh expression. When this woman saw Jin Xiaoye, she smirked, “Shopkepper Jin.”

“Mrs. Fang.” Jin Xiaoye smiled back at her.

She knew this middle-aged woman, who had come to her place to pick up work these days. According to what Sister Wang said, this middle-aged woman’s husband was surnamed Fang. Her husband was a scholar before he passed away ten years ago. Over these ten years, she had worked hard to raise several children.

“Does shopkeeper Jin have someone in the family studying too?” Mrs. Fang glanced at Jin Xiaoye’s basket, “Is it shopkeeper Jin’s husband?”

“Yes, my husband is a scholar.” Jin Xiaoye smiled.

Mrs. Fang looked at Jin Xiaoye seriously and said, “Shopkeeper Jin, since your husband is a scholar, why do you still show up in business? I saw you chatting with the shopkeeper of the fabric store earlier… You should be careful!”

Jin Xiaoye was dumbfounded.

Was this Mrs. Fang sick? She would come to her to get work done and then say such things to her face!

When Jin Xiaoye was doing business, even if she encountered someone she didn’t like, she would still greet them with a smile. But this person in front of her wasn’t her customer!

“I’ve become a laughingstock for talking and laughing while buying cloth, and now Mrs. Fang has some other thoughts when buying writing supplies? Could it be that she has her eyes on the handsome clerk?” Jin Xiaoye snorted coldly, ignoring Mrs. Fang, who turned red in anger, and left with Mrs. Xu.

After walking for a while, Mrs. Xu said, “Xiaoye, don’t be angry.”

Jin Xiaoye said, “I’m not angry. It’s not worth getting angry over someone like that.” If she got angry over such trivial matters, she wouldn’t have survived the past few years!