Chapter 154

The days at Shuiqing’s house continued as usual.

The only difference now was the absence of odd jobs, leaving more free time. They couldn’t afford to idle away all the time—it would be too wasteful.

So, the Fan Family School was reopened.

Bai Manshan could rest assured leaving Bai Ziqian in Shanshui Village, partly because Bai Ziqian not only worked happily there but also learned some knowledge.

At fourteen, it was already clear whether Bai Ziqian had the aptitude for studying.

If he did, Bai Manshan would spare no expense to pave his way through the imperial examinations.

Unfortunately, he did not.

Therefore, Bai Manshan did not have high demands for his academic achievements—some knowledge and practical skills for outings were sufficient.

It was important that he did not become hollow and lacking in substance in his interactions.

Before Li Huyu had thought about teaching his son martial arts, but his son, although active, did not have the aptitude for it.

Fortunately, Bai Ziqian had a head for business and was an only child, so life was relatively good.

Sometimes it had to be said: Bai Ziqian, you were born lucky!

At the Fan Family School, Bai Ziqian, Yan Qiuxing, Jiang, He, Hu, and Fan Zhaodi sat upright.

Ling Ran, in terms of age and knowledge, was not on their level and naturally wasn’t included.

Fan Jin was gentle and refined in his dealings with people, but firm when it came to teaching and nurturing.

Children might be ignorant or slow, but their attitude toward learning had to be correct and proactive!

He treated both boys and girls equally.

Bai Ziqian and Fan Jiang were the most uncomfortable. The former did not like it, and the latter struggled with it.

These two difficult brothers wore similar expressions of hardship, preferring to chop wood on the mountain as they had done a few days ago.

However, Fan Zhaodi was eager for knowledge, her hands trembling slightly as she flipped through the book.

She had never touched a piece of paper with writing on it before, and every word on it looked incredibly beautiful.

Fan Jin was satisfied, “Zhaodi, start with the simplest characters first, don’t look at the complex ones.”

Starting with complex characters could easily undermine confidence and instill fear of literacy.

Fan Zhaodi nodded heavily.

Her uncle was so good to her—even though she could only stay at his house for a few days, there was no difference in treatment.

Actually, there could be differences in treatment.

After all, she was only learning for a few days; afterwards, she would never have the opportunity to touch books and ink again, and teaching her would only waste her uncle’s time.

Yan Qiuxing looked up at his father, “Dad, give little sister a name too!”

The little sister didn’t like her name.

Probably girls didn’t like this name!

Fan Jin pursed his lips; in his deep, dark eyes, there was reluctance and hesitation, finally forming into a sentence: “Wait a little longer, Dad will name her when the time is right.”

Yan Qiuxing wondered what the right time was.

Before he could ask, he was interrupted by Fan Zhaodi, “Second sister, it’s okay to wait a little longer.”

It didn’t matter whether he waited or not.

She was different from her elder sisters; her parents knew that, fearing they might gossip, even saying harsh words.

Uncle should have refused, but it was already good that he didn’t refuse at once.

Fan Jin, with a slightly curved back, straightened up, and said no more.

He could work now and collect betrothal gifts from his daughters in a few years. Although his eldest brother’s wife didn’t like it, she would attach great importance to it.

Life in his eldest brother’s house was miserable, and no one would let go of anything related to money.

After the flood… there might be a turning point…

In the main hall, the temporary school echoed with the sound of reading aloud.

In the kitchen, steam rose, full of smoke and fire.

Butcher Hu was chopping lamb bones, while Hu Wenhua was cutting lamb meat, and Ling Ran was picking vegetables.

Mother Hu and Shuiqing were preparing meals.

The pig was too big, weighing several hundred catties. It couldn’t be eaten in a short time, so they were afraid it would go bad.

The chickens laid eggs, so keeping them was not a loss.

As long as the sheep and rabbits reached the right weight, they would be eaten first and save some grass.

Today, they slaughtered a sheep, probably about ten catties. The lamb bones weighed about twenty catties, and the offal was more than ten catties. After deducting the skin and fur, there were about forty catties of meat.

Father was responsible for killing, and Wenhua washed the offal early. The vegetables were fed by Fan Jin and picked up from the vegetable garden. She and her mother were responsible for cooking.

First, stew the lamb bones with radishes.

The lamb offal stew, with spring onions and coriander added, was delicious for those who liked lamb.

The lamb meat would be eaten over two days. Today, they had lamb bones and offal, using only a small portion. The remaining portion was soaked in spring water, and it wouldn’t spoil if eaten tomorrow.

The remaining portion was also more than ten catties of lamb meat!

At noon, they stewed everything in a large iron pot, simmering it slowly over a low fire to enhance the flavor, saving it for the evening meal.

With many people around, there were naturally some who didn’t like lamb. Shuiqing prepared several other dishes, allowing those who enjoyed lamb to eat more of it, while others could have the side dishes.

Outside, the rain showed no signs of stopping, and inside the house, everyone had their own tasks, making the time pass by smoothly.

In the late afternoon, Li Wen returned home covered in mud.

Instead of entering the house, he stood under the eaves and took off his soaked raincoat. After wiping his face with a warm cloth handed to him, he finally felt the stiffness in his face subside.

“Come on, head of the household, drink the ginger soup while it’s hot!” Wang Guifen approached with a large coarse pottery bowl, urging him.

Li Wen took the ginger soup and tested the temperature with a sip, finding it hot but not scalding, so he drank it all in one go.

After exhaling, he saw his father coming out and said, “Dad, there’s no sign of the rain easing up. Before coming back, I took a look and the river is almost flooding into the village!”

In the past, the river had flooded into the village, but that was after five or six days of rain. Today was only the first day.

“What should we do next?”

Li Wu turned to his father and asked, “Dad, should we stack sandbags to block it?”

Li Qiang shook his head, denying, “There’s too much mud. Where would we get so many burlap bags?”

Flax was not easy to come by, and making burlap bags was an important household item. Even if the villagers were willing to use them to block floods, there wouldn’t be enough.

He continued, “If it’s not enough, won’t it be more dangerous if the floodwaters rise further?”

Li Wen and Li Wu looked grave.

The difference between slowly rising floodwaters and rushing floodwaters was substantial.

“Perhaps only the area around the Fan’s second house will be safest, but our village has more than four hundred people, young and old. We can’t all huddle up there,” Li Wen said solemnly.

Li Wu added, “People can move, but what about our houses, belongings, livestock, and grain? If we abandon everything, even if the flood recedes, we won’t be able to survive!”

The old village chief gripped his cane tightly.

He instructed his second son, “Go ask the young lad if they have any burlap bags. Explain that it’s a loan from our village, and we’ll plant more flax when the flood recedes and repay them, though it might not be until next year.”

This year might be too late, so they needed to make it clear.

Li Wen remembered the discussions during the ditch digging and stopped Li Wu. He turned to his father and said, “Dad, since I’m already soaked, I’ll go ask. Also, considering Fan Jin is educated, should we ask him if he wants to use sandbags? Maybe he knows something from his books?”

The old village chief nodded heavily.

They couldn’t be sure if Fan Jin really knew something about this.