Font Size:
Shen Ziju nodded when he saw Su Zhi, thinking to himself that it must have been Fourth Sister-in-law’s idea after all. His initial surprise gradually subsided. He knew Fourth Sister-in-law was clever—not only skilled in cooking and preparing medicinal prescriptions, but also literate. She even came up with useful things like the heated brick bed (kang). Considering she devised the sandbox, a small novelty, wasn’t so surprising.
In Shen Ziju’s mind, he felt even more that Su Zhi’s marriage to his fourth elder brother was unfair to her.
To Shen Ziju, although Shen Zi’an was stronger than most farmers, he was still just a farmer. Since Su Zhi had changed her place in his heart, he considered her almost the finest woman in the world. No matter how good a man might be, he would think he wasn’t good enough for her.
“Fourth Sister-in-law is truly clever. This method should be shared with others. Children from poor families could save a lot of money, which would be a tremendous benefit.”
Shen Ziju remarked, thinking that if he had such a sandboxwhen he was younger, perhaps his calligraphy skills would have improved further.
Su Zhi also recognized the significant utility of the small sandbox. She simply hadn’t expected that no one had thought of it until now. Of course, even if she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have gone to a school and suggested using a sandbox for practicing characters to others. She wasn’t that idle.
“I never attended school, so I’m not familiar with these matters. Fifth Brother, let’s not discuss this little sandbox anymore. How do you find the handwriting of Xiaori and the others? I’ll fetch their brush-written characters for you to see. Though they are young, you can still correct them to prevent them from becoming arrogant.”
Su Zhi said she didn’t want to talk further with Shen Ziju over the sand box. She could talk calmly with Fifth Brother, but she wasn’t inclined to engage in deep conversations because she always felt Shen Ziju was calculating. Su Zhi preferred not to associate much with those in the Shen family who had hidden agendas.
Seeing Su Zhi turn and enter the house, Shen Ziju continued to examine the characters on the sand table while exchanging a few words with Xiaori and the others. Perhaps because they were raised by Su Zhi, he found these three children very pleasing. He thought they not only looked adorable but also had bright minds, comparable to young masters and misses from wealthy families he had seen.
“Fifth Brother, take a look at the characters they wrote,” he said. “Yueyue’s handwriting still needs improvement, but Xiaori and Xinger did quite well. I wonder at their age, whether this is considered good or bad.”
Su Zhi brought out a stack of papers and handed them to Shen Ziju.
Shen Ziju took the papers and nodded approvingly. He had just seen the children’s characters on the sand table, which looked neat, though not written with a brush. Now, seeing their brush-written characters on paper, Shen Ziju couldn’t help but praise them. To him, for such young children who had just started learning characters, their writing was quite impressive.
“Well done. At such a young age, their characters already carry a strong presence. This one looks steady and solid, while this one has a more elegant flow. And this one, is it Yueyue’s? It’s the lightest in touch but quite beautifully written.”
Shen Ziju commented on the different styles of handwriting. Although Su Zhi had suggested he critique them a bit, he leaned more towards praise. He knew Su Zhi cherished these three children, and he didn’t want to say anything negative that might upset them and cause unnecessary discord.
Upon hearing Shen Ziju’s remarks, Su Zhi responded, “The steady handwriting is Xiaori’s, the more flowing one is Xinger’s, and the one with thicker strokes is Yueyue’s. This little girl, the youngest, loves to write big characters the most.”
Yueyue wrinkled her nose playfully after Su Zhi lightly scolded her, then hugged Su Zhi and said in a slightly coquettish tone, “Mom, I’m not little anymore. I’ll grow up soon and be as beautiful as you.”
Su Zhi gently patted her head and chuckled, “You little rascal, always saying sweet things. Are you asking for delicious snacks again, or do you want something fun?”
Yueyue flashed a toothy grin and replied, “Mom, I want sweet- sour cakes!”
“Alright, Mom will make them for you.”
Su Zhi doted on Yueyue. As the saying goes, boys should be raised robustly while girls should be pampered. Whether this was entirely correct or not, Su Zhi believed in it. Boys shouldn’t be too delicate because they would need to be pillars of the family in the future. Girls, on the other hand, should be showered with love, especially considering the hardships they would face after marriage, especially in such a patriarchal ancient society.
Shen Ziju watched the tender scene of Su Zhi doting on Yuèyuè, observing as Su Zhi gently pinched the little girl’s cheek with her fair fingers. Seeing this gentle interaction stirred something in his heart. Pretending to still be focused on the characters on the table, his mind wandered to how much Fourth Brother cherished Fourth Sister-in-law. Just by looking at her hands, he could tell she didn’t engage in heavy labor. No wonder Fourth Sister-in-law was so fond of Fourth Brother. If she could live well, that would be enough.
“Fourth Sister-in-law, what book is this?” Shen Ziju noticed another book on the table. He had always had a fondness for books; whenever he spotted one, his gaze naturally gravitated towards it. Today was no exception. He saw this particular book was thin, unlike the usual books he encountered. Curious, he picked it up. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was indeed unusual. Flipping through the pages and scanning the content, he was immediately intrigued.
This book wasn’t like those bought from outside but one that Su Zhi had compiled herself. It wasn’t the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, or Thousand Character Classic, but rather a collection of poems. There were simple ones and more complex ones, all remembered by Su Zhi as being very refined.
Shen Ziju became fascinated just by reading the first poem. On the first page was a very ordinary poem, the first one Su Zhi had learned in elementary school—’Goose, Goose, Goose’, a timeless classic.
“White feathers float on green water, red palms ripple clear waves. Such a good poem!” Shen Ziju softly recited the last two lines, unable to resist praising it. Despite its simplicity, this short poem conjured a vivid image in his mind: on a surface of lush green water, several large white geese stretched their necks, calling loudly towards the sky, their red feet occasionally visible.
“Yes, it was that person who taught me,” Su Zhi admitted directly, realizing she would have more to reveal in the future than just a few poems.
Shen Ziju asked, “Fourth Sister-in-law, who is this remarkable person? Do you know? They must be incredibly talented. I would truly like to meet them and learn from their wisdom. If you can’t tell me where to find them, at least their name?”
In her heart, Su Zhi knew such a person didn’t exist in the world; you couldn’t meet someone who didn’t exist. Even she couldn’t. Yet, seeing Shen Ziju’s earnest desire to learn, she hesitated to disillusion such an eager young man.
“I think I mentioned before,” she replied carefully, “when I saw that old man, he appeared and disappeared without a trace. Later, I never saw him again. As for his name, I’m not sure.”
Shen Ziju nodded disappointedly, looking at the collection of poems in his hands. “Fourth Sister-in-law, could I take this book home to transcribe? I really like these poems.”
Su Zhi nodded and said, “Of course, you can take it. I’ll fetch some other materials to teach them.”
“Fourth Sister-in-law, do you have other books?” Shen Ziju immediately inquired upon hearing Su Zhi’s response. He hadn’t expected Su Zhi to have not only this collection of poems but also other books.
Xinger chimed in from the side, “Mom also teaches us arithmetic. We can already do calculations up to one hundred.”
Xinger mentioned that he enjoyed arithmetic very much, his eyes lighting up at the mention of it.
Su Zhi smiled as she watched, thinking that all three children were very intelligent. Xinger could be considered the smartest among them in terms of academics. However, Xiaori showed remarkable maturity at a young age, especially in handling people and affairs. Xinger, on the other hand, was more innocent and had a keen interest in poetry and mathematics. It seemed Xiaori might be suited for officialdom in the future, while Xinger might become a literary luminary.
Shen Ziju, puzzled by Xinger’s mention of arithmetic, asked, “Arithmetic? What’s that?”
Yueyue chimed in, “Arithmetic is when one dumpling plus two dumplings equals three dumplings! Right, Mom?”
The first time Su Zhi decided to teach the children arithmetic, they asked her what it was. At that time, Su Zhi was making dumplings and answered with that exact phrase, which Yueyue remembered well.
“Yueyue is right,” Su Zhi patted Yueyue’s head and explained to Shen Ziju, “Arithmetic is about adding and subtracting numbers. People in business use abacuses for calculations, but if you don’t have an abacus, how would you manage? I teach them to use pen and paper to do calculations. I simplified it and called it arithmetic.”