Chapter 37: Teaching the Children
Mr. Zhuang allowed the Bai family to take Bai Erlang and Bai Shanbao home, keeping Man Bao behind.
He went into his room and brought out a stack of paper for Man Bao, saying, “Hand in the character writing punishments tomorrow. If you fight again, it won’t just be a simple matter of writing characters.”
Man Bao obediently agreed, not feeling writing was a punishment since they had to practice writing for their studies anyway.
The Qian family repeatedly bowed in apology to Mr. Zhuang before taking the two children home.
The Lius hadn’t gone far when they turned to see the Zhou family escorting Man Bao and Mrs. Qian back.
Mrs. Zheng also looked back, remarking, “Their family really has a lot of people.”
“Indeed,” said Mr. Bai. “With six sons, they may not have produced the most children in Qili Village, but they can field the most working hands, making their family’s population the most prosperous.”
Mrs. Liu glanced at Man Bao supporting Mrs. Qian and asked, “Why is it their daughter attending the school?”
Mr. Bai laughed, “Their family can’t afford tuition. But this little girl is smart, so Mr. Zhuang favors her as a disciple, allowing her into the school without the entrance bundled fee. He even hand-copied books for her, and I heard when she became his student, he gifted them a full set of ink, brush and inkstone – considered properly outfitted then.”
Mrs. Zheng commented, “It’s a difficult path for a peasant family.”
But Mrs. Liu said, “It shows this child is not just smart, but also well-behaved – a lovable child, otherwise Mr. Zhuang wouldn’t dote on her talent so.”
She turned to look at her grandson again, expression souring. “The young Miss Zhou is younger than you, just a little girl. How could you hit her?”
Bai Shanbao felt aggrieved, holding up his arm. “She hit me first, she even bit me!”
Mrs. Zheng hurriedly rolled up his sleeve but saw no marks on his smooth, white arm. Retracting her hand, she glanced at her mother-in-law.
Mrs. Liu’s face darkened further. “Where did she bite you?”
Though no marks on his arm, Bai Shanbao still felt that sensation, so he pointed at a spot. “Here!”
Mrs. Liu couldn’t help but lightly slap the table, rebuking, “Shanbao, your grandmother taught you from young never to lie!”
Bai Shanbao felt dazed before bursting into loud wails. “I didn’t lie, she really did bite me! You can ask her. She hit me first too, and ambushed me – she’s the bad one!”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Qian was also lecturing Man Bao. Having checked and found no injuries, she could scold her at ease now.
“You’re a girl – if there’s a disagreement, you should reason with people properly. Why did you hit someone?”
Man Bao: “He was hitting Er Tou.”
“You should have separated them first, then asked who was right or wrong. How could you hit him? He was a guest visiting our village – a stranger. Bullying a stranger is disrespectful.” Mrs. Qian’s face darkened. “How have I taught you from young? To be a courteous person. Just now before Mr. Zhuang you not only didn’t apologize, you even made faces at him. Is this how I’ve instructed you?”
Man Bao felt aggrieved, her eyes reddening.
Mrs. Qian turned away. “Don’t cry in front of me. Go think it over facing the wall – was what I said right or not?”
Mrs. Qian wiped her own tears. “I sent you to school to study propriety, not so a girl like you who can’t go make a living with talents or take the imperial exams would learn brawling instead. If that’s what you’ll learn there, come home – you’re no longer allowed to even audit classes.”
Man Bao’s tears streamed down as she felt terrible, rushing to hug her mother’s legs as she sobbed, “Mom, I know I was wrong. Don’t cry, don’t be angry.”
Mrs. Qian turned her head away, silent.
Man Bao cried until breathless. “I really know I was wrong, don’t ignore me. Tomorrow I’ll go apologize to him…”
Only then did Mrs. Qian’s expression ease slightly.
Outside, Feng Shi twisted Er Tou’s ear as she scolded him. “I told you to go get your little aunt. But instead you fought someone over a stupid rock – were you itching for a beating?”
Young Mrs. Qian was also hitting Da Tou. “I assigned you this task, but you slacked off, making your little brother do it instead. He’s just a child, you had him go get your little aunt? It’s lucky she wasn’t badly beaten today. What if it had been an older kid?”
Soon the air was filled with wails, as Da Tou and Er Tou were both soundly thrashed.
That evening, the three children who had erred knelt together in the kitchen boiling water.
As punishment, heating the hot water for tonight fell to them.
Of course, having never set foot in a kitchen before, Man Bao was clueless. So Da Tou tended the fire while Er Tou monitored it, leaving Man Bao to sit hugging her knees, deep in thought.
She was actually chatting with Ke Ke, verifying if she had truly done something wrong.
The system had reviewed many educational books, simulating Man Bao and Er Tou’s roles. As the elder dealing with the beaten Er Tou, Man Bao’s handling was indeed incorrect.
Hearing Ke Ke confirm this, Man Bao’s shoulders slumped. “Then I’ll apologize to him tomorrow. Do you think if I give him candy he’ll forgive me?”
The system replied, “Gifts should be something the recipient likes. Perhaps you can ask him about it tomorrow.”
Man Bao felt that made sense. Her consciousness returned to the real world to see Da Tou and Er Tou with glum faces.
Having come to terms with it, Man Bao had always been a child who corrected her mistakes. Since she had decided, there was no point dwelling on sadness anymore as her spirits rallied.
Seeing her despondent nephews, she fished out two candies and popped them into their mouths, consoling them. “It’s fine, sister-in-laws will forget all about this tomorrow. Don’t be sad.”
Unexpectedly receiving candy, Da Tou and Er Tou naturally perked up, quietly replying to Man Bao, “Little Aunt, don’t worry, we’ll find a private spot in a couple days to help you get revenge.”
Man Bao’s mood soured. “So you still haven’t recognized your mistake.” She held out her hands. “Give the candies back, I won’t let you have them anymore.”
Da Tou and Er Tou froze with the candies in their mouths before crunching down hard, telling Man Bao with full mouths, “Already ate them.”
Man Bao fumed, “Spit them out!”
The boys just kept chewing before opening their mouths wide for inspection, not even crumbs remaining.
“I won’t give you two candies ever again then,” Man Bao declared.
But sharp Da Tou quickly said, “Little Aunt, we know we were wrong. We won’t fight anymore or go settle scores with that kid.”
Only then did Man Bao begrudgingly forgive them.
Over at the Bai residence, Mrs. Liu had Bai Shanbao kneeling as she wiped away tears, rebuking him. “You’ve been so bright from young, I had hoped you could inherit your father’s ambitions and study to bring honor to our family. But you’ve lost your way chasing trifles, not even understanding basic courtesy. Fighting is wrong to begin with, let alone hitting a young lady. Not only did you not admit fault before your teacher, you even glared and made faces…”
