Chapter 44 Teaching Literacy
Zhou Silang squatted next to Man Bao and sighed repeatedly, “Youngest sister, did fourth brother offend you?”
Man Bao nodded, “You offended our whole family.”
Zhou Silang was silent for a long time, then said, “I said I really changed, do you believe it?”
Although she didn’t believe it in her heart, Man Bao still nodded, “I believe it, so fourth brother, you have to work hard to pay back the money you owe the family and sisters-in-law.”
Zhou Silang’s shoulders sagged, “Farming doesn’t make money.”
Man Bao disagreed, “Many people farm, my parents farm, elder brothers and sisters-in-law farm, the Bai family also farms.”
“That’s all good land.”
“Hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago, tens of thousands of years ago, the land was the same. It wasn’t nurtured by people?” Man Bao had already asked Ke Ke, very confident, and comforted Zhou Silang, “Don’t worry fourth brother, first develop the land. In the future, I will bring fifth and sixth brother to help you nurture the land. In the future, I will tell my father that the land you opened up should be divided to you. You can earn money slowly, if you can’t pay it back, you still have your son.”
Zhou Silang: ……
Man Bao had already planned it all out, “Although your son has to repay your debts, but when he divides the family property he will get more land than Da Tou and the others. He will definitely be willing. Actually I also want Da Tou and the others to open up their own land, so that when they have descendants in the future it can be passed down.”
Zhou Silang: “……Man Bao, you think too much.”
Man Bao: “Of course, the teacher said that people should think far-sightedly, not just see what’s in front of them. Just now I was thinking, why is the Bai family so rich?”
Zhou Silang: “Because they have a lot of land.”
“That’s right, because they have a lot of land, enough to hire many, many people to help them farm. He only needs to lie at home and count money,” Man Bao said ambitiously, “If our family also had a lot, a lot of land, couldn’t we also become landowners like the Bais?”
Zhou Silang turned around and left.
Man Bao was still very enthusiastically asking him to stay, “Fourth brother, don’t go, I haven’t finished speaking yet.”
Zhou Silang didn’t want to pay attention to her anymore.
Land reclamation was tiring. It was almost all physical labor. Every day when Zhou Silang returned home, he just wanted to sit on the ground without moving. After eating, he would take a simple rinse bath. Before it was even dark he would lie in bed.
Zhou Silang touched his sore and painful shoulders and lower back. For the first time, tears of regret flowed down. He really knew he was wrong.
Zhou Silang wiped away tears in the room. Man Bao took the opportunity before it was dark to gather all her little friends to teach them literacy.
Zhou Wu Lang and Zhou Liu Lang were also curiously squeezed in to watch.
Man Bao first taught them the names of their county, township and village, then their own names. She said, “This is what the teacher taught me, saying that I have to memorize it. If I accidentally get lost or get taken away, I can still remember where my home is and what my name is.”
Feng Shi couldn’t help but tsk tsk, “Children’s words are nonsense. Don’t talk nonsense, little girl. How could you possibly get lost?”
Xiao Qian Shi however said, “This method is good. Hurry up and let the children remember, fifth brother and sixth brother too. In the future when you go to the county town by yourselves, don’t get lost.”
“Sister-in-law, fifth and sixth brother are half grown up, who would still kidnap them?”
“You can’t say for sure,” said Xiao Qian Shi. “Nowadays it’s peaceful times, labor is needed everywhere. In case some shameless person kidnaps fifth and sixth brother to use them for hard labor. That kind of thing has happened before.”
Feng Shi was surprised, “That kind of thing has happened before?”
“Of course,” seeing the little girl jump in front of her with bright eyes looking at her, Xiao Qian Shi knew she liked to listen to these kinds of stories, so she smiled and said, “It was when I was little. Two brothers from our village, one in his twenties, one just an adult, went to the county town to find work. They got separated from fellow villagers and were kidnapped. Their family assumed they had died. After many years, the younger brother came back alive, he was no longer human shaped. He said they were locked in a stone quarry, only given one steamed bun a day. Many people were worked or starved to death. Otherwise why do you think every time people go to the county town they go in groups? It’s because of things that happened in the past.”
Man Bao looked at fifth and sixth brother, struggling over it, “Fifth brother, sixth brother, don’t go to the county town anymore, okay?”
Although Zhou Wu Lang and Zhou Liu Lang’s hearts shook a little, thinking of the generous profits, they couldn’t bear to agree.
Old Zhou smoked a pipe off to the side, “Second son, tomorrow you take fifth and sixth son to walk the route and teach them the rules.”
Zhou Er Lang acknowledged it.
Man Bao curiously asked her father, “Dad, there are rules for walking too?”
“Of course, tomorrow when your fifth brother gets back let him tell you.”
Man Bao looked forward to it.
It was everyone’s first time learning words, of course they couldn’t recognize too many. So Man Bao only taught them the three characters for Qili Village.
Everyone copied it in the dirt with sticks. Seeing the children diligently playing after dinner instead of running out to play, the three daughter-in-laws also smiled with satisfaction.
Xiao Qian Shi and Feng Shi were just about to call Da Ya and Er Ya to wash dishes, but seeing them earnestly drawing on the ground, they hesitated. Xiao Qian Shi still pulled Feng Shi saying, “Forget it, we’ll wash them. Let the nephews and nieces play together.”
Usually washing dishes and such chores were done by Da Ya and Er Ya. Although Feng Shi was a little unhappy there was another chore, seeing her happy daughter, she still nodded in agreement.
Oh well, learning a few words would at least prevent them from not even knowing where their home was.
Man Bao taught earnestly and the students studied earnestly. By the time the sky was dark and they couldn’t see clearly, Man Bao threw away the sticks and they started playing games.
Few people in the Zhou family would ask Man Bao what she learned at school, because even if she told them they wouldn’t understand. Every day when Man Bao came home, they would only ask if she was bullied or not. Knowing she wasn’t bullied they wouldn’t ask further.
As for how Man Bao was doing in her studies, was there any need to speak of it?
Of course it had to be very good. In the Zhou family young and old, who in Qili Village was smarter than their youngest sister (little aunt)?
The Zhou family was at ease, but the Bai family’s attitude towards Bai Shan Bao was different.
Bai Shan Bao had just returned home, his butt hadn’t even touched the chair before his mother Zheng Shi pulled him over to check him out, first asking if he had fought that day.
After getting a negative reply, she asked if he had bullied anyone. After another negative, she finally asked if anyone had bullied him. Only after finding out no one had, did Zheng Shi breathe a sigh of relief. As for her son deliberately stomping in puddles, soaking his shoes and pants, those were all minor things.
She had the servants take her son to bathe and change clothes, made him drink a bowl of ginger soup, before taking him to see his grandmother.
