The neighbors laughed heartily, but Mother blushed with shame and came over with a wooden stick to chase after her, "You dead girl, spouting nonsense again!"
"It's true!"
Come nightfall, she hid under the covers and watched her mother mend old clothes under the lamp beside the bed. She then asked, "Mother, why should one read books? I don't like reading."
Her mother paused her needlework, thought for a moment, and answered, "Reading is like taking medicine; with enough medicine, strength comes of its own accord."
"Read more books, and you can resolve your doubts."
"Resolve doubts?" Young Lu Tong pouted, "If I have any doubts, I can go ask Father, ask Sister, ask Second Brother."
"You," her mother rebuked gently with a smile, touching her forehead, "when they are not by your side, if you have something you don't understand, you can find the answer in books."
