Chapter 90 Si Niang is unhappy
Qin Yao happily folded the contract and put it away.
After talking about Liu Ji, Qin Yao said to Dalang and the other three boys, "The Ding family is building a clan school for the clan. It should be completed by the end of the year. When the Ding family school starts after the New Year, I will find a way to get you to attend classes there."
"But the journey is long. Dalang and Erlang will go first. Sanlang will have to wait for two years until he is older."
"Fourth Mother, don't be depressed. Once your father has finished his studies, we can study at home by ourselves."
Si Niang asked curiously, "Mother, can't I go to the clan school with my brothers?"
Before Qin Yao could answer, Liu Ji smiled first and touched the bun on his daughter's head. "Silly Fourth Mother, how can a woman go to school to study? Girls should be gentle and quiet. Learn housework and cooking skills at home. Dad will definitely find a good family for you in the future."
Si Niang frowned subconsciously. She didn't like what her father said, but she was too young and couldn't tell exactly what she didn't like.
I just kept asking, "Why can't women go to school?"
Liu Ji replied: "Because the master does not accept women."
"Why doesn't the master accept women?" Si Niang asked again.
Liu Ji paused for a moment, really thinking seriously about the answer, and then came to the conclusion that "because women do not need to study and take the imperial examinations."
When Si Niang wanted to ask again why women didn't need it, Liu Ji had already realized that he was being led into trouble by his daughter. He couldn't answer her again, so he quickly raised his hand and made a gesture to Si Niang to keep quiet.
Si Niang's shallow eyebrows frowned like two caterpillars, and she puffed her cheeks to express her unhappiness.
Fortunately, with the comfort of his three brothers, he soon regained his energy.
Qin Yao was silent for a long time before she sighed and placed the nine books borrowed from the Ding family in front of Liu Ji.
"Your first priority now is to copy out the nine books as quickly as possible so that I can return the books to others."
"Remember, don't break it. If it gets dirty, I'll chop you into pieces!" Qin Yao warned dangerously.
Liu Ji asked: "What about the work in the fields?"
"Starting tomorrow, you only need to prepare three meals a day and copy books."
However, this is only temporary and she will make adjustments at any time according to the situation.
Qin Yao was also busy. She had to draw up a plan for Liu Ji to return to school as soon as possible.
There is a method to reading, rather than just putting the book in front of you and reading it randomly.
They started late and it is impossible for them to follow the same routine as the younger students.
According to Qin Yao's plan, Liu Ji will be allowed to take part in the county examination in March next year.
There are no special standards for taking the county examination, but the examination content in previous years has revolved around the Four Books and Five Classics.
Therefore, the county examination was an entry-level test of what one had learned. Only by passing the test could one obtain an admission ticket to the imperial examination.
As for what happens next, let's talk about it later. The most urgent thing is to copy down the textbook.
The academy has ready-made books, but not everyone is given a set. If students want to take them home for review, they have to buy them themselves or borrow them from a bookstore.
If you want to learn better than others, the time spent outside of class is the key, so having your own set of books is essential.
Moreover, given Liu Ji's current situation, she had to give him some special treatment, otherwise how could he beat those students who had studied for several years at the same time?
Qin Yao immediately arranged new tasks for her family.
From now on, you have to wash your own clothes. Sanlang and Si Niang are still too young, so Liu Ji will wash them for them.
Liu Ji, who was cutting paper for copying books, asked unconvincedly, "Why didn't you wash it for me, my lady?"
Qin Yao turned her wrist, and her bones made a crisp sound. "No reason, if you don't obey, then die!"
Liu Ji was angry but dared not say anything. The villain in his heart shouted to the sky: Is there any law left?
Qin Yao saw that he had cut the paper crookedly and kicked him, "Be more careful, isn't the paper free?"
Liu Ji bit his lower lip, his eyes welled with tears. His hands moved slower and more carefully, and he never cut a piece of paper crookedly again.
Qin Yao was simply speechless about this guy. He was such a jerk that he would feel itchy all over if he didn't get beaten for a day. Look, isn't this something he did very well?
"Ahem" he cleared his throat and continued making arrangements.
Each man did his share of chores, and the only things left in the house were the watermill and feeding the chickens.
Qin Yao arranged four brothers and sisters, with the older ones taking care of the younger ones, in groups of two to pick up the boxes every evening. If there was any problem with the water truck, she would repair it.
Washing dishes and feeding chickens are also done by the older ones, with two people in a group, one person for a week, taking turns.
She was responsible for the two vegetable plots in the front yard, the two newly reclaimed vegetable plots behind the house, and the work in the fields.
The work in the fields is now very light as the rice has entered a stable growth period and we just need to maintain the amount of water in the fields.
Moreover, their land is close to the river, so it is more convenient for them to use water than other families. They just need to check on it when they have time every day, weed the weeds and watch out for pests.
Everything was arranged, and the family of six were busy.
After Qin Yao finished her morning exercise every day, she would go to the fields to take a look. When she returned home, Liu Ji would just finish making breakfast.
After the family of six filled their stomachs together, Dalang took Si Niang to clean up the dishes and put them in a large wooden basin, saving them for washing together after dinner in the evening.
Liu Jize started copying books on the cleaned table.
His handwriting is also very ugly, but it is slightly better than Qin Yao's and he can write small characters.
Qin Yao initially wanted to copy the book together so that they could go faster.
Unfortunately, she couldn't write these small characters, so she gave up. She turned around to cut the paper, and after cutting, she went to take care of the vegetable garden, picked the vegetables for the evening, washed them and put them on the stove, so that Liu Ji could put them in the pot directly.
Because the chef was busy copying books, we had to make do with lunch, using the leftovers from the morning to cook some hot rice, or eat it next door.
Take an hour's lunch break at noon to get enough rest and continue working in the afternoon.
Qin Yao and the four children were relatively free at this time, so she picked up the enlightenment picture book and taught the four children to lay a solid foundation.
Ever since they knew they had the opportunity to go to school, the four brothers and sisters have obviously paid much more attention to their studies.
On the day of the family meeting, they listened to Qin Yao talking about the imperial examination. Only then did they realize that studying has so many benefits, and being sensible and able to do accounting is only a very small one of them.
It turned out that if you read books, you could take the imperial examinations. If you passed the examination, you didn't have to pay taxes and you could be exempted from corvée labor.
And if you pass the imperial examination and become a juren, it would be even more amazing. All your relatives would be blessed, and many people would give you money and land. You would never have to worry about food and drink, and you would wear silk and silver.
If you can pass the imperial examination, you can become an official. From then on, you are no longer a peasant, but a scholar.
The stepmother also told them that no matter whether they could be the first
class or not, they should first study hard, because that was the only chance for ordinary people to change their fate.
Erlang has always been the most calculating of the four brothers and sisters. When he found such a good thing that would benefit him in every way, even though he didn't like memorizing, he forced himself to memorize it in advance.
Qin Yao soon discovered that Erlang had the potential to be the king of the sport, so much so that his father was worried that he would be outshined by his son.
(End of this chapter)