Chapter 196 Brothers should settle accounts
clearly It is obvious that the teachers did not intend to admit girls to the school, otherwise Jinhua and another girl who performed better than Jinbao would not have been rejected.
As for why Si Niang was selected, it was either because she performed very well and the teacher valued her talent, or because he wanted to have a pair of twins to put in the academy to make it look complete.
But somehow, Dalang always felt that it was the latter - just like what A Niang said, politically correct.
Forget it, who cares about them? As long as I can get this opportunity, the reason doesn't matter.
After hundreds and thousands of years, girls are finally going to school. This is a good start.
The three younger ones didn't think as much as Dalang did. They were just happy and encouraged Jinhua who was not selected, saying that they would give her extra lessons and she would definitely be selected if she came back next year.
With everyone's comfort, Jinhua's mood improved significantly. Later, Liu Zhong took her to the street and bought her a bag of peanuts as a snack before the shops closed. She soon forgot the unhappiness of losing the election.
The teachers of the Ding family said that classes will start at noon on February 1st. Students are requested to arrive on time and bring their own writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. Books will be distributed by the academy. Parents are asked to prepare the textbook fees and have the students bring them along.
On the way back, Liu Bo kept counting the money. The books cost eight hundred coins, and a set of the most ordinary pens, ink, paper and inkstone would cost three cents.
Fortunately, the inkstone and ink stick can be used for a long time, so I don't have to worry about them next year.
By this calculation, the average expenditure per year is one tael of silver, and two taels for two years.
He and He received a lot of wages last year, and they still had more than four taels in their pockets, which was enough to support them.
But there is still transportation fare. I can't just leave my work in the fields to pick up and drop off the kids from school, otherwise the whole family will be left with nothing.
"Sister-in-law, I want to discuss something with you." Liu Bo thought about it and still felt a little embarrassed before speaking to Qin Yao.
Qin Yao knew what he wanted to say, and said first: "Brothers should be clear about accounts. I was going to give away my four children anyway, so it doesn't matter if there is one more Jinbao. I will charge less, just give me twenty-eight coins a month."
Compared with the rickshaw driver who charged 750 wen per person a year, she only earned more than 300 wen a year, which was already a very good deal.
Moreover, the distance from Liujia Village to Xiahe Village is longer than the distance from Xiahe Village to Jinshi Town.
Liu Bo's words were blocked by Qin Yao.
However, he originally wanted to pay her for the fare. Now that Qin Yao had given a clear price, he felt relieved.
It would be even better if he didn't have to owe anyone a favor. He was worried that Qin Yao wouldn't want money, so he offered to help pick her up for free.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law." Liu Bo said gratefully.
Qin Yao waved her hand, "It's just a small matter."
Jinbao was the happiest. He hugged Erlang and the others excitedly. They could go to school together!
But he didn't dare to go too far. He immediately went to comfort Jinhua and said that he would teach her when he learned the characters.
Jinhua heard the adults discuss that they should leave for school at the beginning of the Mao time (five in the morning). At this moment, she did not envy her brothers and sisters who could go to school.
Instead, I felt sympathy for Sanlang and Si Niang.
"When you get home from school, it's already dark. You go to bed and take a nap, then go to school again. You won't have time to play in the mountains. Isn't it very tiring?" Jinhua asked Si Niang.
Si Niang shook her head. "I don't think it's hard. My mother said, 'If you don't work hard when you are young, you will regret it when you are old.' We should work hard now. How can we always think about playing?"
Besides, she had been playing in this mountain since she was a child and was already tired of it. She just wanted to go outside and see different scenery.
Just thinking about it makes me excited and interested.
Liu Zhong sat on the shaft of the cart and sighed secretly, this girl from the third brother's family will become something special in the future.
When Qin Yao and his group returned to the village, it was already dark.
When the carriage arrived at the entrance of the village, they met Liu Fei and Liu Laohan, a father and son who were waiting there. Finally, they waited for them to return and hurriedly came forward with torches.
The villagers who set out together in the morning returned one after another before the evening, but Qin Yao and others returned so late. Old Man Liu boldly guessed that they might have been selected.
He led everyone to the old house and immediately asked, "How is it? Have the children been chosen?"
Liu Zhong kept it a secret until Old Man Liu raised his hand, then he quickly explained, "Jin Bao and San Lang and Si Niang were all selected."
Zhang, He and Qiu came out of the house and heard everything. Some were happy and some were sad.
He's laughter was so penetrating that those who lived nearby could hear her pride.
Qin Yao and her mother and her two children stayed at the old house for a while, briefly explained the situation, and then went home.
Dalang and Erlang lit a fire, boiled water and cooked. Qin Yao unloaded the carriage, settled the horses, and went to bring back the cow that was lying on the yellow grass in the backyard and tied it up.
This small stable is a bit crowded with room for a horse and a cow. Qin Yao plans to build a new house as soon as the spring plowing is over.
After settling the cattle and horses, Qin Yao lit a torch and knocked on Carpenter Liu's door at night.
Carpenter Liu was just about to go to sleep. If he had been a minute later, he would have seen Zhou Gong. He was a little angry because he was suddenly called up.
However, when he heard Qin Yao say that the twins were also selected to attend the school, his anger instantly dissipated. He was overjoyed, as if his own children had been selected.
Qin Yao asked him to make two more magical book boxes, one smaller than the ones for Dalang and Erlang, so that the twins could use them more conveniently.
Carpenter Liu patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me. I'll make it for them tomorrow morning. I'll make sure it doesn't affect the children's going to school the day after tomorrow."
After hearing his words, Qin Yao returned home with peace of mind.
After dinner, the mother and her five children washed up and went to bed.
When they woke up the next day, they went to the water mill together to help Carpenter Liu make book boxes.
Qin Yao left her four children behind and set out to the mountains to quarry stones, carrying a pickaxe and other quarrying tools.
There were few orders, so she could handle the stones by herself.
By the time she had brought the stones and finished half of the millstone, the magical bookcases for the boy and girl twins were also built.
Sanlang and Si Niang couldn't wait to pack their things in, and the yard was filled with the rumbling sound of wheels.
In the evening, Liu Bo and Jin Bao came to return the ox cart.
The father and son borrowed her family's ox cart early in the morning to go to the town to buy pens, ink, paper and inkstone, but they were reluctant to buy a book box.
Liu Bo directly made a bamboo basket for his son, using rattan as the shoulder straps, and He Shi wrapped it with rags, so it was not tight and could hold all the items.
However, there is no harm without comparison. Seeing the magical book box being dragged around the yard by Sanlang and Si Niang, Jinbao almost cried with envy.
On the way back after returning the ox cart, he begged Liu Bo to ask his father to make him a book box like this.
Liu Bo agreed quickly, and it didn't seem difficult, so the father and son went home and started to work on it themselves.
Unexpectedly, just installing the wooden wheel would stump Liu Bo.
Not to mention the freely pull-out lever on the back of the box. This mechanism was not something that an ordinary farmer like him could manipulate.
But it's too late to buy one because school starts tomorrow.
There was no other choice but for Jinbao to carry his bamboo backpack, pay his third aunt 28 wen for the journey fare, and with some trepidation, he and Dalang and his siblings started their school days.
(End of this chapter)