CH 34

Mrs. Wang looked at Xu Qingchuan, and he said, “My Master’s surname is Wu, and he is indeed a serious person.”

In that era, people could find a small official, and his value was naturally not comparable to ordinary talents.

Mrs. Wang pursed her lips and did not dare to ask any more.

Gu Yin asked, “I don’t know about Mr. Wu…”

“Sir doesn’t have many students, and every disciple must pass his personal assessment before entering his teaching. He charges fifteen taels a year, and he is very kind. But the Master only recruits students after the spring break every day. If Wu’an wants to go to school, he would have to wait for several months.”

Gu Yin nodded repeatedly. It was a small class education for elites. It was normal for payment for private tutors to be more expensive than others.

But Mrs. Wang was not calm, and she exclaimed, “How much? Fifteen taels?!”

She was complacent just a while ago that she could earn twelve taels in the next year, and had a dream of making a fortune in the daytime.

“What are you yelling about? Fifteen taels is not cheap, but that’s good value for money, understand?” Mrs. Xu lowered her voice, “I only talked to you when I saw that it was you. Qingchuan has a classmate, a person with very poor qualifications who did not even pass the 30th Tong Sheng test (Child Exam:Entry level Imperial Exam). He heard about Mr. Wu’s name and came to study for a year. He passed the test a year later! However, he started studying late and his qualifications were poor, so he never succeeded Xiucai (entry level licentiate). Wu’an is so good, and if he studies hard with Mr. Wu for a few years, he can be much better!”

[Xiucai (distinguished talent) enjoyed officially sanctioned social privileges]

Although Tong Sheng was nothing in front of Xiucai, it was also very popular in the countryside.

For example, there used to be a private school run by old Tong Sheng in the former Batou Village. For a student, they only accepted one or two silver a year, but it had the crowd. They admit dozens of students, and earn dozens of taels a year.

Mrs. Wang was jealous of the days when she saw them earn, so she gritted her teeth and sent her eldest son to study at Xiucai.

Unfortunately, Wu Qingyi’s talent was not enough, and after reading for a few years, he made no name in it. Only then did Mrs. Wang rest her mind and let her son come back to do farming and hunting like his father.

Seeing Mrs. Wang’s pained appearance, Mrs. Xu couldn’t bear to see Xiao Wu’an, a good seedling buried, and poked Xu Qingchuan with her elbow.

Xu Qingchuan then continued, “What my mother said is right, the main test of the Tong Sheng is the content of the book, Wu’an has no foundation and only listened to me read it once, and can dictate and recite it. He has this talent. As long as he studies hard for two years, it will not be difficult to pass the exam.”

The Xu’s mother and son said everything they should have said, and they didn’t stay in the Wu house.

Gu Yin had to thank Mrs. Xu while sending her out.

In fact, whether Wu’an had any talent had nothing to do with them at all, but they came there specially to inform them, all out of kindness.

Before reaching the door, Mrs. Xu turned her head and looked around. Seeing that Mrs. Wang was not following, she said to Gu Yin, “Reading should start from an early age, you are also a smart and good girl, please persuade your mother, this is not the right thing to do so spare some money.”

Gu Yin nodded and sent them out of the door before turning back.

Without anyone else around, the smile on Mrs. Wang’s face completely collapsed. Before Gu Yin could speak, she waved her hand and said, “Let’s go buy the ingredients first, and we’ll talk about the rest when we come back.”

Gu Yin didn’t say more, told Xiao Wu’an to stay at home, and went out with Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang had already bought things once, and by that time she was more familiar with the way. She had made up her mind, so that time Gu Yin kept silent, and bought whatever she said. More than an hour later, the two of them returned to Jinyi Alley with a large package.

Xiao Wu’an greeted them when he heard the sound, but seeing his mother’s bad face, the little guy didn’t dare to make a sound, and silently helped unload the goods.

Everything was put in the stove, and Mrs. Wang entered the room with a sullen face.

She was used to talking a lot, but stopped talking suddenly, which made them feel weird.

Gu Yin wanted to talk to Wang Shu in detail, but she saw that Xiao Wu’an did not play by himself after helping her with the work, but followed behind her with her clothes in his hand.

“Why do you keep your head down and look unhappy?” Gu Yin squatted down, “Are you hungry? I’ll give you a penny to buy caramel, okay?”

Wu’an shook his head and said timidly, “Sister-in-law, I was wrong, I won’t dare next time.”

“Well, why are you crying?” Gu Yin stopped smiling when she heard the cry in his voice, raised his pointed chin with one hand, and wiped his face with a handkerchief.

Xiao Wu’an raised his face obediently to let her wipe away his tears, and then said in a loud voice, “I… I made my mother unhappy. She doesn’t like me learning to read, and I won’t do it in the future.”

In fact, he didn’t know what he did wrong. But he felt his mother’s emotions, so he hurriedly confessed his mistake first.

Such a sensitive and well-behaved child was the most distressing, Gu Yin hurriedly hugged him and patted him, “You’re wrong, good boy, mother is not unhappy. She is just worried about other things. You did well. Both me and your mother are happy for you!”

“Really?”

“When did I lie to you? I’ll talk to her and keep her happy for a while.”

After coaxing Xiao Wu’an, Gu Yin went into the house to find Mrs. Wang.