CH 37

Chapter 37 – Teaching your child

Mr Zhuang asked the Bai family to take Bai Cheng and Bai Shan home, leaving Man Bao behind.

He went back to the room and took out a stack of paper for Man Bao, saying, “Turn in the words you have been punished to write tomorrow. The next time you fight, the punishment will not be as simple as writing characters.”

Man Bao obediently agreed, but she didn’t think that writing was a punishment. After all, they had to write in order to study.

The Zhou’s bowed and apologised to Mr Zhuang again and took the two children home.

Madam Liu and the others had not gone far away. When they turned around, they saw the Zhou family walking back home with Mrs Zhou and Man Bao.

Zheng also glanced behind and couldn’t help saying, “There are so many of them.”

“That’s true,” Master Bai said, “There are six sons. Although theirs is not the largest family in Qili Village, but they are ones who are most stable, so their family is the most prosperous.”

Madam Liu looked at Man Bao, who was supporting Mrs Zhou and said, “Why is their daughter going to school?”

Master Bai smiled and said, “They don’t have the money to study, but this little girl is smart, and Mr Zhuang likes her. So, he accepted her as his disciple, and then enrolled her in the school. They don’t have to pay Mr Zhuang any remuneration, and even the books are hand-copied by Mr Zhuang.

“I heard that during the formal apprenticeship ceremony, Mr Zhuang gifted the family with a set of brushes, ink and an inkstone. That’s all there is to it.”

After hearing this, Zheng said, “The peasant family is going to have a more difficult time.”

Madam Liu, “That means that this child is not only smart, but also well-behaved, and is a lovely child. Otherwise, Mr Zhuang wouldn’t accept her as his disciple.”

She took another look at her grandson and her face turned solemn. When they reached home, she asked him, “The young lady of the Zhou’s family is younger than you and a girl to boot. How can you hit her?”

Bai Shan Bao felt very aggrieved. He raised his arm and said, “She hit me first and she also bit me.”

Zheng was so anxious that she quickly rolled up his sleeve, but when she saw that his arm was fair and smooth, and there were no teeth marks, she withdrew her hand and looked at her mother-in-law.

Madam Liu’s face became even more solemn and asked, “Where did she bite you?”

Although there weren’t any teeth marks on his arm, Bai Shan Bao still felt the pain when he was bitten, so he pointed to the place on his arm and said, “Here!”

Madam Liu couldn’t help thumping the table gently, and scolded him, “Shan Bao, since you were young, grandma have taught you not to lie!”

Bai Shan Bao was stunned and cried loudly, shouting, “I didn’t lie, she bit me. If you don’t believe me, go and ask her. She hit me first and she even sneaked up on me. She’s a bad person!” (He actually called her a “bad egg.”)

In the Zhou home, Mrs Zhou was also teaching Man Bao. She has checked and Man Bao was not injured. So, now it was safe to scold her.

“You are a girl. If you have conflicts, you should reason with others. Why did you hit him?”

Man Bao, “He was beating Er Tou.”

“Then you should separate them first, and then ask who’s right and who’s wrong. How can you hit someone? They are guests, and they are strangers in our village. When you bully strangers, you are rude.”

Mrs Zhou continued scolding, “What did mother teach you since you were young? We must be courteous. In front of Mr Zhuang just now, not only did you refused to apologize, you also made faces. What did mother teach you?”

Man Bao felt a little aggrieved, and her eyes turned red.

Mrs Zhou turned around. With her back facing Man Bao, she added, “You don’t need to cry in front of me. Go and face the wall, and reflect on whether your mother is right or not.”

Mrs Zhou also wiped her tears and said, “Sending you to the school was meant for you to study and be a reasonable person. You are a girl, and you can’t make money by showcasing your talents, and you can’t be a government official.

“Why did I send you to school? For you to learn to be courteous and reasonable. If you go to school to learn how to fight and brawl, then there’s no point. In the future, you are also not allowed to go to school to eavesdrop during classes.”

Man Bao was crying so much that tears just streamed down her cheeks. She felt so bad that she ran to her mother, and hugged her leg while crying, “Mother, I know I’m wrong, don’t cry, don’t be angry.”

Mrs Zhou turned her head away and kept silent.

Man Bao cried until she was gasping for breath, “I really know I was wrong, don’t ignore me, I’ll go and apologize to him tomorrow…”

Only then did Mrs Zhou’s anger eased.

Outside the house, Feng grabbed Er Tou’s ear and admonished him, “I asked you to pick up your little aunt from school, but you end up fighting with someone over a stone. Are you looking for punishment?”

Xiao Qian was also beating Da Tou, “I assigned you a task, but you were lazy and ordered your younger brother? How old is he? You allowed him to pick up little aunt from school? It was a close call today. Thank goodness, your little aunt was not beaten. What would have happened if she got into a fight with a much older kid?”

Soon screams and wails were heard as both Da Tou and Er Tou were physically punished.

At night, the three children squatted in the kitchen to boil water together.

As a punishment, the three of them were required to boil hot water.

Of course, Man Bao who has never done any work in the kitchen, didn’t have a clue. So, Da Tou lit the fire while Er Tou watched over it. Man Bao sat down, hugged her knees and reflected.

In fact, she was talking to Keke. She asked Keke to confirm whether she was really in the wrong.

The system went through many educational books, substituting the identities of Man Bao and Er Tou. As an elder, Man Bao was indeed wrong in the way she handled the situation when confronted with Er Tou who had been beaten.

When Man Bao heard Keke saying the same thing, Man Bao said, “Then I’ll say sorry to him tomorrow. Do you think he’ll forgive me if I give him candy?”

The system said, “A gift should be something that the other person likes. Perhaps you can ask him tomorrow?”

Man Bao felt Keke was right, so she withdrew her consciousness from the system. As soon as she came out, she saw Da Tou and Er Tou’s bitter faces.

Man Bao had figured it out. She has always been a good girl who could rectify her mistakes. Now that she has decided, there was nothing to be sad about, so she was in good spirits again.

When she saw that her two nephews were in such poor spirits, she took out two candies and stuffed them into their mouths, comforting them, “It’s okay, eldest and second sisters-in-law won’t remember this tomorrow. Don’t be sad.”

The two boys received a candy each by accident. Of course, they weren’t sad. With high spirits, they whispered to Man Bao, “Little aunt, don’t worry. In two days, we’ll find a remote place where there’s no one, and we’ll help you beat him up.”

Man Bao was unhappy, “So you haven’t realized your mistakes. Give the sweets back to me. I won’t give them to you anymore.”

The boys froze with the candies in their mouths, then immediately crunched it, and said to Man Bao, “All gone.”

The angry Man Bao, “Spit it out!”

The boys chewed and swallowed, then opened their mouths to show Man Bao that even the sugar crumbs were gone.  

Man Bao, “I won’t give you any more sweets in the future.”

The street smart Da Tou immediately replied, “Little Aunt, we know we are wrong, we won’t fight again, and we won’t look for the kid to settle the accounts.”

Only then did Man Bao begrudgingly forgave them.

On the Bai family’s side, Madam Liu made Bai Shan Bao kneel on the ground, she wiped her tears and said, “You have been intelligent since young, and I thought you would follow in your father’s footsteps and study to honour your ancestors.

“Let’s not talk about you pursuing petty pleasures which undermines lofty aspirations, you don’t even know basic manners. In the first place, fighting is wrong, let alone hitting a little girl. Not only did you not admit your mistake in front of your teacher, but you also glared at people and made faces ……”