CH 44

Chapter 44 – Teaching the kids in the family

Si Lang squatted beside Man Bao and sighed, “Youngest sister, did I offend you?”

Man Bao nodded, “You have offended our entire family.”

Si Lang was silent for a long time and said, “I said I have really changed. Do you believe me?”

Although Man Bao didn’t believe her brother, she still nodded, “I believe you. So, fourth brother, you have to work hard to repay all the money you owe the family, brothers and sisters-in-law.”

Si Lang’s shoulders slumped, “Farming doesn’t make money.”

Man Bao disagreed, “Many people are farmers. Our parents, older brothers and sisters-in-law are farmers. Even Master Bai’s family is into farming.”

“That’s all-good land.”

“In the past few hundred years, thousands of years, and tens of thousands of years, the land was the same. Wasn’t the land cultivated by humans?”

Man Bao had already asked Keke, she was very confident, and comforted Si Lang, “Don’t worry, fourth brother, focus on clearing the land. Then, I will bring fifth and sixth brothers to help you nurture the land. After which, I will tell father that you should be allocated that piece of land.  You can make money slowly. If you can’t repay all the debts, your son can take over the debts.”

Si Lang…

Man Bao had it all planned out for him, and added, “Although your son needs to pay off the debt on your behalf, he will also receive more land than Da Tou and the rest when the family property is divided. Your son will definitely be willing. In fact, I also want to let Da Tou and the others to clear a piece of land for themselves so that they can pass it on to their children and grandchildren in the future.” 

Si Lang, “…Man Bao, you are overthinking.”

Man Bao, “Of course. Teacher said one must think long-term and can’t just focus on the present. I thought about it just now. Why is Master Bai’s family so rich?”

Si Lang, “Because they have a lot of land.”

“Yes, because they have a lot of land, they can hire many people to help him farm. He only needs to hang around at home and count his money,” Man Bao was ambitious, “If our family also have a lot of land, can we become a landlord like Master Bai?”

Si Lang turned around and left.

Man Bao was very enthusiastic and urged him to stay, “Fourth brother, don’t leave, I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

Si Lang stopped bothering with her.

It was exhausting to clear the wasteland. It was practically all hard work. Every day when he gets home, all he wants is to sit down and not move. After dinner, he simply takes a quick bath and goes to bed before it gets dark.

He touched his sore shoulders, waist and back, and shed tears of regret for the first time. He finally admitted he was wrong.

While Si Lang was wiping away his tears, Man Bao took advantage of the still bright evening, and summoned all her pals. She was going to teach them to read!  

Wu Lang and Liu Lang also crowded around curiously.

Man Bao first taught them the name of the county and village, and then, their respective names. She said, “This is what my teacher taught, saying I need to memorise them. If I accidentally get lost or kidnapped, I can still remember where my home is and my name.”

Feng couldn’t help but said, “Children’s words carry no harm, may the wind blow these words away. Little sister-in-law, don’t talk nonsense, how could you get lost?”

But Xiao Qian said, “This is good. Let the children quickly memorise these. Old five and six also need to memorise them. You have to go to the county by yourself in the future, so don’t get lost.”

“Eldest sister-in-law, old fifth and sixth are teenagers. Who’s going to kidnap them?”

“That’s hard to say,” Xiao Qian said, “Although these are peaceful time, people are needed everywhere. What if there are monstrously audacious kidnappers who will take these boys away to do hard labour? It’s not like this has never happened before.”

Feng was surprised, “Has this happened before?”

“Yes,” Man Bao ran up to Xiao Qian and looked at her with bright eyes.

Xiao Qian knew Man Bao liked to listen to stories, so she smiled and continued, “When I was a child, it was said there were two brothers in our village. One was in his twenties, while the other just reached adulthood. The two brothers went to the county to look for jobs. They were with a fellow villager and were kidnapped. The family thought they were dead.

“Many years passed, and the younger brother returned alive. He didn’t even resemble a human anymore. It was said that he was locked up in a quarry to chisel stones. Every day, they were only given a steamed bun. Many people were either killed by exhaustion or starved to death. Otherwise, why do you need several brothers to go together every time you go to the county? It’s all because of what happened in the past.”

Man Bao looked at her fifth and sixth brothers, and was torn, “Fifth brother, sixth brother, don’t go to the county anymore.”

Wu Lang and Liu Lang felt apprehensive, but when they thought of the huge profits, they were not willing to agree.

Old Man Zhou smoked his pipe and said, “Old two, tomorrow morning, take old five and old six for a walk and teach them the rules.”

Er Lang agreed.

Man Bao asked her father curiously, “Father, are there rules for walking?”

“Yes, wait for your fifth brother to come home tomorrow, and let him tell you.”

Man Bao was dying of anticipation.

This was the first time the Zhou kids were learning to read and write. Of course, it was impossible to learn too many characters, so Man Bao only taught them the three characters of Qili village.

Everyone took the sticks and drew characters on the dirt. The three sisters-in-law smiled with relief to see their kids studying after dinner instead of running out to play.

Xiao Qian and Feng were about to ask Da Ya and Er Ya to wash the dishes. They turned around and saw that they were squatting on the ground and writing intently. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Qian held Feng back and said, “Forget it, let’s just wash the dishes ourselves. Let the aunts and nephews play together.”

In the past, the dishes were always washed by Da Ya and Er Ya, and although Feng was not too happy about the extra work, she looked at her happy daughter and nodded in agreement. 

Forget it, learn a few words, at least you will know where your family lives.

Man Bao taught seriously, and the students studied earnestly. When it turned dark and everyone couldn’t see clearly, Man Bao dropped her stick, and everyone played a game together.

Very few people in the family would ask Man Bao what she learnt in school, because they couldn’t understand even if she explained. Every day when Man Bao came home, they only asked her if she had been bullied, and when they knew she hadn’t been bullied, they didn’t ask any more questions.

As for Man Bao’s progress in school, was there a need to ask?

Of course, she must be doing very well. Everyone in the Zhou family felt Man Bao was the smartest child/ sister-in-law in the entire Qili village.

Didn’t you see that Mr Zhuang would rather not accept any remuneration in order to have her as his disciple?

The Zhou’s felt relieved, but the Bai family’s attitude towards Bai Shan Bao was different.

As soon as Bai Shan Bao reached home but before he could even take a seat, his mother, Zheng dragged him and physically examined him all over, and asked if he fought with anyone today.

After getting a negative answer, Zheng asked if he bullied anyone. After another negative response, she asked if he was bullied, and received yet another negative answer.

Only then did Zheng signed in relief. The rest i.e. Shan Bao stepping on puddles and drenching his shoes and pants, was a trivial matter.

She asked her servant to take her son for a bath and to change his clothes. After which, he had to drink a bowl of ginger soup before she took him to see his grandmother.