CH 120

Zhulan guessed it right. Wang Ru was furious when Sun Shi gave birth prematurely and slapped her. She already hated Sun Shi to death. When the child was born and turned out to be a son, every time she heard the cheap father’s laughter, she felt extremely angry. She wished she could burn the entire courtyard with fire. If it weren’t for going out and learning more about ancient times, she would have really worked hard to change her identity.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t kill the Wang family, nor could she harm the people of Zhoujia Village. Her background was not clean, and she couldn’t trust Shi Qing. Even if Shi Qing helped her obtain a new identity, she didn’t know anyone in the government, so she couldn’t be sure if the household registration was genuine or fake. The more Shi Qing depended on her, the more she feared losing her identity, and Shi Qing would then have complete control over her life and death.

The eldest girl also has a new name, Wang Xin, she was a little afraid of the younger sister and dared not look at her somewhat ferocious face, but she has to persuade her, “Little sister, don’t be stubborn and apologize to daddy, daddy is just happy. It’s over.”

Wang Xin was happy to have a younger brother, and having a younger brother proved that her Mother can have a son. That made her reputation better, and no one will talk behind her back that she will only have daughters like her mother. If the younger sister can make money, the matchmaker will come to the door, and she now has a younger brother to rely on. So if she was bullied, someone will come forward.

Second Wang, now called Wang Rong looked at the little girl’s distorted face, and curled her lips in her heart. She had a secret that no one knew. It was just that the second child had no sense of existence, and now that they had a younger brother, she had become all the more invisible. All she could do was think for herself, “Sister, it’s right for the little sister to be in a bad mood. It’s obviously Mother who shouldn’t steal the little sister’s jewelry. It’s not the younger sister’s fault, the money in the family is earned by the younger sister. Elder sister, you have to be clear in your heart.”

Wang Ru got a little angry, at least someone in the family knew it, so she took out a dime from her purse, “Second sister, I know that Mother has been taking the money that I gave you. Before there was no younger brother in the family, Mother could still think about us. Now that we have a younger brother, don’t be fooled by Mother anymore. Only by holding the money in your own hands can you be at ease.”

Wang Rong was happy. She was not stupid to give all the money, she only gave half of the money every time Mother asked for money. Anyway, she was not pleasing in Mother’s eyes and thought she would not be liked by the younger sister, only the eldest sister gave it all foolishly, “Thank you, sister, for reminding me, sister will keep it in mind.”

Seeing that the younger sister didn’t give money to her, Wang Xin knew that her words made the younger sister unhappy, so she lowered her head and said nothing.

Wang Ru saw it and snorted, she wanted someone obedient!

Zhulan didn’t know about the Wang family’s lawsuit and didn’t want to know about it. She was busy preparing for her grandsons and Rong Chuan’s enrollment.

The same was true for clan school. Zhulan deliberately inquired that there were twenty children in this group of students, ten of them were surnamed Zhou, and of the remaining ten, five were from the village and five from other villages. All of them had passed the pre-admission exams to qualify for enrollment.

Even in Zhulan’s family, despite having Zhou Shuren, Ming Yun, and Rong Chuan, they still needed to go through a test. In large clans, there were designated fields allocated for the clan school, and attending the clan school did not require money. Unfortunately, the Zhou clan lacked capable individuals who could provide dedicated fields for the clan school expenses within the clan. Therefore, even if clan members wanted to attend the clan school, they still had to pay tuition fees.

In ancient times, the tradition of “chū rù xué”1 was highly regarded. Zhou Shuren explained this custom. Families with a good financial background would prepare six symbolic gifts for the child’s first day of school. These gifts include auspicious items such as dried longan, lotus seeds, red dates, red beans, dried meat strips, and celery.

Yes, each of these items carried symbolic meanings. Here were the interpretations; Celery represented diligence and hard work. Lotus seeds symbolized the parents’ painstaking efforts in educating their children while Red beans signified good luck and prosperity. Furthermore, Red dates represented early success and advancement in education while dried longan symbolized the fulfillment of good deeds and blessings. Lastly, dried meat strips represented the affection and thoughtfulness of the students. of course, these items can be substituted with others, but these are the most commonly used ones for their symbolic significance in the context of “chū rù xué” or the clan school tradition.

Zhoujia Village was not that prosperous, most of the farmers were poor. So the enrollment ceremony depended on one’s own wishes, and most of them were meat sticks.

Zhulan asked Zhou Shuren, “Should I give ten pieces of meat for the enrollment ceremony of the two children like in previous years?”

Zhou Shuren said, “Let’s give ten pieces of meat!”

Zhulan nodded, “Ok, I will buy the meat first thing tomorrow.”

The next day arrived, and it was the day for the children to start school. Starting school was a significant event, and all the children dressed in new clothes, full of energy and spirit, stood in the courtyard, ready to go to the clan school.

Zhulan was also getting excited but after waiting for a while, her expression turned dark. “Li Shi, are you still coming or not? Why are you dragging your feet?” she asked impatiently.