Resentment of Unforged Steel
"No, this is what I thought." When she talked about the joy of discovering new knowledge from books, I also experienced joy, especially when sharing and discussing it with friends afterward, which further heightened my happiness.
The Fu County Magistrate pondered. He was not lacking money; therefore, there was no issue with providing education for his daughter. However, she was already eleven years old, and in three or four years, she would be of marriageable age. There were so many things she needed to learn, and at this moment, spending so much time studying...
But then he thought again, if Zhou Man could study, why couldn't his daughter?
Moreover, he also liked Zhou Man a lot and had once lamented that she was not a boy, hadn't he?
Fu County Magistrate was in a dilemma. After pondering for a while, he said, "I will discuss this matter with your mother."
The education of their daughter had always been entrusted to his wife, so he definitely needed to consult with her about such matters.
Although there was no definite answer, Fu Wenyun was still overjoyed and thanked her father profusely.
Fu County Magistrate then opened the "Great Learning" and said with a smile, "Before you rush to thank me, since you are studying the 'Great Learning,' I will test you with a few questions."
The tutor hired by the Fu family for the Fu sisters was a female teacher who, besides teaching calligraphy, had ceased introducing new textbooks to them some time ago. They spent their days learning needlework, practicing the qin, and playing chess, which occupied all their time. Fu Wenyun mostly reads books in her spare time.
Completely self-taught.
Occasionally, when she had unresolved doubts, she would write to Manbao. If Manbao understood the letter, she would explain it; if not, she would take the letter to ask Mr. Zhuang.
Although Fu Wenyun felt a bit apprehensive, she still squared her shoulders and faced it. She knew that it was related to whether she could continue her education.
When the Fu County Magistrate emerged from the room, half an hour had already passed.
As he walked towards the main house, about to leave the small courtyard, he instinctively glanced to the left, where his son's room was. Even though it was dark, it was evident that he was already asleep.
After a moment of contemplation, the Fu County Magistrate turned to go check on his son.
Fu Wenhua kicked off the blanket, his mouth slightly open, clearly sound asleep.
For some reason, seeing his son like this made the Fu County Magistrate want to scold him.
But he only had this one son, and scolding him was out of the question. Besides, he didn't have a ready reason, did he?
After staring at his son for a while, the Fu County Magistrate walked away with his hands behind his back.
Fu Wenhua was completely unaware...
When Manbao received Fu Wenyun's letter again, it was two days later. She joyfully informed Manbao that, although it had been a bit difficult, her mother had agreed to let her continue her education.
She could attend classes in the morning with her younger brother and learn to play the qin and needlework in the afternoon.
She said, "My elder sister thinks that studying is useless for girls as we have so many other things to learn - music, chess, calligraphy, needlework, and even cooking." Time is simply not enough. But I think what you said makes more sense. We don't need to excel in cooking; as long as we can prepare food to avoid starvation, and if we desire to eat well, as long as we have money, we can afford any food, correct? Even if we study diligently, we still cannot compare to a chef.
"My older sister is about to get married and doesn't want to study with me." As a result, my father did not hire a separate teacher for us but allowed me to study with my younger brother in the front yard. He is currently studying the "Book of Songs," and the teacher will guide him through the "Great Learning." Moreover, by revisiting the old to learn something new, I believe that rereading the 'Book of Songs' could offer different perspectives influenced by a changed state of mind and age.
After fulfilling her friend's wish, Manbao was overjoyed.
She thought for a moment and decided to purchase a set of beautiful bookmarks from the store. They were very affordable and even came with a buy-one-get-two offer. The flowers and patterns printed on the fabric were exceptionally beautiful.
Manbao kept a set for herself, gave a set to Baishan, and had the other set brought to the county town by Zhou Erlang to give to her.
Nowadays, apart from food businesses, all other businesses in the county town were not thriving. Even the once-popular candy stores were struggling to attract customers. On Fridays, Zhou Erlang and the others no longer considered going to the county town; instead, they worked on the farm at home.
However, Zhou Erlang found another way. He came back and discussed with his family, deciding to harvest some vegetables from the garden and make tofu to sell.
Surprisingly, the business was quite good.
Due to the flood, not only did the prices of grains soar, but also meat, vegetables, and other items increased in price, although not as drastically as grains.
The Zhou family now had an abundance of beans. Previously, they sold tofu in the village and, in return, received beans.
At that time, those beans were barely sold, and they were not worth much. But now, the price of beans had also increased by two wen per dou.
Of course, the Zhou family couldn't just sell beans; selling tofu earned them more.
Xiaoshan soaked ten jin of beans every day, which could yield forty to fifty jin of tofu. Early in the morning, Zhou Erlang fixed the wooden tub filled with tofu on the cart, picked some vegetables from the garden to put in the wooden box, and brought it to the county town. They could sell most of it.
Text: ### In Manbao's eyes, the daily earnings were not much, just over a hundred wen, but Lao Zhou and the others were thrilled and calculated in their hearts. ###
"Beans cost nothing, and the vegetables are homegrown; this is a profitable business without investment," Lao Zhou said with a smile. "If we can sell for a hundred wen every day, then we would earn three taels in a month."
Manbao asked, "Father, don't beans and vegetables cost money?"
"They are all self-grown, so why would they cost money?"
"What about the seeds?"
"We saved our own seeds, so there was no cost involved."
"What about labor then?"
"Your brothers and sisters-in-law only have so much strength; if they don't farm, what else can they do?" "Do you expect me to pay them?" Lao Zhou ordered, "This business belongs to the family, and the money earned must be brought back to be turned into public funds." As the autumn harvest approaches, there is concern that if the crops do not yield well, we may incur additional expenses.
"After all, if the county office doesn't accept money and insists on grain, we'll have to buy grain."
Everyone had no objections, and Zhou Erlang had already submitted today's earnings.
Lao Zhou then said, "Alright, take a quick break." Eldest son and third son, please bring your children with you to the fields tomorrow to pick out the snails from the fields in Da Wan. Collect the seeds they leave behind so we can plant them. Once we clean out these pests, we'll add manure.
The two brothers agreed.
Qian Shi continued, "Youngest son, tomorrow morning, your elder sister and second sister-in-law will be making tofu." You, your wife, and your third sister-in-law go to cultivate the vacant land in the vegetable garden. "Then let your elder sister-in-law and the others plant the vegetables."
Qian Shi and Lao Zhou discussed, "I believe that an acre of land in Xiao Wan is no longer productive." The water has been drained, allowing them to cultivate the land for vegetable planting. "I believe the urban refugees will not leave until after the autumn harvest."