The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 232 - 221: Frustrated at Their Lack of Progress

Chapter 232: Chapter 221: Frustrated at Their Lack of Progress

County Magistrate Fu asked, "Is this what Zhou Man said?"

"No, this is what I thought, but she said that it’s joyful to learn unknown knowledge from books, and I also find it very joyful, especially when I can discuss it with friends afterward; that makes it even more joyful."

County Magistrate Fu contemplated. He wasn’t short of money, and of course, it was no problem to provide for his daughter’s education. But she was eleven years old, and in three or four years she would be of marriageable age, ready to be wed once she reached adulthood. She had much to learn, and spending so much time reading at this point...

However, upon further thought, if Zhou Man could read, why couldn’t his daughter?

And he himself was quite fond of Zhou Man, having once regretted that she wasn’t a boy, hadn’t he?

County Magistrate Fu felt torn and after a long hesitation said, "I will mention this matter to your mother."

He had always entrusted his daughter’s education to his wife. With such a matter, he definitely had to consult her.

Although he didn’t give a definitive answer, Fu Wenyun was still overjoyed and quickly thanked her father.

County Magistrate Fu then opened The Great Learning, smiling. "Don’t thank me just yet. Since you are reading The Great Learning, I shall test you on a few passages."

The teacher that the Fu Family employed for Fu Wenyun and her sisters was a lady teacher, and besides calligraphy, had long since stopped teaching them new textbooks. They spent all their time learning embroidery, practicing the zither, chess, and other such activities. She read in her own free time.

Entirely self-taught.

Whenever she encountered questions that puzzled her, she would write to Zhou Man for help. For the most part, Zhou Man shared everything she knew, and if she didn’t understand something herself, she would take the letter and ask Mr. Zhuang.

So although Fu Wenyun was a bit nervous, she stood tall and ready to answer. She knew that this related to whether she could continue her studies.

When County Magistrate Fu emerged from the room, a half-hour had passed.

He returned to the main house deep in thought, and as he was about to leave the small courtyard, he glanced instinctively to the left, towards his son’s room, which was pitch-dark, clearly indicating that his son was already asleep.

County Magistrate Fu pondered for a moment, then decided to check on his son.

Fu Wenhua had kicked off his blanket, and his slightly open mouth showed he was sleeping soundly.

For some reason, seeing his son like this, County Magistrate Fu felt the urge to spank him.

But he had only this one son, and it was impossible to actually do so, especially without any good reason, right?

So, after staring at his son for a long while, County Magistrate Fu left with his hands behind his back.

Fu Wenhua, who knew nothing: ...

By the time Zhou Man received another letter from Fu Wenyun two days later, it was with delight that she read how, despite some difficulty, her mother had still agreed to let her continue her studies.

In the mornings, she could go to the front court to study with her younger brother; in the afternoons, she would continue her music and embroidery.

She wrote, "Eldest Sister says that reading books is useless for girls, and we still have a lot to learn, like music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and even embroidery—there’s even some cooking to be done, and there’s simply not enough time. But I think what you said makes more sense. If you can’t cook, as long as you can boil food to a point where you won’t starve, that’s fine. If you want to eat something tasty, as long as you have money, what can’t you eat? No matter how well we learn, we can’t compare to a professional cook."

"Eldest Sister is discussing marriage and doesn’t wish to study with me, so my father didn’t hire a separate tutor for us. Instead, he’s letting me study in the front yard with my little brother, who is reading the Classic of Poetry. The teacher will accommodate my progress and start teaching me The Great Learning. Besides, reviewing old material can lead to new insights. I feel that if I re-read the Classic of Poetry, perhaps because of my different state of mind and age, I’ll see things in a new light."

Zhou Man was overjoyed at her friend’s wish being fulfilled.

After thinking for a moment, she spent some points in the shop to buy a set of beautiful bookmarks, which were very cheap—a buy-one-get-two-free deal. The flowers and beauties printed on them were all very attractive.

Zhou Man kept one set for herself, sent one set to Bai Shanbao, and asked Zhou ErLang to deliver the last set to her when he went to the county town.

Nowadays, aside from food, other businesses in the county town weren’t doing well, even the popular candies weren’t selling. Zhou Wulang and the others thus didn’t bother going to the county town, preferring to stay honest and work on the farm at home.

Zhou ErLang, however, had found another way. After discussing it with the family, they decided to take some vegetables from the garden and make tofu to sell.

And, surprisingly, the business was quite good.

Because of the flood, not only had the price of grain skyrocketed, but the cost of meat, vegetables, and the like had also gone up, though not as outrageously as grain.

The Zhou Family was now least lacking in beans, as they had previously traded their tofu in the village and at the large market for beans.

Those beans hadn’t been sold, as beans weren’t worth much back then, but now their price had increased—by two wen per dou.

Of course, the Zhou Family wouldn’t just sell beans; they could earn more by selling tofu.

Therefore, Junior Ms. Qian prepared about ten jin of beans everyday, yielding forty to fifty jin of tofu. Early in the morning, Zhou ErLang would fix the barrels filled with tofu on the flatbed cart and pick some vegetables from the garden to take to the county town, and they would usually sell out.

In Zhou Man’s view, the daily earnings weren’t much, just about a hundred wen or so, but Old Zhou and the others were thrilled, calculating their own account in their heads.

"Beans don’t cost anything, and vegetables are all grown by ourselves, this is a business without any capital," Old Zhou said beamingly. "If we can sell a hundred wen every day, then in a month, that adds up to three strings of cash."

Zhou Man: "...Dad, don’t beans and vegetables cost money?"

"They’re grown by us, what money would that be?"

"...Seeds."

"The seeds are also saved by us, it doesn’t cost anything."

"What about labor then?"

"Your brothers and sisters-in-law have nothing but their strength, if they don’t farm, what else are they going to do? Do you expect me to pay them?" he said, and then Old Zhou gave an order, "This business is the family’s, the money earned from sales must be handed over to me and put into the public fund. Harvest’s not far off, and if things don’t go well in the fields, we might still have to pay taxes."

After a pause, Old Zhou added, "If the County Governmental Office doesn’t take money but insists on grain, then we will need to buy grain."

Nobody had objections, and Zhou ErLang had already handed over today’s earnings.

Old Zhou then said, "Okay, let’s rest. Eldest and Third, take the kids with me to the fields tomorrow. We’ll fish out all the snails in the fields of Little Bay. The seeds they’ve left, gather all you can. Once we’ve cleared these crop-eating pests, we’ll fertilize."

The brothers agreed.

Ms. Qian then took over, "Four, tomorrow morning, your eldest sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law will be making tofu. You take your wife and Third Sister-in-law to hoe the empty space in the vegetable garden. Later, let your eldest sister-in-law and the others plant vegetables."

After discussing with Old Zhou, Ms. Qian said, "I see that the patch of land in Little Bay, that’s over an acre large, is also useless. Now that all the water has been drained, let them hoe that land and plant some vegetables. I reckon, before the autumn harvest, the refugees in the city won’t leave."