The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 374 - 364: Leaving School

Chapter 374: Chapter 364: Leaving School

Mr. Zhuang pushed open the partially closed classroom door, and the students huddled together immediately scattered, running back to their seats.

Mr. Zhuang stood at the doorway for a moment before stepping up to the podium.

He looked down at the students seated behind their desks and, after a long pause, sighed softly, "Tomorrow is the exam, and this may very well be our last test. Although there are only a few short days left, I hope you will remain serious as you always have been."

What he meant was, he had agreed to let the students withdraw from school.

In fact, he had no choice but to agree. The tuition fee was paid annually, and the payment for the new year was due after the New Year. Even if Mr. Zhuang was willing to reduce the fee, the parents of the students would no longer agree to send their children to school.

Apart from tuition, they also had to pay for their children’s food.

In the past, the amount of rice, flour, and money didn’t seem like much to them, but now things were different.

This year’s crop failure meant no one knew what the next year would bring.

The reason the children were still allowed to attend school after the autumn harvest was that the year’s tuition had been paid, and it would have been a waste not to attend.

But the burden of bringing a small bag of rice and flour to the school each month was also heavy for the families.

Yet, they couldn’t not bring it, since they couldn’t allow their children to go hungry while others had food to eat, could they?

Moreover, in the eyes of adults, studying was very taxing, both physically and mentally. Not only did they need solid food at school, but also at home for breakfast, otherwise, they would get hungry at school and wouldn’t be able to concentrate in class.

Thus, any family with a child at school had to provide at least two meals of solid food a day.

And one solid meal, whether it be congee or noodle soup, was at least enough for one person’s three meals a day.

Qili Village and the nearby two or three villages were not very affluent. It was mainly the wealthier peasant families who were willing to send their children to school.

The prerequisite was that the tuition Mr. Zhuang required was already quite low, and it was not a problem for these families to provide three solid meals a day for one child.

But after the disaster, every family had little grain left in storage.

So, after discussing amongst themselves, the parents had chosen this time to come to Mr. Zhuang and request permission for their children to leave school.

Mr. Zhuang, not being one who was detached from worldly affairs, naturally understood their difficulties. So, after trying to convince them and even offering to reduce tuition but seeing that they still insisted, he had no choice but to agree to let the students leave.

Although he had decided to let them resign from school, Mr. Zhuang did not do nothing.

After the exams, he called each student into the small courtyard next door for a private conversation.

For the younger children, he reminded them to read the "Thousand Character Classic" and "The Analects" repeatedly once they returned home. He said, "These two books contain great wisdom. You may not understand them now, but as you grow older and read more, you will naturally gain insights."

The children, around eight or nine years old, looked bewildered. Mr. Zhuang paused and then said, "All you need to remember is to read the ’Thousand Character Classic’ and ’The Analects’ every day when you go back. If you don’t review the characters you’ve learned, you’ll forget them. If you forget the words you’ve already learned, wouldn’t that disappoint your parents’ expectations? It would mean the past two years of schooling were in vain."

Upon hearing this, the eight or nine-year-old children hurriedly nodded in agreement.

For the older boys, around twelve or thirteen years old, Mr. Zhuang had much more to discuss. These children had been studying with him for four or five years already.

As for their departure, Mr. Zhuang wasn’t too regretful because these few children hadn’t intended to take the imperial examinations. After four or five years, what he could teach them was limited.

The ones he truly regretted were the two students who had studied for only two years or had just enrolled the previous year.

Each child who came out of the small courtyard had red eyes, and no one, except themselves, knew what Mr. Zhuang had said to them.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao were both somewhat anxious.

Manbao’s situation was a bit special; she didn’t know whether the teacher was leaving or not. If the teacher left, how would she continue her studies?

Bai Shanbao was also very anxious. He was determined to continue studying, but where would he go if Mr. Zhuang left?

The least affected was probably Bai Erlang.

After looking around, he made plans with his friends to continue visiting each other in the future.

The friends from Qili Village agreed without a second thought; it was just one village, and a short walk away.

Those from the neighboring village didn’t hesitate much either; it was only a short run, and there was nothing else to do at home, so why not play together?

After seeing all the students, Mr. Zhuang expressed his regret that this year’s lessons had come to an end, and everyone could pack up and go home for the New Year.

The students stood up, solemnly thanked Mr. Zhuang, and silently packed their things.

After everyone had left, Manbao and Bai Shanbao ran to the small courtyard to find their teacher.

Mr. Zhuang was just about to boil water for tea when he saw the two disciples coming and waved them over, "You’ve come just in time, help me start the fire."

Manbao rushed over, as she was quite skilled at this. After striking the flint, she lit the dry grass and started the fire.

While passing small twigs to Manbao, Bai Shanbao asked Mr. Zhuang, "Teacher, are you leaving?"

Mr. Zhuang asked, "Why, don’t you want to study anymore?"

"No, I want to study with you, Teacher."

Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and laughed, "Well, isn’t that good? Just continue studying with me without worry."

Manbao and Bai Shanbao both breathed a sigh of relief and became cheerful again. Then they invited him, "Teacher, come to my house for dinner tonight."

Mr. Zhuang smiled and patted Manbao’s head, "I’m busy tonight; I’ve already agreed to dine at Old Master Bai’s."

Bai Shanbao suddenly realized, "No wonder Bai Eryi isn’t worried at all. Did he know this already?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled meaningfully.

Of course, Bai Erlang didn’t know. As a child with few concerns in his heart, likely nobody asked him, so he didn’t feel that these matters were related to him.

He thought, things will be as they will be.

He was still a child, after all. Why should he worry about these things?

So even sitting at the dinner table with Mr. Zhuang, he showed no reaction, and after his father served him a serving of vegetables, he began to eat earnestly.

Only the father and son and Mr. Zhuang were at the table. Old Master Bai, feeling the table was too somber, suggested, "Mr. Zhuang, how about calling Shanbao over too?"

Mr. Zhuang, of course, had no objections.

Soon the servant went down and brought both Bai Shanbao and Manbao over.

Old Master Bai burst into laughter upon seeing Manbao, "I was considering sending someone to invite you from your house, but I didn’t expect you’d still be at Shanbao’s place. Now Mr. Zhuang only has you three students, perfect for sitting together to discuss how to proceed with your lessons."

Bai Shanbao explained, "We were just discussing about planting more melons and beans in the wasteland at the foot of the mountain after spring."