The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 390 - 379: Truly Poor

Chapter 390: Chapter 379: Truly Poor

Zhou Hu and Yang Heshu were talking, and they got so engrossed in the conversation that they lost track of time. It was only when Old Zhou’s family arrived that he remembered he hadn’t taken care of business, not even having the chance to check on the condition of his fields.

Yang Heshu also saw Old Zhou leading a string of people over. From a distance, Manbao waved and called out to her parents, making it impossible for him not to know who they were.

Looking over, Yang Heshu realized there really were a lot of people in Manbao’s family.

However, Manbao still asked, "Dad, where are Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Brother?"

"They went to plow another piece of land to quicken things up. Why have you all come over? Have you eaten lunch? I don’t even know if your sister-in-law has left you any food."

Manbao had just eaten her fill of pastries with Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang and didn’t feel hungry, so she said, "I’m not hungry."

Curious, Old Zhou turned to talk to Yang Heshu.

Zhou Dalang and the others had already entered the field one by one to start their labor. He and Zhou Hu pulled the plow, while Zhou Wulang held it. Now that he had learned to guide the plow, whenever Old Zhou didn’t feel like doing so, he essentially handed the task over to him.

Of course, he now had to take turns with Zhou Dalang and Zhou Hu in pulling the plow too.

Yang Heshu then asked, "Is it less strenuous for two people to pull the plow?"

"Absolutely, if one person pulls, by the end of the day there won’t be a spot left unpained on the shoulders, and there are still many days ahead, so we can’t push ourselves too hard. Are you also a teacher?"

Yang Heshu smiled and replied, "I teach too."

Old Zhou had a natural fondness for teachers and, smiling warmly, said, "Teaching is great, those who can teach have real talent."

Yang Heshu smiled and asked, "Does Old Gentleman have many in his family who study?"

"Many," Old Zhou said with special pride, pointing to his grandsons and granddaughters working in the field, "Even the youngest grandson is reading now."

Yang Heshu’s mouth dropped in astonishment as he glanced at Manbao. Such a household is poor?

Had he not seen poor people before?

Just as Manbao was about to speak, Yang Heshu smiled and quickly asked before her, "Who is the teacher, and is the school far away? How much are the annual tuition fees?"

"Ah?" Realizing what had been asked, Old Zhou’s face bloomed into a smile like a chrysanthemum, happily saying, "It’s free, free, taught by my daughter."

Manbao, pointed at by Old Zhou, puffed out her chest and looked at Yang Heshu proudly.

With a hint of regret, Old Zhou said, "Only my daughter is a bit smarter in our home. She picks up things very quickly. None of her brothers or the nephews and nieces can match her. It takes them a long time just to learn a couple of characters. Fortunately, their study doesn’t cost any money, it only takes some time."

Yang Heshu, evidently surprised, asked, "But books and writing materials must cost money, and it’s rather nice of Old Gentleman to be willing to spend on these."

On his journey here, he had seen that average and poor families—and even some relatively well-off farm households—were reluctant to send their children to school.

He had asked them why. They said that learning to read was hard, recognizing characters was hard, and if there was a bit of money, they would send a child to study. But what if after a year or two the family could no longer support it and the child had to return home, having learned only a few words which might be forgotten just as quickly? Wouldn’t that be a waste of money?

Understandably, for ordinary folk, the expense of books and writing materials was substantial. In two years, one could recognize quite a few characters, essentially reading the simplest books with some continuity. However, if one couldn’t continue to afford books and practice writing, after a while, most would be forgotten.

Not to mention that young people learn quickly, but they also forget quickly.

Yang Heshu silently counted the number of children in Old Zhou’s family and nodded inwardly. Providing so many books and writing materials would indeed be a significant expense for Old Zhou’s family.

But by the same token, surely they couldn’t be that poor.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than Old Zhou burst into hearty laughter, saying joyfully, "The teacher looks like he hasn’t suffered much. We already have books at home; why buy more?"

Old Zhou pulled his daughter over to his side and boasted to Yang Heshu, "My daughter’s teacher is a good person. Whenever it’s time for a new textbook, he copies one for her. Once Manbao has learned it, she comes home and, while practicing her writing, copies one or two more. The less well-copied ones are for the kids at home to read, and the well-copied ones can be given back to the teacher. Then next time, if a student at school doesn’t want to pay high prices at the bookstore, they can spend a little on ink and paper and get a copy from the teacher."

Yang Heshu’s mouth hung agape.

"I don’t expect them to grow up to be teachers or anything. Actually, I think for country folk knowing how to farm, being able to do a bit of arithmetic, being able to write one’s own name—that’s enough. That way, you can do your own tax calculations in the future without seeking the Land Officer’s help, and when you put your seal on something, you can sign your name instead of drawing a circle," Old Zhou declared his honest opinion. "But my wife and daughter both say studying is good, so if it’s good, then let them study. They’d be out playing anyway. It’s better to squat in the yard and practice writing with sticks."

Yang Heshu: "...So there’s no brush, ink, paper, or inkstone, either?"

"Oh my, those things are rather expensive. My daughter and her brothers went out to sell candy and they earned quite a lot of money, which was mostly spent on writing materials. Occasionally, we even had to chip in. A box of ink could buy several pounds of meat."

Manbao clarified, "Just three pounds."

"Isn’t three pounds a lot? That’s enough for three meals."

Yang Heshu now understood. The Zhou family had many people reading but had hardly spent much money on it—essentially, they just had to cover the cost of Manbao’s writing materials.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, his gaze sweeping over each member of the Zhou family. He noticed that aside from Manbao’s half-worn cotton-linen clothes, the clothes of the other Zhou family members were patched quite heavily. He also saw that the shirt of the one named Zhou Wulang had a tear at the armpit that hadn’t been sewn up yet.

They really were as poor as Manbao had said.

Yet, looking at Manbao and then over at the group of children spreading manure and sowing seeds in the field, Yang Heshu finally felt that something didn’t quite add up.

He smiled and asked Old Zhou, "I see that other families usually send their boys to study. Why is it the opposite in Old Gentleman’s family?"

Without hesitation, Old Zhou replied, "The teacher didn’t show any interest in my other grandchildren. He only took a liking to Manbao. Besides, which of my grandsons is as smart as my daughter? She’s great at memorizing. She can recite after reading three or four times, but those boys, after reading half a day with the book in hand, can’t remember the first line once the book is closed. If they were to study with the teacher, they wouldn’t be able to teach anyone else when they came back, would they?"

Yang Heshu nodded and glanced at the proud Manbao again, unable to help a knowing smile. Perhaps she really was the smartest person within a hundred miles. Oh no, the second smartest?

Curious, he asked Manbao, "You said before that you were the smartest person within a hundred miles. Who told you that?"