Cheng Wanwan and his four sons divided into two groups.
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu went to a restaurant in Pingan Town to discuss cooperation. She took Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sidan to Dekang Academy.
She inquired at the gate of Dekang Academy and found out that this academy only accepted children. Although the principal of the academy was just an old scholar, it was relatively cheaper than Nanfu Academy. The maintenance fee was one tael of silver a month. Being able to pay off debts with food, this school only has two classes, with about fifty or sixty people.
Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to ask if there were any other private schools in Ping'an Town.
"The smallest private school is probably the family school of Wang Yuan's family. The Wang family has a small population and recruits students from outside. However, those who enroll are required to at least be familiar with the Three Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames." The man selling pens, inks, paper and inkstones glanced at the person behind Cheng Wanwan. Two boys, "If a child of this age doesn't know a single word, I'm afraid no school will accept them."
It is normal for a three- to five-year-old kid not to know how to read.
A ten-year-old child who doesn't know how to read means he has no talent for studying. Basically, no school is willing to teach him, and he won't accept money from him.
Cheng Wanwan sighed.
It’s not that Si Dan doesn’t have the talent to study, it’s because he was delayed.
It seems that Sidan must study these basic enlightenment books at home before he can study in a private school in the town.
Or she could be sent to the Enlightenment School in Chengjiacun, but she never wanted to deal with those vampires in the Chengjia family again in her life, so this road was immediately blocked.
"Mom, I asked Brother Tiezhu to teach me." Zhao Sidan was very optimistic, "Brother Tiezhu said that reading and writing is not difficult at all, and I can learn it soon."
The corners of Cheng Wanwan's mouth twitched.
As far as Zhao Tiezhu's half-baked education level is concerned, don't go further and further away.
This matter needs to be carefully considered.
Things were not going well on her side, but Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu had a smooth road and negotiated for two restaurants in a row.
However, Ping'an Town is not as prosperous as Hekou Town. The two largest restaurants have only reserved 100 bowls in total, and sold a total of 600 bowls.
In Hekou Town, the price is two cents per bowl, a total of five hundred bowls, and the charge is one thousand cents, which is one tael of silver.
Ping'an Town charges one penny for a bowl, a total of one hundred bowls, and charges one hundred penny, which can barely cover the cost.
Calculating this way, you can make a net profit of one tael a day.
Several people in the family have contributed, so she can't just let them work without being paid. She has to calculate how much each person will be paid.
Paying too little would make her look stingy, and paying too much would not work. After the four boys saved some money, they would definitely take the money to the town to buy things, and they would guess that the food at home "comes from bad sources"...
Cheng Wanwan was settling accounts all the way. The oxcart was parked at the entrance of Dahe Village. Zhao Da was going up the mountain to transport dry firewood home. The mother and son got off the car early and walked home carrying barrels.
A house at the entrance of the village is repairing its roof.
Cheng Wanwan knew that there was a hole in the roof of her house. If it hadn't been for the recent drought and no rain, she might have experienced the sour feeling of "heavy rain outside and light rain at home."
She said: "When you have money, the first thing you will do is build a house."
Zhao Dashan nodded immediately: "Starting from tomorrow, I will save a little adobe every day. When I save enough, I can build a house."
Zhao Ergou followed: "My eldest brother and I are making adobe together."
He later went back and figured out that the reason why Shuiqin didn't want to be nice to him was because there was no place to live at home.
Sanniu is about to get a wife. If the person Sanniu likes is unwilling to marry her because there is no place to live at home, Sanniu will be so sad.
He couldn't let his two younger brothers end up in the same situation as him.
Cheng Wanwan knew what adobe was. It was a square mold, into which mud mixed with water was put. At the same time, straw or wheat straw was chopped into finger-long pieces and mixed in. The mud and straw were thoroughly mixed and solidified, and then the adobe was poured. After being dried in the sun, they become adobe bricks. When the time comes to build a house, it will be built using these adobe bricks that are punched out piece by piece.
Most of the houses in Dahe Village are like this. Li Zheng's house is slightly better, with stone bricks on the floor, but the foundation of the house is also adobe.
The cost of building an adobe house is cheap. As long as the family has a large number of people and takes time to save more adobe, the house can be built before winter.
Cheng Wanwan didn't really want to live in an adobe house, but at this time, she didn't have the conditions to build a blue-tiled house, and it would easily make other people in the village jealous. She didn't even live in a blue-tiled house in Zheng. She had a separate family with four sons. Where did the widow get the money to build a big house?
The mother and son had not walked a few steps when the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from behind.
Cheng Wanwan turned around and saw a carriage speeding up behind him. The driver made a "ha" sound and the carriage stopped on the side of the road.
The curtains of the carriage were opened, and Zhao Lizheng from Dahe Village jumped out of the carriage with high spirits. The driver cupped his hands and turned the carriage back.
This was Cheng Wanwan's first time seeing an ancient carriage. It was also the first time for many people in Dahe Village to see a carriage. People in the fields on the roadside dropped what they were doing and gathered around, asking questions. .
Li Zheng stroked his beard and said with a serious face: "That carriage belongs to the magistrate's house in Ping'an Town, and the driver is the boy who works with the magistrate. He made a special trip to take me back."
"Oh, you are so righteous. The county magistrate actually sent someone to send you back in person."
"Our Li Zheng from Dahe Village has the ability to make the county magistrate look at him differently."
Li Zheng was flattered by the compliment, and said with a smile: "I can impress the county magistrate because we in Dahe Village have focused our efforts and energy on one place. I don't know how we dug ditches from the mountains to divert water a few days ago. The news reached the ears of the County Magistrate, and he called me over today just to ask about this matter. In the past, it was difficult for me to meet the County Magistrate, but now I am lucky enough to sit and drink tea with the County Magistrate."
Other people in the village were extremely envious and hurriedly asked: "How old is the County Magistrate? Is the County Magistrate fat or thin? Is the County Magistrate easy to talk to..."
Li Zheng was also received by the county magistrate for the first time. He had a strong desire to show off, so he naturally answered questions one by one.
After these people had finished complimenting, Cheng Wanwan said, "Uncle Li Zheng, why did the county magistrate make a special trip to ask about digging ditches? Is there any arrangement?"
Li Zheng's desire to show off immediately faded away. He did not expect that Dashan Niang could guess the deeper meaning behind the magistrate's summons to him.
He nodded and said: "There are thirty-six villages under Ping'an Town, and each village is suffering from drought. The county magistrate wants to spread the trench digging and asked me if it is feasible."
The villagers surrounding him laughed.
"There is water on Dadong Mountain, but it doesn't mean there is water on other mountains."
"The Osmanthus Village closest to us can't do anything, and the villages farther away can't do anything."
"Your Excellency, the county magistrate is in urgent need of medical attention..."
Li Zheng said nothing and stared at Cheng Wanwan. His intuition told him that Dashan Niang would have a different opinion.
Cheng Wanwan looked at his four sons: "You take your things back and clean them up. I'll be back later."
Li Zheng and Cheng Wanwan walked to the big locust tree in the middle of the village.
Other villagers did not dare to follow her. After the incident of digging the ditch, they no longer dared to look at Sister-in-law Zhao with the same eyes.
How can they dare to look down upon someone who even looks up to someone who is upright?
