The sun is getting westward.
Wu Huiniang stopped what she was doing and started preparing dinner.
Under the influence of her mother-in-law, she will no longer keep delicious food. In this weather, keeping it will only spoil it.
She first picked up the pigeons and stewed them in a pot. Then she started picking up the pheasants. The chicken and pigeon feathers were placed on the fence of the yard to dry.
During this time, there was a lot of game at home, and a lot of furs were saved. The rabbit fur could be used to make a rabbit skin jacket for my mother-in-law. The chicken and pigeon feathers could be stuffed into the quilt to keep warm... She saved them in the spring. There are a lot of catkins, which can probably fill two quilts. The family has not saved enough to wear in winter, but it is still at the end of summer, so there is no rush for these things for the time being...
When Cheng Wanwan came back from picking rice again, she helped cook together. Dinner was quickly prepared, including a wild pigeon soup, a bowl of braised pheasant, a plate of green vegetables, and a large bowl of white rice for each person. It's new rice, with a refreshing fragrance, which is very tempting.
The whole family sat down at the table, and Ah Fu was still squatting on the threshold.
After Zhao Sidan reported to Cheng Wanwan, he took a big chicken leg to feed Xiaodian. Although Xiaodian lived here, he usually solved the food problem by himself. He would come back after eating in the mountains, and occasionally eat cooked food. It was just a toothpaste. It opened its mouth wide and bit the whole chicken leg into its mouth.
Xiao Hei jumped over: "Woooo!"
Xiaodian spit out a little bit in front of Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei ate it happily. Da Hei looked at it eagerly, so Xiaodian had no choice but to spit out a little more.
Shen Zheng quickly occupied the remaining chicken leg and said confidently: "I made an agreement with Qian Hui. He will find someone to make stone wheels and deliver them tomorrow morning. Can I eat this chicken leg?"
Cheng Wanwan watched him put the chicken legs to his lips. If she said she couldn't eat it at this time, the child would definitely be furious.
She nodded very gently: "You are also tired today. Eat more."
Shen Zheng took a big bite of a piece of meat. The game was very fresh and tasted really good. It was much more delicious than what the county government cook made.
He waved his hand: "Afu, here you go!"
He only took two bites and gave the rest to Ah Fu.
Ah Fu had long been used to it, so he immediately took it, held it in his hand and nibbled it, eating it with white rice until he was very full.
After the meal, Cheng Zhao washed the dishes and then took his four cousins to the Zhao family ancestral hall.
Shen Zheng was very curious: "What are you going to do?"
Cheng Zhao packed up two books and said quietly: "Read, read, and learn arithmetic."
Shen Zheng remembered that Cheng Zhao had just said in front of Qian Hui that he would stay and teach to make ends meet.
He asked curiously: "Can you teach without being admitted as a scholar?"
In his impression, it seems that only scholars can open schools. Of the thirty-six villages in Ping'an Town, only seven or eight villages have scholars. Therefore, only these seven or eight villages have opened schools, not Dahe Village.
Zhao Sidan blinked his eyes and said: "Master Shen, we only learn to read. My eldest cousin can teach us how to read. Does it have anything to do with whether we are a scholar or not?"
Shen Zheng was unable to refute these words.
He had nothing to do and went to the ancestral hall with a few people.
This is an open-air classroom. On the bluestone at the entrance of the ancestral hall, there are dozens of tables of different heights, as well as stools and chairs of various shapes.
The ages of the people sitting in the school are also different. The oldest one is about the same as Zhao Dashan, and the youngest one is four or five years old and still has a runny nose.
"Yesterday we learned that filial piety and brotherhood are the first, and knowledge is second. Know a certain number, and know a certain article." Cheng Zhao stood with his hands behind his hands and spoke softly, "Yesterday I didn't tell you what this sentence means. After going back for a day and a night, someone can Do you understand?"
There was silence in the class, everyone lowered their heads silently, for fear of being asked to answer.
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sidan have one more class every day than the others. They have almost finished studying the Three Character Classic, so they naturally know the meaning of this sentence. They will not be stupid enough to show off how smart they are now.
"No, no, there are people who don't understand what this sentence means?" Shen Zheng really couldn't hold it back, "When I was four years old, I finished reading the Three Character Classic. The meaning of this sentence is..."
"It means that a person must first learn to be filial to his parents and love his brothers." Zhao Sidan stood up and said, "The second thing is to start learning to read and read, and to learn arithmetic."
Shen Zheng snorted: "Since you know, why don't you tell me?"
"This is what I told you, let Sidan and Ergou give others a chance to think." Cheng Zhao turned to look at Shen Zheng, "Brother Shen, if nothing happens, go back and wash up and rest."
Zhao Dashan stood up and said, "Master Shen, if you also want to attend the class, I will give you my seat."
Shen Zheng curled his lips: "Who wants to listen to the enlightenment lessons of a three- or four-year-old child?"
He tossed his sleeves and left.
Cheng Zhao continued the class: "Everyone reads with me. The first is filial piety, the second is knowledge, knowledge of certain numbers, knowledge of certain texts..."
Shen Zheng stopped and stood at the door of the ancestral hall, looking at the crowd of forty or fifty people. These people had been tired all day, had a meal and then came to class. Their faces were still tired, but they all had their eyes open. Looking at Cheng Zhao with big eyes, brilliance flashed in the black tired eyes.
He couldn't hold it back anymore and turned back to the ancestral hall.
Although Cheng Zhao was a good-tempered person, he was a little embarrassed: "Brother Shen, if there is anything we can discuss in the evening, please don't interfere with the children's study here."
"I have a question for you." Shen Zheng squeezed Cheng Zhao out of the way, "You guys harvest and thresh rice during the day. You know how tired you are. Why would you rather study here than go back to rest? Do you still want to take part in science? Test?"
He looked at every face in the class.
Cheng Zhao also put down his book and looked at each child.
Zhao Dashan stood up, touched his head and said, "I just want to learn more words so that others won't laugh at me when I go out."
Zhao Ergou continued: "I study arithmetic and want to do big business in the future."
Zhao Sanniu stood up and said, "I am stupid. Reading can make people smarter. I must study hard."
"My eldest cousin said that reading history makes people wise, reading poetry makes people smart, and learning arithmetic makes people rigorous." Zhao Sidan shook his head, "My mother also said that knowledge is more valuable than wealth, and ignorance is more terrible than poverty. So I want to study, not for the imperial examination, but to enrich myself..."
Cheng Zhao was stunned.
Knowledge is more valuable than wealth, and ignorance is more terrible than poverty.
This was the first time he heard someone say this, and it was said by his second aunt.
In the past, he only felt that his second aunt favored him. Now that he was living with his second aunt, he discovered that his second aunt was wiser than he thought. It was the wisdom given by life experience and experience, which was a height that he could not reach.
Others in the classroom stood up one after another.
"I like to read and write. I think reading and reading is very interesting."
"My mother said that if you know more words, you will become the smartest person in the family. I want to be the smartest child."
"My father said that my cousin Sidan will be an official soon and wants me to learn more quickly..."
The children stood up one by one, and everyone told the reason why they sat here to read and read. No one was doing it because of the scientific examination.
Shen Zheng silently shut up and stood aside.
Cheng Zhao finished teaching reading and literacy, and then taught arithmetic. Among the forty or fifty people under him, twenty or thirty of them actually had abacus.
This abacus was made by some villagers who begged Mr. Zhao. Those people cut trees and sawed the wood themselves. Mr. Zhao only needed to use the mortise and tenon technique to make the wood into an abacus frame, and then grind out the beads. He asked for a price to make an abacus. It's a pound of white rice.
This coincides with the autumn harvest. Some people who value reading have been asking Old Man Zhao for help with food.
