Chapter 108: The Tragedy of the Next Village

  Actually, whether to bow or not is also a matter of etiquette. Not bowing and just giving some advice is only an ordinary relationship between the teacher and student, but bowing three times is equivalent to letting the teacher acknowledge these two children as apprentices, equivalent to the position of closed-door disciples.

  This little girl seems to be very clever and good at planning, and she's also good at making decisions. From the moment she entered the house, her parents didn't say anything, but this child kept speaking, and indirectly, it was as if she wanted him to acknowledge and accept her request. So he smiled and said: "Little girl, you've come to my place too, I won't charge you tuition..."

  Shen Sisi blushed and said in embarrassment: "Sir, I am a girl..."

  The old man's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and after a moment of silence, he let out a faint sigh and said, "What a pity..."

  Shen Sisi's mouth twitched, but she wouldn't be pitied. It would be better to let her die a hundred times than to make her study classical Chinese. However, she pretended to be ashamed and lowered her head. But Er Bao and San Bao looked at her in confusion, thinking that Tuniang was incredibly capable and knew everything, so how could she not recognize the teacher?! However, they had received Shen Sisi's secret order, so naturally they didn't dare say anything, keeping their mouths tightly shut.

  "Sir......" Shen Sisi smiled and said: "My brothers are very clever, they will definitely not disappoint you..."

  The old man nodded, seemingly in agreement, and took another bite of the fragrant braised meat. He smiled and said: "So this is your family's braised meat? My son actually bought some from town a few days ago and brought it back to try - the flavor is really good, rich but not greasy, truly delicious..." No wonder they had the means to send their child here to study, it seems that this braised meat has earned them quite a bit of money.

  "This is the prescription that our family's Tuni came up with. If it weren't for Tuni, our old Zhong family would still be poor and white, where would we have the ability to send children to school..." Zhong Gensheng looked at the old man's kind and gentle eyes, he finally calmed down, tried to open his mouth, and smiled foolishly: "If Tuni were a boy, she would be stronger than my three boys..."

  Shen Sisi lowered her head, really wanting to say a sentence, "Dad, how did you bring this up?" However, the old man just smiled and didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he looked at Shen Sisi with an even more thoughtful expression, chuckled lightly, and said: "Starting from tomorrow, come over to study, but remember to bring your lunch. You'll be leaving early and returning late, so you can put your mid-day meal in the kitchen pot to steam for a bit. Tomorrow, when you arrive, I'll assess what level you've reached..."

  "Thank you, sir..." Er Bao and San Bao hastily said.

  "My surname is Lin, so from now on, call me Mr. Lin...". The old man didn't put on airs, but just smiled and said: "Once you enter my door, you must study hard, otherwise, I won't show any mercy and will directly expel you from the school..."

  "Second treasure, third treasure, hurry up!" said Lin Xiao Feng. "Mr. Lin, we will definitely study hard and not disappoint you..."

  The old man nodded in satisfaction and let Er Bao and San Bao get up.

  Shen Sisi didn't want to disturb him anymore, so she stood up and bid farewell.

  After coming out, Zhong Gensheng smiled and said: "People who have been officials are still quite amiable..."

  "Then that just proves he's a good official..." Turning her head to face Er Bao and San Bao, she said: "In the future, don't disappoint Mr. Lin's teachings, got it?!"

  "En. Tuni, don't worry." Er Bao and San Bao, even if they thought about the money spent on flowers, they didn't dare not study well.

  "There are many roads from here to our village, you two should set off earlier next time......" Zhong Gen Sheng reminded them, he didn't understand book learning, so he could only remind them of trivial things in life. At the same time, he said: "....it's just that when bringing food, what to bring it with, I'll make a wooden lunch box for you two when you get back home......"

  The two of them hastily agreed, although they were filled with anxiety about the future. However, they had great confidence in Tuni and the others, so they quickly rushed back...

  When I got home, the pig had just been killed. Wang butcher carried the meat and took the money, ready to leave. As soon as he saw Shen Sisi, his eyes lit up and said: "...... The pig blood I brought back yesterday, the kids really love to eat it, little girl, thank you so much yesterday..."

  He still knew his place and didn't take advantage of his thick skin to ask for more, but instead just thanked her. This unexpectedly earned him Shen Sisi's favor, who smiled and said: "It's too late today, but if I have the chance to make this again in the future, I'll let Uncle Wang bring some back..."

  Wang Tufu smiled and said, "How can that be good?" Although he said so with his mouth, in his heart, he couldn't refuse the delicious taste. He secretly thought that if there was anything delicious at home in the future, he could bring some for this little kid to try.

  He scratched his head and smiled foolishly: "...... You guys go ahead, I'm going back."

  Zhong Gensheng saw him off to the gate, then turned around and came in. The pork had already been cut into strips, and Dabao and Sibao were busily preparing to lift it into the pot for braising.

  "Tofu, today with dried tofu, it might take four pots to stew... "Dabao said tiredly: "...the two pots at home are a bit small, if we can make bigger pots in the future, that would be better, our kitchen is too small..."

  "Wait until I make some money, then I'll build a big house."

  Dabao just smiled honestly, but he was really full of longing. For the future, the people in their family were extremely confident in each other.

  At this time, He Axiu and Niu Xiaohua also came out to help. Zhong Gensheng, who was busy in the kitchen, went to help too, while searching for good wood to make lunch boxes for the two children who were going to school.

  "What's going on? Has the master accepted it?"

  Zhong Gensheng smiled and nodded, saying: "Of course I'll take it. I have to make them a lunchbox. From now on, they'll all need to bring their own lunches..."

  "Let's make more then, and bring some dishes. We'll have to cook more for dinner from now on, so they can take some with them for lunch. Studying is tiring..." said He Ashu.

  "Yes, but when is dinner at our house not a feast?!" Zhong Gensheng said: "Since Tuniu made this, which meal of ours doesn't have meat? Don't worry about them eating poorly, among all the students, I reckon only Er Bao and San Bao eat the best. At noon, don't bring too much attention to yourself, it's not good..."

  He Axiu thought for a moment and nodded her head, she was also a low-key person, just afraid that Er Bao San Bao would cause trouble at school, so she naturally nodded in agreement.

  "Right..." He Qiu saw Niu Xiaohua leave, then said: "Just now Wang Tufu came and told us that the new wife of Wang Xiucan from their village hanged herself this morning..."

  "What?! Zhao Gen Sheng was stunned for a moment, then asked: "What's going on?! How did it become like this?!"

  "Alas..." He Qiu said helplessly: "It's really a tragedy. The girl was forced to marry by her family and didn't think it through, so she hung herself with her waistband in the bridal chamber when no one was around. Now the whole village is in an uproar... Yesterday they were celebrating the wedding, today they're holding a funeral... I heard that the bride's family is furious and wants to hold the groom's family accountable for their daughter's death. The groom's family is also angry, saying they spent money on the dowry and she died just an hour after entering their home. How can they be happy about this?! Now they're demanding the return of the dowry money from the bride's family, and it's causing a huge commotion..."

  "Didn't you say it was going to be hanged in the morning?!" Zhong Gensheng said.

  "It was discovered early this morning, that Wang Xiuzai had grown old... He drank wine last night and slept in the study room, who knew he would get up early and... "He Axiu said helplessly: "I heard his body stiffened early..."

  Zhong Gensheng shook his head and sighed: "Fortunately, Xiao Hua didn't go, or else Lao Gen's heart would be in a mess..."

  He Axiu nodded, and when Niu Xiaohua came in with a basin, she didn't say anything else. She just smiled and said: "Gen Sheng, let Lao Gen come over for dinner tonight, you guys can have some drinks and chat, and try to persuade him..."

  Niu Xiaohua's eyes lit up and she looked at He Ashu with expectation. He Ashu smiled again, "He also misses his daughter, and Xiaohua also misses him..."

  "...go." Zhong Gensheng nodded, but calling Lao Gen over was one thing, he couldn't let Tian Guihua come too - with this woman around, she'd be driven mad by the noise.

  Zhong Gen Sheng stood up and went to call Niu Laogen while preparing to buy more wine on the way back.

  Shen Sisi has always been attentive to family matters, and she naturally heard what He Ashu said to Zhong Gensheng. She sighed and felt helpless about the fate of that unknown woman. In this era, women's status is too low, marriage cannot be autonomous, and it all depends on parents. If parents are a bit biased, life can be really difficult...

  She was extremely lucky, when she was thrown out of the cold palace, she met this pair of kind parents, otherwise it would have been...

  "Mother..." Niu Xiaohua looked at He Ashu with gratitude, and He Ashu simply stroked her hair with a pained expression.

  Shen Sisi entered the door and saw that water had been put in the pot. Only then did she add the well-matched brine ingredients, and Niu Xiaohua began to light the fire...

  She went to look at the solidified pig blood, smiled lightly, and said that when Old Cow comes for dinner tonight, let's have a feast of pig blood, pig organs, pig ears, and pig trotters, paired with wine, it's the most enjoyable way to drink and eat...

  What a pity there's no hot pot. If we could use a small hot pot to stew, eating it in winter would be truly enjoyable.

  Niu Laogen has been thinking about his daughter for the past two days, but he felt embarrassed to keep visiting the Zhong family again. After all, he had wronged them in the past and tarnished their reputation. Now that he had sold his daughter, he felt even more ashamed, so even if he wanted to, he didn't dare to keep going to the Zhong's house.

  When Zhong Gensheng went to the field to find him, he immediately agreed and had no other thoughts. He didn't even have the mood to do things, so he simply dropped the work in the field and carried a hoe directly to the Zhong family to see his daughter...

  As soon as he entered the house, Niu Xiaohua was cooking in the pot. As soon as she saw him, she stood up and rushed over to say: "Dad."

  Niu Laogen had a thousand thoughts in his mind, but he held back his sobs and smiled: "Xiao Hua, how have you been the past few days?"

  "Dad, I'm fine. Look, my complexion is much better now, and I even have new clothes and a hairpin to wear..." Niú Xiǎo Huā said tearfully.