binnovel Chapter 232 Studying
Chapter 232 Studying
But what were the two sisters really thinking?
Well, actually, besides the uncertain breathing problem, there are other reasons.
They weren't very good at biology before, so they didn't know much about indoor gardening, and now they've almost forgotten it all.
All I remember is that in modern times, when I saw other people using flowerpots with holes in the bottom to grow flowers and plants, they just copied them.
But now that I think about it, it was probably because I had to water the vegetables frequently, but if I watered them too much, the wooden board would block the bottom, and the water wouldn't drain out, causing the roots to rot...
Well, they've decided that the planting boxes must have holes!
Although Yang Yu wasn't sure if the plan was reliable, he still replied, "Then I'll go to Wang the carpenter's house after I have lunch."
But... forget it.
He considered the small idea that had just popped into his head, but then thought the cost was too high. So he abandoned the idea and said nothing.
Half an hour later, more than half of the ten dishes on the table had been eaten, and the five people in the chairs were sitting lazily, chatting but not touching their chopsticks.
They talked about how they went to the city, saw the torchlight shows on the streets, and met the hairy, child-like monkeys;
They talked about how Yang Yu and Lin Zhengyong went to Liuyuan County and brought back many strange and unusual items that weren't available here;
They also talked about how Ashu made small bamboo cages and handbags, which he sold in town for two days and earned some money.
We also talked about how little Ahua has almost finished learning the Thousand Character Classic and is now preparing to learn new books...
As Lin Lanshan listened to their conversation, she took a bite of the sweet and sour candied plum as a small dessert to aid digestion after the meal.
While eating, I was thinking to myself: I was planning to use the barbecue grill I just got tonight to make some barbecue. But now I'm so full, I probably won't be able to eat barbecue even by tomorrow noon, let alone tonight!
After lunch, Yang Yu went to Wang the carpenter's house alone to order wooden chests and a kang table, leaving Lin Chunyi and her sister, as well as Ashu and Ahua, to slowly clean up the dining table and kitchen.
Only then did Lin Chunyi carefully explain to the brother and sister that Changsong Private School and Ahua could attend school.
"Think it over carefully. There's still a long time before we start recruiting students, so there's no rush. Take your time to think it over before you decide."
“She’s going!” Ashu wrung out the water from the rag, then shook it hard and shouted through gritted teeth.
“I’m not going,” Ahua replied softly, shaking her head gently.
These two different answers were exactly what the two sisters expected.
Because Ashu definitely hopes his younger sister can have the opportunity to learn more and have a better life in the future;
Ahua didn't want to add an enormous burden to her and her brother's family for the sake of her wishful thinking...
The two sisters neither offered any advice nor stopped anything.
After all, for people of this era, it may not really mean much for girls to go to school, especially for girls from poor families.
All the two sisters could do was give the exceptionally talented Ahua another chance to choose.
As for whether she should gamble on a completely different future or live an ordinary life, let the brother and sister discuss and decide for themselves.
They will not interfere with other people's fate, nor can they take responsibility for other people's lives.
Hearing his sister say this, Ashu stopped wiping the stove, turned to look at her, and said with a firm look in his eyes:
“Ahua, listen to me, go to school! Such a good opportunity, not to mention this village, you probably can’t find many people in the whole town who get it.”
Ahua bit her lip tightly, silently squatting on the ground to continue washing the dishes, without saying a word.
"Are you worried about the money? Sister Chunyi and Sister Lanshan said they would lend us fifteen taels of silver first. We still have more than half a year to earn the remaining five taels!"
Lin Chunyi only told them that enrollment would begin in July; February was too far away, so she didn't mention it.
A long time passed, long enough that everyone thought Ahua had silently agreed, before she softly asked, "Brother, what about next year?"
What are we going to do with the twenty taels of silver next year? How can my brother and I, who have no skills whatsoever, possibly earn such a large sum of money as twenty taels in a year?
Without more money, would she happily study for a year and then painfully drop out?
Or should we shamelessly ask Sister Chunyi and Sister Lanshan for another fifteen taels of silver?
She has the audacity to ask them for thirty taels of silver every two years? How can she possibly do such a thing?
How dare he make his brother bear this burden that he shouldn't have to bear?
Did she not want to go to school? Yes, she did!
When my brother and I first arrived in Yuanfeng County, we were penniless and so hungry that we had to beg for food all over the county town.
That was the first time she had ever met a "scholar".
She and her brother, dressed in rags and with disheveled hair, knelt on the ground, begging kind passersby for food and water.
They were dressed in matching, exquisite blue and green outfits, and carried book bags filled with books.
Groups of three or five walked out of the school, whose gate plaque bore no words. They walked and talked as they passed by her, reciting phrases she couldn't understand: "Those who in ancient times wished to manifest their virtue to the world first governed their own states."
She couldn't understand the words, nor could she recognize any of them. Yet, the students in the scene seemed to be walking on clouds, while her memories were like those buried in mud. Their appearances, their clothes, and the words they spoke—she had never forgotten them, nor could she ever forget them.
Sometimes, even in my dreams, I imagine myself as one of the people floating in the clouds...
What was Ahua thinking when she first heard Sister Chunyi say that she could go to school?
It wasn't happiness.
Instead, it's blank.
My mind went completely blank.
When she came to her senses, she couldn't help but despise her own cowardice and uselessness.
The thing she had always dreamed of possessing was now right in front of her, yet she couldn't, and dared not, take it...
Before her brother could answer her difficult question, Ahua said calmly, "Brother, I don't want to go to school. It won't be of any use; it'll just be a waste of money."
But only she knew how much effort it took for her to utter the words "I don't want to."
How could Ashu not understand his younger sister?
He patted his chest confidently and said, "You really don't need to worry about money. What is money? Money is just something we can earn with a little effort! I can weave dozens of pretty little bamboo cages a day, and earning twenty taels in half a year is a piece of cake, isn't it?"
Then he said to her seriously, "What is the opportunity to study at Changsong Private School? It's something we ourselves don't even know how to ask for!"
We can't let this opportunity slip away! Listen to your brother, don't overthink it, don't worry about so much, just go and study! Your brother will figure out the rest!
But Ahua stood up, looked at him, and only called out once: "Brother."
The refusal in his tone was quite obvious.