216 It’s For Your Good When I Say You’re Foolish
When Little Cat and Tao Yinzhen returned to Lintian Village, the village women at the entrance said sarcastically, “Yo, what day is it today? Lady Tao looks so radiant.”
Anyway, sooner or later, people would find out that Little Cat was going to school. Tao Yinzhen raised her chin, her eyes rather proud. “I’m sending Little Cat to school.”
In the entire Lintian Village, not a single child went to Qinghe Academy to study.
If they knew that going to Qinghe Academy was a sure win, they would definitely rack their brains to let their children enter.
But Tao Yinzhen didn’t want to tell them.
Their children would never be smarter, more sensible, and more promising than Little Cat.
When Tao Yinzhen said that Little Cat was going to school, the villagers were all dumbfounded.
They asked in disbelief, “Where is Little Cat attending school? It can’t be Qinghe Academy, right?”
Tao Yinzhen raised her chin even higher. “Yes.”
The women in the village gasped in shock. “It costs two taels of silver per semester. There are two semesters each year, which is equivalent to four taels of silver. Is there something wrong with your brain?! He can study in town for two to three years with that money!”
Tao Yinzhen snorted. “I would rather send Little Cat to school than leave the money at home for other people to set their eyes on!”
Ren Shuixing was now a cripple. Tao Yinzhen had two big wolf dogs at home, but their house had still been robbed.
Fortunately, the robbers came when they were not at home, so Tao Yinzhen and Little Cat were not in danger.
Even more fortunately, she had hidden the silver in a rat hole in the firewood. The robbers had not been able to discover it and had only stolen a dozen coppers from the house.
Tao Yinzhen now had money. Not only were there robbers coveting it, but her maternal family had also come looking for her, wanting to safeguard this money for her.
They even said that they were pitying the mother and son for having no one to rely on.
Previously, Tao Yinzhen was almost beaten to death by Ren Shuixing, but they did not say a word.
Tao Yinzhen refused and was grabbed by the hair by her brother, Tao Yang, and beaten up.
Fortunately, Little Cat released the wolf dog to bite him, allowing Tao Yinzhen to escape.
Tao Yang returned empty-handed and Father Tao was furious.
He was Tao Yinzhen’s biological father. As long as there was no letter to sever their ties officially, it was only right for him to hit his daughter. Even if Yang Gongbing came, he would not dare to arrest him and send him to prison.
Father Tao carried a small stool and sat in the courtyard of Little Cat’s house to scold them every day, demanding Tao Yinzhen, this unfilial daughter, to fork out money to nourish his body.
When he was angry, he even smashed the things at home at Tao Yinzhen and Little Cat.
If not for the fact that he had been busy with farming and lacked manpower at home, Father Tao would still be cursing them in the courtyard.
As for the people in the village, they were just watching the commotion, but no one helped the mother and son.
Tao Yinzhen thought of the tall and strong Chu Tianbao again. If she had Chu Tianbao backing her and her son, there was no need for her to be frightened.
The villagers glared at her unhappily. “Who are you referring to?! I said that you’re foolish for your own good. Why can’t you listen?! Even if your Little Cat is a literary talent who has descended to the mortal world, there is not even a imperial examination now and he can’t become an official. Won’t your money be wasted if you spend it on his education? We have good intentions, but you don’t appreciate it. Who cares about the few money you saved?”
Tao Yinzhen sneered. “It’s for your own good if I say you’re foolish too! Even if the money has gone to waste, I’m willing to do it for Little Cat! I’ve already paid his tuition for an entire year. No one can continue to set their eyes on our family!”
Tao Yinzhen’s words made those who were secretly looking for an opportunity to steal money grit their teeth in hatred.
Squandering b*tch!
Ren Shuixing should have beaten her to death back then!
Little Cat was happy that day and did not want his mother to be infuriated by these women. He held her hand tightly and snorted. “Mother, let’s go. I’ll definitely make you an official’s mother in the future!”
When Tao Yinzhen heard her son’s words, she immediately felt proud and elated. She glanced at the village women proudly and imitated the actions of Bai Wutong. She said gently, “Alright, Mother will wait. Our little cat will definitely be able to become a high-ranking official! Teach those shameless bad people a lesson!”
The village women stared at the backs of the mother and son with disdain. “Pfft! You’re purely crazy! If Little Cat can be a high official, my son can be an emperor!”
“When Youjia village stops accepting fruits next year, let’s see what she can do!”
“What can she do?! She can only sell her body! Slut!”
Although they said that, the women in the village were very jealous. They could not compare to Tao Yinzhen in any way. Ever since her husband was crippled, not only did her complexion become better and better, but she also gradually looked like the time when she had just married into Lintian Village and attracted the men to peek at her. She even had money to send Little Cat to school.
Although they had earned some money from selling fruits this year, they had sold them for a copper coin for each catties. A fruit tree weighing more than 50 kilograms could not earn much money at all. In addition, their mother-in-law was suppressing them. After receiving the money, they had not even received a copper coin, let alone send their children to school.
The next day, Little Cat appeared in the village in student uniform with a school bag on his back.
The children of Lintian Village suddenly widened their eyes.
They surrounded him with envious expressions. “Little cat, are you going to school?”
Little Cat said proudly, “Yes, I am going to Qinghe Academy to study!”
Little Cat wore the school uniform and had a scholarly aura that was completely different from theirs. Many children also formed a strong desire to go to school.
Little Cat happily skipped to school. The children rushed home and found their parents, strongly requesting to go to school with Little Cat.
Elder Lin’s grandson, Lin Wang, tugged at his mother, Xia Lihua, and said, “Mother, I want to go to school too. I want to go to Qinghe Academy with Little Cat. Little Cat said that after entering the academy, I can learn chess, archery, martial arts, and anything else. I really want to go. I want to go now!”
Xia Lihua also wanted to send her son to school and suppress the arrogant Tao Yinzhen.
However, she was not in charge of this family. She looked at the main lady and hinted at her son, but the main lady scolded, “Do you have money? It costs two taels to go to school! If you can take out two taels, I’ll send you there now!”
Lin Wang did not have money, but he knew that his grandfather was rich. The last time he was at the window, he had seen his grandfather counting the money from selling fruits.
Lin Wang ran to look for Elder Lin and said sweetly, “Grandpa, I want to go to school. Can you send me to school? When I grow up, I’ll be a high official and treat you well. I’ll give you money every day.”
Elder Lin had some knowledge. Even if one could not take the imperial examination now, when the two kingdoms were unified, the imperial examination would recover sooner or later. At that time, it would be too late if his grandson was older and had not learnt anything.
Elder Lin had a total of three sons and five grandchildren. Lin Wang was the youngest and also the smartest. He was the most liked.
He imagined the scene of becoming an official’s grandfather. He patted Lin Wang’s head benevolently and agreed readily. “Alright, Grandpa will bring you to town to register tomorrow and find the best teacher for you!”
Lin Wang frowned and asked, “Can you learn chess, martial arts, and football in town? Little Cat said that Qinghe Academy teaches these.”
Elder Lin frowned even more tightly than him. “You should be studying in school, take the exams, and stand out! What’s the use of playing chess and learning martial arts?! Just thinking about this will ruin your studies. Qinghe Academy is not a good place. Don’t even think about it.”
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No wonder tuition was so expensive. It turned out that he had learned all these useless nonsense.
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